Dinah Lord

Words fail me...

Breastfeeding baby smothered on United flight from DC to Kuwait.

A baby girl died after her mother fell asleep while breast-feeding on a United Airlines jet from Washington D.C. to Kuwait. The woman, 29, awoke after an hour to find the 4-week-old had been smothered.

Cabin crew were alerted by the mother's screams in business class, and the United Airlines jet - over the Atlantic at 33,000ft - was diverted to London's Heathrow for an immediate landing.

A doctor on board the Washington DC to Kuwait flight tried in vain to resuscitate the baby girl.

Police boarded the jet on landing and Scotland Yard's Child Abuse Investigation Team officers are investigating. The mother is Egyptian-born and her girl was American.

Taxpayers to pay for prison bound terror lawyer's plumbing problem...

<---  Terror loving charter member of the al-Qaeda Bar Association and Depends spokeswoman, Lynne Stewart.

 T.M.I. NY Post - T.M.I.  (h/t FReeper FreeThinkerNY)

Even a conviction for aiding terrorism has its upside -- free health care behind bars.

Disbarred civil-rights lawyer Lynne Stewart could undergo surgery on the taxpayers' dime while she awaits re-sentencing for helping imprisoned "blind sheik" Omar Abdel-Rahman exchange messages with his militant followers.

Stewart's attorney said in court this morning that she would likely go under the knife in two weeks to correct what the 70-year-old granny has called a female "plumbing problem."

An overflow crowd of graying leftists -- some wearing oversize, homemade buttons and T-shirts saying "Peace with Iran" -- greeted Stewart with applause when she entered Manhattan federal court in the custody of U.S. Marshals.

Related:  Happy days are here again:  Terrorist attorney Lynne Stewart ordered to jail.

How the Ft. Hood jihadi's terror imam got away - an update.

Mind-blowing.

From the Denver Post:

A Muslim cleric who communicated with the Army psychiatrist accused in the Fort Hood shootings was charged with passport fraud in Colorado in 2002.  [...]  U.S. Attorney David Gaouette (GOW-ette) in Denver said al-Awlaki was charged with passport fraud after a California agent discovered al-Awlaki lied on a 1990 Social Security application. The imam said he was born in Yemen, instead of Las Cruces, N.M., where he was born in 1971.

But federal prosecutors said Wednesday they dismissed the charge before the cleric, Anwar al-Awlaki, could be arrested because they learned the charge was invalid.

Here's how: 

"... Gaouette says prosecutors dismissed those charges a few months later after learning that a Social Security number al-Awlaki used to obtain the passport was valid.)

Here's why: 

But after the charge was filed, Gaouette said, prosecutors discovered that al-Awlaki had corrected his place of birth with the Social Security Administration and that his passport application was therefore proper. A 10-year statue of limitations on charges of lying to the Social Security Administration had expired, so prosecutors had no case against the imam.

FYI - The reason he listed his birthplace as Yemen when he filed for this Social Security application?  He wanted to be eligible for a foreign student visa. Now, why would he want to do that?  FINANCIAL AID.

They discovered that the U.S.-born cleric attended Colorado State University in the early 1990's on an F-1 foreign student visa, stating on the visa application that he was actually born in Yemen and not New Mexico. This enabled authorities to charge Awlaki with passport fraud, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Man, there is steam coming out of my ears, but you know what really ticks me off?   If the charges were so invalid then why did the federal prosecutors in Colorado go on to say this?

And even if the passport charge had been pursued, a prosecutor who was among those who called for the dismissal says the imam was unlikely to face much jail time if convicted.

How much jail time according to recent Obama appointee, Gaouette?  "Six months, at the most."

That's it?  That's all they've got?  You have got to be kidding me! 

File this one under Reason # 3989 that treating terrorists as ordinary criminals just does not work.

Related:  How the Ft. Hood jihadi's imam got away.

Senator Mary Landrieu: We know she can be bought, the question now is - by whom?

I saw this item posted earlier today at FR (thank you LSUfan) and wanted to post here, but didn't get around to it - til now.  Check it out.  Here's a snippet:

From The Hayride:

UPDATE NO.2: Aaron Saunders from Landrieu’s office tells the Hayride that on two occasions (Oct. 27 and Nov. 12) she declined an invitation to speak at the event in question and, as far as the senator is concerned, was never scheduled to attend. The updated link to the event in question now has Alex Kronemer, the producer of the film Inside Islam and the co-founder of Unity Productions Foundation, as its keynote speaker.

UPDATE: Landrieu’s office has apparently told Fox News that she won’t be attending Saturday’s event after all. Not that she never planned to attend, just that she won’t be attending now.

Fresh off her national “Louisiana Purchase” outrage, Sen. Mary Landrieu has a full dance card back in New Orleans over the next few days. Her companions for the Crescent City one-night stands on the calendar are, shall we say, interesting.

It’s common knowledge by now that Landrieu will be hosting a $4800-a-plate fundraiser for Harry Reid at the St. Charles Avenue home of Obama donor and political animal David Voelker on Dec. 12. But before that hootenanny takes place, Landrieu will be palling around with another group of friendlies.

On Saturday, Landrieu is set to give the welcome speech at a rather out-of-the-mainstream event – this time, she’ll be addressing the New Orleans premiere of Inside Islam: What a Billion Muslims Really Think, a documentary which purports to explore “the expertly gathered opinions of Muslims around the globe as revealed in the world’s first major opinion poll, conducted by Gallup, the preeminent polling organization. Focused on the issues of Gender Justice, Terrorism, and Democracy – the film presents remarkable data deftly, challenging the popular notion that Muslims and the West are on a collision course. Like the research, the film highlights a shared relationship that is based on facts – not fear.”

Read about the unsavory characters behind this.  We need to watch Ms. Landrieu like a hawk, possums.

Remember when Obama said those soldiers made a 'great photo op'?

He wasn't kidding.

The Commander in Chief playing politics with our troops. ----->

From The Cable.  (h/t FReeper Yo-Yo)

When President Obama spoke to troops at Alaska's Elmendorf Air Force Base last month, the unit there parked a shiny new F-22 fighter plane in the hanger. But according to multiple sources, White House aides demanded the plane be changed to an older F-15 fighter because they didn't want Obama speaking in front of the F-22, a controversial program he fought hard to end.

"White House aides actually made them remove the F-22-said they would not allow POTUS to be pictured with the F-22 in any way, shape, or form," one source close to the unit relayed.

Stephen Lee, a public affairs officer at Elmendorf, confirmed to The Cable that the F-22 was parked in the hanger and then was replaced by an F-15 at the White House's behest.

The airmen there took offense to the Obama aides' demand, sources told The Cable, seeing it as a slight to the folks who are operating the F-22 proudly every day. They also expressed bewilderment that the White House staff would even care so much as to make an issue out of the fact that the F-22 was placed in the hanger with the president.

A White House official, commenting on background basis,

Heh.

Just for the record: 

Iraqi shoe thrower gets his.

Most powerful Muslim in UK - about that egg on her face...

<---  Muslim attackers of Baroness Warsi, the most powerful Muslim in Britain.  I say take some of that £600,000 and buy the whole lot of them a one way ticket to the third world Muslim shi&hole of their choice.  But that's just me.

 On Monday, Baroness Warsi got egged by a group of her constituents and fellow Religion of Peacers.  At the time she poohed-poohed the actions of the group as "idiots who did not represent the majority of British Muslims" and they "did not represent the true feelings of the thousands of moderate Muslims in the town".

Oh really?

After all, it was in Luton in March that a similar group of young Islamic protesters shouted obscenities at members of the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Anglian Regiment taking part in an Afghan war homecoming parade.

