Either illegals, unsafe/unsanitary working conditions, or terrorists plotting. Until there is more information this story cannot be properly filed. But there certainly were a lot of armed Feds for six workers and some office computers on a Sunday.
Federal agents led by the Chicago FBI office conducted a raid Sunday afternoon at a goat meat processing plant near Morris, Illinois. CBS 2's Mike Puccinelli reports that on Monday, the Feds are being very tight-lipped on what they found and why they were even there. A spokesman confirms that the plant was raided as part of an ongoing criminal investigation.
Spokesman Ross Rice confirms agents were at 6260 Kinsman Road, in Kinsman, Illinois. The business is called First World Management. Rice said nobody was taken into custody.
Attorney George Jackson III and plant operator Dr. Syed Hamid spoke briefly while on their way to a meeting with the federal prosecutor Monday. Jackson said federal agents confiscated the company's computers, effectively shutting down the business.
FBI officials told CBS 2 the meat plant was shut down and abandoned. A spokeswoman would not comment on whether the plant was processing goat meat illegally. According to sources, the plant provides goat, beef and lamb meat which is prepared in the Halal way in accordance with Muslim custom.
When asked if the raid had something to do with undocumented aliens, the person wouldn't say. A neighbor suggested that undocumented immigrants live in a trailer behind the facility and work there. They could simply have brought in underemployed, legal Somalis from Minnesota; there are enough who would be happy to be Sharia-compliant. No need for illegals.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said the agency assisted in the raid, but had no further comment. According to sources, many of the FBI and ICE agents were armed. Several USDA criminal investigators were on site at the plant on Monday, but they would not comment on the situation.
Neighbors who saw the raid on Sunday told CBS 2 it was a huge operation, involving more than 100 agents, police officers and even what one believed to be National Guard troops. Sources say during the raid, the driveway was filled with more than 50 government vehicles. There was a helicopter flying overhead and a command center set up. On top of it were government sharpshooters with rifles at the ready.
#1
Therewas a helicopter flying overhead and a command center set up. On top of it were government sharpshooters with rifles at the ready.
they don't do that for illegals. Chupacabras, maybe
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/20/2009 19:11 Comments ||
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#2
Goat suckahs, ya say, Commodore? Better bring out the Ma Deuce.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/20/2009 19:33 Comments ||
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#3
Remember the NYC plot that the cops busted open prematurely? Most of the conspirators got away ... and with them the makings for a whole lot of Mother of Satan explosive. There were references to 'warehouses' at unknown locations.
Now, that was NYC and this is Chicago. But worth keeping track of ...
Very little is being reported on a recent raid that resulted in 2 arrests, in Chicago. A source in federal law enforcement told Fox Chicago that the case is similar to one that unfolded in New York.
Glenda Johnson saw so many police and plain clothed federal agents on her block that she thought someone had been shot.
The police was so crowded, you couldnt even walk past. They was in trucks, they was in cars, they was in regular cars. It looked like someone had killed someone, said Johnson.
That swarm of badges consisted of the FBI, Chicago Police and the Joint Terrorism Task Force. In their sights were two buildings on the 6300 block of North Artesian. People who live in a six flat there say the feds were very interested in its basement, specifically, two storage lockers.
A spokesperson for the FBI confirms a search warrant was executed at the building as part of an ongoing investigation. Glenda Johnson says an FBI agent made the search sound extremely urgent.
They was looking for someone who lives in this building. So I was like whats the cause? They said we dont want to say yet, but its a life and death situation. I was like wow, said Johnson.
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From what i know Artesian and Campbell ave's are parallel in Chicago
#1
Delays in the H1N1 vaccine, along with shipping the intra-nasal vaccine (inappropriate for priority groups) first were definitely bumps in the road. People are dying and the H1N1 may end up being Obama's Katrina.
#2
This is weirdness compounded. What started this all is the absolute terror the world medical community has for H5N1 Avian flu, which still shows prospects for being the deadliest plague in human history. So the medical infrastructure around the world has been and still is changing to meet this threat.
