The Gary Baumgarten Report

Take THAT New England!

2012-01-30T13:46:00.003-05:00

Another sign that New York - is ready for the Patriots this Super Bowl Sunday.

I spotted this giant Giant on E. 35th Street in Midtown Manhattan

GOP national committeeman-elect guest on News Talk Online on the Paltalk News Network

2012-01-24T11:51:00.001-05:00

Recently elected GOP National Committeeman Peter Feaman will join Gary Baumgarten on News Talk Online on the Paltalk News Network today to discuss the upcoming Florida primary.

A distinguished trial attorney in Florida for 30 years, Feaman owns his own firm and was appointed to the 15th Judicial Circuit Nominating Commission and the Fourth District Court of Appeal Nominating Commission.

Feaman has successfully litigated and defended high profile cases involving his clients and radical Islamist groups in the U.S. His latest book, The Next Nightmare: How Stealth Jihad and America's Indifference Endanger Freedom Everywhere, features a foreword by Rep. Allen West whose name has been mentioned as a possible vice presidential candidate.

Click here to join in the conversation at 5 PM New York time.

Clash of Titans during latest GOP debate

2012-01-24T02:33:00.001-05:00

Rick Santorum and Ron Paul sometimes just bystanders, the focus during Monday night's GOP debate between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich. Romney on the attack, accusing Gingrich of influence peddling.

Romney explaining to moderator Brian Williams that he took the high road in South Carolina - but by doing so he took a lot of unanswered punches. No more, he said.

Facebook bullies

2012-01-06T18:07:00.001-05:00

Today I blocked three people from my Facebook account.

Actually, to be more precise, I blocked three screen names. They all could be the same person. If not, one is a person, the other two parrots.

At any rate, I blocked them, not because of their political viewpoint. But because they have been bullying other people.

They, or she (as I say I suspect it is one person), refused to relent. Despite public pleas to attack issues not people. Despite personal messages I sent her, or them.

Of course, the minute I did a brand new screen name was created on Facebook. A name that started posting on my wall. Supporting her, or them, and accusing me of muting her/them because of their political point of view.

Let me be clear. I foster - encourage - on my social media sites as well as on my show, News Talk Online on the Paltalk News Network, diverse commentary - multiple points of view. Whether I agree with those viewpoints or not.

What I do NOT encourage is bullying.

There've been a number of stories about Internet bullying of teenagers recently - teenagers who have actually committed suicide. The bullies have been their peers. There's been a lot of discourse discouraging that behavior among teens. What we haven't seen - as much - is discussion about adults behaving like children who bully other adults. The words are just as hurtful as if they were slung at younger people.

I don't like to be put in the position of policing content on my sites. But I've had enough. Sometimes circumstances force us to take a stand. So take a stand I am.

No more will I just let it fly. On my sites, when I see it, I will remove it and if the person persists I will preclude them from participating.

On other sites, when I see it, I will voice my objection.

I encourage you to do so as well.

Preparing Times Square for New Year's Eve

2011-12-30T07:52:00.000-05:00

I was walking through Times Square in the pre-dawn hours today and snapped these photos of how it looks now, as the workers prepare it for the 10s of thousands of people who will pack the Crossroads of the World - and the millions more who will be watching on TV and on the Internet, to ring in the New Year.

Transforming Times Square into a huge open air TV studio

Putting the finishing touches on one of the stages

The TV trucks are stationed at Times Square for live reports on New Year's Eve preparations .

Workmen were out all night erecting this stage

Stage is almost ready for New Year's Eve broadcast

Soon this area will be crawling with 10s of thousands of revelers

2 very contrasting views of Christmas gifts

2011-12-24T15:09:00.000-05:00

The images are a bit embarrassing.

In cities across the United States, people fighting in line over a chance to get the new Air Jordan $200 plus sneakers. Fights. Stabbings. Pepper spraying. Arrests.

Now, contrast that with an interview I conducted at about the same time. A story that got much less attention. One that I'm sure was being played out across the nation as well.

In Hazlet, New Jersey, a decade-old charity called RAINE, answering letters from needy children. Making sure each has a Merry Christmas. At least one gift under the tree.

Many of them also have clothing on their Christmas list. Not $200 plus sneakers though. Basics. Like bras. And socks.

And one, heartbreaking case, RAINE co-founder Patti Dickens told me. A boy, nine or 10 years old, asking for a blanket and a pillow for Christmas.

Which Christmas story - the fights over sneakers or the desperate pleas of needy children, ought we be focusing on?

2 amazing women and remembering John Lennon

2011-12-09T12:02:00.002-05:00

Photo by Julie Baumgarten

Yesterday I participated in the domestic violence radio row at Liz Claiborne's Manhattan Fashion District headquarters.

Co-sponsored by Talker's Magazine, parent company of the Talk Radio News Service, the It's Time to Talk event brings radio show hosts from across the country together to talk with the nation's top experts on domestic violence.

Liz Claiborne just released a survey of college age women.

It found that nearly half of dating college women report having experienced violent or abusive threats of physical violence. More than one in five were the victims of actual physical or sexual abuse or threats of physical violence. And more than one-third of college students said they would not know how to get help on campus if they found themselves in an abusive relationship.

I had the opportunity to interview two women who are immersed in the issue of domestic violence. They come to it from two different directions.

Ann Burke is president and co-founder of the Love is Not Abuse Coalition and founder of the Lindsay Ann Burke Memorial Fund - named after her daughter - who - at the age of 21 - was murdered six years ago by an ex-boyfriend.

It was an emotional and difficult interview, I think for both Ann and myself. But it imparted to our audience so much information about the signs of abuse or impending abuse and how family and friends can best intervene and support the victim. Ann has learned through painful experience that some of the best actions and reactions to abuse may seem counter-intuitive. And that it's very important that a woman in an abusive relationship get help from one of the organizations that have been established to assist dv victims. Counselors there, she says, are more adept at helping than private therapists because they are experts in the field.

For more information or to contact Ann, go to www.labmf.org.

The second interview was fascinating. Iconic documentary photographer Donna Ferrato became intimately aware of the problems of domestic violence by taking pictures. Of abused women. Of abusive men. Of cops intervening and making arrests.

The photos are gritty, raw and bring to light the dirty secret that's hidden behind walls and doors. They put faces, sometimes beaten and battered faces, to the statistics. Her heralded book, Living with the Enemy, brings these stories to light. You can order Living with the Enemy by calling 212-367-7004.

Donna went beyond just documenting. She started Domestic Abuse Awareness, whose mission it is to end violence against women and children through awareness, education and action.

And she made an offer to the audience. To any woman in an abusive relationship. She'll put cameras up in the house and catch the abuser in the act.

Yesterday was also the anniversary of John Lennon's murder in 1980, so my daughter, her boyfriend and I gathered with others, representing multiple generations, at the Imagine mosaic at Central Park's Strawberry Fields, joining in song as musicians acoustically jammed one Lennon song after another.

A candle burned in Yoko Ono's window overlooking the park.

Facebook the new town crier?

2011-12-07T19:38:00.000-05:00

The other day I covered a horrific tragedy in Bayonne, New Jersey.

A domestic dispute - the guy walked into the house, opened fire and shot four people - three fatally - before turning the gun on himself.

As I said, a horrible, horrible story.

I got right on it, arriving while the scene was still "fresh." A small crowd had gathered. Looking for some immediate information I polled the gawkers.

"Do you know the people in that house? Did you see what happened?"

Answer: "No, I don't live on this block. I'm here because it's already on Facebook."

On Facebook?

Maybe 20, maybe 30 people, gathered at this tragic scene. Not because they have any direct connection with any of the people. But because they got the word on Facebook.

It's one thing to read about how social media motivates people - as in the Arab Spring demonstrations. It's another to see it in action.

And it's a bit humbling. That people are not just turning to the Internet for news. But to Facebook, of all places - at least for the initial burst of raw information.

I've been scooped before, of course. But never before by a program designed to keep in touch with friends.

Danny Schechter, a paranoid gunman and strip searching an elderly woman

2011-12-04T19:57:00.003-05:00

Danny Schechter the News Dissector is a frequent guest on my News Talk Online show on the Paltalk News Network. Friday I got to return the favor, appearing on his Dissector Radio show on the Progressive Radio Network along with the lovely Catherine Watters. The topic, the state of the news media today. Danny and I reflecting on how media organizations lack the resources today to investigate and put into perspective stories.

Too much he said, she said stuff going on that's passing for news coverage for our liking.

