Thursday, September 18, 2014

Posted: 17 Sep 2014 11:22 PM PDT

Remember those outrageously expensive red light camera tickets?

Remember the red light camera vendors who were out lobbying local politicians to use their third-party services to process tickets using a minor safety issue as a revenue enhancement scam – with most “red light” tickets be issued for right-hand turns without stopping. Additionally creating a real hazard of a rear-end collision when someone jams on the brakes to avoid a ticket.

Well it is about to get worse, much worse …

Under the guise of implementing a simplified non-criminal “good neighbor” ordinance policy, the Los Angeles City Council is about to screw all of the residents and visitors to the City of Los Angeles with a municipal scam designed to generate millions in revenue – revenue that will fund the underfunded public employee union pension funds and result in significant money being available for raises.

Here are some excerpts from the City Council Agenda …

The Los Angeles City Council adopted Ordinance No. 182610 on June 21, 2013, to establish an Administrative Citation Enforcement (ACE) Program along with direction that ACE be implemented initially as a pilot program (ACE Pilot Program) involving the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and the Department of Animal Services (DAS).

ACE is an alternative method of enforcement for violations of the Los Angeles Municipal Code. An administrative citation - a ticket - would be issued to a violator in place of a criminal citation or an arrest. The present citation process results in a criminal conviction with penalties that may include probation, fines, and jail.

An administrative citation, on the other hand, can be resolved through the payment of a fine and there is no resulting criminal record, probation, or threat of jail.

As discussed in further detail in the revenue section of this report, projections indicate that a program developed in partnership with a vendor would generate sufficient revenue to cover all program costs and likely generate fines in excess of operational costs beginning in the first year of operation.

Several local municipalities have recently conducted extensive competitive bid processes for the same purpose. The Office of the City Attorney proposes utilizing the results of those processes to select a vendor for an initial three-year contract. During this time, the City would refine the needs of the program and develop a Request for Proposals to serve as the basis for the next vendor selection and contract period.

Once selected, the vendor would be responsible for the entire citation process subsequent to a citation being issued. The vendor would log and track the citations; send notices to cited parties requesting payment within 20 days; accept payment via US Mail, telephone or web-based payment systems; provide scanned images of all citations for departmental reference; send second notices of payment due when necessary; transfer revenue to the City, segregated by department; and report regularly on enforcement activities.

ACE vendors are typically paid a flat fee of approximately $17-25 per processed citation.

Collection of delinquent citation fees would be handled by an outside vendor to be negotiated in the first year of the program.

<Source: L.A. City Council Agenda>

It should be noted that vendors associated with processing and collection activities often are dis-incentivized to act fairly and use low-cost marginal personnel who are overworked and unlikely to offer any real form of customer assistance or relief. It should also be noted that many municipal red-light camera tickets were signed by sworn officers who committed perjury as they did not witness the actual act.

The SCAM explained …

For current violations, the City must actually act in accordance with law and the recipient of a violation notice forced to appear in court. This comes at a significant cost to the city in terms of time, effort, and money. A sworn officer needs to present evidence and the city needs to prove their case.

Now, with the simplified procedure the City need no longer prove its case – the burden of seeking a judicial review has been shifted to the alleged ordinance violator who must take time and/or pay for an attorney to contest the matter. The City is calculating that the fine will be cheaper than lost wages and attorney costs for the majority of those cited.

Since, the devil is in the details, what type of things are now subject to a $250 fine for the first offense, $500 for the second offense, and $1,000 for the third offense?

