Intelligence officials uncovered an Al Qaeda plot to carry out coordinated Mumbai-style terrorist attacks in major cities in Britain, France, Germany

Western intelligence officials have reportedly uncovered an Al Qaeda plot to carry out coordinated Mumbai-style terrorist attacks in major cities in Britain, France, Germany, and possibly the United States, according to unnamed counterterrorism and intelligence sources in Western governments, The Christian Science Monitor reports.

The would-be attackers reportedly planned to operate in small teams of heavily armed gunmen who would capture and execute Western hostages in Europe, similar to the attacks carried out in Mumbai in 2008 where 10 gunmen killed 166 people and injured more than 300 more.

Al Qaeda militants in the lawless tribal areas of Pakistan were said to be planning the attack. In an attempt to thwart them, Western authorities say they have been targeting the planners in CIA drone strikes in Pakistan. The BBC�s security correspondent Frank Gardner said the attack had recently moved from the �aspirational stage to actual planning.� Britain's Sky News, citing unnamed sources, said the plan was "in an advanced but not imminent stage."

Germany's Interior Ministry released a statement today saying it was aware of information pointing toward the possible attacks, but it was not changing its terrorism threat level. "At present there are no concrete pointers to imminent attacks in Germany stemming from this. The current pointers do not warrant a change in the assessment of the danger level," the ministry said, according to Reuters.

Read the entire story at Csmonitor.com

Tea Party’s DC Visitor Guide: Be Very Afraid of Black People

(ChattahBox)—A bunch of mostly white tea party members from small town America are preparing to descend on our nation’s Capitol this weekend for Glenn Beck’s “Restoring Honor Rally,” on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. His event coincides with the 47th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s famous “I have a Dream” speech given on the same date and same place. on August 28, 1963. Beck, who attacked President Obama, our first black president, as a “racist, who has a deep seated hatred of white people,” insists he didn’t know the significance of the date when planning his tea party rally. But he has steadily tried to co-opt King’s legacy, leading up to his event, angering civil rights leaders. Sarah Palin, a divisive public figure, will be a keynote speaker. The former half term governor recently supported Dr. Laura Schlessinger’ racist on-air N-word rant, saying “don’t retreat, reload,” advising the former talk radio host to “cast off” her “shackles.” And adding further insult to the memory of Martin Luther King’s fight for racial equality, teapartiers, having displayed bigoted and racist behavior in past rallies, are warning members to avoid areas of DC where they are likely to encounter Arabs and black people. While keeping a lookout for scary people of color, a Maine tea party website has also decided to engage in harassment and intimidation, by publishing the home addresses of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), encouraging members to “Feel free to protest!”

Glenn Beck, Fox News’ conspiracy-theorist-in-chief, has urged attendees not to display signs. Why? Because there hasn’t been a tea party gathering yet, that has not featured a variety of bigoted, racist and offensive signs.

Still, the teapartiers can hide their signs, but that won’t change who they are.

Let’s take a look at the DC travel advice posted on the Maine Refounders tea party website:

Safety and Mores

DC’s population includes refugees from every country, as the families of embassy staffs of third world countries tend to stay in DC whenever a revolution in their homeland means that anyone in their family would be in danger if they went back. Most taxi drivers and many waiters/waitresses (especially in local coffee shops like the Bread and Chocolate chain) are immigrants, frequently from east Africa or Arab countries. As a rule, African immigrants do not like for you to assume they are African Americans and especially do not like for you to guess they are from a neighboring country (e.g. Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia) with whom they may have political or military tensions. It’s rare to meet anyone who gets really offended, but you can still be aware of the issue.

Many parts of DC are safe beyond the areas I will list here, but why chance it if you don’t know where you are?

If you are on the subway stay on the Red line between Union Station and Shady Grove, Maryland. If you are on the Blue or Orange line do not go past Eastern Market (Capitol Hill) toward the Potomac Avenue stop and beyond; stay in NW DC and points in Virginia. Do not use the Green line or the Yellow line. These rules are even more important at night. There is of course nothing wrong with many other areas; but you don’t know where you are, so you should not explore them.

Tea party members are further advised to remain solely within Northwest DC, to avoid meeting up with any of those scary dark refugees.

