BlogWonks

by Jim Kouri, CPP

Two University of South Florida (USF) students have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Tampa, Florida, for transporting explosives materials without permits, the Department of Justice announced on Friday. 

The two-count indictment unsealed Friday charges Ahmed Abdellatif Sherif Mohamed and Youssef Samir Megahed, both Egyptian nationals, with transporting explosives in interstate commerce without permits.  The indictment alleges that the two men, “not being licensees” under federal law, “did knowingly transport and cause to be transported in interstate commerce explosive materials” on or about Aug. 4, 2007 in the Middle District of Florida and elsewhere.   
  
Mohamed was also charged with distributing information about building and using an explosive device.  The indictment alleges that Mohamed taught and demonstrated the making and use of an explosive and destructive device, with the intent that such information be used for, and in the furtherance of, an activity that constitutes a federal crime of violence.

Mohamed, a civil engineering graduate student and teaching assistant at USF, and Megahed, an engineering student, were stopped for speeding and subsequently arrested on Aug. 4, 2007 in Goose Creek, SC by a South Carolina Berkeley County Sheriff’s deputy. 

Both Mohamed and Megahed were charged with possession of an explosive device, in violation of South Carolina law.  Bond was set for Mohamed in the amount of $500,000 and for Megahead in the amount of $300,000.  Both men are currently being held in Berkeley County jail.
      
The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.  The charge of distributing information about explosive devices carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and the charge of transporting explosive materials carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

Reginald I. Lloyd, US Attorney for the District of South Carolina, expressed his appreciation for the efforts of the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Department and the Ninth Circuit Solicitor’s Office in South Carolina. 

“I am very grateful for the hard work and professionalism of our local law enforcement partners in this important investigation.  The arresting deputy’s vigilance and the immediate response of our local investigators and prosecutors are highly commendable,” he stated.
 
This case is being prosecuted by the US Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, with the assistance of the National Security Division at the Department of Justice in Washington, DC  The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Joint Terrorism Task Forces in both Tampa and South Carolina, with the assistance of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina.

Jim Kouri, CPP is currently fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police and he’s a staff writer for the New Media Alliance (thenma.org). He’s former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington Heights nicknamed “Crack City” by reporters covering the drug war in the 1980s. In addition, he served as director of public safety at a New Jersey university and director of security for several major organizations. He’s also served on the National Drug Task Force and trained police and security officers throughout the country. Kouri writes for many police and security magazines including Chief of Police, Police Times, The Narc Officer and others. He’s a news writer for TheConservativeVoice.Com and PHXnews.com. He’s also a columnist for AmericanDaily.Com, MensNewsDaily.Com, MichNews.Com, and he’s syndicated by AXcessNews.Com. He’s appeared as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and radio news and talk shows including Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, Fox News, etc. His book Assume The Position is available at Amazon.Com. Kouri’s own website is located at http://jimkouri.us

It's being reported that Idaho Senator Larry Craig might resign either today or before the weekend is out. Definitely not for being gay though.

Detective Noel Nelson, who arrested Craig, certainly seems to know about Congress. From the arrest transcript:

Detective: Okay, sir. We deal with people that lie to us everyday.

Sen. Craig: I'm sure you do.

Detective: I'm sure you do too sir.

I really feel bad… for the detective. How'd you like that job?

"Okay Noel, we've got your assignment for today."

"Oh…"

This just has to be one of those jobs that the "new guy" gets.

I understand the release of the transcript, but I really don't think it was necessary for police to release the surveillance footage. Why the need to further embarrass the senator?

Said the actor:

"I would like my president to have pillow talks with Bill Clinton. I would be very happy with that."

So who is it that Douglas is endorsing? Eleanor Mondale? Belinda Stronach?

Come on, Michael, clear things up and tell us which one of the dozens you're referring to. The suspense is killing us.

…the time of the announcement on when his official announcement will be.

We're getting there. Next is the announcement later today at 4 p.m. concerning when the official announcement will be. Then we'll get to the official announcement next week, barring any other teaser announcements over Labor Day weekend.

NewsMax.com's David Limbaugh writes today:

Newsweek's Anna Quindlen recently wrote that a presidential victory for Rudy Giuliani "wouldn't be a good thing for this country, but his candidacy may wind up being a good thing for his party," which Quindlen obviously believes has been hijacked by the Christian right.

