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Rep Scott Garrett meets with Jon Stewart to discuss the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act

Scott Garrett and Jon Stewart
September 25,2015

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Earlier this month Rep Scott Garrett meet with 9/11 activist Jon Stewart to discuss the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, created to help fist responders and survivors of the 9/11 terror attacks.

Garrett had remarked on 9/11 ,” It has been 14 years since a horrific Tuesday morning in September forever changed the lives of every American. While the scars will always remain, we will never forget.

We will never forget those we lost. We will never forget those who ran into danger to help their fellow man and woman. We will never forget that evil forces still conspire to destroy our very way of life. And we will never forget those who sacrifice everything to defend our freedom.”

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Garrett went on , “In the midst of chaos, in our hour of need, brave first responders saw the horrors of the September 11th terrorist attacks unfold before them, and they ran toward the danger to help their fellow man and woman. Today, they need us, and I’m proud to once again extend my gratitude to these heroes by urging my colleagues to support the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act.

Thanks to Jon Stewart, a longtime advocate for this cause, my Congressional colleagues, and the 9/11 first responders who came to Washington, D.C. today to spread the word about this important legislation.

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Iran Nuclear deal angers families of Iran terror victims

sh-iraniancrisis

SEPTEMBER 14, 2015, 10:40 PM    LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2015, 7:11 AM
BY MIKE KELLY
RECORD COLUMNIST |
THE RECORD

It is considered a footnote in the contentious debate over the Iran nuclear deal.

But for the families of several New Jersey residents who were killed years ago in Iran-sponsored attacks, the deal’s promised return to Iran of billions of dollars in assets that were frozen years ago is nothing less than a blow to the war on terror.

Estimates of the amount of money in play range from $50 billion to about $150 billon, with opponents of the deal more likely to cite a higher figure. Many victims’ families looked to the frozen funds as a potential target — if an elusive one — to collect in court judgments against Iran for its role in planning terrorist attacks dating to the 1980s.

Supporters of the deal, however, say that the attempt by victims of terrorism to tap into the frozen assets is misguided and a back-door attempt to derail implementation of the accord, which the Obama administration says will prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb. Much of the money is already committed to paying other bills in Iran’s oil trade with Asian and European nations.

Regardless, the fate of the money has emerged as a dividing point in the debate over the deal — and future dealings with Iran.

“It’s a nightmare,” said Stephen Flatow of West Orange, whose 20-year-old daughter, Alisa, was killed in an Iranian-financed bus bombing in the Gaza Strip in 1995.

That event sparked Flatow’s nearly two-decade court battle to punish Iran by tapping into its financial holdings in America and across the world.

Along with Flatow, the families of American victims killed in dozens of terror attacks across the Middle East may lose out on the chance to collect as much as $20 billion in outstanding court judgments if Iran is able to recover all of its financial holdings that were frozen under international economic sanctions, some of which were imposed as punishment for those terrorist activities.

“This is about bills owed, payment owed,” said Arline Duker of Teaneck, whose 22-year-old daughter, Sara, was killed in another Iran-backed bus bombing in Jerusalem in 1996. Duker later followed Flatow in filing a lawsuit against Iran.

“These are not about new sanctions,” she said “This is about payment of a debt. The whole idea is for Iran to acknowledge what it did.”

The debate over Iran’s leading role in sponsoring terrorism dates back decades to a period when Iranian-backed terrorist proxies such as the Hezbollah group in Lebanon and Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank regularly attacked U.S. targets.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/kelly-nuclear-deal-angers-families-of-iran-terror-victims-1.1409790

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Iran says finds unexpectedly high uranium reserve

middle-east-shouts-death-to-america

Reuters – 7 hours ago

DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran has discovered an unexpectedly high reserve of uranium and will soon begin extracting the radioactive element at a new mine, the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation said on Saturday.

The comments cast doubt on previous assessments from some Western analysts who said the country had a low supply and would sooner or later would need to import uranium, the raw material needed for its nuclear program.

Any indication Iran could become more self-sufficient will be closely watched by world powers, which reached a landmark deal with Tehran in July over its program. They had feared the nuclear activities were aimed at acquiring the capability to produce atomic weapons – something denied by Tehran.

