Posted by Rick Morris
This column is courtesy of the great geopolitics site Stratfor, which remarkably allows for some of their great articles to be syndicated to other sites with full credit. Fortunately, this is one such article.
The Hasan Case: Overt Clues and Tactical Challenges
from Stratfor
In last week’s global security and intelligence report, we discussed the recent call by the leader of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Nasir al-Wahayshi, for jihadists to conduct simple attacks against a variety of targets in the Muslim world and the West. We also noted how it is relatively simple to conduct such attacks against soft targets using improvised explosive devices, guns or even knives and clubs.
The next day, a lone gunman, U.S. Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, opened fire on a group of soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas. The victims were in the Soldier Readiness Processing Center, a facility on the base where troops are prepared for deployment and where they take care of certain processing tasks such as completing insurance paperwork and receiving medical examinations and vaccinations.
Even though the targets of Hasan’s attack were soldiers, they represented a very soft target in this environment. Most soldiers on bases inside the United States are normally not armed and are only provided weapons for training. The only personnel who regularly carry weapons are the military police and the base civilian police officers. In addition to being unarmed, the soldiers at the center were closely packed together in the facility as they waited to proceed from station to station. The unarmed, densely packed mass of people allowed Hasan to kill 13 (12 soldiers and one civilian employee of the center) and wound 42 others when he opened fire.
Hasan is a U.S.-born Muslim who, according to STRATFOR sources and media accounts, has had past contact with jihadists, including the radical Imam Anwar al-Awlaki. Al-Awlaki is a U.S.-born imam who espouses a jihadist ideology and who was discussed at some length in the 9/11 commission report for his links to 9/11 hijackers Khalid al-Midhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi. Al-Awlaki, who is currently living in Yemen and reportedly has contacts with al Qaeda, posted a message on his Web site Nov. 9 praising Hasan’s actions. Despite Hasan’s connections to al-Awlaki and other jihadists, it is unknown at this point if he was even aware of al-Wahayshi’s recent message calling for simple attacks, and therefore it is impossible to tell if his attack was in response to it.
However, one thing that is certain is that investigators examining Hasan’s computer hard drive, e-mail traffic and Internet history will be looking into that possibility, along with other indications that Hasan was linked to radicals.
We noted last week that by their very nature, individual actors and small cells are very difficult for the government to detect. They must somehow identify themselves by contacting a government informant or another person who reports them to the authorities, attend a militant training camp or conduct correspondence with a person or organization under government scrutiny. In the Hasan case, it now appears that Hasan did self-identify by making radical statements to people he worked with, who reported him to the authorities. It also appears that he had correspondence with people such as al-Awlaki, whom the government was monitoring. Because of this behavior, Hasan brought himself to the attention of the Department of Defense, the FBI and the CIA.
The fact that Hasan was able to commit this attack after bringing government attention to himself could be due to a number of factors. Chief among them is the fact that it is tactically impossible for a government to identify every aspiring militant actor and to pre-empt every act of violence. The degree of difficulty is increased greatly if an actor does indeed act alone and does not give any overt clues through his actions or his communications of his intent to attack. Because of this, the Hasan case provides an excellent opportunity to examine national security investigations and their utility and limitations.
The Nature of Intelligence Investigations
The FBI will typically open up an intelligence investigation (usually referred to as a national security investigation) in any case where there is an indication or allegation that a person is involved in terrorist activity but there is no evidence that a specific law has been broken. Many times these investigations are opened up due to a lead passed by the CIA, National Security Agency or a foreign liaison intelligence service. Other times an FBI investigation can come as a spin-off from another FBI counterterrorism investigation already under way or be prompted by a piece of information collected by an FBI informant or even by a tip from a concerned citizen — like the flight instructors who alerted the FBI to the suspicious behavior of some foreign flight students prior to the 9/11 attacks. In such a case, the FBI case agent in charge of the investigation will open a preliminary inquiry, which gives the agent a limited window of time to look into the matter. If no indication of criminal activity is found, the preliminary inquiry must be closed unless the agent receives authorization from the special agent in charge of his division and FBI headquarters to extend it.
If, during the preliminary inquiry, the investigating agents find probable cause that a crime has been committed, the FBI will open a full-fledged criminal investigation into the case, similar to what we saw in the case of Luqman Ameen Abdullah and his followers in Detroit.
One of the large problems in national security investigations is separating the wheat from the chaff. Many leads are based on erroneous information or a misidentification of the suspect — there is a huge issue associated with the confusion caused by the transliteration of Arabic names and the fact that there are many people bearing the same names. Jihadists also have the tendency to use multiple names and identities. And there are many cases in which people will falsely report a person to the FBI out of malice. Because of these factors, national security investigations proceed slowly and usually do not involve much (if any) contact with the suspect and his close associates. If the suspect is a real militant planning a terrorist attack, investigators do not want to tip him off, and if he is innocent, they do not want to sully his reputation by showing up and overtly interviewing everyone he knows. Due to its controversial history of domestic intelligence activities, the FBI has become acutely aware of its responsibility to protect privacy rights and civil liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and other laws.
And the rights guaranteed under the Constitution do complicate these national security investigations. It is not illegal for someone to say that Muslims should attack U.S. troops due to their operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, or that more Muslims should conduct attacks like the June 1 shooting at a recruiting center in Little Rock, Ark. — things that Hasan is reported to have said. Radical statements and convictions are not illegal — although they certainly would appear to be conduct unbecoming a U.S. Army officer. (We will leave to others the discussion of the difficulties in dealing with problem officers who are minorities and doctors and who owe several years of service in return for their education.)