[...]

When a Mecca Bingo Hall opened, its windows were smashed after some Muslims claimed the neon 'Mecca' sign insulted their religion because it associated the name of their holy city with gambling. Advertising hoardings featuring women deemed to be showing too much flesh have also been defaced.

Over the past 18 months or so, around 30 non-Muslim homes have been attacked. One white couple in their 80s had bricks hurled through their front window. A West Indian woman in her 70s was watching TV when a metal beer keg crashed through her bay window.

The culprits have never been caught, but the victims are in no doubt that they were targeted by a small group of religious extremists who want all non-Muslims out of Bury Park.

For "small group of religious extremists" read Omar Bakri's El Mujahiroun and Anjem Choudary's Islam4UK. 

And how small a problem is it really for the UK government?  At least £600,000 worth evidently.

Such is the extent of the problem that government ministers are spending large amounts of money in Luton for a project called 'Preventing Violent Extremism'. More than £600,000 has been put into a 'hearts and minds' campaign to try to prevent young Muslims joining the fanatics.

[...]

According to a leaked intelligence report earlier this year, Luton remains a 'magnet' for extremists and a focus of concern for anti-terror police. Other hotspots include Beeston in Leeds and parts of Birmingham and London.

Keep in mind:  The English Defence League will be having a counter jihad demonstration on December 5 in Nottingham.

Army asks: Is Ft Hood Jihadi insane?

This just in:  Additional charges for Ft. Hood jihadi.

The Army has charged the suspect in the Fort Hood shooting spree with 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder.

The charges are in addition to the 13 premeditated murder charges filed against Maj. Nidal (Nee-DAHL) Hasan (Huh-SAHN') [Ed. Note:  don't you just love the Washington Post with their little Muslim pronunciation keys?) in the Nov. 5 massacre at Fort Hood.

From ABC News:

The Army wants a formal inquiry into the sanity of accused Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan, Hasan's lawyer John Galligan told ABC News, and the request could be approved as early as Wednesday afternoon. [...] he received notice via e-mail at 7:45 p.m Tuesday that the Army would ask to convene a "sanity board" to evaluate Hasan's mental state.

According to Galligan, the e-mail said, "Given the magnitude and seriousness of the crimes alleged in the specifications, such alleged conduct makes me believe the accused lacks mental responsibility and capacity."

Okay, Hasan's lawyer is clearly playing all the angles, but doesn't it also sound like the Army is giving Hasan the bum's rush? To my way of thinking, the Sanity Board removes minimizes the Muslim angle and gives Hasan an easy out. It also takes some of the heat off Hasan's superiors. I don't know maybe I'm just getting cynical in my old age.

Galligan said he would like to "put the brakes on" until "we can be in receipt of all the evidence that a sanity board should properly consider before making its ultimate findings on this important issue."

"I'm concerned that the prosecution, by doing this at this juncture, is just trying to rush the procedure," said Galligan. "Normally these requests come from the defense, and I have never had one where the defendant is still in the ICU."

Galligan said he is also concerned about the composition of the "Sanity Board," since it would be likely to include Army psychiatrists. Major Hasan is himself a psychiatrist, and his alleged actions have raised questions about his training and about whether warning signs were missed by the Army's medical personnel.

Stay tuned.  According to Mr. Galligan  a determination on the Sanity Board could be made as early as this afternoon.

P.S. I'm not alone in my cynicism. 

Patrick McLain, a Dallas defense lawyer and former military judge not involved in the case, said there were several possible reasons for the Army's action. One is tactical. Prosecutors might want to force the issue of mental competency quickly, given that Galligan has said he was considering an insanity defense but has not sought a hearing himself.

"The prosecutor may think that the longer the defendant is conscious and talking, the more he might get the notion of trying to game the system by trying to come up with things to mimic mental disease or defect," McLain said.

Or there could be political reasons. Army leadership could be anxious to put the tragedy behind it administration officials "really want to de-emphasize the Muslim component to this whole thing, and to focus on the larger military mission, McLain said. And Obama" he added.

UK: Iran releases 5 British yachties

"After being towed into international waters, Kingdom of Bahrain was escorted to Dubai by a yacht from a local sailing club. The men were transferred to a speedboat flying the flags of the United Arab Emirates, which docked at the International Marine Club in Dubai. The crew stepped ashore in new white polo shirts to the backdrop of the floodlit Atlantis hotel, to be met by Guy Warrington, the British Consul-General in Dubai".    --->

Update:  Freed sailors admit they made a mistake.  Or something.  (I really couldn't find any acknowledgment of said mistake in the Times UK Online article.)

As they landed in Dubai last night, the oldest member of the crew could think only of bangers and beer. “We were fed very well but there was no bacon or pork, of course, or alcohol,” said David Bloomer, a Bahrain-based radio presenter who is in his sixties.  [...]  Mr Bloomer disembarked wearing a chequered scarf around his neck of the kind often favoured by Iran’s hardline leaders. Asked where it had come from, he joked: “I got it from a little island we stopped off at.” Then he admitted that it was a farewell present from his captors.

From the Daily Mail:

The families of the British sailors detained after their yacht apparently strayed into Iranian waters spoke of their delight after the men's release was confirmed today.  The yachtsmen were freed after Iranian authorities decided that they had entered the country's waters by mistake.

The five Britons are now being towed back into international waters, the Foreign Office confirmed. It is believed they are heading to Dubai.

[...]

The confirmation of the men's release comes after Iran's official IRNA news agency said the yachtsmen were freed following an interrogation by authorities which found they had entered Iranian waters by mistake.

'After carrying out an investigation and interrogation of the five British sailors, it became clear that their illegal entry was a mistake,' a statement by Iran's Revolutionary Guard said.  'After obtaining necessary guarantees, it was decided to release them.'

My thoughts on Obama's Afghanistan speech tonight.

The times in the speech he used:

"I" = 45

"Victory"  = 0

"Win" = 0

"Enemy Camp" = 1

(Well, it was Chris Matthews that said that.)

Silent no more...Rifqa Bary needs our help.

I'm sorry to say that I haven't done much reporting on the Rifqa Bary case - only because so many of the big guns have been so eloquent in her defense:  Pamela Geller, Robert Spencer - I can only worship at your feet.

But I can't sit on the sidelines anymore.  Rifqa Bary needs help, possums.  Her treatment at the hands of the authorities in Ohio is unconscionable.  Why shouldn't she be entitled to the freedom of her religion?

There's no reason that she should be treated this way. 

Pamela Geller at Human Events:

The vise is tightening further on Rifqa Bary, the teenage girl who converted to Christianity from Islam and then fled to Florida from her Ohio home in fear for her life. Now she is in foster care in Ohio, in imminent danger of being returned to her family, and the Ohio authorities, at the command of the Barys’ lawyer, continue to isolate her.

Rifqa Bary has been in Ohio for well over a month and still there is no “approved visitation” list of friends who are allowed to see her. How can this be? How can it be that friends who request a visit, and whom Rifqa requests to visit, are repeatedly told that “there is no approved visitation list”? Is it not the very mission by objective of children’s services to protect the health and welfare of a child? Why has this one child in particular been denied visits from friends?

Rifqa has also been deprived of access to the phone and Internet. She has also been denied “pastoral guidance.” Convicts, murderers, rapists, and pedophiles all have access to “pastoral guidance.” Rifqa’s close friend and fellow ex-Muslim, Christian pastor Jamal Jivanjee, explains: “If you are incarcerated in an American prison today, you have the right to have a visit from a Pastor. Rifqa Bary does not have this most basic right that most criminals have today.” Is that how powerful and influential Islamic supremacists have become in the state of Ohio -- that one young girl is starved of spiritual nourishment so as not to insult Islam?

