It is the information age. Information has become valuable in society today. The right piece of information can make or break a business or a marriage. The goal of private investigation is to track down information and people are more than willing to pay a good sum to get what they need. Information is why private investigation is a booming business and is why the internet has grown at such an amazing rate – information has become one of the most profitable commodities in the world today.

Because the demand for information is so high, agencies have been popping up all over to cash in. So that leaves you in the situation of making sure you find a reliable and reputable agency to work with if you ever need to hire one. What criteria can you use to judge a private investigation agency?

Availability of Resources

A private investigation agency is only as powerful as its resources. Actually, the resources are the only reason you actually need an investigation agency anyway. You need their access to private databases. You need their high tech surveillance and forensic equipment. You need their contacts on the street and those in high places. Besides fancy equipment and contacts, one of the most valuable resources of a private investigation agency is its people. A good agency has the manpower to work on your case around the clock until your case is solved. So it is important to consider the extent of resources the private investigation agency has to put to work on your case.

Expertise

Not all Private investigators are competent and experienced in all areas of the private investigative spectrum. So when choosing an agency to work with, make sure they are experienced in dealing with your type of case. Some agencies only specialize in certain type cases. You will certainly want an agency that has a lot of experience in the type of work you need. That way the chance of a positive outcome is higher and the work will probably be completed sooner which means you will have to pay less money.

Price

You probably already know that a good private investigation agency won’t come cheap. Still, there is no need to pay more than you have to. It is a good idea to shop around among different agencies and compare their qualifications against their rates so you can determine the best match for your situation and your pocketbook.

You should take your time when evaluating private investigation agencies. No matter what your case entails, it will probably be a big expense for you. The more complicated the case, the higher the expense. You might have lot at stake if your case involves your business or family so finding a highly qualified agency is imperative.

J. A. LASORSA & ASSOCIATES (www.lasorsa.com) , FORMER SECRET SERVICE AGENT, Presidential Protection – the White House, providing worldwide discreet Executive Protection, Bodyguard, Bodyguards, Physical Security Services and Training to corporate executives, dignitaries, the public, and celebrities. Operating out of our home base in South Florida, our firm’s Security Services include, but are not limited to: Estate & Yacht Security, Systems and Safe Room – Design and & Construction, Corporate Security Consulting, Workplace Violence, School Violence, School Security Expert Consultant & Training and Debugging, Anti Wiretapping, Industrial Counter Espionage & general Audio Counter-Measures.

We provide Confidential Private Investigator Services to insurance companies, businesses, financial institutions, andprivate citizens. Our team of highly experienced private investigators can provide law firms of any size with the Litigation Support Resources necessary to secure the evidence they need for any case. We provide both domestic andinternational services, to include: Antigua, Anguilla, Aruba, Barbados, Cayman Islands, Dominica, St. John, St. Thomas, St. Croix, Grenada, Montserrat, Netherland Antilles, Nevis, St. Vincent, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Turks & Caicos and Trinidad & Tobago, Bermuda, Bahamas, Puerto Rico, New York, Los Angeles, U.S. and British Virgin Islands, Cayman, Trinidad, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, Belize, Mexico, El Salvador,Venezuela and South America, Europe, Italy, Rome, Milan, Paris, Geneva, Zurich, Asia, China, the Far East, India, etc.

We also specifically provide Security Expert Witness and Litigation Support Services to the legal profession, as it relates to Premises Security, Security Negligence & Foreseeability. Negligence Security cases routinely involve: Parking Lot, Hotel, Restaurant, Bar, Night Club, Community, Sub-division, Condominium and Office Building. Additionally, our team has recently joined forces with one of the nations cutting edge Information Technologies companies to meet your Computer and Network Security needs.

Friday, February 06, 2009

Matt Egan

FOXBusiness

Whether it’s a souped-up BlackBerry, the most fearsome Cadillac on the planet or a suit that stops speeding bullets, the businesses behind protecting the world’s most powerful person have received widespread attention from an international audience in recent weeks.

Waterloo, Ontario-based Research in Motion (RIMM: 59, -0.17, -0.29%) landed an endorsement beyond its wildest dreams when President Barack Obama refused to enter the White House without his BlackBerry device.

