Yet Another Example Of Why Not To Trust Gov't Food Guidance

Say cheese! Or not.

Then help arrived from an organization called Dairy Management. It teamed up with Domino’s to develop a new line of pizzas with 40 percent more cheese, and proceeded to devise and pay for a $12 million marketing campaign.

Consumers devoured the cheesier pizza, and sales soared by double digits. “This partnership is clearly working,” Brandon Solano, the Domino’s vice president for brand innovation, said in a statement to The New York Times.

But as healthy as this pizza has been for Domino’s, one slice contains as much as two-thirds of a day’s maximum recommended amount of saturated fat, which has been linked to heart disease and is high in calories.

And Dairy Management, which has made cheese its cause, is not a private business consultant. It is a marketing creation of the United States Department of Agriculture — the same agency at the center of a federal anti-obesity drive that discourages over-consumption of some of the very foods Dairy Management is vigorously promoting.

Urged on by government warnings about saturated fat, Americans have been moving toward low-fat milk for decades, leaving a surplus of whole milk and milk fat. Yet the government, through Dairy Management, is engaged in an effort to find ways to get dairy back into Americans’ diets, primarily through cheese.

Americans now eat an average of 33 pounds of cheese a year, nearly triple the 1970 rate. Cheese has become the largest source of saturated fat; an ounce of many cheeses contains as much saturated fat as a glass of whole milk.

Is it any wonder that people have no idea what they should eat or what quantity is healthy?

People need to realize that the government simply doesn't know what is best and that the best option on food is to eat reasonable portions and a varied and balanced diet.

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Major Breakthroughs In Cancer Research May Lead To Improved Life Expectancy and Prevention

Scientists have long tried to figure out how and why cancer develops and they may have come across a cell that helps the cancer to survive. It contains some kind of mechanism that enables cancer cells to avoid being targeted by the immune system.

Despite repeated attempts to create a cancer vaccine, none has proved fully effective.

Now scientists at Cambridge University have discovered why.

A successful vaccine works by priming the body’s immune system to attack disease.

But the researchers have pinpointed a cell type in cancer victims that prevents the body’s immune system from killing tumours.

Mice which were bred without this cell were able to fight off cancer with their immune system.

The team say they now need to identify what this cell does to block the immune system and then see if they can halt this process without causing any other damage to the body. After that it should be possible to create a working vaccine.

They've got a long way to go before they can develop a vaccine, but this is a step in the right direction. Other researchers are focusing on perforin, a protein that is critical to cell development and maintenance.

At the same time, another team of scientists has found that a combination of drugs has a tremendous effect on reducing secondary melanomas (skin cancers). Still another team of scientists has found that use of spiral CT scans can improve detection (and hence survivability) for lung cancers. Early detection is key to survival rates as the more advanced a cancer is, the more likely it has metastasized and spread to other parts of the body.

It's one of the reasons that pancreatic cancer is so deadly - usually by the time a patient is symptomatic, there's not much that can be done. If scientists can find a way to test patients for symptoms of the disease, they could intervene much sooner and improve the odds of survival.

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New York Budget Again Shows Midyear Deficits Because Of Overly Optimistic Estimates

Once again, New York is facing a significant midyear budget deficit. And again, the problem stems from overly optimistic revenue budget projections. With the economy sputtering along and wishful thinking that the courts would support New York's attempt to tax Native American tribal sales of tobacco products, the state is finding itself in the hole for at least $300 million and quite likely closer to $1 billion before the end of the calendar year.

In addition to the current budget deficit, a fiscal update earlier in the week revealed the potential gap for the 2011-12 fiscal year would grow from $8.2 billion to $9 billion if action isn't taken. The new fiscal year begins April 1.

Budget Director Robert Megna said the newly widened gap was a product of slightly lower-than-anticipated tax revenue and a recession-driven increase in New Yorkers signing up for Medicaid. The program's caseload has gone from 4.2 million in 2007 to 4.9 million this year.

Megna noted that, in addition to flat income tax revenue, a court case against stepped-up collection of taxes on tobacco sales on Indian reservations has meant the state will have to go without $150 million of expected funds.