Read it all.  We must stop the madness.

Our long, national nightmare begins. Gitmo terrorist asks judge to dismiss his case.

What right does this terrorist have to our constitutional protections?   ---->

He's been denied his constitutional right to a speedy trial.  Give me a break.

From the NYT:

Lawyers for a terrorism suspect once held at Guantánamo Bay who is now facing prosecution in Manhattan asked a judge on Tuesday to dismiss his case on the ground that his nearly five years in detention denied him his constitutional right to a speedy trial. 

The terrorism suspect, Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani was captured in Pakistan in 2004, held for two years in secret prisons run by the C.I.A., and then moved in 2006 to the naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. During his detention, he says, he was subjected to cruel interrogation techniques and denied a lawyer.

Although Mr. Ghailani faces charges stemming from a terrorist act that predated the Sept. 11 attacks, his speedy trial motion could foreshadow issues that could arise in the prosecution of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the professed organizer of the 9/11 plot, and four other Guantánamo detainees who were recently ordered sent to New York for trial.

“We respectfully submit that this case presents possibly the most unique and egregious example of a speedy trial violation in American jurisprudence to date,” Mr. Ghailani’s lawyers said in a motion that was heavily censored because of its reliance on classified information.

The motion was originally filed several weeks ago with Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, but it was kept almost entirely under seal pending a review by the government. The new version, with many pages blacked out, was made public on Tuesday.

“This motion asks one primary question,” the lawyers, Peter E. Quijano, Michael K. Bachrach and Gregory Cooper, wrote. “Can national security trump an indicted defendant’s constitutional Right to a Speedy Trial?  (sic) We respectfully submit that the answer is emphatically and without qualification, ‘No.’ ”

And this is reason #3987 why these scumbags should not be tried in civilian court.

Good news...

Spruce Mountain.

 The Seattle cop killer has been captured.

(Better news - Natasha and I are hiking Spruce Mountain today.)

Hike update: 

It was a glorious hike and a beautiful Colorado day, but it was still Lucy and Ethel go hiking. 

First, we parked in the wrong spot - which meant a nice tramp across the beautiful Spruce Mountain Meadow - about a half mile out of our way.  (My keys fell out of my pack - requiring a back track. And then Natasha lost a glove but we didn't discover that until we were on the mountain, so we just picked it up on the way back.)  Then we had to go off trail (aka self-created shortcut) to get to the REAL trail head.

We arrived at the REAL Spruce Mountain trailhead parking lot raring to go - only to be greeted by a large group of Alpine hikers replete with ice cleats, Yukon Charlie ice poles and big packs.  "Hey, what group are you guys from " we queried.  They told us and we exchanged a bit of hiker pitter patter - including "Don't tell me we have to follow you two beautiful women up the trail????"  "Eat our dust" we laughingly replied.

Off we went up the trail and muttering to each other, "So where do they think they are going with all that gear? "

We found out.

The trail had a sweet spot 500 ft elevation replete with switchbacks - unfortunately they were all on the north side of the mountain and were pretty much a sheet of ice.  Hah!

The things you see when you don't have a video camera.  I wish you could have seen us trying to get up that mountain.

We at least beat the Alpine group up to the top...but with no cleats and poles - it wasn't pretty.

After enjoying a delicious trail snack (water, clementines, craisins and a nature valley granola snack bar) we consulted the map - there was no way we were going down the way we came up ... unless we slid on our butts- right into the Alpine hiking group.

And then there's that whole map reading thing.  Oy.  I'll spare you that scene. 

We ended up taking the Spruce Mountain Loop trail to the SERVICE ROAD and then onto the Eagle Pass trail to get back onto the Spruce Mountain Loop trail to be able to bootleg over to the Spruce Meadow trail to get back to the car.

About 3 miles out of our way and 9 miles in total by our reckoning.

(We still beat the Alpine group down and listened to some Rush on the way home.  Haha.  Eat our dust!)

Lockerbie Bomber Death Watch: He's still alive (evidently) and the UK government hosed the Lockerbie families

Fat, ragged and sassy with roses in his cheeks.  He's definitely wearing makeup   --->

Well, when we last checked in with Allah's handmaiden it was November 1st, it's now November 30th and according to all the major news services, the Lockerbie Bomber is still alive.  What can I say?

What I can say is that after reading all of the stuff that's been coming out about this whole deal?  There's no other way to describe how shabbily the families of the Lockerbie victims have been treated - they got hosed!

From the Scotsman:

FEARS have been raised that Kenny MacAskill unduly influenced the course of criminal proceedings by delaying key decisions over the release of the Lockerbie bomber.  As Mr MacAskill faces MSPs today to answer questions about the release of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, a Lockerbie relative said it was "unclear" whether the justice secretary acted responsibly.

In a submission to Holyrood's justice committee, Matt Berkley, who lost his brother in the bombing, highlighted delays he says put pressure on the bomber to drop his appeal.

These include a 43-day wait to contact the relatives after the transfer application was made and a three-week wait to respond to Megrahi's acceptance of Mr MacAskill's invitation for a meeting.

Mr Berkley also said it was not clear the Scottish Government had "provided accurate, fair and balanced information to the prisoner".  He said Mr MacAskill appeared not to have told Megrahi the range of options he had in relation to the dropping of his appeal. "Did the justice secretary take adequate care, through promptness of action and appropriate information to the appellant, to avoid influencing the court process?" asked Mr Berkley in his submission.

A spokesman for Mr MacAskill said: "Megrahi and his legal team chose to abandon their appeal … their decision bore no relation to the release."

What about the delay, douche bag Mr. Spokesman?  [CRICKETS}

And since we're on the subject, what about this?  Lockerbie bomber linked to Libya's chemical weapons.

Warning - Chomsky Barf Alert:  British MP's, activist say Malta should defend itself on Lockerbie case.  IOW blame it on Malta.

Stinks to high heaven:  UK Shooting Party:  Lord Mandelson, Cherie Blair ... and Gaddafi's son?

British racing crew held in Iran identified.

They may have 'inadvertently strayed' into Iranian waters after experiencing mechanical difficulty - by 500 yards.

From the Daily Mail:

It appears that the high-tech yacht was swept towards Iran by strong winds after its propeller was damaged. The crew were named as Sam Usher, Olly Smith, Luke Porter and Oliver Young - and David Bloomer, who works as a radio presenter in Bahrain.

Meanwhile, behind the scenes the Brit Diplowads are furious.  Clearly, they were planning on doing a Lockerbie Bomber and cutting a double secret deal.  Sonsabi&ches.

Diplomats say they have been in 'indirect contact' with the hostages and that they are confident they are being well treated.  Privately the officials are furious that the news broke. They had hoped to keep the incident secret in order to avoid a new diplomatic incident with Iran.

Related:  Iran confiscates racing yacht and British crew.

Gatecrasher-gate just keeps getting better and better...

Now a Defense Department official is involved?

A top Defense Department official corresponded with Tareq and Michaele Salahi in an effort to get them into last week's White House state dinner, according to sources familiar with an investigation into the security breach. On Friday the couple turned over copies of the email exchange to the Secret Service investigators.

Sources said the e-mails were sent from Michele S. Jones, the special assistant to the Secretary of Defense and the Pentagon-based liaison to the White House, who lists the Salahis' lawyer, Paul W. Gardner, as one of her 50 friends on the Facebook social networking site.

Several people familiar with the Jones-Salahi correspondence argued the e-mails support the Salahis' case that they were cleared to attend Tuesday night's gala.