There are also many officers and enlisted soldiers in the U.S. Army who own personal weapons and who use them for self-defense, target shooting or hunting. There is nothing extraordinary or illegal about a U.S. Army major owning personal weapons. With no articulable violation of U.S. law, the FBI would have very little to act upon in a case like Hasan’s. Instead, even if they found cause to extend their preliminary inquiry, they would be pretty much limited to monitoring his activities (and perhaps his communications, with a court order) and waiting for a law to be violated. In the Hasan case, it would appear that the FBI did not find probable cause that a law had been violated before he opened fire at Fort Hood. Although perhaps if the FBI had been watching his activities closely and with an eye toward “the how” of terrorist attacks, they might have noticed him conducting preoperational surveillance of the readiness center and even a dry run of the attack.
Of course, in addition to just looking for violations of the law, the other main thrust of a national security investigation is to determine whom the suspect is connected to and whom he is talking to or planning with. In past cases, such investigations have uncovered networks of jihadist actors working together in the United States, Canada, Europe and elsewhere. However, if all Hasan did in his correspondence with people such as al-Awlaki was exercise his First Amendment right to hold radical convictions, and if he did not engage in any type of conspiracy to conduct an attack, he did not break the law.
Another issue that complicates national security cases is that they are almost always classified at the secret level or above. This is understandable, considering they are often opened based upon intelligence produced by sensitive intelligence programs. However, this classification means that only those people with the proper clearance and an established need to know can be briefed on the case. It is not at all unusual for the FBI to visit a high-ranking official at another agency to brief the official on the fact that the FBI is conducting a classified national security investigation involving a person working for the official’s agency. The rub is that they will frequently tell the official that he or she is not at liberty to share details of the investigation with other individuals in the agency because they do not have a clear need to know. The FBI agent will also usually ask the person briefed not to take any action against the target of the investigation, so that the investigation is not compromised. While some people will disagree with the FBI’s determination of who really needs to know about the investigation and go on to brief a wider audience, many officials are cowed by the FBI and sit on the information.
Of course, the size of an organization is also a factor in the dissemination of information. The Department of Defense and the U.S. Army are large organizations, and it is possible that officials at the Pentagon or the Army’s Criminal Investigation Command (still known by its old acronym CID) headquarters at Fort Belvoir, Va., were briefed on the case and that local officials at Fort Hood were not. The Associated Press is now reporting that the FBI had alerted a Defense Criminal Investigative Service agent assigned to the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) in Washington about Hasan’s contacts with al-Awlaki, and ABC reports that the Defense Department is denying the FBI notified them. It would appear that the finger-pointing and bureaucratic blame-shifting normally associated with such cases has begun.
Even more severe problems would have plagued the dissemination of information from the CIA to local commanders and CID officers at Fort Hood. Despite the intelligence reforms put in place after the 9/11 attacks, the U.S. government still faces large obstacles when it comes to sharing intelligence information with law enforcement personnel.
Criminal Acts vs. Terrorism
So far, the Hasan shooting investigation is being run by the Army CID, and the FBI has been noticeably — and uncharacteristically — absent from the scene. As the premier law enforcement agency in the United States, the FBI will often assume authority over investigations where there is even a hint of terrorism. Since 9/11, the number of FBI/JTTF offices across the country has been dramatically increased, and the JTTFs are specifically charged with investigating cases that may involve terrorism. Therefore, we find the FBI’s absence in this case to be quite out of the ordinary.
However, with Hasan being a member of the armed forces, the victims being soldiers or army civilian employees and the incident occurring at Fort Hood, the case would seem to fall squarely under the mantle of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). From a prosecutorial perspective, a homicide trial under the UCMJ should be very tidy and could be quickly concluded. It will not involve all the potential loose ends that could pop up in a federal terrorism trial, especially when those loose ends involve what the FBI and CIA knew about Hasan, when they learned it and who they told. Also, politically, there are some who would like to see the Hasan case remain a criminal matter rather than a case of terrorism. Following the shooting death of Luqman Ameen Abdullah and considering the delicate relationship between Muslim advocacy groups and the U.S. government, some people would rather see Hasan portrayed as a mentally disturbed criminal than as an ideologically driven lone wolf.
Despite the CID taking the lead in prosecuting the case, the classified national security investigation by the CIA and FBI into Hasan and his possible connections to jihadist elements is undoubtedly continuing. Senior members of the government will certainly demand to know if Hasan had any confederates, if he was part of a bigger plot and if there are more attacks to come. Several congressmen and senators are also calling for hearings into the case, and if such hearings occur, they will certainly produce an abundance of interesting information pertaining to Hasan and the national security investigation of his activities.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
FDH Lounge Show #81: next week
By Rick Morris
THE FDH LOUNGE (Wednesdays, 7-10 PM EDT on SportsTalkNetwork.com) is taking our Thanksgiving break one week early. We return for Episode #81 on Wednesday, November 25 at our usual time.
THE FDH LOUNGE (Wednesdays, 7-10 PM EDT on SportsTalkNetwork.com) is taking our Thanksgiving break one week early. We return for Episode #81 on Wednesday, November 25 at our usual time.
Monday, November 16, 2009
NFL Week Eleven power rankings
By Rick Morris
NOTE: Previous ratings in parentheses.
