Terrorism and the Exceptional Individual By Scott Stewart | May 17, 2012 There has been a lot of chatter in intelligence and academic circles about al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) bombmaker Ibrahim al-Asiri and his value to AQAP. The disclosure last week of a thwarted AQAP plot to attack U.S. airliners using an improved version of an "underwear bomb" used in the December 2009 attempted attack aboard a commercial airplane and the disclosure of the U.S. government's easing of the rules of engagement for unmanned aerial vehicle strikes in Yemen played into these discussions. People are debating how al-Asiri's death would affect the organization. A similar debate undoubtedly will erupt if AQAP leader Nasir al-Wahayshi is captured or killed. AQAP has claimed that al-Asiri trained others in bombmaking, and the claim makes sense. Furthermore, other AQAP members have received training in constructing improvised explosive devices (IEDs) while training and fighting in places such as Iraq and Afghanistan. This means that al-Asiri is not the only person within the group who can construct an IED. However, he has demonstrated creativity and imagination. His devices consistently have been able to circumvent existing security measures, even if they have not always functioned as intended. We believe this ingenuity and imagination make al-Asiri not merely a bombmaker, but an exceptional bombmaker. Read More » Comments? Send them to responses@stratfor.com

GR8 Presentation on ANWR Oil Potential

  Sent: Monday, March 12, 2012 11:03:23 AM Subject: From Alaska - ANWR     From Alaska ....        My daughter and son-in-law were in L. A. last week from their home in Anchorage . He is a foreman in the oil fields at ANWR. He has to fly his own plane to get to the job where he spends months at a time in the most God forsaken place this side of Siberia .  He confirmed everything that is in this story, and brought dozens of pictures for proof. Our environmentalist friends have forced gas prices up to an impossible rate, forcing us to buy oil from our enemies, for whatever reason that simply isn't true.  There is enough oil in ANWR to supply the US at our present rate of usage for more than 200 years. The space that ANWR occupies in Alaska is equivalent to a postage stamp in the Mojave Desert .  If you won't mind paying $5.00 a gallon in the very near future try to make sense of the following:  Something you should know: Oil!!  This is the best presentation on ANWR I have seen.  I would like to add a little more information. A new pipeline across  Alaska isn't required since the location for drilling in ANWR is about  160 miles from the North Slope Prudhoe Bay pipeline where it would  be connected. I did not know this.  Second the wildlife love the pipeline since it is heated and provides a  shelter during the worst times during the winter.  Maybe another question should be asked. FIRST do you know what  ANWR is? ANSWER: Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.   Now a comparison    And some perspective  NOTE WHERE THE PROPOSED  DEVELOPMENT AREA IS (it's in the "ANWR Coastal Plain")      THIS IS WHAT THE DEMOCRATS,  LIBERALS AND "GREENS" SHOW YOU WHEN THEY TALK ABOUT ANWR  and they are right these ARE  photographs of ANWR         ISN'T ANWR BEAUTIFUL? WHY SHOULD WE DRILL HERE  AND DESTROY THIS BEAUTIFUL  PLACE?  WELL THAT'S NOT EXACTLY  THE TRUTH! Do you remember the map?  The map showed that the proposed drilling area is in the ANWR Coastal  Plain. Do those photographs look like a  coastal plain to you?     WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?  THE ANSWER IS SIMPLE  THAT IS NOT WHERE THEY ARE  WANTING TO DRILL!     THIS IS WHAT THE PROPOSED  EXPLORATION AREA ACTUALLY  LOOKS LIKE IN THE WINTER         AND THIS IS WHAT IT ACTUALLY  LOOKS LIKE IN THE SUMMER       HERE ARE A COUPLE SCREEN SHOTS FROM GOOGLE EARTH AS YOU CAN SEE, THE AREA  WHERE THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT  DRILLING IS A BARREN WASTELAND.   OH... AND THEY SAY THAT THEY  ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THE EFFECT  ON THE LOCAL WILDLIFE?   HERE IS A PHOTO (SHOT DURING THE SUMMER) OF THE  "DEPLETED WILDLIFE" SITUATION CREATED BY DRILLING AROUND  PRUDHOE BAY*   DON'T YOU THINK THAT THE CARIBOU  REALLY HATE THAT DRILLING?  HERE'S THAT SAME SPOT DURING  THE WINTER.    HEY, THIS BEAR SEEMS TO REALLY  HATE THE PIPELINE NEAR  PRUDHOE BAY *The Prudhoe bay area accounts for 17% of U.S.  Domestic oil production NOW, WHY DO YOU THINK THAT  THE DEMOCRATS ARE  LYING ABOUT ANWR?   REMEMBER WHEN  AL GORE SAID THAT  THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD WORK TO  ARTIFICIALLY RAISE GAS PRICES  TO $5.00 A GALLON?   WELL AL GORE AND HIS FELLOW DEMOCRATS HAVE ALMOST  REACHED THEIR GOAL!   NOW THAT YOU KNOW THAT THE  DEMOCRATS HAVE BEEN LYING,  WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO  ABOUT IT?  YOU CAN START BY FORWARDING  THIS TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW  SO THAT THEY WILL KNOW  THE TRUTH.          

