News Talk Online September 30, 2009: Relief Efforts In Pacific Nations Struck By Disaster

The tsunami, earthquake and typhoon that have wrecked havoc and death on the Samoas, in Indonesia, in Vietnam and in the Philippines was the topic of today's News Talk Online on the Paltalk News Network.

Correspondent Eric Williams reported from his listening post in Melbourne, bringing us up-to-date on the tragedy including relief efforts that are just now getting underway.

Iran Meeting With The P5+1 Examined On The Paltalk News Network

Tomero

Tomorrow the permanent five members of the UN Security Council and Germany meet with Iran in Geneva to discuss Iran's nuclear program.

Many believe the only way to convince Iran to become forthcoming about its nuclear intentions and truly abandon any nuclear weapons aspirations is for there to be solidarity between all six nations. But there's concern about whether Russia and China will hold fast with the United States, the UK, France and Germany.

Tougher sanctions may be on the horizon but not if Russia and China balk. And if they do, Iran may interpret this as a green light to develop nuclear weapons.

President Obama has said he favors a diplomatic approach toward Iran but has not taken the military option off the table. But without the support of Russia and China, the United States - or Israel - face the prospect of international condemnation should they eventually take action without Security Council approval.

Joining us on News Talk Online on the Paltalk News Network at 5 PM New York time Thursday will be Leonor Tomero, director for nuclear non-proliferation at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.

Swine Flu Update September 30, 2009

Infectious disease doc calls on people to take the swine flu vaccine.

Massachusetts health officials surprised by the large number of swine flu cases.

Businesses across the nation are urged to prepare for high absenteeism and disruption of work due to swine flu.

Many businesses scramble to ensure that their employees get vaccinated for the swine flu.

Many of those who have died from the swine flu had other bacterial infections.

Pregnant women, a high risk group, may balk at getting vaccinated for swine flu.

Closing schools and day care centers because of the swine flu could cost billions of dollars.

Infectious Disease Doc Argues In Favor Of Swine Flu Vaccine

By GARY BAUMGARTEN
Paltalk News Network

Yesterday some New York health care workers rallied in Albany in protest of a mandate that they get vaccinated against the H1N1 flu. But an infectious disease doctor at Northern Westchester Hospital believes that, while well intentioned, they are misguided.

Dr. Peter Welch says that - as with all medicines - there are risks in taking the vaccine - they are far outweighed by the benefits to one's self and to society.

He says that those who are in groups identified by the Centers For Disease Control as high risk absolutely should take the vaccine when it becomes available starting next week. That includes children, pregnant women, health care workers and anyone between the ages of 25 and 65 who has an underlying illness such as diabetes, pulmonary disease, or HIV/AIDS.

"I'm going to take it," Welsh says. "I'm a health care worker."

He says those in his field who are balking are "foolish."

"They are uninformed," he says, "in the scientific sense."

As an infectious disease specialist, Welch finds particularly worrisome those in the anti-vaccine movement who are trying to get parents to forgo vaccinations for their children.

"They may be well intentioned people," he says, "but they are grossly and terribly mistaken in their opinions."

He cites, as a prime example, polio, which has been eradicated in nations where everyone is vaccinated.

Many people argue that the concerns raised about the swine flu are much ado about nothing as compared with the "regular" seasonal flu. Welsh says that, while studies that have been done so far indicate that the swine flu produces a milder infection than the seasonal flu, the fact the population in general has built up very little immunity to it means many people could be infected. And because more people might get the swine flu, the concern is that,while milder, it could result in even more deaths than the seasonal influenza.

In Michigan, Making Sure Your Neighbor's Kids Get On The School Bus Safely Can Get You In Hot Water

By GARY BAUMGARTEN
Paltalk News Network

In Michigan there is a law designed to prevent unlicensed day care centers from opening.

The intent of the law is a good one. It's designed to ensure that no one who is unqualified opens a day care center and puts children in harm's way. But sometimes, the people who we charge to enforce regulations lack common sense.

Such is the case with a Irving Township, Michigan woman who, as a favor to three of her neighbors who have to work, takes in their children to wait for the school bus - safely - in her home each morning. Someone complained - and she received a letter from the state saying she was in violation of the law.

So, a law designed to protect children was being enforced to, potentially, put children in harm's way.

The public uproar over the decision has prompted Michigan's governor to urge that the law be changed. But one must question the decision making of the officials who blindly enforced the law and sent the woman the warning. Did they get into the business of child welfare because they wanted to protect children? Or did they get into it because they wanted to throw their weight around?

Swine Flu Update September 29, 2009

New York health care workers rally at the state capital to protest requirement that they get vaccinated against the swine flu.

The first swine flu vaccine doses in the United States will be available next week.

Swine flu vaccine drive through lanes are being set up in some states.

The U.S. government plans on vaccinating illegal immigrants against the swine flu.

Some families are having swine flu parties, exposing their children to mild cases of the influenza in the hopes that they will build an immunity in case it later mutates and gets worse.

New York Health Care Workers Rally Against Mandatory Flu Vaccinations

New York health care workers are rallying at the state capital in Albany over a requirement that they be vaccinated against the seasonal flu and the swine flu.

The workers feel that the regulation infringes upon their civil liberties. Many of them are also concerned that the swine flu vaccine has not yet been properly tested. They worry that in a rush to develop a vaccine there may be unforeseen side effects. They believe that they should be given a choice over which risk they want to take. Not taking the vaccine and risk getting the swine flu. Or taking the vaccine and risk possible complications.

News Talk Online September 29, 2009: Insight Into How Iran Nuclear Negotiations Will Go

Update: Iran reportedly is refusing to discuss nuclear program during Geneva talks

By GARY BAUMGARTEN
Paltalk News Network

When Iran meets with the permanent five members of the United Nations Security Council and Germany in Geneva on Thursday, the agenda will be to get that nation into compliance with UN resolutions on nuclear development.