Then along comes H1N1 Swine flu, which is an eclectic blend of flu. At first it was seen as being a dress rehearsal for the Avian flu, and even less dangerous than ordinary seasonal flu.
However, it's behaving strangely. For example, it emerged in spring, which is a serious danger sign for a severe flu that reemerges in fall and winter, and can kill three times as many people as a seasonal flu.
Plus, because of the new, intense scrutiny of influenza, we are learning a bunch of unexpected twists and turns to H1N1, its risks and mortality, that we previously had no clue about.
In addition to being much more severe among young children, it also seems to be far more severe among several ethnic groups. It sets up lungs for deadly secondary, mostly staph infections, has been found to cause embolisms (dangerous blood clots), and sometimes it attacks the brain.
Again because of intense scrutiny, treatments for the virus and its common secondary effects, such as acute respiratory distress and secondary infection, are also getting a lot of attention.
The disease is terribly fickle as well. Nurses at the Catholic hospitals in California are on strike because one of them died, and they say the hospitals are not taking proper epidemic precautions. Other hospitals around the country are setting up "parking garage triage", to keep all but critical influenza patients out of the hospital proper.
And always in the background are the near early Cold War Civil Defense-level preparations against H5N1 Avian flu, which continues to slowly expand its range and capabilities, and could have emerged, and could emerge, at any time.
#3
The stats compare metro areas but another thing unusual about the H1N1 is how hard hit the rural areas are. Nebraska was one of the first states to get the vaccine because the western part of the state was infected in such large numbers, entire schools were closed early on. Reports of this flu targeting the lungs and of many pulmonary embolisms found in autopsied victims and revealed only by high resonance CT scans suggest aggressive non-standard treatment, and tests that may not be available in these areas.
#4
In New Mexico, one can buy vaccine at various distribution points. However, one cannot get it through my government related health plan. It was promised in September, then October, and now November.
Another argument for universal governmental control of health.
#6
, it also seems to be far more severe among several ethnic groups.
It would help greatly if you would name those "Ethnic Groups" this is no time to be afraid of cries of RACIST.
Medicine and illness trumps Squeamishness every time.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
10/20/2009 12:53 Comments ||
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#7
It would help greatly if you would name those "Ethnic Groups" this is no time to be afraid of cries of RACIST.
Blacks and Hispanics are hospitalized due to H1N1 at a much higher rate than whites. Probably not due to a particular ethnicity, but rather that these groups generally have health problems (diabetes, asthma, etc.) which make them more vulnerable to a virus such as H1N1.
But, trust me, if the libs can find a way to portray this as RACIST, they will.
"Blacks and Hispanics are hospitalized due to H1N1 at a much higher rate than whites. Probably not due to a particular ethnicity, but rather that these groups generally have health problems (diabetes, asthma, etc.) which make them more vulnerable to a virus such as H1N1"
I've also heard that obesity is a factor and the hispanic kids in So Cal are certainly much heavier than caucasian kids, for whatever reason.
#10
Oh, and by the way. My daughter was scheduled to get a flu shot tomorrow at her pediatrician's office and I called today to cancel it because she has already been down with some sort of flu-like virus this weekend and is still sick...and the nurse told me she was going to call me anyway because they've had to cancel the flu vaccine clinic because they've already run out of vaccine and they don't expect to be able to get anymore!
#11
There was quite a bit of H1N1 in Mat-Su schools in Alaska. M'Lady reported seeing classes of 10 kids in an elementary school. Don't know how many parents kept their kids home. Things are getting back to normal. Best guess is that all the kids at the State Fair in August probably spread the flue like a bomb.
My Medical resident daughter was in the group that treated the kid from Fairbanks (10 year old) that was medivaced down to Anchorage. Other complications worked with the flu to cause the death. It was really tragic.
Very sobering is an understatement.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/20/2009 19:30 Comments ||
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#12
H1N1 will be old news by the time the vaccine arrives in sufficient numbers. The hospital I work at doesn't seem to be concerned enough about to say anything more about it than wash your hands.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
10/20/2009 20:31 Comments ||
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Cases among people under 25 are huge compared to seasonal flu.
