THE LOCAL AREA WATCH

NEW BUILDINGS WILL NOT BRING NEW STUDENTS INTO CITY SCHOOLS

A reader, Tommy Times, disagreed with our "If You Got It, Spend It!" article in which we opined that the Grand Rapids Public School District should return to the taxpayers the excess funds from an infrastructure bond rather than spend it on a new elementary school building.  The inestimable Mr. Times commented:

Oh, come on. GRPS has many more infrastructure needs than their last bond issue could cover. They spent less money on the first round of projects, so they are going to the next priority on the list. Doesn't that make more sense than giving the money back, then going back to the voters to fund the additional needs, with the cost of an election, selling new bonds, and paying a higher interest rate?

It may be true that Hall St. school is only 50 years old, and I certainly appreciate mid century modern schools, having attended them (boy, I loved walking outside in michigan winters to change classes on our six building campus), but there are some things they are likely to be missing, having been designed for a culture with different expectations from schools. Smaller schools in walkable neighborhoods are wonderful, but the baby boom is over, and neighborhoods do not have the density of kids to support pure neighborhood schools that are efficient to operate.

The school district cannot operate with the philosophy that 'this is what we can afford, if the suburbs can afford more, good for them.' They have to compete for students with the suburbs, because they lose dollars with every student. Education quality should be the number one point of competition, but the reality of keeping and attracting people to the district is that you have to have buildings that are competitive with the burbs. EGR and Forest Hills have plenty of 50 year old buildings, but they have also had much higher building millages to maintain and enhance their buildings.

Although I have already responded to Mr. Times in the comments section of that article, I'd like to post a more complete response here ...

Hi, Tommy.

Your argument is based upon a contradiction.

You say: "Smaller schools in walkable neighborhoods are wonderful, but the baby boom is over, and neighborhoods do not have the density of kids to support pure neighborhood schools that are efficient to operate."

If that were true, then fewer students means less infrastructure needed.  For example, on the northeast side of town where I lived as a kid 30-40 years ago, there were six elementary schools (Huff, Aberdeen, Riverside, Crestview, Wellerwood, and North Park).  Now there will be only one servicing the same area.  That should translate into a considerable reduction in infrastructure expense, both capital and operational.  Indeed, the sale of those unneeded facilities would provide more than enough capital to renovate and maintain the remaining school.  So fewer students is hardly a rationale for dunning the taxpayers to cover more infrastructure spending.

However, what you say isn't true.  They're about as many kids living within the Grand Rapids Public School District as there were when I was kid.  The reason the GRPS student body has shrunk is because it now faces competition from suburban and charter schools.  A large fraction of families living within the GRPS district have jumped at the chance to send their kids somewhere other than the neighborhood schools.  Why?   Do you seriously think it is because the school buildings aren't brand spanking new?  Are parents these days that superficial?   No.  The problem is the lousy education provided and even worse, the undisciplined environment, even in elementary schools, that has been tolerated in the city schools.  I know this from personal experience.   It is a wretched situation that is INEXCUSABLE, period.

The discipline that produces the civility and decency needed for a good learning environment doesn't require another dime from the taxpayers.  What is does require is the WILL of the GRPS superintendent and the board of education to lay down clear policies on discipline, back up the principals and teachers who enforce discipline in the classroom, take no crap from rabble-rousing parents who claim their little darlings do no wrong, and ultimately expel those students who will not get with the program.  What is does not require is multicultural sensitivity training of administrators, teachers, and students that operates on the premise that a kid's skin color makes him or her any more or less capable of decent behavior.  Black, brown, yellow, or white, kids are kids, and it is a nasty brand of crypto-racism that the educrats are pushing to avoid dealing with their lack of will to make every student behave properly while at school.

Absent that will to make city schools decent places for kids to learn, throwing taxpayer dollars at new infrastructure is like putting lipstick on the pig.  Pretty new buildings won't fool the parents who have made the decision to send their children to a charter or suburban school.  Indeed, that lesson should've already been learn last fall when the brand new schools the GRPS opened did not add any new students to the district's roster.  In fact, I think Superintendent Taylor has learned that lesson, but in the wrong way, which is why it is now his policy to hold hostage as many kids as possible who live in within the district by restricting their release to suburban districts.

The bottom line for me, Tommy, is that the GRPS has to address its fundamental failures to retain students before hitting up the taxpayers for new capital expenditures.

Regards, Bill Tingley, Executive Director L.A.W.

THE QUIXTAR KINGPINS' TALE OF WOE

If you want a better idea of what the infighting between the head honchos at Amway and their top Quixtar distributors is all about, this complaint filed by kingpin Orrin Woodward and some of his cohorts in a California federal court will give you an idea.

The kingpins complain that Amway/Quixtar is an illegal pyramid scheme, because the owners of Amway of have deliberately priced the products to be distributed through the Quixtar distribution chain so high that they cannot be realistically sold to a genuine retail market -- i.e., to consumers outside of the Quixtar network.  So while the high prices profit Amway, they don't profit Quixtar distributors except by recruiting sub-distributors to buy from them kits of Amway products on the con that they can sell the overpriced stuff to a non-existent retail market.

Therefore, the multi-level marketing structure of Quixtar does not serve to expand the retail customer base for Amway products.  Rather it serves to profit those at the top of the distribution chain (Amway and the kingpins) solely at the expense of those at the bottom of the chain (the suckers who buy an inventory of unsellable Amway products).  For that reason, it would appear Amway/Quixtar crossed the Federal Trade Commission's line between legitimate MLM to illegal pyramid scheme.