I enjoyed it and I'm hoping I've not worn out my welcome and I get another invitation. It was fun being on that side of the microphone for a change. Usually I'm the one asking the questions.

Here's the show - I come on about :40 minutes into the broadcast.

Speaking of questions, I asked a few Saturday covering the arraignment of the guy who allegedly fatally shot his girlfriend's 18-year-old son, then shot two more people - one fatally - on a Queens bus - because he thought the passengers on their cell phones were talking about him. He told the cops, according to his statement read into the record, that he believed people had been following him since September. The breaking point - when he got up that day he looked out his window and saw some people he didn't recognize.

And then, I had occasion to report about Leonore Zimmeriman. She's 84. And claims that, when she declined the full body scan at JFK because of her defibrillator and requested a pat down, the TSA folks strip searched her. The TSA denies they strip search or that this woman - who is obviously not a threat, was specifically strip searched. But she says that, somewhere in the process, her leg was banged up - and she has the marks to prove it.

An unanswered ethical question

2011-11-28T23:04:00.002-05:00

Just as I went to air today on News Talk Online on the Paltalk News Network, CNN proclaimed "Breaking News."

The big news? Yet another woman has come forward to say she had a sexual relationship with Herman Cain.

This one says she had a long-term affair with the GOP presidential hopeful. So, whether this falls into the same category of the previous allegations - that Cain inappropriately and against the will of women over which he held control or sway - remains to be seen. It prompted a discussion about the reporting of ethical and moral concerns. And whether the media are highlighting the wrong issues.

Riley from the UK called to argue that the two issues are completely different.

But Cassandra, also from the UK, argued that going to war presents a moral dilemma. She believes the news media would be better serving the public concentrating on that rather than on Cain's alleged sexual escapades.

Occupy Wall Street's a diverse bunch

2011-10-21T08:47:00.004-04:00

Photo by a c o r n/Flickr

I hung around Zuccotti Park again on Thursday afternoon trying to get a handle on the direction of the Occupy Wall Street movement.

I met so many people, there for so many different reasons.

Tracy Postert is a 40-something bio-chemist with a PhD from New York City. A former high school teacher and university professor who is well published in peer review journals. Tracy is unemployed. She was busy handing out resumes, hoping that someone might know someone who might be able to give her a job.

Postert is willing to relocate anywhere for that job, by the way. You can reach her at tracyposert@yahoo.com.

I also met a man who is an unemployed banker. He says he was let go because the bank he worked for made cutbacks. Occupy Wall Street is a place where he feels he can vent his frustrations and get a sympathetic ear.

Among the others hoping to get sympathetic ears for their causes was Carl Dix, from the Revolutionary Communist Party. His group is marching on the New York State office building in Harlem Friday and he was busy imploring some of the occupyers to join him.

Dix wasn't the only representative of an organized group attracted to the concentration of frustrated Americans in lower Manhattan. Anti-capital punishment organizations, pro-green energy groups and the Black Panthers were there too.

I also met a very articulate, interesting and engaging couple protesting the Federal Reserve, which they blame, at least in part, for the nation's current economic situation. Their low-key argument is that the Fed's policy of just printing new money whenever the government or the banks need it is counter-productive. The Fed, they say, should be eliminated.

It wasn't until we were parting company and exchanging email addresses that I learned that these two Brooklynites just recently left New York City's shelter program for the homeless.

Finally I chatted for some time with Anthony Adams, a recent college graduate from San Fransisco with two Masters degrees, one in city regional planning, the other in transportation engineering. He is - you guessed it - unemployed.

Pepper spraying NYPD commander disciplined

2011-10-19T09:42:00.000-04:00

Cops passively keeping an eye on Wall Street demonstrators. Photo by David Shankbone

It's interesting how one's point of view can color one's perceptions of entire groups of people. The Occupy Wall Street movement is a case in point.

While there is generally a culture of accommodation most of the time right now between the occupiers and the police, in the beginning, while they were feeling one another out so to speak, things were more tenuous. And it may have been that lack of comfort that led to a police commander pepper spraying some women during a march. The commander has now been disciplined.

This essay, though, is more about the human nature of those who voice their opinions about the incident and less about the incident itself.

Some people tend to grab one or two anecdotal events, color them with a little bias, and cite those events as "evidence" or "proof" that their point of view is the correct one.

There are those who have been pointing to this confrontation as affirmation of their view that the 99 percenters are a mob. Others say it underscores their contention that the cops are out-of-control and not letting protesters exercise their First Amendment rights. Both views, in my opinion, suffer the flaw that they are so myopic as to ignore the whole.

Just as the infamous photo of a Wall Street protester defecating on a police car is representative only of that person's disgusting actions, so too are the YouTube videos of Deputy Inspector Anthony Bologna pepper spraying peaceful demonstrators reflective of his decisions and actions - not the NYPD as a whole.

The Occupy Wall Street movement is in a constant state of flux. Many Americans express their inability to understand its focus. My sense is that, as time goes on, either things will become clearer or, as some have suggested, the movement will peter out.

In the meantime, we should make the small effort to not judge the whole by the few. Whether we're talking about the protesters. Or the NYPD.

Occupy Wall Street's greatest weakness may be its greatest strength

2011-10-17T20:49:00.002-04:00

Non-stop organizing at Zuccotti Park. Photo by Paul Hodara

There is no identifiable leadership. There is are no stated goals. Detractors remind us of this constantly. Facts that prove the Occupy Wall Street movement is doomed to failure. That the lack of focus is its greatest weakness.

Perhaps so. But today, after spending hours here at Zuccotti Park, Ground Zero of the movement, I'm left with the impression that this weakness is the movement's strength.

No leaders means no personalities and no clashes for power.

No stated goals means that none of those participating feel left out - for fear that their goals will be deemed unimportant.

Another point. This is not a mob. This is not an unruly bunch. There are sections set up in the park where different "departments" are headquartered to keep things orderly. For example, there's a Sanitation Department, where one can get a trash bag to keep one's claimed space clean.

Many points of view are being expressed here. All are welcome - save attacks on others.

Which brings us to the issue of antisemitism. First, there are many people identifiably Jewish participating. It's highly unlikely they would if there were an undercurrent of antisemitism. Secondly, a Jewish woman who has been down here nearly everyday says that yesterday, a guy holding an anti-Jewish sign was surrounded by a large group chanting, "He's not with us!" He didn't stick around long after that. she said.

Finally, some critics have suggested that the people here ought to get jobs and do something useful with their lives. Yes, there are a lot of unemployed people here. That's the point, they argue. They're out of work and want jobs. But the economy isn't working for them. The economy that's controlled, they say, on nearby Wall Street.

But not everyone here is young, or unemployed. Some come after work or even on their lunch breaks. Others are retired, and have the time to contribute to the cause.

Heck, I even met a retired banker who runs a whistleblower site for those in the game who want to report financial impropriety and SEC violations - which - she says from first hand experience - is common in the banking industry.

This is the one-month anniversary of the start of the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations. Some who have been here from the start aren't as frustrated as critics who keep pointing out it's unfocused. It'll find its own equilibrium, they predict. Naturally.

For now, they are just looking forward to what month two may bring.

Occupy critics, supporters find common ground

2011-10-16T15:10:00.001-04:00

Occupy Wall Street protesters disappointed equally in Democrats and Republicans. Photo by Paul Hodora

I was participating on the C2C computer show on the Paltalk News Network this morning.

After the show "officially" ends at noon on Sunday (it starts at 9 AM New York time) there's usually a general discussion. Today's was about the Occupy Wall Street movement. What do they really want? What's their goal?

But as the conversation progressed, it turns out that those who are critical of the Occupy movement for not having a focus and those who are supportive of those involved because, at least they are using the public square to bring directly to the American people their frustrations with the system, found common ground.

Here's my synopsis, influenced, I will admit, by my own bias.

There is a need for a non-partisan approach to the problems of our nation and - given yesterday's solidarity demonstrations worldwide - problems that extend beyond the borders of the United States.

No longer can we embrace one party or another. The folks on Wall Street and those demonstrating elsewhere are frustrated with a political system influenced by forces other than constituents.

It's time to run candidates who are not only non-partisan - but anti-partisan. Who go to Congress with one goal. To be citizen - not career - politicians. Representing - as this great Republic was designed to do - their various constituencies.

No goal at Occupy Wall Street? Maybe not. But if nothing beyond this message gets out and resonates - no other goal will be necessary.

Undocumented immigrants won't be kicked out of school in Alabama just yet

2011-10-14T14:10:00.001-04:00

Undocumented immigrants are still permitted to fill seats at this Birmingham, Alabama high school - at least for now

Provisions of a controversial immigration law in Alabama have been struck down by a federal court.

