Focusing On Two Of The Best...
http://michellemalkin.com/
http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/
We were a bit busy this weekend, which is why neither of us posted anything, thus far. But we’d like to call to our reader’s collective attentions that there are four important stories burning up the blogosphere. All four are brought to us by two of our favorite bloggers. The first is Captain Ed, of Captain’s Quarters. The second is Michelle Malkin. Counted amongst the elite of the center-right bloggers, both of them have been working hard on these stories.
The first story comes from Michelle Malkin, and she appropriately asks who Mahmoud Maawad is.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. A federal magistrate has ordered a University of Memphis student held until trial.
Prosecutors say F-B-I agents found an airline pilot's uniform, a chart of Memphis International Airport and instructional D-V-D's. One was titled "How an Airline Captain Should Look and Act."
Mahmoud Maawad is charged with wire fraud and fraudulent use of a Social Security number.
Describing what agents found, Assistant U-S Attorney Steve Parker argued yesterday against releasing Maawad, saying the acts and circumstance of the case are "scary."
Parker said Maawad -- a 29-year-old Egyptian -- has been in the country illegally since 1999 and had used a phony Social Security number to enroll in schools and open a bank account.
The Memphis Flyer has this to add:
Was Mahmoud Maawad a University of Memphis student and pilot-wannabe with a passion for flying small planes or an Arab terrorist looking to duplicate the suicide missions of 9/11?
Federal prosecutors in Memphis aren’t saying, but on Thursday they asked a U.S. magistrate to hold Maawad, 29, whose email logon is "pilot747," without bond until trial. U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Thomas Anderson agreed with Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Parker, and Maaward becomes the second Memphis resident of Arab descent to be held without bond because of investigations by the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force. In April, Rafat Mawlawi was jailed in a separate investigation in which prosecutors have linked him to Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaida. He is awaiting trial on October 3rd.
Maawad was busted again this week after federal agents searched his apartment and computer on September 9th and examined his Internet purchases of flight instructions and pilot paraphernalia. Since June, Maawad ordered $3,300 of merchandise over the Internet from Speedy’s Pilot Shop in San Diego, including a private pilot course, flight simulator software, a flight gear bag, several DVDs, a $239 Navy leather flight jacket, a $19.95 DVD on "How an Airline Captain Should Look and Act," and instructional programs on "airplane talk." His email address was pilot747_200@hotmail.com.
After purchasing approximately $2,500 worth of merchandise, Maawad’s debit card was rejected by Speedy’s for lack of funds and his last three orders were not filled. Agents are in the process of examining his computer hard drive.
I believe it is safe to say that Mr. Maawad should have authorities concerned, as he is now the second person caught in Tennessee by the JTTF. There is enough evidence to show that both of these men probably had ulterior motives for being here in the US, including Mawlawi, who has already been connected to al-Qaeda. If we do not get tighter controls over the visa system for foreign residents coming here, more like both of these men will find a way to get in here. That goes double for the borders, and their lack of complete security. The federal government has played enough games with the safety and security of it’s citizens. Too much political correctness and bureaucracy is evident in INS. If they are not willing to truly apply themselves, and neither is the federal government, then it is time this falls to the states to deal with.
Captain Ed calls to our attention the fact that the data-mining group, Able Danger, is now about to be snuffed from public view if Congress decides to proceed with it’s investigation of the 9/11 Commission’s omission.
Witnesses from the Pentagon are expected to testify at that hearing; that's why they want it classified. FOX News has learned that committee Chairman Arlen Specter's office is vigorously resisting the request.
Some former Able Danger analysts and Rep. Curt Weldon say the formerly clandestine intelligence unit identified Mohammed Atta and three other of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers one year before the attacks that left over 3,000 people dead. They also claim that their repeated requests to turn over the information to the FBI were ignored.
Weldon said a former Army officer will testify next week that he was also ordered to destroy data that included reference to Atta.
"In the summer of 2000, he was ordered and, or, he would go to jail if he didn't comply," the Pennsylvania Republican said. "He was ordered to destroy 2.5 terabytes of data specific to Able Danger, the Brooklyn [terror] cell and Mohammad Atta. He will name the person who ordered him to destroy that material."
