Theodore's World

Foreign guests react after being rescued from the Taj Hotel in Mumbai

Put your hand up if you’re British or American
The Sun
GUNMEN who killed more than 80 people in Mumbai last night ordered hotel guests: “Put your hand up if you’re British or American.” Frightened hostages were marched off — and their fate was unclear. Local reports said they could include up to 40 British and other foreigners.
Late last night police were said to be storming two luxury hotels, one of which was ablaze.
The Oberoi and Taj Mahal Palace hotels were among at least SEVEN locations attacked simultaneously as maniacs with machine guns and bombs staged massacres that rocked the teeming Indian city.
At least 900 were wounded as the wild-eyed terrorists, thought to be Islamic fanatics, opened fire and lobbed grenades indiscriminately.
A rail station, restaurant and police HQ were also hit, along with a hospital where 58 perished.
The Foreign Office was frantically trying to find out if Britons were among the latest victims.
Anyone concerned about friends or relatives should call the Foreign Office on 0207 0080000
At the Oberoi, Brit Alex Chamberlain — who works for the Indian Premier League cricket website — told how he managed to slip away as up to 40 guests were herded up 18 flights of stairs at gunpoint.
He said: “They told everybody to put their hands up if there were any British or Americans.
“My friend said to me, don’t be a hero, don’t say you are British.
“I am sure that is what this is all about. They were talking about British and Americans specifically.
“There was an Italian guy. They said, ‘Where are you from?’. He said he was from Italy and they said ‘fine’ and they left him alone.
“I thought, ‘Fine, they’re going to shoot me if they ask me anything — and thank God they didn’t.”
Fellow Brit Rakesh Patel confirmed: “They wanted anyone with British or American passports.”
Later an explosion was reported after commandos were said to have stormed in.
At the Taj Mahal Palace, British Euro MP Sajjad Karim told how he fled as gunmen burst in.
Holed up in its basement with other survivors, the Tory’s voice shook with fear as he said via mobile phone: “A gunman just stood there spraying bullets around, right next to me.
“I managed to turn away and I ran into the hotel kitchen and then we were shunted into a restaurant in the basement. We are now in the dark in this room and we’ve barricaded all the doors. It’s really bad.”
He told of seeing “several people go down” as the gunmen opened up.
A guest at a wedding reception said: “Everyone — the bride, the groom, everyone — just ran.”
One hotel guest said a stairway was full of bodies.
Amid the mayhem, police and paramedics used anything they could lay their hands on to transport the injured.
Some were wheeled to safety on the hotel’s golden luggage carts.
Screaming
Later, fires burned in the top floors as police reportedly tried to overpower gunmen.
Screaming people were seen hanging out of windows of lower floors as firefighters tried to reach them with ladders and cherry-pickers.
The hotel was used by the England cricket team just two weeks ago — and they were due to stay there again for next month’s Second Test.
Last night there were fears the Test may be called off.
Plans by Middlesex County Cricket Club to fly out today for the inaugural Twenty20 Champions League were scrapped.
The bloodbaths began at 10.33pm local time. Gunmen in jeans and carrying rucksacks fired AK47s and threw grenades at the crowded CST railway terminus — killing ten.
At the police HQ, a frantic cop yelled down the phone: “We are under fire, there is shooting at the gate.” The chief of the anti-terror squad was among three top cops reported killed.
Three more people died when a taxi was blown up near the airport.
Another target was the city’s famous Cafe Leopold — a mecca for tourists.
It was left pitted with bullet holes — with pools of blood on the floor where diners had fled leaving behind their shoes.
Journalist Sourav Mishra was wounded in the shoulder as he ate there with friends. Last night he was having to share a hospital bed with THREE other injured patients. He said: “I heard gunshots — something hit me. I ran away and fell on the road.”
Hospital officials said a Japanese man had died there and nine Europeans had been admitted, three of them in critical condition with gunshots.
An Indian government spokesman said four suspects had been killed in two incidents when they tried to flee in cars.
He added another more died at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel and nine more were arrested.
Mumbai has frequently been targeted by Islamic extremists, including a series of bombings in July 2007 that killed 187 people.
A group calling itself the “Deccan Mujahedeen” last night boasted its members had staged the attacks.
Police said: “The encounters are still going on and we are trying to overpower them.”

Wild Thing’s comment………
Even though these attacks happened far away, they were attacks on America and Engliand.
We need to being to exploit their every weakness and we all know what their weaknesses are but are reluctant to exploit them as we must follow PC guidelines even when fighting wars.
For starters, don’t give terrorists in prison Korans and all the Islamic comforts of home.