The ruling puts on hold implementation of the law until the broader constitutional issues can be resolved.

That means that undocumented immigrants can still go to school and get driver’s licenses in Alabama.

The ruling also puts on hold a provision which would authorize the state to hold illegal immigrants without bond.

Airplanes too close for comfort

2011-10-14T12:55:00.002-04:00

2 planes coming in for a landing at San Francisco International Airport. Photo by Jose P Isern Comas

WASHINGTON – The Government Accountability Office is sounding an alarm about planes – not just the air but also on the ground – that have come close to hitting one another.

The GAO acknowledges that the nation’s aviation system is arguably the safest in the world. But says close calls involving aircraft or other vehicles at or near airports are common, occurring almost daily.

The Federal Aviation Administration provides oversight of the terminal area and has taken action to improve safety. But, the GAO notes, the FAA is still being pressured by the National Transportation Safety Board and to take additional steps to improve its oversight. The GAO report concurs.

The report recommends that the FAA extend oversight of terminal area safety to include runway overruns and ramp areas and that it develop risk-based measures for runway safety incidents. It also suggests that the FAA improve information sharing about incidents.

Cheers erupt at Zuccotti Park

2011-10-14T12:54:00.002-04:00

Protesters cleaned the park, averting a confrontation Friday morning. Photo by Neil Girling

By JACK BROWN

The cheers were audible from a couple of blocks away. There were people coming by foot and bike and train. There was network media and numerous independent documentors among and at the perimeter of the crowds numbering thousands.

The people’s mic was relaying the speaker’s words with sporadic results.

The occupiers had spent a hard rain night before it broke around 4 a.m. Some sought shelter in neighboring establishments until the NYPD ushered them out.

Sleep deprivation prevailed.

At the west end of the park opposite the Broadwayside orange “thingy” sculpture, occupiers were hard scrubbing the pavement. The new laws passed said occupiers could not lie down or use sleeping bags. In the opinion of one occupier that wasn’t so bad since it could reduce the appearance of it being a “flop.”

People I spoke with said they had homes or places to sleep and shower and recover. Sustainability was the word.

At about 6:50 the People’s Microphone conveyed the word that Brookfield Properties had decided to not to force the issue. To not remove the occupiers to clean the already rain washed and occupier scrubbed outdoor digs.

There was a loud cheer at the news. Fatigue and adrenalin.

One brother said the inner city neighborhoods were bubbling with talk. Interest growing. There had been much disappointment in the past. But when the threshold was reached “watch out.” The crowds would swell. There was talk of how to keep the energy focussed and effective. There was talk of building bridges with the Tea Party.

Saturday promises to be a day of direct action with marches from Washington Square Park to Time Square and other locations. A day of rage. Arrests anticipated.

People were relieved there was no physical confrontation over the park. Brookfield and the Bloomberg administration decided that discretion was the better part of oligarchic valor. At least temporarily.

Bloomberg, like Berlusconi, who is standing today for a vote of confidence which could force his resignation, has been able to buy influence and work his profitable will. They don’t want to rock the boat or have the boat be rocked.

Plea for international intervention as Syria death toll tops 3,000

2011-10-14T10:08:00.003-04:00

Killings haven't quelled anti-government demonstrations in Syria

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay is expressing deep dismay at the worsening human rights situation in Syria, including the “remorseless toll of human lives,” and urged the international community to take immediate measures to protect the Syrian people.

“In August, I drew attention to credible allegations of crimes against humanity in Syria,” Pillay said. “At that time, I encouraged the Security Council to refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court.”

“Since the start of the uprising in Syria, the government has consistently used excessive force to crush peaceful protests,” Pillay said. “Sniping from rooftops, and indiscriminate use of force against peaceful protestors – including the use of live ammunition and the shelling of residential neighborhoods – have become routine occurrences in many Syrian cities.”

The result, she said, has been a “devastatingly remorseless toll” of human lives.

Pillay says the number of people killed since the violence started in March has now exceeded 3,000, including at least 187 children. More than 100 people have been reported killed in the last 10 days alone, she added.

Thousands more, she says, have been arrested, detained, forcibly disappeared and tortured.

Also, family members inside and outside the country have been targeted for harassment, intimidation, threats and beatings.

“The government of Syria has manifestly failed to protect its population,” Pillay charged.

“Furthermore, it has ignored the international community’s calls to cooperate with international investigations.”

Violence on Wall Street

2011-10-14T09:06:00.000-04:00

Just after a confrontation was averted at Zuccotti Park, violence erupted between police and Occupy Wall Street protesters near the New York Stock Exchange.

The confrontation took place as some of those who were permitted to stay at the park after cleaning it up all night long, broke from the main group and marched up Broadway toward Wall Street.

Police barricaded the entrance to Wall Street so they would be denied access and a pushing and shoving match occurred. One person was reportedly run over by a police motorcycle – prompting even more violence.

Baton wielding police officers waded into the crowd and several people, including at least one reporter, were shoved by police who made several arrests.

The demonstrations then circled back around and returned to the park.

No confrontation at Occupy Wall Street

2011-10-14T07:57:00.000-04:00

A night of cleaning averted a confrontation

Correspondent Jack Brown reports from Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan that a feared confrontation between cops and occupiers was averted Friday morning when the owners of the park decided to not force the protesters to move in order to clean it up.

The clean-up had been scheduled for 7 AM. But everyone stood down after demonstrators spent the night scrubbing and otherwise cleaning the park themselves.

Brown reports a Day of Rage march is scheduled for Saturday from New York’s Washington Square Park to Times Square.

Seems almost anyone the Republicans nominate could beat Obama

2011-10-14T07:55:00.001-04:00

More bad political news for Obama. By Dan Bennett

U.S. registered voters say they are more likely to vote for “the Republican Party’s candidate” than for Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential election, by 46% to 38%, a new Gallup poll finds.

The Republican has led Obama on this measure in three of the last four months.

Occupy Wall Street confrontation looms

2011-10-13T10:09:00.001-04:00

Will they move if asked? Photo by erin m/Flickr

By GARY BAUMGARTEN

Will the Occupy Wall Street movement be moved?

And if so, will it be a peaceful transition?

These questions come to mind as it appears the NYPD may be preparing to ask the protesters to abandon the park nestled between Ground Zero and Wall Street that they’ve been occupying for weeks now on Friday.

Our own Danny Schechter reports from Zuccotti Park that Mayor Michael Bloomberg paid an unannounced five minute visit to check things out for himself.

The park is private property, and up until now, its owners have been accommodating the occupiers. But, citing safety and health concerns, they want the NYPD to clear the park.

Whether this would be just temporary, for a cleaning and a fixing of any damage that might be found – or a permanent move – remains to be seen.

Also unknown is whether the folks occupying the park would comply with a police order to move.

Death penalty support slipping

2011-10-13T08:46:00.003-04:00

Protest against recent execution of Troy Davis. Photo by Steve Rhodes

Sixty-one percent of Americans approve of using the death penalty for persons convicted of murder, down from 64% last year, and the lowest level of support since 1972, a new Gallup poll finds.

Republicans, men, whites, and those living in the Midwest and the South are most likely to support its use.

Growing concerns over NYPD counterterrorism efforts

2011-10-13T08:30:00.003-04:00

Cops outside the NYSE. Photo by mindfieldz/Flickr

By SCOTT STEWART

In response to the 9/11 attacks, the New York Police Department established its own Counterterrorism Bureau and revamped its Intelligence Division. Since that time, its methods have gone largely unchallenged and have been generally popular with New Yorkers, who expect the department to take measures to prevent future attacks.

Preventing terrorist attacks requires a much different operational model than arresting individuals responsible for such attacks, and the NYPD has served as a leader in developing new, proactive approaches to police counterterrorism. However, it has been more than 10 years since the 9/11 attacks, and the NYPD is now facing growing concern over its counterterrorism activities. There is always an uneasy equilibrium between security and civil rights, and while the balance tilted toward security in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, it now appears to be shifting back.

This shift provides an opportunity to examine the NYPD’s activities, the pressure being brought against the department and the type of official oversight that might be imposed.

Reports that the NYPD’s Intelligence Division and Counterterrorism Bureau engage in aggressive, proactive operations are nothing new. STRATFOR has written about them since 2004, and several books have been published on the topic. Indeed, police agencies from all over the world travel to New York to study the NYPD’s approach, which seems to have been quite effective.