Other witnesses will include an FBI agent who will testify that she set up three meetings in 2000 between the FBI's Washington field office and the Able Danger, but each was cancelled at the last minute, Weldon said.
The Pentagon has changed its position on this story, from originally questioning the very existence of Able Danger (search) to now confirming that the Defense Department has identified five former members of the unit who all say they remember Atta's picture or name, on a chart in 2000.
Now, this may irritate a few people. Not me, and I’ll tell you why. Below is a citation from a story out of the New York Post that Capt. Ed picked up, and explains why the hearings might need to be classified.
Members of a secret Pentagon intelligence unit known as Able Danger warned top military generals that it had uncovered information of increased al Qaeda "activity" in Aden harbor less than three weeks before the attack on the USS Cole, The Post has learned.
In the latest explosive revelation in the Able Danger saga, two former members of the data-mining team are expected to testify to the Senate Judiciary Committee next week that they uncovered alarming terrorist activity and associations in Aden weeks before the Oct. 12, 2000, suicide bombing of the U.S. warship that killed 17 sailors.
Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer, the Defense Intelligence Agency's former liaison to Able Danger, told The Post that Capt. Scott Phillpott, Able Danger's leader, briefed Gen. Peter Schoomaker, former head of Special Operations Command and now Army chief of staff, about the findings on Yemen "two or three weeks" before the Cole attack.
"Yemen was elevated by Able Danger to be one of the top three hot spots for al Qaeda in the entire world," Shaffer recalled.
This also puts a large ring of culpability around the neck of former Pres. Clinton. To have his chief defense forces against terrorism warned three weeks prior to the attack on the USS Cole, and then not act? This revelation may very well hurt the former president’s non-legacy legacy. If it is shown that he could have prevented the bombing of the Cole by upping the security measures taken in port then this could be utterly damning to him. We begin to delve into the realm of malfeasance, which, at this stage, may even be criminal. The extent of this speculation can’t go further because we don’t know exactly what Able Danger knew, and when they informed others. At the very least, this needs to be investigated by Congress. This may be another failure—apparently deliberate at this point—of the government to protect this nation from the terrorists wishing to do her and her citizens harm.
Now, I will bounce back to Michelle as she has been following the story of the controversial Flight 93 memorial in Pennsylvania. To recap our readers (We addressed this last week) the artist has named it the "Crescent of Embrace," and the furor over it comes in the fact that it looks a lot like the Islamic crescent, which despite CAIR’s argument against it, the crescent is a symbol for Islam. In other words, the memorial looks like it is honoring the animals that perpetuated the attacks on that fateful day, rather than the people who fought back against them.
Many people, not just among the bloggers, but the MSM as well, are calling for it’s change. Take this from the Johnstown Tribune Democrat:
"Consider the interpretation and impact of words within the context of this event," the jury wrote in its report. "The ‘Crescent’ should be referred to as the ‘circle’ or ‘arc’ or other words that are not tied to specific religious iconography."
Henry Cook, president of Somerset Trust Co. and a member of the second-stage jury, said: "We suggested the name be changed. Someone did point out that the crescent had certain religious overtones."
It’s not too late to do the right thing...
...Let’s make sure that message of unity and sacrifice is not drowned out by a clamor over semantics and religious imagery.
Changing the name is a start. If the design must be tweaked, we should be willing to do that, too.
I agree. Too many people will see this, and be repulsed by the audacity of the artist. Despite his thinking—which he has said it was not meant to pay homage to the terrorists—he has raised the ire of many people across the nation. I do think there needs to be a serious reconsideration of the memorial. Either he dumps this idea, and presents another, or the jury will have to go with their second choice. It is better than making everyone in this nation angry over this design.
Capt. Ed brings this shocker to the forefront of the continued debate over Hurricane Katrina. Now, there is a level of culpability that extends beyond the governor’s office, and the mayor’s office. This level resides squarely on the Louisiana Dept. Of Homeland Security.
