Alabama Right News

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

FBI Escorts Known Hamas Operative Through Top-Secret National Counterterrorism Center as “Outreach”

A known Hamas operative and unindicted co-conspirator in the largest terrorism financing trial in U.S. history – Kifah Mustapha – was recently escorted into the top-secret National Counterterrorism Center and other secure government facilities, including the FBI's training center at Quantico, during a six-week "Citizen's Academy" hosted by the FBI as part of its "outreach" to the Muslim Community.

by Patrick S. Poole Sep 27th 2010 at BigPeace.com

EXCERPTS:

The group was accompanied by reporter Ben Bradley of WLS-Chicago (ABC), who filed a report on the trip to Washington D.C. on Sunday, who observed:

Sheik Kifah Mustapha, who runs the Mosque Foundation in Bridgeview, asked some of the most pointed questions during the six week FBI Citizens' Academy and trip to Washington. He pushed agents to fully explain everything from the bureau's use of deadly force policy to racial and ethnic profiling. "I saw a very interesting side of what the FBI does and I wanted to know more," Sheik Mustapha explained after returning from D.C. He hopes the FBI's outreach runs deeper than positive public relations.

Curiously, Bradley's report on the Citizen's Academy fails to make note Mustapha's extensive terrorist ties and support for Hamas, including his former employment with the Holy Land Foundation, which was listed as a specially designated terrorist group by the U.S. government in December 2001, and whose executives were convicted of terrorism support in 2008 and sentenced to lengthy prison terms. Mustapha was personally named unindicted co-conspirator (#31) in the case and employment records submitted by federal prosecutors during the trial showed that he received more than $154,000 for his work for the Holy Land Foundation between 1996 and 2000.

FULL STORY

When deepwater drilling restarts, it will do so in an all-new regulatory environment. The regulatory agency itself is new. The Macondo tragedy hastened and deepened a preordained overhaul of the old Minerals Management Service. At the new Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement (BOE), regulators—now separate from resource and revenue managers—are busy.

…Already, BOE has issued notices to lessees that require additional technical and environmental information on applications for permits, and not just for deep water. Operators complain of a de facto moratorium in shallow water caused by new permit requirements and regulatory confusion. Meanwhile, stricter National Environmental Protection Act compliance for OCS leases is under consideration. And newly updated "idle iron" guidance presses operators to plug nonproducing wells and remove inactive platforms within strict time limits, prompting the National Ocean Industries Association to wonder if state and federal regulators will approve the work.

…Looming over this uncertainty are federal budget proposals calling for higher taxes on producers, higher fees, and penalties for leases on which production doesn't begin promptly enough to suit regulators. Congress wants to remove liability limits for deepwater operators. And producers have no assurance deepwater drilling will resume Nov. 30. Bromwich told reporters on Sept. 14 that BOE won't issue permits until applicants satisfy the new regulations—the regulations still under development, which might or might not be finished by Sept. 30.

More than 8,000-12,000 jobs are in jeopardy. With a regulatory tempest raging, a temporary moratorium, however painful now, is not the biggest or most enduring threat to offshore drilling and related employment…

And from TheStreet.com: Obama Drill Ban May End, But Drilling Delays Won't: Poll

The debate over the Gulf of Mexico doesn't just have potential repercussions for the oil spill companies led by BP, that is, if BP is ever allowed to drill in the Gulf again. All the oil spill companies, including deepwater engineer Halliburton(HAL), rig operator Transocean(RIG), and Anadarko Petroleum(APC), have major business interests tied to the Gulf.

Anadarko has been the most optimistic of the group, saying at a recent Barclays Capital conference that it is ready to begin drilling again the moment the ban is lifted in November.

Transocean has been moving rigs out of the Gulf of Mexico for contracts elsewhere, and currently has more rigs idled than has been common in its recent history.