Criticism of the department’s activities is nothing new, either. Civil liberties groups have expressed concern over security methods instituted after 9/11, and Leonard Levitt, who writes a column on New York police activities for the website NYPD Confidential, has long been critical of the NYPD and its commissioner, Ray Kelly. Associated Press reporters Adam Goldman and Matt Apuzzo have written a series of investigative reports that began on August 24 detailing “covert” NYPD activities, such as mapping the Muslim areas of New York. This was followed by the Aug. 31 publication of what appears to be a leaked NYPD PowerPoint presentation detailing the activities of the Intelligence Division’s Demographics Unit.

In the wake of these reports, criticism of the NYPD’s program has reached a new level. Members of the New York City Council expressed concern that their constituents were being unjustly monitored. Six New York state senators asked the state attorney general to investigate the possibility of “unlawful covert surveillance operations of the Muslim community.” A group of civil rights lawyers also asked a U.S. district judge in Manhattan to force the NYPD to publicize any records of such a program and to issue a court order to prevent their destruction. In response to the AP investigation, two members of Congress, Reps. Yvette Clarke, D-New York and Rush Holt, D-New Jersy asked the Justice Department to investigate. The heat is on.

After an October 7 hearing regarding NYPD intelligence and counterterrorism operations, New York City Council Public Safety Committee Chairman Peter Vallone said, “That portion of the police department’s work should probably be looked at by a federal monitor.”

Following Vallone’s statement, media reports cited congressional and Obama administration officials saying they have no authority to monitor the NYPD. While Vallone claims the City Council does not have the expertise to oversee the department’s operations, and the federal government says that it lacks the jurisdiction, it is almost certain that the NYPD will eventually face some sort of new oversight mechanisms and judicial review of its counterterrorism activities.

While 9/11 had a profound effect on the world and on U.S. foreign policy, it had an overwhelming effect on New York City itself. New Yorkers were willing to do whatever it took to make sure such an attack did not happen again, and when Kelly was appointed police commissioner in 2002, he proclaimed this as his primary duty (his critics attributed the focus to ego and hubris). This meant revamping counter-terrorism and moving to an intelligence-based model of prevention rather than one based on prosecution.

The NYPD’s Intelligence Division, which existed prior to 9/11, was known mainly for driving VIPs around New York, one of the most popular destinations for foreign dignitaries and one that becomes very busy during the UN General Assembly. Before 9/11, the NYPD also faced certain restrictions contained in a 1985 court order known as the Handschu guidelines, which required the department to submit “specific information” on criminal activity to a panel for approval to monitor any kind of political activity.

The Intelligence Division had a very limited mandate.

When David Cohen, a former CIA analyst, was brought in to run the division, he went to U.S. District Court in Manhattan to get the guidelines modified. Judge Charles Haight modified them twice in 2002 and 2003,and he could very well review them again. His previous modifications allowed the NYPD Intelligence Division to proactively monitor public activity and look for indications of terrorist or criminal activity without waiting for approval from a review panel.

The Counter-terrorism Bureau was founded in 2002 with analytical and collection responsibilities similar to those of the Intelligence Division but involving the training, coordination and response of police units. Differences between the two units are mainly bureaucratic and they work closely together.

As the capabilities of the NYPD’s Intelligence Division and Counterterrorism Bureau developed, both faced the challenges of any new or revamped intelligence organization. Their officers learned the trade by taking on new monitoring responsibilities, investigating plots and analyzing intelligence from plots in other parts of the United States and abroad. One of their biggest challenges was the lack of access to information from the federal governmentand other police departments around the United States. The NYPD also believed that the federal government could not protect New York. The most high-profile city in the world for finance, tourism and now terrorism, among other things, decided that it had to protect itself.

The NYPD set about trying to detect plots within New York as they developed, getting information on terrorist tactics and understanding and even deterring plots developing outside the city. In addition to the challenges it also had some key advantages, including a wealth of ethnic backgrounds and language skills to draw on, the budget and drive to develop liaison channels and the agility that comes with being relatively small, which allowed it to adapt to changing threat environments. The department was creating new organizational structures with specific missions and targeted at specific threats. Unlike federal agencies, it had no local competitors, and its large municipal budget was augmented by federal funding that has yet to face cyclical security budget challenges.

STRATFOR first wrote about the NYPD’s new proactive approach to counterterrorism in 2004. The NYPD’s focus moved from waiting for an attack to happen and then allowing police and prosecutors to “make the big case” to preventing and disrupting plots long before an attack could occur. This approach often means that operatives plotting attacks are charged with much lower charges than terrorism or homicide, such as document fraud or conspiracy to acquire explosives.

The process of looking for signs of a terrorist plot is not difficult to explain conceptually, but actually preventing an attack is extremely difficult, especially when the investigative agency is trying to balance security and civil liberties. It helps when plotters expose themselves prior to their attack and ordinary citizens are mindful of suspicious behavior. Grassroots defenders, as we call them, can look for signs of pre-operational surveillance, weapons purchasing and bombmaking, and even the expressed intent to conduct an attack. Such activities are seemingly innocuous and often legal — taking photos at a tourist site, purchasing nail-polish remover, exercising the right of free speech — but sometimes these activities are carried out with the purpose of doing harm. The NYPD must figure out how to separate the innocent act from the threatening act, and this requires actionable intelligence.

It is for this reason that the NYPD’s Demographics Unit, which is now apparently called the Zone Assessment Unit, has been carrying out open observation in neighborhoods throughout New York. Understanding local dynamics, down to the block-by-block level, provides the context for any threat reporting and intelligence that the NYPD receives. Also shaping perceptions are the thousands of calls to 911 and 1-888-NYC-SAFE that come in every day, partly due to the city’s “If you see something, say something” campaign.

This input, along with observations by so-called “rakers” (undercover police officers) allows NYPD analysts to “connect the dots” and detect plots before an attack occurs. According to the AP reports, these rakers, who go to different neighborhoods, observe and interact with residents and look for signs of criminal or terrorist activity, have been primarily targeting Muslim neighborhoods.

These undercover officers make the same observations that any citizen can make in places where there is no reasonable expectation of privacy. Indeed, law enforcement officers from the local to the federal level across the country have been doing this for a long time, looking for indicators of criminal activity in business, religious and public settings without presuming guilt.

Long before the NYPD began looking for jihadists, local police have used the same methods to look for mafia activity in Italian neighborhoods, neo-Nazis at gun shows and music concerts, Crips in black neighborhoods and MS-13 members in Latino neighborhoods. Law enforcement infiltration into white hate groups has disrupted much of this movement in the United States. Location is a factor in any counterterrorism effort because certain targeted groups tend to congregate in certain places, but placing too much emphasis on classifications of people can lead to dangerous generalizations, which is why STRATFOR often writes about looking for the “how” rather than the “who.”

As the NYPD saw it, the department needed tactical information as soon as possible so it could change the threat posture. The department’s greatest fear was that a coordinated attack would occur on cities throughout the world and police in New York would not be ramped up in time to prevent or mitigate it.

For example, an attack on transit networks in Europe at rush hour could be followed by an attack a few hours later in New York, when New Yorkers were on their way to work. This fear was almost realized with the 2004 train attacks in Madrid. Within hours of the attacks, NYPD officers were in Madrid reporting back to New York, but the NYPD claims the report they received from the FBI came 18 months later. There was likely some intelligence sharing prior to this report, but the perceived lack of federal responsiveness explains why the NYPD has embarked on its independent, proactive mission.

NYPD officers reportedly are located in 11 cities around the world and in addition to facilitating a more rapid exchange of intelligence and insight, these overseas operatives are also charged with developing liaison relationships with other police forces. Instead of being based in the U.S. embassy like the FBI’s legal attache, they work on the ground and in the offices of the local police. The NYPD believes this helps the department better protect New York City and it is willing to risk the ire of and turf wars with other U.S. agencies such as the FBI, which has a broader mandate to operate abroad.

The New York City Council does not have the same authority to conduct classified hearings that the U.S. Congress does when it oversees national intelligence activity. And the federal government has limited legal authority at the local level. What Public Safety Committee Chairman Vallone and federal government sources are implying is that they are not willing to take on oversight responsibilities in New York. In other words, while there are concerns about the NYPD’s activities, they are happy with the way the department is working and want to let it continue, albeit with more accountability. As oversight exists now, Kelly briefs Vallone on various NYPD operations and even with more scrutiny from the City Council, any operations are likely be approved.

The NYPD still has to keep civil rights concerns in mind, not only because of a legal or moral responsibility but also to function successfully. As soon as the NYPD is seen as a dangerous presence in a neighborhood rather than a protective asset, it will lose access to the intelligence that is so important in preventing terrorist attacks. The department has plenty of incentive to keep its officers in line.