WASHINGTON — Senior officials in Louisiana's emergency planning agency already were awaiting trial over allegations stemming from a federal investigation into waste, mismanagement and missing funds when Hurricane Katrina struck.And federal auditors are still trying to track as much as $60 million in unaccounted for funds that were funneled to the state from the Federal Emergency Management Agency dating back to 1998.
In March, FEMA demanded that Louisiana repay $30.4 million to the federal government.The problems are particularly worrisome, federal officials said, because they involve the Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, the agency that will administer much of the billions in federal aid anticipated for victims of Katrina.Earlier this week, federal Homeland Security officials announced they would send 30 investigators and auditors to the Gulf Coast to ensure relief funds were properly spent.
Details of the ongoing criminal investigations come from two reports by the inspector general's office in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees FEMA, as well as in state audits, and interviews this week with federal and state officials.The reports were prepared by the federal agency's field office in Denton, Texas, and cover 1998 to 2003. Improper expenditures previously identified by auditors include a parka, a briefcase and a trip to Germany.
Much of the FEMA money that was unaccounted for was sent to Louisiana under the Hazard Mitigation Grant program, intended to help states retrofit property and improve flood control facilities, for example.
The $30.4 million FEMA is demanding back was money paid into that program and others, including a program to buy out flood-prone homeowners. As much as $30 million in additional unaccounted for spending also is under review in audits that have not yet been released, according to a FEMA official.
One 2003 federal investigation of allegedly misspent funds in Ouachita Parish, a district in northern Louisiana, grew into a probe that sprawled into more than 20 other parishes.
Now, of course a department spokesman claims this came from mismanagement, not from corruption. I find that hard to believe, especially with the amount of money that is missing, and the apparent uses it was not intended for. But this is the second strike against the DHS in this fiasco. They were the ones who ordered that the Red Cross and Salvation Army weren’t allowed to deliver relief supplies to the Superdome for the people stranded there. So, there’s a lot to answer for down in Louisiana, and the answers had better come quick. There had better be some serious oversight to each state involved in receiving federal money to ensure it goes for it’s intended purpose.
The Bunny and Publius II
http://michellemalkin.com/
http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/
We were a bit busy this weekend, which is why neither of us posted anything, thus far. But we’d like to call to our reader’s collective attentions that there are four important stories burning up the blogosphere. All four are brought to us by two of our favorite bloggers. The first is Captain Ed, of Captain’s Quarters. The second is Michelle Malkin. Counted amongst the elite of the center-right bloggers, both of them have been working hard on these stories.
The first story comes from Michelle Malkin, and she appropriately asks who Mahmoud Maawad is.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. A federal magistrate has ordered a University of Memphis student held until trial.
Prosecutors say F-B-I agents found an airline pilot's uniform, a chart of Memphis International Airport and instructional D-V-D's. One was titled "How an Airline Captain Should Look and Act."
Mahmoud Maawad is charged with wire fraud and fraudulent use of a Social Security number.
Describing what agents found, Assistant U-S Attorney Steve Parker argued yesterday against releasing Maawad, saying the acts and circumstance of the case are "scary."
Parker said Maawad -- a 29-year-old Egyptian -- has been in the country illegally since 1999 and had used a phony Social Security number to enroll in schools and open a bank account.
The Memphis Flyer has this to add:
Was Mahmoud Maawad a University of Memphis student and pilot-wannabe with a passion for flying small planes or an Arab terrorist looking to duplicate the suicide missions of 9/11?
Federal prosecutors in Memphis aren’t saying, but on Thursday they asked a U.S. magistrate to hold Maawad, 29, whose email logon is "pilot747," without bond until trial. U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Thomas Anderson agreed with Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Parker, and Maaward becomes the second Memphis resident of Arab descent to be held without bond because of investigations by the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force. In April, Rafat Mawlawi was jailed in a separate investigation in which prosecutors have linked him to Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaida. He is awaiting trial on October 3rd.
