GUN CONTROL FRIDAY 1-18-13

Fast And Furious Scandal: Man Claims To Have Shot U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry

HOLDER BEGS COURT TO STOP DOCUMENT RELEASE ON FAST AND FURIOUS

White House Posts Videos Of Children Asking Obama To Crack Down On Guns

America Speaks for Itself

Chicago Alderman Wants GPS Tracking Devices On All Guns

Police officers 'violating new gun law' in New York

Journal News map-listed guns, permits stolen from New City home

Woman Thrown on Subway Tracks During Violent Attack

View more videos at: http://nbcphiladelphia.com.

Fists Killed More in New York than Rifles in 2011

Woman Brutally Stabbed Inside Bed Bath & Beyond Store In N.J.

ACID THROWN AT BALLET ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Anti-Gun Group Releases Ad Tying GOP Congressman To Newtown Massacre

No One Knows What an Assault Weapon Is

The Facts About Assault Weapons and Crime

TSA to purchase 1,400 pounds of explosives

TSA to purchase 1,400 pounds of explosives for canine training program
Wed, 2012-08-08 09:43 AM
By: Jacob Goodwin

TSA has put an invitation to bid on the street for 700 pounds of A-5 Flake RDX explosives and 700 pounds of high density ammonium nitrate explosives, which will be used as training aids by explosive-sniffing dogs participating in the National Canine Program (NCP).

“The [Canine Explosives Section] has selected to use High Density Ammonium Nitrate and A-5 Flake RDX as it will provide NCP participants with a more realistic training aid and complement the current aids provided,” explains a statement of work released by TSA on August 7.

The invitation to bid is a 100% small business set-aside opportunity, and prospective vendors have until August 13 to submit their bids. Delivery of the explosives, which must be packed in bags, is required within 15 days, says the TSA notice.

The RDX and ammonium nitrate will be sent to the William J. Hughes Technical Center in Atlantic City, NJ.

“TSA's National Explosives Detection Canine Team Program prepares dogs and handlers to serve on the front lines of America's War on Terror,” says the agency’s Website. “These very effective, mobile teams can quickly locate and identify dangerous materials that may present a threat to transportation systems. Just as important, they can quickly rule out the presence of dangerous materials in unattended packages, structures or vehicles, allowing the free and efficient flow of commerce.”

RDX, an initialism for Research Department Explosive, is an explosive nitroamine widely used in military and industrial applications. It was developed as an explosive which was more powerful than TNT, and it saw wide use in WWII.

In its pure, synthesized state RDX is a white, crystalline solid. It is often used in mixtures with other explosives and plasticizers, phlegmatizers or desensitizers. RDX is stable in storage and is considered one of the most powerful and brisant of the military high explosives.

RDX was widely used during World War II, often in explosive mixtures with TNT such as Torpex, Composition B, Cyclotols, and H6. RDX was used in one of the first plastic explosives. RDX is believed to have been used in many bomb plots including terrorist plots.

Terrorism
The 1993 Bombay bombings were the first terrorist blasts in Mumbai which used RDX by placement into several vehicles as bombs. RDX was the main component used for the 2006 Mumbai train bombings and the Jaipur bombings in 2008. It is also believed to be the explosive in the 1999 Russian apartment bombings, 2004 Russian aircraft bombings, and 2010 Moscow Metro bombings.

Ahmed Ressam, the al-Qaeda Millennium Bomber, used a small quantity of RDX as one of the components in the explosives that he prepared to bomb Los Angeles International Airport on New Year's Eve 1999/2000; the combined explosives could have produced a blast forty times greater than that of a devastating car bomb.

In July 2012, the Kenyan government arrested two Iranian nationals and charged them with illegal possession of 15 kilograms (33 pounds) of RDX. According to the Kenyan Police, the Iranians planned to use the RDX for "attacks on Israel, US, UK and Saudi Arabian targets".