FIRST TIER: PLAYOFF LOCKS
1 New Orleans (1)
2 Indianapolis (3)
3 Minnesota (2)
4 Cincinnati (9)
5 New England (5)
6 Pittsburgh (4)
SECOND TIER: PLAYOFF CONTENDERS
7 Arizona (11)
8 San Diego (13)
9 NY Giants (12)
10 Dallas (8)
11 Philadelphia (10)
12 Baltimore (14)
13 Houston (15)
14 Atlanta (7)
15 Denver (6)
THIRD TIER: DISTANT PLAYOFF POSSIBILITIES
16 Miami (17)
17 Green Bay (18)
18 Carolina (21)
19 Jacksonville (20)
20 NY Jets (16)
21 Chicago (19)
22 San Francisco (22)
FOURTH TIER: VERY BAD, BUT NOT THE WORST
23 Tennessee (26)
24 Washington (25)
25 Seattle (24)
26 Buffalo (23)
FIFTH TIER: TEAMS WITHOUT ANY REDEEMING VALUE WHATSOEVER
27 Kansas City (27)
28 Oakland (28)
29 St. Louis (29)
30 Detroit (30)
31 Tampa Bay (31)
32 Cleveland (32)
BIGGEST RISERS: Cincinnati and San Diego (5 spots), Arizona (4 spots), NY Giants (3 spots)
BIGGEST FALLERS: Denver (9 spots), Atlanta (7 spots), NY Jets (4 spots), Buffalo, Carolina and Tennessee (3 spots)
NOTE: Previous ratings in parentheses.
FIRST TIER: PLAYOFF LOCKS
1 New Orleans (1)
2 Indianapolis (3)
3 Minnesota (2)
4 Cincinnati (9)
5 New England (5)
6 Pittsburgh (4)
SECOND TIER: PLAYOFF CONTENDERS
7 Arizona (11)
8 San Diego (13)
9 NY Giants (12)
10 Dallas (8)
11 Philadelphia (10)
12 Baltimore (14)
13 Houston (15)
14 Atlanta (7)
15 Denver (6)
THIRD TIER: DISTANT PLAYOFF POSSIBILITIES
16 Miami (17)
17 Green Bay (18)
18 Carolina (21)
19 Jacksonville (20)
20 NY Jets (16)
21 Chicago (19)
22 San Francisco (22)
FOURTH TIER: VERY BAD, BUT NOT THE WORST
23 Tennessee (26)
24 Washington (25)
25 Seattle (24)
26 Buffalo (23)
FIFTH TIER: TEAMS WITHOUT ANY REDEEMING VALUE WHATSOEVER
27 Kansas City (27)
28 Oakland (28)
29 St. Louis (29)
30 Detroit (30)
31 Tampa Bay (31)
32 Cleveland (32)
BIGGEST RISERS: Cincinnati and San Diego (5 spots), Arizona (4 spots), NY Giants (3 spots)
BIGGEST FALLERS: Denver (9 spots), Atlanta (7 spots), NY Jets (4 spots), Buffalo, Carolina and Tennessee (3 spots)
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Video Clips: Japanese game shows
By Rick Morris
In order to help entertain you, we have always sought to bring you entertaining videos here on the site from time to time. Today's theme? Japanese game shows!
Now this is a country that knows how to put on a game show! Granted, some of this is a little sadistic, but that just ups the entertainment value in our book. And as you will see, some of these shows have spread beyond Japanese soil, because again, nobody thinks of this kind of cool stuff like they do.
We've got a couple of different genres for you:
The "Silent Library" game (and we'll start with one of the greatest Internet clips ever)
Human Tetris
Treadmill/Rope Swing
In order to help entertain you, we have always sought to bring you entertaining videos here on the site from time to time. Today's theme? Japanese game shows!
Now this is a country that knows how to put on a game show! Granted, some of this is a little sadistic, but that just ups the entertainment value in our book. And as you will see, some of these shows have spread beyond Japanese soil, because again, nobody thinks of this kind of cool stuff like they do.
We've got a couple of different genres for you:
The "Silent Library" game (and we'll start with one of the greatest Internet clips ever)
Human Tetris
Treadmill/Rope Swing
NFL picks Week Ten
By Rick Morris
In addition to posting my weekly picks, I will post those from other members of The FDH Lounge Dignitaries' Football Challenge Contest. Each week, we will single out our three strongest plays.
STEVE CIRVELLO (1-2 last week, 16-10 overall)
New Orleans -14 over St. Louis
Minnesota -16 1/2 over Detroit
Baltimore -10 1/2 over Cleveland
RICK MORRIS (1-2 last week, 0-1 with my best pick, 15-12 overall, 5-4 on best picks)
Baltimore -10 1/2 over Cleveland (my 1,000-Star, Gold-Plated Lock of the Millennium for this week)
Denver -4 over Washington
Dallas -3 over Green Bay
DAVE ADAMS (2-1 last week, 13-14 overall)
New Orleans -14 over St. Louis
Baltimore -10 1/2 over Cleveland
Indianapolis -3 over New England
SEAN TRENCH (2-1 last week, 12-14-1 overall)
New Orleans -14 over St. Louis
Pittsburgh -7 over Cleveland
San Diego -1 over Philadelphia
RYAN ISLEY (1-2 last week, 12-15 overall)
Tampa Bay +10 over Miami
San Diego -1 over Philadelphia
Indianapolis -3 over New England
My remaining picks (9-4 last week, 69-58-1 overall, including the Thursday night pick posted on The FDH Lounge Twitter account)
NY Jets -7 over Jacksonville
Pittsburgh -7 over Cincinnati
Tennessee -7 over Buffalo
Detroit +16 1/2 over Minnesota
New Orleans -14 over St. Louis
Atlanta -1 1/2 over Carolina
Tampa Bay +10 over Miami
Kansas City +2 over Oakland
Seattle +9 over Arizona
San Diego -1 over Philadelphia
New England +3 over Indianapolis
In addition to posting my weekly picks, I will post those from other members of The FDH Lounge Dignitaries' Football Challenge Contest. Each week, we will single out our three strongest plays.