Maawad was busted again this week after federal agents searched his apartment and computer on September 9th and examined his Internet purchases of flight instructions and pilot paraphernalia. Since June, Maawad ordered $3,300 of merchandise over the Internet from Speedy’s Pilot Shop in San Diego, including a private pilot course, flight simulator software, a flight gear bag, several DVDs, a $239 Navy leather flight jacket, a $19.95 DVD on "How an Airline Captain Should Look and Act," and instructional programs on "airplane talk." His email address was pilot747_200@hotmail.com.
After purchasing approximately $2,500 worth of merchandise, Maawad’s debit card was rejected by Speedy’s for lack of funds and his last three orders were not filled. Agents are in the process of examining his computer hard drive.
I believe it is safe to say that Mr. Maawad should have authorities concerned, as he is now the second person caught in Tennessee by the JTTF. There is enough evidence to show that both of these men probably had ulterior motives for being here in the US, including Mawlawi, who has already been connected to al-Qaeda. If we do not get tighter controls over the visa system for foreign residents coming here, more like both of these men will find a way to get in here. That goes double for the borders, and their lack of complete security. The federal government has played enough games with the safety and security of it’s citizens. Too much political correctness and bureaucracy is evident in INS. If they are not willing to truly apply themselves, and neither is the federal government, then it is time this falls to the states to deal with.
Captain Ed calls to our attention the fact that the data-mining group, Able Danger, is now about to be snuffed from public view if Congress decides to proceed with it’s investigation of the 9/11 Commission’s omission.
Witnesses from the Pentagon are expected to testify at that hearing; that's why they want it classified. FOX News has learned that committee Chairman Arlen Specter's office is vigorously resisting the request.
Some former Able Danger analysts and Rep. Curt Weldon say the formerly clandestine intelligence unit identified Mohammed Atta and three other of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers one year before the attacks that left over 3,000 people dead. They also claim that their repeated requests to turn over the information to the FBI were ignored.
Weldon said a former Army officer will testify next week that he was also ordered to destroy data that included reference to Atta.
"In the summer of 2000, he was ordered and, or, he would go to jail if he didn't comply," the Pennsylvania Republican said. "He was ordered to destroy 2.5 terabytes of data specific to Able Danger, the Brooklyn [terror] cell and Mohammad Atta. He will name the person who ordered him to destroy that material."
Other witnesses will include an FBI agent who will testify that she set up three meetings in 2000 between the FBI's Washington field office and the Able Danger, but each was cancelled at the last minute, Weldon said.
The Pentagon has changed its position on this story, from originally questioning the very existence of Able Danger (search) to now confirming that the Defense Department has identified five former members of the unit who all say they remember Atta's picture or name, on a chart in 2000.
Now, this may irritate a few people. Not me, and I’ll tell you why. Below is a citation from a story out of the New York Post that Capt. Ed picked up, and explains why the hearings might need to be classified.
Members of a secret Pentagon intelligence unit known as Able Danger warned top military generals that it had uncovered information of increased al Qaeda "activity" in Aden harbor less than three weeks before the attack on the USS Cole, The Post has learned.
In the latest explosive revelation in the Able Danger saga, two former members of the data-mining team are expected to testify to the Senate Judiciary Committee next week that they uncovered alarming terrorist activity and associations in Aden weeks before the Oct. 12, 2000, suicide bombing of the U.S. warship that killed 17 sailors.
Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer, the Defense Intelligence Agency's former liaison to Able Danger, told The Post that Capt. Scott Phillpott, Able Danger's leader, briefed Gen. Peter Schoomaker, former head of Special Operations Command and now Army chief of staff, about the findings on Yemen "two or three weeks" before the Cole attack.
"Yemen was elevated by Able Danger to be one of the top three hot spots for al Qaeda in the entire world," Shaffer recalled.
This also puts a large ring of culpability around the neck of former Pres. Clinton. To have his chief defense forces against terrorism warned three weeks prior to the attack on the USS Cole, and then not act? This revelation may very well hurt the former president’s non-legacy legacy. If it is shown that he could have prevented the bombing of the Cole by upping the security measures taken in port then this could be utterly damning to him. We begin to delve into the realm of malfeasance, which, at this stage, may even be criminal. The extent of this speculation can’t go further because we don’t know exactly what Able Danger knew, and when they informed others. At the very least, this needs to be investigated by Congress. This may be another failure—apparently deliberate at this point—of the government to protect this nation from the terrorists wishing to do her and her citizens harm.