BREAKING: NLRB "Ambush Election" Rule Blocked

The United States District Court for the District of Columbia just ruled that the NLRB lacked a valid 3-member quorum to adopt its "ambush election" rulemaking in December 2011. You can read the decision here: http://lrionline.com/?p=13350 Since Member Brian Hayes refused to participate in the actual vote on the rule, the Court ruled that this prevented the Board from achieving a valid quorum. While the new NLRB can re-vote the rule (although whether this Board constitutes a valid quorum is also under question in separate litigation), the District Court denies the Board's authority to operate under the new rules. Check out the post above for more analysis on what the decision means for employers. As always, we will keep you posted on developments. Phillip Wilson Labor Relations Institute 7850 South Elm Place - Suite E Broken Arrow, OK 74011 US

Congressional Dems Introduce Amendment To Make Self Defense Illegal   Better Buy All Of Your Ammo Soon! Congressional Dems Introduce Amendment To Make Self Defense Illegal Source: frontporchpolitics

Who Killed Bin Laden? Here's a Marine's Answer!   Who killed Bin Laden? Here's a Marine's answer. America is not at war, the US Military is at war; America is at the mall." Let's be clear on this: OBAMA did NOT kill Bin Laden. An American sailor, who Obama, just a few weeks before, was debating on whether or not to PAY, did! In fact, if you remember a little less than two years ago, his administration actually charged and attempted to court-martial three Navy Seals from Seal Team Six, when a terrorist suspect they captured, complained they had punched him during the take-down and bloodied his nose. Obama's administration further commented how brutal they were. The left were calling them Nazi's and Baby Killers. Now all of a sudden, the very brave men they vilified are now heroes when they make his administration look good in the eyes of the public. Obama just happened to be the one in office when the CIA finally found the And our sailors took him out. Essentially, Obama only gave an answer, Yes or No, to him being taken out. This is NOT an Obama victory, but an AMERICAN victory!! Ed Schreiber Col. US MC (Ret.) "Semper Fi" OBAMA'S OWN WORDS TRAP HIM: 2008: "Navy Seal Team 6 is Cheney's private assassination team." 2011: "I put together Seal Team 6 to take out Bin Laden." 2008: "Bin Laden is innocent until proven guilty, and must be captured alive and given a fair trial." 2011: "I authorized Seal Team 6 to kill Bin Laden." 2008: " Guantanamo is entirely unnecessary, and the detainees should not be interrogated." 2011: "Vital intelligence was obtained from Guantanamo detainees that led to our locating Bin Laden." I HOPE THIS GETS SENT AROUND TO PEOPLE WHO CARE ABOUT THE TRUTH! Remind the people who vote, time to throw out the trash is nearly here. Those who have had freedom and lost it will never see it again!"