Detroit’s recently-bailed out General Motors (GM: 2.83, -0.01, -0.35%) scored some badly needed positive PR when the president’s new tank-like Cadillac was unveiled last month.

And a Colombian fashion designer whose bullet-resistant line of clothing has been dubbed the “Armani of Armor,” drew international attention after Obama reportedly wore a bullet-resistant suit at last month’s Inauguration.

“I can assure you there is no more difficult challenge in the world than to protect the president of the United States. It was the biggest challenge I was ever involved in,” said Joseph LaSorsa, who drove former President Ronald Reagan as part of a 20-year career at the Secret Service and owns security consulting firm J.A. LaSorsa & Associates.

RIM has easily scored the biggest marketing coup, given the intense publicity Obama’s fight to hold onto his BlackBerry received since the election.

“In just the first few weeks, I’ve had to engage in some of the toughest diplomacy of my life. And that was just to keep my Blackberry,” Obama joked last week, according to AFP.

“You can’t buy that kind of coverage in an advertising campaign,” said Kevin Restivo, senior software analyst at IDC. “A company typically has to spend tens or hundreds of millions of dollars. In this case, RIM has done nothing other than produce something that it’s already been producing.”

Obama’s insistence on keeping his BlackBerry underscores not just his own tech savvy, but also the ubiquitous nature of the device.

“I like the fact that we have a president who uses information technology to his benefit. It means we actually have the first information-age president,” said Bruce Schneier, a security technologist and author.

But the move doesn’t come without risks as Obama’s communications are potentially subject to illegal access from hackers and spies as well as unwanted legal access from subpoenas. To combat the illegal threat, Obama’s messages have been restricted to a tight circle of friends and will likely be re-routed to avoid RIM’s headquarters in Canada.

“Nothing is hacker-proof,” said Kevin Mitnick, a security consultant and formerly one of the world’s most famous hackers. “The National Security Agency probably put in a crypto add-on so that even if the communications were intercepted, they would be unintelligible.”

Of course there are perks included in Obama’s BlackBerry usage that most Americans live without.

“There are a lot of benefits. For example, he will never lose it. You and I have to worry about the NSA eavesdropping. The president can call the NSA and say, ‘Don’t do that,’” said Schneier.

Auto aficionados have also drooled over “The Beast,” the president’s new fortress-like Cadillac limousine. GM, which was rescued from collapse by the Bush Administration last year and reported a 51% sales drop in January, had the honor of designing and manufacturing the Obamamobile.

“Although many of the vehicle’s security enhancements cannot be discussed, it is safe to say that this car’s security and coded communications systems make it the most technologically advanced protection vehicle in the world,” Nicholas Trotta, an assistant director at the Secret Service, said in a statement.

The new presidential limo likely rides on a medium-truck GM chassis, is encased in several inches of military-grade armor, has a floor blanket made of Kevlar, ballistic-resistant windows and tires and a sealed air-circulation system to defend against gas attacks, according to an LA Times analysis.

“There’s no way to know for sure” exactly what kind of attacks it can withstand, “unless you start firing mortars at it and hopefully that never happens,” said Karl Brauer, editor-in-chief of Edmunds.com, who spotted a prototype of the vehicle in Colorado in July.

There was no guarantee that GM would land this high-profile deal as Mercedes and BMW already specialize in armored vehicles, said Brauer.

“It’s nice to see a very clearly American brand serving a very clearly American role like this. Obviously General Motors wanted the visibility they would get from this,” said Brauer.

Meanwhile, speculation has swirled that Obama was wearing a bullet-resistant coat or suit when he took the oath of office last month. Officials haven’t confirmed the reports but experts said they wouldn’t be surprised if it were the case.

True or not, the speculation has been a boon for Colombian designer Miguel Caballero, whose garments offer three levels of ballistic protection and are seven times more flexible than Kevlar vests. Caballero’s clothing can protect against anything from a 9mm pistol to fire from a Mini Uzi or an MP5 submachine gun.