The kingpins' complaint is persuasive.  In fact, what they say is no surprise to anyone who hasn't drunk the Amway Kool-Aid.  Amway is no Avon.  Of course, their complaint, being what it is, doesn't tell the full story.  That full story needs to include how the kingpins were willing partners in this racket.  They needed Amway to provide the sales kit for them to use as the gimmick to recruit sub-distributors into their organizations.  In addition to profiting from the sale of Amway products to their "downline" distributors, the kingpins made even more money selling motivational seminars, tapes, books, and other nonsense to those same distributors as "tools" that would allegedly help them sell to a retail market the overpriced Amway junk they were saddled with.

So the Quixtar kingpins have hands as dirty as the owners of Amway.  As I said before, it takes a lot of chutzpah for these bandits to claim they are victims.  Let us not forget that the kingpins only complained about the cruelties of Amway, when DeVos and Van Andel juniors cut off their "tools" trade this summer.  Amway ended the Mexican stand-off between it and the kingpins that had kept them working together since the '80s.  Now out come the guns a-blazing.  My bet is that the last man standing won't be the kingpins, but then Amway won't come out unbloodied either.

JUDGE CLUBS QUIXTAR REBELS

Last Wednesday we reported on the civil war between Quixtar (a.k.a. Amway) and the company's top multi-level marketing distributors (a.k.a. "independent business owners").  The first battle was at the local courthouse over what if any injunctions would be issued at the outset of litigation over Quixtar's attempt to rein in kingpin distributors using high-pressure sales tactics to push expensive motivational seminars and materials (a.k.a. "business sales materials") on new Quixtar recruits -- i.e., the "tools" racket.  Kent County Circuit Court Judge Paul Sullivan made his decision on Friday.

The Quixtar rebels lost the battle.  Sullivan issued a preliminary injunction that enforces the contract they signed with Quixtar as distributors of the company's products.  The injunction binds the distributors to maintaining confidentiality about their affairs with Quixtar, entering into no competition with the company, and submitting their disputes with the company to arbitration rather than the courts.  Basically the kingpins are stuck with the contract they signed with Quixtar.

Also a big defeat for the rebels was a separate ruling by Sullivan that Quixtar can prohibit them from selling "tools" produced by TEAM.  TEAM is a lead Quixtar distributor operated by kingpin Orrin Woodward that the company fired recently because of its abusive "tools" trade.  That firing set off the storm of litigation across the country by TEAM and other Quixtar distributors, some of which landed in Sullivan's courtroom last week.  Sullivan's decision is a big blow to the rebel distributors, because the sale of TEAM-produced "tools" to dupes at the bottom of the multi-level marketing pyramid is a large source of revenue for many of them.

All in all, Sullivan's rulings on Friday do not bode well for the kingpin distributors.  A judge issues a preliminary injunction in cases like this only if he finds (among other things) that the party requesting the injunction is likely to prevail in the end.  That means Sullivan has concluded that Quixtar is likely to win the case.  If so, Quixtar will have dismantled its existing network of distributors and put them out of business before resurrecting itself as Amway, which fits with plans announced by the company a couple of months ago.

So this civil war would appear to serve the company's interests, but to what specific end?  Is Amway cleaning itself up to operate as a private-label manufacturer, or is it purging the kingpin distributors who have a lock on the "tools" trade so that it can have that nasty piece of business all to itself?  If the latter, the Amway gang would of course need to get control of a multi-media firm to produce the "tools" and then hotel and convention facilities to host seminars to pitch them.

Oh, that's right.  They do.

BRITISH PETROLEUM BACKS OFF ON INCREASED DUMPING TO LAKE MICHIGAN

Here are the latest developments on the British Petroleum waste discharge plan for Lake Michigan this year. See previous articles at L.A.W. for complete historical facts and figures.

DEVELOPMENT: Wednesday August 15th

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Regional Administrator Mary A. Gade convened a Lake Michigan Summit meeting in Chicago in order to provide an opportunity for major officials and interested parties to present BP representatives with their suggestions on minimizing discharges to Lake Michigan from the company's Whiting, Ind., refinery.  Region 5 representatives showed up such as;  BP Vice Chairman of America Stephen Elbert, Illinois representatives Biggert & Kirk plus Senators Durbin & Obama, Indiana officials such as Bay & Visclosky and Mr. Anderson from the Indiana Save The Dunes Council, Michigan representative Upton, Wisconsin representative Russ Feingold and a number of other interested individuals of environmental groups. 

Due to the enormous amount of negative press, local resident petitions and congressional pressure against the dumping move, BP and Indiana regulators agreed Wednesday to reconsider a permit that allows the Midwest's largest oil refinery to significantly increase
the amount of toxic waste dumped into the lake. In order to keep the pressure in place, an environmental group called  the Alliance for the Great Lakes also filed a formal appeal in Indiana asking a state environmental judge to block the permit from taking effect.

As reported in a detailed article last week by staff writer Michael Hawthorne of The Chicago Tribune,  seven different ideas were given by the EPA to counter the current dumping measures at this meeting:

Finance projects that reduce pollution from other companies that discharge into the Grand Calumet River or Lake Michigan.

Divert all or some of the refinery's wastewater to nearly municipal treatment plants. The Hammond Sanitary District, East Chicago Sanitary District and Gary Sanitary District are options.

Pay for sewer upgrades in neighboring towns to keep sewage and storm water out of Lake Michigan.

Set aside money to filter pollution that seeps into the lake. Projects could include wetlands, shoreline restoration or storm-water retention ponds.

Make additional upgrades at the refinery's water treatment plant to reduce the amount of pollution flowing into Lake Michigan.

Spend more money to dredge contaminated muck from the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal.

Join Indiana to pay for other projects that remove contaminated sediment in the Grand Calumet River.