"There was e-mail correspondence confirming they were legitimately supposed to be there," said Casey Margenau, a close friend of the couple. "They understood they were invited."

"I did not state at any time, or imply that I had tickets for ANY portion of the evening's events," Jones said in a statement released by the White House late Monday. "I specifically stated that they did not have tickets and in fact that I did not have the authority to authorize attendance, admittance or access to any part of the evening's activities. Even though I informed them of this, they still decided to come."

Unh-huh.  Wonder why the statement was released by the White House and not the DoD?

The e-mail exchange is said to include assurances from Jones that she was trying to score an official invitation, complete with seats at the dinner, for the couple. By the time they arrived in line, the couple believed that Jones had succeeded in getting them approved only for the cocktail reception and a handshake with the president, sources said.

 <---About Miss Jones:

Jones, a former top sergeant major in the Army who endorsed President Obama and was a featured speaker at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, was appointed to her current government post in July.

According to the Army Web site GoArmy.com, Jones entered the service in 1982 and was the first woman to serve as a class president at the U.S. Sergeants Major Academy. As the 9th Command Sergeant Major of the Army Reserve, a position she held between 2002 and 2006, she visited soldiers throughout the country and at bases around the world and relayed concerns to leaders in the Army, Department of Defense and Congress.

How the Ft. Hood Jihadi's terror imam got away...

Anwar al Awlaki, the one that got away.  ---->

From ABC News:

A felony arrest warrant for radical Islamic cleric Anwar al-Awlaki was rescinded in 2002 a day before he was intercepted as a terror suspect at New York's JFK airport, forcing authorities to release him, according to sources familiar with the case.

The warrant was cancelled by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Denver, even though Awlaki was on a terror watch list, and even though the office's supervising prosecutor for terror cases -- who has now been named by President Obama as the new U.S. Attorney in Denver -- had been fully briefed on Awlaki's alleged terror ties, according to investigators.

 <---  U.S Attorney David Gaouette.

 And now this joker says he doesn't know nothin' about nothin'.  Nobody else does either.

"The agent says the supervisory assistant U.S. Attorney on the case, David Gaouette, had been fully briefed on Awlaki's suspected terrorism ties. At the time, Gaouette oversaw all terror cases in the Denver-based District of Colorado, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office.

Gaouette, an assistant U.S. attorney since 1989, was appointed this August by President Obama as the U.S. Attorney for Colorado.  When asked why Awlaki's arrest warrant had been rescinded, a public affairs officer said Gaouette was unfamiliar with the particulars of the Awlaki case, and would have to research it before he could comment.  Gaouette's office did not reply to a request for a copy of the Awlaki arrest warrant. The clerk's office for the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado was also unable to provide a copy of the warrant, citing the age of the case and the fact that the warrant was rescinded."

I'm mad as hell, too.

"Investigators are mad as hell," said Paul Sperry, "and they have a valid point in asking whether a dozen soldiers would be alive today if they'd been allowed to put the screw to Awlaki when they had the chance."

WA cop killer 'had changed' while in prison.

Details on Maurice Clemmons Arkansas parole hearing are beginning to trickle out and it sure looks like Clemmons knew just what buttons to push to ensure his release.

From the Seattle Times:

Clemmons wrote in an appeal to Huckabee that he'd been sent to prison after an extended crime spree that started in 1989 when he was a teenager — and that he was a different person now.

At the time of the crimes — which included aggravated robbery, firearms possession and burglary — Clemmons claimed he was 16 years old and had moved from Seattle to a high-crime neighborhood in Arkansas.

"I succumbed to the peer pressure and the need I had to be accepted by other youth in my new environment and fell in with the wrong crowd and thus began a seven (7) month crime spree which led me to prison," Clemmons wrote in his application to Huckabee.

Clemmons said he came from "a very good Christian family" and "was raised much better than my actions speak (I'm still ashamed to this day for the shame my stupid involvement in these crimes brought to my family name.)," he wrote.

"Where once stood a young (16) year old misguided fool, who's (sic) own life he was unable to rule. Now stands a 27 year old man, who has learned through 'the school of hard knocks' to appreciate and respect the rights of others. And who has in the midst of the harsh reality of prison life developed the necessary skills to stand along (sic) and not follow a multitude of do evil, as I did as a 16 year old child."

Clemmons added that his mother had recently died without seeing him turn his life around and that he prayed Huckabee would show compassion by releasing him.

Hon. Marion Humphrey.  Judge Humphrey has a divinity degree from Harvard and a law degree from the University of Arkansas.--->

The documents indicate Clemmons' release from prison was supported by Pulaski County Circuit Court Judge Marion Humphrey, who cited Clemmons' age at the time of his crimes and called his sentence excessive. His release was unanimously approved by the parole board.

Humphrey said Monday he remembers Clemmons and believed he was genuinely remorseful and wanted to change.

"I figure young people make some mistakes," he said. Also a Presbyterian minister, Humphrey said he believes in giving people a second chance.

Humphrey in 2004 also officiated Clemmons' wedding when he married his fiance Nicole Cheryleen Smith, according to a copy of the marriage certificate.

"It would be the furthest thing from my mind that he would go out and kill four police officers, if in fact he did," Humphrey said. "Certainly if that's true, I would much rather that he'd stayed in prison... my heart goes out to the officers' families."

Mine does, too.  Especially after reading this.

P.S.  Let's not forget that the Pierce County court were the ones who granted bail to Maurice Clemmons last week despite the presence of an outstanding warrant for his arrest in Arkansas and was facing EIGHT felony charges in the state of Washington.

Update:  Pierce County's side of the story.  It's all Arkansas's fault.

Arrested on July 1 after he came to Pierce County Superior Court, Clemmons was initially held on a no-bail warrant out of Arkansas filed after he was charged in the May assault and malicious mischief case. In Pierce County, Clemmons' bail amounted to $190,000 in the cases against him, which, by then, included a second-degree child rape charge.

Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist said Arkansas withdrew the no-bail hold on July 22, enabling Clemmons to post the $190,000 bail to gain his release.

Prosecutors did not request that Clemmons' bail amount be increased, though they did argue successfully against a reduction proposed by Clemmons' attorney, Lindquist said.

"Typically, that amount would be enough to hold a defendant," Lindquist said at his office Monday. "This would all be a moot point if the no-bail hold was still in effect."

In the weeks that followed the removal of the no-bail hold, Clemmons was able to put together a bond payment and secure his release on Nov. 23. Days before his release, prosecutors had filed paperwork indicating they would seek a life-sentence against Clemmons under Washington's "three-strikes" law targeting persistent offenders.

Lindquist said whether that sentence could be imposed remained an open question, as a judge would have to agree that Clemmons' Arkansas convictions were "strike" offenses under Washington law.

Russian Train Bombing - 4 suspects now sought

Suspects sought in Russian train bombing. 

Can you believe one of them is a former Caucacus soldier who "defected to a group of Islamic terrorists"?  (Paging Major Nidal Malik Hasan.)  Hard to feature, I know.  /s

Russian police investigators said Monday they had located the hideout of four persons suspected in the train bombing- derailment at the weekend which killed 26 persons and injured 100.

A police spokesman was cited by the Interfax agency as saying a hideout had been found in a village not far from the scene and that in an attic the traces of four suspects had been discovered. The hunt for the four was now underway with the help of phantom pictures, the spokesman said, in developments three days after the late-night derailment of the Nevsky Express train on the busy St. Petersburg-Moscow line.

Moscow media, citing investigators, reported that the chief suspect being sought was a former soldier from the northern Caucasus region who had defected to a group of Islamic terrorists.