There is a renewed sense of urgency because of Iran's revelation last week that it had surreptitiously constructed a second nuclear facility without first notifying nor permitting the International Atomic Energy Agency to inspect it. The size of the facility and the covert manner in which it was built is raising alarms about its purpose. Iran maintains it's for the peaceful production of nuclear energy. But few experts outside Iran believe that assertion.

Most observers believe the negotiations with Iran won't be particularly easy. Now there's an indication from the Iranian news agency, PressTV, about Iran's posturing leading into the talks that does little to allay those concerns.

It looks like Iran is coming to the table on the offensive. Instead of focusing on its own, obvious, transgressions, PressTV reports that Iran will demand that the current members of the nuclear fraternity make good on their pledges to reduce their nuclear arsenals.

This is an obvious and pathetic attempt by Iran to divert attention from its own nuclear program. The issue here is not the continued reduction of current nuclear stockpiles. It's non-proliferation. And Iran's failure to assure the world that it will not create additional nuclear warheads.

The current delicate balance of nuclear weapons around the world is being managed in a way that, thankfully, does not contribute to an arms race. But a nuclear armed Iran would prompt many Middle Eastern nations to aspire membership in the nuclear weapons family as well as a means of self-defense. If that happens, then the launching of one nuclear weapon - or the mistaken assessment that a nuclear warhead had been launched - could lead to Armageddon.

The Iranian regime has shown itself to be less than truthful. With a straight face, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told the UN General Assembly last week that he had been overwhelmingly re-elected president of that nation. Iran's veracity with regard to its nuclear program should be viewed with the same skepticism.

The real concern here is not so much Iran's posture at Geneva - but that of the P5+1. Those nations will likely argue amongst themselves about sanctions, giving Iran the time it needs to develop a nuclear weapon. If that happens, the world's only salvation ultimately could be Israel, which, in its own defense, could, and then should, destroy Iran's nuclear facilities.

Nature's Call Can Get You Arrested These Days

By GARY BAUMGARTEN
Paltalk News Network

Here's a tip for anyone flying in these post-9/11 days.

Go to the restroom and do your business before you board your flight - even if you don't feel the urge.

I make this recommendation because of a story out of Los Angeles - and how the call of nature resulted in an airplane being delayed, the passengers removed and the aircraft searched.

Seems a passenger urgently needed to use the facilities after the flight attendant told them to fasten their seat belts and remain in their seats until the plane was aloft.

When he got up, a flight attendant commanded him back in his seat. But you know how it is - when you gotta go, you gotta go.

So he ignored the order and made a mad dash for the restroom. An action that, these days, constitutes a security breach.

So, the plane was delayed, the plane returned to the gate, the passengers were removed, the plane and the man's luggage searched and the undoubtedly embarrassed man, questioned.

He won't be charged but it really underscores how silly some of the security precautions are.

If he had some kind of a device that he managed to slip past the screening process and he had waited until the seatbelt sign was off and then went to the restroom to hide it then no one would be the wiser. So how was anyone made safer by the inconvenience and delay?

Sometimes common sense needs to prevail. Yes, technically, it is against federal law to disobey the directions of a flight attendant. But come on now, the guy had an emergency of sorts, didn't he? I mean, would some kind of justice been served had he remained in his seat and lost control of his bladder? I don't think his aisle mates would have much appreciated that.

Cute Entry In The I Love Paltalk Facebook Contest

Filipino Groups Charge Government Ineptness In Handling Flooding, Launch Fund Raising Drive

Update: Death and missing toll from flooding now at 284

Charging that the Philippines government has fumbled the ball in its response to Typhoon Ondoy and the resulting flooding and deaths, two Filipino organizations are organizing an emergency relief fund campaign.

The Alliance for a Just and Lasting Peace in the Philippines and the Filipino youth-based Daluyong Coordinating Committee hope to raise $5,000 by Monday and another $5,000 by October 16.
Manila flooding: http://bit.ly/1ac0Ot
The groups charge that the administration of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has responded with "incompetence and neglect," comparable, they say, to the way George W. Bush handled the aftermath of hurricane Katrina.

With maximum winds of 85 kilometers per hour, the storm was not as powerful as many of the typhoons that have hit the country. But by Sunday evening, the National Disaster Coordinating Council reported that at least 330,000 residents had been displaced, 73 people had died and 23 more went missing. In the days following the storm, the death toll has risen, including a 4-year-old girl who was killed when a wall, weakened by floodwaters, collapsed on her family's shantyin Quezon City.

Among the examples of inadequate government response cited by the groups is its blaming the public for not heeding storm warnings - even though - they say - no evacuation order preceded the flooding. The also allege that local government units were paralyzed at the onset of the flood and were not able to issue official advisories on what the vulnerable population should do. As floodwaters receded, they say, hundreds were still stranded.

According to the organizations, residents saw overwhelmed rescue choppers leaving many people behind. They say that in Barangay Payatas, Quezon City, the parish priest, Fr. Orlando Noriella, claims that while a state of calamity had been declared, no food and medicines have reached the affected residents and that the government admits that there are insufficent rescue vehicles or facilities.

The groups charge that an "utter lack of preparedness" set the stage for disaster even before the typhoon hit. They say the massive land conversion of the Marikina watershed and the mountains of Rizal put people in imminent danger, especially those living near riverbanks and mountain slopes. Despite warnings by community groups of the danger of high-risk projects, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources did nothing, they say, to put in place protections for residents in these areas.

