January 13, 2010 by Tim McDowell.

1810z: Castel Haiti, an office and convention center in Port-au-Prince, is said to have collapsed.

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January 13, 2010 by Tim McDowell.

1724z: U.S. Coast Guard evacuates four critically injured U.S. Embassy staff members from Port-au-Prince. The U.S. Air Force 1st Special Operations Wing are expected to deploy to the Port-au-Prince airport this afternoon. The staff members will be take to the U.S. Naval base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. U.S. Southern Command states that the U.S.S. Carl Vinson will arrive off the coast of Haiti on 14 January. Pentagon states that some smaller vessels from the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard cutters are already en route.

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January 13, 2010 by Tim McDowell.

Status summary as of 1500z: A 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Haiti at approximately 2153 UTC (1653 local time) on 12 January 2010. The quake was centered approximately 10 mi/16 km from Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami watch for parts of the Caribbean region shortly after the initial quake, but it was later canceled. The quake was reportedly also felt in the Dominican Republic and Cuba, but there were no reports of damage in those countries. The initial quake has been followed by a series of at least 28 strong aftershocks, all with a magnitude of at least 4.0. Seismologists anticipate that aftershocks will continue.

Preliminary reports indicate that damage in Port-au-Prince and the surrounding area is extensive and that most of the city has been destroyed. The quake has also caused massive power and communications outages across the country, hindering rescue efforts. Reports indicate that the communications tower at Toussaint Louverture International Airport (MTPP/PAP) has collapsed, but the rest of the airport was not significantly damaged and the airport remains open. However, the main road leading to the airport is blocked with rubble and debris. American Airlines and Spirit Airlines have both canceled all flights to Haiti until further notice, and Delta Air Lines has halted its only flight to and from the country out of New York’s JFK airport.

There is currently no clear estimate of casualties, but the Red Cross has reported that the quake has affected at least 3 million people. Among the known casualties are several U.N. peacekeepers, including the mission chief. President Rene Preval was reportedly uninjured. Additional information on damage and casualties is likely to emerge over the next 24-48 hours as rescue efforts continue.

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January 13, 2010 by Tim McDowell.

http://monitor.asigroup.com/

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January 12, 2010 by Tim McDowell.

Volume 2 Issue 12 December 2009

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January 12, 2010 by Tim McDowell.

Bruce Gregory, Ph.D., a corporate behavioral specialist. He observes that in the past 20 years extensive research has delved into the narcissistic personality. One of the best places to spot narcissism, he argues, is at the top of a company or a public organization. A common sign of narcissism is the exertion of pressure that comes from an unrelenting demand for perfection. This unrealistic expectation derives from the narcissist’s grandiosity and illusion of omnipotence to be maintained.

The employee will feel pressure either to conform or to continue producing until exhaustion. This pressure is extremely unpleasant and contains the negative expectation that people cannot meet objectives through their own resources and cooperative participation without pressure from above. The narcissist devalues pride of accomplishment, commitment, and capacity to follow through and complete tasks.

When the narcissist perceives the possibility of losing control of a situation or a process, this person often feels threatened. When this happens, the narcissist’s response can be one of character assassination. There is another important way to recognize narcissism. The narcissist is often revealed in language through the use of “I”. If a person listens carefully to another’s use of “I” one can detect the grandiosity inside.

Unless one has the experience of dealing with narcissism, it is difficult to appreciate how strong a force drives the grandiosity of the narcissism. Remember the phrases, “I am the greatest; I am all powerful; the space is mine; it belongs to me; only what I want matters.” Furthermore, since narcissism is ruled by “black and white” thinking, it is great, or it is nothing and therefore a failure. There is no space for collaboration, for becoming or for emergence of a process.

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January 5, 2010 by Tim McDowell.

For years, Better Business Bureau has educated consumers about not giving out personal information over the telephone or to anyone who shows up at their front door.  With the U.S. Census process beginning, BBB advises people to be cooperative, but cautious, so as not to become a victim of fraud or identity theft.
 
