breaking news

Amen!

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No Words!
The news many have been waiting for. Good riddance!
Almost ten years later…
Adios!
The announcement from President Obama!

THE PRESIDENT: Good evening. Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, and a terrorist who’s responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women, and children.

It was nearly 10 years ago that a bright September day was darkened by the worst attack on the American people in our history. The images of 9/11 are seared into our national memory — hijacked planes cutting through a cloudless September sky; the Twin Towers collapsing to the ground; black smoke billowing up from the Pentagon; the wreckage of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where the actions of heroic citizens saved even more heartbreak and destruction.

And yet we know that the worst images are those that were unseen to the world. The empty seat at the dinner table. Children who were forced to grow up without their mother or their father. Parents who would never know the feeling of their child’s embrace. Nearly 3,000 citizens taken from us, leaving a gaping hole in our hearts.

On September 11, 2001, in our time of grief, the American people came together. We offered our neighbors a hand, and we offered the wounded our blood. We reaffirmed our ties to each other, and our love of community and country. On that day, no matter where we came from, what God we prayed to, or what race or ethnicity we were, we were united as one American family.

We were also united in our resolve to protect our nation and to bring those who committed this vicious attack to justice. We quickly learned that the 9/11 attacks were carried out by al Qaeda — an organization headed by Osama bin Laden, which had openly declared war on the United States and was committed to killing innocents in our country and around the globe. And so we went to war against al Qaeda to protect our citizens, our friends, and our allies.

Over the last 10 years, thanks to the tireless and heroic work of our military and our counterterrorism professionals, we’ve made great strides in that effort. We’ve disrupted terrorist attacks and strengthened our homeland defense. In Afghanistan, we removed the Taliban government, which had given bin Laden and al Qaeda safe haven and support. And around the globe, we worked with our friends and allies to capture or kill scores of al Qaeda terrorists, including several who were a part of the 9/11 plot.

Yet Osama bin Laden avoided capture and escaped across the Afghan border into Pakistan. Meanwhile, al Qaeda continued to operate from along that border and operate through its affiliates across the world.

And so shortly after taking office, I directed Leon Panetta, the director of the CIA, to make the killing or capture of bin Laden the top priority of our war against al Qaeda, even as we continued our broader efforts to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat his network.

Then, last August, after years of painstaking work by our intelligence community, I was briefed on a possible lead to bin Laden. It was far from certain, and it took many months to run this thread to ground. I met repeatedly with my national security team as we developed more information about the possibility that we had located bin Laden hiding within a compound deep inside of Pakistan. And finally, last week, I determined that we had enough intelligence to take action, and authorized an operation to get Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice.

Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties. After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body.

For over two decades, bin Laden has been al Qaeda’s leader and symbol, and has continued to plot attacks against our country and our friends and allies. The death of bin Laden marks the most significant achievement to date in our nation’s effort to defeat al Qaeda.

Yet his death does not mark the end of our effort. There’s no doubt that al Qaeda will continue to pursue attacks against us. We must –- and we will — remain vigilant at home and abroad.

As we do, we must also reaffirm that the United States is not –- and never will be -– at war with Islam. I’ve made clear, just as President Bush did shortly after 9/11, that our war is not against Islam. Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader; he was a mass murderer of Muslims. Indeed, al Qaeda has slaughtered scores of Muslims in many countries, including our own. So his demise should be welcomed by all who believe in peace and human dignity.

Over the years, I’ve repeatedly made clear that we would take action within Pakistan if we knew where bin Laden was. That is what we’ve done. But it’s important to note that our counterterrorism cooperation with Pakistan helped lead us to bin Laden and the compound where he was hiding. Indeed, bin Laden had declared war against Pakistan as well, and ordered attacks against the Pakistani people.

Tonight, I called President Zardari, and my team has also spoken with their Pakistani counterparts. They agree that this is a good and historic day for both of our nations. And going forward, it is essential that Pakistan continue to join us in the fight against al Qaeda and its affiliates.

The American people did not choose this fight. It came to our shores, and started with the senseless slaughter of our citizens. After nearly 10 years of service, struggle, and sacrifice, we know well the costs of war. These efforts weigh on me every time I, as Commander-in-Chief, have to sign a letter to a family that has lost a loved one, or look into the eyes of a service member who’s been gravely wounded.