Think She IS Pissed, but oooh so accurate...   throw them all out. The tea party is being demonized because both the "D"s and "R"s are afraid enough people will figure out that the "tea party" is actually any responsible, productive American voter tired of the same old BS and is demanding a change.   Read and heed   Don’t forget Barney Franks et all………tk     Alan Simpson, Senator from Wyoming , Co-Chair of the Deficit Commission, calls senior citizens the Greediest Generation as he compared "Social Security" to a Milk Cow with 310 million teats.     Here's a response in a letter from PATTY MYERS in Montana ... I think she is a little ticked off! She also tells it like it is!   "Hey Alan, let's get a few things straight.. 1. As a career politician, you have been on the public dole for FIFTY YEARS. 2. I have been paying Social Security taxes for 48 YEARS (since I was 15 years old. I am now 63). 3 My Social Security payments, and those of millions of other Americans, were safely tucked away in an interest bearing account for decades until you political pukes decided to raid the account and give OUR money to a bunch of zero ambition losers in return for votes, thus bankrupting the system and turning Social Security into a Ponzi scheme that would have made Bernie Madoff proud.. 4. Recently, just like Lucy & Charlie Brown, you and your ilk pulled the proverbial football away from millions of American seniors nearing retirement and moved the goalposts for full retirement from age 65 to age 67. NOW, you and your shill commission is proposing to move the goalposts YET AGAIN. 5. I, and millions of other Americans, have been paying into Medicare from Day One, and now you morons propose to change the rules of the game. Why? Because you idiots mismanaged other parts of the economy to such an extent that you need to steal money from Medicare to pay the bills. 6. I, and millions of other Americans, have been paying income taxes our entire lives, and now you propose to increase our taxes yet again. Why? Because you incompetent bastards spent our money so profligately that you just kept on spending even after you ran out of money. Now, you come to the American taxpayers and say you need more to pay off YOUR debt. To add insult to injury, you label us "greedy" for calling "bullshit" on your incompetence. Well, Captain Bullshit, I have a few questions for YOU. 1. How much money have you earned from the American taxpayers during your pathetic 50-year political career? 2. At what age did you retire from your pathetic political career, and how much are you receiving in annual retirement benefits from the American taxpayers? 3. How much do you pay for YOUR government provided health insurance? 4. What cuts in YOUR retirement and healthcare benefits are you proposing in your disgusting deficit reduction proposal, or, as usual, have you exempted yourself and your political cronies? It is you, Captain Bullshit, and your political co-conspirators called Congress who are the"greedy" ones. It is you and your fellow nutcases who have bankrupted America and stolen the American dream from millions of loyal, patriotic taxpayers. And for what? Votes. That's right, sir. You and yours have bankrupted America for the sole purpose of advancing your pathetic political careers. You know it, we know it, and you know that we know it. And you can take that to the bank, you miserable son of a bitch. If you like the way things are in America delete this. If you agree with what a fellow Montana citizen Patty Myers says, PASS IT ON!!!!

DID YOU KNOW? As you walk up the steps to the building which houses the U.S. Supreme Court you can see near the top of the building a row of the world's law givers and each one is facing one in the middle who is facing forward with a full frontal view ... It is Moses and he is holding the Ten Commandments! . DID YOU KNOW? As you enter the Supreme Court courtroom, the two huge oak doors have the Ten Commandments engraved on each lower portion of each door. DID YOU KNOW? As you sit inside the courtroom, you can see the wall, right above where the Supreme Court Judges sit, a display of the Ten Commandments! DID YOU KNOW? There are Bible verses etched in stone all over the Federal Buildings and Monuments in Washington , D.C. DID YOU KNOW? James Madison, the fourth president, known as 'The Father of Our Constitution' made the Following statement: 'We have staked the whole of all our political Institutions upon the capacity of mankind for Self-government, upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to The Ten Commandments of God.' DID YOU KNOW? Every session of Congress begins with a prayer by a paid preacher, whose salary has been paid by the taxpayers since 1777. DID YOU KNOW? Fifty-two of the 55 founders of the Constitution were members of the established Orthodox churches in the colonies. DID YOU KNOW? Thomas Jefferson worried that the Courts would overstep their authority and instead of Interpreting the law would begin making law an oligarchy the rule of few over many. How then, have we gotten to the point that everything we have done for 220 years in this Country is now suddenly wrong and Unconstitutional? Let's put it around the world and let the world see and remember that this great country was Built on The Holy Bible and belief in GOD!

An Asprin a Day May Keep Heart Attacks at Bay!