Hold up on vaccine is due to pandemic occurring in the middle of the production cycle for seasonal flu. Only so many eggs to grow the stuff and so many incubators, beakers, pipes and bricka-brack. Production cycle has built in limits that do not change overnight.
Kids with CP, MD being hit with complications hard. Also kids with asthma, even well controlled asthma.
Pregnant women also at high risk, esp. in third trimester. Lung capacity is affected by baby's size, meaning that they don't operate as well when challenged by an infection.
Obesity may be an issue. It appears clearer in adults than kids.
Based on a range of official fatality rate predictions, US could see 90,000 to 600,000+ deaths. 0.1% to 0.75%
#14
a) There's reason to believe that H1N1, unlike normal seasonal flu, doesn't spread all that virulently through touch. If true, handwashing, while a Good Thing, isn't all that much of a prevention. It seems to spread most quickly through tiny drops of exhalation, i.e. in the air. N95 masks can help and are recommended for medical personnel, but are uncomfortable to wear for long and should not be reused.
b) The seasonal pattern we're seeing parallels that of the 1918 pandemic IIRC.
c) As I've mentioned before, the concern over H1N1 isn't a new fad vs H5N1 - there is a potential connection between them that is a serious concern.
H5N1 is more lethal in its current form than H1N1 but doesn't seem to be transmissable person-to-person, only through the bird populations.
But H1N1 *is* human transmissable and since it is a blend of avian, swine and human viruses, it has the potential to combine with H5N1 with very few mutations. That will quite likely occur if enough people or animals carrying H1N1 meet up with H5N1. The resulting mutated version of avian flu has the potential, if it occurs, to rival the 35-50% death rate of the Black Plague during the middle ages.
So ... what does this have to do with innoculations? If you get sick with the seasonal flu you may be more vulnerable to H1N1.
And slowing the spread of the current H1N1 is important not only to prevent the deaths / expense it brings, but also to prevent it from linking up with H5N1.
The US military is taking this seriously, with commanders at the major commands asking for course of action analysis for scenarios with rather breathtaking assumptions about manpower loss.
#15
I probably had the H1N1 flu 3 to 4 weeks ago (peak of SH flu season). Several people we have direct or indirect contact with had lab confirmed cases.
One effect was it really suppressed my appetite. I struggled to eat anything for over a week.
I'm also continuing to use hand sanitizer after shopping/handling money (which I do anyway - money is filthy and lord knows who/what touched those carts before I did). Not sure what to do about exhalation droplets, since this is the height of the craft show season (other than to stick with my normal aversion to coughing and sniffling people).
Chuck, do you happen to know if hand sanitizer up the nose on a regular basis is of any help?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
10/20/2009 21:07 Comments ||
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#17
Or lotp, maybe you know?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
10/20/2009 21:08 Comments ||
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#18
I'm waiting for that multi-nymed anonymous chuckle-head from the Phoenix area to repeat his comment that it's all a money-making operation done "for the children".
#19
As far as secondary infections go, the big winner right now is a drug called Avelox.
http://www.rxlist.com/avelox-drug.htm
It is a broad spectrum antibacterial agent that is especially good for bacterial lung infections, even the really nasty ones like MRSA, and several kind that cause pneumonia.
This knocks down one of the more lethal aspects of the flu, bacterial attack when your lungs have been damaged.
Very weird possible side effect though, tendinitis and even tendon rupture, in all ages.
Oh, and back to race for a second. It is not just Hispanics and blacks that are more susceptible to Swine flu. The infection rate of Europe looks like a patchwork quilt, with some white ethnic groups getting nailed, and others not.
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/20/2009 21:58 Comments ||
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#22
hey gorb
maybe the prob is that it's a compound virus made at a mexican (off country site)test farm {laboratory} that .. um ... sort of got away ...
hence it hit only certain groups
i read today ? questionable source ..
that H1N1 hit a turkey farm in canada...
hence the bird flu / pig flu combo they originally talked about in mexico.....
#23
Hey Pappy. You call me a chuckle head but perhaps you misread the point of my post. I was not saying that this flu season was not serious. Nor am I against encouraging those who work with the GP to take it if they believe it to be safe and effective.