“I cannot announce (the level of) Iran’s uranium mine reserves. The important thing is that before aerial prospecting for uranium ores we were not too optimistic, but the new discoveries have made us confident about our reserves,” Iranian nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA.

Salehi said uranium exploration had covered almost two-thirds of Iran and would be complete in the next four years.

Uranium can be used for civilian power production and scientific purposes, but is also a key ingredient in nuclear weapons.

The July deal between Iran and world powers will lift international sanctions on Iran in exchange for at least a decade of curbs on the country’s nuclear activity.

After decades of efforts, Iran – which has consistently said its program is for peaceful purposes – has achieved a full nuclear fuel cycle, ranging from the extraction of uranium ore to enrichment and production of fuel rods for nuclear reactors.

Sanctions on companies taking part in Iran’s uranium mining industry will be lifted when the agreement is implemented.

Salehi said uranium extraction was set to begin at a new mine in the central province of Yazd, according to IRNA.

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/iran-says-finds-unexpectedly-high-uranium-104622948.html

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9/11 crowds thinning, but memorial service still vital

September-11-Remembrance-in-Ridgewood_theridgewoodblog

file photo by ArtChick https://artchickphotography.com/

It has been 14 years since a horrific Tuesday morning in September forever changed the lives of every American. While the scars will always remain, we will never forget.

We will never forget those we lost. We will never forget those who ran into danger to help their fellow man and woman. We will never forget that evil forces still conspire to destroy our very way of life. And we will never forget those who sacrifice everything to defend our freedom.

May God give comfort and peace to those who mourn loved ones today, and may God bless the United States of America.

Rep Scott Garrett

SEPTEMBER 10, 2015, 11:31 PM    LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2015, 11:46 PM
BY MIKE KELLY
RECORD COLUMNIST |
THE RECORD

Time moves on. Tom and Josephine Acquaviva of Wayne know that all too well..

He’s 81 now; she’s 76.

But today, as they have every year since Sept. 11, 2001, they will make their way to the World Trade Center site in lower Manhattan to hear two words:

Paul Acquaviva – the name of their son who died that day.

Commemorating 9/11 is an annual rite steeped in tradition. It is also a deeply personal ritual that helps many connect in a simple but meaningful way to the tragedy of that day and its human toll.

Each year at the Memorial Plaza that surrounds the acre-sized footprints of the World Trade Center towers, the names of each of the nearly 3,000 victims who perished on 9/11 are slowly read.

It is a solemn, three-hour ritual that evokes not only the sheer scope of the tragedy, but also how the 9/11 attacks touched so many diverse corners of America.

Names of janitors and waiters are recited along with those of stockbrokers and lawyers. There are immigrants from Africa and those whose families had lived in America for a century or more — an ethnic kaleidoscope that includes an “Adams” and an “Abad” in the first minutes and a “Zhao” and a “Zukelman” at the end.

But while the ceremony’s rhythms have become familiar to most of us, it has also become distressingly obvious in recent years that the size of the crowd — nearly 10,000 for the early ceremonies — has dwindled. In recent years, only about 100 people have lingered near the stage as the last names were read.

Like many victims’ relatives, Tom and Josephine Acquaviva say they have watched with sadness as the crowds have thinned. But they vow to stay as long as they can.

“No question about it, it’s gotten smaller,” said Tom. “But we can’t |forget.”

https://www.northjersey.com/news/kelly-9-11-crowds-thinning-but-memorial-service-still-vital-1.1407497

September 11th ,2001 Attack on America

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/attack-on-america?cmpid=Social_FBPAGE_HISTORY_20150911_233621934&linkId=16956049

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Iran’s Supreme Leader Says Israel Won’t Exist in 25 Years

Iran’s Supreme Leader

By THOMAS ERDBRINKSEPT. 9, 2015

TEHRAN — Iran’s supreme leader predicted Wednesday that Israelwould not exist in 25 years, and ruled out any new negotiations with the “Satan,” the United States, beyond the recently completed nuclear accord.

In remarks published Wednesday on his personal website and in posts on Twitter, the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, responded to what he said were claims that Israel would be safe for that period under the nuclear agreement reached in July.