Attachment A-1 ACE PILOT PROGRAM - LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT -- SCHEDULE OF VIOLATIONS
LOS ANGELES MUNICIPAL CODE (Law enforcement has discretion to cite as misdemeanor or under ACE)

41.27(c)	Drinking in public
41.27(d)	Possession of open container on posted ABC location
41.4	Construction noise- allowable 7AM to 9PM
41.42	Music reproducing devices -public resort hours of operation
41.46	Failure to keep sidewalks clean
41.47.2	Urinating or defecating in public
41.5	Smoking violation
41.57	Loud & raucous noise
42	Illegal vending
42.03	Selling tickets in public places and places open to the public
42.15	Vending and excessive noise on beaches*
43.01	Gambling
46.91	Tobacco retail permit required
47.11	Unlawful display of aerosol paint/markers
47.15	Spectator at speed contest
53.55	Dogs on beach
56.08	Property owner obstructing sidewalk
56.15	Bicycle riding sidewalks
56.15.1	Use of skateboards
57.55.01	Possession/Use of fireworks
63.44	Regulations affecting Park and Recreation areas
66.04	Deposit of garbage on street/LA River
66.28	Tampering with refuse/rubbish/salvage
67.02	Posting or erecting signs on public street pole, sidewalk, alley, public property or private property without permission
85.07	Prohibition against rollerskating, skateboarding, or bicycling in violation of posted signs
103.20(a)	Failure to post City business permit in a fixed location of business
103.20(b)	Failure to carry City business permit when no fixed location of business
103.102(c)	Cafe entertainment without a permit
103.106(b)	Operating a dance hall without a permit
103.112(b)	Operating a Billiard room,pool room, or bowling alley without a permit
103.202(b)	Operating a parking lot without a permit
112.02	Amplified sound - refrigeration air or heating
112.05	Exceeding maximum noise level- 7AM to 1OPM-power equipment/tools
112.06	Amplified sound-place public entertainment
113.01	Rubbish and Garbage Collection and Disposal- 9PM to 6AM
114.01	Vehicle repairs in restricted area- 8PM to 8AM
114.02	Vehicles- unreasonable sound
114.03	Loading/unloading vehicles (hours prohibited) 10PM-7AM
114.04	Loud air horns/vehicle loud speakers
114.05	Audible advertising devices- food truck vendors 9PM to 7AM
115.02	Sound amplifying devices or loudspeaker on public property
116.01	Loud & unusual noise

Some of these offenses are extremely subjective and are likely to be influenced by the mood of the code enforcement officer. There is a good reason why the city wants to shift the burden of challenge and proof to a citizen – much like you a guilty until you prove yourself innocent instead of the rule of law that states a person is “innocent until proven guilty” by the state.

I have omitted Attachment A-2, ACE PILOT PROGRAM - ANIMAL SERVICES -- SCHEDULE OF VIOLATIONS -- LOS ANGELES MUNICIPAL CODE (Law enforcement has discretion to cite as misdemeanor or under ACE) that describes the offenses relating to animals and that is similarly extensive.

As you can see, the city has criminalized most of your daily living and depending on the whim (or financial incentive) of the code enforcement officer, we are about to be royally screwed.

BOHICA – Bend Over Here It Comes Again: Look at how the program is being sold in the media …

Los Angeles City Council approves ticketing nuisance violations
The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday approved the concept of what began as “the good neighbor ordinance,” allowing officials to give out the equivalent of traffic tickets for nuisance infractions such as barking dogs, gas-powered leaf blowers and other quality-of-life issues.
Rob Wilcox, a spokesman for City Attorney Mike Feuer, said his office is continuing to work on the ordinances within the program, and it will be up to the city to hire new staff, develop a contract with a vendor to process citations and work with the Los Angeles Police Department and Animal Services on operational issues.
City officials estimated it would cost $577,000 to start the program and that it could bring in more than $2 million in revenue.
Officials said the program is designed to prevent minor quality-of-life issues from rising to the level of a misdemeanor crime. One example cited was loud parties where officers would be called out to a location two and three times before being able to see compliance. Issuing a citation could quiet a disturbance on the first call, they noted.
Under the program, citations of $250, $500 and $1,000 for the first, second and third offensewould be issued by officers. An administrative review process would be available to appeal the tickets.
Source: Los Angeles City Council approves ticketing nuisance violations

Bottom line …

Rather than act as representatives for their constituents, City Council members apparently are acting on behalf of the special interests (unions, vendors, etc) who contribute campaign funding, media attention, and voter support to their personal campaigns. It is in the best interests of Council members to insure that revenue flows into the city’s coffers to pay-off the public employee unions that supported their campaigns.