Minneapolis Somali Community Reacts To Terrorist Reports
ABC news
additional VIDEO at website
The Somali community in the Metro has become fearful after reports that one of their own was a suicidal bomber.
Federal sources say Shirwa Ahmed blew himself up in a suicide bombing in northern Somali last month. They also believe he was a recruiter in the Twin Cities for a terrorist network.
Government sources believe that as many as 40 young men who knew Ahmed, recently left Minnesota without telling their families.
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS talked to Ahmed’s family. They said they have not heard from him in weeks.
The report was the talk of this busy Somali market on Wednesday.
In south Minneapolis, many in the Somali community have been fearful to go on camera to talk about the reports. Off camera, people told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS they were concerned about how the community as a whole will be perceived after the incident.
“The bottom line is there are people who are recruiting here, kids who are being brainwashed to go back there and blow themselves up,” explained Omar Jamal with the Somali Justice Advocacy Center.
Sources believe there is a strong network of recruiters working the Twin Cities, trying to convince young Somalis to surrender themselves for the cause of terrorism.
CIA Director Michael Hayden acknowledges a growing tie between Al Qaeda and Somali terrorist groups. Federal investigators believe these missing men are training for terrorist attacks overseas, but can’t be sure they won’t return the Twin Cities someday to carry out an attack.

Wild Thing’s comment…….
So those 40 went back to Somali, good and don’t come back to America.
” Off camera, people told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS they were concerned about how the community as a whole will be perceived after the incident. “
Yes that’s right, worry only about your neighbors being nice to you instead of the lives that were taken by terrorists. Ever think of speaking out against terrorism instead of the don’t pick on me BS!

Co-ordinated attacks

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‘We want all Mujahideen released’: Terrorist inside Oberoi
The Times of India
MUMBAI: A militant holed up inside Mumbai’s Oberoi Hotel told a news channel on Thursday that seven attackers were holding hostages inside the luxury establishment.

“There are seven of us inside hotel Oberoi,” the man identified as Sahadullah told the channel. “We want all Mujahideens held in India released and only after that we will release the people.”

“Release all the Mujahideens, and Muslims living in India should not be troubled,” he said.

Fresh firing erupted early on Thursday in Taj hotel as commandoes moved in to flush out terrorists holding some foreigners hostage after a night of terror targeting ten places in Mumbai.
Army commandoes moved into the luxury Oberoi and the Taj Mahal hotels to flush out terrorists holed up hours after an unspecified number of heavily armed gunmen went on a rampage in ten places in South Mumbai killing 80 persons and taking some foreigners hostage.
Fire and smoke was seen billowing from the hotel as firemen struggled hard to rescue over 100 people still trapped inside.
Five suspected terrorists were killed in two separate incidents overnight including two during a gun battle in the country’s iconic landmark Taj hotel, police said.
Maharashtra deputy chief minister R R Patil said nine suspected terrorists have been arrested. Schools and colleges were ordered to be closed.
Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said five police officers including Anti Terrorism Squad chief Hemant Karkare were killed in one of the worst terror strikes in the country’s financial capital that in all claimed the lives of at least 11 police personnel.

“The operation (by security forces) is still going on,” he said. Besides army commandoes, naval commandos and Rapid Action force personnel joined in the operations to rescue those stranded in the two hotels. Five columns of Army and 200 NSG commandoes have been rushed. Two sten guns have been recovered by police so far, he added.

Deshmukh said it was not immediately known how many terrorists were involved in the audacious attack in ten places that shook the western metropolis. The chief minister said the Taj and Oberoi are not in control yet. He said there are no terrorists in Cama hospital which was also targeted by gunmen.
Police reported that some hostages were still being held at the Taj Mahal and Oberoi with eyewitnesses saying the gunmen had targeted foreigners after they kept shouting: “Who has US or UK passports?” Several guests were also stuck.
Fire was still raging in the old wing of Taj hotel several hours after it was rocked by five to six blasts and enormous clouds of black smoke rose from the century-old edifice on Mumbai’s waterfront.

Wild Thing’s comment……..
Execute ALL in Gitmo. Nuke Mecca and Medina. These Muslimes are trying to kill the civilised world by a thousand cuts.
Every mosque or school that produced those men should be razed with napalm and every dime that is in their bank accounts paid to the surviving family members.
Every apologist should be jailed and we should CONTINUE the policy of actively seeking every person that’s been educated or trained at their facilities.
OK Your move, punk!

President George W. Bush as he enters the staging area Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2008, at Fort Campbell, Ky., home of the 101st Airborne.

The President told the troops, “We are blessed to have defenders of such character and courage.” “I’m grateful to the families who serve by your side. And I will always be thankful for the honor of having served as the Commander-in-Chief.”

“Over the past seven years, folks from this base have done exactly what they were trained to do.” “You have taken the battle of the terrorists overseas so we do not have to face them here in the United States. You have helped counter the hateful ideology of tyranny and terror with a more hopeful vision of justice and liberty. You’re part of the great ideological struggle of our time. With the soldiers of Fort Campbell out front, the forces of freedom and liberty will prevail.”

“In Iraq, Afghanistan, and beyond, our men and women in uniform have done everything we have asked of them and more,” said the President. “You’ve earned the thanks of every American.”

“I’m honored to be with the Screaming Eagles of the 101st Airborne; the Night Stalkers of the 160th; the Green Berets of the 5th Special Forces Group, all members of the Fort Campbell community. You are part of the finest military in the world. I have one word for you: Hooah!”