        ------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: Mayo Clinic on Aspirin - PASS IT ON Mayo Clinic Aspirin Dr. Virend Somers, is a Cardiologist from the Mayo Clinic, who is lead author of the report in the July 29, 2008 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Most heart attacks occur in the day, generally between 6 A.M. and noon. Having one during the night, when the heart should be most at rest, means that something unusual happened. Somers and his colleagues have been working for a decade to show that sleep apnea is to blame. 1. If you take an aspirin or a baby aspirin once a day, take it at night. The reason: Aspirin has a 24-hour "half-life"; therefore, if most heart attacks happen in the wee hours of the morning, the Aspirin would be strongest in your system. 2. FYI, Aspirin lasts a really long time in your medicine chest for years, (when it gets old, it smells like vinegar). Please read on. Something that we can do to help ourselves - nice to know. Bayer is making crystal aspirin to dissolve instantly on the tongue. They work much faster than the tablets. Why keep Aspirin by your bedside? It's about Heart Attacks - There are other symptoms of a heart attack, besides the pain on the left arm. One must also be aware of an intense pain on the chin, as well as nausea and lots of sweating; however, these symptoms may also occur less frequently. Note: There may be NO pain in the chest during a heart attack. The majority of people (about 60%) who had a heart attack during their sleep did not wake up. However, if it occurs, the chest pain may wake you up from your deep sleep. If that happens, immediately dissolve two aspirins in your mouth and swallow them with a bit of water. Afterwards: - Call 911. - Phone a neighbor or a family member who lives very close by. - Say "heart attack!" - Say that you have taken 2 Aspirins. - Take a seat on a chair or sofa near the front door, and wait for their arrival and ...DO NOT LIE DOWN! A Cardiologist has stated that if each person after receiving this e-mail, sends it to 10 people, probably one life could be saved! I have already shared this information. What about you? Do forward this message. It may save lives! =          

FromShe's a Breadwinner      The new breadwinner in the family...   An emergency room physician told me that a woman in her late 20's came to the ER today with her 8thpregnancy.     She told the first doctor she saw: "My Mama told me that I am the breadwinner for the family." He asked her to explain. She said that she can make babies, and babies get money from the State for the family. It goes like this:     The Grandma calls the Department of Child & Family Services, and states that the unemployed daughter is not capable of caring for all of her kids.     DCFS agrees, and tells her the children will need to go into foster care. The Grandma then volunteers to be the foster parent, and receives a check for $1500 per child each month in Illinois.     Total yearly income: $144,000 tax-free and nobody has to go to work!     In fact, they get more if there is no husband/father/man in the home!     Not to mention free healthcare (Medicaid), plus a monthly card entitling them to free groceries and a voucher for 250 free Obamaphone minutes each month. This does not include WIC and other welfare benefits...that they are "entitled" to.     Indeed, Grandma was correct that her fertile daughter is the "breadwinner" for the family. This is how the liberal politicians spend our tax dollars. When this generous program was invented in the '60s, the Great Society architects forgot to craft an end date... and now we are hopelessly overrun with people who vote only for those who will continue to keep them on the dole....     No wonder our country is broke!   Worse, the Muslims have been paying attention, and by mandating that each Muslim family have eleven children, they will soon replace the voting bloc above and can be running this country within 25 years. Read the above again, until it sinks in, and then ask yourself if your Children, Grandchildren, and Great Grandchildren will survive these severe changes to America!!!     Are You alarmed yet?  Is anybody listening?         Is this a GREATCOUNTRY or what...?   Don't forget to pay your taxes!     There are a lot of "breadwinners" depending on you!           ------------------------

The Quote of the Decade: “The fact that we are here today to debate raising America 's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the US Government cannot pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government's reckless fiscal policies. Increasing America 's debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that, "the buck stops here.' Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better.” ~ Senator Barack H. Obama, March 2006  

NATO's Ordinary Future By Robert D. Kaplan | May 9, 2012 Whatever one thought of the Libya intervention, the details make for a bad advertisement about NATO. As one U.S. Air Force planner told me, "It was like Snow White and the 27 dwarfs, all standing up to her knees" -- the United States being Snow White and the other NATO member states being the dwarfs. The statistics regarding just how much the United States had to go it alone in Libya -- pushed by the British and French -- despite the diplomatic fig leaf of "leading from behind," are devastating for the alliance. More than 80 percent of the gasoline used in the intervention came from the U.S. military. Almost all the individual operation orders had an American address. Of dozens of countries taking part, only eight air forces were allowed by their defense ministries to drop any bombs. Many flew sorties apparently only for the symbolism of it. While most airstrikes were carried out by non-U.S. aircraft, the United States ran the logistical end of the war. Read More » Comments? Send them to responses@stratfor.com