Los Angeles is about to become a city like Tijuana, Mexico, with the potential for small cash bribes to overlook small offenses being the rule rather than the exception. Considering the number of illegal aliens in Los Angeles that do not obey the law, do not provide identification, and simply throw away notices of violations – this legislation will affect the law-abiding public in a disproportionate manner.

Keep your eyes open and demand that you are kissed before you are screwed.

-- steve

Dr. Saleh Salehmoghaddam: UCLA LOST ONE OF ITS MOST COMPASSIONATE AND KNOWLEDGEABLE DIAGNOSTICIANS

Posted: 16 Sep 2014 02:28 PM PDT

Dr. Saleh Saleh (middle) with his award winners Drs. James W. Davis, Jr. (left) and Darryl Y. Sue (right)

Dr. Saleh Saleh, as he was colloquially known, could be found roaming the halls of UCLA Hospital at odd hours – consulting on difficult cases with his own wide-ranging style of multi-disciplinary inquiry. Something I experienced first hand as we tried to save my mother using some of UCLA’s top physicians in their respective fields.

Unlike other specialists, Dr. Saleh Saleh did not believe in one-size fits all and conventional wisdom. He was unafraid to let his mind wander far and wide in seeking solutions to life’s major problems.

I had known of his reputation long before my mother was hospitalized, as my sister and her co-workers at UCLA Hospital used to speak of him in reverent tones when he saved another life by unraveling mysteries that remained opaque to other clinicians.

I had gotten into a pissing match with the Chief of Surgery over an issue regarding my mother’s treatment – something I backed with medical literature, but the doctor remained unwilling to order. I told him that I was going to approach Dr. Saleh Saleh and would he abide by his decision. His respect for Dr. Saleh Saleh was evident as he agreed without further discussion, and questioned how I managed to find the hospital’s top troubleshooter. Not so surprising considering my sister’s experience and that my mother’s primary care physician and world-class gerontologist, Dr.James Davis, Jr, was one of the recipients of the clinical teaching awards honoring Dr. Saleh Saleh.

I returned to the hospital the next morning at 7:30 a.m. when I ran into the Chief who was just arriving. We went to the chart area together and he noted that Dr. Saleh Saleh had “dropped by” at 3:20 a.m. and wrote notes agreeing with my request. We tried the new protocol, and unfortunately it did not work. Dr. Saleh Saleh dropped by to follow-up and suggested options – one of which led to an additional two months with my mother and a peaceful death. Having dealt with a large number of doctors, many arrogant assholes, it was readily apparent that this was an exceptional man as well as a doctor.

Here is the UCLA announcement …

Dr. Saleh Salehmoghaddam died on Sept. 11, in Los Angeles. He was 66. For more than 30 years, he served as an exceptionally devoted physician and teacher. In recognition of his skills as a clinician and educator, a clinical teaching award was established in 2009 in his name.
A native of Iraq, Salehmoghaddam completed his secondary education in Europe. He received a B.S. degree in pharmacy from Northern Ohio University, followed by graduate studies in pharmacology at McGill University in Canada, where he also received an M.D. degree in 1977. Salehmoghaddam then completed training in internal medicine at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal, a fellowship in clinical pharmacology at Vancouver General Hospital and chief residency in medicine at Shaughnessy Hospital in Vancouver.
He came to UCLA in 1981 for a fellowship in nephrology and joined the clinical voluntary faculty in 1984. He served as co-director of the Renal Transplant Service in 1985-86 and subsequently became a consultant nephrologist to the transplant and other services at the Reagan UCLA Medical Center.
“The consummate clinician with unfailing devotion to patient care and teaching, he could be found in the hospital at any hour of the day and night, always willing to be of help with a complicated case, and always ready to share his vast fund of knowledge and experience that extended far beyond his specialty of nephrology,” said Dr. Alan Fogelman, executive chair of the Department of Medicine, and Dr. Jonathan Hiatt, professor of surgery and vice dean for faculty, in an announcement of Salehmoghaddam’s death.
Salehmoghaddam was nominated for the Department of Medicine Housestaff Teaching Award almost every year and was selected as its recipient on multiple occasions. To reward excellence in clinical teaching, clinical care and scholarship, the Serge and Yvette Dadone Clinical Teaching Award in Honor of Saleh Salehmoghaddam, M.D. was established.
”It is indeed sad to know that Saleh has left us,” Fogelman and Hiatt said in their announcement. “We should be inspired by his example. We should aspire to the standard of excellence to which he held himself in the practice of medicine, and we should emulate the kind, warm, and generous spirit in which he treated everyone with whom he came into contact.”
A memorial service on campus will be planned for the near future.
Source: In memoriam: Dr. Saleh Salehmoghaddam, a ‘consummate clinician’ | UCLA