“After nuclear negotiations, the Zionist regime said that they will not be worried about Iran in the next 25 years,” Ayatollah Khameneiwrote. “I am telling you, first, you will not be around in 25 years’ time, and God willing, there will be no Zionist regime in 25 years. Second, during this period, the spirit of fighting, heroism and jihad will keep you worried every moment.”

Ayatollah Khamenei also emphasized, as he had in past months, that he would not allow any new negotiations with the United States. Politically moderate government officials, including the foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, have raised the possibility of discussing a solution for the war in Syria with the United States and its allies

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/10/world/middleeast/iran-ayatollah-khamenei-israel-will-not-exist.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=0

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September 11th – Ridgewood Remembers Our Neighbors and Friends

911_theridgewoodblog

For the month of September, “Portraits” of the 12 residents Ridgewood lost in the Trade Center attack on September 11, 2001, will be displayed in the Ridgewood Library Auditorium which is open 7 days a week.

All are invited to visit this exhibit to reflect and remember –

September 11 Remembrance in Ridgewood theridgewoodblog.net

Richard Blood; Michael Carroll; Daniel McGinley; James Munhall; Charlie Murphy; Steven Paterson; Michael San Phillip; Bruce Simmons; Steven Strobert; Gina Sztejnberg; Jon Vandevander; and Christopher Wodenshek.

Mass at 7 p.m. at Mount Carmel Church, Passaic and Prospect streets.

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Al Qaeda Mag Urges Attack on Koch Brothers, Buffett, Bloomberg

Buffett and Obama

SEP 9 2015, 4:16 PM ET
by ROBERT WINDREM and TRACY CONNOR

A notorious al Qaeda magazine is encouraging lone-wolf terrorist attacks on U.S. economic leaders, including Bill Gates, Michael Bloomberg and Warren Buffett.

The list in Inspire magazine also included industrialist brothers Charles and David Koch, internet entrepreneur Larry Ellison, and casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. A prominent economist was also on the list but asked that his name be withheld. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke was named, though not Janet Yellen, who succeeded him.

Also pictured was Jim Walton, one of the heirs to the Wal-Mart fortune, although he was misidentified in the caption as his late father, Sam Walton. Several other names on the list were misspelled.

The slickly produced magazine article begins with a photo illustration showing blood-spattered pictures of several of the leaders next to a dripping gun. Its stated goal is to derail the “revival of the America Economy.”

The article says the “economic personalities” and “wealthy entrepreneurs” can get off the list by withdrawing their money from U.S. banks, investing their wealth outside American soil, and denouncing support for Israel.

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Levin: ‘Radical Muslim Extremists, Muslim Terrorists, Muslim Jihadis Are Like the Nazis’

New York Yankees v Boston Red Sox

By Michael Morris | August 26, 2015 | 1:07 PM EDT

Nationally syndicated radio show host Mark Levin called out ESPN on his radio show Tuesday for not providing an explanation as to why Curt Schilling was pulled from the coverage of the Little League World Series.

According to Sporting News, Curt Schilling, former MLB All-Star, was pulled from covering “the Little League World Series following a controversial tweet comparing Muslim Extremists to german Nazis.”

“Now, why would he be suspended for this?” asked Levin. “Are there Muslim groups or Muslims who disagree with Curt Schilling? Are they defending the terrorists, their conduct, their slaughter of other Muslims and their slaughter of Christians, Yazidees and Kurds and Jews? What exactly is the protest here?

Earlier in the show Levin had the following to say about Radical Muslim Extremists: “Radical Muslim Extremists, Muslim Terrorists, Muslim Jihadis are like the Nazis. They say things like the Nazis. They do things like the Nazis. It’s controversial to point that out?”

https://www.cnsnews.com/blog/michael-morris/levin-radical-muslim-extremists-muslim-terrorists-muslim-jihadis-are-nazis?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=cns&utm_term=facebook&utm_content=facebook&utm_campaign=b-levin-extremists-like-nazis

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Obama Ordered Flags to Half Mast for Newtown, But Not 5 Military Personnel Murdered in Tenn.

half mast flag

By Brittany M. Hughes | July 20, 2015 | 1:48 PM EDT

(CNSNews.com) – As of Monday morning, July 20, the U.S. flag continued to fly at the top of the pole above the White House and at the U.S. Capitol building, five days after a gunman launched attacks in which he murdered five U.S. military personnel at facilities in Chattanooga, Tenn.