One worry is that the NYPD is overly focused on jihadists rather than other potential threats like white supremacists, anarchists, foreign government agents or less predictable “lone wolves.”
The attack by Anders Breivik in Oslo, Norway, reminded police departments and security services worldwide that tunnel vision focused on jihadists is dangerous. If the NYPD is indeed focusing only on Muslim neighborhoods (which it probably is not), the biggest problem is that it will fail in its security mission, not that it will face prosecution for racial profiling. The department has ample incentive to think about what the next threat could be and look for new and less familiar signs of a pending attack. Simple racial profiling will not achieve that goal.

The modern history of terrorism in New York City goes back to a 1916 attack by German saboteurs on a New Jersey arms depot that damaged buildings in Manhattan. However unlikely, these are the kinds of threats that the NYPD will also need to think about as it tries to keep its citizens safe. The alleged Iranian plot to carry out an assassination in the Washington area underscores the possibility of state-organized sabotage or terrorism.

That there have been no successful terrorist attacks in New York City since 9/11 cannot simply be attributed to NYPD. In the Faisal Shahzad case, the fact that his improvised explosive device did not work was just as important as the quick response of police officers in Times Square. Shahzad’s failure was not a result of preventive intelligence and counterterrorism work. U.S. operations in Afghanistan and other countries that have largely disrupted the al Qaeda network have also severely limited its ability to attack New York again.

The NYPD’s counterterrorism and intelligence efforts are still new and developing. As such, they are unconstrained compared to those of the larger legacy organizations at the federal level. At the same time, the department’s activities are unprecedented at the local level. As its efforts mature, the pendulum of domestic security and civil liberties will remain in motion, and the NYPD will face new scrutiny in the coming year, including judicial oversight, which is an important standard in American law enforcement. The challenge for New York is finding the correct balance between guarding the lives and protecting the rights of its people.

GrowingConcern Over the NYPD’s Counterterrorism Methods is republished with permission of STRATFOR.

Domestic violence no longer a crime in Topeka

2011-10-13T01:46:00.003-04:00

Ironic, isn't it? Photo by Xoe Craft

By JONATHAN WOLFMAN

Kansas has always had three resonances for me:

The old saw, Kansas Is Flat As A Pancake (flatter, really – university topographers proved it in ’03),
Dorothy (“and your little dog, too”), and for
Arguably the most defining civil rights case of my lifetime, the landmark 1954 Topeka school integration case, Brown v. Board of Education.

Now Kansas has one more claim on me. Perhaps on you, too.

The Topeka City Council, stemming from what began as a typical budget discussion, has decided in its wisdom, by a 7-3 vote, to decriminalize domestic violence in order to save taxpayers some money.

For some time there had been wrangling over who should pay for what goes into taking domestic violence calls, who should respond, who should prosecute. Surrounding Shawnee County said Topeka should pay; Topeka has been saying the county oughta cough up the pancake dough. Stuck in the cruel middle, of course, are all the abused women of both jurisdictions.

The rather insane vote came this week. The law that makes domestic violence a crime has been repealed.

Some Topekans think the city council’s vote will force county prosecutors to step up to the pancake plate. So far, they’ve whiffed. Since the wrangling began in September, 18 people have been arrested for domestic violence and promptly released. No charges have been filed. (Last year over 400 such cases came to official attention in the county.)

To say the least, domestic violence victims’ advocates in The Pancake State have expressed the outrage. I’m betting some of you reading this are feeling putrage now.

The New York Times quotes Joyce Grover, executive director of the Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence as saying, “To have public officials point fingers while victims are trying to figure out who will protect them is … stunning.” (You can fill-in an appropriate adverb.)

The Times report goes on to say that “Becky Dickinson, a program director with the YWCA, which is the primary provider of services for victims of domestic violence in the county, said there was concern that the lack of charges for those being arrested for … domestic violence … would encourage retaliation.” You think?

While the Topeka City Council and Shawnee County officials continue to point fingers at one another for this disgrace, women continue to be harmed without formal recourse. Perhaps the city and county will reconcile their budget fight by forcing domestic violence victims to pay for police and prosecutors out-of-pocket. Perhaps all the women there will sign up for ju-jitsu, earn black belts overnight and buy more guns. Or, perhaps women there will have to wait for a Dorothy Gale twister to blow these benighted public servants straight to hell.

Why the Occupy Wall Street movement is doomed to failure

2011-10-12T21:32:00.003-04:00

Occupy Wall Streeters have tents to sleep in but it's not home. Photo by a c o r n/Flickr

By DANIEL BAUMGARTEN

I would like to say something about the occupy movement. Namely, I suspect that it is doomed to fail, and moreover, it is something well lost. The reason for my suspicion is simple: like a number of other arguably failed movements, it lacks purpose and leadership.

The occupy movement has been called a new paradigm in activism, but that isn’t true. In a Common Dreams article [http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/10/11-12], Heather Gautney shows that Occupy Wall Street is based on the same organizational principles as the feminist, anti-globalization and gay rights movements. These movements all have two things in common. First, they are “leaderless” movements “without an official set of demands. There are no projected outcomes, no bottom lines and no talking heads.” Second, none of them have achieved their objectives. The second point should be obvious, since none of them ever had any clear objectives to achieve.

The anti-globalization movement has been a manifest failure, so I will focus on feminism and gay rights, in whose cases my second point might seem controversial. Gautney claims, “Gay rights liberated our sexuality, and feminism fundamentally changed the way we relate to each other as men and women. All this, without a centralized leadership.” This conforms to a popular understanding of both movements, but it’s not accurate.

Sexism and homophobia are as prevalent today as they were 50 years ago.

While the social landscape has certainly changed in the last half century, women and homosexuals are still fiercely stigmatized. The success of the porn industry alone speaks to how deeply entrenched the objectification of women is in our culture.

Even if sexism were removed from the public sphere — and it clearly isn’t — that would not prevent immense numbers of individuals from privately holding oppressive sexual attitudes and acting on them when they could get away with it. Short of a dystopian panoptic state, there is no public answer to sexism. The same is true of homophobia, and every homosexual in the English-speaking world has to deal with the pejorative use of the adjective “gay” as a daily reality, even if it isn’t so used to his face.

These are the kind of problems that not even a well-organized movement with inspired leadership can hope to ameliorate. The civil rights movement ended Jim Crow laws but it didn’t even put a dent into racism.

Will affirmative action ever prevent cops from pulling over drivers because they are black? The answer is clearly no.

Will they ever stop gross acts of racially motivated police brutality? Again, no.

Will they end the use of the word “nigger?” A thousand times no.

But these things were never the specific demands of the movement. Had they been these rather than what they were, the movement would have been pronounced an unequivocal failure and there would be no progress in the field of race relations to speak of.

The women’s suffrage movement had a specific demand and it achieved that demand. The natural right of women to participate in government as equals to men was acknowledged by the law of the land.

Sexism was not eliminated or diminished, and it will not be eliminated or diminished until the end of history. To claim otherwise is merely to give sexists too little credit for their convictions.

A sexist believes in the inferiority of one sex to the other in the same sense in which we believe in their equality, and a sexist will likewise pass his own ideas and attitudes to the next generation. This has no bearing on the lawful obligation of every sexist to respect a woman’s right to vote. However, it has a significant bearing on the persistence of domestic violence in our culture.

Gay marriage has been made legal in several states. Homophobia has not been outlawed. To outlaw homophobia would be unconstitutional and unenforceable. I hope I have made myself clear by this point.

What complicates matters is that in three of the aforementioned movements there is the presumption that some connection exists between what is perceived as an institutional form of oppression and dominant social attitudes. But unless this connection is demonstrated, the movement fails.

States that are predominantly conservative Christian have no hope of passing gay marriage laws, not because these states are full of homophobes, but because Christians will see nothing homophobic about the existing marriage laws. By contrast, it was decisively argued in the case of Jim Crow that separate could never be equal; and the very existence of the women’s suffrage movement demonstrated its own assertion that women could in fact participate in politics.

The positions of the civil rights and women’s suffrage movements are now incontrovertible. But their positions were not, “racism (or sexism) is wrong and should be outlawed.” Even though undoubtedly the backers of both movements shared in the belief that the relevant -ism was wrong, their actual demands pertained to specific laws, and they got specific results.

This is not something that we can expect about a genus such as racism, sexism, homophobia, globalism or greed. In the case of gay marriage, a specific demand accompanies a generic spirit, but the attempt to connect the two has been less successful.