Bottom line …

I find it ironic that Dr. Saleh Saleh was born in Iraq, died on 9/11, and will be buried close to where both of my parents are buried. His life and teaching have inspired a number of outstanding clinicians who are not afraid to step outside their individual specialties and consider alternative drugs and protocols. I will remember him fondly every time I visit my parent’s graves.

-- steve

Moving to Illinois...or LA?

Illegal immigrants are boycotting Arizona by the thousands, showing their outrage with Arizona 's controversial SB-1070 law by moving elsewhere.

In the small town of Guadalupe , AZ, south of Phoenix , Manuel Renaldo is one of those who is punishing Arizona by leaving. As he loaded his stolen car with his stolen belongings and family of ten, Renaldo told this reporter through an interpreter "It's a matter of principle; I refuse to be supported by a state that treats me like a criminal!"

The effects of the exodus are being felt by Arizona retailers, who are reporting dwindling sales of beer, spray paint, and ammunition. Also hit hard are the state hospitals, which have reported a dramatic decline in births and emergency room visits. Tattoo parlours are in a state of panic.

Renaldo told a reporter through an interpreter that he and his family are moving to Illinois, a democratic state with high taxes where hard-working people will support him and his family with dignity!

Kind of brings a tear to your eye, doesn't it?

Breaking: "El Atlante" Rumored to Have Been Arrested in Jalisco Texas Identifies 7 Mexican Cartels operating in the state...

Borderland Beat

San Antonio: Former Coahuila Treasurer Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering

Posted: 18 Sep 2014 02:40 AM PDT

By Chivís Martínez for Borderland Beat

The former treasurer of Coahuila, during the Humberto Moreira governorship, Javier Villareal Hernandez, pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy of money laundering in federal court in San Antonio, Texas.

He continued as treasurer for a short while in 2011, during the interim governorship of Governor Jorge Juan Torres-Lopez, who took the helm when Moreira resigned to become the national PRI president.

Torres was charged with money laundering and other financial crimes in the state of Texas

Among other Coahuila charges, Villareal is accused of being involved in falsifying documents to obtain loans on behalf of the State. Villareal, and the Moreira administration racked up a debt from around 200 million to 35 billion dollars in just five years.

From 2008, while serving as Coahuila's treasurer, Villarreal took out loans worth $246 million dollars in the state's name. He also is charged with receiving kickbacks for state contracts, and from a Coahuila coal mining company, a front for Los Zetas cartel. He funneled the funds into extensive Texas real estate holdings, and bank accounts in Bermuda and Texas, in the names of family members.

In October 2011, Villarreal Hernandez was arrested and admitted to a prison in the state capital of Saltillo proceeding an arrest warrant issued by the Second Judge of in Criminal Matters of the judicial district of Saltillo, for his alleged responsibility in the commission of offenses Using False Documents and to Fraud.

However, after posting bond, he fled, and was a fugitive in Mexico and Texas. In February

2012 he was arrested in Tyler Texas, with $67,000 dollars in cash but he was released after being taken to a U.S. Homeland Security facility, then he was on the run again.

Ultimately,he gave himself up in El Paso Texas in February, 2014. He was charged with money laundering of drug trafficking proceeds, bribery and fraud.

Today the 43 year old Villareal, plead guilty to one count of money laundering conspiracy and conspiring to transport stolen money in foreign commerce in the San Antonio case and guilty in another charge in Corpus Christi of conspiring to launder money.

