We walked, we waited, and my 4-year-old never gave up hope she might see Sen. Obama until we discovered we were around 200 people short of making it in. We migrated with the other turn-aways to the soccer field. Of course her little legs and my little-ish legs just couldn’t run fast enough to get a front row view, and we certainly couldn’t see over all the adult heads.

Thank you, thank you THANK YOU to the members of the crowd who, on my spontaneous plea, graciously parted to let two little African-American girls see Sen. Obama for a brief moment before he went into Mac Court.

With their shoulders pressed against the police tape and tears in my eyes, I said to the girls, “Remember what he looks like right now and that this is a special day. Remember this so when you are old ladies you can tell your families about it. We are so lucky to be here.”

The full magnitude of what it means to be “here today” is incomprehensible to them right now at their tender ages, but I know they have a keen sense something big is happening. It is about suffering, struggle, hope, opportunity, healing and a new reality within reach.

I hope Sen. Obama wins. Even if he doesn’t, I hope we continue to recognize and nurture this new reality: That people of color can indeed lead in our country and there are more people committed every day to making liberty and justice a truth for ALL.

The exercise, part of the “Noble Resolve” program of the U.S. Joint Forces Command, is set for tomorrow through Friday in Portland, Ore. Like other previous drills, it involves coordination with local officials in a model nuclear attack.

The series of “Noble Resolve” experiments began April 23 in Suffolk, Va. They represent a follow-up to similar series of drills called Urban Resolve that took place in 2006.

The efforts bring together JFCOM, Northern Command, the Homeland Security Department and state and local officials to model responses to nuclear terrorist attacks.

During the experiments, which are largely based on computer modeling, the “bomb” explodes inside the simulation. “Noble Resolve,” according to planners, strives to create processes for interactions among local, state, national and international officials.

Last April, a similar “Noble Resolve” exercise took place in Virginia.
However, despite the precedent, some officials and the IndyMedia organization supported by Soros are raising red flags even claiming that in a similar exercise, President Bush ordered the destruction of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, and blamed it on radical Islamic terrorists.

Writing in NewOrleans.IndyMedia.org, Capt. Eric H. May, the military correspondent for the agency, asked the following question about the Portland drill: “But what if they decide to use a real bomb rather than simulate it?”

“A false flag attack is one in which you attack your own people, then blame it on a group of people you want to attack,” wrote May. “It’s a radical stratagem for instantly creating hatred, and it’s common, historically speaking, all the way from ancient to modern times.”

May gave the following examples:

• The Roman emperor Nero burned Rome, then blamed it on emerging Christianity.
• The German fuhrer Hitler burned the Reichstag, then blamed it on communist Jewry.
• The American president Bush demolished the World Trade Center, then blamed it on radical Islam.

The jitters in Portland, according to May, caused Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., to grill the Bush administration about National Security Presidential Directive 51, first reported in WND, which authorizes the executive branch to assume extraordinary powers in the event of a national emergency.

“Maybe the people who think there’s a conspiracy out there are right,” DeFazio told the Portland Oregonian.

DeFazio, a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, said he was denied an opportunity to examine classified documents related to Directive 51.

“At this stage of the Bush regime and its terror-driven global war, there’s no shame in conspiracy theory, since it’s the only theory that offers consistent, coherent answers to our growing secret government and its terror policies,” wrote May.

Meanwhile, Portland’s version of IndyMedia, raises even more concerns about the impending exercises.

“There has been a growing concern over the mock or simulation events (nuclear attack and martial law) proposed to take place in Portland, Oregon, by Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other governmental agencies now called Operation Noble Resolve,” reports the agency in an article titled “Don’t Nuke Portland.” “This mock event has been feared by some in the past to set up martial law in Portland during the months of August and September, but newer information has raised concern of graver fears.”

The article goes on to speculate that an actual nuclear attack by the U.S. government might take place during the drill. It goes on to assert that the 9/11 attacks were a false flag operation and urges those who have been hired or volunteered to be a part of the exercise to refuse to participate.

“Why participate in a simulation that supposes an external attack on the USA when there seems to be more internal threat by enemies of democracy within?” poses the article.

Besidesgrants from Soros, IndyMedia.org has also received support from Teresa Heinz Kerry’s Tides Foundation. The Ford Foundation has also offered support. Ralph Nader’s Public Citizen organization also assists IndyMedia.org.

When star football player Pat Tillman was killed in Afghanistan, the The Portland, Ore., chapter of Indymedia.org posted the news of Tillman’s death accompanied by this headline: “Dumb Jock Killed in Afghanistan.”

According to its website, “Indymedia is a collective of independent media organizations and hundreds of journalists offering grass-roots, non-corporate coverage. Indymedia is a democratic media outlet for the creation of radical, accurate and passionate tellings of truth.”

It maintains websites in 50 major American markets, five chapters in Africa, 13 in Canada, 39 in Europe, 15 in Latin America, eight in Asia, and nine in Oceania.

In light of the scare stories, the Portland Oregonian editorialized in favor of the drill and many local officials are participating in the exercise because they believe it is necessary to prepare for a worst-case scenario.

One nuclear terror expert said earlier this year the chances of a detonation in the U.S. in the next decade are 50 percent.

Also, about the same time, Vice President Dick Cheney said the threat of nuclear terrorism is very real.

“The fact is that the threat to the United States now of a 9/11 occurring with a group of terrorists armed not with airline tickets and box cutters, but with a nuclear weapon in the middle of one of our own cities is the greatest threat we face,” he said. “It’s a very real threat. It’s something that we have to worry about and defeat every single day.”

Meanwhile, the most extensive study of the effects of such an attack concluded the U.S. was woefully under-prepared to respond, particularly if the event took place in a major population center.

I urge all citizens of oregon  to write, email, or meet with peter defazio, make the growing concern known. let the bush administation know were watching them, i love this state, if a false flag attack did occur i would go to ANY length to bring justice to this once independant nation. vote ron paul for a bloodless revolution, believe it or not, it is coming.

The results there were basically the same as those found in Portland last year.

The entire report can be found here.

You can find the report done in November, 2005 in Portland here.

Once again, the survey showed that many places charged more than 500%, with the most common rate being 521%. These rates are only for the typical loan, though. The actual annual percentage rate can far exceed this posted rate.

According to the report:

Most lenders charge a flat fee based on the loan amount even though the length of the loan may only be a few days. Thus, the actual interest rates charged to a borrower can approach and exceed 1000%.

Of the fourteen companies in the county, 10 were from out of state.

Six of the 26 stores did not have “a conspicuous, easy-to-read posting of their annual interest rate, as required by law.”

According to the Register-Guard:

“Industry spokesman Thom Shauklas, however, called the report misleading and inflammatory, and said payday loans are more properly viewed as fee-based rather than interest-accruing.”

The story also said:

“Auditors are charged with making sure that stores post interest rates as required, Shauklas said. The failure of a handful of stores to post the rates is akin to isolated scofflaws found in any industry, he said.”

Apparently Shauklas is only good at counting up profit, as SIX is more than a “handful.” It’s also just shy of one-quarter of all the stores surveyed– 21%. This was similar to Portland, in which 24% of the stores did not have rates posted. However, in Portland 24% of stores that did post the APR had signs that were hard to read. It was only 4% of stores in Lane County. This was the only major difference between the Lane County and Portland surveys, as far as I could see.

We shouldn’t be surprised, though, as he said that while posting the sign is legally required, it’s “silly.”

If you get a chance, check out the two surveys. They’re a quick read and will give you a crash course in the predatory practices of these businesses.