“If on foot or in a cab or bus, stay in Bethesda, Arlington (preferably north Arlington), Crystal City, Falls Church, Annandale, or Alexandria, or in DC only in northwest DC west (i.e. larger street numbers) of 14th or 16th streets, or if on Capitol Hill only in SE Capitol Hill (zip 20003) between 1st and 8th Streets, not farther out than 8th (e.g. 9th, 10th etc). (Or stay on the Mall and at the various monuments.) Again there are many other lovely places, from the Catholic University of America to Silver Spring, Maryland. But you don’t know where you are so you cannot go, especially at night, unless you take me with you.”

From someone who lived in DC and enjoyed, even the “scary” Capitol Hill neighborhoods beyond 8th St., this teabagger visitor guide is patently ridiculous.

What will the xenophobic Maine teapartiers miss out on, by avoiding the scary Green and Yellow lines? Ben’s Chili Bowl diner for one, a popular spot frequented by President Obama on U St.

Certainly Washington, DC has a few dicey neighborhoods, the same as any large city. But to purposely plan a trip to a city to avoid people of color, says quite a lot, especially on the anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I have a Dream” speech. Don’t you think?

Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons/dbking/Flickr/Ben’s Celebrates Chili Power Big Stars and Just Plain Folks Mark Eatery’s 50-Year Run on U Street.

Michelle Obama is jumping into the midterm political fray in a big way

WASHINGTON (AP) - Michelle Obama is jumping into the midterm political fray in a big way: She'll headline at least nine fundraisers in six states next month for endangered Democrats.

That's a fairly big commitment for a first lady who's always said she's not a political animal, but the White House insists Mrs. Obama is eager to get out there.

And it's no surprise that the Democrats are anxious to use the first lady's star power: Polls show she's more popular than her husband, President Barack Obama.

Among those Mrs. Obama will campaign for is Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold, who passed up a chance to appear with the president on Labor Day in Milwaukee. Feingold, in a tough re-election fight and slightly behind his opponent in spending, instead opted to attend a parade in his hometown about 60 miles away. He's also not expected to attend the president's rally in Madison next week because the Senate will be in session.

Overall, the first lady's political schedule tells the tale of the 2010 midterm elections: She's raising money for candidates who are trying to defend embattled Democratic turf, not stumping for challengers trying to make inroads in Republican terrain.

But don't expect Mrs. Obama to go negative against GOP challengers.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Mrs. Obama is "a popular 'ask' on the campaign trail and I think she will go out and make a forceful and positive case" for the administration's achievements.

In addition to Feingold, those Mrs. Obama will be campaigning for include Sens. Michael Bennet of Colorado, Patty Murray of Washington, Barbara Boxer of California and Senate hopeful Alexi Giannoulias of Illinois, who is trying to hold the Senate seat once held by Barack Obama.

The first lady also will attend Democratic National Committee fundraisers in Los Angeles and New York for the party's Women's Leadership Forum, and appear at events for Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Illinois House contenders Debbie Halvorson, Bill Foster and Dan Seals.

So far, it all adds up to nine events over a 12-day span, Oct. 13-27, and aides said more political events are sure to be added, especially in the final week before the Nov. 2 elections.

The first lady's campaign schedule includes three days in California, where Boxer proclaimed herself "thrilled" to have the first lady's help. Andrea Saul, a spokeswoman for Boxer's opponent, Republican Carly Fiorina, countered that it was a sign of how nervous Democrats are about Boxer's seat "that they are forced to send in reinforcements."

White House aides said the first lady's political schedule was crafted to place her where she can be most helpful politically while she also tends to her official duties as first lady and the needs of her young daughters, Sasha and Malia. As for why the first lady will be appearing at fundraisers rather than rallies or other public events, White House aides said Mrs. Obama avoids travel on the weekends, when her girls are home from school, and that it's difficult to put together big rallies on workdays.

"From the beginning, she's wanted to hit the campaign trail," said Susan Sher, chief of staff to the first lady. "It was just a matter of figuring out what would work with her schedule and what would be most useful."

Recent first ladies all have stepped forward to help in the midterm elections.

In 2002, Laura Bush stumped for congressional candidates in bone-chilling cold and pronounced herself "emotionally vested" in their fates.