President George W. Bush stands with troops on stage Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2008, at Fort Campbell, Ky.,one of the Army’s premier training and deployment installations and home of the Screaming Eagles of the 101st Airborne. White House photo by Eric Draper

Remains of a taxi after terror attack at western express highway near domestic airport in Mumbai

A policeman walks with an elderly man after shootings by unidentified assailants at a railway station in Mumbai

A policeman gives water to an injured child at a hospital in Mumbai

Police officers at the scene of a restaurant attack in Mumbai, India in this image made from television, Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2008. Gunmen targeted luxury hotels, a popular tourist attraction and a crowded train station in at least seven attacks in India’s financial capital Wednesday, wounding 25 people, police and witnesses said. A.N Roy police commissioner of Maharashtra state, of which Mumbai is the capital, said several people had been wounded in the attacks and police were battling the gunmen. ‘The terrorists have used automatic weapons and in some places grenades have been lobbed,’ said Roy. Gunmen opened fire on two of the city’s best known Luxury hotels, the Taj Mahal and the Oberoi. They also attacked the crowded Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus station in southern Mumbai and Leopold’s restaurant, a Mumbai landmark. It was not immediately clear what the motive was for the attacks.
(AP Photo/NDTV)

Wild Thing’s comment……..
Here is a link to the Oberoi, Mumbai Hotel webstie.
Terror attacks in Mumbai; 80 dead, over 250 injured
The Times of India
MUMBAI: Terror struck the country’s financial capital late on Wednesday night as coordinate serial explosions and indiscriminate firing rocked eight areas across Mumbai including the crowded CST railway station, two five star hotels–Oberoi and Taj.
At least 80 people were dead and 250 injured in the terror attacks, hospital sources said.
Two terrorists were still inside the Oberoi Hotel and commando operation was on.
Terrorists hijacked white police jeep near Metro cinema in South Mumbai .
Firing was also reported near Maharashtra state assembly building in South Mumbai.
Armed with AK-47 rifles and grenades, a couple of terrorists entered the passenger hall of CST and opened fire and threw grenades, Mumbai General Railway Police Commissioner A K Sharma said.
The terror strike which began at 10:33 PM at Chhatrapathi Shivaji Terminus(CST), formerly known as the Victoria Terminus(VT), claimed 10 lives in the premises of the station alone, police said.
Three persons were killed in a bomb explosion in a taxi on Mazegaon dockyard road and an equal number were gunned down at Taj Hotel. The victims in the hotel were its employees.
The lobby of the Oberoi hotel was on fire and the hotel evacuated, eyewitnesses said.
Maharashtra DGP A N Roy said tonight’s attack in “at least seven places” is a “terror strike.”
Sharma said 30 persons were injured in the CST incident. Commandoes were rushed to the CST which wore a deserted look and train services suspended.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh is cutting his Kerala visit and returning to Mumbai. He described the situation in Mumbai as “very serious”.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has condemned terror attacks in Mumbai and assured Maharashtra government of all assistance.
The NSG commandos were on standby and national disaster response force unit is being rushed to Mumbai, the Ministry of Home Affairs officials said.
Some people were injured in the firing in Oberoi hotel, and taken to a nearby hospital in police vans and ambulance. Firing was also reported in Taj hotel.
Firing was reported at Colaba, Nariman Point and near Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminal, formerly Victoria Terminus and it was still continuing.
Firing was also reported at Cama Hospital in south Mumbai, police said, adding that a blast was reported in a taxi under a flyover in suburban Vile Parle. A bomb went off in a taxi in Mazegaon dockyard road.
SRPF personnel then entered the iconic BMC building — just opposite CST — to take aim at the assailants, BMC commissioner Jairaj Phatak said. “We fear some of the assailants are still inside the station and we want to catch them if they come out,” a police official said.
Vikhroli police station senior inspector Habib Ansari was on his way to work from his Colaba home when he saw two armed men, with sophisticated weaponry, trying to run into bylanes near the Gateway of India.
“I rushed back to Colaba and all policemen, including GRP and RPF personnel, were called up,” he added.
Bhisham Mansukhani, a journalist, was attending a wedding reception at the Taj’s Crystal Room. “I was inside the bar when glass shards almost hit my eye,” he said. “More than 200 people were escorted inside Chambers, a business centre inside the hotel,” he added.

UPDATE:
IBN
A taxi filled with ammunition was found in the suburbs of Mumbai, India, IBN reported Nov. 26, adding that attacks could spread to the city’s western suburbs. A boat filled with ammunition and explosives was found near the Gateway in Mumbai; the explosives used in the Mumbai attacks reportedly came in via the sea, IBN reported.

UPDATE:
From TimesOnline(UK):
Rhys Blakely in Bombay
Gunmen stalked a hotel in Bombay looking for British and US passport holders during co-ordinated attacks across the city that have left at least 18 dead.
A series of shootings and bomb blasts at luxury hotels and bars in the south of the city hit at least nine locations. Security sources said “a major terror attack” was unfolding.
Shootings were reported in the lobby of the five-star Taj Mahal Palace hotel in the Colaba area of south Bombay and at the nearby Leopolds bar, a popular destination with western backpackers. Witnesses described pools of blood and bullet scarred walls at both locations.