President Barack Obama has yet to order the flags to half-staff following this tragedy. By contrast, in 2012, President Obama did order the flags flown at half-staff on the same day  as the shootings at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

Last Thursday, 24-year-old Mohammod Abdulazeez, armed with multiple weapons, opened fire at a local military recruiting center before continuing his rampage at the nearby Navy Operational Support Center and Marine Corps Reserve Center Chattanooga.

https://cnsnews.com/news/article/brittany-m-hughes/obama-ordered-flags-half-mast-newtown-not-5-military-personnel?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=cns&utm_term=facebook&utm_content=facebook&utm_campaign=n-flags-half-mast

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AFTER 9/11, LESSONS UNLEARNED

US-ATTACKS-9/11-ANNIVERSARY

by Elan Journo | September 11, 2014

Thirteen years have passed since jihadists rammed jetliners into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania. Doubtless the images of the Twin Towers collapsing are indelible, and the toll in human life was achingly massive. In time, though, memory fades. By themselves, our impressions of the past are insufficient to guide our thinking and action. We need consciously to identify lessons from our experience.

What should we learn? Here are three crucial lessons, still unlearned.

Lesson #1: America’s selfless foreign policy encouraged Islamist aggression.

Writing days after the attacks, Leonard Peikoff explained that: “Fifty years of increasing American appeasement in the Mideast have led to fifty years of increasing contempt in the Muslim world for the U.S. The climax was September 11, 2001.” My talk, “The Road to 9/11,” looks at several episodes of pre-9/11 Islamist aggression and the self-effacing responses of the Carter, George H.W. Bush, and Clinton Administrations. Standing apart from conventional thinking, ARI advocates for a foreign policy guided by the moral ideal of rational egoism, a policy that resolutely protects the lives and freedom of Americans.

What does that look like? Peter Schwartz’s monograph, The Foreign Policy of Self-Interest: A Moral Ideal for America lays out what an egoist approach looks like in theory and practice (purchase Kindle ebook or paperback). My book, Winning the Unwinnable War: America’s Self-Crippled Response to Islamic Totalitarianism, analyses the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and applies Ayn Rand’s ethics to foreign policy, defining a path to victory against the enemy. (Read the introduction.)

Lesson #2. The enemy is not just Bin Laden, or Al Qaeda, but the Islamist movement.

“Know your enemy” is a necessary condition for figuring out how to defeat the threat. Tragically, neither before nor after 9/11 did American policymakers understand the enemy. It is hopelessly superficial to think of the enemy as “terrorists” (many groups use that tactic) or “haters” or “hijackers of a great religion,” or Al Qaeda, etc. Bin Laden has been dead three-plus years, and Al Qaeda has been damaged — but clearly the threat persists.

 

 

https://ari.aynrand.org/issues/foreign-policy/middle-east/After-911-Lessons-Unlearned#filter-bar

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Pew: Huge spike in Americans ‘very concerned’ about domestic Islamic extremism

Youssef Abdulazeez

By PAUL BEDARD • 7/17/15 10:24 AM

Even before the killing of four Marines in Chattanooga, Tenn., in an “act of terrorism,” Americans revealed a deep concern about Islamic extremism and a very high worry about ISIS, according to the latest poll from Pew Research.

Some 53 percent, more than the average in the non-Islamic world, said they are “very concerned” about Islamic extremism in the United States, said Pew.