In 1994, Hillary Rodham Clinton served up one-two punches with her husband at a string of his-and-hers campaign events for Democratic candidates.

In 1990, Barbara Bush taped TV ads in Florida, debated Iraq policy on the stump in Nebraska and headlined a Hollywood fundraiser for a GOP candidate in California.

As for Mrs. Obama, "she's campaigning to advocate, to rally voters behind specific candidates based on what we can do together to build a better future," said Stephanie Cutter, an administration adviser. "She comes to this as a mom, and that's the lens through which she sees the world and that's her test for every issue—what it means for her daughters and all of our kids."

___

Associated Press writers Darlene Superville in Washington, Scott Bauer in Madison, Wis., and July Lin in Sacramento, Calif., contributed to this report.

Race Baiting Loretta Sanchez caught on tape

by Larry O'Connor

Many observers believe that the turning point in Scott Brown’s inspiring Senate win in January was when he was able to shake-loose the Democratic narrative that somehow he was trying to take away “Ted Kennedy’s Seat” form the Democrats. His brilliant response, “It’s the PEOPLE’S seat” became a campaign slogan and, eventually, the theme of his victory speech.

Are we now witnessing another such moment in Orange County California?

Democratic Rep. Loretta Sanchez appeared on Spanish-language Univision to appeal to her most important voting base: Latino voters. Perhaps with a false assumption that only Latinos from the left were listening, she let slip an offensive and patronizing charge: The Vietnamese are trying to take the seat from Latinos.

Rep. Sanchez district has seen an enormous influx of Vietnamese immigrants over the past two decades. There have often been tensions between the Latino population and the new arrivals from Asia. Because the vast majority of Vietnamese immigrants arrived here seeking refuge from a communist, totalitarian regime, they tend to lean more to the right than their Mexican counterparts.

Imagine a bomb going off when thousands are leaving Wrigley Field after a Dave Matthews concert

UPDATE: Another misunderstander of Islam:

"HASSOUN, according to a law enforcement source close to this author, is a “devout Muslim and permanent legal resident from Lebanon.” He appeared on the radar screen of federal authorities in early June, when he solicited assistance and advice from associates to “wage jihad on the streets of America.”

Imagine a bomb going off when thousands are leaving Wrigley Field after a Dave Matthews concert.

FBI: Man plotted to bomb Wrigleyville night spots (Chicago Breaking News) hat tip Armaros

A Northwest Side man has been charged with plotting to bomb a strip of crowded Wrigleyville night spots around the time people were leaving a Dave Matthews concert at the ballpark over the weekend.

Sami Samir Hassoun, 22, of the 4700 block of North Kedzie Avenue, was arrested as he placed a backpack containing what he thought were high-explosives in a trash can in front of Sluggers on Clark Street, about a block south of Wrigley Field, according to the FBI. (Read the federal complaint HERE.)

The bomb was a fake provided by an undercover federal agent. "At no time was the public in danger during this investigation," the FBI said.

Houssoun had also discussed other violent plots in Chicago, including a biological attack on the city, poisoning Lake Michigan, attacking police officers, bombing the Willis Tower and assassinating Mayor Richard Daley, the FBI said.

But he is so far charged only with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and attempted use of an explosive device in connection with attempted bombing near Wrigley Field. The FBI said there was no indication any foreign or domestic terror group was connected to the plot.

"He was acting alone," said Robert Grant, head of the FBI's office in Chicago. "He was not, I would say, highly skilled but definitely desirous of finding the material he needed to carry out his attack.

"His intent was to kill as many people as he could in an area of town that was highly populated, in an effort to cause as much destruction as possible," Grant said.

Hassoun, who is a Lebanese citizen and a permanent U.S. resident, told an "associate" in June that he wanted to commit acts of violence to make money and cause "political transformation in Chicago," the FBI said.

Unknown to Hassoun, his associate was secretly cooperating with the FBI, the agency said.

Throughout the summer, he allegedly discussed with the associate the violent plots, but eventually selected the Wrigleyville area as his target, "utilizing an explosive device which he would detonate on a weekend night to inflict maximum damage," the FBI stated.