Few in the meeting voiced any support for these creative proposals to offset the additional BP waste discharge pollution with other projects that would help clean up Lake Michigan. The group stayed focused on the need for BP to meet the long-standing goal of reducing and eventually eliminating pollution in the Great Lakes, the world's largest source of fresh surface water.  Federal and state regulators contend they have no legal authority at this point to rescind the permit. Although the meeting showed all sides willing to take a look at things, neither BP nor the state of Indiana would commit to a specific solution at this time.

Chicago officials said they've found several technologies in use at other refineries that dramatically reduce ammonia and suspended solids. They pressed BP official Elbert to explain how more water treatment equipment couldn't fit on a site as large as the Whiting refinery.  This was a question the Vice Chairman said could not answer at this time.

All left the meeting last week feeling warm and fuzzy, but with no definitive changes noted.

News flash to this week...

DEVELOPMENT: Thursday, August 23rd

BP announced today that it won't dump more pollution into Lake Michigan.

In a statement posted on British Petroleum’s web site, BP pledged to continue to meet its previous pollution limits once it completes a $3.8 billion expansion of its Whiting, Ind., refinery, 3 miles southeast of the Illinois-Indiana border.  BP America today promised to operate its Whiting refinery to meet the lower discharge limits contained in the refinery's previous wastewater treatment permit. 

BP America Chairman and President Bob Malone notes the following in today’s press release, “We have participated in an open and transparent permitting process with the State of Indiana and obtained a valid permit that meets all regulatory standards and is protective of water quality and human health.  Even so, ongoing regional opposition to any increase in discharge permit limits for Lake Michigan creates an unacceptable level of business risk for this $3.8 billion investment."  Malone flew to Chicago to deliver the news personally to Mayor Richard Daley, one of several politicians who said the company's initial plans were unacceptable to people who rely on Lake Michigan for drinking water and recreation.

During the next 18 months, BP advises citizens it will continue to seek issuance of other permits, continue project design and explore options for operating within the lower discharge limits.  Furthermore, at the request of US Representatives Judy Biggert (R-IL) and Pete Visclosky (D-IN), and with the support of BP America President Bob Malone, scientists at Argonne National Laboratory and Purdue University Calumet will explore emerging technologies that could address wastewater treatment affecting the Great Lakes.

BP America notified the State of Indiana of its decision late yesterday afternoon and reiterated its dedication to the proposed refinery expansion.

"We are committed to this project.  It is important for the nation, it is important for the Midwest, and it is important to BP and to the thousands of BP employees in the State of Indiana," Malone said. "We are going to work hard to make this project succeed.”  He also noted, “We will not make use of the higher discharge limits in our new permit.  We're not aware of any technology that will get us to those limits but we'll work to develop a project that allows us to do so.  If necessary changes to the project result in a material impact to project viability, we could be forced to cancel it."

The exact press release letters by the Vice Chairman, President and congressional representatives can be viewed at:   www.bp.com.

So fellow citizens of River City, West Michigan and the Great Lakes, a temporary victory appears to be in order. There will be no change in the refinery discharge to Lake Michigan until at least 2011.  BP appears to be working toward new technologies that will lower their discharges before their permit is up for renewal in 2012 (their wise President might have wanted to consider that before the firestorm erupted earlier, but who says he gets paid for looking ahead, right?  They’re advertised as “green” after all, not “brilliant visionaries”). There was no discussion about reducing the current limits of discharge still being allowed by the lakes largest polluter - good ole' BP. Current discharge levels, ok. Increased discharge levels, thumbs down. Reduced discharge levels, not an item up for discussion. One step at a time people, one step at a time.

Many will ask what happens after 2012? Well, that story is still to be written.

So, fish, swim, boat, drink the water and enjoy the bounty we have in our backyards.  Lake Michigan is secure from BP additional waste discharge…for now.

Regards,

Bridget Dupont-Tingley
Editor, The Local Area Watch

NO HONOR AMONG THIEVES: THE DEMISE OF QUIXTAR

While Big Sister Heartwell was pandering to anti-war protesters, an even bigger band of malcontents was making a scene in downtown G.R. on Monday.  Over a hundred Quixtar distributors gathered in front of the Kent County Courthouse to oppose Amway's threat to fire them if they do not pledge loyalty to Amway instead of the kingpin distributors who filed suit against the company in dispute over the sale of "tools" (i.e., marketing gimmicks and motivational seminars) to "downline independent business operators" (i.e., suckers who buy Quixtar products thinking they can make money selling the stuff to others).

As most of you know, seven years ago Amway reorganized itself as Alticor with Quixtar as the subsidiary for the North American soap-and-vitamins multi-level marketing business.  Essentially Quixtar was a rebranding of Amway, but it merely put lipstick on the pig.  None of the crappy way of doing business changed.  Amway made its money providing the come-on, membership as an "independent business operator" selling Amway products, for its kingpin distributors to lure marks into their distribution networks where they could then make money pressuring the greenhorns into buying those useless "tools".  Recently Amway has come under public scrutiny around the world to control its kingpins and clean up the dirty "tools" business.

It appears that in response to the scrutiny, Amway Chairman Steve Van Andel and President Doug DeVos are trying to make a real change in the company's culture this time.  Whether this is part of a long-term plan to remake Amway from a multi-level marketing scheme to a private label manufacturer is not clear, but Van Andel and DeVos publicly committed themselves this past June to reining in the "tools" business of their kingpins.  Apparently that was a declaration of war between Amway and the kingpins, and the long knives came out.  Amway purged itself of the most notorious of the Quixtar kingpin distribution networks -- TEAM, Legacy, and Team 5K -- and their operators have in turn just filed suit against Amway in a California federal court alleging that they were victims of the illegal pyramid scheme operated by the company.  (You almost have to admire chutzpah of the accessories of that scheme calling themselves victims of it.  But then there is no honor among thieves.)