Megna said the state needs to cut $315 million. Paterson, however, hopes to cut $375 million in order to create a cushion for possible future shortfalls. To do that, he wants to rely on a variation of the "FMAP Contingency Plan" the administration developed to address a possible absence of federal Medicaid money earlier this year.

Although that shortfall wasn't as bad as anticipated, the plan involved across-the-board cuts of 1.5 percent to 2 percent to a wide variety of programs.

So what do lawmakers and others think of making cuts between now and the end of the year?

One observer noted that lame-duck lawmakers -- pivotal in the closely divided Senate -- might not want to make cuts they deem harmful. "There's no urgent incentive for them to pass anything in a lame-duck session," remarked Kyle Kotary, a consultant and former Senate Democratic spokesman.

And many of those who will be in office next year could be predisposed to wait and see what Gov.-elect Andrew Cuomo has in mind.

The state continued to push spending increases and refused to trim the budget in areas that it simply could not sustain.

No one in the Legislature nor Governor Paterson sought to keep spending contained and to deal with the Medicaid spending, even as everyone knew, or should have known, that reliance on Medicaid would increase as the safety net caught more people who needed critical services as the job market sputters along.

The overly rosy budget projections made the state budget appear to be sound on paper, but once the reality set in, the truth is that the state budget was done a grave disservice by those who pushed these revenue estimates. The state should have considered a flat to trending negative revenue estimate, which would have guaranteed that the state would have been much closer to its actual revenues, rather than expanding the deficit. Of course, entertaining any such revenue estimate would force the state legislators and governor to propose far less spending - and Gov. Paterson, Speaker Silver, and Senate Democrats were having nothing of that.

Now, Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo will have to deal with the mess and he's already hard at work preparing his budget proposal that is due in February. I expect him to call for the frequently suggested change to the state's fiscal year. Moreover, I expect him to call for reduced to flat spending and that would also include budget cuts and layoffs or furloughs where necessary. Gov. Paterson has repeatedly been thwarted from imposing furloughs and layoffs, despite their necessity to close the budget gap. We'll see soon enough whether Cuomo can make any headway, but public support is definitely there to do something to fix the mess in Albany.

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ACLU To Sue NJ Transit For Firing Off-Duty Employee Who Burned Koran

The New Jersey chapter of the ACLU will be suing NJ Transit on behalf of Derek Fenton who they believe was improperly fired from the transit agency. Fenton had burned a Koran on the 9th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in the course of demonstrations against the proposed Cordoba House/Park51 project and was thereafter fired by NJ Transit.

Now the American Civil Liberties Union says Fenton should get his job back. The group will file a lawsuit Friday in U.S. District Court saying Fenton was unconstitutionally fired for exercising his free speech rights.

"If you allow governments to censor one kind of speech, you open the door to censorship of all kinds of speech," said Deborah Jacobs, executive director of the ACLU in New Jersey. "Our individual right to free speech depends on everybody having it."

A spokeswoman for NJ Transit declined to comment today. When Fenton was fired, the agency released a statement saying it had "concluded that Mr. Fenton violated his trust as a state employee and therefore was dismissed."

Two months ago Fenton waded into a roiling international debate over free speech, religious freedom and Islam’s place in America. Terry Jones, a fringe pastor from Florida, had already announced plans to burn the Koran on Sept. 11. Fueled by round-the-clock media coverage, it quickly became one of the world’s most inflammatory topics. Gen. David Petraeus, the top American commander in Afghanistan, said the action could endanger U.S. soldiers, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates called Jones personally to ask him to cancel his plans.

Jones eventually decided not to burn the Koran.

Fenton did what Jones was persuaded not to do. And as I wrote when the incident broke, NJ Transit violated Fenton's free speech rights. Fenton's speech may have been hateful and disrespectful, but that is within his rights under the First Amendment.

Fenton had every right to voice his opinion in that setting. This isn't an instance of an employee carrying out such conduct while in his capacity as an employee or public official. He was off-duty at the time, and NJ Transit determined that dismissal was the preferred option, rather than probation or other disciplinary measures or undertaking sensitivity training or other such programs. I would say that the ACLU has a very good chance of winning this suit on Fenton's behalf.

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GOP Resurgence Coincides With Redistricting

The GOP could not have picked a better time for them to regain control of the House and thrive at the state level in many parts of the country.