STEVE CIRVELLO (1-2 last week, 16-10 overall)
New Orleans -14 over St. Louis
Minnesota -16 1/2 over Detroit
Baltimore -10 1/2 over Cleveland
RICK MORRIS (1-2 last week, 0-1 with my best pick, 15-12 overall, 5-4 on best picks)
Baltimore -10 1/2 over Cleveland (my 1,000-Star, Gold-Plated Lock of the Millennium for this week)
Denver -4 over Washington
Dallas -3 over Green Bay
DAVE ADAMS (2-1 last week, 13-14 overall)
New Orleans -14 over St. Louis
Baltimore -10 1/2 over Cleveland
Indianapolis -3 over New England
SEAN TRENCH (2-1 last week, 12-14-1 overall)
New Orleans -14 over St. Louis
Pittsburgh -7 over Cleveland
San Diego -1 over Philadelphia
RYAN ISLEY (1-2 last week, 12-15 overall)
Tampa Bay +10 over Miami
San Diego -1 over Philadelphia
Indianapolis -3 over New England
My remaining picks (9-4 last week, 69-58-1 overall, including the Thursday night pick posted on The FDH Lounge Twitter account)
NY Jets -7 over Jacksonville
Pittsburgh -7 over Cincinnati
Tennessee -7 over Buffalo
Detroit +16 1/2 over Minnesota
New Orleans -14 over St. Louis
Atlanta -1 1/2 over Carolina
Tampa Bay +10 over Miami
Kansas City +2 over Oakland
Seattle +9 over Arizona
San Diego -1 over Philadelphia
New England +3 over Indianapolis
Saturday, November 14, 2009
FDH Fantasy Newsletter: Volume II, Issue XLV
By Rick Morris
For the most part, we keep our fantasy content on our fantasy website and fantasy blog and keep this site for content on all subjects. It allows our readers to find specific content more easily that way. However, it has come to our attention that because our new fantasy sports newsletter is published on the older Blogger platform that our readers may be limited in their ability to subscribe to it. There does not appear to be a way to have content on the FantasyDrafthelp.com blog forwarded to an aggregate news reader -- however, we know that we have that ability here. So we will link to that newsletter each week right here when it is published. Here is this week's newsletter.
For the most part, we keep our fantasy content on our fantasy website and fantasy blog and keep this site for content on all subjects. It allows our readers to find specific content more easily that way. However, it has come to our attention that because our new fantasy sports newsletter is published on the older Blogger platform that our readers may be limited in their ability to subscribe to it. There does not appear to be a way to have content on the FantasyDrafthelp.com blog forwarded to an aggregate news reader -- however, we know that we have that ability here. So we will link to that newsletter each week right here when it is published. Here is this week's newsletter.
NCAA football picks Week Eleven
By Rick Morris
Last week 3-2, 29-30-1 on the season.
Ohio State -16 1/2 over Iowa
Tennessee +5 1/2 over Mississippi
Notre Dame +6 1/2 over Pittsburgh
Texas Tech +4 1/2 over Oklahoma State
California -3 over Arizona
Last week 3-2, 29-30-1 on the season.
Ohio State -16 1/2 over Iowa
Tennessee +5 1/2 over Mississippi
Notre Dame +6 1/2 over Pittsburgh
Texas Tech +4 1/2 over Oklahoma State
California -3 over Arizona
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Happy Veterans Day
By Rick Morris
As Ryan Isley and I said earlier tonight on our FDH LOUNGE program, veterans are among the greatest heroes walking the earth today. All of us living our lives away from the dangers they have faced on our behalf truly stand on their shoulders, as their willingness to shield us from the worst of humanity is inspirational beyond words.
This tribute symbolizes what they have done for us. God Bless them today and always.
As Ryan Isley and I said earlier tonight on our FDH LOUNGE program, veterans are among the greatest heroes walking the earth today. All of us living our lives away from the dangers they have faced on our behalf truly stand on their shoulders, as their willingness to shield us from the worst of humanity is inspirational beyond words.
This tribute symbolizes what they have done for us. God Bless them today and always.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
FDH Lounge Show #80: November 11, 2009
By Rick Morris
Our 80th episode of THE FDH LOUNGE (Wednesdays, 7-10 PM EDT on SportsTalkNetwork.com) demonstrates yet again why we say that our theme is "nothing is off-topic."
After The Opening Statements of The FDH Lounge Dignitaries and our look at This Week in The FDH Lounge, we bring back another episode of The FDH Lounge Pigskin Report with a look at pro football headlines. In the second half of Hour One, we welcome the chance to speak with Pat O’Conner, President of Minor League Baseball as he talks about continuing developments with the national pastime’s representation at the grass roots level.
Hour Two opens with a talk with new Philadelphia Phillies scout and former All-Star Phillies third baseman Dave Hollins. His observations on the recent baseball postseason will surely be interesting, especially in light of his 1993 World Series appearance with the Phils. Also, a late addition to the broadcast: Hollins' former teammate, another former Phillies third baseman and Big League Baseball Academy proprietor Charlie Hayes.
