When you see stories like these:
"Al Qaeda Says Would Use Pakistani Nuclear Weapons" (Reuters):
If it were in a position to do so, Al Qaeda would use Pakistan's nuclear weapons in its fight against the United States, a top leader of the group said in remarks aired on Sunday.
Pakistan has been battling al Qaeda's Taliban allies in the Swat Valley since April after their thrust into a district 100 km (60 miles) northwest of the capital raised fears the nuclear-armed country could slowly slip into militant hands.
"God willing, the nuclear weapons will not fall into the hands of the Americans and the mujahideen would take them and use them against the Americans," Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, the leader of al Qaeda's in Afghanistan, said in an interview with Al Jazeera television.
Abu al-Yazid was responding to a question about U.S. safeguards to seize control over Pakistan's nuclear weapons in case Islamist fighters came close to doing so.
"We expect that the Pakistani army would be defeated (in Swat) ... and that would be its end everywhere, God willing."
Asked about the group's plans, the Egyptian militant leader said: "The strategy of the (al Qaeda) organisation in the coming period is the same as in the previous period: to hit the head of the snake, the head of tyranny -- the United States.
"That can be achieved through continued work on the open fronts and also by opening new fronts in a manner that achieves the interests of Islam and Muslims and by increasing military operations that drain the enemy financially."...
"People on Terrorism Watch List Allowed to Buy Guns, Explosives" (Washington Post):
People named on the government's terrorist watch list have successfully purchased firearms hundreds of times since 2004 , government investigators reported yesterday. In one case, a known or suspected terrorist was able to buy more than 50 pounds of explosives, the Government Accountability Office reported.
U.S. lawmakers requested the audit to show how under federal law, people on the terrorist watch list can be stopped from boarding airplanes but not from buying guns. Under federal law, licensed firearms dealers must request an FBI background check for buyers but cannot legally stop purchases solely because individuals are on the watch list. The study found that people on the list purchased guns 865 times -- out of 963 attempts -- over a five-year period ending in February.
Those who were denied gun purchases were disqualified for other reasons, such as a felony conviction, drug violation or being an illegal immigrant.
Citing a "terror gap," Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and Reps. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) and Robert C. Scott (D-Va.) released the study, and Lautenberg said he will introduce legislation to give the U.S. attorney general authority to stop the sale of guns or explosives to terrorists....
"Gangs Flourish in Suburbs" (Baltimore Sun):
Ex-gang member says 'fatherless generation' just as susceptible in affluent areas
In middle school, they were friends, playing in the same local football league. Some kids played for the Crofton Cardinals. Others wore the jerseys of the Odenton Wildcats.
It was innocent then, when the Cardinals - three seasons undefeated - began calling themselves TNT, or The New Threat. The kids from Odenton became ESD, or the East Side Diamonds.
Born of a sports rivalry, the two groups developed into what Anne Arundel County police are calling dangerous gangs. A resulting conflict left 14-year-old Christopher David Jones dead late last month. Days later, the home of someone erroneously believed to have been involved in Christopher's death was firebombed.
The death of Christopher, who was riding a bicycle in his neighborhood, has angered and shaken a middle-class community where families move for good schools and safety. It has also provided a stark illustration that gangs are not a problem confined to inner cities and the suburbs closest to them.
Experts say gang activity in suburban and more affluent communities, prevalent since the early 1990s, is expected to peak in coming years as the population of the most susceptible youths, ages 14 to 17, booms.
"The suburban gang trend is on the uptick," said Dan Korem, author of Suburban Gangs: The Affluent Rebels.
The development poses a challenge to law enforcement, schools and parents. Tackling the problem has been complicated by classroom privacy laws, and by the difficulty in figuring out whether a group of teens who give themselves a name will blossom into a dangerous organization or will dissipate in a few months or years, as they often do.
"We're not saying that every kid on a street corner with a T-shirt down to his knees is necessarily a gang member," said Baltimore County Police Chief James W. Johnson.
'Fatherless generation'
Of about two dozen gangs identified in Baltimore County, most have fewer than 25 members, Johnson said. In some cases, he said, "10 kids get together and decide to form a gang," and often it doesn't last.
"Yes, we do know there are gang members in the schools," said Anne Arundel Police Lt. J.D. Batten Jr., head of the school safety division, during a recent legislative hearing examining legal changes intended to prevent deaths such as Christopher's. "It is not illegal in the state of Maryland to be a gang member. To be a gang member is not an actionable offense," Batten said.
One out of two police agencies in suburban communities nationwide reported gang problems in 2007, according to that year's National Youth Gang Survey, the most recent figures available.
Suburban teenagers join gangs for reasons similar to their big-city counterparts, experts say. They tend to be at-risk youth struggling with family problems, such as divorce or separation, physical abuse or dysfunctional parents. The biggest factor, according to Korem, is that children don't have an adult to turn to for guidance.