Consequently Amway demanded an oath of loyalty from its remaining top Quixtar distributors.  Either they side with company against the purged kingpins, or they will be immediately fired or suspended.  A number of these distributors rebeled and filed their own suit against Amway in the local state court.  On Monday their attorney asked Judge Paul Sullivan for an injunction preventing Amway from changing their status until the federal court in California sorts out whether or not Amway is an illegal pyramid scheme, and they showed up en masse in front of the Kent County courthouse to hear the judge's decision.  They didn't get it.  Sullivan said he will make his decision today.

Whatever the immediate outcome of these legal battles, it looks like the house of cards that always was the Amway multi-level marketing business is falling apart.

IF YOU GOT IT, SPEND IT!

About forty years ago I first attended school at Hall Elementary on the southwest side of town.  There's even a yellowed newspaper article with a photo of me attending the area's first Head Start class to prove it.  (So, you see, my liberal friends, I actually owe everything that I am today to LBJ and the Great Society. ;)  At the time the school was almost new, built nine years earlier to accommodate the post-war baby boom.  So now, with only a half-century's wear-and-tear on the building, the Grand Rapids Board of Education voted on Monday to tear it down and construct a brand spanking new school.

Why?  Because the school district has money to burn.  Sure, the operational budget is out of control, and no doubt that problem will eventually sink the district into bankruptcy.  However, some years back the voters approved a $165 million bond issue for new bricks and mortar to repair or replace dilapidated school buildings.  It seems that the district got that job done under budget, even with funding new construction that was not truly needed.  So there's $11.5 million left from the bond.  Let's give the local educrats a pat on the back for that.

Now let's give them a kick in the shins for board's decision this week regarding Hall Elementary.  Apparently it's inconceivable that the Grand Rapids public school district should return the $11.5 million to the taxpayers (plus saving the interest expense on top of that).  Because the educrats got the money, they've got to spend it.  (And don't even get me started on the soccer field included in the site plan!  Where's the baseball diamond?)  Hall Elementary did not need to be knocked down and replaced before these funds were known to be available (which is why it was NOT on the district's original list of infrastructure priorities).  It's only after the money showed up as a surplus did the district now need to do something about Hall Elementary.

There's a lesson in this for the voters.  They should only approve bond issues to fund specific projects.

HEARTWELL THE HYPOCRITE

You will recall during the recent Grand Rapids mayoral campaign, incumbent George Heartwell solemnly explained that he would not declare his position on abortion because as mayor there is nothing he can do about it.  Of course, the truth was that Heartwell wanted to keep his pro-abortion politics concealed from the strong pro-life constituency among voters in the city.  Evidence of Heartwell's deceit was furnished this week when he asked two city commissioners to draft a resolution opposing the "U.S. occupation of Iraq".

Now it might occur to you that if Heartwell says he has to remain silent on abortion because as mayor he has no authority to address the issue, then he should also remain silent on the Iraq War for the same reason.  But Heartwell's a hypocrite.  His principle of silence applies only as needed to advance his political career.  Silence reigns over abortion because that way Heartwell doesn't stir up a large group of voters in opposition to him.  But sanctimonious drum-beating is the order of the day on the Iraq War because that motivates an outspoken fringe in support of him.

Not that Heartwell's hypocrisy is smart politics.  I cannot fathom what can be gained by Heartwell, even with the City Commission's backing, pontificating with a lefty message on the Iraq War that:  [1] Would have absolutely no effect on U.S. policy, while [2] alienating a large plurality of voters who either support the war or at least will take the resolution as a vote of no-confidence in our troops.  While Heartwell may get hosannas from the fruitcakes who've got time on their hands to march around protesting on street corners, he will only get the disgust of those who want to know why he is wasting time on a useless resolution when the city government has big problems to solve.

I guess that's the way Heartwell's "mandate" is going to shake out over the next four years.

SAD SAK

As many of you now know, State Representative Michael Sak (D-Grand Rapids) made a fool out of himself a month ago at the National Governors Association conference up in Traverse City.  It appears that Rep. Sak got liquored up and stumbling drunk, even bumping into a bus once or twice, at the Grand Traverse Resort.  He then tried to bully a state trooper into giving him a ride to his hotel room by telling the cop that he serves on the appropriations committee and so owes his job to him.

Well, there's something to be said for in vino veritas, and so the obnoxious behavior Sak displayed in the absence of sober restraints doesn't speak well of him.  Moreover, whether a happy drunk or an angry drunk, a 47-year-old man who is the speaker pro-tem of the House has no excuse for being a public drunk.  Of course, many Republicans are calling for Sak's head.  Well, no surprise there.  But maybe this is a matter best left for the Democratic leadership and ultimately the voters.

After all, the state trooper was not intimidated by Sak and properly reported the matter to his superiors.  So, no harm, no foul.  Sak apologized and took full responsibility for his actions (even if he obfuscated that by spinning his demands to the trooper as a thumb's up to the state police and later made the trite promise to seek "help" for his drinking problem, as though the devil was in the drink and not himself).  And finally House speaker Andy Dillon (D-Redford) did boot Sak from the appropriations committee for the time being.

Let it end there and leave it to the voters come November 2008 should Sak decided to run for office again.