In the second half of the hour, we start our FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER a bit early as we bring you our college hoops team draft: a fantasy-sports style pool where we draft college basketball teams instead of individual players. Check out our scoring system and draft board from the FantasyDrafthelp.com blog.
In Hour Three, the INSIDER continues with a fantasy football stretch run preview with Steve Schwartz of SportsNetwork.com. We'll subsequently break down NFL Week 10 before we then bring on KFFL Managing Editor Bryce McRae for his thoughts on the fantasy football landscape. We wrap with our other show-within-a-show, THE GOON SQUAD, and a look at the present NHL standings and Monday night's inductions into the Hockey Hall of Fame (including the one and only Stevie Y!).
As always, we urge you to watch the show live (or listen if you’re on dial-up), but if you can’t catch this as it’s happening, you can always catch the FDH archives 24-7 right here or catch us now on iTunes!
Our 80th episode of THE FDH LOUNGE (Wednesdays, 7-10 PM EDT on SportsTalkNetwork.com) demonstrates yet again why we say that our theme is "nothing is off-topic."
After The Opening Statements of The FDH Lounge Dignitaries and our look at This Week in The FDH Lounge, we bring back another episode of The FDH Lounge Pigskin Report with a look at pro football headlines. In the second half of Hour One, we welcome the chance to speak with Pat O’Conner, President of Minor League Baseball as he talks about continuing developments with the national pastime’s representation at the grass roots level.
Hour Two opens with a talk with new Philadelphia Phillies scout and former All-Star Phillies third baseman Dave Hollins. His observations on the recent baseball postseason will surely be interesting, especially in light of his 1993 World Series appearance with the Phils. Also, a late addition to the broadcast: Hollins' former teammate, another former Phillies third baseman and Big League Baseball Academy proprietor Charlie Hayes.
In the second half of the hour, we start our FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER a bit early as we bring you our college hoops team draft: a fantasy-sports style pool where we draft college basketball teams instead of individual players. Check out our scoring system and draft board from the FantasyDrafthelp.com blog.
In Hour Three, the INSIDER continues with a fantasy football stretch run preview with Steve Schwartz of SportsNetwork.com. We'll subsequently break down NFL Week 10 before we then bring on KFFL Managing Editor Bryce McRae for his thoughts on the fantasy football landscape. We wrap with our other show-within-a-show, THE GOON SQUAD, and a look at the present NHL standings and Monday night's inductions into the Hockey Hall of Fame (including the one and only Stevie Y!).
As always, we urge you to watch the show live (or listen if you’re on dial-up), but if you can’t catch this as it’s happening, you can always catch the FDH archives 24-7 right here or catch us now on iTunes!
NFL Week Ten power rankings
By Rick Morris
NOTE: Previous ratings in parentheses.
FIRST TIER: PLAYOFF LOCKS
1 New Orleans (1)
2 Minnesota (3)
3 Indianapolis (2)
4 Pittsburgh (4)
5 New England (5)
SECOND TIER: PLAYOFF CONTENDERS
6 Denver (6)
7 Atlanta (11)
8 Dallas (10)
9 Cincinnati (12)
10 Philadelphia (7)
11 Arizona (14)
12 NY Giants (8)
13 San Diego (16)
14 Baltimore (9)
15 Houston (13)
THIRD TIER: DISTANT PLAYOFF POSSIBILITIES
16 NY Jets (15)
17 Miami (17)
18 Green Bay (18)
19 Chicago (19)
20 Jacksonville (24)
FOURTH TIER: VERY BAD, BUT NOT THE WORST
21 Carolina (21)
22 San Francisco (20)
23 Buffalo (22)
24 Seattle (23)
25 Washington (25)
FIFTH TIER: TEAMS WITHOUT ANY REDEEMING VALUE WHATSOEVER
26 Tennessee (26)
27 Kansas City (27)
28 Oakland (28)
29 St. Louis (29)
30 Detroit (30)
31 Tampa Bay (32)
32 Cleveland (31)
BIGGEST RISERS: Atlanta and Jacksonville (4 spots), Arizona, Cincinnati and San Diego (3 spots)
BIGGEST FALLERS: Philadelphia (3 spots), NY Giants (4 spots), Baltimore (5 spots)
NOTE: Previous ratings in parentheses.
FIRST TIER: PLAYOFF LOCKS
1 New Orleans (1)
2 Minnesota (3)
3 Indianapolis (2)
4 Pittsburgh (4)
5 New England (5)
SECOND TIER: PLAYOFF CONTENDERS
6 Denver (6)
7 Atlanta (11)
8 Dallas (10)
9 Cincinnati (12)
10 Philadelphia (7)
11 Arizona (14)
12 NY Giants (8)
13 San Diego (16)
14 Baltimore (9)
15 Houston (13)
THIRD TIER: DISTANT PLAYOFF POSSIBILITIES
16 NY Jets (15)
17 Miami (17)
18 Green Bay (18)
19 Chicago (19)
20 Jacksonville (24)
FOURTH TIER: VERY BAD, BUT NOT THE WORST
21 Carolina (21)
22 San Francisco (20)
23 Buffalo (22)
24 Seattle (23)
25 Washington (25)
FIFTH TIER: TEAMS WITHOUT ANY REDEEMING VALUE WHATSOEVER
26 Tennessee (26)
27 Kansas City (27)
28 Oakland (28)
29 St. Louis (29)
30 Detroit (30)
31 Tampa Bay (32)
32 Cleveland (31)
BIGGEST RISERS: Atlanta and Jacksonville (4 spots), Arizona, Cincinnati and San Diego (3 spots)
BIGGEST FALLERS: Philadelphia (3 spots), NY Giants (4 spots), Baltimore (5 spots)
Monday, November 9, 2009
The fall of the Berlin Wall - the moment of a lifetime
By Rick Morris
For a child of the Cold War like me, the fall of the Berlin Wall was unthinkable. Regardless of the political liberalization in Eastern Europe in 1989, that one seemingly unassailable symbol of communist hegemony loomed larger than life -- and after the Chinese government cracked down in such cruel and inhuman fashion mere months earlier. It was the site of Ronald Reagan's seemingly futile challenge to the Soviet Union to "tear down this wall" a mere 2 1/2 years earlier.