Giuliani's strong poll numbers, said Quindlen, perhaps "indicate that the end is nigh for the stranglehold the Leviticus Lobby has had on the GOP." It's no longer surprising that those screaming most loudly against Christianity and its influence on public policy in America often employ the same tactics and represent the same dangers they falsely attribute to Christians. Christians have far more to fear from the secular thought police than the other way around.

Whether it's writer Christopher Hitchens or CNN's Christiane Amanpour sloppily conflating Christian "fundamentalists" or observant Jews with Islamic jihadists; secular leftists calling the Christian right the American Taliban; or militant secularists like HBO's Bill Maher salivating over reports that Mother Teresa had a crisis of faith, the theme is the same. Christian activists are a societal nuisance.

The secularists' criticism goes beyond decrying the Christian right's alleged hostility to church-state separation. They claim strong religious belief leads to oppression, tyranny, and violence.

They even suggest the mere defense of absolute truth is dangerous. Alan Hurwitz of North Star Writers Group, wrote, "One thing I do know — the pursuit of 'truth,' as in mine over yours, creates conflict and isolation among individuals, groups, and societies. I am secular enough to think those are bad things. Religious zealots, 'knowers of truth . . . often have a scary gleam in their eyes . . . The challenge of dealing with rigid manifestations of religious 'truth' is one of management leadership — how to create societies that allow diverse groups to believe and act on their truth, without hurting each other." Note this is not some Christian talking about creating societies and exerting control.

The secularists demanding the removal of specks from Christians' eyes are oblivious to the planks in their own. Their paranoid predispositions about Christians lead them to the very type of oppressive behavior they wrongly ascribe to Christians. If anyone is guilty of wanting to foreclose debate and impose their values on others, it is these hyperventilating secularists.

They are the ones who have decreed there's a consensus on global warming and attempted to stigmatize dissenters as paid mouthpieces for "evil" energy companies. With their absence of self-reflection it must never occur to them that in their professed monopoly on "science," they squarely violate the fundamentals of the scientific method by forbidding debate and insulating their theories from scientific scrutiny.

They malign intelligent design proponents for daring to subject their dogma — and distortions — to the rigorous re-examination scientific methodology requires.

They seek to remove God from the Pledge of Allegiance, though one poll reveals that only 14 percent of Americans agree with them.

They brand as bigots opponents of the societal sanctioning of homosexual marriage. Some even pronounce certain scriptural passages on homosexuality "hate speech" that leads to violence, as if to disapprove of any behavior is to hate it or its practitioners and leads to violence against them.

Likewise, many pro-abortionists speciously argue that pro-life advocacy leads to violence against women — never mind the violence against the unborn. The secular left condemns traditionalists for "legislating morality" and invading our bedrooms. Their quasi-religious fervor apparently blinds them to their efforts to wield governmental power to impose their own values, whether on homosexual marriage, abortion, wealth redistribution, or socialized medicine.

Alas, none of this should surprise Christians, who surely understand we are reaping the ravaging effects of a secularist, atheistic worldview that has finally become dominant in our postmodern culture and has claimed absolute truth as its casualty.

Liberty Letters agrees; read the full article.

From the "Artists with way too much free time, not to mention porn mags" department comes this:

US Republicans are none too pleased with Brit artist Jonathan Yeo, who's just completed a fetching portrait of George Bush constructed from grumble mag clippings.

The work was unveiled yesterday at London's Lazarides gallery, which explains the motivation behind the thought-provoking piece: "Yeo was commissioned to undertake a portrait of US President George W Bush, but was later told his services were not required. He decided to continue the commission on his own…"

Republicans were outraged by this exercise in distaste, at least until they heard Larry Craig's foot tapping in the next stall.

This "portrait" style would be much more appropriate for a Bill Clinton bust — literally.

In the wake of the shady looking Norman Hsu/Hillary Clinton fundraising story, I just read that the late Leona Helmsley, a loyal New York Democrat ("The Queen of Mean" even gave money to "The King of Malaise" Jimmy Carter), left her dog, Trouble, a trust fund of around $12 million.

Question: At what point will the pooch end up somehow, some way, being a major donor to the Hillary for President campaign? If Trouble were a Chinese Crested, this would be a no-brainer, but she's not, so the answer to that question really depends on what's in the dog's FBI file.

Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, who has come back from the dead so much that he has a cameo in Rob Zombie's remake of "Halloween," has essentially endorsed Hillary Clinton for president, and Barack Obama for vice-president.