I was saying that forcing large groups of people to take new and rushed vaccines or lose their job literally opens a Pandora's box that even YOU may not want to open. First of all, the profit incentive is enormous.
Second, though it may seem like a good idea this time, how will you feel when you are forced to take this vaccine: gardasil vaccination for boys I assume you are a male. Need I say more?
This is just the tip of the iceberg. The hype machine will crank up for anything and everything that can be spread through virus or germs and we will all be forced to inject ourselves with every new scare.
Are you really willing to be vaccinated for each and every possible sexually transmitted disease and each and every cold or flu that comes along? IJMHO, but you might want to rethink letting the camel's nose under the tent on what may seem like a very good idea today.
The New York Times plans to eliminate 100 newsroom jobs -- about 8 percent of the total -- by year's end, offering buyouts to union and non-union employees, and resorting to layoffs if it cannot get enough people to leave voluntarily, the paper announced on Monday.
Fred R. Conrad/The New York TimesThe program mirrors one carried out in the spring of 2008, when the paper erased 100 positions in its newsroom, though other jobs were created, so the net reduction was smaller. That round of cuts included some layoffs of journalists -- about 15 to 20, though The Times would not disclose the actual figure -- which was the first time in memory that had happened.
The paper has made much deeper reductions in other, non-newsroom departments, where layoffs have occurred several times. But the advertising drop that has pummeled the industry has forced cuts in the news operation as well. The newsroom already has lowered its budgets for freelancers and trimmed other expenses, and employees took a 5 percent pay cut for most of this year.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/20/2009 00:00 ||
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With any luck, in 2020 the last NYT propagandist gets laid off.
Posted by: ed ||
10/20/2009 1:03 Comments ||
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#2
It took more than 1000 newsroom people to call the whitehouse and DNC to find out what to report?
I believe they could cut much deeper with no impact to content or quality.
A good side business would be to move furniture from NY to DC where these folks will find new employment.
#3
Given the WH 'owns' the media, all they have to do is email it in and have someone format it for the next day. Took a 100 to do that? Must be a union shop. Oh, wait, never mind.
#5
All kidding aside, is there anything the NYT could do to save itself? Seems to me they have positioned themselves ideally to appeal to a large portion of the liberal market, but aren't making any headway. I'm guessing liberals are either moving to the right, or getting their news elsewhere. Or both.
#6
gorb, back when the New York Times was universally accepted as the newspaper of record, half their readers were conservatives. Now the conservatives have taken themselves elsewhere.
#7
The reputation is tarnished now so returning to actual Neutral Reporting may not save them. Still, if they'd done so right after Sept 11 they might have had a better outlook now.
Make your editorial section as liberal as you want but keep the news politics free. It's not that difficult, yet they simply couldn't manage. They deserve to die.
An opinion piece by Sweden Democrat leader Jimmie Åkesson in which he labels Muslims a major threat has been reported to Sweden's highest legal official by the Centre Against Racism. The anti-racism organization called on the Chancellor of Justice to examine whether claims made by the head of the far-right party were tantamount to agitation against an ethnic group.
Åkesson's article, published in Aftonbladet on Monday, has provoked a furious reaction following the Sweden Democrat chief's assertion that the spread of Islam represents the country's "greatest external threat since World War II".
"We are of the view that the article agitates against Muslims when it points at Islam as the greatest threat to Sweden," said Mariam Osman Sherifay, head of the organization and Social Democrat politician, to the TT news agency.
Osman Sherifay was also highly critical of Aftonbladet's decision to print the article, a move she said was out of step with established journalistic standards. "The newspaper is giving the Sweden Democrats space that they don't deserve. The fact that they're racists is not news. Aftonbladet could instead have examined the party's views," she said.
Osman Sherifay's political rivals, the conservative Christian Democrats -- currently the smallest of the four parties in the governing centre-right coalition -- were also quick to shoot down Åkesson's comments. "My understanding of media reports from the weekend's Sweden Democrat conference was that they wanted to broaden the party and show that they have more strings to their bow than just xenophobia," said party leader Göran Hägglund in a written comment to The Local. "But when they formulate this opinion piece all we get once again are sweeping accusations portraying an ethnic group as a threat, all of which is based on facts that are dubious to say the very least."