Prosecutors dismissed one count of money laundering for the guilty plea of conspiracy of money laundering.

He could receive a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison on each of the money laundering counts and to five years on the money transporting charge.

U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez presided over the case, and has not yet set a sentencing date.

Astonishingly, former governor Humberto Moreira, is yet to be charged with any wrongdoing, although the scandal forced his resignation as chief of the PRI national presidency. His brother Ruben became the governor after Torres, and currently is the governor of Coahuila

The brothers suffered a fracture in their once close relationship, and no longer speak.

Humberto Moreira was named by Forbes Magazine as one of "The 10 Most Corrupt Mexicans in 2013". He was enraged at the infamous nod, and threatened to sue the magazine. As expected, his bluster amounted to nothing. (photo of the Ten is below)

Too bad. If he filed a civil suit against Forbes, he would not have a choice but to testify and answer some interesting questions about all the missing Coahuila funds during his governorship.

CAF cell leader arrested in Mazatlan, Sinaloa.

Posted: 17 Sep 2014 04:53 PM PDT

Salvador Alcala Gonzalez aka "El Chava".

Salvador Alcala Gonzalez aka "El Chava" a prominent member of the Tijuana cartel and one of the most wanted criminals by the FBI was arrested in Mazatlan, Sinaloa by elements of the Mexican Army and Federal Police.

Mexican authorities arrested Alcala Gonzalez under an extradition warrant issued against him.

The Mexican National Security Commission informed of the capture of CAF´s cell leader and mentioned it was the result of intelligence work which followed Alcala over several cities in the northern pacific in Mexico in which he moved.

It was noted that at the moment of his arrest Alcala tried to bribe the authorities to no avail.

Salvador Alcala Gonzalez is wanted in the United States of America facing charges of conspiration to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine in the southern district of California.

In 2013, and as a result of the same investigation, Cesar Alfredo Meza Garcia aka "El Tachuelas" (former CAF cell leader) was deported to the US, Miguel Angel Bravo Peña and Jose Luis Casillas remain at large as of this writing.

In 2012 and 2013, Salvador Alcala tried several legal actions to stop his extradition order to no avail.

Alcala Gonzalez has already been taken to Altiplano´s Maximum Security Prison in Almoloya de Juarez, Estado de Mexico.

SOURCE ZETA Tijuana

Breaking: "El Atlante" Rumored to Have Been Arrested in Jalisco

Posted: 17 Sep 2014 03:59 PM PDT

As reported by Uriradio, Alfonso "El Atlante" Lira Sotelo, a member of the Sinaloa Cartel was allegedly captured Tuesday, September 17 in Jalisco. "El Atlante" is reportedly in charge of retail drug sales in Tijuana, Tecate, and Playas de Rosarito, as well as trafficking to California.

Borderland Beat reporter J wrote in August in the article "Blood & White Gold in Tijuana" that "El Atlante" has been fighting against fellow Sinaloa Cartel member Alfredo "El Aquiles" Azarte for power in Tijuana and Rosarito, ignoring calls from leadership to keep the plaza calm. It is also worth noting that deelucky1 has said multiple times on the forum that "El Atlante" is currently aligned with Jose Antonio "El Tigre" Soto Gastelum and José Luis "El Güero Chompas" Mendoza Uriarte in the fight against "El Aquiles".

Texas Identifies 7 Mexican Cartels operating in the state

Posted: 17 Sep 2014 04:05 PM PDT

Chivís Martínez for Borderland Beat

Cartels in Texas
Seven Mexican cartels operating in Texas, representing the greatest threat the security of the state. (click chart to enlarge)

Criminal organizations smuggle drugs, people and are involved in the laundering of money, trafficking of weapons and stolen vehicles.

The Department of Public Safety Texas (DPS)identifies the Gulf Cartel (CDG), Sinaloa Federation, Juarez Cartel, La Familia Michoacana, the Beltran Leyva cartel, "Los Zetas" and the Knights Templar(Caballeros Templarios) operating in its territory.

The report states that Mexican mafias throughout the United States dominate the business of narcotics and human trafficking.