This should help bring home the remaining 1% of the Hollywood leftist wacko commie-hugging voters who remain undecided:

Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro is tipping Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to team up and win the U.S. presidential election…

…"The word today is that an apparently unbeatable ticket could be Hillary for president and Obama as her running mate," he wrote in an editorial column on U.S. presidents published on Tuesday by Cuba's Communist Party newspaper, Granma.

Is anybody here old enough to remember a day when getting a tip from a communist dictator could actually be harmful to your campaign? Now it can help shore up certain voting blocs in America.

This isn't an endorsement persay, but close. Castro wouldn't so advise Hillary if he thought she was going to be a threat to him she's elected — and if he remains on the north side of the grass for the forseeable future. If Fidel isn't dead by January 2009 he might even be looking forward to a night in the Lincoln Bedroom. Hillary still has no word yet on who Kim Jong Il, Hugo Chavez and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will endorse. Fingers crossed!

The story also quotes Castro as saying that his favorite U.S. president to deal with was Jimmy Carter, but we already knew that. Jimmah still has a ball gag and leather hood he got as a gift from Castro back in '78 which bears the inscription, "Thanks for being my bitch — Fiddy"

Update:

Somebody should send Castro one of these — the Hillary nutcracker. Order yours today:

h/t Kitty

The suits at the CBS Evening News are determined to solve their ratings woes one way or another:

One year after Couric jumped from NBC's "Today" to CBS in a big-money talent deal, the "Evening News" anchor is embarking on a high-risk tour of Iraq and Syria to revive the broadcast…

…The Pentagon has advised CBS News to keep details of Couric's itinerary vague, but she will co-anchor "Evening News" live from both Iraq and Syria next week after several days spent reporting in the field.

CBS News complied with the Pentagon's request to keep Katie's itinerary vague, saying only that "Katie will be staying at the Babylon Hotel, about ten miles from downtown Baghdad on the banks of the Tigris, in room 332."

William F. Buckley once said, “I would rather be governed by the first 2000 names in the Boston phone book than by the 2000 members of the faculty of Harvard University.” No doubt, given what our chattering classes and elites have produced over the past 50 years, most of us would avidly agree with him. Perhaps that is why John Bootie, a member of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, has stepped forward to run as an independent candidate for the Presidency. He describes himself as being an “Ultra Conservative Reaganite” and maintains a website outlining both his mission and his past. Unlike his peers, he is not afraid to take a stance on the issues of the day. In fact, he has even put them forth in writing.

BC: Mr. Bootie, you are running as the ultra conservative Independent candidate in this election. What uniquely do you have to offer the electorate that other Republican candidates do not?

JKB: My biggest claim in this is that I, like our forefathers, have been blessed with a great deal of common sense. In today’s political world that is not a common thing to have. People who do have it often do not have the nerve to use it.

Bernard, as an Independent candidate, I have truly yet to see any other candidate in the two major parties give you or I a clue as to what they wish to do. We hear a lot about what is wrong or what they will do in reply to a specific question, but not one of them has stood up and said I want to do this and said why they do.

I have to run as an independent because the Republican Party has left me sitting on the side of the road. They have already decided on their two or three possible candidates.

What do I have to offer that is different? Well, first off, I offer new and sometimes unpopular ideas. I know just introducing them will be an uphill challenge. I offer to voters a candidate who is not a slave to our self-proclaimed elites. I offer to voters a man who wishes to serve our great nation in the manner of President Reagan and President Lincoln. Those two men were servants to this, the GREATEST nation in the world and they both helped make it what it is today. They did it with daily prayer as well.

I offer to voters a challenging and public minded candidate who will put the moral majority’s wishes ahead of special interest groups and appeasement.

BC: What is your assessment of the Bush Presidency?

JKB: First off, I want to say President Bush restored dignity and class to the office of the President of the United States. Next I believe the nation is better served when we talk positively about this President and all our past Presidents.

I think his tax incentives and his stance on the War with Terrorism has been legitimate and aggressive. I think, on the other hand, Congress has done nothing but try to obstruct and hinder his performance. I believe that some in Congress should be charged with treason for their actions.

I am against his stance on illegal aliens and the amnesty which Congress tried to force upon the American people. I am proud to say that I was on the right side of that issue. I called my representatives and told them to say NO to amnesty. I also blogged against it and encouraged others to get active regarding the secrecy surrounding the Bill.