DHS emergency power extended, including control of private telecom systems

The Obama administration has given the Department of Homeland Security powers to prioritize government communications over privately owned telephone and Internet systems in emergencies. An executive order signed June 6 “gives DHS the authority to seize control of telecommunications facilities, including telephone, cellular and wireless networks, in order to prioritize government communications over private ones in an emergency,” said Amie Stephanovich, a lawyer with the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC). The White House says Executive Order 13618, published Wednesday in the Federal Register, is designed to ensure that the government can communicate during major disasters and other emergencies and contains no new authority. “The [order] recognizes the creation of DHS and provides the Secretary the flexibility to organize the communications systems and functions that reside within the department as [she] believes will be most effective,” White House spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said in an email. “The [order] does not transfer authorities between or among departments.” She said the order replaced one originally signed in 1984 by President Reagan and amended in 2003 by President George W. Bush after DHS was set up and took responsibility for emergency response and communications. When the original order “was written during the Cold War, the motivating national security concern was maintaining communications capability following a devastating nuclear strike,” Ms. Hayden said. The new order “address[es] a world in which our economy and government are far more reliant on communications technologies to maintain essential functions than we were then,” she wrote.

At issue is a provision of the four-page order that says Homeland Security Secretary Janet A. Napolitano “shall … satisfy [federal] priority communications requirements through the use of commercial, government, and privately owned communications resources.” “The previous orders did not give DHS those authorities over private and commercial networks,” Ms. Stepanovich said. “That’s a new authority.” “This should have been done by Congress, so there could have been proper debate about it,” she added. “This is not authority that should be granted by executive order.” Ms. Hayden said the legal basis for the order is Section 706 of the 1934 Communications Act. The section authorizes the president to “cause the closing of any facility or station for wire communication” and gives him “control of any such facility or station” if a state of war, or the threat of one, exists. The new order “extends Section 706 powers to the Internet,” said James Harper, an electronic-privacy advocate at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank. The authorities “might have made sense in the 1930s,” but now the communication networks are too complex and interdependent, he said. “If you try to seize control of the Internet that way, you will break it.” Under the previous executive orders, communications providers have long established priority access programs for federal users. In the telephone system, a special code the user inputs before dialing a number automatically tells the phone companies’ equipment to give the call priority. “Mobile phones, the Internet, and social media are all now integral to the communications landscape,” Ms. Hayden said.

Obama gives himself control of all communication systems

US President Barack Obama quietly signed his name to an Executive Order on Friday, allowing the White House to control all private communications in the country in the name of national security. President Obama released his latest Executive Order on Friday, July 6, a 2,205-word statement offered as the “Assignment of National Security and Emergency Preparedness Communications Functions.” And although the president chose not to commemorate the signing with much fanfare, the powers he provides to himself and the federal government under the latest order are among the most far-reaching yet of any of his executive decisions.

“The Federal Government must have the ability to communicate at all times and under all circumstances to carry out its most critical and time sensitive missions,” the president begins the order. “Survivable, resilient, enduring and effective communications, both domestic and international, are essential to enable the executive branch to communicate within itself and with: the legislative and judicial branches; State, local, territorial and tribal governments; private sector entities; and the public, allies and other nations.” President Obama adds that it is necessary for the government to be able to reach anyone in the country during situations it considers critical, writing, “Such communications must be possible under all circumstances to ensure national security, effectively manage emergencies and improve national resilience.” Later the president explains that such could be done by establishing a “joint industry-Government center that is capable of assisting in the initiation, coordination, restoration and reconstitution of NS/EP [national security and emergency preparedness] communications services or facilities under all conditions of emerging threats, crisis or emergency.”

“The views of all levels of government, the private and nonprofit sectors, and the public must inform the development of NS/EP communications policies, programs and capabilities,” he adds. On the government’s official website for the National Communications Systems, the government explains that that “infrastructure includes wireline, wireless, satellite, cable, and broadcasting, and provides the transport networks that support the Internet and other key information systems,” suggesting that the president has indeed effectively just allowed himself to control the country’s Internet access. In order to allow the White House to reach anyone within the US, the president has put forth a plan to establish a high-level committee calling from agents with the Department of Homeland Security, Pentagon, Federal Communications Commission and other government divisions to ensure that his new executive order can be implemented. In explaining the order, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) writes that the president has authorized the DHS "the authority to seize private facilities when necessary, effectively shutting down or limiting civilian communications." In Section 5 of his order, President Obama outlines the specific department and agency responsibilities that will see through his demands. In a few paragraphs, President Obama explains that Executive Committee that will oversee his order must be supplied with “the technical support necessary to develop and maintain plans adequate to provide for the security and protection of NS/EP communications,” and that that same body will be in tasked with dispatching that communiqué “to the Federal Government and State, local, territorial and trial governments,” by means of “commercial, Government and privately owned communications resources.” Later, the president announces that the Department of Homeland Security will be tasked with drafting a plan during the next 60 days to explain how the DHS will command the government’s Emergency Telecommunications Service, as well as other telecom conduits. In order to be able to spread the White House’s message across the country, President Obama also asks for the purchasing of equipment and services that will enable such.

