Terror Alert

[CRLionDawg]

What a great quote by Bertrand Russell. It also seems the older I get the more questions I have. We tend to pick and choose our own absolutes.




Bertrand Russell, English author, mathematician, and philosopher wrote: "The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but WISER people so full of doubts"
[/quote]

[Lemmy]

Al Qaeda mole row reveals disarray
Tue 10 August, 2004 14:59

By Jon Boyle

PARIS (Reuters) - The unmasking of an al Qaeda mole after a U.S. security alert points to disarray within U.S. intelligence and could mean President George W. Bush is accused of playing politics with security, the top U.S. election issue.

Washington raised its security alert to high on August 1 and disclosed a man held in secret by Pakistan was the source of information that justified the alert.

U.S. officials next morning confirmed a media report naming the man as Mohammad Naeem Noor Khan, a computer expert arrested secretly in July and used by Pakistan to track down al Qaeda militants in Britain and America.

Pakistani intelligence told Reuters that Khan was still working undercover when the U.S. security status was raised to orange and his name appeared in a U.S. newspaper.

Security analysts said the outing of the source was a major blunder that forced Britain to arrest 12 terrorism suspects in a hurry; nine are still in custody. Washington said the arrests, which included an alleged top al Qaeda figure, were a success.

Anthony Glees, director of Brunel University's Centre for Intelligence and Security Studies, London, said compared to MI5, U.S. intelligence gathering was "in a state of some disarray".




Rest of the story at this link from Rueters UK at ....

http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArt ... ction=news

[CRLionDawg]

It continues to look better all the time.

[Lemmy]

"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." -- George W. Bush, Aug. 5, 2004.

The really rich people figure out how to dodge taxes anyway. — George W. Bush

[D-nice]

on september 11th 2001. the brave actions of n.y.c first responders was recogognizes and applauded over and over again even spilling over into admiration for emergency workers all across america. we thanked them for their daring efforts, and cast adulation on theses brave men and women for their outstanding performance. but we never said thank you to our elected officials who on the morning of september 11th 2001. worked accurately and efficently to measure a response and protect citizens from harm. while we watched in horror on t.v. our elected leaders worked to uncover. while we took time to account for our loved onrs, they ignored theirs to protect ours.we never say thank you to these guys and girls, only criticism and second guessing. so i'll say it thank you!. thank you president bush for courageous leadership.thank you dick cheney for not backing down. thank you condeleeza rice for working long hard hours, thank you colin powell for serving and defending this great country.thank god for you.god bless the u.s.a.!

[LionPride]

After listening to John Kerry and reading the last post by D-nice, the thought just occured to me that if Kerry lived by his words, he would've waited for France's approval before striking back against al-Qaida following 9/11. If not for the swift response, bin-Laden would still be living safely under the Taliban rule. While he is still on the loose, his ability to function as before is greatly reduced. Good post D-nice.

I also read about home buying on the rise, and bankruptcy on the rise. Our economy has seen the greatest growth in 20 years in the past 9 months. Folks, trickle down economics works, think about it. Tax breaks to businesses (large and small), frees up more capital for those companies, encourages growth in those companies, thus creating more jobs. This doesn't happen overnight though. It is a something that must run it's course, and it is better in the long run. One of the fundamental differences between Republicans and Democrats is that Dems focus on fixing problems in the short term. This is great for the easy, quick fix. Republicans focus on fixing problems that will help us in the long term. It ain't always popular in the short term, but makes our lives better for the long haul. Any business that focuses on the short term fixes doesn't stay in business for very long. Businesses that plan for the future are the ones that typically thrive. Why would it be any different for government?

I have to ask (I like to ask questions), why is it the responsibility of the government for all these social programs? I certainly can agree with the government (and all us taxpayers) helping someone to get picked back up on their feet. But the problem is that when you get too many programs like that, people become dependent on them. Then you get more programs, and it never ends. If left to the Dems, our country would revert to a socialist society where there is a distribution of wealth. Hey, I'm not a big fan of Bill Gates, but the guy made his $$ because he hit a niche in the economy. Why should I be entitled to his money? I didn't earn it, he did. Should he pay more in taxes? Yes, he should, and he does. Think of it like this. For every $10 Bill Gates has, $4 of that money would go to taxes. For you and I, it would be $1.5.

While I'm on this rant, I wanted to give you another example of liberal media and how it works. While on vacation, I picked up a newspaper and read the headline - Bush Wants a National Sales Tax. Knowing a little about what was behind this, I read the whole article and it only mentions how Bush thought it was an "intriguing" IDEA to look at. So the article makes it sound like Bush wants to add another tax with nothing given back to the taxpayer. No where in the article, and I mean no where, did it mention that the idea was to eliminate the IRS, and implement the national sales tax in it's place. It's an IDEA folks, something to look into. However, I sure do like the thought of no IRS, no January tax time, 15% more on my pay check. If you don't want to pay more taxes, buy less. If you have the money, buy more. Everyone shares the burdon. The rich tend to buy more "stuff", so the rich would pay more. I kind of like the idea, but I'd like to see more numbers before I take a side either way. It sounds to me like that is what our President is doing.

[once a runner]

In 1992 Jerry Brown (liberal democrat) ran for president on a platform that would abolish all federal tax programs and replace it with a 13% national sales tax. Could our "compassionate conservative" president really be using an idea from Jerry Brown???

[CRLionDawg]

the raw issue of "tax" is neither liberal nor conservative. It is in the application of tax that defines a politicians political standing.

[LionPride]

[quote="once a runner";p="57265"]In 1992 Jerry Brown (liberal democrat) ran for president on a platform that would abolish all federal tax programs and replace it with a 13% national sales tax. Could our "compassionate conservative" president really be using an idea from Jerry Brown???[/quote]

I don't recall that, but I'll take your word for it.

I believe it was 1996(?) when Steve Forbes ran on the platform of a flat tax. While not the same, the principal behind the idea is the same. Reduce government red tape, and all pay their equal share based on a percentage of earnings. And Forbes was a Republican.

[CRLionDawg]

The fact are that our economy has changed over the years. We are much more dependent on the overall world economy. We have to look at ways to collect revenues for government expenditures which do not make us uncompetitive in business and job creation.