So Americans understand the costs of war. Yet as a country, we will never tolerate our security being threatened, nor stand idly by when our people have been killed. We will be relentless in defense of our citizens and our friends and allies. We will be true to the values that make us who we are. And on nights like this one, we can say to those families who have lost loved ones to al Qaeda’s terror: Justice has been done.

Tonight, we give thanks to the countless intelligence and counterterrorism professionals who’ve worked tirelessly to achieve this outcome. The American people do not see their work, nor know their names. But tonight, they feel the satisfaction of their work and the result of their pursuit of justice.

We give thanks for the men who carried out this operation, for they exemplify the professionalism, patriotism, and unparalleled courage of those who serve our country. And they are part of a generation that has borne the heaviest share of the burden since that September day.

Finally, let me say to the families who lost loved ones on 9/11 that we have never forgotten your loss, nor wavered in our commitment to see that we do whatever it takes to prevent another attack on our shores.

And tonight, let us think back to the sense of unity that prevailed on 9/11. I know that it has, at times, frayed. Yet today’s achievement is a testament to the greatness of our country and the determination of the American people.

The cause of securing our country is not complete. But tonight, we are once again reminded that America can do whatever we set our mind to. That is the story of our history, whether it’s the pursuit of prosperity for our people, or the struggle for equality for all our citizens; our commitment to stand up for our values abroad, and our sacrifices to make the world a safer place.

Let us remember that we can do these things not just because of wealth or power, but because of who we are: one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you. May God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America.

Do You Even Know Your Neighbor?

/ ludlumdrive / 2 Comments

Phillip-GarridoGarrido sits in court with his lawyer, Susan Gellman, at the El Dorado superior court, in Placerville

——————

Who amongst us has not heard the case of Phillip Garrido, the California man accused of kidnapping 11-year-old Jaycee Lee Dugard and turning her into a sex slave; we all heard it by now. What a tragedy! What an invertebrate, monster and despicable human being. I mean, there are not appropriate words to even define this individual and sing along wife.

Poor Jaycee Lee! I can just imagine what she has gone through and still is. Her life, the suffering, having been raped and giving birth to this animal’s children… the pain and the death of her innocence.

And to think that neighbor’s were oblivious to it all. They had no idea what was even occurring in their own backyard. No one said a word; no one peeked; no one found their behavior unusual; no one cared to call the police; oh well one did but what good did it do? Investigations not needed. The dude is a sex offender for Christ sake it should have risen a flag.

Back where I come from, it would have spread like H1N1 flu; your neighbor would know like yesterday. She would have it memorized like her favorite telenovela (soapopera), so would your neighbor’s mama; your neighbor’s friend’s mama; your neighbor’s mama’s best friend; your neighbor’s baby’s mama; your neighbor’s mama ‘s rival; your neighbor’s mama ‘s driver, and even your neighbor’s dead grandma would have risen up from the grave just to take a peek at all the commotion and go back down under in a jiffy. Here we are and not one neighbor cared. It is none of my business; that was the modus operandi. Who gives a coo coo?! Not in my backyard, I guess!

Having said that, how many of us can really say that we “know” our neighbors? I don’t! Not the one to the left, or the one to the right, nor the one to the front or the one to the back. I just don’t know them other than the casual “hello, how are you?” or they know me or anyone else on the block for that matter.

The one to the right, we are acquaintances; we have exchanged phone numbers and the husband helped me with my car battery the other day. So, I guess we are cool but they never came over for barbecue, and yet they felt the need to park one of their cars on my parking space until I killed their hopes. Just between us, the insurance onchos indicated that I would be liable if something happened to their car. Since I don’t have enough TVs to go around if sued, I scratched the scenario even without a semicolon. They kind frown their noses and I, life goes on.  One less thing for me to worry about; there is until the next occurrence.

The one to the back never heard of them until Wilma, the hurricane, stopped by a few years back leaving us without fences and electricity. We noticed but never addressed each other. Last thing I know, they had their generator going at 6AM waking up all the Gods and dead people around the block. I killed their feel good occasion when I walked up to them, still in my pajamas, appealing to temporary sanity. I mean, no electricity, no air-conditioning to block the noise, it is not like we were working so… what’s up? They understood and turned it back on at a “reasonable hour” if that was ever one since it was time to clean up the debris. I learned years later that they have two young kids, my bad. I just wanted to catch some sleep after “peeing” on my pants from having experienced hurricane force wind.