The groups say the money raised will go to the Sagip-Tulong sa Pilipinas (STP) Emergency Relief Fund Campaign

Facebook Pulls Poll Asking If Obama Should Be Killed

By ERIC FLORES
Special to the Paltalk News Network

This afternoon I found an article about a Facebook poll asking if people thought "President Obama should be assassinated." Of course by then the poll feature was shut down and the poll was removed. However, what really gets my goat about this was that a number of people actually voted YES.
Flores:Frightening poll
Now I don't need to go into the moral aspect of such a poll, almost anyone with half-a-brain knows that it is extremely stupid to think to openly wish for the president to be killed. Let's not even go into the fact that even by many religious convictions, wishing someone dead is wrong. You know, Jesus said to "Pray for your enemies" and "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." I mean even a 5-year-old child is taught that in Sunday school.

What I will go into is the fact that given the paranoia of post 9-11 America, Are people so dense to that level of caution that they are willing to post their desire to kill the president in a facebook poll? Not only that but people would actually have the gall to vote YES?

I mean come on, people!

I mean even the most bitter and hostile left-wing nut-job would think twice before posting such a poll against a Republican in office. Demand a trial and have them go to jail? Yes but not once during the eight years of George W. Bush do I recall anyone praying for him to be shot by an assassin.

Look, I am not saying you have to embrace Barack Obama's policies. Disagree with him; that's your right. But don't think for one moment that given how many folks on the right are praying for Obama to die that the government would not take that seriously.

To the authors of the poll: Do you HONESTLY think that the Secret Service would not investigate the author of the poll or the people who voted yes? Let's face it, free speech is a wonderful thing. But when you decide to do something and say something against the president, don't you think that MAYBE, just MAYBE, you should take into account that there are too many psychopaths that would take your words SERIOUSLY?

Partisan politics aside, I am hoping that the people who posted this poll are eventually prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. This isn't a matter of politics, this is a matter of what is right and wrong.

Direct Stimulus Spending Hits $100 Billion Milestone

By CHRISTOPHER FLAVELLE
ProPublica

Stimulus Spending Status Bar: ProPublica
Federal agencies have now spent more than $100 billion on contracts, grants, loans, and entitlements, according to Recovery.gov, the site mandated by Congress to track stimulus spending. Combined with the $62.5 billion in tax relief that’s already out the door, total outlays are slightly more than 20 percent of the stimulus package passed by Congress in February.

The $100-billion milestone is a symbolic one. Moreover, as we’ve noted in this space before, the pace of stimulus spending has declined in recent months, from about $1.3 billion daily in its first 100 days to about $570 million a day in September, as large block grants to states gave way to smaller (and slower) spending projects. So while it took seven months for federal agencies to spend their first $100 billion, the next $100 billion may be a longer time coming.

Democratization Of Iran Should Be The Only Real Option On The Table In US-Iran Talks

By SHAHRIAR SHAHABI
Paltalk News Network

DUBAI - We know that the Obama administration has sent out all the right signals since the president took office in January, 2009. Heck, his sincerity was so overwhelming in his celebratory message to the Iranian people on Norouz (the Persian New Year) that it felt like Iran and the United States have been pals forever. It was a good gesture to winning the hearts and minds of Iranians but then came the strings attached.
Shahabi:
The U.S. administration then connected the soft campaign to what was labeled as “transactional diplomacy” which is code for “let’s get down to business”. Fine, the United States wants to befriend Iran and do business. However, anyone who has taken international business 101 will tell you that to engage in a productive, profitable and friendly bilateral trade relations requires prerequisites the most important of which for Iran means having a stable democratic political system.

Now some would argue that America already does business with nondemocratic countries in the Middle East such as Saudi Arabia, but make no mistake, Iran is no Saudi Arabia and even the Saudi’s would tell you today that they are not happy with the nature of their relationship with the U.S. so that’s not the kind of relationship we are talking about establishing between the two countries, at least I hope not.

So, now that U.S.–Iran talks are to get underway, the Obama administration needs to focus its efforts on pushing for a relationship with Iran based on common principles and common values and the only way to achieve this objective in my view is to push for the democratization of Iran.

How the United States should proceed for meeting this objective:

Rather than putting the focus on Iran’s nuclear development and its enrichment program I would argue that the US negotiation team work its way up to that point by addressing the following key points.

a) Calling the government in Tehran on the election fraud. This way the coup regime sitting on the opposite side of the negotiation table will know that the United States is not in this discussion to appease the coup regime and that it does not recognize this government as the legitimate representative of the people of Iran in its present form.

This sets the tone that despite the election results America is serious about engaging with Iran and the Iranian people who want better ties with America and if the coup regime cannot deliver on bridging this relationship, the people of Iran (the green movement) are willing to do so (the chants of down with Russia, down with China and down with the dictator as opposed to death to America which the regime was calling for post June 12th 2009 is a clear indication of the present mood in Iran).

b) Show strength of conviction. The coup government in Tehran believes that the United States has been weakened as a result of the global economic meltdown and its lackluster performances in Iraq and Afghanistan. They have used this propaganda so much for domestic consumption that they actually have come to believe that America is no match for Iran. Therefore, the United States must demonstrate that its political, economic and military will can out last Iran’s mischief if the coup government decides to cause trouble in the region as a means to divert global attention. This again brings the focus back onto Iran and will not allow the coup government of Ahmadinejad to present an alternative new world order model which it seems to do under an Islamic system and life form (this new world order was presented by Ahmadinejad in brief during his speech at the UN general assembly).