In the case of feminism, anti-globalism and the occupy movement there is a generic spirit responding to a bigoted social attitude. But there is no specific demand.

Feminists want us to see the two sexes as equal. This is noble, but they can’t force anyone to do that. No amount of repeating the same arguments in public will change anyone’s heart. Sexism is something that one holds as deeply inside oneself as one would hold an authentic feminism.

For one person to be rid of sexism would require a radical reorientation of his whole life. This cannot be accomplished from the outside. You cannot credit the movement for converting even a single individual from sexism. The individual who converted deserves that credit.

The anti-globalism movement is even more ambiguous in its spirit than feminism. It may be called a “movement of movements.” For there are many different, conflicting reasons to be against globalization.

No one can agree on why globalization is wrong and therefore there is no prevailing reason to believe that globalization is wrong.

Suppose that a globalist were to convert from globalism to a species of anti-globalism. Which would he choose? Anarcho-syndicalism? Communism? Libertarianism? These responses are not motivated by one and the same recognition, whereas feminism is motivated by a recognition of one’s own humanity in the other sex.

Finally, we come to the occupy movement, which is in an even worse position than anti-globalism. For the occupy movement is not even clear on what it rejects.

Gautney writes, “Most of these activists have a particular issue, problem or political idea that is meaningful to them, on which they have developed an expert knowledge. Occupy is both a concrete and virtual space for connecting these issues and expertise without any one position or issue taking precedence.”

The occupy movement is a movement not only of movements, but of anti-movements also. Protesters do not even agree on what issue they are protesting. Although there is a general sense of dissatisfaction with the economy and with political corruption, it is impossible to articulate. Culprits are identified before problems. Protesters know that the rich and powerful are to blame, but for what, none agree.

What, then, is motivating the occupation?

It seems clear that this thing is actually self-organized; no one party is responsible for it. A lack of leadership doesn’t mean that a movement can’t get started, but we have seen that it usually frustrates the desire for results by making it impossible to argue the case for a specific demand.

On the other hand, unlike the other movements we have considered, the occupation seems to lack any kind of guiding purpose whatsoever. If there is a generic spirit to the movement, it consists in a rejection of greed. But it is necessarily an equivocal rejection of greed, in virtue of the sheer diversity of perspectives involved. So the lowest common denominator that can be identified as motivating the protesters is envy. It’s the greed of the 1% versus the envy of the 99%. Which is greater?

I’ll begin to answer that question with a story.

In 2008, a movement of protests against the Church of Scientology was started by members of anonymous Internet message boards. In order to give the protests an ironic air of pseudo-legitimacy, the group “Anonymous” was invented to serve as the nominal source of the movement, with the ominous slogan “We are legion.”

In truth, Anonymous was no one. The entire movement was conceived as a joke. Anyone who happened upon the right message board was invited to participate by showing up at a local Scientologist facility at an appointed date and time, wearing a suitably humorous disguise and bearing some kind of anti-Scientologist slogan on a sign.

The Church of Scientology, which took itself far more seriously than the outside world did, saw its own inflated sense of self-importance in the crowds gathering outside their buildings. They vainly attempted to intimidate the protesters, whose identities were protected by their Guy Fawkes masks and their lack of any link to a real organization. For the “members” of Anonymous, it was great fun, and provoking the reaction that they actually got from the Church of Scientology was the whole point of the effort.

However, not everyone who participated in the protests understood that it was an elaborate joke, and when the jokers lost interest in protesting, these carried the flame. Scientology, they reasoned, was really a dangerous cult, and somebody should bloody well do something about it!

Of course, the protests did not accomplish anything. They were designed to fail. The characteristic Guy Fawkes disguise was an allusion, not to V for Vendetta, but to an Internet meme appropriately called Epic Fail Guy.

Those who did not understand the facetious nature of the protests, but supported them in earnest, appropriated the symbolism of the movement according to their own ignorant interpretations of their meanings without any awareness of their actual origins. So among some people, the Guy Fawkes mask, as well as the Anonymous logo and other motifs of the protests, became symbols of a certain kind of struggle against oppression. This struggle had no clear agenda, no demands, and no constituency. It wasn’t even limited in principle to protests against Scientology. “Anonymous” reappeared in the midst of the Wikileaks scandals of 2010, organizing denial-of-service attacks against the websites of companies that opposed Wikileaks. Again, this accomplished nothing. Anonymous did not even define an issue about which to make a demand.

The organizational model of Anonymous, which was radically horizontal and — well — anonymous, made anything like a meaningful mission statement impossible. But that didn’t prevent people from feeling like they were collectively making history as their vain efforts made headlines, just like the lives of the rich and powerful.

This Guy Fawkes mask is the very same symbol now present en masse upon Wall Street. You can trace it back to 4chan.org without difficulty. My guess, however, is that few protesters associate the mask with anything but V for Vendetta. That’s what they want to feel like they’re a part of. The masses are rising up in anger to demand that their voices be heard. But what do they have to say? They haven’t thought it that far through because that isn’t the point. The real point is that these protesters all want to feel like they matter to someone who matters.

Of course, each and every one of them really does matter. But they don’t realize that relatively few would take to the streets to claim their rights to meaning and understanding. 99% of us take to the libraries, to the classrooms, to friends and family, to churches, synagogues and mosques. We take to our own households, buried in debt, unable to make payments on loans that we should not have applied for and the banks should not have approved. Finally, we take to our own souls, as each of us struggles with his or her own vices, prejudices,and obsessions.

We struggle to open up to one another, to achieve a deeper level of intimacy with the people who love us and share with them our secret fears; to give selflessly to those in need,and to live an abiding faith that good will prevail in the world if only we let it.

We the 99% who occupy Main Street make this demand: Go home. Home is where the heart is, and the heart is the site of our revolution.

8 dead in Southern California hair salon shooting

2011-10-12T20:26:00.006-04:00

Eight people are dead, a ninth in critical condition following a shooting at a Seal Beach, California hair salon.

Sources say the suspect, who is in police custody, wore body armor

Weapons being smuggled from Libya into Egypt and then into the Gaza

2011-10-12T20:07:00.002-04:00

Libyan border with Egypt

Large caches of weapons are making their way from Libya into Egypt, the Washington Post reports.

Some of the weapons are then being smuggled through tunnels into the Gaza strip, the paper reports.

Underwear bomber pleads guilty

2011-10-12T19:48:00.001-04:00

Abdulmutallab changes plea

By BENNY MARTINEZ
Talk Radio News Service

DETROIT – Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, best known as the Underwear Bomber, pleaded guilty to attempting to blow up a Detroit-bound international flight on Christmas Day, 2009.

The Nigerian man told a federal court in Detroit the bomb was a “blessed weapon to save the lives of innocent Muslims.”

The guilty plea comes on the second day of his trial. Abdulmatallab was facing eight charges, including conspiracy to commit an act of terrorism, attemped use of weapons of mass destruction and attempted murder.

Despite Senate defeat Obama continues to stump for jobs bill

2011-10-12T19:39:00.002-04:00

Obama pushing forward promoting his jobs bill. White House photo by Samantha Appleton

By JANIE AMAYA
Talk Radio News Service

WASHINGTON – President Obama continues to tout his administration’s jobs bill despite seeing it fail to pass a key procedural vote in the Senate Tuesday night.

“I sent Congress a jobs bill made up of the kinds of proposals that, traditionally, Democrats and Republicans have supported,” Obama said during an American Latino heritage forum Wednesday.

“Independent economists who do this for a living have said the American Jobs Act would lead to more growth and nearly 2 million jobs next year,.But apparently, none of this matters to Republicans in the Senate. Because last night, even though a majority of senators voted in favor of the American Jobs Act, a Republican minority got together as a group and blocked this jobs bill from passing the Senate.”

The president added that he refuses to take no for an answer and will continue to pressure Congress to meet its responsibility to put Americans back to work.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said the White House will now focus on passing individual portions of the larger jobs package.

Holder subpoenaed by Congress

2011-10-12T19:27:00.000-04:00

TALK RADIO NEWS SERVICE

WASHINGTON – Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calififornia), cair of the House Oversight Committee, has sent a subpoena to Attorney General Eric Holder as part of the committee’s investigation into the Fast and Furious scandal.

The subpoena requires Holder and a slate of other high ranking officials within the Justice Department to submit all communications pertaining to the operation, including those with the White House, as well as notes from meetings involving the program.