Halliburton is sticking with its earlier estimate that the net impact of the oil spill and drilling ban on its earnings this year will be less than 10 cents per share.
All the oil and gas companies have been chiming in on the issue as the oil spill itself receded into the deep and into history. The CEO of Total (TOT_) recently told the Wall Street Journal to expect 20% higher operating costs in the Gulf. The Total CEO cited permitting delays as one reason, and Noble Corp (NE_) has also claimed that permitting delays, even on shallow water projects, are already a major headache in the Gulf and will continue to be a major issue.

One more grim item from Thomas Pyle in the Examiner on White House book-cooking:

One day after being sworn into office, President Obama issued a memorandum to the heads of executive departments and agencies "reaffirming the commitment to accountability and transparency."

Yet, with the majority party scrambling for votes and a grim November election forecast on the horizon, qualities such as transparency and openness have taken a back seat to political spin.

The administration itself offered the latest example of chicanery in its analysis of the economic effects of its moratorium on deepwater drilling – an analysis that found a loss of 'only' 8,000 to 12,000 jobs in the Gulf.

Though the administration's dismissive attitude toward its own actions which left thousands of U.S. workers in the unemployment line are disheartening, the most troubling aspect of its report was the numeric sleight of hand the administration performed to minimize the appearance of the damage they had done.

Administration analysts cut their estimates by an unexplained 40 to 60%. Without these unexplained and unexplainable reductions, the estimate of lost jobs in the Gulf leaps to nearly 20,000 for just the 6 months covered by the original drilling ban. That's just employment fallout. The report also fails to account for GDP, wages, or tax revenues lost.

The combination of misdirection and election pressure has the makings for a perfect policy storm. Congress is attempting to pass anything which can be leveraged for a campaign victory, while analysts are apparently being pressured to remain silent regarding damaging data…

http://michellemalkin.com/2010/09/28/obama-jobs-death-toll-epa-wreckage-and-drilling-moratorium-aftermath/

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Former SEIU prez Andy Stern, other Purple Army officials, under FBI investigation

You know, maybe all those SEIU workers who will be bussed in for the left-wing Washington rally this weekend ought to take a detour and protest at the SEIU headquarters instead.

Fresh off the wires, news of the FBI's corruption probe of the Purple Army:

The FBI and the U.S. Labor Department are investigating prominent labor leader Andy Stern in their probe of corruption at the Service Employees International Union, according to two people who have been interviewed by federal agents.

The two organized labor officials met with federal agents this summer to answer questions about a six-figure book contract that Stern landed in 2006 and his role in approving money to pay the salary of an SEIU leader in California who allegedly performed no work.

Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the investigation. The FBI and the Labor Department's office of inspector general declined to comment for the record.

The disclosure about the federal inquiry of Stern – who abruptly resigned as president of the 2.2-million member SEIU in April – comes just weeks ahead of contentious congressional elections in which the union is spending an estimated $44 million to support its favored Democratic candidates.

The SEIU has been plagued with several financial scandals since 2008, when the Los Angeles Times reported that Tyrone Freeman, head of the union's largest California local, misappropriated hundreds of thousands of dollars from the union. The union ousted Freeman and demanded that he return the money. No federal charges have been filed against him, but SEIU spokeswoman Michelle Ringuette said the union has been cooperating with the FBI.

Regular readers of this blog and readers of Culture of Corruption are already quite familiar with Freeman and his free-spending ways.

Here's what I noted when Stern resigned in April:

Behind the scenes and under the radar screen, as I've reported over the last year, Stern has installed a cadre of labor management stooges embroiled in financial scandals across the country and rankled rank-and-file watchdogs within the Big Labor organization. Obama paid no heed – appointing Stern to the federal joke of a "fiscal responsibility" panel.

And while fatcat union bosses toss hundreds of millions of dues into Democrat coffers, low-wage SEIU members' pension funds are eroding and the organization's debt is piling up. The union also remains under investigation by federal prosecutors for potential illegal lobbying activities at the White House.

A nasty fight in San Francisco with a rival union, UNITE HERE, has caused Stern major headaches and litigation costs.

As I reported in December, health care workers in Washington state also revolted against SEIU pressure.