2010 saw the decennial census. Redistricting follows.

The party will control 25 Legislatures, including Ohio, North Carolina, and Minnesota, boosting their power in statehouses by the most since 1928, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Republicans won the House and Senate in Alabama for the first time since the end of the Civil War. They took governors’ seats from Democrats in Michigan, Pennsylvania and at least nine other states.

Fifteen to 25 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are more likely to remain Republican or switch from Democratic after redistricting as a result of the party’s victory in the states, said Ed Gillespie, chairman of the Republican State Leadership Committee.

“We’re going to end up protecting a lot as opposed to carving new ones,” Gillespie said in a conference call with reporters.

Congressional seats will be reapportioned following the 2010 U.S. census. States with shrinking populations will lose seats, and those with growing ones will gain them. The party that draws the election map in each state will shape the political landscape for the next 10 years.

Redistricting Process

In 38 states, governors and state legislators play a determining role in the redistricting process, according to the Republican leadership committee.

Population figures come in December, which means that legislatures will begin the contentious task of creating new legislative districts for Congress and local districts. That's a monumental task, and it also means that in those states that have seen a loss of seats, politicians forced to the sidelines or otherwise forced into political campaigns against other incumbents as seats are merged.

That means that we'll see plenty of the usual gerrymandering of districts to protect incumbents where possible, but it also means that some states will see additional representation while others continue shedding representatives.

New York falls into that latter category, along with New Jersey.

This is an instance where elections have consequences for not just the immediate satisfaction, but long term changes to the political system.

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Greek Authorities Discover Additional Bombs And Highlighting Cargo Screening Issues

Authorities in Greece have discovered another letter bomb, this time addressed to Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy. They have suspended all deliveries of foreign-bound mail for 48 hours to track down any other potential packages and to get ahead of the terrorists involved in this particular plot.

The latest discovery was a letter bomb addressed to Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy, which was intercepted less than 24 hours after a similar device, also sent from Greece, arrived at the mailroom outside the office of the German chancellor, Angela Merkel. A cargo plane that left Athens International Airport late on Tuesday, destined for Paris with a stopoff in Rome, was rerouted to Bologna after the Greek authorities realized that the aircraft was carrying a package addressed to Mr. Berlusconi. The police at the Bologna airport found the package and destroyed it, according to the Italian news agency Ansa.

A spokesman for the Greek police, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said two suspicious packages intercepted at the Athens airport on Tuesday night and destroyed in controlled explosions had been addressed to the international police organization Europol at the Hague and the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg.

Though only one person was injured, and only slightly, and most of the devices were neutralized, the wave of letter bombs unnerved European officials already scrambling to secure the continent’s air-cargo system after the discovery last week of parcel bombs in Britain and Dubai that were shipped from Yemen and addressed to Jewish institutions in Chicago. Those bombs have been linked an Al Qaeda branch in Yemen.

These devices appear to be unrelated to the al Qaeda linked cargo bombs uncovered at a British and UAE airport. Greek authorities are considering an anarchist group to be behind these bombs.

These plots and threats highlight the difficulty of screening cargo, and the huge gaping hole in air security screening that can allow these devices to detonate with terrifying results.

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Election Day Results Show Resurgent GOP And Democrats Licking Wounds

Just two years after some were writing off the GOP after being battered in the 2006 midterm elections and then in the 2008 general elections, the GOP has regained control of the House with a resounding and convincing win.

What exactly does that mean though. It's expected that the GOP will pick up more than 60 seats - quite possibly up to 64 seats, depending on a couple of close races. That gives Republicans a strong majority in the House.

John Boehner will be the next Speaker of the House, with Nancy Pelosi moving into the minority.

The Senate went about as well as should have been expected for Republicans. They picked up six seats with three races still pending.

In both instances, the outcomes come close to matching my own predictions yesterday - 68 seats in the House and 7 seats in the Senate.

Does this mean that Republicans have a mandate? Hardly.

People are voting against Democrats and considering Republicans the lesser of two evils. They see government spending run amok and promises broken. They want to see spending reined in and some credibility reestablished (though some local races are thoroughly baffling - see that under-investigation Charlie Rangel won reelection in a landslide despite being under a monstrous cloud of ethics, legal, and tax woes that could see him kicked out of office).