BC: If you won who would you pick as your Vice President?

JKB: I have had a few names in mind, but, being a small unknown candidate, I have not got feedback from the specific individuals as of yet or even found out if they would be interested in running. Atop my list are Zell Miller (Democrat from Georgia), Condy Rice, Michael Steele (Republican from Maryland), and Roy Moore (former Judge from Alabama).

BC: You are a member of the Teamsters. Is it your opinion that conservative ideas are more accepted among blue collar workers than most of us suspect?

JKB: Bernard, it’s apparent from looking at a political map of red versus blue which shows where the conservatives live and who we are. Also, if you look at the map it tells you that a state can be mostly red but become blue due to one or two cities. It has been my experience that the “US Suspect” crowd are those who believe liberals are the norm (majority) in this country. I disagree. The union rank-and-file is not in sync with their leadership as some would have the nation believe.

BC: How condescending have people been to you due to your having no political history and not being, vocationally, a member of our society’s self-proclaimed elite?

JKB: Truthfully, in the five months I have been running only had one man got offended or upset and he was mostly upset over the present President as are most true liberals. In 2004 you could have ran Mickey Mouse and he would have gotten as many votes as John Kerry did.

I have found that people say they will vote for me and that they are ready for an outsider to become President. I tell them that I don’t want their vote unless they find out who I am first. After five minutes of talking face to face, people love what I have to offer but personality should only be part of what determines their vote. Correct?

BC: Correct.

JKB: Not enough people think about the candidate’s family, his business associates, or his past before deciding who to vote for. Most hardcore party supporters vote for whomever their party nominates. They don’t ask any questions.

BC: Why aren’t there any legitimate—meaning popularly supported—third parties in America?

JKB: That is a great question. Do you want to know the real answer? Even Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity haven’t acknowledged my campaign and aren’t they the ones we hear saying “why isn’t there a truly conservative candidate out there?”

The real answer is that Congress, along with the media as a whole, doesn’t want the system to change. Congress loves the heir apparent. The media loves their ability to sway the vote with media coverage or a lack thereof. They want to be a part of the process no matter what.

Case in point, today the mainstream media focuses most intently on the two or three candidates they want to see win or think have the best chance to win.

It is now 14 months to Election Day and the conventions have yet to take place, so what excuse can the media have for not covering all of the candidates.

Where is the media’s negative coverage of Mrs. Bill Clinton? Why is it taboo to badmouth her? She is not perfect. She has a political past. We should explore this. Today the wives of top Democrats attack her because their men are afraid to tell the truth. That would cause them to be labeled as haters or abusers or misogynists.

If you remember, or go back if you don’t remember, when the election process started the President was the one with the most votes and the VP was the one with the second most votes. Parties didn’t choose a Vice President or say John Doe will be the VP if John Bootie wins. The people choose both people with their votes.

BC: What book or author has most shaped your political beliefs?

JKB: I don’t read anything about politics. I have read books by Glen Beck and Sean Hannity to get perspective on the nation’s ideas about who we are and what we were. I trust in Talk Radio to keep me fair and balanced as they put it (ha ha). I stay well informed and will give my views on any subject.

BC: What political problem do you regard as being most pressing for America at this time?

JKB: My first six months would be filled with the normal stuff like cabinet appointments and what not. But the War on Terror and illegal immigration are most pressing to me. I will push to keep the tax incentives alive.

I will be aggressive about ending frivolous laws suits. I will ask for legislation which makes it harder to file them and to get a judge to listen to them. Should a suit have no merit or be untruthfully filed then I will ask for the plaintiffs to pay the defendant’s costs.

I also want to see an overhaul of the Protection from Abuse laws in this country. As it is today no defendant has rights or a chance to speak or respond to accusations for many weeks. They should be able to tell their side of the story at once. I want to see a Protection from Abuse or a temporary Protection from Abuse barred from being issued unless there is a clear life threatening danger or until the defendant has a chance to tell their own side of the story.

Also, in my first day in office, I will sign a Presidential Pardon for the border agents currently in prison. The two of them have been wrongfully charged. We can’t ask men and women to do dangerous jobs and assume no one will ever be hurt.

Thank you, Bernard for the great questions and the chance to get to know you.

BC: Thank you, sir. And good luck!

Bernard Chapin is the author of Escape from Gangsta Island and the soon-to-be released Women: Theory and Practice (October 2007). He can be contacted at veritaseducation@gmail.com.