LONDONISTAN, ITS NOT JUST FOR ROYALS ANYMORE

Those of you who read this site on a regular basis know I have shown great interest in the Islamic terrorist movement that has touched us so profoundly on American shores and those lands across the seas.  I have reviewed books such as “America Alone – Mark Steyn”, “The West’s Last Chance - Tony Blankely”, ”Because They Hate – Brigitte Gabriel”, “The Truth About Muhammad – Robert Spencer”,  and “Now They Call Me Infidel – Noni Darwish (not reviewed in full, but given special credit in one article).

All of these books helped to analyze the threat that terrorism and extreme Islam pose to every American and every non-Muslim citizen in this world. These books helped to define what Islam is all about, what it means to those who are so called moderates or worse yet, infidels, what the message is to those who have gone extreme and what the future holds if we choose to not hear the message being sent loud and clear to the world by those who have hijacked this religion and want to change our current landscape drastically.

I would like to add two more books to your reading list for consideration on this topic;   Londonistan and Jihad Incorporated.  I will review Londonistan first and then do  a second entry for Jihad Incorporated. I hope you will consider buying these books, reading them and adding them to your personal library.  They are both well worth it.

Book Review  #1 

Londonistan
By Melanie Phillips
2006 - Encounter Books
Available at all major books stores- Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Walden, Schuster, etc.

Type of Book:

Non-fiction.

Background: 

Per Encounter Books, Melanie Phillips is an award winning columnist for London’s Daily Mail. She was educated at Oxford and won the Orwell Prize for journalism in 1996.  She is the author of All Must Have Prizes, The Ascent of Woman, America’s Social Revolution and a number of others books. She is a regular guest on BBC shows.   This book, Londonistan, is her latest offering.  Further information about this author can be found on Wikipedia.

General  Book Overview: 

Londonistan is a snap shot of British society in the modern world and the price it has paid by ignoring their newest foe in the 21st century – extreme Muslims and the jihad movement tied directly to the religion of Islam.

Ms. Phillips shares with the reader powerful thoughts such as, “What the free world has failed to grasp is the biggest threat we face is not terrorism. It is instead the ideology that drives it. It’s not enough to fight terror, vital though it is. The principal battle ground is the world of ideas. The Islamists understand this. They understand the psychological warfare – the fermenting of paranoia, resentment, hysteria and demoralization – is their most effective weapon.   They understand that if they can hijack the human mind to the cause of hatred and lies, they have an army; and if they can further hijack the minds of their victims, they will win”.

She lays out with devastating clarity how Great Britain fell into a deep slumber for the last few decades while the enemy made camp around and within. They drifted off even while continual suicide bombers, attempted high jackings, downed planes, blown up embassies/military compounds and innumerable wounded and dead citizens of the world happened throughout the 1970’s, 1980’s and 1990’s.  Even with all these events, the British public remained blissfully unaware of the danger within and abroad.  September 11, 2001 and the impact of the collapse of the Twin Towers in New York, the destruction to the Pentagon in Washington D.C.  and the downing of Flight 93 in a Pennsylvania field which resulted in the loss of massive life altered world views  - short term.  Then Britain fell asleep again.   Bombings impacted Spain’s public safety and train system and killed numerous citizens and changed an electoral vote in 03’. The British napped yet again.  The gruesome murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gough in 2004, left the public stunned, but oddly unchanged. Once again, they drifted off.  Bombings happened on home soil with deadly results to London’s underground trains, tube and bus system in 05’.  Although many because upset and frightened by such a local tragedy, still British citizens and public officers denied the full ramifications of such deadly intentions.  It wasn’t until 2006 when home grown British Muslims were identified as operating out of London mosques and were involved in worldwide global terrorist movements which originated from small Hamlets throughout Britain that the public realized the reality of events - London had become the European hub for terror networks throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s.  They had their own ground zero.  It took over thirty years for Brits to finally recognize the horror of this movement in which they themselves had silently given their consent and approval. 

While the public looked the other way, terror networks quietly set up shop throughout the country in big and small villages alike. They imported large Arab populations from around the world. They wove into their fabric of  religious and cultural change naturalized citizens and UK born citizens as well.  The common denominator  - all were Muslim, all practiced Islam, all were either converts to the faith or born into the faith.  The Imams and Ayatollah leaders then indoctrinated these followers into the world of preaching violence, raising money, recruiting members for jihad and supporting suicide death and martyrdom for the sake of Islam and Allah.  They are very discriminate in their hate. If you are not a practicing Muslim, you are the enemy. It’s that simple. Even if it means taking out fellow U.K. citizens.

Britain’s governing class – its intelligentsia, its media, its politicians, its judiciary, its church, its police and its educational system not only allowed, but supported this deep and broad cultural mentality that allowed terrorism to breed, grow and devastate their own country and others as well.  The U.K. made it easy for this radical extreme Islam to grow. How? The country piece by piece relaxed immigration laws to bring in new citizens and fill job openings, they reduced security measures and strict laws in the name of tolerance and human rights – especially minority rights, they loosened the restrictions and standards when it came to education, religion and government benefits for the sake of being an enlightened society that takes care of it’s own and finally, they embraced diversity and multiculturalism as the answer to a being an advanced and modern society (does any of this sound a warning bell my fellow Americans?). Their goal, make everyone equal, no one better than anyone else. That is the progressive thing to do if you are a great nation in the 21st century.  The loss to the British public in regards to many of the basic foundations that make up a democratic, safe and orderly society, was traded in favor of extreme tolerance, diversity and extra rights that played perfectly into the hand of a silent and growing radical Muslim population. 

Ms. Phillips stresses to the reader with passion that, “The liberal West, which worships at the shrine of reason and makes such a fetish of the power of intellect, refuses to acknowledge that ideas can kill. As a result, Britain, Europe, America and Israel have all left the battleground of ideas totally undefended, allowing the unhindered advance of falsehood and hatred. Worse still, our intelligentsia and media often act as an Islamists’ fifth column”.

