BIG BLUNDER! UK Terror Czar Resigns After Being Photographed Carrying Around Secret Anti-Terror Documents in the Open!

The police officer in charge of U.K. anti-terrorism operations resigned after he inadvertently revealed details of plans to arrest al-Qaeda-linked suspects.

Bob Quick, an assistant commissioner in the Metropolitan Police, carried a document detailing the probe in full view of photographers as he walked into Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s residence in Downing Street yesterday. Police later arrested 12 people in connection with the inquiry in northwestern England.

“I have today offered my resignation in the knowledge that my action could have compromised a major counter-terrorism operation,” Quick said today in an e-mailed statement. “I deeply regret the disruption caused to colleagues undertaking the operation and remain grateful for the way in which they adapted quickly and professionally to a revised timescale.”

The incident is a new blow for the Metropolitan Police, after former Commissioner Ian Blair resigned in October saying that Mayor Boris Johnson wanted him out. The force has struggled with the fallout from the shooting of an innocent Brazilian man during an anti-terrorism operation in 2005, and is under scrutiny again over the death of a man who collapsed shortly after being pushed to the ground by an officer during G-20 demonstrations in London last week.

Pictures of Quick carrying the document, which contained details of “Operation Pathway,” an investigation into the planning of a possible al-Qaeda-inspired attack against the U.K., appeared in national newspapers and on Web sites and were broadcast by television channels.

‘Security Breach’

The document, which could be clearly read, said suspects included Pakistani nationals in the U.K. on student visas. The raids were carried out earlier than planned as a result of the blunder, Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Peter Fahy said in televised press conference.

The operation “would have been carried out in the subsequent 24 hours, but what happened meant we brought the matter forward,” Fahy said. He added that police are not aware of any specific targets of the alleged plot.

Twelve people were arrested at eight addresses on suspicion of terrorism, Greater Manchester Police said in an e-mailed statement. Eleven are Pakistani nationals, Fahy told reporters.

Complete Story by Thomas Penny - Bloomberg

Senator Grassley: That's What She Said!

Well technically "Your wife said the same thing" - but close enough!

Senator Conrad: "Oh, you are good"
Senator Grassley: "Your wife said the same thing"

Another Nominee Means More Trouble

Solis Senate Session Postponed in Wake of Husband's Tax Lien Revelations

Updated 3:30 p.m.
By Michael A. Fletcher
A Senate committee today abruptly canceled a session to consider President Obama's nomination of Rep. Hilda Solis to be labor secretary in the wake of a report saying that her husband yesterday paid about $6,400 to settle tax liens against his business -- including liens that had been outstanding for as long as 16 years.

The report, by USA Today, came just before the Senate's Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee was slated to meet to consider Solis's nomination, which had been delayed by questions over her role on the board of the pro-labor organization American Rights at Work. A source said that committee members did not learn about the tax issue until today.

"Today's executive session was postponed to allow members additional time to review the documentation submitted in support of Representative Solis's nomination to serve in the important position of Labor Secretary," read a joint statement issued by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), the panel's chairman, and Mike Enzi (Wyoming), the committee's ranking Republican. "There are no holds on her nomination and members on both sides of the aisle remain committed to giving her nomination the fair and thorough consideration that she deserves. We will continue to work together to move this nomination forward as soon as possible."

No new date has been set for the hearing. The disclosure about Solis's husband comes after tax problems caused trouble for three of Obama's top appointees, leading two of them -- HHS-nominee Tom Daschle and Nancy Killefer, who was to be chief performance officer -- to withdraw.

Asked about the USA Today report at the White House daily briefing, press secretary Robert Gibbs emphasized that the nominee's tax returns are in order.

"Well, I read the story in USA Today, and it quotes somebody that works here, so obviously we've -- we know about this story. I'll say this. We reviewed her tax returns, and her tax returns are in order," said Gibbs.

"The story denotes that her husband had some issues with paying a business tax, and obviously that tax is -- should be paid. He's -- she's not a partner in that business, Gibbs continued. "So we're not going to penalize her for her husband's business mistakes. Obviously, her husband, I think, has and should pay any taxes that he owes. "

Senator Gregg Will Not Vote On Stimulus

Senator Judd Gregg, nominated to head the Commerce Department in the Obama White House, delivered a double blow to the prospects of a stimulus bill passing the Senate when he let it be known on Wednesday that he generally supported the measure but would not vote on its passage.

