Imminent Attack?

All sorts of rumblings the past few days if you're paying attention. The Brits up their terror warning level to "severe:"

• The British government has raised its terror alert level from "substantial" to "severe," the second highest level, but it's not divulging the exact reason behind the decision.

  Home Secretary Alan Johnson made the announcement Friday. He said it means his government considers an attack on British soil is likely and that security officials are heightening their vigilance. However, he stressed there is no intelligence suggesting an attack is imminent.

Well something certainly spooked them. Then bin Laden releases a statement referencing the failed Detroit bombing:

• Osama bin Laden endorsed the failed attempt to blow up a U.S. airliner on Christmas Day and threatened new attacks against the United States in an audio message released Sunday that appeared aimed at asserting he maintains some direct command over al-Qaida-inspired offshoots.
  
  However, U.S. officials and several researchers who track terrorist groups said there was no indication bin Laden or any of his top lieutenants had anything to do with or even knew in advance of the Christmas plot by a Yemen-based group that is one of several largely independent al-Qaida franchises.

And a close analysis of the bin Laden statement is triggering increased alarm in certain intelligence circles:

• Osama bin Laden's word choice in the latest audio message attributed to him is seen as a "possible indicator" of an upcoming attack by his Al-Qaeda network, a US monitoring group warned Sunday.

  IntelCenter, a US group that monitors Islamist websites, also said that manner of the release and the content of the message showed it was "credible" that it was a new release from the Saudi extremist.

  "The Osama bin Laden audio message released to Al-Jazeera on 24 January 2010 contains specific language used by bin Laden in his statements in advance of attacks," IntelCenter said in a statement.

And what better time to launch an attack? The president is severely damaged domestically by the ObamaCare fiasco, Wall Street is under attack by elements of Obama's left wing and lost 500 points last week, the job market continues to lurch and the economy is lagging, most likely headed for a "double dip" recession. One successful attack inside our borders and we're in a tailspin worse than September 2001.

Anyone still think we should be treating terrorism as a "law enforcement" problem rather than a war?

Freebie

Suicide by Cop more than likely:

• A 39-year-old Glenview Township man was shot today by Cook County Sheriff's police after he allegedly charged at them with a sword after an hour long stand off, officials said.
  
  The man, whose identity is not being released by authorities because he has not been charged with a crime, was taken to Lutheran General Hospital where he was being operated after being shot in the chest, sheriff's officials said in a statement.
  
  [...] After more than an hour, the man came out brandishing a large sword and approached police in a "threatening manner,'' police said. The man was shot once in the chest by police, officials said. No other injuries were reported.

In any event, no police hurt. We've never yet seen a sword wielding head case beat a rifle.

Quién queda en Boca?

TAPA Nº 134

Ríver volvió a ganarle a Boca y se llevó la 2º Copa Desafío de Mendoza. Fue 1-1 pero la definición por penales puso a Ríver 3-1.

Sue the "Deep Pockets"

Hmmmmmm:

• A woman who says she was attacked by a homeless man and woman while leaving a Jewel Food Store is suing the store and her attackers.
  
  Jennifer Hall says that while she and her fiance were leaving the Jewel store at 1224 S. Wabash Ave. on Aug. 25, 2008, her 36th birthday, she was approached by Derrick King and Joyce Burgess. The two requested a cigarette and when Hall denied them, she was physically attacked -- losing most of her teeth and ending up with 85 staples in her head.
  
  King pleaded guilty to the crime last october and was sentecned to three years in prision. But according to state records, he was paroled just 18 days after pleading guilty to two counts of robbery for the attack on Hall..
  

First of all, the editor over at Breaking News ought to be fined for the errors in this story.

The victim's choice of targets for her lawsuit is interesting though. How much liability should Jewel have for homeless people who wander onto their property and beg, cajole, threaten, harass and beat citizens in an effort to get money? And if Jewel is liable, shouldn't they be able to protect their property by more than the usual means? Should we expect to see Jewel managers armed with Tasers, nightsticks and guns to protect their property? It would be entertaining no doubt.

Fake Cop

No, not the juvenile offender - someone else:

• A Lincoln Park man has been charged with impersonating a police officer after allegedly luring a couple into his car and robbing them, authorities said.

  [...] About 4:30 p.m. Friday, the suspect, driving a silver Chevrolet Impala, stopped the vehicle alongside a man and woman in the 4800 block of North Hamlin Avenue in Albany Park, police said. The suspect showed the couple a pair of handcuffs, a police scanner, and what they believed was a handgun.

  The suspect ordered the victims into the car, telling them he was an undercover office, and drove the two to a nearby alley, where he took their belongings, including cell phones, an iPod and an unreported amount of cash, police said.

  Albany Park district police officers were called to the scene and broadcast a description of the suspect and vehicle over the radio. Patrol officers later spotted and stopped the car in the 3400 block of West Leland Avenue and called the victims to the scene.

Nice job by the responding officers. Too bad we aren't allowed to execute these types on the street and leave their bodies in the gutter as a warning to others.

Ousted CFD Trying for the Bench

An ousted CFD Union leader is running for judge. And firefighters aren't too happy about it:

• In July 2007, John Chwarzynski was removed as president of Chicago Fire Fighters Union Local 2 by an internal panel that found him guilty of violating the union's constitution and bylaws.

  Eleven of the union's 13 executive board members had accused Chwarzynski of fraud, financial malfeasance and a host of other violations. Among other things, he was accused of filing a fraudulent expense report for an extravagant dinner for two at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse.

  Chwarzynski denied the charges, accused his union brothers of trying to "cover up their own acts of misconduct and payroll fraud" and filed a lawsuit against Local 2's executive board. The suit has since been dismissed.

  Now, Chwarzynski is one of 11 candidates running for judge in a subcircuit that takes in virtually all of the Northwest Side's 36th and 38th wards, portions of six other wards and parts of roughly 10 suburbs.

Former union boss and SCC reader Bill Kugelman is leading the charge. This doesn't seem like anyone we'd want to end up on the bench. Our north side readers might want to take note and find an alternate candidate to support.

Another Nail for Quinn

The Accidental Governor receives even more bad news:

• The Illinois seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for December 2009 went up by two-tenths of a percentage point from November and is now at 11.1 percent, according to figures released Friday by the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES).

  The three-month moving average also increased 0.2 percent to 11.0 percent. Slight increases and decreases in the unemployment rate are to be expected in a national recession, according to a release from IDES.

But the major problem no one is speaking of is that these jobs are leaving Illinois and they aren't coming back. The unfriendly business environment is making Illinois a difficult place to open and maintain any type of manufacturing job. Construction? Few and far between. Even politically connected road work is suffering and we see even bigger problems down the road as taxpayers get fed up with the Illinois Combine.