The analysis was presented by the DPS the Texan Congress after lawmakers requested the government provide a breakdown statistics of incidents on the border with Mexico and the criminal activity that has been recorded since the entry into force Operation Strong Safety (OSS), on 23 July.

The DPS prepared with declassified information board of Texas border security and report relevant incidents in the border, which are published on the website of the corporation for any citizen to consult them.

“The goal of this data-driven, multi-agency operation in high-threat areas for a sustained period of time is to deny Mexican cartels and their associates the ability to move drugs and people into Texas between the ports of entry, as well as reduce the power of these organizations, whose success depends on their ability to operate on both sides of the border,” said DPS Director Steven McCraw. “

At the request of the Texas Legislature, DPS is providing unclassified, detailed information about the trends that have been developing along the border for some time, as well as the current activity occurring in the OSS area of operation.”

A website is available to the public that highlights "significant, cartel incidents".

Narco Danger

Texas on June 23 deployed to its south border with Mexico, thousand troops.of the Texas state National Guard.

The action, aims to help the DPS to combat criminal activity in the region, by air, water and land.

Rick Perry, governor of Texas, said on July 21 that the initiative "is the result of the failure of the federal government to secure the border."

He stressed: "There can be no homeland security without border security and the Texans have paid a heavy price for the failure of the federal government. The action command will stop the crisis, multiplying our efforts to combat criminal cartel activity, trafficking in persons and criminals who threaten the safety of Texas and America."

Perry recalled that from 2008 to now, 203,000 undocumented criminal have been sent to Texas prisons for having committed more than 640,000 offenses in the state, including 3,000 killings and a 8000 sexual offenses.

Perry's office reported that strengthening border yielded immediate results. In the first three weeks of operation, the arrests of illegal immigrants resulted in 36 percent fewer seizures weekly.

The Safety Board, which compiled information throughl September 3, 2014, recognizes that the insecurity of the border with Mexico is the main factor in public vulnerability Texas.

Not specified was an analyzation of how each cartel operates.

The number of undocumented immigrants has declined significantly rescued in the state, with deployment on the border of the National Guard.

With the purpose of evading review road points, coyotes take their victims by off roads and ranches, and often abandon them. .

As an example, the board says Brooks County, near the border with Reynosa, where from 2011 to date have been found remains of 332 humans.

The cartels are big business in human smuggling, as going rates ranging from $2000 up to $20,000.

The chart below is of 2013, indicating areas of operation of each cartel, Templarios were not considered a factor in 2013. (Click image to enlarge)

Sources: Texas DPS-OSS website

Calderon "I would have started sooner, with greater force"

Posted: 17 Sep 2014 10:37 AM PDT

In an interview with El Pais on Tuesday, former Mexican President Felipe Calderon concedes that he made mistakes in Mexico’s war on drugs. He admitted that 60,000 to 70,000 dead represented a lot of casualties in his war on drugs, which spanned from 2006 to 2012.

“Yes, that’s a lot. And each one weighs on me more than anything, but those homicides were committed by criminals that I was fighting against,” he said.

The National Commission on Human Rights has also alleged there was a sharp increase in torture and mistreatment complaints during that period. "It’s true that federal operations increased and that there were abuses. However, they were the exception, not the norm.

In all cases, the government took note and acted according to rule of law to bring to justice those responsible,” Calderon said.

Asked what part of his strategy he would have changed, Calderon said: “I would have started the changes a lot earlier, with greater force and more resources.” If he had done nothing, Mexico today would have been an open stage for organized crime, he argued.

Calderon referred to organized crime as a national sickness, which like a cancer patient, needs radical chemo-therapy like measures to cure. It leaves the patient in pain, but “it’s not the doctor’s fault.”

Moving forward, the ex-statesman said that now “I sleep better. I have less problems to think about.”

EL Pais and Telesur

A senior member of Islamic State was urging a network in Australia to carry out public beheadings!...