Apparently, throwing the bums out didn't apply to Rangel, but that was an exception more than the rule. People aren't in a charitable mood and the economy is playing a large role in that.

If the newly formed Republican majority can't get its act together in short order to put together a coherent economic policy and work with the Democrats who control the Senate (where Harry Reid appears to have held on to his seat over Sharron Angle), and President Obama, things will get ugly going into 2012 and the general elections. Chief among the issues are expiring tax cuts, economic policy, and those will trump whatever socially conservative agenda that the right wing Republicans hope to push through the House. They wont get anywhere with a Senate controlled by Democrats, but they make take up enough issues (like abortion restrictions, pushing intelligent design/creationism, and junk science on climate change) to encourage their constituents and backers.

Democrats will have to content themselves to holding on in the Senate and winning several key races in state capitals. New York was one of the few bright spots along with California. In New York, Andrew Cuomo handily defeated Carl Paladino, whose rambling and disjointed speech following the results again showed just how ill-suited he was to the job he sought. Downticket races also broke for Democrats as Eric Schneiderman and Thomas DiNapoli both overcame strong challenges. It looks like Paladino's putrid campaign and odious positions made it tougher for the Republican challengers to overcome the stench in the statewide races. Still, the State Senate is still up for grabs, but Republicans say that they've regained control of that chamber.

Connecticut's governor's race was tight, but Republican Thomas Foley won there. Linda McMahon fell to Dick Blumenthal in the Senate race to replace retiring Chris Dodd. That's something of a surprise given that Blumenthal repeatedly lied about his military service, but McMahon turned off voters because of her background in professional wrestling and its related scandals. Still, Democrats have to be thankful that Blumenthal won out or else the job of holding on to the US Senate would have been much more difficult.

The oddest race of the day has to go to Alaska though, where the write-in ballot is the winner in a three-way race. The write-in candidate, incumbent US Senator Lisa Murkowski, lost the primary to a tea party candidate:

The Alaska Senate race was headed for another nailbiter in the rematch between Sen. Lisa Murkowski and tea party favorite Joe Miller as supporters from both sides prepared Wednesday for a potentially prolonged ballot count.

Write-in ballots held the lead in the hotly contested three-person race late Tuesday, a potentially good sign for Murkowski's long-shot effort to keep her job.

"They said it couldn't be done," she told supporters Tuesday night. "We said if it can be done anywhere, it can be done in Alaska, and let's prove the rest of the country wrong. And we're doing that tonight."

No U.S. Senate candidate has won as a write-in since Strom Thurmond did it in 1954. But with nearly 99 percent of precincts reporting early Wednesday, write-ins had 41 percent of the vote.

Miller, who beat Murkowski for the GOP nomination in August by just 2,006 votes, received 34 percent. He sent supporters home early from his campaign's Tuesday evening party, then returned to his hotel with his family.

Democrat Scott McAdams had about 24 percent and all but conceded Tuesday evening.

That would be a potential repudiation of Sarah Palin in her own backyard, but other Tea Party luminaries did manage to win, including Rand Paul in Kentucky.

UPDATE:
Nate Silver has been blogging up a storm about the election results and his thoughtful comments about the potential outcomes and statistical analysis is a must-see. He figures that the most likely outcome of the election is that Republicans pick up between 64 and 66 seats in the House, which is a stunning win for Republicans. That the Democrats managed to hang on in the Senate is a lesser achievement given that the Democrats had a built in advantage given the nature of the seats that were at stake to begin with. Still, the Republicans cut that margin to near razor-thin majority. The Democrats will hold at least 52 seats, unless the Democrats lose both Washington and Colorado, which is unlikely. Connecticut continues to be a most curious race, with ballot issues in Bridgeport and slow reporting being major issues.

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What Will Happen To Expiring Bush Tax Cuts

Under President Bush, Congress enacted a series of tax cuts in 2001 and adjusted in 2003. Those tax cuts expire after December 31 of this year and the rates will revert to those in effect prior to 2001. That means significant and hefty tax hikes for all Americans.