Numerous plots to maim and kill have arisen from these radicalized immigrant and home grown men, women and even children in Britain.  Some plots have worked. Some have failed. Too many remain in the planning stages. MI5 (The British Secret Service), MI6 (British Secret Intelligence Service – foreign intelligence) and other security minded organizations have stepped up, but too often, they are fighting a loosing battle inside their own country and sometimes, even with their own British countrymen. Why? They simply are acting late. Very late to a threat that has been in their midst for decades now.

This book covers important topics such as what is Londonistan, the growth of Londonistan, how jihad uses human rights to further it’s agenda, how jihad thwarts our best attempts at security, how we are paralyzed by the need for multicultural living, how British Muslims are alienated, how Jews are made to be the worlds scapegoats (again), how Brits, Americans and others are on their knees in regards to terrorism and how even religious people are appeasing jihad to keep the peace.   This book shows in short yet powerful form, radicalized Islam’s beginnings. From it’s European infancy all the way to its current deadly current state throughout Britain and the world. 

Ms. Phillips ends the book with these thoughts, “It is only if we act against the ideology that is spreading such falsehood and hatred, and stop its advance under the umbrella of minority rights, that we have any chance of successfully defending the free world.  This means, while showing respect to those Muslims who derive only spiritual sustenance from their faith, we must robustly reassert Western values, resist all the attempts to subvert them and engage with the enemy on the battleground of ideas so that truth drives out lies. Only if we take up this civilization gauntlet that has been thus thrown down at us will we stop sleepwalking to defeat”.

She makes it clear. The U.K. fell asleep at the wheel. Hopefully, America will not be such a passive driver and befall the same deadly fate. Her book is a wake up call for all those willing to hear the truth.  She believes it’s not too late for the United States to make a serious correction. But, we don’t have forever.

Personal Review:

This was a fairly short book - 214 pages. The hardcover version came out in 2006 and  contained an interesting foreword.  The copy I had was the soft cover that was published in 2007 and contained an even more interesting conclusion written months after the first publication. Numerous pages of footnotes and indexes of research background filled the back of the book.  This book has been very well received by those in the intelligence and counter terrorism community both in The UK, The US and other democratic nations who understand the war on Islamic extremism (once the shock wore off of course!).  On the other hand, the general public took longer to take to the initial message, but over time most have recognized its important message (after numerous successful as well as foiled bombings wasn’t it time after all?). 

Londonistan frequently makes reference to how Great Britain has transitioned from a once great democracy to a multicultural land where anything goes in the name of tolerance – including radical Islam. The U.K. was a place where the rights of the minority was once respected and honored, but blending into the mainstream was still expected. Unfortunately, we are now in a time where the rights of minorities trump all others. Where the separation of church and state apply to all - except those practicing Islam.   A place where everyone from the judiciary, to government/politicians and universities/school system have fallen prey to the seductive and sophisticated language of those in the elite admonishing everyone to go along to get along. For the sake of diversity and all that good stuff.  Londonistan showed in frightening detail how easy it was for Islamic operatives to overtake the minds, thoughts and morals of those in schools, churches, universities, medical establishments, seats in government, the legal system and charities country wide. This book describes how average Brits were  brainwashed along with powerful leaders of the country without their being aware of the events as they happened until it was simply too late.   

Even with America being oceans away, it is not a land immune to these critical and destructive changes. We are simply at the beginnings of seeing our society erode away as Great Britain did many years ago.   It’s shocking to see how the same evolution is happening here in America just as it happened in the UK.  If you want to see the America of ten years from now – look across the pond to Britain and read the shocking developments in this book. Let’s hope we wake up before the Brits did – else we will no longer be The United States of America. We will be The United States of Radicalized Islamic Extremists. In a nutshell, we will no longer be Americans. 

Daniel Pipes, Steve Emerson, Amir Taheri and other well know terrorism experts voice continual praise for the research, content and message contained within this book. It is an excellent reference source for those in America who want to see a course correction and soon.

Natan Sharansky, well known survivor of the Russian Gulag, former Israeli deputy Prime Minister and noted author says it best about Londonistan, “In the 1930’s, Britain was the leading appeaser of the world’s most intransigent foe, refusing to see the gathering signs of danger until it was almost too late. Today, the same tendency to appeasement and self-delusion is evident again – only now the threat is within. Britain refuses to recognize the clear and present danger of Islamism insides its own borders, which  steadily corrodes its social values and moral compass.  Once again, only the good sense of the British can save their country – and the same may be true of other democracies. This book is powerful and frightening, but also courageous. In dictatorships, you need courage to fight evil. In the free world, you need courage to see the evil”.

Well said, Mr. Sharansky, well said.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in knowing further details of how the cradle of European democracy – Great Britain  - was so easily infiltrated by extremists and became the hub of  modern terrorism. And how America is next in line.

Final Rating

I give this book five stars *****.  Expertly researched.  A powerhouse of information.  A plethora of details.  Easy to read.  A timely reminder that the threat among us remains alive and well.   Pick this book up – it’s a must.

Reviewed by: 

Bridget Dupont-Tingley
Editor
The Local Area Watch

JIHAD INCORPORATED - NOT YOUR AVERAGE AMERICAN SMALL BUSINESS

Book Review - #2 

Jihad Incorporated
By Steven Emerson with foreword by Congressman Peter Hoekstra
2006 – Prometheus Books
Available at all major books stores- Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Walden, Schuster, etc.

Type of Book:

Non-fiction.