Two charged and nine released after Sydney raids
22-year-old accused of planning public killings
Abbott: Isis militants urged ‘demonstration killings’ – video

Bridie Jabour

Thursday 18 September 2014

theguardian.com

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/18/terrorism-raids-police-arrests-raids-sydney-brisbane

----

A senior member of Islamic State was urging a network in Australia to carry out public beheadings, prime minister Tony Abbott said after the largest counter-terrorism raids in the country’s history.

More than 800 police officers were involved in raids in Sydney’s north-west on Thursday morning with 15 people detained.

Two men were charged and nine people released. Under Australia’s counter-terrorism laws, those detained could be held for two weeks without charge.

One man, Omarjan Azari, 22, appeared in Sydney central court on Thursday afternoon to face charges of preparing to commit a terrorist act.

It is alleged he conspired to commit the act with another man, Mohammad Baryalei, a former Sydney bouncer and actor of Afghan origin, reportedly an Islamic State leader.

On Thursday night a 24-year-old man from Merrylands in western Sydney was charged with the possession of an unauthorised weapon and possessing ammunition without a licence.

The attorney general, George Brandis, said an operation had been under way since May and he understood the raids had taken on a sense of urgency. Brandis told the ABC that he believed the atrocities would have gone ahead, had it not been for the intervention of the security services, the Australian federal police and forces from Queensland and New South Wales. “If ASIO and the AFP and the Queensland and NSW police had not acted today there is a likelihood this would have happened,” Brandis said.

The prosecution said Azari planned to “shock, horrify and potentially terrify” the public with public killings. He was refused bail.

Defence lawyers have argued the case against Azari is based on one intercepted phone call, which the prosecution said was what triggered the operation. When asked about reports that there were plans to conduct a public beheading in Australia, Abbott replied: “That’s the intelligence we received.”

“The exhortations, quite direct exhortations, were coming from an Australian, who is apparently quite senior in Isil, to networks of support back in Australia to conduct demonstration killings here in this country.

“So this is not just suspicion, this is intent and that’s why the police and security agencies decided to act in the way they have,” he told reporters in Arnhem Land.

Abbott played down the possibility that Australia’s renewed involvement in Iraq would increase the chance of terror plots against Australian targets. He said Australia was targeted in Bali in 2002 before any involvement in the previous Iraq war.

“These people, I regret to say, do not hate us for what we do, they hate us for who we are and how we live. That’s what makes us a target, the fact that we are different from their view of what an ideal society should look like, the fact that we are free, we are pluralist, we are tolerant, we are welcoming, we are accepting,” he said.

“All of these, in their eyes, are wrong and that’s what makes us a target and that’s something that should never change about us. We should always be a free, fair, open and tolerant country.”

Abbott said he had not received warnings Australia was more likely to be the subject of a homegrown terrorist attack than other countries, but it was important security agencies were one step ahead of groups who wanted to do Australians harm.

Australian federal police Acting Commissioner Andrew Colvin said a violent attack had been planned for “the streets of New South Wales”.

There were reports the plan was to kidnap someone from the street and behead them while filming it.

The pre-dawn raids in Sydney were conducted at the same time as, but not directly related to, raids in Queensland with police saying the raids south of Brisbane were in relation to a counter-terrorism raid last week where two people were arrested and charged. About 70 officers were involved in Thursday’s raids in Queensland.

The New South Wales police commissioner, Andrew Scipione, said there was no need to “whip” up the raids and that the operation reflected the strength and capability of Australia’s counter-terrorism forces.

“Our police will continue to work tirelessly to prevent any such attacks but certainly can I stress that right now, is a time for calm. We don’t need to whip this up.”

Police search at a house in Mount Gravatt, Brisbane, Thursday, Sep 18, 2014. Police are executing search warrants in the Brisbane suburbs of Mount Gravatt East, Logan and Underwood and have confirmed the operation was linked to the counter-terrorism raids in Sydney.Photograph: Dave Hunt/AAP

He said it would become apparent through the courts what was going to happen.

Some of those arrested have had their passports cancelled because they were planning to travel to Syria or Iraq.

Twenty-five search warrants were executed in the Sydney raids which were in the suburbs of Beecroft, Bellavista, Guildford, Merrylands, Northmead, Wentworthville, Marsfield, Westmead, Castle Hill, Revesby, Bass Hill and Regents Park.