But on November 9, 1989, it happened.
Whether by accident or design, the East German officials communicated to the public, almost in passing, that travel restrictions were being lifted. A mass of humanity descended on the Wall and unlike what had happened months earlier in Beijing, senior officials were unwilling to order the authorities on the scene to use lethal force to put down the uprising.
So the people called the bluff and before you knew it, people were going through the border passings, climbing up on the Wall itself and essentially a mass party broke out in front of cameras beaming the scene worldwide.
Check out the prescient opening statement from this CBC piece on that night.
Sensing the end was near, a good friend and I grabbed some Stoli and headed to his apartment to watch it all unfold on TV (for whatever reason, I also remember that we saw the episode of Cheers that night in which Carla was widowed when her husband was run over with a Zamboni). Unfortunately for me, I then had to put in an overnight shift at the school newspaper supervising the layout of the sports section, but I survived my youthful overindulgence in heroic fashion!
But all in all, that night was completely unforgettable to me. For my money, we have never seen a moment like that and we never will again (if only because it would seem like a pale imitation of the first time): the world's foremost physical symbol of tyranny being toppled live in front of the world as a vast populace celebrates newfound freedom in real time. Growing up as a child with distant relatives behind the Iron Curtain, hearing stories of how my great-aunt would send one box of shoes to Poland with only left shoes and one with only right shoes so that the totalitarians in the government would not be easily able to loot the contents -- suffice it to say that I never could have imagined the crumbling of that era, much less the way that it actually unfolded.
Quite simply, it's one of the most inspirational and memorable moments in human history. May it inspire us to resist the overbearing efforts of government whenever they arise.
For a child of the Cold War like me, the fall of the Berlin Wall was unthinkable. Regardless of the political liberalization in Eastern Europe in 1989, that one seemingly unassailable symbol of communist hegemony loomed larger than life -- and after the Chinese government cracked down in such cruel and inhuman fashion mere months earlier. It was the site of Ronald Reagan's seemingly futile challenge to the Soviet Union to "tear down this wall" a mere 2 1/2 years earlier.
But on November 9, 1989, it happened.
Whether by accident or design, the East German officials communicated to the public, almost in passing, that travel restrictions were being lifted. A mass of humanity descended on the Wall and unlike what had happened months earlier in Beijing, senior officials were unwilling to order the authorities on the scene to use lethal force to put down the uprising.
So the people called the bluff and before you knew it, people were going through the border passings, climbing up on the Wall itself and essentially a mass party broke out in front of cameras beaming the scene worldwide.
Check out the prescient opening statement from this CBC piece on that night.
Sensing the end was near, a good friend and I grabbed some Stoli and headed to his apartment to watch it all unfold on TV (for whatever reason, I also remember that we saw the episode of Cheers that night in which Carla was widowed when her husband was run over with a Zamboni). Unfortunately for me, I then had to put in an overnight shift at the school newspaper supervising the layout of the sports section, but I survived my youthful overindulgence in heroic fashion!
But all in all, that night was completely unforgettable to me. For my money, we have never seen a moment like that and we never will again (if only because it would seem like a pale imitation of the first time): the world's foremost physical symbol of tyranny being toppled live in front of the world as a vast populace celebrates newfound freedom in real time. Growing up as a child with distant relatives behind the Iron Curtain, hearing stories of how my great-aunt would send one box of shoes to Poland with only left shoes and one with only right shoes so that the totalitarians in the government would not be easily able to loot the contents -- suffice it to say that I never could have imagined the crumbling of that era, much less the way that it actually unfolded.
Quite simply, it's one of the most inspirational and memorable moments in human history. May it inspire us to resist the overbearing efforts of government whenever they arise.
Stevie Y goes into the Hall of Fame tonight
By Rick Morris
My all-time favorite athlete and the reason I started following hockey in the first place, Steve Yzerman, took his rightful place in the Hockey Hall of Fame tonight. Beneath this highlight video of ten of his greatest NHL goals, I will reprint my tribute to him that I wrote for the FantasyDrafthelp.com blog when he retired in 2006.
"Steve Yzerman retired yesterday. He is my favorite athlete of all time in any sport and I feel it necessary to add to the tributes coming his way at this time.
Before I add my personal perspectives, I would like to mention why he is my favorite. He had outstanding God-given talent, but also radiated class and became, in my opinion, the greatest leader in team sports. His two decades with the captain's "C" set a record by quite a wide margin, one that I believe will never be approached, much less surpassed. Hockey players as a whole tend to be the humblest and classiest in team sports and Steve Yzerman exemplified that better than most. I do not believe that we will see anyone quite like him ever again.