The first phase of the 2010 U.S. Census is under way as workers have begun verifying the addresses of households across the country.  Eventually, more than 140,000 U.S. Census workers will count every person in the United States and will gather information about every person living at each address including name, age, gender, race and other relevant data.  “Most people are rightfully cautious and won’t give out personal information to unsolicited phone callers or visitors, however the Census is an exception to the rule,” said Steve Cox, BBB spokesperson. “Unfortunately, scammers know that the public is more willing to share personal data when taking part in the Census and they have an opportunity to ply their trade by posing as a government employee and soliciting sensitive financial information.”
 
The Census data will be used to allocate more than $300 billion in federal funds every year, as well as determine a State’s number of Congressional representatives. Households are actually required by law to respond to the Census Bureau’s request for information. During the U.S. Census, households will be contacted by mail, telephone or visited by a U.S. Census worker who will inquire about the number of people living in the house. Unfortunately, people may also be contacted by scammers who are impersonating Census workers in order to gain access to sensitive financial information such as Social Security, bank account or credit card numbers. Law enforcement in several states have issued warnings that scammers are already posing as Census Bureau employees and knocking on doors asking for donations and Social Security numbers.

The big question is - how do you tell the difference between a U.S. Census worker and a con artist? BBB offers the following advice:
 
• If a U.S. Census worker knocks on your door, they will have a badge, a handheld device, a Census Bureau canvas bag and a confidentiality notice. Ask to see their identification and their badge before answering their questions.  However, you should never invite anyone you don’t know into your home.

• Census workers are currently only knocking on doors to verify address information. Do not give your Social Security number, credit card or banking information to anyone, even if they claim they need it for the U.S. Census.  While the Census Bureau might ask for basic financial information, such as a salary range, it will not ask for Social Security, bank account or credit card numbers nor will employees solicit donations.

• Eventually, Census workers may contact you by telephone, mail or in person at home.  However, they will not contact you by e-mail, so be on the look out for e-mail scams impersonating the Census. Never click on a link or open any attachments in an e-mail that are supposedly from the U.S. Census Bureau.

For more advice on avoiding identity theft and fraud, visit www.bbb.org

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December 4, 2009 by Tim McDowell.

As if there weren’t already enough evidence that Obama’s war “leadership” is insane… On Sept. 3 in Iraq, three of our elite SEALs captured Ahmed Hashim Abed, a high value target whom the military had code-named “Objective Amber.” Abed was responsible for murdering four Blackwater employees in March 2004 and hanging their charred bodies from a bridge over the Euphrates River near Fallujah for the entire world to see. Clearly, Abed was someone the U.S. wanted, and our SEALs expertly and professionally captured him this past September. Time for saluting our heroes and giving them commendations, right?

Fat chance, because somehow Abed got a fat lip, or possibly a punch in the stomach, by one of our SEALs — or so he says. Standard jihadi operating procedure, after all, is to claim abuse at the first opportunity. And in today’s upside-down, PC military, such “extensive abuse” of a prisoner means that our three SEAL heroes will, unbelievably, be facing courts martial for possibly injuring a wanted terrorist while capturing him.

The three heroes, Petty Officers Matthew McCabe, Jonathan Keefe and Julio Huertas, could have chosen an administrative hearing, leaving them with no possibility of jail time or dishonorable discharges, but tarnishing their reputations forever. Instead, like the men they are and knowing they are in the right, they chose a court martial, which could (and should) exonerate them completely, though, if convicted, it could also land them behind bars and end their military careers.

Leaving aside the question of how, or even whether, Abed was hurt, does a sane country prosecute its own soldiers for fighting and capturing the enemy? Why are these young heroes standing trial for bringing an enemy suspect in alive? Where is the outrage?

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December 4, 2009 by Tim McDowell.

Reaction to the president’s speech has been almost uniformly negative. Given that Obama had to attempt to strike fear into the hearts of our enemies while placating his dovish liberal base with a timetable for retreat at the same time, this is understandable.

The president’s non-Pattonesque promise was, “I will end the war successfully.” Not “win,” but “end.”