“Speaking via mobile phone, he said: “I was in the lobby of the hotel when gunmen came in and people started running … A gunman just stood there spraying bullets around, right next to me.”

A witness at the hotel told a local television station: “They wanted anyone with British or American passports.

“They wanted foreigners.”

It was feared that the death toll could rise significantly. The Times of India reported that more than 80 people had lost their lives.
Nearby, witnesses described a “high intensity” bomb blast at the Oberoi hotel, also in the south of the city, a regular meeting place for businessmen and wealthy tourists. Paramilitary forces were readying to storm the tower-block building, one of Bombay’s best-known landmarks as smoke continued to pour from the hotel lobby amid fears that hostages were being held by gunmen inside.

Wild Thing’s comment………
The attacks were targeting British and American Nationals. The man on TV in India said the places that were chosen by the terrorists are places that are frequented by Britich and Americans.

Why the Barack Obama Birth Certificate Issue Is Legitimate
Joe the Farmer
(The pen name Joe the Farmer pays tribute to Joe the Plumber, who had the audacity to ask a question.)
American Thinker
Does this Barack Obama birth certificate issue bug you because, although improbable, it’s possible that he’s not a natural born citizen, isn’t eligible to be President under the Constitution, and this issue could be bigger than Watergate — or any other “gate” in history?
Are you afraid that if you were even to raise the subject with your friends that they will think you wear a tinfoil hat, because Factcheck.org, the final arbiter of truth in the universe, said so?
Are you with the news media, and after spending so much money to get Barack Obama elected, you’d hate to ruin your investment?
Are you a talk radio host who thinks that if you say the burden of proof needed to demonstrate one is eligible to be Commander in Chief should be at least as high as, oh, say, the level to be eligible for Hawaiian homestead status (see 1.F. below), that you’d be forced to give equal time to someone who disagrees?
Are you a conservative, libertarian, or any conscientious constitutionalist from any ideological side of life, who’s convinced something’s not right, but you’re afraid your reputation might be tarnished because, after all, this could be one big Saul-Alinsky-style set-up, and the joke would be on you?
Fear not! Joe the Farmer has prepared an outline showing that no matter how this issue is ultimately resolved, you have legitimate concerns, and that Barack Obama should, simply out of respect for the nation he was elected to lead, disclose the sealed vault copy of his birth certificate.
Given the circumstances, if Barack Obama respected this nation, he would prove it by the simplest and easiest of gestures – unless, of course, all this talk about change and hope was just a bunch of bull, and he’s just “another politician.” Here’s the outline:
1. Under Hawaiian law, it is possible (both legally and illegally) for a person to have been born out of state, yet have a birth certificate on file in the Department of Health.
A. From Hawaii’s official Department of Health, Vital Records webpage: “Amended certificates of birth may be prepared and filed with the Department of Health, as provided by law, for 1) a person born in Hawaii who already has a birth certificate filed with the Department of Health or 2) a person born in a foreign country” (applies to adopted children).
B. A parent may register an in-state birth in lieu of certification by a hospital of birth under HRS 338-5
C. Hawaiian law expressly provides for registration of out-of-state births under HRS 338-17.8. A foreign birth presumably would have been recorded by the American consular of the country of birth, and presumably that would be reflected on the Hawaiian birth certificate.
D. Hawaiian law, however, expressly acknowledges that its system is subject to error. See, for example, HRS 338-17
E. Hawaiian law expressly provides for verification in lieu of certified copy of a birth certificate under HRS 338-14.3.
F. Even the Hawaii Department of Home Lands does not accept a certified copy of a birth certificate as conclusive evidence for its homestead program. From its web site: “In order to process your application, DHHL utilizes information that is found only on the original Certificate of Live Birth, which is either black or green. This is a more complete record of your birth than the Certification of Live Birth (a computer-generated printout). Submitting the original Certificate of Live Birth will save you time and money since the computer-generated Certification requires additional verification by DHHL.”
2. Contrary to what you may have read, no document made available to the public, nor any statement by Hawaiian officials, evidences conclusively that Obama was born in Hawaii.
A. Associated Press reported about a statement of Hawaii Health Department Director Dr. Fukino, “State declares Obama birth certificate genuine.”
B. That October 31, 2008 statement says that Dr. Fukino “ha[s] personally seen and verified that the Hawai’i State Department of Health has Sen. Obama’s original birth certificate on record in accordance with state policies and procedures.” That statement does not, however, verify that Obama was born in Hawaii, and as explained above, under Hawaiian policies and procedures it is quite possible that Hawaii may have a birth record of a person not born in Hawaii. Unlikely, but possible.
C. The document that the Obama campaign released to the public is a certified copy of Obama’s birth record, which is not the best evidence since, even under Hawaiian law, the original vault copy is the better evidence. Presumably, the vault record would show whether his birth was registered by a hospital in Hawaii.