I was not a fan of hockey until my freshman year of college in 1987. Growing up in the Cleveland area, where the media coverage of the NHL has always been woeful, I was simply not exposed to the greatness of the game. But working at public radio station WOUB in Athens, Ohio, I began to read about and see footage in the newsroom of the guy in Detroit with the odd-spelled name and the incredible scoring moves. I quickly began to wonder why he was so obscured by Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux, because his numbers and his play didn't deserve to be hidden in the shadows. Singlehandedly, he made me a fan of the Winged Wheel and the game of hockey.
As he grew as a player, embracing the role of captain and the greater emphasis on two-way play mandated by Scotty Bowman in the '90s, I suffered through the team's playoff setbacks. On a shuttle ride at the airport back in those days, an AHL player who struck up a conversation with me upon spotting my Wings jacket told me that the hot rumor was that Yzerman was soon to be traded to Ottawa. It seemed that the man and the team would never get what they deserved.
And then, in 1997, 10 years into my awareness and appreciation of this man and this franchise, they ended the 42-year drought and captured the Stanley Cup. To this day, my favorite video to pop into the VCR remains the postgame footage after Game 4 when Stevie Y accepted the Cup from Gary Bettman and performed his victory lap around Joe Louis Arena. I do not lightly lump in sports events with the greatest moments of my life, but I make an exception for that night, June 7, 1997. That was one of the greatest moments of my life.
Within a week the victory would be overshadowed dramatically by the car crash that would leave team trainer Sergei Mnatsakanov and defensive franchise player Vladimir Konstantinov fighting for their lives. With their friends permanently out of the game, the team went on one of the greatest inspirational runs in the history of sports in the spring of 1998 and successfully defended their title. The on-ice celebration was even more stirring this time, as Stevie cut short his victory skate with the Cup to place it in the lap of Vladdie as the players wheeled him around the ice. They validated their slogan of "Believe," which conveyed their desire to win for their fallen friends.
More playoff disappointments would come before the final Stanley Cup win of the Yzerman era in 2002. The 7-0 pounding of Colorado in Game Seven of the Western Conference Finals provided a fitting coda to the playoff rivalry with the Avs -- a feud that was arguably the most heated in sports at the time. All throughout the playoffs, Steve Yzerman skated on a knee so shattered that he needed to be shot up like a racehorse and taped tightly before every game. The surgical path he chose had ended the career of every player who had suffered through it. But Steve Yzerman became the first man to come back from it. I think I can speak for all of his fans when I say that we never really had a doubt that he would be that pioneer. It just fit who he is.
Throughout his career, he battled injuries, including various knee problems. He not only never complained, he sought to downplay the severity of them and the extent of the sacrifices he made for his team. To the end, his main concern was what was best for the team. He concluded, sadly, that the uncertainty about how his body would hold up next season would outweigh the solid production that he could still provide when healthy.
Having come to my appreciation of #19 in my own way, imagine my surprise when I read an account that eerily mimicked my circumstances. It's from John Buccigross of ESPN:
'When I was senior at Heidelberg College, I cut a 2-inch by 1-inch picture of Steve Yzerman out of the newspaper and hung it on my dormitory door. I wasn't a Wings fan and had never seen Yzerman play. This was the mid-80's, I lived in Eastern Ohio, and the NHL was on SportsChannel. I wasn't one of the 47 people who had that network as part of their cable package. But his eyes mesmerized me. I thought, this is a person who has big dreams. Big visions. He has a plan and a focus to see it through and stick it out. I knew nothing about him, had never seen or heard him speak, but something moved me to hang that picture on my door as inspiration that life's biggest joys and awards come from dealing with and overcoming pain and discomfort. Those eyes said, 'Nothing good comes easy.' Have a vision and stick it out.'
That anecodote is part of a larger story on The Captain here, behind the ESPN Insider wall. It's great writing from a powerful wordsmith and fan of professional hockey.
The best way to sum up what he means to his fans is this: the best word that comes to mind when we think of his is "respect." The Canadian Olympic team chose to vacate the #19 during the Turin Games when Yzerman withdrew from the team for health reasons -- and that's saying quite a bit, because so many players of this generation wear that number out of respect for him. Respect, there's that word again. And as the Red Wings have become over the last decade hockey's version of the New York Yankees, the single most polarizing force in the sport, rarely if ever will you hear opposing fans speaking ill of Stevie Franchise. They will bash the ownership, or other Wings players, or Wings coaches, but not The Man. They know in their heart of hearts that they would kill to have him wearing their colors -- and we who love him know how fortunate we were that he wore ours.
Doubtless Steve Yzerman is befuddled by the response his departure from the ice is evoking. That's part of his charm. In a day and age of entitlement, he not only acted devoid of ego, but was embarrassed when he received the acclaim he deserved. But it's important that his fans have this chance to relive the great moments he provided to us, because it helps take the sting out of the moment we all knew we would face someday but dreaded nonetheless."
Congratulations on your well-deserved reward, Number 19.
My all-time favorite athlete and the reason I started following hockey in the first place, Steve Yzerman, took his rightful place in the Hockey Hall of Fame tonight. Beneath this highlight video of ten of his greatest NHL goals, I will reprint my tribute to him that I wrote for the FantasyDrafthelp.com blog when he retired in 2006.
"Steve Yzerman retired yesterday. He is my favorite athlete of all time in any sport and I feel it necessary to add to the tributes coming his way at this time.