Palestinians to renew efforts for bid to U.N. - Washington Times

Palestinians to renew efforts for bid to U.N. - Washington Times RAMALLAH, West Bank — Palestinian officials say that they will resume their effort to gain U.N. membership, and that they could launch a nonviolent third intifada because they see no chance of reaching a peace deal with the current Israeli government. The Palestinians had put their U.N. bid on hold to participate in informal Jordanian-sponsored talks with Israel that began at the beginning of the year in Amman. The Middle East “Quartet” — the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia — had urged the parties to submit proposals on borders and security by Jan. 26, with the goal of reaching an agreement by the end of 2012. But with that proposals deadline approaching, officials here said Thursday that they do not expect any breakthroughs. “We hear from our Jordanian friends that things are not going well,” said Sabri Saidam, deputy speaker of the Fatah Council and an adviser to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Mr. Saidam and other Palestinian officials told The Washington Times that, barring a last-minute development Thursday, the U.N. campaign would begin anew. A return to the U.N. would rile the U.S., which has vowed to veto the Palestinian application for membership in the Security Council. The U.S. was spared the headache of a veto in September because the Palestinians failed to gain a nine-vote majority. “We got 8 3/4,” Mr. Saidam said. The entire U.N. campaign has attained great symbolism here. A giant blue chair bearing the words “Palestine’s Right: Full Membership in the United Nations” still sits in Ramallah’s central square. A wall of Mr. Abbas‘ presidential compound features a giant photo of him holding up the Palestinian application during his speech to the U.N. General Assembly. The Palestinians began the campaign after bolting short-lived U.S.-sponsored peace talks in September 2010, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government did not extend a 10-month freeze on Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Palestinians say they will not restart formal direct talks unless Israel freezes settlement activity and agrees to President Obama’s formulation that any two-state solution be based on Israel’s pre-1967 frontiers — conditions Mr. Netanyahu has refused. But the U.N. campaign is just one aspect of what many Palestinian officials describe as the “South Africanization” of their struggle — an approach that seeks to isolate Israel diplomatically while engaging in mass nonviolent protests. “We can learn from the South African struggle against apartheid that international activism works,” said Nabeel Shaath, Fatah’s commissioner for international relations. “You don’t really have to shoot in order to get your rights.” Mr. Shaath said it was “absolutely” a mistake for Palestinians to militarize the second intifada — the 2000-2005 uprising that claimed about 4,000 Palestinian and 1,000 Israeli lives amid suicide bombings and Israeli military strikes. Page Two

Federal official refuses to testify about Fast and Furious

By William La Jeunesse Published January 20, 2012 | FoxNews.com The chief of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Arizona is refusing to testify before Congress regarding Operation Fast and Furious, the federal gun-running scandal that sent U.S. weapons to Mexico. Patrick J. Cunningham informed the House Oversight Committee late Thursday through his attorney that he will use the Fifth Amendment protection. Cunningham was ordered Wednesday to appear before Chairman Darrell Issa and the House Oversight Committee regarding his role in the operation that sent more than 2,000 guns to the Sinaloa Cartel. Guns from the failed operation were found at the murder scene of Border Agent Brian Terry.