“Top Justice Department officials, including Attorney General Holder, know more about Operation Fast and Furious than they have publicly acknowledged,” Issa said in a statement Wednesday. “The documents this subpoena demands will provide answers to questions that Justice officials have tried to avoid since this investigation began eight months ago.”

Fast and Furious was an ATF operation that allowed criminals to purchase weapons illegally and transport them to Mexico in order to prompt a future crackdown. Several of the weapons were used for violent crimes, including the murder of a Border Agent.

Holder told reporters Tuesday that the Justice Department would comply with the committee’s subpoenas.

Congress' ratings remain low

2011-10-12T19:19:00.001-04:00

[caption id="attachment_19483" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Americans aren\'t too thrilled with Congress. Photo by KP Tripathi"][/caption]

Congress' approval rating matched its all-time low of 13% this month, repeating what Gallup found in August.

The Gallup poll finds that approval is at or near 13% among independents as well as with both major party groups.

Panetta: Israel isolating itself

2011-10-03T00:49:00.001-04:00

Israeli officials may well be wondering why Panetta is being so critical. Defense Department photo by U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jacob N. Bailey

The Jewish Reporter

Israel has to take steps to be less isolated.

So says U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who is admonishing Israel to restart peace talks and amend relations with Turkey and Egypt.

His comments are sure to ruffle the feathers of Israeli leaders. Israel has agreed to the Quartet’s request to negotiate with the Palestinians without preconditions and the State Department has lauded Jerusalem for doing so. The Palestinians may balk because the Palestinian Authority is on record as demanding preconditions before returning to the negotiating table.

So Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may well be wondering why Panetta isn’t criticizing the Palestinians instead.

Israel has been taking steps to mend relations with Egypt. But Turkey’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has been increasingly antagonistic toward Israel. All this may also be causing Israel’s leaders to be scratching their heads, wondering why Panetta is so critical of their policies.

State Department applauds Israel for accepting Quartet proposal

2011-10-02T18:26:00.002-04:00

Can Obama get Netanyahu and Abbas back to the negotiating table?

THE JEWISH REPORTER

The U.S. State Department, which has recently criticized Israel for its resumption of construction in East Jerusalem, is now lauding the Jewish state for accepting a proposal from the Quartet to resume negotiations with the Palestinians with no preconditions.

“We welcome the Israeli government’s announcement today expressing readiness to resume negotiations with the Palestinians, as called for by the Quartet,” said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland.

Nuland said the United States once again calls on both parties to resume negotiations without preconditions, on the timetable proposed by the Quartet. She termed this “best means to advance their interests, resolve their differences, and fulfill the president’s two-state vision.”

Although Nuland said the Palestinians had, on September 29, “expressed support for the Quartet approach,” the Palestinian Authority has also said it won’t sit down with the Israelis unless they agree to two preconditions, the rolling back of boundaries to before the 1967 war and an agreement to freeze all West Bank construction.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously ordered a halt to construction because the Palestinian Authority had demanded it as a precondition. But after the PA never returned to the negotiating table construction was resumed.

He's not 'my' president

2011-10-01T18:35:00.003-04:00

He's your president too, even if you didn't vote for him. Obama for America - California photo

By GARY BAUMGARTEN
Reportergary.com

“He’s not MY president,” someone wrote in response to a comment made by an Obama supporter on my Facebook wall.

“I didn’t vote for him.”

Somehow I find the words more than a little troubling as they are reflective of a divisive mindset that’s been sweeping the nation for at least a decade now. (Yes, there were those who uttered the same words with regard to George W. Bush as well. And probably Clinton before him. Etc.)

Political battles in the United States are hard fought. As they should be. And during campaigns, some awfully strong discourse takes place. As it should.

But one great thing about our republic is that once the dust settles on Election Night, the country comes together. Or, at least, it should.

This is not a country run by dictators after all. One side wins. The other side loses. The victors are then in charge.

The person elected president of the United States is charged with being the president to all Americans. Not just to those who voted for him.

Imagine a president who refused, for example, to allow FEMA to assist a state that was hit by a natural disaster just because his opponent won in that state. If that were to occur, then, I suppose people would be correct in saying that Obama was not their president. But it doesn’t.

You may not like Obama. You may not vote for his reelection. But until his final term is completed and another is sworn in, like it or not, he is your president. Yours and mine. Whether we voted for him or not.

Observations from Wall Street

2011-10-01T17:36:00.000-04:00

Schechter says the demonstrations could turn confrontational again. Or they might fizzle out. Paul Stein photo

Danny Schechter the News Dissector spent time with the demonstrators on Wall Street.

He shares his observations in this interview with News Talk Online on the Paltalk News Network.

CLICK HERE to hear the interview.

Was the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki legal?

2011-09-30T21:34:00.000-04:00

Anwar al-Awlaki. Muhammad ud-Deen photo

By GARY BAUMGARTEN
ReporterGary.com

The killing of Anwar al-Awlaki, the American turned al Qaeda spiritual and cheerleader, by the United States in Yemen is being heralded by people on both sides of the aisle.

President Obama called his killing a “major blow” to al Qaeda.

Republican Congressman Pete King of New York who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee echoed the president, praising the assassination as “a great success in our fight against al-Qaeda.”

Perhaps so. But was it legal?

Can the United States target U.S. citizens abroad?

It’s a question that members of the White House press corp wanted an answer to. But Talk Radio News Service White House correspondent Victoria Jones, reporting for News Talk Online on the Paltalk News Network, said, although the question was asked in various ways during Friday’s White House press briefing, Obama spokesman Jay Carney refused to answer.

Perhaps the killing was constitutionally supported. But if so, shouldn’t the administration be forthcoming with an explanation?

I raised this issue during tonight’s show. And was met with a barrage of criticism from those in my audience who felt my questioning the issue was, as one put it “politically correct.” Many believed that because Awlaki presented a clear and present danger to the United States, because he’d have never even blinked had the Times Square bomber or the underwear bomber been successful, he deserved to be taken out.

Maybe so. But was his killing extrajudicial? Or supported by law?

Ron Paul, the libertarian congressman from Texas running for the GOP presidential nomination, lamented that Awlaki was killed even though he “was never tried or charged for any crimes.”

The ACLU charged that the killing was a violation of both U.S, and international law.

I don’t know if it was. But I do know that it’s a question that needs to be answered. By Carney. Or better yet. By his boss.

Bloomberg blasted for supporting immigration reform

2011-09-30T03:59:00.002-04:00

Bloomberg says hiring illegal immigrants is good for the economy

By ADRIANNA McGINLEY
Talk Radio News Service

WASHINGTON – Roy Beck, President of NumbersUSA, an immigration reduction organization, offered harsh criticisms of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s comments touting immigration reform as the key to job creation.

“He doesn’t seem to have an idea what’s happening to American workers,” Beck said. “He doesn’t seem to know that there are 22 million Americans who are looking for a full-time job, who can’t find one.”

Beck blasted Bloomberg for saying undocumented college graduates should be allowed to pursue employment in the U.S. saying it sends the wrong message to the parents of citizen graduates.

“It’s very offensive to the parents of today’s high school students and college students for Mayor Bloomberg to continually go around and say that these American children are not worthy of getting the jobs when they get out of college, but instead we need to have a whole lot more foreign students come in and take those jobs,” Beck said.

Beck acknowledged that there is a need for comprehensive immigration reform, saying E-Verify should be made mandatory. The NumbersUSA founder added that the green card system should also be reformed, making permanent residence available only to those with “truly world-class skills.”

According to its website, NumbersUSA is a non-partisan site committed to “bringing federal immigration policy back to a logical place.”

Palestinians reject Quartet's proposal to restart talks

2011-09-25T09:30:00.001-04:00

Abbas passes on peace talks. Olivier Pacteau photo

By GARY BAUMGARTEN

Does the Palestinian Authority really want peace with Israel? Or is it just looking for political and public relations victory at the expense of Israel?

These questions come to mind today as the Palestinian Authority rejects moves by the Quartet to get peace talks with Israel rolling again.

If the PA really wants peace – and a state of its own – does it matter what path is taken? Why does it matter whether it comes through a UN resolution or through negotiations.

If it comes through a UN resolution – the dispute over land will continue. If the Israelis and the Palestinians agree to boundaries, then the fight over who controls what lands comes to an agreed upon end.

It seems negotiations would be better for the Palestinians.

So why are they rejecting talks?

Perhaps it’s because they don’t feel they are ready to really come into the international community as leaders of an independent nation. The status quo allows them the luxury of positioning themselves as the underdogs. And Israel as the bad guys.