Tempers have flared between the two parties in recent months as the battle heats up for the conservative vote. A number of opinion polls have indicated that the Sweden Democrats are closing in on the four percent threshold necessary for representation in the Riksdag as the Christian Democrats struggle to keep their heads above water.
Relations between the two reached perhaps their lowest ebb during the summer when the Christian Democrat leader accused the Sweden Democrats of failing to shake off their Nazi past. But this didn't stop Åkesson from weighing in recently on Hägglund's side as the latter slammed Sweden's "cultural elite" for their purported antipathy towards "regular people". But Hägglund, who has called on the established parties to tackle the Sweden Democrats head on, was keen to reiterate his view that the Christian Democrats have little in common with their challengers from the far-right. "Theirs is a viewpoint that places the value of human life on a scale. Some are worth more than others. The way their party views human life is light years away from both my own view and that of my party," he said.
With vast experience in operating behind enemy lines in Afghanistan and Iraq, the US air force has brought its commando expertise to this year's joint exercise with India, training the special forces of the two nations in counter-terrorism and anti-piracy operations.
Cope India-2009, the sixth in the series of Indo-US air exercise that began here today, will focus not only on transport operations, but also insertion and extraction of its special forces in hostile zones, as also searching for pilots, who may have crashed in enemy territory, and rescuing them.
"One of the focus of this exercise is joint operations by special forces of both IAF and USAF behind enemy lines, such as sending a team into hostile territory or to extricate a pilot, whose aircraft had crashed there," USAF's Cope India Director Colonel Raymond Lamarche told PTI here.
Reminding of the popular Gene Hackman and Owen Wilson-starrer Hollywood movie 'Behind Enemy Lines', a group of IAF's Garud special forces and USAF special forces troops boarded a C-130J Super Hercules aircraft to carry out a para-jump over the sky in a real-time operations simulation.
To a question on the future possibility of a similar joint operation by the two air forces in counter-terrorism and anti-piracy roles, Col Lamarche replied in the affirmative and said that was why they were exercising the complex manoeuvres here.
Posted by: john frum ||
10/20/2009 00:00 ||
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With vast experience in operating behind enemy lines in Afghanistan and Iraq, the US air force has brought its commando expertise to this year's joint exercise with India.
Hopefully the "exercise" will not last any longer than the standard 4 month Iraq/Afghan in-country USAF tour. Oh yes of course, everyone is now "special."
NEW DELHI: Since the launch of the bilateral war exercise between India and the United States, Yudh Abhyas 2009 is the largest troop exchange with nearly 1,000 personnel from both armies taking part.
The exercise, begun last week at Babina in Madhya Pradesh and scheduled to end on October 29, is designed to promote cooperation between the two militaries while sharing, training in cultural exchanges and building joint operating skills.
Yudh Abhyas is a regularly scheduled bilateral exercise hosted by the Indian Army. This years exercise features 17 Stryker vehicles the largest deployment outside of Iraq and Afghanistan for the U.S. Pacific Rim forces. The U.S. will also showcase the Javelin Anti-Tank Missile system, employed to defeat the current and future threat armoured combat vehicles.
The size and scope of this combined exercise is unparalleled and will be characterised not only by realistic and challenging training, but also by regular athletic, academic and cultural exchanges, Lt. Col. Jim Isenhower, Commander, 2nd Squadron, 14th Cav. Regt, said in a release by the U.S. Embassy here.
The broadened and unprecedented scope of Yudh Abhyas stands as a testament to the growing people-to-people and military-to-military ties of the United States and India, one of the key pillars of the expanded U.S.-India strategic partnership, said U.S. Ambassador Timothy J. Roemer said. Indian soldiers from the 31st Armoured Division are working with U.S. soldiers from the 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, Strykehorse, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, and 25th Infantry Division from Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
This years exercise includes a multiechelon, full-spectrum combined operation focussed on a United Nations peacekeeping operation scenario, while executing a manoeuvre live-fire exercise.