Obama declared, “I have determined that it is in our vital national interest to send an additional 30,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan.” But he immediately went on to say, “After 18 months our troops will begin to come home.” Memo to the Taliban and al-Qa’ida: Mark your calendars, and lie low for a while.

Columnist Michelle Malkin further observed that the speech contained the usual Obama fare: “Bush-bashing? Check. Noxious complaining about the cost of fighting a necessary war? Check. Disingenuous denial that he dithered? Check. ‘Let me be clear’s = 9. Self-congratulations for sticking to Gitmo closure policy = 1. Self-referential ‘As your Commander-in-Chief’s = 2. References to global jihad = 0.” Not to mention the more than 30 uses of the words “I,” “me” or “my.”

Notwithstanding these criticisms, we support the president’s decision to send additional troops to Afghanistan. However, we would go even further, offering two additional suggestions from this “teachable moment:” 1) as commander in chief, you owe your commanders whatever reasonable support they’ve asked for, and nothing less – if they botch the job, fire them and get new ones who can execute your directions, but don’t hobble their efforts with stingy, second-guessed support; and 2) never delay a decision on a request for support from a combatant commander, whether you grant or deny that request — a delayed decision at best stalls operations, and at worst leads to defeat via lost initiative and momentum.

Finally, we must ask: is this support — only three-quarters of the bare minimum requested, at that — too little, too late? Only time will tell. Meanwhile, we’re praying that the Obama administration hasn’t given Gen. McChrystal just enough support to fail.

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December 4, 2009 by Tim McDowell.

In an effort to play up Mann-made global warming, the communications discuss various ways to manipulate, suppress or even destroy data showing the earth’s climate to be cooling. Still, Rajendra Pachauri, who chairs the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), insists, “This private communication in no way damages the credibility of the AR4 findings.” AR4 is the latest IPCC report.

On the contrary, Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), a leading opponent of anthropogenic warming theories, said, “It appears that, in an attempt to conceal the manipulation of climate data, information disclosure laws may have been violated. I certainly don’t condone the manner in which these emails were released; however, now that they are in the public domain, lawmakers have an obligation to determine the extent to which the so-called ‘consensus’ of global warming, formed with billions of taxpayer dollars, was contrived in the biased minds of the world’s leading climate scientists.” Billions of dollars only scratches the surface of the cost of fighting phantom warming.

Indeed, these revelations should be devastating to the envirofascists’ cause. But their accomplices on the nightly news have done their best to ignore the story, focusing instead on a golfer who can’t drive straight (roadway, not fairway) and a killer whale that ate a great white shark. (To their credit, newspapers such as The New York Times and Washington Post have devoted numerous stories to the scandal, though the Post laughably editorialized, “None of it seriously undercuts the scientific consensus on climate change.”)

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs also downplayed the story, saying, “In the order of several thousand scientists have come to the conclusion that climate change is happening. I don’t think that any of that is, quite frankly among most people, in dispute.” Except, yes, it is.

The importance of the truth can’t be overstated, especially in the world of science and particularly with the climate summit at Copenhagen set for next week. To wit, the IPCC study blaming humans for global warming will be the basis for discussions among world leaders on how best to handicap developed industrial economies. The scientists involved in writing that report are the same ones implicated by the scandalous e-mails, leading us to conclude that much of the report — and therefore the efforts of the world’s political leaders — is based upon lies.

Not that it was ever about the climate, mind you. Political leaders are interested in one thing: power. As Pachauri declared, “Today we have reached the point where consumption and people’s desire to consume has grown out of proportion.” Their goal is to redistribute our money and limit our consumption.

The scandal has possibly cost Al Gore, the “Profit” of Doom, some cold cash. Gore will be attending the Copenhagen conference and was to offer a handshake and a picture for the bargain price of $1,200. But it appears the Goracle has cancelled the engagement due to “unforeseen changes” in his schedule. If he can’t even predict his own schedule, why should we believe his weather forecasts?

Mark Alexander, Publisher, for The Patriot’s editors and staff.

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