Rep. Clarke Releases Statement on President Obama's Review of Foiled Terror Plot

(WASHINGTON, DC) – This week President Barack Obama called for two important reviews of the security measures surrounding the foiled terror plot aboard Northwest Airline flight 253. The first review will cover intelligence and information sharing procedures to find out why the suspect was allowed to board a plane for the U.S., so we can strengthen the overall watch list system. The second review will cover aviation security procedures to find out how the suspect was able to board with dangerous explosives, so we can improve air travel security screening. Rep Yvette D. Clarke released the following statement:

“I applaud President Obama’s decision to review the security measures surrounding the attempted terror attack that took place on December 25th aboard Northwest Airline Flight 253. The incident has highlighted several critical security and information sharing gaps that must be closed in order to protect Americans from further tragedy at the hands of terrorists.

“Yesterday, President Obama acknowledged the missteps that his administration took in respect to aviation security, noting that ‘…a systemic failure has occurred and I consider that totally unacceptable.’ Thankfully, the President and his team are now taking the necessary steps to fully understand how our security infrastructure was breached and how best to correct those vulnerabilities going forward.

"I am astounded that suspected terrorist Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was permitted to board flight 253 with the chemical explosive PETN and a catalyst agent which if accurately activated, could have caused a powerful explosion. We must employ reasonable security measures that would detect chemical and biological agents. I am also concerned that no air marshals were on the flight and thankful that the President immediately ordered more federal air marshals be placed on domestic and international flights. The President also called for immediate enhanced screening and security procedures for all domestic and international flights.

“While the breach highlighted inadequacies in our physical security systems, it also showed a break down in our intelligence information sharing system. Abdulmutallab’s own father reportedly informed the State Department through the US Embassy in Nigeria that he believed his son had been “radicalized” and went to Yemen for “jihad”, yet U.S. officials did not flag the young man’s visa, which was valid through mid 2010. This is extremely troubling given that Britain recently denied the young man’s student visa renewal request and Mr. Abdulmutallab was on that country’s watch list. This breach has made it absolutely clear that we must do more to synergize and streamline our national and international counterterrorism information sharing systems.

“Even more alarming, Mr. Abdulmutallab, who claims ties to Al-Qaeda, was in the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment (TIDE) database, but was not on the Transportation Security Administration’s "no-fly" list. The database and related watch lists have long been plagued with systemic misidentification and information sharing problems. A terrorist suspect can be on the “no fly” list, but not on the list used by border patrol officers who control vehicle traffic coming into our country from our northern and southern border entry

Source:bignews.biz/

Long before Pacquiao, there was this global Filipina

2009 would be remembered as the year the Philippines honored a woman who was way ahead of her time
IF YOU WANT TO FEEL GOOD AS A Filipino—and who doesn’t?—even in a year of floods and massacres, see the Slim Retrospective at National Museum. You have until March to see this exhibit, truly world-class both as curatorial work and as a production.

While 2009 is known as another Pacquaio year, it should also be remembered as the year Philippine fashion paid tribute to Salvacion Lim Higgins (Slim), the designer who won global acclaim as early as the ’60s.

Her coffee-table book, “Salvacion Lim Higgins, Slim, Philippine Haute Couture 1947-1990)” was launched last November at National Museum, with the opening of retrospective exhibit of her clothes on 48 mannequins.

In 1964, at the New York World’s Fair where the Bayanihan was performing, the famous photographer Cecil Beaton went backstage after the performance because he wanted to see up close the Bayanihan’s Maria Clara-inspired costumes that were done in black and white. Beaton’s admiration was reported in media.

Lladro, the world-renowned Spanish porcelain brand, later issued a limited edition of the “Singkil” showing the Muslim princess in a costume designed by Slim.

The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, has in its collection a Slim jusi gown that belonged to former US First Lady Mamie Eisenhower. In 2004 Smithsonian included it in a rare traveling exhibit called “First Ladies: Political Role and Public Image,” alongside the works of fashion greats like Charles Worth. The jusi gown was presented to Mrs. Eisenhower by then Philippine First Lady Leonila Garcia on a state visit in 1958.

I met Salvacion Lim Higgins only once—the woman future generations would know popularly as “Slim” (or Slim’s, to refer to her school)—when I interviewed her about her fashion show. This must have been in the late ’70s—a very brief face time with her that hardly allowed me to know the woman.

But then, always having been lucky in career (provided it didn’t involve corporate political reptilians, that is), I had my second chance to really know this woman, the likes of whom could come only once in Philippine fashion.

It happened two years ago, when her children Sandy and Mark invited me to help document and review the career and contribution of their mother in Philippine fashion—indeed, the creative evolution that was her life—for a coffee-table book the two would produce this year

Source:Lifestyle.inquirer.net/

Delegation From Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq Arrives in Washington, D.C.

After reaching an historic compromise on the Iraqi national election law, which will help usher in a new era for Iraq, two high-ranking officials from the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq (KRG) have arrived in Washington, D.C. to discuss the latest developments in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region with United States officials and members of the American business community.

Dr. Fuad Hussein, Chief of Staff to the President of the Kurdistan Region, and Mr. Falah Mustafa Bakir, Minister and Head of the Department of Foreign Relations of the KRG, will be in the nation's capital for one week. They will be holding meetings with Administration officials, members of Congress, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and several other organizations to promote increased understanding of the issues facing the Iraqi people and improve business ties between the two nations. During their visit, they will also travel to Detroit, Michigan, where they will meet with members of the Chaldo-Assyrian and broader Iraqi community.

Source:albawaba.com/

Pot-Bellied” Rape Suspect: Residents Scared After Rapes

MARTIN, Tenn. (AP) -- People in West Tennessee say they will sleep better now that police have arrested a man on aggravated rape charges in a multi-agency investigation into several sexual assaults in the region.

Bruce A. Tuck of Gleason was arraigned Thursday in Dresden on charges that he raped a woman and held her and two other people at gunpoint on Aug. 30.

Investigators are looking into whether the rape was related to four other attacks in Martin and the Memphis area dating back to June 27.

Tori McQuesten and Katelyn Roberts, 18-year-old freshmen at the University of Tennessee-Martin, had been putting chairs up against the door to their off-campus apartment every night.

The Commercial Appeal reported that the university was also locking down entrances to the on-campus dorms and added extra security checks.