The PA becomes entitled. Operating on the largess of other nations (including Israel) in order to exist. Able to complain when they don’t have all they want. Blaming others. But not accepting responsibility for their own destiny.

Any failure to achieve full freedoms and success can be laid at the feet of the Israelis.

Ostensibly, the Palestinian Authority lays this failure on a return to the peace table, predictably, on the Israelis. It says it won’t enter talks with Israel without preconditions. Israel must agree to pre-1967 boundaries and a settlement freeze before negotiating.

The Authority knows that Israel will not agree to pre-’67 boundaries. Making this condition assures that there will be no peace talks.

Perhaps it is time for Israel to play the same game. Perhaps Israel should draw up boundaries that it envisions. Present them to the world. And tell the Palestinians that Israel won’t return to the bargaining table unless the Palestinians agree to accept those boundaries first.

Of course, if Israel were to do that, it would be viewed as being obstructive to peace. Fair enough. But, then, why aren’t the Palestinians viewed as being obstructive now?

Abbas formally requests Palestinian acceptance as a state at the UN

2011-09-23T16:02:00.002-04:00

Abbas submits application for UN membership to Ban. UN photo by Paulo Filgueiras

By GARY BAUMGARTEN

UNITED NATIONS – Much to the chagrin of the United States and Israel, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday formally requested that the UN accept a state of Palestine as a member of the United Nations.

The request, made in a speech before the General Assembly, has been forwarded by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to the Security Council, where it will be studied. That’s a process that could stretch months, giving the United States opportunity to try to convince enough Security Council members to vote nor or, at least, abstain, so that the proposal falters.

Should there be sufficient votes to accept the Palestinians, the United States has pledged a veto. But that’s something Washington is trying to prevent in order to avoid straining relations with the Arab and Muslim world.

There were celebrations in the West Bank, which is controlled by Abbas’ Fatah Party following his speech, which was greeted with standing ovations at the UN. But some of the celebrations turned violent. But the reaction from the Gaza was much different. With the rival Hamas faction accusing Abbas of selling out by requesting a return to 1967 borders.

If successful at the UN, Palestinian Authority could go broke

2011-09-19T09:23:00.005-04:00

Does Abbas really want what he's asking? Olivier Pacteau photo

By GARY BAUMGARTEN

The Palestinian Authority formally requests statehood status at the UN this week. The problem for the Palestinians is, they might not really like what they get if they win.

Actually, the situation isn’t all that dire for them, because the United States has pledged to veto a Security Council resolution recognizing a Palestinian state should one pass. So this may all just be for diplomatic show – to highlight the desires of the Palestinians for a state – while making the United States and Israel look bad.

At the end of the day, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas can go home with a diplomatic victory but without the responsibilities of running a nation. And with money from the United States still in hand.

On the other hand, should the U.S. renege on its promise, and should a Palestinian state be declared, the PA will be hard pressed to actually run a new government. Because the United States has told Abbas that it will withhold millions of dollars in aid should that happen.

Van slams into school, would have been a mass casualty incident had classes been in session

2011-09-17T23:20:00.002-04:00

Had this happened when school was in session it likely would have been a mass casualty incident.

As luck would happen, a minivan slammed into St. Leo the Great School in the Lincroft section of Middletown, New Jersey on a Saturday. It went through one classroom, then through the back wall, across a courtyard and through a third wall into a second classroom. The driver, a man in his 70s, and his passenger wife, miraculously, only suffered abrasions from their air bags.

It is believed the driver meant to hit the brakes but pushed down on the accelerator instead by mistake.

Due to structural damage to the building, Monday classes have been canceled.

Recession warning no surprise to unemployed

2011-09-16T12:04:00.002-04:00

The Wall Street Journal quotes a number of economists who are saying a recession is in the offing.

Did we really need this panel of experts to tell us what we already know?

This comes as no news to those who have been unemployed. Out of work for days, months, years.

Now there’s a debate over the extension of unemployment benefits. I actually saw a guy interviewed on set at CNN yesterday say they should not be extended. Because that’s a disincentive to finding work.

He allowed as to how people on unemployment would rather wait until the benefits are about to expire to look for a job. They’ve got to get off their duffs and find jobs, he insisted.

The anchor seemed a bit taken back by all this. Asking the “expert” where the jobs are.

I know people who have been out of work for two, three and even four years now. Folks who have been hard working contributors to society all their adult lives.

Of course, by the CNN guest’s measure, they are all just enjoying retirement on the government’s dime. As if the meager unemployment benefits keep them in the lavish lifestyle to which they were accustomed when they were gainfully employed.

Then there are those who are employed. But make so little money that they have to hold down two, three or even four jobs.

Sometimes the jobs are related to their life long careers. Often they are not.

And sometimes, they are lucky enough to find jobs “off the books.” Working for cash money. That’s never reported to Uncle Sam.

Which, of course, contributes to the government shortfall. But at least they are working.

I guarantee you the people I know who are out of work would rather be gainfully employed than getting unemployment insurance.

I also guarantee you that to them, the Wall Street Journal article that we’re headed into another recession, comes as no news at all.

The real threat to Iraq's Muslims

2011-09-13T09:47:00.001-04:00

By GARY BAUMGARTEN

Ron Paul made an interesting point during last nights's GOP debate - one that caused some in the audience to boo him.

He suggested that the reason the U.S. was attacked on 9/11 was because of America's foreign policy. Which, he said, angered fundamentalist Muslims.

In fact, it has been argued, the post-9/11 policy has angered them even more. The invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, those who hold this view argue, are seen by many Muslims as Christian crusades. The infidels, it is held that they feel, must be repelled and attacked at every quarter.

It's a valid argument, worthy of consideration and debate. (For the record, I do not hold that the invasion of Iraq was a Christian crusade but rather a misguided mission motivated by other factors.) But, now that the U.S. troops are no longer engaged in combat missions in Iraq, where is the similar outrage over the killing of Muslims by Muslims?

Today, in Iraq, another attack on a group of Shiite pilgrims. Folks who were on a bus, heading to a Shiite holy site to pray.

The bus was stopped. The women ordered off. The men then taken to another location. And killed.

About two dozen people, whose only crime was belonging to a different sect than the Muslim gunmen who killed them, dispatched in the name of religion.

If that is not a holy war, what is?

Sadly, this attack was not an isolated one. Hundreds of other Shiites have been similarly killed in Iraq.

When atrocities occur in the Middle East, nations there line up either supporting or criticizing the governments involved. Depending on what sect is in charge.

Iran, which is not particularly known for its own tolerance toward dissidents there, is, for example, critical of Sunni-controlled Bahrain for its crackdown on Shiite demonstrators.

I don't know the number of Muslims who have been killed by Muslims in the name of religion. Perhaps there is a credible accounting somewhere. But any killing of anyone based on religion is too much.

Some religiously motivated massacres seem worthy of reporting and condemnation. Others, sadly, are largely ignored.

Defense spending expert says U.S. foreign policy creates homeland security concerns

2011-09-09T14:47:00.000-04:00

Williams says the Gitmo detention facility should have been closed. JTF Guantanamo photo by U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Gino Reyes

Click here to hear the interview with Dr. Cindy Williams.

The war in Iraq, the evolution of the war in Afghanistan, the drone attacks in Pakistan and the continued existence of the detention center at Guantanamo Bay all tarnish the perception of the United States in the eyes of Muslims around the world. And they all make it that much harder to keep the United States safe from terrorist attacks.

That opinion is offered by Dr. Cindy Williams, a principal research scientist of the MIT Security Studies Program where she examines, as she did in government service, the allocations of military resources.

Williams (not to be – as she has in the past – confused with actress Cindy Williams) in an interview with News Talk Online on the Paltalk News Network, says the war in Iraq, in particular, left a bad impression of the U.S. for many Muslims.

The war in Afghanistan, she says, when conceived in 2001, was the right thing to do, because the Taliban and al Qaeda had teamed up to take control of a nation to use as a launching spot for attacks against the United States. But she says, while she supported that invasion, the decade that the U.S. has been there has turned a war-weary population against the United States. A view shared by many in the Muslim world.

Further, the U.S. military should have bottled al Qaeda in Afghanistan. Once the terrorists moved freely across the lawless border with Pakistan, it created a situation where the United States felt compelled to launch drone attacks in a country considered an ally.

Finally, Williams says, while she recognizes the political ramifications of closing Guantanamo Bay, President Obama should have stuck to his promise to shutter the detention facility within one year of taking office. Keeping it open has strained relations between the United States and Muslims around the world – many of whom previously viewed the USA as a shining city on a hill worth emulating.