Posted by: john frum ||
10/20/2009 00:00 ||
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"2nd Stryker"
Formerly the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment. They have the patch and the colors - continuously in service since 1836, longer uninterrupted combat service than any other unit in the US Army. My "go to war" unit.
NEW DELHI: The Indian defence establishment has been left baffled by a brouhaha being generated in China over the yet-to-be-tested Agni-V ballistic missile. ``It seems quite contrived,'' said a top official.
For one, Agni-V's first test is likely to take place only in end-2010 or early-2011. From there, it will take at least three years before the missile can be dubbed fully-operational since it will require four-five more tests, series production and user-trials by armed forces.
For another, the 5,000-km strike range of Agni-V pales in comparison to already-operational Chinese missiles like Dong Feng-31A, which can hit targets 11,200 km away, or even the JL-2 submarine-launched ballistic missile with a reach beyond 7,200 km.
``China's missile and nuclear arsenal is leagues ahead of India, capable as it is of hitting any city in India. We can never compete. Our entire focus is on building only credible minimum deterrence against China, not active offensive capabilities,'' said the official.
Agni-V, much like the 3,500-km Agni-III, which has been successfully tested a couple of times, has been designed in keeping with this strategy. The already-inducted Prithvi (150-350-km), Agni-I (700-km) and Agni-II (2,000-km) are more Pakistan-specific in nature.
As earlier reported by TOI, the solid-fuelled Agni-V, for which the government has sanctioned around Rs 2,500 crore, will be a canister-launch missile system to ensure it has the requisite operational flexibility to be fired from any part of the country.
The ongoing work on Agni-V basically revolves around incorporating a third composite stage in the two-stage 16.7-metre tall Agni-III, along with some advanced technologies like ring laser gyroscope and accelerator for navigation and guidance.
Though slightly short of true ICBMs, which have ranges in excess of 5,500 km, Agni-Vs will come in special storage-cum-launch canisters, making it much easier to store them for long periods without maintenance as well as to handle and transport.
So, conceivably, Agni-V will be capable of being swiftly moved closer to the border with China to substantially enhance its strike range into the country. What has exercised China is the fact this will bring even its northern-most city, Habin, within the missile's strike envelope.
Moreover, DRDO is also developing MIRV (multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles) warheads for the Agni missiles. An MIRV payload basically is a bunch of several nuclear warheads carried on a single missile, which can be programmed to hit different targets separated from each other. Given this, even ballistic missile defence systems can be overwhelmed by MIRVs.
This fits in with India's nuclear doctrine, which holds that even though there will be no first-use, ``nuclear retaliation to a first strike will be massive and designed to inflict unacceptable damage''.
Posted by: john frum ||
10/20/2009 00:00 ||
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Our entire focus is on building only credible minimum deterrence against China
Yeah, that's why they're making a fuss, morons. PS thanks again India for starting a nuclear arms race in Asia.
#2
It was the geopolitical circumstances around WWII that resulted in China getting nuclear weapons fairly easily and many impediments put in India's way.
India has every right to a nuclear deterrent as long as China and Pakistan have nuclear weapons.
For Army Capt. John Poindexter, being awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for heroism Tuesday marked an "opportunity to close a chapter" in his life.
"The general feeling is a pretty intense level of excitement," Poindexter told Foxnews.com just before he and 85 other Vietnam veterans were honored at a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden.
"It will mean to me that I've filled an important duty to the men who I literally owe my life to, men who supported me in a desperate battle 40 years ago in the jungles along the Cambodian border."
Poindexter, 65, was one of 86 veterans of Troop A, 1st Squadron of the 11th Armored Combat Regiment who were honored for defining the meaning of "bravery and heroism," President Obama said.
"As these men will you tell you themselves, this isn't the story of a battle that changed the course of a war," Obama said. "It never had a name, like Tet or Hue or Khe Sanh. It never made the papers back home. But like countless battles, known and unknown, it is a proud chapter in the story of the American soldier."
The group volunteered to rescue an American infantry company surrounded by enemy forces on the Cambodian border on March 26, 1970.