c) THIS IS KEY - Demand democratization. Make it clear that as a first step to economic cooperation Iran must a) adhere to human rights laws which means putting into place political and social freedoms as defined by the oxford political dictionary and NOT the regimes interpretation of democracy and social justice, b) democratize its political system to a secular multiparty system as a guarantee for political stability in the country if the United States is going to invest in a long term diplomatic and business relationship with Iran, and c) move towards liberalizing the economy (the break-up of state monopolies). The message should be that America does business best with countries that share the same values and principles as her, and I can tell you from personal experience that Iran and America have a lot in common. And finally,

d) Display sincerity in a win-win strategy. Make it clear that if Iran implements a democratic system America is ready to talk about lifting existing sanctions, helping Iran with economic modernization plans and the development and enhancement of its nuclear plants for peaceful purposes. The Ahmadinejad coup regime MUST understand it has a credibility problem that is in dire both domestically and internationally and until it cleans up its act “transactional diplomacy” will not mean a thing. America must also make one other important point clear and that is the United States is ready to walk away from the negotiation table and take this discussion directly to the Iranian people which would then bear the following consequences to the Ahmadinejad coup government:

a. The denouncement of the Ahmadinejad coup government as the legitimate representatives of the Iranian people
b. The creation of a blockade on Iran’s core industry by placing sanctions on its oil exports and petroleum imports.
c. The blockade all financial assets of the coup regime in foreign banks.
d. Travel restrictions on the coup regimes top 100 people, And
e. Offering moral support to the forces within Iran that are ready to bring about political stability in the country and promote better relations with the free world.

In my view the worst thing America can do now that dialogue with Iran is about to commence is to break off talks and replace it with UN backed sanction without teeth or alternatively allow an Israeli air attack on Iran. Going to war with a people that have great admiration for America and the American people is a tragedy in US Middle East foreign policy and if that does happen the United States will have handed Iran over to the Russians and the Chinese in a platter and diminished its influence in the region forever.

--

Shahriar Shahabi is a Middle East political strategist and Paltalk News Network correspondent

Israeli Reaction To Iran Missile Tests

By JOEL LEYDEN
Israel News Agency

JERUSALEM - As Iran test fires missiles on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur - missiles capable of hitting Israel, Saudi Arabia, Europe and U.S. bases - Saudi Arabia has granted the use of their air space to Israel to take out Iran nuclear facilities.

According to the Daily Express, the director of England MI6 discussed a mutual defense against Iran in London with Israel Mossad Director Meir Dagan and security officials from Saudi Arabia. The meeting between the UK, Israel and the Saudis took place after British INTEL discovered the plant, in the side of a mountain near the ancient Iran city of Qom.

Diplomatic sources say that the Iran nuclear site could hold 3,000 centrifuges, capable of making enough enriched uranium to build a nuclear bomb each year.

The Iran second nuclear weapons producing site is seen as a real-time threat by Israel and Saudi Arabia. John Bolton, America’s former UN ambassador, recently told a meeting of intelligence analysts that “Riyadh certainly approves” of Israel using of Saudi Arabia airspace for either air or missile ground to ground attacks against Iran.

As much of Israel was joining in prayer for their most sacred Jewish holiday, the Iran Revolutionary Guard successfully launched the Shahab-3 missile, which is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and has a range of up to 1,200 miles. The Iran Shahab-3 missile would put Israel, most Arab states and parts of Europe, including much of Turkey, within its strike range.

Iran Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi, afraid of an Israel military response today said: "If this happens, an attack by Israel, which of course we do not foresee, its ultimate result would be that it expedites the Zionist regime's last breath," said on state television.

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi said the missile tests were not a response to international pressure on the country's nuclear program. They were, he said, part of Sacred Defense Week's annual military exercises to commemorate Iran's war with Iraq in the 1980s.

Israel is prepared to use a preemptive military strike to stop Iran from developing an atomic weapon.

In 1981, Israel bombed a French-built nuclear plant near Iraq's capital, Baghdad, knowing that it was designed to make nuclear weapons to destroy Israel.

It was the world's first air strike against a nuclear plant.

An undisclosed number of Israel Defense Forces F-15 interceptors and F-16 fighter bombers destroyed the Osirak reactor 18 miles south of Baghdad, on the orders of Israel Prime Minister Menachem Begin.

Iran, which says its nuclear work is for peaceful power generation, has often shrugged off the possibility of any such strikes.

Vahidi, a former Revolutionary Guards commander, said that in the event of an Israeli attack its "lifespan, which is today coming to an end, would be sped up."

He added that the "Zionist regime," the term Iran uses for Israel, was on a "slope of destruction".

Iran's hardline president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has also repeatedly predicted Israel's downfall while denying that the Holocaust ever took place.

"Israel knew days before about today's launch of the Iran Shahab-3 missile," said an Israel security analyst.

"They perceive Israel as weak and are probing the Israel Defense Forces and her allies reactions. This is nothing more and nothing less than psychological war fare operations by Iran. With the US, Canada, Western Europe, Russia and many Arab states now joining forces against Iran, Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is doing all he can to show the citizens of Iran that he is still in power."

"The Iran missile testing today was not for Israel, the US or Saudi Arabia consumption but produced for Iran TV where it was advertised, and shown over and over again to Iran citizens. Discontented and outraged citizens of Iran who had a recent election stolen from them. An election where they would have voted in democracy. All the same, Israel has remained on high alert before, during and after Yom Kippur through our powerful and experienced navy, air force and ground forces."

Israel IDF chief of the general staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi responded by saying that “the possibility of Iran becoming a nuclear power is a threat not only to the State of Israel, but for the Middle East and the entire free world.”

“We all understand that the best way of coping with Iran is through international sanctions. I hope that Iran will understand this. I think that if not, Israel has the right to defend itself, and all options are open. The IDF's working premise is that we have to be prepared for that possibility, and that is exactly what we are doing.”

Obama Wants To Extend School Year

By GARY BAUMGARTEN
Paltalk News Network

If President Obama has his way, the lyrics of the songs "School's Out" and "See You In September" may have to be revised to, "Schools Out for July" and "See You In August."