D. Without accusing anyone of any wrongdoing, we nevertheless know that some people have gone to great lengths, even in violation of laws, rules and procedures, to confer the many benefits of United States citizenship on themselves and their children. Given the structure of the Hawaiian law, the fact that a parent may register a birth, and the limited but inherent potential for human error within the system, it is possible that a parent of a child born out-of-state could have registered that birth to confer the benefits of U.S. citizenship, or simply to avoid bureaucratic hassles at that time or later in the child’s life.
1. We don’t know whether the standards of registration by the Department of Health were more or less stringent in 1961 (the year of Obama’s birth) than they are today. However, especially with post-9/11 scrutiny, we do know that there have been instances of fraudulent registrations of foreign births as American births.
2. From a 2004 Department of Justice news release about multiple New Jersey vital statistics employees engaged in schemes to issue birth certificates to foreign-born individuals: “An individual who paid Anderson and her co-conspirators for the service of creating the false birth records could then go to Office of Vital Statistics to receive a birth certificate . . . As part of the investigation, federal agents executed a search warrant of the HCOVS on Feb. 18, 2004, which resulted in the seizure of hundreds of suspect Certificates of Live Birth which falsely indicated that the named individuals were born in Jersey City, when in fact, they were born outside the United States and were in the United States illegally . . . Bhutta purchased from Goswamy false birth certificates for himself and his three foreign-born children.”
3. Even before 9/11, government officials acknowledged the “ease” of obtaining birth certificates fraudulently. From 1999 testimony by one Social Security Administration official: “Furthermore, the identity data contained in Social Security records are only as reliable as the evidence on which the data are based. The documents that a card applicant must present to establish age, identity, and citizenship, usually a birth certificate and immigration documents-are relatively easy to alter, counterfeit, or obtain fraudulently.”
3. It has been reported that the Kenyan government has sealed Obama’s records. If he were born in Kenya, as has been rumored even recently, the Kenyan government would certainly have many incentives to keep that undisclosed. Objectively, of course, those records may prove nothing. Obama’s refusal to release records at many levels here in the United States, though, merely fuels speculation.
4. Obama has refused to disclose the vault copy of his Hawaiian birth certificate. This raises the question whether he himself has established that he is eligible to be President. To date, no state or federal election official, nor any government authority, has verified that he ever established conclusively that he meets the eligibility standard under the Constitution. If the burden of proof were on him, perhaps as it should be for the highest office of any individual in America, the more-than-dozen lawsuits challenging his eligibility would be unnecessary.
A. Had he disclosed his vault copy in the Berg v. Obama lawsuit (which was the first lawsuit filed on the question of his eligibility to be President), and it was established he was born in Hawaii, that would have constituted res judicata, and acted to stop other similar lawsuits being filed. Without res judicata (meaning, the matter is adjudged and settled conclusively) he or government officials will need to defend other lawsuits, and valuable court resources will be expended. Strategically from a legal standpoint, therefore, his refusal to disclose doesn’t make sense. Weighing factors such as costs, resources and complexity of disclosing versus not disclosing, he must have reason of considerable downside in disclosing, or upside in not disclosing. There may be other reasons, but one could speculate that he hasn’t disclosed because:
1. He was not born in Hawaii, and may not be eligible to be President;
2. He was born in Hawaii, but facts that may be derived from his vault copy birth certificate are inconsistent with the life story he has told (and sold);
3. He was born in Hawaii, and his refusal to provide the best evidence that he is a natural born citizen is a means by which to draw criticism of him in order to make him appear to be a “victim.” This would energize his supporters. This would also make other charges about him seem suspect, including his concealment about ties to Bill Ayers and others of some infamy. Such a clever yet distasteful tactic would seem to be a Machiavelli- and Saul-Alinsky-style way to manipulate public opinion. But while this tactic may energize his supporters, it would convince those who believe him to be a manipulator that he’s not only just that, but a real pro at it. This would indeed be the basest reason of all, and would have repercussions about his trustworthiness (both here and abroad), which Americans know, is a characteristic sorely lacking in its leaders.
B. His motion to dismiss the Berg case for lack of standing could be viewed as contemptuous of the Constitution. See, “Who Enforces the Constitution’s Natural Born Citizen Clause?” Are we to expect yet another White House that hides behind lawyers, and expects Americans to swallow half-truths on a just-trust-me basis?
C. This issue poses the potential for a constitutional crisis unlike anything this country has seen. Disclosure at this stage, however, could even result in criminal sanctions. See, “Obama Must Stand Up Now Or Step Down.” Thus, he has motive not to disclose if he were ineligible.
The question not being asked by the holders of power, who dismiss this as a rightwing conspiracy, is what’s the downside of disclosing? This is a legitimate issue of inquiry because Barack Obama has turned it into one. The growing number of people who demand an answer in conformance with the Constitution are doing their work; the people’s watchdogs aren’t.