Background: 

Per Prometheus Books, Emerson is the founder and current executive director of the Investigative Project on Terrorism.  An award-winning journalist and internationally recognized expert on terrorism and national security, he is the author of six books, including New York Times best seller, American Jihad – The Terrorists Living Among Us.  He has testified before Congress numerous times on terrorism, extremism, and related matters.  He was one of a few experts before 9/11 who warned America of Osama bin Laden and the threat he and his organizations posed. More information can be found at Wikipedia.

General  Book Overview: 

Jihad Incorporated is the largest nongovernmental data and intelligence book available to the public regarding militant Islam both in the U.S. and around the world. It’s a one stop shop about the who, what, when, where and why’s of the business (and when you read this book and see how strategic and detailed they are in plotting and planning – you will call it a business too) of Islamic extremism.  As Mr. Hoekstra notes in the foreword of this book, “the global war against radical Islam will be long, and it will require the patience and perseverance of the American people.  That, in turn, will require broad awareness of just the sort of detailed, carefully researched, and substantiated information that this book provides”. 

Steven Emerson basically breaks this book up into a three part series: 

Part 1 is called al Qaeda Targets The U.S.  This section spends considerable time discussing al Qaeda and affiliated groups, historical information about the history of the organization, key players and different criminal activities they have been involved in since 9/11. 

Part 2 is called Other Key Terrorist Networks. It goes into detail about other Islamic organizations with ties in the U.S. such as Hamas, Hizzballah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and many others.  You’ll find out their origins, how they set up new shop and their activities both home and abroad.

Part 3 is called Unraveling The Support Network of Terrorists Within The U.S. It analyzes in great detail the support system to be found throughout the world to keep these organizations expanding their network of money, religion and hate via outlets such as charities, foundations, schools, mosques, business companies, jihad webmasters and more.

Most in the general public are aware of events such as the New York City multiple landmarks plot in early 1993, the late 1993 WTC initial garage bombing attack, the foiled 2000 Los Angeles Airport Millennium bombing plot and the terrible events in NY, DC and PA in 2001.  But, if you are interested in reading a book that gives interesting facts not discussed in the main stream media, this is a great choice.  For instance:

• Did you know that the formal fatwa calling for a holy war against the West began as early as 1992? The fatwa was originally issued by the Shura Council for al Qaeda.  This fatwa basically says that Americans are fair game for death because they have a government we like and they don’t support it. We are all in the bulls eye of their target unless we are Muslim, practice Sharia Law and adopt Islamic doctrines.

• Did you know that Egyptian Islamic Jihad merged into al Qaeda back in 1998? That bin Ladens group is made up of other terrorist groups and not just him and his original core backers?

• Did you know that the bombings in East Africa were all test cases to see what it took to pack a truck with explosives, how to drive it to a site and park it and see once detonated what the maximum impact would be? The first explosion at the embassy at Nairobi was a decent result, but not quite as good as they hoped.  The Dar es Salaam bombing followed thereafter with a better outcome.  Planning began as early as 1993 for these bombings. They concluded with deadly success in 1998 after they spent years doing test planning, research and finally understood payload delivery lessons. These well planned attacks cost 224 people their lives. 12 were Americans. Most were African Muslims. Even with fellow Muslims, who are not Muslim enough, their hatred shines through.

•  Did you know that the attack on the U.S. naval ship the USS Cole in Yemen by two al Qaeda operatives was actually the second attempt against a U.S. destroyer? The first plot failed that had been launched against the USS Sullivans. The boat that tried to reach this ship had been overloaded with explosives and it sank, thus ending the first mission. They recovered the explosives, studied boat and explosive load bearing limits and learned from this failed attempted.  They came back for another round by strengthening the hull of their boat and adding fuel tanks for further stability which allowed the second attack to succeed.   The two al Qaeda operatives piloted a new vessel into the side of the USS Cole in October of 2000 and detonating a bomb which tore a hole forty foot wide in the side of the ship.  This attack ended up killing 17 American sailors and wounding 39.

• Did you know terrorist groups have infiltrated the U.S. in mass numbers – especially prior to the year 2000 - and have since pursued multiple plots involving critical infrastructure in the U.S. since 9/11? They have targeted federal buildings, transportation, commercial driving licenses, tunnels, bridges, subways, buses, passenger ferries, financial centers, forest fires, nuclear power plants, oil infrastructure, port, food/water & drug contamination plots.  Not to mention civilian casualty programs – airliners, shopping malls, apartment buildings, and well visited vacation destinations.  This book details all those plots foiled by capture of operatives and the information given up during their interrogations and subsequent trials.  The details being too numerous to mention here.

• Did you know how easy it was for suspected terrorists to gain a commercials drivers license to operate not only big rig trucks for hauling of hazardous waste, but also to drive school and city buses that transport the public? The public is advised that suspected terrorists that make watch lists are flagged in a computer system and become ineligible for these licenses. Rigorous background checks are considered the norm now.  At last check, of the 2.7 million truck drivers licensed to carry hazardous waste materials, 29 were found to have relationships with terrorist organizations.  It only took 15 crazed men to take down three major airliners with devastating consequences. Imagine what 29 drivers with a loaded weapon called a Mack truck filled with hazardous and toxic chemicals could do if they were having a bad day?

• Did you know that many of the suspected terrorists in the U.S. obtained entry via student visas, temporary work visas, asylum visas or were sponsored by a female U.S. citizen (or one they paid for assistance) with whom they married,  waited 3-4 to obtain their green card then divorced  these women once they got citizen status? For those who had temporary visas of any kind that expired, warnings to report for deportation happened, but few left. Most blended back into the population undetected and have yet to be found even today.  It’s impossible to count those who came here illegally and are not accounted for at this time.