Congress has not acted to sort out this mess and it will be left to the lame duck session to deal with the issue. At stake are hundreds of billions of dollars - both in terms of tax revenues and in income that taxpayers can hold on to.

The Times sets out a bunch of possible outcomes, but emphasizes that the tax cuts are costing the government hundreds of billions, rather than noting that the tax cuts put more money into the pockets of the taxpayers.

Of the possible outcomes, the most likely to occur is the punt - the lame duck Congress will simply extend the status quo (rates in effect for tax year 2009) for another year or two. I don't seem them making a quantitative and qualitative change to the tax structure.

What would potentially make quite a bit of sense is one that addresses both the AMT and tax rates for high income taxpayers. A new bracket could be created for taxpayers at a 45% rate (or 40% depending on the income threshold, which could be anywhere from $1.5 million to $5 million) - and no deductions, credits, or exemptions. For taxpayers now making $250,000 to that $1.5 million (or up to $5 million), they would see limited deductions, credits, and exemptions and a 35% rate. Keeping the other rates and income levels as they are would provide stability for tax planners, begin the institution of tax simplification that makes it easier to comply with the tax code, and improves compliance.

In other words, one possible implementation could be a 40% rate from $1.5 million to $5 million; 45% for $5 million or more, both subject to no credits, deductions, exemptions, and no AMT. Or, it could be 45% from $1.5 million and limited credits, deductions, and exemptions for taxpayers making up to $5 million.

At the same time, the dual nature of the AMT could be eliminated in one fell swoop as the tax systems are rolled into one method that eliminates needless complexity and annual battles in Congress to adjust the AMT for inflation. Currently, the top tax rate is 35% on incomes over $373,650 with multiple credits, deductions, and exemptions that serve to reduce the effective tax rate significantly.

This simplification and clarity on high income taxpayers could lead the way to simplification at the lower tax brackets. Since it would eliminate the complexity in calculating tax due, compliance would increase and tax avoidance would be reduced - both serving to increase tax revenues without having to adjust rates further.

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2010 Election Day Predictions

Democrats have been on the ropes for months as promised relief from the ongoing recession hasn't translated into tangible results. Job creation, which is typically a lagging indicator, continues to show little improvement in the employment situation. U3 and U6 rates continue to be well above the rates originally forecast by the Obama Administration as being the high points following the passage of the stimulus package (ARRA of 2009).

People aren't in the mood to support the incumbents, and with Democrats holding more seats in the House and Senate, they're due to take a hit.

The only question is how big.

Pollsters and pundits have been seeing huge numbers turn to the Republicans or Tea Party candidates across the country. In some instances, it may be that they simply hate the Republican candidate less than the incumbent Democrat, but for whatever reason voters will give, the Democrats are going to find themselves the minority party in the House and may have to worry about control in the Senate.

The Republicans will likely gain more than 50 seats, and I figure that they'll pick up 68 seats in the House. That's more than enough to give them a strong majority in the House.

In the Senate, I figure that they'll pick up 7 seats, which isn't sufficient to give the Republicans control, but that's sufficient to cause gridlock and temper whatever legislation may result in the next two years.

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Cargo Bomb Plot Began In September With Dry Run

Intel officials and law enforcement now believe that al Qaeda carried out a dry run of its cargo/package bomb plot back in September before attempting to send bombs through cargo shipments to the US.

The shipments from Yemen to Chicago are reported to have contained literature and other materials, but no explosives.

The idea was to test how long it would take for the packages to reach their destination, US officials suspect.

Last week, two parcel bombs were found on cargo planes in the UK and Dubai.

The parcels - with powerful PETN explosives hidden inside printer toner cartridges - were shipped from Yemen's capital Sanaa through UPS and another US cargo firm, FedEx.

Both packages - which have now been made safe - were addressed to synagogues in the US city of Chicago.

Investigators have linked the "dry run" and last weekend's bombs to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

The terrorists were able to discern the shipping pattern and timing based on tracking information provided by the companies. Several countries have stepped up security and are limiting shipment of toner cartridges in passenger baggage or are limiting flights and cargo from Yemen:

On Monday, Germany, France and Britain said they had banned cargo shipments from Yemen, following a similar move by the United States. Britain prohibited passengers from carrying printer cartridges aboard flights, and Germany halted passenger flights from Yemen as well. Many countries have stepped up cargo screening, but no additional bombs have been found.