"I have recused myself from voting during the pendency of my nomination," Gregg, a New Hampshire Republican, told CNBC.

Earlier in the program he said he was "not really engaged in the stimulus bill," but that he did believe "we need one."

Story

Judd Gregg to Comerce ?

CNN is reporting that this is a done deal.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire has accepted President Barack Obama's offer to be commerce secretary, two administration officials said Monday.

The officials said the official announcement is expected Tuesday morning.

Stay Vigilant!

As of September 30, 2008, the
Current Threat Level is Yellow - Elevated.

Given the current financial crisis facing the nation, I think that the Homeland Security Department should increases the threat level to High or even Severe. The inability of the House of Representatives to pass legislation that would deal with the economy yesterday has left the American economy in a very fragile state.

As all of the major news networks were quick to point out - we have not seen losses on Wall Street of this magnitude sine 9/11. It is a terrifying thought, and one could only imagine, what another terror attack on US soil would do to our economy in its present state.

Therefore, now, more than ever, it is important that law enforcement officials and the general public be vigilant in this time of tough economic uncertainty. Citizens should take notice of their surroundings, and report suspicious items or activities to local authorities immediately.

Hopefully Congress will pass legislation by the end of the week that will help us deal with this economic uncertainty and get our economy back on track. Until then, keep an eye out and pray for our men and women in uniform who risk their own lives protecting us everyday.

Obama at the Gate

Here I am at the Brandenburg Gate - May 2008


Obama at gate splits German pols

By NICHOLAS KULISH and JEFF ZELENY
Link to Story - Click Here
The New York Times

BERLIN — With its pillars looming in the background, the Brandenburg Gate may have seemed the perfect campaign stop on Sen. Barack Obama's highly anticipated European tour, an ideal spot to burnish his foreign-policy credentials.

Instead, the plan — dissected in the German news media but never confirmed by the Obama campaign — has exposed fissures in the German government, with the conservative chancellor, Angela Merkel, strongly criticizing the proposal and the Social-Democratic vice chancellor and foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, favoring it.

The uproar has underscored the hazards Obama faces by taking his campaign overseas.

Merkel disapproves of having this symbol of German division and reunification pulled into the U.S. election fight.

"To use the Brandenburg Gate in some ways as a campaign backdrop, she has a limited sympathy for this and expresses her skepticism over pursuing such plans," spokesman Thomas Steg said Wednesday. "No German candidate for high office would think to use the National Mall or Red Square in Moscow for a rally, because it would be seen as inappropriate."

But then the normally staid government news conference turned into a German political faceoff.

Steinmeier's spokesman, Jens Ploetner, disagreed, saying the foreign minister would welcome Obama or his Republican rival, Sen. John McCain, to speak at the gate, calling it "an expression of the vital German-American friendship."

The gate stood behind the Berlin Wall for nearly three decades, becoming a symbol of Europe's division during the Cold War.

Berlin was a regular stop for U.S. presidents, most famously PresidKennedy, who won the hearts of locals by declaring, "Ich bin ein Berliner," though not at the gate itself. But it was here that President Reagan gave a famous speech June 12, 1987, ordering, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall."

"The Brandenburg Gate was often a forum; why shouldn't it be for Obama?" said Johannes Mueller, 72, of Berlin, out for a bike ride Wednesday evening. "I also listened to John F. Kennedy at the Schoeneberg town hall in the '60s, and if I will be around, I'm sure I will stop and listen to Obama."

Obama is unusually popular in Germany. In some ways, he's a victim of his own popularity.

Political circles have been buzzing about the expected visit for a week, and the prospect that he could draw an enormous crowd, from neighboring countries as well. But because Obama is not the president — only a candidate for president — he runs the risk of appearing presumptuous rather than presidential.

While Obama spent his Fourth of July holiday in Montana, a member of his advance team was in Berlin to meet with politicians, including the mayor, Klaus Wowereit, who Tuesday expressed support for Obama's speaking at the gate, if he chose to do so. The city government has the final say.

No plans have been finalized for Obama to speak at the Brandenburg Gate, according to campaign aides. The site is one of several possible locations, aides said, and the decision would not be influenced by the comments of Merkel.

For more information about the Brandenburg Gate Click Here (Wiki)