Billy H. Stanfield Jr., a member of a Baltimore gang who was shot in both legs in 1993 and subsequently served nearly six years in federal prison on drug-trafficking charges, said gang membership is being fueled by a "fatherless generation," as well as continuing economic hardship and videos and music that promote a gangster lifestyle.
"You have a lot of misguided young people" who believe they have nowhere else to turn, said Stanfield, 40, who founded New Vision Youth Services to counsel young people in Baltimore and neighboring counties to stay away from gangs.
While some youths can be reached, Stanfield said, others are unmovable, even after hearing of his near-death experience. "A lot of them think it can't happen to them," he said....
"NY Muslims Openly Call for Attacks on Non-Muslims~Video" (Islam in Action):
In the past I have posted videos from NY based RevolutionMuslim.com. In the last one Muslim convert Yousef al-Khattab preached for Muslims to understand the terms of engagement in jihad. Now he has stepped up his up rhetoric and stated that Muslims need to use "your limbs, your bodies, their weapons, to promote the religion of Allah" and then finally a straight out call to "attack" the kafir. This man is obviously dangerous and needs to be locked up.
"Mexico Deploys 1,500 Extra Soldiers to Border City" (Associated Press):
Mexico has deployed 1,500 more troops to Ciudad Juarez following a surge in homicides in the border city related to the drug trade.
Joint security operation spokesman Enrique Torres Valadez says the extra troops will plan operations Sunday and begin patrolling the city Monday.
A total of 2,500 troops arrived in Ciudad Juarez by land and air Saturday night, but 1,000 of them are relieving soldiers rotating out of the city for a break, Torres said.
Killings in the city across the border from El Paso, Texas, had declined to about one per day after the army sent more than 5,000 troops there in March to patrol the streets.
But officials say killings have risen again to an average of between eight and nine per day.
Is it any wonder that you have people expressing feelings like John Rubino (publisher of DollarCollapse.com and author of Clean Money and The Collapse of the Dollar and How to Profit from It) does in his latest commentary, "No Gold, No Bullets: Now It's Personal":
Facts have a different feel when they’re personal. And speaking personally, evidence that Americans are seriously spooked is starting to pile up. In the past few months:
- While researching a magazine article on offshore investing I interviewed Erica Nolan, executive director of the Sovereign Society, a Florida-based consultancy. She noted that her client base is changing: “Historically, offshore solutions have been reserved for very high net worth individuals. But starting in about 2001 we started to see people in the ‘mid-tier millionaire’ stream -- $1 million to $30 million net worth -- saying ‘I’ve worked really hard, I don’t want to have my assets at risk.’ Most recently we’ve been seeing a big demand from Americans saying ‘I just want to put $100,000 or $500,000 offshore. I’m reporting it; it has nothing to do with taxes.’ It’s just asset safety at this point.”
- My father-in-law decided he wanted some gold, so I called a local coin store and asked Kevin, the shop’s owner, to find us some Krugerrands. He predicted a few weeks for delivery, which seemed reasonable given the chatter about tight supplies, so I placed an order and wrote a big check. That was three months ago, and the coins still aren’t in. I called Kevin the other day and found him both busy and frustrated. “I could make a million dollars this year if I could only get inventory,” he said. “This would be a career year.” He apologized for the long wait and said there were now only a few people ahead of us on the list.
- I checked in with a friend, a business owner and semi-professional poker player just back from a Seattle gambling trip. But instead of talking poker or kids we toured his stash of freeze-dried food and his growing arsenal that includes a Dirty Harry-style 44 magnum pistol and a very cool black pump-action shotgun. This guy is well-educated, well-traveled, and well-off, and he’s preparing to blow away looters from his bedroom window.
- My 11-year-old son Alex and I stopped by a local gun store. This is going to be a “skills acquisition” summer in which we learn to ride horses, handle guns, and change a bike flat (and when I finally learn to Salsa) so we had some general questions for Charles, the gun shop owner, about gun safety classes and which rifle is the best starter model. Charles said our selection was limited: It seems that there’s a run on ammo, and he can’t guarantee anything more than low-velocity 22 caliber bullets. When we got home I did a quick Google search for “bullet shortage” and sure enough, that market looks just like those for gold and silver coins, with demand swamping supply, long waiting lists, and panicky hoarding.
It’s no secret, of course, that small-denomination bullion is hard to come by and gun sales are way up, but finding out first-hand that this stuff is unavailable brings home the reality of the situation, which is that the social mood is growing darker. On the surface everything looks normal; no one is protesting in the streets, the trash is getting picked up, and elections are as orderly as ever. But the market is quietly reallocating resources as individuals insure against a systemic breakdown. Hope those Krugerrands come soon.
MP:
I have no doubt that al'Queda would use them. Bin Laden said so years ago. Would we respond by killing every man, woman and child in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan for starters? I doubt it. The ammo shortage is easing down here in Houston.
I see more people here buying gold coins as investments and talking about the inevitable US government bankruptcy.
Posted by: Independent Accountant | June 23, 2009 at 08:38 PM