Now, I will bounce back to Michelle as she has been following the story of the controversial Flight 93 memorial in Pennsylvania. To recap our readers (We addressed this last week) the artist has named it the "Crescent of Embrace," and the furor over it comes in the fact that it looks a lot like the Islamic crescent, which despite CAIR’s argument against it, the crescent is a symbol for Islam. In other words, the memorial looks like it is honoring the animals that perpetuated the attacks on that fateful day, rather than the people who fought back against them.
Many people, not just among the bloggers, but the MSM as well, are calling for it’s change. Take this from the Johnstown Tribune Democrat:
"Consider the interpretation and impact of words within the context of this event," the jury wrote in its report. "The ‘Crescent’ should be referred to as the ‘circle’ or ‘arc’ or other words that are not tied to specific religious iconography."
Henry Cook, president of Somerset Trust Co. and a member of the second-stage jury, said: "We suggested the name be changed. Someone did point out that the crescent had certain religious overtones."
It’s not too late to do the right thing...
...Let’s make sure that message of unity and sacrifice is not drowned out by a clamor over semantics and religious imagery.
Changing the name is a start. If the design must be tweaked, we should be willing to do that, too.
I agree. Too many people will see this, and be repulsed by the audacity of the artist. Despite his thinking—which he has said it was not meant to pay homage to the terrorists—he has raised the ire of many people across the nation. I do think there needs to be a serious reconsideration of the memorial. Either he dumps this idea, and presents another, or the jury will have to go with their second choice. It is better than making everyone in this nation angry over this design.
Capt. Ed brings this shocker to the forefront of the continued debate over Hurricane Katrina. Now, there is a level of culpability that extends beyond the governor’s office, and the mayor’s office. This level resides squarely on the Louisiana Dept. Of Homeland Security.
WASHINGTON — Senior officials in Louisiana's emergency planning agency already were awaiting trial over allegations stemming from a federal investigation into waste, mismanagement and missing funds when Hurricane Katrina struck.And federal auditors are still trying to track as much as $60 million in unaccounted for funds that were funneled to the state from the Federal Emergency Management Agency dating back to 1998.
In March, FEMA demanded that Louisiana repay $30.4 million to the federal government.The problems are particularly worrisome, federal officials said, because they involve the Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, the agency that will administer much of the billions in federal aid anticipated for victims of Katrina.Earlier this week, federal Homeland Security officials announced they would send 30 investigators and auditors to the Gulf Coast to ensure relief funds were properly spent.
Details of the ongoing criminal investigations come from two reports by the inspector general's office in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees FEMA, as well as in state audits, and interviews this week with federal and state officials.The reports were prepared by the federal agency's field office in Denton, Texas, and cover 1998 to 2003. Improper expenditures previously identified by auditors include a parka, a briefcase and a trip to Germany.
Much of the FEMA money that was unaccounted for was sent to Louisiana under the Hazard Mitigation Grant program, intended to help states retrofit property and improve flood control facilities, for example.
The $30.4 million FEMA is demanding back was money paid into that program and others, including a program to buy out flood-prone homeowners. As much as $30 million in additional unaccounted for spending also is under review in audits that have not yet been released, according to a FEMA official.
One 2003 federal investigation of allegedly misspent funds in Ouachita Parish, a district in northern Louisiana, grew into a probe that sprawled into more than 20 other parishes.
Now, of course a department spokesman claims this came from mismanagement, not from corruption. I find that hard to believe, especially with the amount of money that is missing, and the apparent uses it was not intended for. But this is the second strike against the DHS in this fiasco. They were the ones who ordered that the Red Cross and Salvation Army weren’t allowed to deliver relief supplies to the Superdome for the people stranded there. So, there’s a lot to answer for down in Louisiana, and the answers had better come quick. There had better be some serious oversight to each state involved in receiving federal money to ensure it goes for it’s intended purpose.
The Bunny and Publius II
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