More on those Islamic terrorists:

The business daily Kommersant cited an unidentified police source as saying authorities suspect the latest bombing involved the same criminal group linked to an almost identical attack on the same track in 2007. The 2007 attack injured dozens in the train that passed over an explosive device; the motive went unexplained.

Two suspects in the 2007 blast were detained but a third, Pavel Kosolapov, a former military officer believed to have links to Chechen separatists, remains a fugitive.

<--- Recently released composite sketch.

Additional details - a woman is among the four suspects.

"According to preliminary information, four people lived in this house for some days before the attack. The DNA of four people has been found, one of which is the DNA of a woman. We have reason to think that these people are linked to the attack," the source said.

UK: Baroness Warsi gets egged by Muslims...

I suppose it could have been worse, after all they could have been throwing stones.

From the Daily Mail:

Conservative peer Baroness Warsi of Dewsbury, named Britain's most powerful Muslim woman, has been pelted with eggs during a visit to Luton. The Baroness, 38, was taking part in a walkabout in the Muslim Bury Park area of Luton when she was confronted by a group of male protesters.

Baroness Warsi, who was hit by at least one egg, debated with the men after they accused her of not being a proper Muslim (uh-oh.  Apostasy = 'I kill you' in Islam) and supporting the death of Muslims in Afghanistan.

Baroness Warsi told the BBC that the men were "idiots who did not represent the majority of British Muslims". She said she had tried to talk to the protesters but they did not want to debate their concerns.

'I stood up to this group and said I challenge your views,' she told BBC News. 'They just weren't prepared to listen. They shouted. 'I said if you want to have this debate, listen.'

She continued with her walkabout, but with a police escort.

So how's that Shadow Minister for Community Cohesion and Social Action thing working out for you, Baroness Warsi?

Iran confiscates racing yacht and British racing crew.

They were evidently on the way to the Dubai Muscat race.

According to the Daily Mail:

"Members of Sail Bahrain were due to arrive in Dubai on November 26 on board the Kingdom of Bahrain race yacht.

The site says: 'Skippering the Kingdom of Bahrain entry is experienced offshore sailor and Team Director of Sail Bahrain, Nick Crabtree who, along with members of his shore crew, will be joined by Bahrain’s national sailing hero, Sami Kooheji and Captain Peter Gronberg, Managing Director of GAC, one of the largest shipping companies in the region and logistics partner to Sail Bahrain.'

So far the Foreign Office has refused to name any of the crew members being held.

Quiet diplomacy isn't working - and the Brits are having trouble getting their calls returned.  Looks like the Iranians are up to their old tricks.

From Sky News:

Five British sailors on a racing yacht have been detained by Iran after they may have inadvertently strayed into its waters.

The vessel, owned by Sail Bahrain and crewed by the British nationals, was stopped by Iranian naval vessels last Wednesday, said the Foreign Office.

The five are still in Iran and all are understood to be safe and well.

Their families have been informed of the incident. The yacht was on its way from Bahrain to Dubai and may have strayed inadvertently into Iranian waters.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband said UK officials "immediately contacted the Iranian authorities in London and in Tehran on 25 November, both to seek clarification and to try and resolve the matter swiftly".  He added: "Our ambassador in Tehran has raised the issue with the Iranian Foreign Ministry and we have discussed the matter with the Iranian Embassy in London.  "I hope this issue will soon be resolved. We will remain in close touch with the Iranian authorities, as well as the families."

Sky News foreign affairs editor Tim Marshall said: "The Foreign Office has tried to get these people out through quiet diplomacy, and they had some problems. "The Iranians are being hard to contact - and it has been the festival of Eid.

"The actual festival has finished but it's a little bit like the extended Christmas holidays in the Christian calendar and government can shut down for up to 6-10 days.

"The Foreign Office has had problems contacting the right people at the right level."

Washington D.C.'s As-Sabiqun Mosque wishes us a happy Eid Mubarak

I wish the FBI would investigate their a$$es.

 "... cause célèbre Islam forecasts an inevitable violent revolution between American Muslims (particularly African American Muslims) and the U.S. government"

From Counter Terrorism Blog's, Madeline Gruen:

The day after Thanksgiving, Muslims begin the celebration of Eid al-Adha, or "Festival of Sacrifice," which commemorates the end of the Hajj season, and the willingness of the Prophet Abraham to sacrifice his son to demonstrate his devotion to Allah. The morning starts with prayers, followed by visits to family and friends. During the festivities, those who can afford to sacrifice an animal as a way of paying tribute to Abraham. The meat is then distributed amongst friends and family, and a generous portion is given to the poor.

As-Sabiqun, a Washington, DC-based extremist group, plans to divert the focus of the festivities away from the themes of generosity and sacrifice by distributing a leaflet  (shown above) at morning prayers that portrays Major Nidal Hasan (who opened fire on soldiers at Ft. Hood, killing 13 and wounding 30 others) as a victim of the "Zionist American" government that is employing a program of "psychological warfare" to "oppress Muslims."

This is a clear example of what the Center for Terrorism Research at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies has termed "Cause Célèbre Islam."

Cause célèbre Islam forecasts an inevitable violent revolution between American Muslims (particularly African American Muslims) and the U.S. government. As-Sabiqun is one of the most visible and vocal groups that typifies cause célèbre Islam. Publicly, As-Sabiqun's founder, leader, and imam, Abdul Alim Musa, does not appear to share religious wisdom or guidance.  Rather, his constant theme is that of threats and harassment against Muslims by the U.S. government. The most recent issue of the CTR Vantage covers cause célèbre Islam; its origins and its current manifestations.

The leaflet As-Sabiqun intends for distribution at holiday celebrations tomorrow refers to President Obama as "Judas Goat" - suggesting that he is a puppet who leads Muslims to the slaughterhouse. The leaflet also declares that As-Sabiqun charges the U.S. government with "high crimes and treason." The ultimate purpose of the leaflet is the raise money for As-Sabiqun to transform its old masjid facilities into the "Islamic Institute for Counter Zionist American Psychological Warfare" - framing it as something of a headquarters from which they can launch a counter-attack on the U.S. government in the war they perceive is being waged against them.

As-Sabiqun is not a large organization, however, many group adherents are former convicts who converted to Islam while in prison. It is unlikely As-Sabiqun will launch an attack, but Musa's rhetoric is reminiscent of former UK-based clerics, such as Abu Hamza al-Masri, Omar Bakri Mohammed, and Abdullah al-Faisal, all of whom played a direct role in radicalizing individuals who committed terrorist attacks, and some who played roles in major terrorist plots. Unfortunately, the U.K. government did not act to remove these clerics from positions where they could influence young British Muslims until they had already planted a seed, which continues to spread. Many in the U.K. dismissed al-Masri, Bakri Mohammed, and al-Faisal as buffoons who had marginal influence and little credibility. As-Sabiqun and its leader Abdul Alim Musa could be viewed in much the same way. However, Musa travels around the country to speak at mosques and to student organizations at large American universities. The distribution of the Eid al-Adha leaflet may be a small drop in the bucket among many cumulative drops.

Let's keep an eye on this one, possums.  He sounds too much like Luqman Abdullah Ameen to take lightly.

WA cop killer search/standoff continues.

Update - 6:15 pm MST: Clemmons: “watch TV tomorrow, I’m going to shoot some cops,” according to the investigators.