In particular, the focus is on Yemen, which plays home to al Qaeda and firebrand Anwar al Awlaki, whose videos are frequently used as a recruitment tool. Yemen is finally treating al Qaeda's Anwar al Awlaki as the terrorist minion he repeatedly posts online.

Facing pressure to crackdown on terrorism following last week's international bomb scare, Yemen has charged a radical, U.S.-born Muslim cleric with attempting to kill foreigners and being a member of Al Qaeda.

The announcement to try Anwar al-Awlaki (who is already on a U.S. list of militants to assassinate) was made at the trial of another radical, Hisham Assem on Tuesday.

Assem is charged with a shooting and killing of a Frenchman at a local oil compound last month.

Al-Awlaki is said to be hiding in the mountains of Yemen with his family and friends. He was charged in absentia.

Yemen hasn't exactly been a willing partner in going after al Qaeda, and had to be pushed to make even this half-hearted attempt. Saudi Arabia and Yemen have had several border skirmishes in the past because of the porous border, but this latest move is slightly more than their usual lip service.

However, it shows that security against terror outfits like al Qaeda is only as good as the weakest link. Yemen is a weak link, and it's pitiful air security was such that bombs got onto passenger flights and then into the cargo manifests ultimately destined for the US.

That's got to change, and al Qaeda is continuing to adapt its tactics to what is available and possible. They will continue using failed states and border regions as safe havens, terror recruitment centers, and training centers.

UPDATE:
Here's a bit of speculation on my part as to the tactic of bombing cargo planes. Al Qaeda has gone after hard targets like US Navy ships and softer targets like the US Embassies in Africa and then airlines and other modes of transportation. The attacks are as much about racking up a body count as they are about disrupting the economic system. The 9/11 attacks caused a major disruption of the economy in and around the New York City metro area and seriously affected airlines. Blowing up cargo planes would similarly affect the viability of sending cargo items and that could affect manufacturing, which is increasingly dependent on just-in-time manufacturing. If products get delayed because of extra screening and delays (or slower modes of transportation to avoid cargo screening delays), manufacturers will have to compensate with increased supplies on hand. Al Qaeda is not just attacking to blow up stuff, but to send a message about their ongoing opposition to our very way of life - and that includes our economic system.

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Mail Bombs Explode In Greece; French President Sarkozy AmongTargets

A series of mail bombs blew up in Greece today. While not related to the al Qaeda plot to blow up cargo packages aboard airlines, it is nonetheless a dangerous and developing situation.



The target of the mail bombs included French President Nicholas Sarkozy. He was among the intended recipients of four package bombs.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy was among the intended recipients of four parcel bombs found in Athens on Monday, Greek police have said.

One of the bombs, addressed to the Mexican embassy in Athens, exploded in the offices of a private courier company, slightly injuring an employee.

The other two parcels were addressed to the Belgian and Dutch embassies in the city.

Two men, aged 22 and 24, have been arrested over the attack.

Greece has been experiencing a wave of attacks against government and police targets, attributed to far-left groups, and police said they were not linking Monday's events to al-Qaeda.

A fourth package was found at the Dutch embassy and the bomb squad used a controlled demolition to disable that device.

Anarchist groups in Greece are among the suspected groups behind the attacks.

Two men are under arrest in connection with the attacks.

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Carl Paladino's Halloween Highlights His Lack of Character or Fitness For Higher Office

Carl Paladino was busy visiting Buffalo area watering holes Halloween evening, and among the photos of his appearances, was this most curious one:

What's so odd about that one? Besides the fact that Paladino was apparently inebriated (not a crime, but just not good visuals days out from an election), there's the guy standing behind Paladino getting all chummy for the camera. Was there no one in Paladino's campaign who thought that this would be a bad visual. Who was the guy who thought it was appropriate to wear blackface?

Voters have pretty much decided that Paladino isn't worth their vote, and the latest polls show Andrew Cuomo more than 20 points ahead. This photo is yet another example of why.

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Omar Khadr Sentenced To Eight Years In Prison

Omar Khadr, a Canadian al Qaeda member, was sentenced to eight more years in prison under a plea deal arranged last week.