This photo was taken a few years ago of his encounter with a 9/11 Truther: ( H/T Michelle Malkin )

Vietnam vet branded “panhandler” for handing out memorial poppies

From Michelle Malkin blog
Big John is a Vietnam veteran and VFW leader who works tirelessly on charitable efforts for our troops. Last year, my family and I attended his Thanksgiving feast for wounded vets at the VFW in Arlington, VA. John’s got a heart of gold and an infectious, can-do attitude.
Now, he’s in trouble. Some petty bureaucrats have branded him a “panhandler” and repeatedly threatened him with arrest for handing out “Buddy Poppies” on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The Rutherford Institute has come to his aid:

“A local veteran is speaking out after police threatened to arrest him for distributing ‘Buddy Poppies’ or memorial flowers at the National Mall in Washington D.C. Now the Charlottesville-based Rutherford Institute has stepped in and filed a first amendment lawsuit against the National Park Police.
Now the Charlottesville-based Rutherford Institute has stepped in and filed a first amendment lawsuit against the National Park Police.
John Miska enjoys volunteering and spends most of time helping injured veterans and distributing ‘Buddy Poppies.’
“They’re handed out as a remembrance of veterans sacrifice. The poppies are red representing the blood the soldiers shed and it’s a reminder and it gives people pause to think,” said John Miska, Veteran.
Recently the National Park Police threatened to arrest Miska for handing out his Poppies on the National Mall in Washington D.C.
“People see me standing there and they approach me and ask may I have a Poppy and I give them a Poppy. If people are moved to offer a donation we accept the donations,” said Miska.
According to president of the Rutherford Institute Miska hasn’t done anything wrong, he has only expressed his first amendment rights.
“People occasionally give him money. There’s a statute it’s a D.C. law that says you can’t aggressively solicit money, but he doesn’t do any of that. We feel it’s a violation of the first amendment of the United States Constitution which guarantees you the right to assemble or guarantees you the right to free speech to hand out Buddy Poppies,” said John Whitehead, President, Rutherford Institute.
Miska says this experience isn’t going to stop him from his mission and that it will only encourage him to do more.
“I took an oath to the constitution to preserve protect and defend and I feel if you don’t stand up for you rights you will lose those rights,” said Miska.
CBS19 has tried contacting the U.S. Park Police, but they have not returned the phone call.
The Rutherford Institute is waiting on the government to answer the complaint. What happens next will depend on the U.S. Attorney General’s response.”

He let me know he’s working on a Christmas party at Walter Reed for 300 wounded soldiers and their families and asked me to spread the word. Any cash donations or gifts would be most welcome.

“We will accept Christmas cards to hand out as well over the Holidays. They must be unsealed so they may be inspected. If someone wants to send a specific gift we will hand out tickets and draw by number to hand out gifts that we receive. They must be unwrapped and in original factory packaging. If someone wants to send wrapping paper and tape along with a note or card we will include that with gift. A suggestion would be a gift card to a major store, restaurant or gas station with a Christmas card.

Donations may be sent to
VFW Post 8208
PO Box 653
Ruckersville VA 22923
Place a memo note that donation is Christmas fund.

” We are a 501c19 Veterans Service Organization for tax purposes and will provide IRS donation letters upon request for tax returns.”

.

Wild Thing’s comment………..
God bless Big John for his service and for all he has done to help our troops and Veterans since.
This is so horirble!!! Veterans do this all over our country, I always see them outside a store and buy a poppy from them to wear. It is something I always look forward to.

….Thank you Mark for the heads up about this.

Council passes controversial bill on stolen guns
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh City Council gave its first approval today to legislation requiring that anyone report a lost or stolen firearm report that within 24 hours or potentially face a $500 fine.
The 6-1 vote, with two abstentions, sets up a final vote likely next week, which would send the legislation to Mayor Luke Ravenstahl for his signature or veto, and then potentially to the courts, where similar measures have been challenged.

“Who really cares about it being unconstitutional?” said Councilwoman Tonya Payne, a supporter. “This is what’s right to do, and if this means that we have to go out and have a court battle, then that’s fine … We have plenty of dead bodies coming up in our streets every single day, and that is unacceptable.”

The lone no vote was by Councilman Ricky Burgess, who argued that it would be a “false cure” that would be “particularly cruel” to his violence-plagued northeastern Pittsburgh district.

“This legislation will not strike a blow to straw purchasers,” he said. “This ordinance will not be enforced, no loopholes will be closed and no lives will be saved, because no municipality can legally regulate firearms of any kind, at any time, for any reason.”

Advocates appearing before council today argued that people called straw purchasers frequently buy guns, then sell them to criminals who could not pass the required background checks. When the guns are used in crimes and traced back to the straw purchaser, he or she just claims the weapon was lost or stolen. Unless that can be disproved, the straw purchaser is off the hook.

“It’s a loophole that allows illegal gun traffickers to simply state that a weapon was stolen,” said Councilman William Peduto, one of three authors of the bill along with Council President Doug Shields and Councilman Bruce Kraus.