Update - 5:55 pm MST: Clemmons family may be helping him avoid capture

"The sources said they suspect Maurice Clemmons' friends and family are trying to throw investigators off his trail as the 37-year-old tries to avoid capture. Ever since Clemmons was named as a suspect in the fatal shooting of the Lakewood officers, police agencies have been inundated with calls and tips. (more than 500 so far) Detectives said they now believe some false leads came from people trying to buy Clemmons time by keep search teams busy." 

Update - 3:30 pm MST:  BOLO alert from the Seattle Times Twitter feed.  Cancelled,  The car has been located and had been sold two months ago.  (Gee, now I wonder how Judge Humphrey feels.)

Police are looking for the wife of suspected cop killer Maurice Clemmons, and have told officers to be on the lookout for her car, possibly headed to Arkansas. Notice went out about 12:15 p.m. for officers to be on the lookout for a green 1997 Mazda Millenia with Washington license plate 208-SSX, registered to Clemmons' wife, Nicole Cheryleen Smith.

Update - 1:00 pm MST: Still in pursuit - hope it's not a wild goose chase.  "An alert was issued this morning to law enforcement in Eastern Washington saying that the suspect in Sunday’s murder of four police officers may be in a car heading east on Interstate 90"

Update - 11:40 am MST: Hot pursuit yields no trace of suspect.

About 10 a.m. officers raced to Jose Rizal Park in Beacon Hill after someone reported seeing Clemmons there. By 10:30, officers had walked the park with police dogs and were confident Clemmons wasn't there, either.

Update - 11:20 am MST: A moving tribute to the fallen officers can be found here.   For example: Mark Renninger was an "accomplished SWAT team tactitian", Greg Richards was "a drummer in a rock band", Ronnie Owens was the "laid back, dirt bike riding one" and Tina Griswold was "a proud member of the Olympic Tea Party movement". Please take a moment to read about them and remember their service.

Update - 11:10 am MST: Live press conference on KOMO featuring Lakewood PD officers and local officials.

Update - 9:58 am MST: The reward for information leading to the capture of Maurice Clemmons has been increased to $125,000.   Toll free tip line 866-977-2362. Locals call Crimestoppers at 253-591-5959

Update - 9:45 am MST: Heads up.  "University of Washington police have alerted students to an unconfirmed report that the suspect in the Lakewood police shootings may have been sighted on or near the campus in Seattle. Cmdr. Jerome Solomon says someone reported that Maurice Clemmons was seen getting off a bus about 7 a.m. Monday near the university's hospital. He says police are checking the area."

Update - 8:55 am MST: Pierce County Sheriff Ed Troyer is now reporting that the handgun used in yesterday's slayings has been recovered. The neighborhood remains under lockdown conditions and the Seattle PD has assumed command of the search for Clemmons.

Update - 8:27 am MST:  The News Tribune is reporting that suspect Clemmons has not been found in the Leschi neighborhood home referenced below - neighborhood remains in lockdown and the search continues.

Update - 7:50 am MST:  Per KOMO News SWAT teams have now entered the house.  Maurice Clemmons is now officially considered to be a suspect and the standoff at the home in the Leschi neighborhood continues where authorities believe the suspect may already be dead.

From KIRO News:

Maurice Clemmons is now officially a suspect in the killing of four Lakewood officers, and Pierce Co. Sheriff Det. Ed Troyer says he may be dead.

Troyer told KIRO 7 that Clemmons has been upgraded from a "person of interest" to a "suspect" because investigators now have evidence he was wounded during the Sunday morning attack at a Parkland coffee shop.  Troyer says Clemmons may have died from those wounds.

Seattle Police spokesman Jeff Kappel says the suspect is at the scene of a standoff in Seattle's Leschi neighborhood.

Troyer says several other people have already been detained and more may be taken into custody in Seattle and Pierce County.

Governor Huckabee's statement regarding the incident.  It's all the system's fault, man.

The senseless and savage execution of police officers in Washington State has saddened the nation, and early reports indicate that a person of interest is a repeat offender who once lived in Arkansas and was wanted on outstanding warrants here and in Washington State. The murder of any individual is a profound tragedy, but the murder of a police officer is the worst of all murders in that it is an assault on every citizen and the laws we live within.

Should he be found to be responsible for this horrible tragedy, it will be the result of a series of failures in the criminal justice system in both Arkansas and Washington State. He was recommended for and received a commutation of his original sentence from 1990, this commutation made him parole eligible and he was then paroled by the parole board once they determined he met the conditions at that time. He was arrested later for parole violation and taken back to prison to serve his full term, but prosecutors dropped the charges that would have held him. It appears that he has continued to have a string of criminal and psychotic behavior but was not kept incarcerated by either state. This is a horrible and tragic event and if found and convicted the offender should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. Our thoughts and prayers are and should be with the families of those honorable, brave, and heroic police officers.

About Governor Huckabee's record of clemency.

The one-time Republican presidential contender granted twice as many pardons and commutations as the previous three governors of Arkansas combined, The Associated Press reported in 2007. In all, he issued 1,033 pardons and commutations during more than 10 years as governor — an average of about one every four days.

About Clemmons:

Clemmons was released from jail in Pierce County six days ago after posting bond. He’d spent the past several months in jail on a charge of child rape. His release came even though he faced seven additional felony charges in Washington state.

Related:  WA:  4 police officers shot and killed in brutal ambush.  (liveblogging events)

WA: 4 police officers shot dead in ambush.

Latest updates can be found here.

Update - 8:25 pm MST: Lord have mercy. Scroll down and start at the beginning of the original post to get an idea of how this has all unfolded. It's been a fast breaking story and a long day.

"This is the day I've been dreading for a long time," Larry Jegley, prosecuting attorney for Arkansas' Pulaski County said tonight when informed that Clemmons was being sought for questioning in connection with the killings.

Clemmons' criminal history includes at least five felony convictions in Arkansas and at least eight felony charges in Washington. The record also stands out for the number of times he has been released from custody despite questions about the danger he posed. Clemmons had been in jail in Pierce County for the past several months on a pending charge of second-degree rape of a child.

He was released from custody just six days ago, even though he was wanted on a fugitive warrant out of Arkansas and was staring at seven additional felony charges in Washington state.

Clemmons posted $15,000 with a Chehalis company called Jail Sucks Bail Bonds. The bondsman, in turn, put up $150,000, securing Clemmons' release on the pending child-rape charge.

Clemmons lives in Tacoma, where he has run a landscaping and power-washing business out of his house, according to a police interview with his wife earlier this year. He was married, but the relationship was tumultuous, with accounts of his unpredictable behavior leading to at least two confrontations with police earlier this year.

During the confrontation in May, Clemmons punched a sheriff's deputy in the face, according to court records. As part of that incident, he was charged with seven counts of assault and malicious mischief.

In another instance, Clemmons was accused of gathering his wife and young relatives around at 3 or 4 in the morning and having them all undress. He told them that families need to "be naked for at least 5 minutes on Sunday," a Pierce County sheriff's report says. "The whole time Clemmons kept saying things like trust him, the world is going to end soon, and that he was Jesus," the report says.

As part of the child-rape investigation, the sheriff's office interviewed Clemmons' sister in May. She told them that "Maurice is not in his right mind and did not know how he could react when contacted by Law Enforcement," a sheriff's report says. 

"She stated that he was saying that the secret service was coming to get him because he had written a letter to the President. She stated his behavior has become unpredictable and erratic. She suspects he is having a mental breakdown," the report says.

Deputies also interviewed other family members. They reported that Clemmons had been saying he could fly and that he expected President Obama to visit to "confirm that he is Messiah in the flesh."

Prosecutors in Pierce County were sufficiently concerned about Clemmons' mental health that they asked to have him evaluated at Western State Hospital. Earlier this month, on Nov. 6, a psychologist concluded that Clemmons was competent to stand trial on the child-rape and other felony charges, according to court records.