January 25, 2011: A cache of seized weapons used in the ATF gun-running operation 'Fast and Furious' is displayed at a news conference in Phoenix. The letter from Cunningham’s Washington DC attorney stunned congressional staff. Last week, Cunningham, the second highest ranking U.S. Attorney in Arizona, was scheduled to appear before Issa‘s committee voluntarily. Then, he declined and Issa issued a subpoena. Cunningham is represented by Tobin Romero of Williams and Connolly who is a specialist in white collar crime. In the letter, he suggests witnesses from the Department of Justice in Washington, who have spoken in support of Attorney General Eric Holder, are wrong or lying. “Department of Justice officials have reported to the Committee that my client relayed inaccurate information to the Department upon which it relied in preparing its initial response to Congress. If, as you claim, Department officials have blamed my client, they have blamed him unfairly,” the letter to Issa says. Romero claims Cunningham did nothing wrong and acted in good faith, but the Department of Justice in Washington is making him the fall guy, claiming he failed to accurately provide the Oversight Committee with information on the execution of Fast and Furious. "To avoid needless preparation by the Committee and its staff for a deposition next week, I am writing to advise you that my client is going to assert his constitutional privilege not to be compelled to be a witness against himself." Romero told Issa. This schism is the first big break in what has been a unified front in the government’s defense of itself in the gun-running scandal. Cunningham claims he is a victim of a conflict between two branches of government and will not be compelled to be a witnesses against himself, and make a statement that could be later used by a grand jury or special prosecutor to indict him on criminal charges. Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/01/20/federal-official-in-arizona-to-plead-fifth-and-not-answer-questions-on-furious/#ixzz1k2RN35Gb

ATF's Testimony Proves Fast and Furious was an Obama Plot

On July 4th, Acting ATF Director Ken Melson testified for hours before representatives of the Grassley/Issa congressional committees. Personal counsel in tow, Melson made a number of allegations concerning the Department of Justice and two agencies under DOJ control—the FBI and the DEA.

According to his testimony, not only did the DOJ refuse his repeated requests that the ATF be permitted to provide information demanded by the congressional committees, the Department also arranged for tax dollars from the FBI and DEA to help finance Fast and Furious straw buyers.

And as Fast and Furious supplied weapons were found at the murder scenes of both ICE agent Jaime Zapata and Border Patrol agent Brian Terry, it means that both killings were financed by American taxpayers.

Equally disturbing to Sen. Chuck Grassley and Congressman Darrell Issa is the fact that the Justice Department tried to “conceal from Congress the possible involvement of other agencies in identifying and maybe even working with the same criminals that Operation Fast and Furious was trying to identify.”

That is, the FBI and DEA were working with the same drug dealing, gun trafficking higher ups the ATF was ostensibly targeting and hoping to unmask with Fast and Furious.

One such individual, deported years earlier by the DEA, is now working as a “counter terror informant,” tasked with reporting to the FBI the possible presence of dirty bombs and al-Qaeda members crossing the Mexican border into the U.S. Yet neither agency shared this information with the ATF. And, of course, neither did Eric Holder’s Department of Justice.

Two days after Melson’s testimony, the story broke of guns being walked out of the ATF office in Tampa, Florida. Their destination, Honduras, has become a major gateway for Colombian drugs entering Mexico and the United States. The weapons presumably went to Honduran M-13 and M-18 gangs, which have taken over the drug trade in the nation, making deals with Mexican and Colombian cartels.

So, these are the facts:
■Fast and Furious was not purely a Phoenix-based operation. Guns are now known to have been walked from Houston and Tampa field offices and perhaps many others. This makes Gunwalker a nationwide federal scheme.
■The FBI and DEA employed drug dealers and gun traffickers, who participated in Fast and Furious.
■One Fast and Furious weapon was found at the scene of Jaime Zapata’s murder, two at the scene of Brian Terry’s. Has anyone ever heard of murderers leaving their weapons at the scene of the crime, unless they were killed or captured on the spot?
■Although U.S.-procured weapons account for only about 14 percent of firearms found at Mexican crime scenes, three Fast and Furious guns mysteriously showed up at murder scenes – of American agents.

A surefire way for the Second Amendment-hating Obama regime to secretly manufacture an outcry for tougher gun control legislation is to create as much news, as many deaths and as many criminal firearms traces back to U.S. gun sellers as possible.

Step one, the ATF made thousands of weapons available from gun stores across the nation to straw purchasers, who then sent them where criminal activity was most rampant, in Mexico and Honduras.

Step two, three of these weapons were deliberately left at scenes where U.S. agents had been killed.

And finally, serial number traces revealed the origin of these firearms, along with hundreds of others, to have been American gun stores.

Either that was all a remarkable coincidence benefiting a regime intent upon undermining the Second Amendment rights of the American people, or Fast and Furious/Gunrunner is an even more perverse and despicable betrayal of the public trust than anyone has imagined.

Given the histories of those involved, the choice is clear.