Councilmen Dan Deasy and Patrick Dowd abstained.
Mr. Dowd said that in passing the measure council is “not really effectively changing the situation on the ground,” and is inviting a lawsuit.
Philadelphia has sought to enforce similar legislation, but the effort has been tied up in litigation. Legally, the question is whether the state ban on local laws on “the transfer, ownership, transportation or possession” of guns extends to the reporting of lost or stolen firearms.
The Commonwealth Court threw out Philadelphia’s measure, and other gun control rules there. The matter is heading for the state Supreme Court.

Wild Thing’s comment…….
So to this woman Tonya Payne says the Constitution doesn’t matter, if it stands in the way of the socialist agenda. Here is a title for this idiot, domestic enemy of the state Tonya Payne. And she IS a domestic enemy and should be treated as such.
Wear it, own it and never forget it Payne the pian!! Liberals sure are tryants!!
She sure looks a lot like Cynthia McKinney, another Obama brain nut case.
What is truly amazing about ‘ends justifies the means’ liberals is that IT NEVER DOES! She’s willing to ignore the constitution for something that isn’t even going to do what she hopes it will! She really believes that this is going to somehow end: “plenty of dead bodies coming up in our streets every single day, and that is unacceptable.” The two things have nothing to do with each other; this legislation is not going to stop dead bodies coming up in our streets! The Loon’s premise is flawed. She’s willing to throw the constitution out for some pie in the sky wishing game. Every last liberal is an idiot.

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……Thank you RAC for sending this to me.
RAC has a website that is awesome. 336th Assault Helicopter Company
13th Combat Aviation Battalion – 1st Aviation Brigade – Soc Trang, Republic of Vietnam

Rathergate II: Certification of Live Birth a clear forgery
The media bought it. The voters bought it. And now some in Congress are resisting the idea of congressional hearings because they believe that Barack Obama’s “birth certificate” has been posted online.
Not so.
What was posted was not a birth certificate, but something that resembles a “Certification of Live Birth” or COLB, which, even if authentic, does not prove “natural born” U.S. citizenship. You see, in Hawaii, a Certification of Live Birth is issued within a year of a child’s birth to those who register a birth abroad or one that takes place outside a hospital.
It’s Rathergate all over again with more amiss than a 1970s Selectric typewriter. But before I tell you what the experts found, let me ask you a few questions:
1. If you were a natural born American citizen and had it within your means to quiet all the lawsuits and questions with proof, would you do it?
2. If you were a natural born American citizen, would you spend thousands of dollars to fight the legal cases against you, or would you simply answer the legitimate question of whether you meet the constitutional requirements for office?
3. If you were a natural born American citizen, would you forge a document called a “Certification of Live Birth” and tell the public it was a real “birth certificate”?
If someone were to violate the law by manufacturing a forgery in order trick the public, would that be enough evidence for members of Congress to conduct hearings and for a court to issue an order for the critical records, including the original long-form birth certificate (signed by the doctor) to ensure that the U.S. constitutional requirements for office were not violated? After all, Congress is sworn to uphold and defend that Constitution, and the justices on the U.S. Supreme Court are “guardians” of the Constitution. That’s their job, isn’t it?
Ron Polarik, who holds a Ph.D. in Instructional Media and specializes in computer graphics with over 20 years experience with computers, printers and typewriters, has come forth with more definitive evidence than the word processor that tried to simulate a 1970s Selectric typewriter.
Polarik has submitted a signed affidavit and has now released his findings on video at www.ObamaForgery.com with his identity masked and voice altered to guard against the carrying out of threats, which he has already received.
The Summary: The Certificate of Live Birth documents posted on Mr. Obama’s website www.fightthesmears.com, Daily Kos (a pro-Obama blog) and factcheck.org, (a pro-Obama political research group), were found to be altered and forged.
* The problem of the pixels: When you have a green patterned document such as this, there should be a lot of green pixels from the background showing up between the letters that appear on the certification. But in this case, instead of green pixels, there are white and grey pixels between the letters, which result when you replace existing text with other text.
* There is no second fold line. The pictures show two folds – necessary to fit any COLB into an envelope for mailing, but the document itself shows only one fold. This is another indication of document alteration.
* There’s a blurred border. The border has a lower resolution than the rest of the document, which is another indication that it has been altered.
* The border is one that is used in 2007 COLBs. As a security measure, Hawaii changes their borders every year. This is when the Obama campaign claims the certificate was obtained. That is fine except for the problem that …
* The seal and signature stamp are from a 2008 COLB. As revealed by a process called edging, the Hawaiian seal and signature stamp on the back of the document are revealed to be from the wrong year!
Like with Rathergate, when you’re creating documents, make sure you use only a typewriter that was invented at the time you report the document was manufactured. When posting a “Certification of Live Birth,” make sure you “borrow” only from documents used in the same year!
But beyond the birth certificate issue, there’s the matter that Obama traveled to Indonesia, Pakistan, Southern India and Kenya in 1981.
He said he went to Indonesia to see his mother. This seemed plausible, except for the fact that his mother returned to Hawaii in August of 1980 to file for a divorce from her second husband, Lolo Soetoro. Unless she went back to pal around with the man she divorced, she wasn’t there at the time of Obama’s visit.
There’s another problem.
No record of Obama holding an American passport prior to the one he received once becoming a U.S. senator has been found. If he traveled to Pakistan with an American passport, he wouldn’t have been allowed in – since Pakistan was in turmoil in 1981 and under martial law. It was also on the State Department’s travel ban list for U.S. citizens.
If he couldn’t get into Pakistan with a U.S. passport, perhaps he went there with an Indonesian passport. But the only way you can get one of those is if you are an Indonesian citizen.
That’s quite possible since under Indonesian law, when a male acknowledges a child as his son, it deems the son – in this case Obama – to be an Indonesian state citizen, which was also recorded by Obama’s school record.
So, if he didn’t go to Indonesia in 1981 to visit mom (who had returned to Hawaii by then), might it have something to do with the fact that Indonesian passports expire every five years and it was time for renewal?
Why does that matter?
To read the rest of the article ….PLEASE CLICK HERE…….