Colvin said the officers included investigators, forensic experts, tactical officers and surveillance officers.

“This is the largest operation of its type undertaken in Australia’s history,” he said.

“I think the message that we need to make clear here is that police are working very hard across this country and are very well coordinated and the community should have absolute confidence in the work of their law enforcement security agencies to work together.

“While the raids in Queensland are not directly related to what has happened here today in NSW, as I said before, the investigations continue and we are looking at the linkages between the two.”

Police would not say if the targets of the operation had any links to Islamic State.

NSW premier Mike Baird delivered warned would-be terrorists that there would be no escape from the authorities.

“We will hunt you down,” he said on Thursday. “If you have any intent to bring overseas conflicts here, if you have any intent to threaten the security of this community, we will hunt you down.”

The raids come after the terror alert level in Australia was raised from medium to high last week.

Police say the threat level was not raised because of the intelligence that led to Thursday’s raids. Colvin said it had been raised because of a range of factors.

When asked if the prime minister was aware of the alleged planned attacks, Colvin responded: “Clearly you would understand that all levels of government need to understand what the national security threat in this country is. We have regular and ongoing briefings with all levels of government including the prime minister on the generic aspects of the national counter-terrorism threat, the national security threat.”

He added: “I don’t think anyone would be surprised it’s in the interests that the PM and political leaders have an understanding of what is going on.”

Two men aged 31 and 21 were arrested in last week’s raids in Queensland in a joint operation involving about 180 federal police and Queensland police.

It is alleged the men were involved in recruiting, facilitating and funding people to travel to Syria to engage in hostile activities.

The 31-year-old, Omar Succarieh, was charged with providing funds to the terrorist organisation Jabhat al-Nusra.

Agim Kruezi, the 21-year-old, is accused of recruiting another person to become a member of Islamic State and obtaining funds in preparation for incursions into a foreign state.

The previous largest counter-terrorism operation in Australia was Operation Pendennis in 2005 when 13 men were arrested over planned bomb attacks in Sydney and Melbourne.

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Iran Prepares for a Leadership Transition

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Rush Limbaugh strikes back at DCCC

WOW!! Amazing And Extraordinary Things

Many of us have grown up imagining what the future will be like. Will there be flying cars? Will there be robots? Will we be able
to do amazing and extraordinary things?
Well, some of these things are yet to come, but some are already right here. The amazing things technology can do today never cease to amaze me. Here are 17 pieces of evidence that prove we area already, at least partly, living in a futuristic world.

The Raytheon XOS 2 is a second generation exoskeleton design for US army use. It allows the wearer to enhance his strength to carry heavy equipment much easier and for much longer.

The world's first virtual shopping center opened in Korea. All the products are just LCD screens that allow you to order the items by touching the screen. When you get to the counter, your items are already bagged and ready to go.

A cellphone you can bend as much as you like and it will still do everything a smart phone does.

Your personal computer ring can play music, check your email, give you alerts and even allows you to browse or chat with others.

This man is demonstrating the ability of his prosthetic eye,
which has a camera installed in it.

No longer using the camping stove just for cooking, a new line of camping stoves use the heat energy to power up lights and charge your phones or anything else you can charge by USB cable.

This trash can follows you around and calculates where to stand
to catch your thrown garbage!

This motion tracking table morphs its surface to mimic your movements, allowing you to control objects from the other side of the planet if you so choose.

This windowed door turns opaque whenever you lock it.



This incredible app translates signs from video and in real time!



The new 'Google Fiber' has started deploying, and will offer users an internet connection that is about 100 times faster than what they are currently using.



When did car panels start looking like this advanced?

A stop sign using water to project the image

An example of the new E-Ink in action. An ink that stay flat on the page and can be printed but still moves on the printer page.

All of the functions these items that we used 20 years ago... Are now done by a single smartphone.

New casts can be printed with a 3D printer, are lighter, more comfortable and just as strong.

Bionic hands are now so advanced they can perform even delicate and complex movements.