One of the best lines I've heard lately was from a retired shop foreman at the old Republic Steel plant in Cleveland Ohio ....when a young black kid was being laid off.   The black kid said to the shop foreman: "You're firing me because I'm black!” The foreman thought a moment and replied "No, we hired you because you were black."...   "We're firing you because you are useless!"   Sounds like a possible slogan for the 2012 election . . .        

WHY MICHELLE CAME HOME - Interesting! Sheppard Smith, Fox News. "If you check President Obama's last trip over-seas, his wife left just after their visit to France . She has yet to accompany him to any Arab country. Think about it. Why is Michelle returning to the states when 'official' trips to foreign countries generally include the First Lady." Here's one thought on the matter. While  renting videos I came across a video called "Obama". There were two men standing next to me and we talked about President Obama. These guys were Arabs, so I asked them why they thought Michelle Obama headed home following the President's recent visit to France instead of traveling on to Saudi Arabia and Turkey with her husband. They told me she could not go to Saudi Arabia , Turkey or Iraq . I said "Why not,(?) Laura Bush went to Saudi Arabia , Turkey and Dubai ." They said that Obama is a Muslim and therefore he is not allowed to bring his wife into countries that adhere to Sharia Law. Two points of interest here: 1) I thought it interesting that two American Arabs  believe that our President is a Muslim, who follows a strict Islamic creed. 2) They also said that's the reason he bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia. It was a signal to the Muslim world, acknowledging his religion. For further consideration, here is a response from Dr. Jim Murk, a Middle Eastern Scholar and expert on Islam. This is his explanation of what the Arab American's were saying. "An orthodox Muslim man would never take his wife on a politically oriented trip to any nation which practices Sharia law, particularly Saudi Arabia where the Wahhabi sect is dominant. This is true and it is why Obama left Michelle in Europe . She will stay home when he visits Arab countries. He knows Muslim protocol; this includes, bowing to the Saudi King. Obama is regarded as a Muslim in the Arab world, because he was born to a Muslim father; he acknowledged his Muslim faith with George Stephanopoulus. Note that he downplays his involvement with Christianity, by not publicly joining a Christian church in D.C. And occasionally attending the chapel for services at Camp David . He also played down the fact that America is a Christian country and said, unbelievably, that it was one of the largest Muslim nations in the world, which is nonsense. He has publicly taken the side of the Palestinians in the conflict with Israel and he ignored the National Day of Prayer, something no other President has ever done. He is bad news! He conceals his true faith to the detriment of the American people." --- Jim Murk, Doctor of Philosophy in Middle Eastern Culture & Religion. ACTIONS speak louder than words. Another interesting item regarding Sharia Law. Why has Barack Hussein Obama insisted that the U.S. Attorney General hold the trials of the 911 Muslim Terrorists in Civilian Courts as Common Criminals instead of as Terrorists who attacked the United States of America ? If the Muslim Terrorists are tried in Military Tribunals, convicted and sentenced to death, by LAW, Barack Hussein Obama, as President of the United States , would be required to sign their death warrants. He would not be required to sign the death warrants if they are sentenced to death by a Civilian Court . Recently, Muslim Jihadist, Army Major Hassan slaughtered non-Muslim, soldiers at Ft. Hood , Texas rather than go to Afghanistan and be a part of anything that could lead to the deaths of fellow Muslims. He stated that Muslims 'could not and should not kill fellow Muslims.' Is the motive for Barack Hussein Obama's insistence on civilian trials, to make sure he doesn't have to sign the death warrants for the Muslim Terrorists? Why would he, as President of the United States , not sign the death warrants for Muslim Terrorists who attacked the United States and murdered over 3,000 U. S. Citizens on 9/11? Could it be that he is FORBIDDEN by his RELIGION to authorize the execution of Muslims? Think about that! Open your eyes, ears and mind to who the President is, how he behaves and what he is doing! Actions speak louder than teleprompter-written words