And the Blago scandal, in which Stern plays a central role, still looms.

Union heavies don't just relinquish their control and throw themselves under the bus for the standard bogus Beltway excuses (the need to "spend more time with family," etc.).

This smells. Stay tuned.

Big Labor rationalization in 3, 2, 1…It's all the Tea Party's fault!

http://michellemalkin.com/2010/09/28/former-seiu-prez-andy-stern-other-purple-army-officials-under-fbi-investigation/

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WASHINGTON EXAMINER: Special Report: Democrats got 96 percent of Big Green campaign contributions…

WASHINGTON EXAMINER: Special Report: Democrats got 96 percent of Big Green campaign contributions.

UPDATE: Charlie Martin on Green Power and "Long Green." "This is how the big money in the environmental activism industry translates into political power."

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/instapundit/main/~3/ZpmM7bvMSkc/

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Exclusive: EPW report shows new EPA rules will cost more than 800,000 jobs

Plus destroy the cement, boiler industries.

Actually, it's not just the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee's minority contingent that fears the loss of nearly a million jobs from new EPA rules on greenhouse gases and other emissions issues. It's also groups like the United Steel Workers, Unions for Jobs and the Environment, and experts like King's College Professor Ragnar Lofstedt. [...]

Read this post »

http://hotair.com/archives/2010/09/28/exclusive-epw-report-shows-new-epa-rules-will-cost-more-than-800000-jobs/

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FBI Raids Home of Chicago SEIU Leader in International Terrorism Sweep

-By Warner Todd Huston

One might think it would be big news that a Chief Steward for a Local chapter of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is being investigated by the FBI for possible connection to overseas terror networks. Apparently, though, several Chicago news outlets didn't see a reason to add this little fact to their stories. And even if it wasn't big news that the FBI is investigating a union member, one would think that his profession would at least make an appearance somewhere in properly formulated coverage of the story… right?

Over the weekend the FBI announced that it was investigating Joseph Iosbaker for possible connections to overseas terror groups. Iosbaker and his wife Stephanie Weiner, both anti-war activists, are suspected of activities "concerning the material support of terrorism."

The Chicago news has been all over the demonstrations that left-wing groups have mounted in Chicago to protest the FBI's investigation of the anti-war activists. These stories are filled with all sorts of facts, dates and names. But in a significant handful of stories one little fact seems to have escaped the notice of these hardnosed journalists. Iosbaker is an SEIU union member. And not just a rank and file member but an official.

According to the SEIU Local 73 website, Iosbaker is listed as the Local 73 Chief Steward. Iosbaker was also quite active earlier in the year protesting the closing of the Republic Windows & Doors factory that made the national news. Iosbaker was then listed as an executive board member of the SEIU.

It is interesting to note that this fact escaped most of Chicago's TV coverage. Michelle Gallardo of ABC 7 TV seems to have forgotten to mention the union connection, CBS channel 2 also missed this fact, WGN TV channel 9 also forgot to mention the SEIU, and Channel 5 NBC also missed it, all accidentally I'm sure.

But it isn't just TV that missed this fact. The Associated Press also seems to be blind to the fact that Iosbaker is a union operative.

My friends at the Chicago Daily Observer have helpfully offered the Old Media a spelling lesson, "SEIU, it's spelled S-E-I-U," they scolded.

The fact seems to be that Iosbaker is not just a little fish in the big union pond. He is at least a middle manager and local union muckity-muck. So why did so many news outlets somehow forget to mention this fact? Isn't his status as a union operative with some station and position significant?

One is tempted to think that these news outlets were trying to cover for the SEIU.

Below is a screen shot of the SEIU's website just in case they relegate Mr. Iosbaker's mention on the web to the Internet memory hole.

http://gatewaypundit.firstthings.com/2010/09/chicago-news-outlets-miss-that-fbi-targeted-protester-is-chief-steward-for-seiu/

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Rush Limbaugh: Michelle Obama Got Her “No-Show” Job in a Chicago Hospital Because of Barack (Video)

Conservative leader Rush Limbaugh got a dig in on Michelle Obama last night on Greta's show. He reminded viewers that she didn't get her "no-show" job in Chicago on her own. It was only because of her husband that she was hired to work at a hospital where she was paid $63,000 in 2008 for a job she didn't go to.