"Charlie Company, from the 1st Calvary Division, had stumbled upon a massive underground bunker of North Vietnamese," Obama said. "A hundred Americans were facing some 400 enemy fighterss. Outnumbered and outgunned, Charlie Company was at risk of being overrun. That's when Alpha Troop's captain gave the order: 'Saddle up and move out.'"
The Presidential Unit Citation, the highest honor given to a military unit, has been issued since World War II and is awarded to U.S. Armed Forces units that display extraordinary heroism in combat against an armed enemy force. It has been bestowed roughly 100 times, Obama said.
The commander in chief then thanked Poindexter for realizing the unit's service "had been overlooked" and noted that the veteran spent years tracking down his fellow soldiers and gathering reports to acquire Silver Stars and Bronze Stars for his men.
"I cannot imagine a more fitting tribute to these men, who fought in what came to be called The Anonymous Battle," Obama continued. "Troopers, you are not anonymous anymore."
Poindexter was 25 at the time of the mission, and he was wounded in the hand, neck and face by shrapnel from a rocket-propelled grenade. He said he still remembers the sensation of being wounded in battle, along with the "looks on the faces" of the soldiers he led into the fight.
Now a businessman in Texas, he said the honor, nearly four decades after the battle, came not a minute too soon.
"I've been at it for seven years," said Poindexter, referring to his quest to file for the citation. "It's a personal fulfillment."
Pot-smoking patients or their sanctioned suppliers should not be targeted for federal prosecution in states that allow medical marijuana, prosecutors were told Monday in a new policy memo issued by the Justice Department.
Under the policy spelled out in a three-page legal memo, federal prosecutors are being told it is not a good use of their time to arrest people who use or provide medical marijuana in strict compliance with state law.
The guidelines issued by the department do, however, make it clear that federal agents will go after people whose marijuana distribution goes beyond what is permitted under state law or use medical marijuana as a cover for other crimes.
The memo advises prosecutors they "should not focus federal resources in your states on individuals whose actions are in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws providing for the medical use of marijuana."
The new policy is a significant departure from the Bush administration, which insisted it would continue to enforce federal anti-pot laws regardless of state codes.
"It will not be a priority to use federal resources to prosecute patients with serious illnesses or their caregivers who are complying with state laws on medical marijuana, but we will not tolerate drug traffickers who hide behind claims of compliance with state law to mask activities that are clearly illegal," Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement
Posted by: Fred ||
10/20/2009 00:00 ||
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Great. Like there are not already enough 20-something glaucoma patients.
Posted by: ed ||
10/20/2009 0:55 Comments ||
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#2
I thought that the President had sworn to protect the Constitution and the laws of the United States. As long as the law has not been abrogated Obama is _not_ free to enforce it or not.
#7
I'd feel a whole lot better about this if the effort would be diverted from medical marijuana to border enforcement, or gang violence enforcement, or.... But I suspect it will be diverted to enforcing restrictions on free speech and other Constitutional rights.
#8
ed: There are a heck of a lot of 20-something retinitis-pigmentosa patients out there, willing to smoke marijuana instead of going blind.
Oddly enough, only one kind of marijuana, a subtype called "skunk weed", is known for the effect. This was found out because some native fishermen discovered that it strongly enhanced their night vision for fishing.
A female journalist for The Times (London), with r-p, discovered this in Amsterdam, when suddenly her vision remarkably improved. After her article came out, England suddenly relaxed its marijuana laws, for fear that tens of thousands of people would feel it necessary to emigrate to the Netherlands to treat their r-p.
#9
Hmmmm, My wife has RP and is legaly blind, but she's also staunch Catholic. I read her this article and she thinks it's a joke, there's no way in hell she'll ever smoke "Grass", Pity.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
10/20/2009 13:09 Comments ||
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#10
One would think there would be a way to get the helpful effects into pill form.
#13
Ed, I'm well aware the medical pot deal is not about health benefits but Redneck Jim's wife, and others, won't smoke the stuff to get the medical benefit. A pill would also take the lie out of the debate.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
For Army Capt. John Poindexter, being awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for heroism Tuesday marked an "opportunity to close a chapter" in his life.