Wild Thing’s comment……
In his book Obama said he had a copy of his birth certificate and he kept it in a box along with some other memories of his father so why doesn’t he just produce that one and laugh at those of us who are asking to see it?
This has to do with our Constitution so until it is answered and not with more lies from Obama. It really is as simple as that and only gets complicated with the lies from Barack Hussein O..
Watch how Obama inserts himself everyday since the popular vote.
He had a press conference yesterday and plans one today under the guise of his “economic plan.” This is all staging to him.
His continued “campaign promises” make the news everyday. There are at least 2-3 press releases per day. They say nothing but he is in our face.
My gut feeling is he is not eligible to become President under the constitution but he is trying to distract the media and the public into already accepting him as President

…..Thank you Mark for the article.

Heavy machine guns with barrels unearthed during a cache sweep in Dhabtiya, a village northwest of Baghdad lie in line during an inventory of the items Nov. 23. Soldiers from Troop A “Ace High,” 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment “Strykehorse,” 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team “Warrior,” 25th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division-Baghdad, conducted a cache sweep along the Grand Canal and seized 11 cache’s over the two-day period.

‘Ace High’ Soldiers Strike Gold During Cache Sweep
By Sgt. 1st Class Brian Addis
2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team,
25th Infantry Division
JOINT SECURITY STATION SHEIK AMIR, Iraq
Soldiers from Troop A “Ace High,” 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment “Strykehorse,” 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team “Warrior,” 25th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division-Baghdad, conducted a cache sweep in Dhabtiya, a village northwest of Baghdad, Nov. 24-25.
The two-day operation resulted in eleven cache finds.
Platoons from Ace High Troop, with the help of approximately 50 Sons of Iraq (Abna al Iraq) and Iraqi army soldiers conducted a deliberate east-to-west search along the north side of the Grand Canal Nov. 24. The search initially turned up an unknown type rocket and a 60mm mortar. An ensuing search resulted in four additional separate caches. The cache find was expected, but the size and contents of some of these caches were surprising.

“The size of the heavy weapons caches was not what we had expected,” said Capt. Matt Clark, commander, Ace High Troop, who is a native of Tucson, Ariz. “The discovery of the SA-13 missile [Strella] pod was definitely not something we had envisioned in the beginning.”

The first cache consisted of two AK-47s with magazines, an FAL rifle with magazines, three DSHKA barrels, a hand grenade, 100 meters of time fuse, a SA7 anti-aircraft missile, 120 links of 7.62mm rounds, a .30-caliber machine gun, four Italian anti-tank mines and a 120mm mortar tube.
The second cache consisted of four 155mm artillery rounds, five 130mm rockets with serviceable warheads and two 130mm rocket warheads. The third cache contained a 155mm artillery round and three 105mm projectiles.
The items found in the fourth cache were unserviceable due to corrosion and was much older than the other three. Items found were a flare pistol, four mortar bipods, five .50-caliber machine gun receivers, 10 12.7mm HMG receivers, 30 HMG barrels of various types and calibers with one being unknown, and a light machine gun receiver.

“I believe these caches were the property of al Qaida in Iraq cell that had a large influence in the area historically.” Clark said

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Once all items were inventoried, EOD was called to the site and all unexploded ordnance/explosive cache items were reduced on site. All other serviceable and unserviceable weapons were turned over to the Iraqi army.
The second day of “Operation Gold Digger” began at approximately 10 a.m. Nov. 25 with Soldiers from Ace High Troop once again patrolling the flat lands of Dhabtiya along the Grand Canal. The sweep would complete the north side of the canal and push the search 200-300 meters south of the canal as well. The Soldiers discovered almost twice the number of caches than the previous day as seven caches were unearthed, inventoried and destroyed. Amongst the items found were 27 82mm mortars, five heavy machine guns, four 120mm mortars and six anti-aircraft guns.
The combined efforts of Iraqi security and coalition forces during the two-day event culminated in a successful reduction and erosion of enemy capabilities.

“The Iraqi army and Sons of Iraq were able to work together and contribute a great deal, which is beneficial in the progress towards a safer and more secure area,” Clark said. “General intelligence allowed us to focus the time and man power effectively and the success of the operation was a direct result of that.”