Before I add my personal perspectives, I would like to mention why he is my favorite. He had outstanding God-given talent, but also radiated class and became, in my opinion, the greatest leader in team sports. His two decades with the captain's "C" set a record by quite a wide margin, one that I believe will never be approached, much less surpassed. Hockey players as a whole tend to be the humblest and classiest in team sports and Steve Yzerman exemplified that better than most. I do not believe that we will see anyone quite like him ever again.
I was not a fan of hockey until my freshman year of college in 1987. Growing up in the Cleveland area, where the media coverage of the NHL has always been woeful, I was simply not exposed to the greatness of the game. But working at public radio station WOUB in Athens, Ohio, I began to read about and see footage in the newsroom of the guy in Detroit with the odd-spelled name and the incredible scoring moves. I quickly began to wonder why he was so obscured by Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux, because his numbers and his play didn't deserve to be hidden in the shadows. Singlehandedly, he made me a fan of the Winged Wheel and the game of hockey.
As he grew as a player, embracing the role of captain and the greater emphasis on two-way play mandated by Scotty Bowman in the '90s, I suffered through the team's playoff setbacks. On a shuttle ride at the airport back in those days, an AHL player who struck up a conversation with me upon spotting my Wings jacket told me that the hot rumor was that Yzerman was soon to be traded to Ottawa. It seemed that the man and the team would never get what they deserved.
And then, in 1997, 10 years into my awareness and appreciation of this man and this franchise, they ended the 42-year drought and captured the Stanley Cup. To this day, my favorite video to pop into the VCR remains the postgame footage after Game 4 when Stevie Y accepted the Cup from Gary Bettman and performed his victory lap around Joe Louis Arena. I do not lightly lump in sports events with the greatest moments of my life, but I make an exception for that night, June 7, 1997. That was one of the greatest moments of my life.
Within a week the victory would be overshadowed dramatically by the car crash that would leave team trainer Sergei Mnatsakanov and defensive franchise player Vladimir Konstantinov fighting for their lives. With their friends permanently out of the game, the team went on one of the greatest inspirational runs in the history of sports in the spring of 1998 and successfully defended their title. The on-ice celebration was even more stirring this time, as Stevie cut short his victory skate with the Cup to place it in the lap of Vladdie as the players wheeled him around the ice. They validated their slogan of "Believe," which conveyed their desire to win for their fallen friends.
More playoff disappointments would come before the final Stanley Cup win of the Yzerman era in 2002. The 7-0 pounding of Colorado in Game Seven of the Western Conference Finals provided a fitting coda to the playoff rivalry with the Avs -- a feud that was arguably the most heated in sports at the time. All throughout the playoffs, Steve Yzerman skated on a knee so shattered that he needed to be shot up like a racehorse and taped tightly before every game. The surgical path he chose had ended the career of every player who had suffered through it. But Steve Yzerman became the first man to come back from it. I think I can speak for all of his fans when I say that we never really had a doubt that he would be that pioneer. It just fit who he is.
Throughout his career, he battled injuries, including various knee problems. He not only never complained, he sought to downplay the severity of them and the extent of the sacrifices he made for his team. To the end, his main concern was what was best for the team. He concluded, sadly, that the uncertainty about how his body would hold up next season would outweigh the solid production that he could still provide when healthy.
Having come to my appreciation of #19 in my own way, imagine my surprise when I read an account that eerily mimicked my circumstances. It's from John Buccigross of ESPN:
'When I was senior at Heidelberg College, I cut a 2-inch by 1-inch picture of Steve Yzerman out of the newspaper and hung it on my dormitory door. I wasn't a Wings fan and had never seen Yzerman play. This was the mid-80's, I lived in Eastern Ohio, and the NHL was on SportsChannel. I wasn't one of the 47 people who had that network as part of their cable package. But his eyes mesmerized me. I thought, this is a person who has big dreams. Big visions. He has a plan and a focus to see it through and stick it out. I knew nothing about him, had never seen or heard him speak, but something moved me to hang that picture on my door as inspiration that life's biggest joys and awards come from dealing with and overcoming pain and discomfort. Those eyes said, 'Nothing good comes easy.' Have a vision and stick it out.'
That anecodote is part of a larger story on The Captain here, behind the ESPN Insider wall. It's great writing from a powerful wordsmith and fan of professional hockey.
The best way to sum up what he means to his fans is this: the best word that comes to mind when we think of his is "respect." The Canadian Olympic team chose to vacate the #19 during the Turin Games when Yzerman withdrew from the team for health reasons -- and that's saying quite a bit, because so many players of this generation wear that number out of respect for him. Respect, there's that word again. And as the Red Wings have become over the last decade hockey's version of the New York Yankees, the single most polarizing force in the sport, rarely if ever will you hear opposing fans speaking ill of Stevie Franchise. They will bash the ownership, or other Wings players, or Wings coaches, but not The Man. They know in their heart of hearts that they would kill to have him wearing their colors -- and we who love him know how fortunate we were that he wore ours.
Doubtless Steve Yzerman is befuddled by the response his departure from the ice is evoking. That's part of his charm. In a day and age of entitlement, he not only acted devoid of ego, but was embarrassed when he received the acclaim he deserved. But it's important that his fans have this chance to relive the great moments he provided to us, because it helps take the sting out of the moment we all knew we would face someday but dreaded nonetheless."
Congratulations on your well-deserved reward, Number 19.
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