While the numbers were lower than for some countries in Europe that have experienced domestic Islamic terrorism, they were much higher than a few years ago. In 2011, for example, 32 percent told Pew that they were very concerned.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/pew-huge-spike-in-americans-very-concerned-about-domestic-islamic-extremism/article/2568471#.VakcGbNiffY.facebook

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Officials: 2 military facilities attacked in Tennessee

Youssef Abdulazeez

The shooter also was killed. Law enforcement sources told CBS News that the shooting suspect was identified as 24-year-old Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez. According to a U.S. law enforcement source, Abdulazeez was born in Kuwait and came to the United States in 1996. It’s unclear if and when he became an American citizen https://www.cbsnews.com/news/report-police-officer-shot-near-tennessee-army-recruiting-center/

Officials: 2 military facilities attacked in Tennessee

Jul 16, 2:40 PM (ET)

By LUCAS L. JOHNSON

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) — At least one gunman unleashed a barrage of gunfire at two military facilities Thursday in Tennessee, sending troops scrambling for safety in an Army recruiting office, officials said.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam said “lives have been lost from some faithful people who are serving our country,” though he did not say how many people were killed or wounded.

Chattanooga police said in a tweet Thursday afternoon that the active shooter situation was over, though there was no word on what had happened to the suspect or suspects.

Mayor Andy Berke said at a news conference that there’s “an officer down” at a military reserve center. He did not release any other details. Berke called it a “very terrible situation.

https://apnews.myway.com/article/20150716/us–chattanooga_shooting-260b6ea385.html

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Terror Suspect Arrested In NJ; NYPD On High Alert For July 4 Fireworks

Macys fireworks theridgewoodblog.net 1

June 29, 2015 11:23 PM

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — Another suspected member of a reportedly ISIS radicalized terror cell was arrested in New Jersey Monday, as the metropolitan area goes on hyper-alert for the threat of an attack during the Fourth of July holiday.

As CBS2 Political Reporter Marcia Kramer reported Monday, experts said they think the terror threats are very real, because ISIS is actively trying to radicalize people in the Tri-State Area.

Among those radicalized people, according to authorities, was Alaa Saadeh – the 23-year-old West New York, New Jersey man arrested Monday. He was believed to be part of a group interested in detonating a pressure cooker bomb at a New York landmark.

Authorities charged Saadeh with conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State militant organization and witness tampering. They said he tried to persuade a witness to lie to the FBI.

https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2015/06/29/terrorism-arrest-concerns/

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West New York man arrested for allegedly conspiring with ISIL

ISIS_theridgewoodblog

A Hudson County man was arrested at his home this morning for allegedly conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a designated foreign terrorist organization, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman of the District of New Jersey (pictured), Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin, and Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel of the FBI’s Newark Division announced.

Alaa Saadeh, 23, of West New York, is charged by complaint with conspiring with other individuals in New Jersey and New York to provide services and personnel to ISIL, aiding and abetting an attempt to provide services and personnel to ISIL, and attempting to persuade a witness to lie to the FBI. He is scheduled to appear this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cathy L. Waldor in Newark federal court.  (Pizarro/PolitickerNJ)

West New York man arrested for allegedly conspiring with ISIL | New Jersey News, Politics, Opinion, and Analysis

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Congress slow to authorize ISIS fight

Iraq ISIS Abu Wahe 2941936b

JUNE 28, 2015, 10:19 PM    LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, JUNE 28, 2015, 10:21 PM
BY HERB JACKSON
RECORD COLUMNIST  |
THE RECORD

Swept into power by Tea Party-inspired crowds demanding stricter adherence to the Constitution, the Republican-controlled Congress has decided not to exercise one of the powers clearly given to the legislative branch by the Founding Fathers: the power to declare war.

Even when there is overwhelming support, resolutions authorizing military force are never simple, as members know they are making choices that history will prove to be right or wrong. Debates can last days, as nearly every lawmaker gets his or her say before voting.

But in the case of the battle against the group known as the Islamic State, ISIS or ISIL, congressional leaders seem to be content to let President Obama operate without a specific authorization.

Opinion appears divided, with some in Congress wanting a more aggressive response than Obama has provided to date, and others wanting to see a clear endgame before endorsing an extension of what has already been nearly 14 years of war in Iraq.

So far, the push for Congress to debate these questions, however, has come from a minority that includes strict adherents to the Constitution, like Republican Rep. Scott Garrett, and lawmakers who regret their votes to invade Iraq more than a decade ago, like Democratic Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/jackson-congress-slow-to-authorize-isis-fight-1.1364841