Rush Limbaugh on "No-Show" Michelle Obama:

"Same thing with Sarah Palin. She has lived a full rich and real life. Nothing was paved for her. I mean Hillary Clinton didn't even get a full partnership in a law firm until Bill became Governor. Michelle Obama got the no-show job in the Chicago Hospital after her husband was elected to the Illinois legislature. But these (conservative) women did it on their own."

http://gatewaypundit.firstthings.com/2010/09/rush-limbaugh-michelle-obama-got-her-no-show-job-in-chicago-hospital-because-of-barack-video/

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FBI Raids Home of Obama Associate & AAAN Leader in Terrorism Sweep

Last Friday FBI agents raided the homes of far left activists in Chicago and Minneapolis who are linked to the FARC and Islamic radicals as part of a terrorism investigation.

The home of radical Hatem Abudayyeh in Chicago was raided.

Hatem Abudayyeh protests against Israel in Chicago in January 2009. (Daylife)

The AP reported on the raid in Chicago.

FBI agents in Chicago took a laptop and documents from the home of a Palestinian-American anti-war activist in an attempt to silence his advocacy, an attorney said Sunday.

The FBI on Friday searched eight addresses in Minneapolis and Chicago, including the home of Hatem Abudayyeh, who is the executive director of the Arab American Action Network, attorney Jim Fennerty told The Associated Press.

"The government's trying to quiet activists," Fennerty said. "This case is really scary."

More than half a dozen agents went to Abudayyeh's home on Friday and took any documents containing the word "Palestine," Fennerty said.

Abudayyeh, a U.S. citizen whose parent immigrated from Palestine, wasn't home at the time of the raid because he was at a hospital with his mother who is battling liver cancer, Fennerty said.

There's more…
Hatem Abudayyeh is the executive director of the Arab American Action Network (AAAN). Hatem Abudayyeh has been with the Arab American Action Network (AAAN) since 1999, and was appointed Executive Director in 2003. The Arab American Action Network was founded by former PLO operative and close Obama family friend Rashid Khalidi. Obama was a director of the Woods Fund from 1994 through 2001, when the board approved a $40,000 grant to the Arab American Action Network.

In 2003 Barack Obama was an honored guest at a dinner sponsored by the AAAN for former PLO-operative Rashid Khalidi. During the dinner a video was taken that shows Barack Obama celebrating with members of this Palestinian group who are openly hostile towards Israel. Barack Obama even gave a toast to a Rashid Khalidi at this going away party. The LA Times will not release the video from this Jew-bashing dinner.

Last Friday the FBI raided the home of AAAN leader Hatem Abudayyeh. He is Barack Obama's friend.

http://gatewaypundit.firstthings.com/2010/09/fbi-raids-home-of-close-obama-associate-aaan-leader-in-terrorism-sweep/

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Monday, September 27, 2010

Home Prices Probably Cooled, U.S. Consumer Sentiment Declined

Gains in U.S. home prices probably slowed in July and consumer confidence this month cooled, restraining the biggest part of the economy, a pair of reports may show today.

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-09-28/home-prices-probably-cooled-u-s-consumer-sentiment-declined.html

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Rush: We’re in the midst of a diaster!

Greta talks to Rush about the state of the country, tea parties, the establishment vs the grass roots, etc. – but she really just lets him talk, which is a trait Hannity should pick up. But I digress. One question Greta asked got an immediate response on twitter. She asked what politician he admired most, which he chose to dodge for fear of making enemies. But he did start talking about Sarah Palin as someone he admires, and as soon as he did twitter lit up with "Rush says that Sarah Palin is the politician he admires most", which I will point out is not true. But it is clear that she has impressed him a lot, as I've heard him defend her quite often.

Enjoy!