The one to the left, what can say, there have been a few gentiles. The owner is away and the house gets rented. The last ones, they left two weeks ago, never met them, only saw the back of their heads; and the prior one’s, they were colorful: loud music every single freaking day, literary, especially on weekends. It was a given, fiesta until the police stopped over or I banged something (whatever it was at that point) to sleep. Funny, the wife was pregnant and I only learned of it when I heard a baby crying. Then it was like, “who’s baby is it?” and then it was, “What’s up neighbor, is the baby a she or a he?” He proudly replied back, “a he”.  Congratulations, a couple. They already had a little girl and a crazy rabbit that always popped in my backyard uninvited and unannounced. I smelled a good “Caldeirada” – a Portuguese dish, so he was lucky.

The one to the front, what can I say. The kid, I believe their son or whomever he is, was infatuated with me (geez some people still is; I am impressed) to the point of “greeting me” every single day or time I came home. It was creepy as he would just popped out of the blue but I have not seen him lately so, I am hoping he is somewhere frying himself on the beach.

The others, humm, they live on the block. Lots of dogs, a few grandmas and some skinny dude who is always jogging as if he even needed it and his wife who is always sitting around on the porch, just gazing at what I have no idea!

So there, you met my neighbors!

Once upon a time I got something in the mail, someone was organizing a block party. We got all excited, we were finally ready to mingle; yeah right, it fail flat like a pancake. Not too many people signed up, I heard. Due to the complexity and the cultural mix, I can understand but not really.

The good thing is that we kind bounded momentarily during Wilma to clean up the debris. Everyone pinched in but not the ones to the left. They were novices; not one pile was lifted. Hey, they were renting; who cares? Once the street was cleared enough for the cars to go by, everyone disbursed to his or her own cubbyholes to only be seen sporadically. Life goes on. Welcome!

The Black Man Didn’t Do It!

/ ludlumdrive / 1 Comment

ADDITION Abduction Hoax
I mean who could have forgotten Charles Stuart in Massachusetts and Susan Smith in South Carolina and John McCain campaign volunteer who claimed that a 6-foot-4 black man carved a B (for Obama off course) into her cheek and as if it was not enough, now we have Bonnie Sweeten, a mother from Pennsylvania.

People when are you going to learn that the engineered pretext no longer merits any propensity. Scapegoating black men is as irrelevant as the hoax itself; it is as old as my grandmother’s underwear. (Forgive me, and one Hail Mary here, as they are both diseased.)

C’mon, we have ascended a bit, I suppose. We now have a black President; it should count for something right? And then came this goofball (a more fitting euphemism could have been used but I digress) who decided to forfeit her judgment and reinstate the stereotype once again, so to swathe her foolishness.

The worse is not the fact that she actually used it but the fact that it caused a media frenzy; the press bought it until it was pronounced as a hoax.

The clichéd view of black men as being dangerous is no longer regarded as a novel or merits any glance over. Just because she was thickheaded, it does not denote she has the carte blanche to her idiocy. She needs to understand that the exploit is no longer an open bar – now deemed a flight risk, the reason for her release on $1 million bail.

I have no idea what type of coffee she was drinking that morning; it must have been Java mixed with something else, perhaps, vodka because I cannot imagine anyone in their right mind, waking up one morning and pointing the finger at an innocent person less again, a whole class. In any case, she should have designed a more intricate plan as this one fell flat from the sky.

Perhaps, she should have been clued-in that things are changing; the wind has been blowing the other way. I mean racial boundaries are slowly dissolving, right?! Huhhh?! OK.

She should have also learned that the behavior is not your typical black man’s M.O.; she must have gotten confused with black on black crime or snitching; the standard “black crime”!

Surprisingly, her erroneous stupidity did not bring about line-ups, stopping, searching and questioning of every black man in sight by the police or Al Sharpton. So, it was all good. There was no cause for concern!

I wonder what really ticked her or does anyone really care to know? I wonder if she feels above any black man? I wonder if she is crying for having exploited innocent souls?

What an example she instills in her young daughter (children, she has two others)! I mean, how much more can the black men take? Time to end the madness!