The president believes that the school year must be increased, that schools need to be open longer each day and that they should be open on weekends for activities so that children have a safe place to go.
Plan to fill halls more often: http://bit.ly/3XV4MU
Obama acknowledges that his suggestion isn't widely popular - not even with his own children. But he says the change must be made in order to make the United States more competitive.

I've long been an advocate of keeping schools open late so that children and even others in the community could have a safe place to go for structured activity. There are far too many latchkey children running around unsupervised in our nation's cities and towns. But budgetary concerns have made keeping schools open for non-educational activities less than appealing to school districts.

Then there's the issue of teacher contracts. This latest proposal to change the status quo in the country may run contrary to contracts - and may upset the very teacher's unions that supported him in his bid for the presidency.

It's a noble goal but one that will likely create even more opposition like that we've seen over Obama's health reform proposal.

Obama is far from an unintelligent man. Perhaps he feels that because there are no guarantees of a second term that he must push an agenda that challenges business as usual in the United States. If nothing else, he's raising awareness and sparking debate. And maybe opening minds to the possibility of the kind of change he pledged during his campaign.

Iran Claims Missile Tests Not A Threat To Neighbors

An Iranian air force commander is maintaining that today's tests of three short range missiles, and tonight's scheduled testing of medium range rockets and tomorrow's scheduled test of long range missiles, are not a threat to that nation's neighbors.

The Iranian Student News Agency quotes Revolutionary Guard Air Force Brigadier General Hossein Salami as saying they are being fired only to show other nations that might show "malevolence" toward Iran that they are prepared to respond "quickly through tough and strong reaction."

Iran's long range missiles have the capability of reaching Israel.

The Problem With The Case Against Zazi - No Bombs

By GARY BAUMGARTEN
Paltalk News Network

The feds say they thwarted the largest terrorist attack against the United States since September 11, 2001 with the arrest of Afghan national Najibullah Zazi. They have evidence, apparently circumstantial in nature, of a plot. Based on writings they found on a laptop computer. They have backpacks ceased in raids of homes he visited in Queens. But what they don't have are the bombs Zazi purportedly was going to direct at New York targets.

The government has let it be known that at least a dozen alleged confederates remain at large, and, it's possible, that at least one of those suspects may have the bombs or the bomb making material. But so far: nothing.

Police and federal agents even raided storage facilities in a bid to find the elusive explosives.

It may very well be true that Zazi was, as charged, preparing a massive attack, or even series of attacks, on New York City. And that those attacks were timed to coincide with the anniversary of 9/11. But without the smoking gun - in this case the bombs or bomb making material - the government's case is weak.

It's true that the government alleges that Zazi had been searching beauty supply shops for materials that could be used in making bombs. No doubt, as they tailed him, those visits raised alarms for the agents who were watching him.

It's a tough balance that faces law enforcement when it comes to investigating alleged terror plots. If you move in too quickly, you risk not having enough evidence to build a successful case. If you wait too long, you risk the lives of hundreds, maybe thousands of people.

I doubt that the agents were involved in a wild goose chase. There's no way they would put the kind of time, effort and resources into this investigation if they weren't very certain that a terrorist plot was in the making. And they wouldn't have moved in as swiftly as they did had they not feared the consequences of just watching a little bit longer.

So for that, we thank them. They can sleep with the knowledge that they probably thwarted - once again - a terrorist attack on the United States. But that will never be enough for the men and women who dedicate their lives to protecting the rest of us. They won't be satisfied, nor will they rest, until they have the evidence in hand, and the alleged co-conspirators in custody.

More Job Seekers Than Jobs In USA

By GARY BAUMGARTEN
Paltalk News Network

If you're out of work and frustrated that you just can't find a job, you're not alone.

The number of people seeking jobs outpaces the number of available jobs in record numbers.

President Obama eluded to this when he said that, while the economy is showing improvement, the number of people unemployed would likely grow before the job market gets better. Funny how they say the economy is improving, the stock market is rebounding, yet people who have been thrust onto the unemployment line still can't find jobs. What's up with that?

No Jobs: http://bit.ly/2awdUE

The other day I interviewed Sue Kelly who runs the food bank for Monmouth and Ocean Counties in New Jersey. During the show she told the story of a welder who has always provided for his family but who was injured on the job and lost his leg and can no longer work. This proud, fine man, is now availing himself of services at the food bank.

What she didn't relate on the air was the story of a Wall Street couple who purchased their dream home on a river and were the envy of all their friends and relatives. Then the bottom fell out - they found themselves out of work - and now - despite living in their luxury home in a decidedly upscale neighborhood are visiting the food bank in order to eat.

I'm glad the economy is rebounding and there's, supposedly, a light at the end of the tunnel. But where are the jobs?

Iran Flexes Military Muscle

I suppose it was inevitable.

Yesterday Iran said it will open the doors to its second, previously secret, nuclear facility to United Nations inspectors. Today it test fires short range missiles.

The tests were Iran's way of reminding the rest of the world that it continues to have military might - and that it would use that strength to protect itself should it come under attack.

Iran, like all nations, has the right to defend itself. But the timing of the firing begs the question. If the nuclear facility is designed for peaceful energy purposes, then why does Tehran have to show its military might?

There would be no reason to attack Iran if the country complies - first by giving the inspectors free and unfettered access to the facility. Second, to take steps to ensure the world that it no longer is pursuing a nuclear weapons option.

Iran is saying the right things, suddenly, as the world becomes aware of the second plant. But its actions paint a different picture indeed.

Ahmadinejad: Door To Nuke Plant Open

UN Photo/Marco Castro

By GARY BAUMGARTEN
Paltalk News Network

Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is saying today that he is willing to open the doors to the second nuclear plant that was revealed yesterday by President Obama, French President Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Brown.