In July, the associate introduced Hassoun to an undercover federal agent who claimed he was from California and had access to explosives. While meeting with the agent, Hassoun discussed several plots and scenarios that would make a dramatic impact on Chicago and force Daley to resign, the FBI stated.

Hassoun eventually settled on a bombing outside a strip of Wrigleyville bars and nightclubs, the FBI said.

On Saturday night, Hassoun met with the agent, who provided him with a backpack that Hassoun thought contained high-powered explosives, according to the FBI. The agent showed Hassoun how it worked, though it reality it was made of inert materials and unable to explode, the agency said.

Early Sunday morning, Hassoun and the agent went in a rented vehicle toward Wrigleyville as crowds were leaving Wrigley Field after a concert by the Dave Matthews Band, the FBI said.

As agents watched, Hassoun placed the fake explosive into a trash container near Eddy and Clark, the FBI said. He was arrested and the fake device was recovered.

The slim, unshaven Hassoun smiled at relatives as he appeared before...

Look what's crawling out from under the Rauf. Without his Albright résumé and subdued dhimmedia running interference, He's just another rat in a suit

Look what's crawling out from under the Rauf. Without his Albright résumé and subdued dhimmedia running interference, it is plain as day that this hustler, the renowned "moderate" Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf of the Park 51 Ground Zero mega-mosque initiative, is a lowlife. He has been exposed as a rat and vermin slumlord whose tenants live without basic services like hot water. He scammed New Jersey politicians and got taxpayer dollars for rehabilitation of his infested, dilapidated buildings in Union City and Palisades Park, but still his victimized tenants live in squalor. So where's the money?

The New Jersey Record reported that Rauf was sued for mortgage fraud in 2008 and settled the suit in June of that year. The suit reveals that Rauf owns two apartment buildings, one of which has been vacant since a fire broke out there -- a year after Rauf ignored citations for twelve different fire code violations.

That's not all. It has also recently come to light that Rauf and his wife, Daisy "the Con" Khan, listed their apartment as a mosque in order to conduct what amounts to tax fraud. Rauf was able to obtain tax-exempt status for his Muslim organization by deceiving the Internal Revenue Service: he told them that five hundred Muslims met regularly for worship at a "mosque" that was actually a tiny one-bedroom apartment (also listed as Daisy's residence). Rauf sought "church status" -- an official IRS term for a house of worship of any religion (though stealth Rauf, I am sure, is working the feds to change that term) -- for his organization, the American Society for Muslim Advancement (ASMA), and the clueless feds granted the request.

Gaining "church status" means much more than just that your organization doesn't have to pay taxes. It also means that you have very little accountability about how you spend your money.

Is New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg still kissing the backside of this "bridge-builder"?

And that's not all that's unsavory about the money that's pouring into the building of the mega-mosque and the people connected with this scheme. Rauf's thug developer in the project to build an Islamic supremacist mega-mosque on Ground Zero, Sharif El-Gamal, has a rap sheet a mile long. He recently wrote that "when you beat up someone physically you get exercise & stress relief," and it seems clear that he spoke from experience. And his financier, Hisham Elzanaty, was a large funder of Hamas (exposed in the Holy Land Foundation jihad terror funding trial) while defrauding Medicare out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Tell me again: where is this thug getting 125 million dollars? El-Gamal is now being evicted for non-payment of rent for his SoHo office.

This year’s 9/11 anniversary in New York brought opponents and supporters of the controversial “ground zero mosque” to the streets by the thousands. That fact has spawned a new controversy, as the American people yet again were served a false narrative by the dominant liberal establishment mass media. Exhibit A: in the “media reality distortion case #2478697,” is the photo scene below. This photo shows the 9/11 Remebrance/Stop the Ground Zero Mosque Rally hosted by Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer. According to the New York Times, that is a crowd of 2,000 persons. According to the New York Daily News, the crowd below contained “hundreds” despite the fact that it stretched jam packed as seen below for three city blocks. Local NYC News Channel 10 reported live that there were 30,000 people at this rally. Channel 10 should be applauded for doing their job and the rest of the media stands exposed. But wait! The distortion goes much deeper than just downplaying by a factor of 10 or 20 the size of the Stop the Ground Zero Mosque Rally.