Clemmons moved Washington in 2004, after being released from prison in Arkansas, state Department of Corrections records indicate. That would mean he had gone five years or so before landing in serious trouble with authorities here, according to a review of his criminal record. Clemmons started Sea-Wash Pressure Washing Landscaping with his wife, Nicole Smith, in October 2005. The license for the business expired last month.

Update - 8:15 pm MST: IMO Huckabee can kiss any presidential aspirations good bye.

Maurice Clemmons received a 35-year sentence in the early 1990s for armed robbery and theft. His sentence was commuted in May 2000, and he was let out three months later.  The following March, Clemmons committed two armed robberies and other crimes and was sentenced to 10 years. You'd think they'd keep him locked up after that, but no: He was paroled last March and is now wanted for aggravated robbery.

Update - 8 pm MST: Oh fudge. Looks like we lost our KIRO live feed now, too. You know the drill. I'll be back when I find another live feed - maybe for the late night newscasts.

Update - 7:57 pm MST:  More about Clemmons:

Records indicate Clemmons has been a Western Washington resident since 2002, when he moved to Seattle's Queen Anne neighborhood before relocating to South Seattle, then to Federal Way before settling in Tacoma. Neighbors described Clemmons as a quiet and paranoid man. They claimed Clemmons has installed cameras all around his home in Tacoma. "About 12 cameras, I think, in the bushes, around the house. Very paranoid," said one neighbor. Neighbors said they knew Clemmons had been in trouble with the law in his past, but they were shocked to discover he was being sought in connection to the deaths of the four Lakewood police officers.

Update - 7:43 pm MST:  More about the controversial Arkansas pardon program that let Maurice Clemmons roam free.  From the Arkansas Blog:

My source says the man wanted for questioning is believed to be the same Maurice Clemmons as an Arkansas ex-con with an extensive record of armed robbery who became a subject of some controversy for political reasons. That Maurice Clemmons was among those who became controversial for having received a commuted sentence from then-Gov. Mike Huckabee in 2000 (of a 35-year armed robbery sentence), then went on to commit other crimes. This has the potential of making Wayne Dumond look like a small-timer

Here's what Garrick Feldman wrote in the Arkansas Leader of Huckabee clemencies, including action on Maurice Clemmons. Here's one court case I've dug up in which there was testimony about Clemmons' actions seemingly directed at doing harm to the trial judge in one of his criminal cases.

Update - 7:30 pm MST:   Meanwhile, back at the SWAT team entry into Maurice Clemmons house - KIRO is reporting that the house is still being searched. About the recovered vehicle - a car associated with Maurice Clemmons has been recovered in the Parkland area - that car has been sought in conjunction with the investigation all day.

Update 7:25 pm MST - The police procession accompanying the fallen officers has begun. Live pics at KIRO. Very somber, dignified and sad.

Update - 7:20 pm MST: The police statement on person of interest, Mark Clemmons (please note correct spelling):

The Pierce County Sheriff's Department has identified a person of interest in the November 29, 2009, murder of four Lakewood Police officers. The person of interest is Maurice Clemmons, a 37 year old black male from the Parkland area of Pierce County. Clemmons is 5'8" tall, 235 lbs., with black hair, brown eyes, and a mole on his left cheek. Clemmons has extensive violent criminal history from Arkansas, including aggravated robbery and theft. He has also recently been arrested and charged in Pierce County for Assault 3rd on a Police Officer and for Rape of a Child. Clemmons should be considered armed and extremely dangerous. If the public has any information on his whereabouts, call any tips to the Sheriff's Department tip line at 1-866-977-2362.

KIRO on scene reporter at prayer vigil - there was room for 3000 inside and there's a large crowd outside.  The vigil has a personal connection to the victims - many Lakeland PD officers worship there.  It's slated to go on for some time.  Dress warm and bring a candle should you decide to go.  (Slide show here.)

Update - 7:13 pm MST: Holy cow. A SWAT team has entered Maurice Clemens home looking for him and KIRO is live on the scene. A vehicle that was on the scene this morning has been recovered and the vehicle is associated with Maurice Clemens. The search continues room by room. More on the Huckabee pardon:  It was a first degree robbery charge and he was pardoned by a controversial pardon program instituted by then Arkansas governor, Huckabee.

Update - 7:10 pm MST: The victims are -

Lakewood Police Chief Bret Farrar publicly identified the four slain police officers after an extensive and very difficult notification process. "All four of our slain officers had been with this department since it started five years ago. Sergeant Mark Renninger and Officers Ronald Owens, Tina Griswold, and Greg Richards were police veterans when they started and all have been outstanding professionals. This is a very difficult time for our families and our officers. The families will have many challenges ahead of them and we ask that their privacy be respected. Please keep our families and Lakewood Police in your prayers."

Hold up - a person of interest has been identified?  A Mr. Maurice Clemens (I think)?  A 37 year old - has long rap sheet including a conviction for assaulting a police officer and rape of a child in the 2nd degree.  He was to have been sentenced as a persistent offender - basically three strikes - you serve life without parole.  He was believed to have been at the coffee house.  His wife said her husband had been "acting crazy".  If you have any information about where Maurice Clemens is call 911.   He is armed and dangerous and get this - was pardoned by Governor Huckabee for crimes in Arkansas.  Go to the link for the latest.  It's breaking fast.

Police have identified a person of interest in the fatal shootings of four Lakewood police officers.

Ed Troyer of the Pierce County Sheriff's Office said they are looking for Maurice Clemens.Troyer said evidence leads police to believe that Clemens was in the area of the shootings. He has a lengthy criminal history.

Update - 6:50 pm MST:  Bingo.  KIRO has live in depth coverage here.  A lot of new information coming in.  The police procession is being formed to escort the victims to the Medical Examiner's office.  At least one officer will be with each victim at all times as a show of respect.  The Forza coffee shops are accepting donations for the victims at each of their coffee shops.   100's and 100's of people at tonight's prayer vigil - says reporter on scene.  Dial it in if you can. 

Update - 5:54 pm MST:  Ruh-roh. Chopper Pilot, News Director could be charged with police interference in Lakewood Cop Killings.  (Now, I'm feeling guilty for watching KING 5's excellent live coverage this afternoon.  They were all over this story and now they're in trouble!)

Tension between police investigating the fatal shooting of four police officers at a Washington coffee shop and the media attempting to cover the unfolding investigation were evident Sunday afternoon when a police spokesperson announced charges may be filed against a television station for alleged interference.

Ed Troyer, spokesperson for the Pierce County Sheriff's Department, accused the pilot of a television news helicopter and the news director of KING Channel 5 in Seattle for interfering in the fatal shooting investigation of four Lakewood police officers, who were gunned down shortly before their shifts by an unidentified suspect at a coffee shop earlier that morning.

Update - 5:35 pm MST: Until I can find another live feed here is the latest report from Sheriff/Detective/Spokesman Troyer announcing the news that the suspect is believed to be wounded.

Update - 4:55 pm MST:  Fiddle dee dee, FReepers. It looks like we're losing KOMO's live coverage, too.  (Off to see if I can find another live news feed.) 

Update - 4:50 pm MST: Although Detective Troyer has been quick to discount a gang connection to the ambush, there is a history of gang revenge directed at the Lakewood PD:

On July 30, 2009 a Lakewood police officer's personal car was spray painted with gang tags and set on fire, according to the News Tribune. The car was parked at the officer's house and was painted with gang tags, then set on fire about 10:45 p.m. Gang tags were also spray painted on the officer's driveway. The officer was in his home at the time, but no injuries were reported by Lakewood Police. His police car was parked next to his personal car and suffered minor heat damage. The officer had spray painted over gang graffiti in his neighborhood, according to Lakewood Assistant Police Chief Mike Zaro. He did not rule out that it could have been a random act of vandalism after someone spotted a police car parked in the driveway.