Ahmdinejad previously told CNN's Larry King that he had reported the existence of the facility to the International Atomic Energy Agency and that its development was not, as Obama indicated, covert.

Iran is scheduled to meet October 1 with the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and Germany to discuss the United Nations demand that it comply with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Better Late Than Never

While Ahmadinejad's claim that he had properly reported the second facility lacks veracity, his pledge to open the facility to IAEA inspection now is welcome news. Perhaps its indicative of Iran's willingness to finally comply with UN resolutions. But one thing President Obama said when he addressed reporters at the G20 Summit about the second nuclear enrichment complex remains troubling. The president indicated that the facility is too large for its purpose to be the creation of energy.

It's imperative that the IAEA get free and unfettered access, and quickly, to determine whether Iran is attempting to build nuclear weapons as feared or if the facility is designed to create energy for the Iranian people. The former, is of course, prohibited, the latter is allowed.

President Obama is expected to give Iran three months to comply. But the more prudent course of action would be to demand that the IAEA get immediate access. If there's nothing there to hide, then Iran should have no objection to letting them in now.

Goldenseal Performs At The Stone Pony

Goldenseal, the band that performed on News Talk Online on Paltalk.com Sept. 22, played for runners at the famed Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ marking the end of a 15K relay to raise money for the Monmouth and Ocean County Food Bank.

Why The Sudden, Urgent Revelation Of Iran's 2nd Nuke Plant?

White House Photo, Pete Soza

Yesterday, after President Obama, French President Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown gave statements to reporters at the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh about newly revealed evidence that Iran had a second, undeclared, nuclear facility, I asked some tough questions both here and on News Talk Online on Paltalk.com.

I wanted to know why, if intelligence agencies were aware of this second program for two years now, they waited until now to make it public. And why the International Atomic Energy Agency wasn't made aware of it so it could demand access.

A reporter asked Obama the same question directly during his afternoon news conference at the G20, and the president responded that they wanted to be perfectly certain the intel was correct before announcing it to the world.

But the McClatchy newspapers, in an analysis today, offers another possible explanation. The announcement was purposely timed, the piece says, to coincide with the United Nations Security Council meeting on non-proliferation that was chaired by Obama and with the G20.

It also, the analysis suggests, coincides with the October 1st meeting between the permanent members of the Security Council and Germany with Iran to discuss that nation's continued non-compliance.

In other words, the analysis suggests, it was not, as I had argued, a failing of the world leaders to disclose this threat before, but part of a brilliantly calculated strategy to force Iran's compliance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, meanwhile, denies that his country hid anything, protesting to CNN's Larry King that the second plant had been dutifully reported to the IAEA.

Phantom School Districts Tagged For Stimulus Dollars

By Jennifer LaFleur

ProPublica

Hillcrest Rural Schools in north-central Kansas is set to get nearly $7,000 in federal stimulus money to help its disadvantaged students. Only one glitch: The district doesn’t exist anymore. It closed in 2006 when it was merged into another nearby district.

Hillcrest was one of nearly 14,000 school districts or local education agencies nationwide that the U.S. Department of Education reported would get stimulus funds under its Title I program.

But some of those districts are phantoms because they were dissolved or merged.

In Kansas, 11 school districts that no longer exist are on the U.S. Department of Education’s distribution list for stimulus funds. They are set to receive nearly $600,000.

We found these school districts when Kirby Ross, managing editor of the Phillips County Review in Phillipsburg, Kan., alerted us that our county-by-county stimulus tracker included two districts in his area that didn’t exist. That prompted us to do some more digging.

We checked more states and found that other consolidated or dissolved districts were on the list. In Missouri and Iowa, a handful of closed districts were listed as receiving stimulus funding.

That doesn’t mean stimulus checks will be arriving to empty buildings. In instances where money is allocated to a closed district, it typically is divvied up among the districts where the students now attend.

States must notify the Department of Education when districts are dissolved or merged. We asked the Department of Education why the list of districts receiving stimulus funds included closed districts, but we did not hear back. We’ll let you know when we do.

We’ll update our data once states know how the funds will be redistributed. In the meantime, if you browse our list and notice money going to closed districts in your area, please let us know.

News Talk Online September 25, 2009: The G20 Summit

We carried President Obama's G20 summit closing news conference live from Pittsburgh and received a report from a fire department medic assigned to the summit to treat protesters suffering from pepper spray on today's News Talk Online on Paltalk.com.

As anticipated, the bulk of the news conference concentrated on today's revelation that Iran has been hiding the existence of a second uranium enrichment facility in violation of United Nations resolutions. Obama said the international community, including all the permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany are in agreement that Iran must comply with resolutions or face tough sanctions. In answer to a reporter's question, Obama said he did not rule out a military option but hoped that united pressure on Iran would result in a diplomatic solution instead.

The 2010 Vote, Is The Rig Up?

Cartoon By M.e. Cohen / Humorlink.com

By Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman

The Rag Blog

Unless U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder intervenes, your electronic vote in 2010 will probably be owned by the Republican-connected ES&S Corporation. With 80% ownership of America's electronic voting machines, ES&S could have the power to shape America's future with a few proprietary keystrokes.

ES&S has just purchased the voting machine division of the Ohio-based Diebold, whose role in fixing the 2004 presidential election for George W. Bush is infamous.

Critics of the merger hope Holder will rescind the purchase on anti-trust grounds.

But only a transparent system totally based on hand-counted paper ballots, with universal automatic voter registration, can get us even remotely close to a reliable vote count in the future.

For even if Holder does void this purchase, ES&S and Diebold in tandem will still control four of every five votes cast on touchscreen machines. As the U.S. Supreme Court seems poised to open the floodgates on corporate campaign spending, the only difference could be that those who would buy our elections will have to write two checks instead of one.