Even the least attentive American has heard something over the years about some of the major players in these terrorist networks, but most are weak on details.  We have all heard of bin Laden, the late al-Zarqawi, Mohamed Atta, Richard Reid the shoe bomber, Ressam the millennium bomber, Adam Gadahn the American Muslim convert now an al Qaeda sympathizer and translator, etc.  If you don’t know who any of the major other operatives are such as;  Ramzi Yousef, Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, El Hage, Ali Mohamed, al Zawahiri, Khalid al-Fawwaz, al-Marri,  Kahn, Siddiqui and others, you should.  This book gives great details on all these men.

Americans should also be aware of the seriousness of all the different organizations that are carefully and deliberately producing tomorrow’s mass murders (oops, I believe they call them martyrs for Allah), organizations like Hamas, The Muslim Brotherhood, Hizballah, Palestinian Jihad, The Pakistani Jihadist Network, and many, many more.   Once again, this books spells out what you aren’t hearing elsewhere.

Jihad Incorporated shows how these operatives and groups are strategically positioned throughout the United States, often in places you wouldn’t expect like Peoria Illinois, Columbus Ohio, Baltimore Maryland, Des Moines Iowa, Dearborn Michigan, Minneapolis Minnesota, Seattle Washington, Portland Oregon and more. These current extremists have spent considerable time learning our customs, our laws and our way of life in order to blend in and not stand out. They went abroad for terrorist training and came back ready for business.  They conceived plots to alter life as we know it. Their objectives were simple – achieve mass casualties, create economic damage, destroy the infrastructure and create terror with the population at large. Fortunately, some plots never went past the planning stages. Others reached operational stages, but failed for one reason or another. Some cases remains classified so, the results are still unknown. For those that succeeded, we all know full well via cable tv., newspapers, magazines and often from first hand experience how deep their hatred is for this country, its customs and its people by the devastation their presence and actions caused to thousands.

Only by understanding who they are, where they are, what they have done so far and what they still plan to do, can we begin to truly safeguard our citizens and country and eliminate this never ending silent and deadly threat.

Personal Review:

This is a substantial book – over 487 pages. Each chapter ends with its own footnote section rather than placing all at the very back of the book. That helps for tracking and cross referencing sources early versus later.  The middle of the book contains about a dozen pages of black and white photos that help depict the major operatives in all their holy war glory, falsified documents that were used, maps and supporting plot materials that were seized and used in previous legal cases. This book is power packed with more names, places, dates, times and events then the average mind can possibly comprehend in one sitting. I would not call this easy reading as it’s extremely detailed, but it’s intriguing and interesting if you can keep up with all the information presented.   I chose to read this book in small sections one at a time and that seemed to help. 

Jihad Incorporated is not set up like a traditional work of fiction or laid out like a story with a plot. Rather, it is a serious reference source for those following the movement of Islamic extremists in the U.S. and worldwide. If you have a name or location and need details, this book is your source. I would call it the bible of project terrorism. A must for those in government, intelligence, security, the media and ordinary citizens who want “to get it”.

This group – The Investigative Project - began back in 1995 by Steven Emerson.  They  appear to be a treasure trove that few in the general public know about.  The IPT has apparently assisted law enforcement on many occasions to intervene on terrorist activity when evidence elsewhere was lacking, but desperately needed. It is said that key prosecutions have also come about due to this project. Mr. Emerson’s research group has been used to assist projects via The White House, the FBI, the DOJ, DHS border security agencies, Secret Service, Pentagon, Special Ops, Treasury Department  and others in their counterterrorism activities.   The project states that they now archive more than four million documents, thousands of hours of clandestine video and audiotapes of militant Islamic training, fund raising, recruitment gatherings, tens of thousands of original terrorist manuals, telephone books, periodicals and more. The project employs analysts, translators, audio and visual specialists and undercover ops as part of their exemplary staff.  This group is one of America’s most important arsenals against the war against Islamic extremists.  It’s one you should know about too.

In the end, average Americans and people of the West may not become experts on all the names or groups or locations but, we sure can make it a point to have some level of understanding about the enemy. Our government officials, intelligence community and military professionals need to know inside and out what the extremists want to accomplish in their final mission so, it can be stopped dead in its tracks.  Things like a world that includes the elimination of the State of Israel and all Jews, the indoctrination of the remaining world into the religion of Islam, showing reverence to the prophet Muhammad and the installation of Sharia law from sea to shining sea and every continent in between.

The extremists and top operatives believe they can use knowledge and ideas to weaken us from within, alter our society and force on us a set religion and common law.  Ultimately, those who resist could be eliminated. We have the ability to use diplomacy, but that has limited results when your enemy can't get past the thought of chopping your head off before discussions even begin. If you do negotiate with them, it's always questionnable as some Islamic doctrine allows for "stetching of the truth" for the good of Islam. So, how does one  complete a deal with a final handshake and feel confident that arrangements agreed upon were struck not with Allah, but possibly the Devil himself?  We have our military and they are the most technologically advanced, well run and accruate in the history of civilization.  Besides our mighty military, we also have knowledge as a source of power too. We have it and must use it wisely.  That is our greatest untapped tool in this battle though many don't realize it. This well researched book goes a long way to winning the psychological and technical part of a very long and hard battle today, tomorrow and long into our future.

We can oppose this ominous trend with our own facts, data and analysis to plan a counter strategy that will cancel them out or take them down completely. Jihad Incorporated does an excellent job of showing how.

Final Rating:

Three and a half stars for ease of reading ***. 

Five stars for research and content ***.

Reviewed by: 

Bridget Dupont-Tingley
Editor
The Local Area Watch