The sentence was handed down Sunday under a plea bargain in which the young Canadian admitted to five war crimes charges, including killing a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan. Under the deal, the judge was limited to the eight-year sentence and had to ignore the recommendation of a military jury that Khadr serve 40 years.

The case attracted intense scrutiny and criticism because Khadr was 15 when he was captured after suffering serious wounds during a four-hour battle at an Al Qaeda compound in Afghanistan in 2002.

Appearing relaxed, Khadr stared straight ahead as the judge read a sentence that calls for him to stay at the Guantanmo prison another year before he can ask Canada's government to allow him to return to his homeland to serve out his sentence or seek early release on parole. He doesn't get credit for the eight years he already spent at Guantanamo.

He was 17 when he killed U.S. Army medic Christopher Speer, and will be as young as 32 when he is ultimately released.

The case made headlines because of Khadr's age at the time he was captured and accused of killing Sgt. Speer and that he has been detained at Guantanamo Bay for a significant portion of the time he has been in US custody. His Canadian lawyer claims that his rights were violated and that the admission of guilt is baseless, but the fact is that he did kill Speer and for that, his ultimate sentence is far too lenient.

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Cargo Bomb Plot Tip Came From Ex-Gitmo Detainee

The BBC is reporting that an al Qaeda member and former Guantanamo Bay detainee who was released and then went back to al Qaeda had turned himself in to Saudi authorities who helped crack the latest bomb plot to blow up airlines using disguised cargo packages.

Jabr al-Faifi handed himself into authorities in Saudi Arabia two weeks ago, the officials told the BBC.

US officials have suggested that a Saudi bombmaker is the key suspect in last week's attempt to send the parcel bombs from Yemen to the US.

One bomb travelled on two passenger planes before being seized in Dubai.

Jabr al-Faifi is described as a former detainee at the US detention centre at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

After leaving Guantanamo he went through a rehabilitation programme in Saudi Arabia and then rejoined al-Qaeda in Yemen before turning himself in to Saudi authorities, AFP news agency reports.

He contacted Saudi government officials saying he wanted to return home and a handover was arranged through Yemen's government, interior ministry spokesman General Mansour al-Turki said.

Jabr al-Faifi is reported to be one of several former detainees from Guantanamo who were returned to Saudi Arabia for rehabilitation in December 2006.

If this is true, then it is perhaps a sign that the rehabilitation program has worked out. Jabr's double cross of al Qaeda means that al Qaeda can no longer trust those that return to the group and may make it harder to carry out future operations without having to worry about the group's intentions becoming knowledge of law enforcement and intel agencies.

Still, it is quite troublesome that former detainees have returned to al Qaeda in relatively high percentages and not all have provided intel to thwart terror operations.

Meanwhile, US intel agencies believe that a Saudi man was responsible for designing the bombs.

U.S. intelligence officials have named the chief suspect in the plot as Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri, who is believed to be a member of the leadership of Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.

He is also suspected of sending his own brother on a suicide mission against a top Saudi official.

Al-Asiri and his brother abruptly left their Mecca home three years ago, their father, a four-decade veteran of the Saudi military, said. Aside from a brief phone call to say they had left the country, he never heard from them again.

With the bomb hidden in a body cavity, Abdullah approached the prince and blew himself up. The prince was only wounded.

Despite all this, officials got lucky and almost missed catching the bombs before they made their way into the US.



Yemen is attempting to improve its security at its airports, but that's a tall order given that the bombs made their way onto several flights before ultimately being detected in the UAE and UK.

At the same time media reports from around the world want to make it sound like Yemen is the latest focus of the war on terror, even though Yemen has always been a significant threat as a failed state that sits astride major shipping lanes and has a porous border with Saudi Arabia and from which multiple terror attacks have been carried out - some of which predate the 9/11 attacks (think USS Cole). Failed states like Yemen continue to be a major threat as a breeding ground for terror training camps, recruitment centers, and areas of operation for terror groups because of inadequate or nonexistent law enforcement. It's one of the reasons why al Qaeda operates from places like in Afghanistan, the frontier provinces of Pakistan, Somalia, and Yemen.

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