And in fact, it's even worse than that. ES&S, Diebold and a tiny handful of sibling Republican voting equipment and computing companies control not only the touchscreen machines, but also the electronic tabulators that count millions of scantron ballots, AND the electronic polling books that decide who gets to vote and who doesn't.

Let's do a quick review:

ES&S, Diebold and other companies tied to election hardware and software are owned and operated by a handful of very wealthy conservatives, or right-to-life ideologues, with long-standing direct ties to the Republican Party;

As votes will be increasingly cast on optiscans, touchscreens or computer voting machines in the United States in 2010, the scant few so-called paper trail mechanisms that are in place will offer little security against electronic vote theft;

The source code on all U.S. touchscreen machines now used for the casting and counting of ballots is proprietary, meaning the companies that own and operate the machines -- including ES&S -- are not required to share with the public the details of how those machines actually work;

Although there are official mechanisms for monitoring and recounts, none carry any real weight in the face of the public's inability to gain control or even access to this electronic source code, whose proprietary standing has been upheld by the courts;

With the newly merged ES&S/Diebold now apparently controlling 80% of the national vote through hardware and software, this GOP-connected corporation will have the power to alter virtually every election in the U.S. with a few keystrokes. Unless there is a massive, successful grassroots campaign between now and 2012, the same will hold true for the next US presidential election;

Aside from its control of touchscreen machines, the merged Diebold/ES&S also controls a significant percent of the electronic optiscan tabulators to count cards on which voters use pencils to fill in circles, indicating their vote. Accounts of fraud, rigging, theft and abuse of these optiscan systems arewell-documented and innumerable. Any corporation that prints these ballots and runs the machines designated to count them can control yet another major piece of the US vote count;

The merged ES&S/Diebold now also controls the electronic voter registration systems in many counties and states. With that control comes the ability to remove registered voters without significant public accountability. In the 2004 election, nearly 25% of all the registered voters in the Democratic-rich city of Cleveland were purged, including 10,000 voters erased "accidentally" by a Diebold electronic pollbook system. So in addition to controlling the vote counts on touchscreen and optiscan voting machines, the merged Diebold/ES&S and sympathetic hardware and software companies that service computerized voting equipment will control who actually gets to cast a vote in the first place.

Lest we forget: in 2000, long before this ES&S/Diebold purchase was proposed, Choicepoint, a GOP-controlled data management firm, hired by Florida’s Republican Secretary of State Katherine Harris, removed up to 150,000 Florida citizens from voter rolls on the pretense that they were ex-felons. The vast majority of them were not.

Computer software "disappeared" 16,000 votes from Al Gore's column at a critical moment on election night, allowing George W. Bush’s first cousin John Ellis, a Fox News analyst, to proclaim him the winner. The election was officially decided by less than 700 votes and a 5-4 Supreme Court vote preventing a full recount. An independent audit later showed Gore was the rightful winner.

In 2004, more than 300,000 Ohio citizens were removed from voter rolls by GOP-controlled county election boards (more than one million have been removed since).

Various dirty tricks prevented still tens of thousands more Ohioans from voting. The vote count was marred by a wide range of official manipulations coordinated by then-Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell.

Diebold was a major player in the 2004 Ohio elections, but was joined by numerous other computer voting firms and their technicians in "recounting the vote" which confirmed the Bush "victory," despite exit poll results and other evidence to the contrary. In defiance of a federal court order, 56 of 88 Ohio counties destroyed some or all of their ballots or election records. No one has been prosecuted.

In short, the ES&S purchase of Diebold's voting machine operation is merely the tip of a toxic iceberg. Voiding the merger will do nothing to solve the REAL problem, which is an electronic-based system of voter registration and ballot counting that is potentially controlled by private corporations and contractors whose agenda is to make large profits and protect the system that guarantees them.

Although elections based on universal automatic registration and hand-counted paper ballots are not foolproof, they constitute a start. Stealing an election by stuffing paper ballot boxes at the "retail" level is far more difficult than stealing votes at the "wholesale" level with an electronic flip of a switch.

As it's done in numerous other countries throughout the world, the only realistic means by which the U.S. can establish a democratic system of ballot casting and counting is to do it the old-fashioned way. With human-scale checks and balances we might even be secure in the knowledge that our elections and vote counts will truly reflect the will of the people. What a concept!

[Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman have co-authored four books on election protection, available at freepress.org at, where this article also appears, and where Bob's Fitrakis Files are also available. Harvey Wasserman's History of the U.S. is at harveywasserman.com.]

Swine Flu Update September 26, 2009

The European Union's drug agency has endorsed the quick approval of two swine flu vaccines.

Swine flu vaccines will be available soon in the United States.

The number of swine flu vaccine doses available will be double what was originally expected.

And in Mexico where public gatherings were limited during the first swine flu outbreak the decision was made to leave stadiums open even as a second wave of the influenza begins to take hold.

Iran's Nuclear Capabilities And Obama's Culpability

White House Photo, Pete Souz

It came to light, overnight, that Iran has a second nuclear enrichment facility that had not been reported to the International Atomic Energy Agency, had not been monitored by the IAEA, and had not been mentioned in any public assessment of Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

The revelation prompted statements of concern from President Obama, French President Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Brown at the G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh at which they expressed the urgent need for Iran to come into compliance with United Nations resolutions or face consequences - whatever that means.

All well and good. But in his remarks to the assembled reporters, Obama revealed two things. One, that the United States and other nations have been aware of this facility for two years. And, two, that the facility is large - inconsistent, the president says, with one that is merely designed for peaceful energy needs.

So here are the questions for the leaders of the free world and their predecessors. If you were aware of these facts for two years, why is the world just learning about them now? And why hadn't the IAEA publicly demanded access to this facility over the past two years?