Update - 4:40 pm MST - Live on KOMO News Radio:  Detective Ed Troyer  - Authorities are now looking for someone with a fresh gunshot wound or an injury.  Based on investigation they now believe one victim was able to wrestle with the perpetrator and that shots were fired by one of the policeman.  There's a possibility the suspect was injured.  Surveillance video has been obtained from multiple locations.  It is still believed the suspect fled on foot. The crime scene is still being processed.  Eyewitnesses are still being interviewed.  Their recounting of events is consistent with this scenario.  ATF is on scene. 

Update 4:35 pm MST: KOMO reporter still on scene - he's describing it as very active. The medical examiner is due to be on scene within the hour - at that time the victims will be removed from the scene.  Hundreds of law enforcement agents are in the Parkland area, working together to catch the suspect.

Update - 4:20 pm MST: Toll free tip line 866-977-2362. Locals call Crimestoppers at 253-591-5959.  (There is a $10000 reward for information.)  The Lakewood Police Guild has established a benevolent fund for the victims families.  You can find information here.

Miscellaneous follow up: The suspect taken into custody in Parkland and referenced down thread is related to the earlier 911 prank call - what a dope.  I hope they throw the book at him:

Police took a man into custody at a Parkland house nearby after he apparently called 911, claiming to be the shooter. But the man was not linked to the crime, Troyer said.

It's still an active investigation.

At least a dozen officers also have surrounded another nearby house. Three cars were parked in the driveway but there was no indication whether anyone was inside the property.

[...]

Police seized a white pickup parked in a nearby parking lot and took it away on a flatbed truck.

Update: 3:20 pm MST:  A vigil for the slain officers will be held this evening at the Champions Centre in Tacoma at 6 pm PST.  The public is invited.

Update - 3:07 pm MST: Rats, lost the KING 5 live feed. KOMO radio is providing continuous live coverage and can be found here.  Now the search has moved to a nearby public storage facility where another individual has been frisked and cuffed.  A heavy police presence is being maintained at the site.

Update - 2:00 pm MST:  Interesting to note that the Forza Coffee shop is owned by a retired cop:

The Forza Coffee Shop, part of a popular local chain, is on a side street near McChord Air Force Base in Tacoma, about 35 miles south of Seattle. The shop is in a small retail center alongside two restaurants, a cigar store and a nail salon. Brad Carpenter, founder and owner of Forza Coffee, said his staff was OK and being interviewed by police, and that his main concern was with the families of the police officers. "I'm a retired police officer, so this really hits close to home for me," he said.

Update - 1:45 pm MST: Detective Troyer w/ live briefing per KING 5. Law enforcement is still chasing down leads and tracking video from multiple sources.  They are keeping an eye on several locations, several vehicles. Detectives remain with the witnesses and customers present in the coffee shop at the time of the shooting.  Explorer scouts are doing ground searches. No weapons have been found and a handgun is believed to have been used in the ambush.  Lakewood Police chief is currently visiting the families of the victims.

Update - 1:29 pm MST: Per KING 5 - suspect taken in custody at 133rd and C in Parkland (I believe) remains in the back of the police cruiser.

Update - 12:55 pm MST: You can watch live coverage here at King 5.  They are reporting someone has been taken in custody in Parkland approx 2 blocks away from where the purported getaway vehicle was found.  A police briefing is slated to be held shortly.  From the Briefing:  Sheriff speaking now.  No new information forthcoming.  Prank 911 call just came in and caused a law enforcement scramble.  Still checking down multiple leads about the getaway vehicle and second suspect.   

Update - 12:40 pm MST: Per The Daily Weekly the three male and one female officers were all from the Lakewood Police Dept.  The four were in full uniform, wearing bullet-proof vests.

Update - 12:20 pm MST: Tips can be called in to 253-591-5959.  Additional details on the suspect:

A black male 20-30 years of age

Medium build, scruffy appearance

Black coat, gray hooded sweatshirt worn under the coat, blue jeans.

Update - 12:10 pm MST:  Scruffy looking individual and possible accomplice being sought.

All four were pronounced dead by medics inside Forza Coffee at 11410 Steele Street South, said Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer.  "It's carnage out front everywhere," Troyer said, describing the front of the coffee shop. "It's like a bad horror movie, it's horrible."

The names of the officers, all of whom were in uniforms, were not released until relatives are notified.Most of the officers worked for the same agency, Troyer said. But the agencies weren't disclosed. Three of the four officers have been identified and investigators were unsure of the identify of the fourth, Troyer said.

Troyer said police were searching for a black man in his 20s or 30s, between 5-feet-7 inches and 5-feet-10-inches, who fled the scene. The man was wearing a black coat and blue jeans, Troyer said.

A second suspect might have been with the man, Troyer said.

Interesting to note: 

Detectives were preparing search warrants for multiple locations, he said.

The shootings come about a month after the killing of Seattle Police Officer Timothy Brenton, who was gunned down while sitting his patrol car Oct. 31.

Original post:  WHAT?

From Fox News:

Four police officers were shot dead in an ambush at a Washington state coffee house, a sheriff's official said Sunday. The attack occurred near McChord Air Force Base in Parkland, Wash.

Pierce County Sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer tells Seattle's KOMO-TV that the officers were hit near 116th Street and Steele Street on the east side of the Air Force base at about 8:30 a.m. local time.

The officers were shot at Forza Coffee, the News Tribune of Tacoma reported.

Troyer told The News Tribune in Tacoma that the officers were sitting in the coffee shop with their computers when the shooter came in Sunday morning.

He says investigators believe the officers were targeted, and it was not a robbery.

Troyer tells the newspaper "it was just a flat out ambush."

He could not immediately say what agency the officers were from.

Swiss voters just say no to Minarets

From al Beeb:

Swiss voters have supported a referendum proposal to ban the building of minarets, official results show.  More than 57% of voters and 22 out of 26 cantons - or provinces - voted in favour of the ban.

The proposal had been put forward by the Swiss People's Party, (SVP), the largest party in parliament, which says minarets are a sign of Islamisation.

The government opposed the ban, saying it would harm Switzerland's image, particularly in the Muslim world.

The BBC's Imogen Foulkes, in Bern, says the surprise result is very bad news for the Swiss government which also fears unrest among the Muslim community.

And what do you know - the feminists even supported this ban calling the minarets 'male power symbols and "reminders of Islam's oppression of women"!  Women lead Swiss in vote to ban minarets:

A poll suggested the Swiss would narrowly reject a ban but the feminist involvement is having an effect: according to one poll, 39% of women were in favour of a ban, but only 31% of men.

Tatiana, a teacher who had previously voted for the left, was quoted in a newspaper as saying she would vote for the minaret ban as she could “no longer bear being mistreated and terrorised by boys who believe women are worthless”.

Socialist politicians have been furious to see icons of the left joining what is regarded as an anti-immigrant campaign by the populist Swiss People’s party, the biggest group in parliament.

One of them, Julia Onken, warned that failure to ban minarets would be “a signal of the state’s acceptance of the oppression of women”. She has sent out 4,000 emails attacking Muslims who condone forced marriage, honour killings and beating women.

Hey - let's not forget how Muslim women are shuttled off to the basement and kept segregated from men during their 'worship services'.  What's up with that?