God forbid Iran develops a nuclear weapon and either directly or through its terrorist surrogates launches attacks on Israel or any other nation. The government and UN officials who were aware of their obvious aspirations and - not only did nothing about them - but were culpable through their silent cover up will have blood on their hands.

Another Iran Nuclear Enrichment Plant Revealed

It seems that concerns about Iran having a hidden nuclear enrichment plant - out of the eyes of the International Atomic Energy Agency, were not unfounded after all.

The BBC is reporting that Iran sent a letter to the IAEA earlier this week finally acknowledging the existence of the plant.

The revelation raises the specter that Iran has, as has been feared, been secretly developing nuclear weapons despite its claim that it only wants to develop nuclear powered energy. If it were the latter, as Iran claims, rather than the former, then there'd be no reason to hide this other plant from IAEA inspectors.

Jordanian Busted In Alleged Dallas Terror Plot

Fountain Place

Hosam Maher Husein Smadi, 19, has been arrested and charged in a federal criminal complaint with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction.

Smadi, who was under continuous surveillance by the FBI, was arrested today near Fountain Place, a 60-story glass office tower in downtown Dallas, after, the U.S. Attorney's Office says, he placed an inert/inactive car bomb at the location. Smadi, a Jordanian citizen in the U.S. illegally, lived and worked in Italy, Texas. He has allegedly repeatedly expressed his desire to commit violent jihad and has been the focus of an undercover FBI investigation.

“The highest priority of the FBI and the Department of Justice remains the prevention of another terrorist attack within the United States,” said U.S. Attorney James Jacks.

According to affidavits filed today, the FBI was aware that Smadi had been talking about conducting terror attacks in the United States. Undercover FBI agents, posing as members of an al Qaeda “sleeper” cell, were introduced to Smadi, who repeatedly indicated to them that he came to the U.S. for the specific purpose of committing “Jihad for the sake of God” and against the enemies of Islam.

Throughout the investigation, undercover FBI agents repeatedly encouraged Smadi to reevaluate his interpretation of jihad, counseling him that the obligations a Moslem has to perform jihad can be satisfied in many ways. Every time this interaction occurred, Smadi aggressively responded that he was going to commit significant, conspicuous acts of violence as his jihad.

According to the complaint, Smadi asked an undercover FBI agent to drive him to Fountain Place and then went inside a Wells Fargo Bank in the building to conduct reconnaissance. He later told an FBI agent that he had first intended to bomb the building on September 11 but decided to wait until after Ramadan which ended September 20. At the meeting, Smadi allegedly said that he would park a bomb-laden vehicle next to the office tower. The undercover agents made sure that when he did it, the vehicle actually contained an inert explosive device.

Despite the similarities between this case and one in Springfield, Illinois, the FBI concluded that there was no connection and that Smadi was acting alone and is not part of any terrorist group.

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Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/akumar/3152092128/

Man Charged In Alleged Plot To Blow Up Illinois Federal Building

Michael C. Finton, also known as "Talib Islam," has been arrested on attempted murder of federal employees and attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction charges in connection with an alleged plot to detonate a vehicle bomb outside the federal building in Springfield, IL.

In his alleged efforts to carry out the plot, Finton ultimately dealt with undercover FBI agents and confidential sources who kept him under surveillance until he was arrested.

According to the criminal complaint, Finton drove a vehicle containing inactive explosives to the Paul Findley Federal Building and Courthouse in Springfield and attempted to detonate them.

Finton, 29, a resident of Decatur, Ill., is charged in the complaint with one count of attempted murder of federal officers or employees and attempted use a weapon of mass destruction. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. Finton made his initial appearance today in federal court in Springfield.

“This alleged plot drives home the stark reality that we must avoid complacency and remain ever vigilant to the threats that violent extremists may pose to public safety,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Jeffrey B. Lang. “A number of different law enforcement agencies and officers worked closely together to avert the potential tragedy alleged in the complaint.”

According to the affidavit filed in court, Finton was previously arrested on a parole violation. At the time of his arrest, authorities learned that Finton had written a letter to John Walker Lindh, an American who was captured fighting for the Taliban and is imprisoned on terrorism violations.

The affidavit alleges that after his release from prison on the parole violation, Finton received money from Saudi Arabia and used the money to travel there. After he returned, last year, Finton told a confidential law enforcement informant that he wanted to receive military training and intended to then travel to Gaza or some other overseas location to become a jihadist fighter.

In February 2009, Finton was introduced to an undercover FBI special officer posing as a low-level al-Qaeda operative. According to the affidavit, Finton expressed his desire to receive military training at a camp and to fight in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia or other locations. Then, according to the affidavit, Finton began talking about targeting locations in the United States, finally settling on the Findley Federal Building as his primary target and declared U.S. Congressman Aaron Schock's Springfield office as a secondary target.

The affidavit alleges that on Aug. 14, 2009, Finton and the undercover officer made a video recording in which Finton explained his political rationale for attacking the United States. Days later, Finton allegedly made two more videos in which he spoke of his belief that America is at war with Islam.

On Sept. 1, 2009, Finton met with the undercover FBI officer and was told the vehicle for the attack would be carrying close to one ton of explosives. According to the affidavit, Finton indicated an awareness that the bomb would cause civilian casualties but expressed his view that such casualties were justified. Unbeknownst to Finton, the FBI ensured that the vehicle for the attack contained no actual explosive materials.

The affidavit alleges that yesterday, Finton drove a van containing what he understood to be explosive material and parked it directly in front of the northwest corner of the federal building. Finton got out of the van, locked the door and got into another vehicle driven by the undercover FBI officer and drove away. Within a few blocks of the federal building, Finton made a cell phone call to remotely detonate the purported bomb in the van. FBI agents arrested Finton immediately after he attempted to detonate the device.