In an interview with FOX Business last month, Caballero said the bullet-resistant fabrics costs $2,000 to $6,000 and are designed to “absorb the energy of the bullet.” He also said his line of clothing is catching on as they have dealers in 28 countries and have been worn by Alvaro Uribe, the president of Colombia, and Rafael Correa, the president of Ecuador.

“Protective garments are used all of the time,” said LaSorsa. “Everything in the world of protection has changed since 9/11. The protection of the president has probably been the most dramatic change.”

25,000 Deploy for Security at Inaugural

Most protected event ever includes 5,265 security cameras, snipers

WASHINGTON – Security in downtown D.C. was high Monday after officials promised the largest inaugural security operation in history, with 58 federal, state and local agencies working together.

Some 25,000 police, military troops and law enforcement agents — including plainclothes officers roaming the crowds — will be on hand to handle the potentially 2 million people who could descend on the nation’s capital Tuesday.

The far-reaching security includes thousands of video cameras, sharpshooters and air patrols to safeguard President-elect Barack Obama’s swearing-in.

In addition, 155 intelligence teams will be mingling with the crowds and taking public transit to keep an eye on the situation. Snipers trained to hit a target the size of a teacup saucer from 1,000 yards away have also been deployed.

Along the Potomac River, the U.S. Coast Guard had patrol boats watching the waters and all river traffic was to be cut off Tuesday.

Some 150 city blocks will be closed to traffic on Tuesday, and while buses will be allowed into the city, private vehicles will not.

The Army National Guard 2nd Brigade of Washington, Penn., is securing the bus routes to and from the inauguration Tuesday morning. “It’s great to be part of it,” said Scott Bukovec of Johnstown, Penn., who has worked inaugurals before, but none like this. “This is a much greater scope.”

The security forces include bomb-sniffing dogs like Samson, a 125-pound black Labrador assigned to patrol the National Mall overnight. He’s even wearing a bullet-proof vest made from a decommissioned human flak jacket.

Command center, 5,265 cameras
A multi-agency command center, run by the Secret Service eight blocks from the White House, is receiving video feeds from the 5,265 surveillance cameras spread around the city.

The center has more than 100 officials monitoring inaugural activities and public areas via live video feeds from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Metropolitan Police Department, National Park Service, District of Columbia Transportation Department, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and others.

Under the plan, if the Metropolitan Police Department needs to speak to someone at the Federal Aviation Administration, those officials are already in the same room. And each person there will have a list of radio frequencies so that one agency can easily communicate with another in the field.

The command center has five 8-foot-square monitors that can display anything from street maps to newscasts, situation reports and live camera feeds. There’s a so-called “burn bag” at every desk for disposal of classified information — and a list of nearby fast-food options.

On Sunday, snipers watched over the inaugural concert and officials responded to some suspicious packages around Washington, but all were eventually determined not to be dangerous.

“This is to be expected over the next few days, considering the security level surrounding the inauguration,” FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said.

There were also a few protesters Sunday, one group at 17th and Constitution, protesting gay rights, according to the FBI.

“It’s actually been a very quiet day,” Secret Service spokesman Malcolm Wiley said Sunday. The Secret Service is the lead agency for inauguration security operations.

No specific threats
Intelligence officials say there are no specific threats to the inauguration. But the high visibility of the event, the presence of dignitaries and the significance of swearing in the first African-American president make it a vulnerable target.

The security forces include 10,000 national guardsmen, 8,000 police, and 1,000 National Park police. Some 4,000 police are from 99 departments outside Washington, D.C.

Not only is the inauguration security the most intense ever, the inauguration will be the most heavily secured public event in U.S. history. And it’s expected to shatter the previous attendance record of 1.2 million for President Lyndon B. Johnson.

For the first time, the president declared an emergency in the District of Columbia in advance of the inauguration. That will cover 100 percent of eligible local inauguration costs for emergency protective measures on Tuesday. It is in addition to the $15 million Congress set aside for inauguration security costs.

International Security Expert Bill Stanton Supports

the Use of BigString Corporation’s New Secure

Instant Message

    “Everyday we hear stories of people, from celebrities to the average
personon the street, whose online communication is used in a way that was not
intended, whether that is identity theft or instant messages copied and
passed along to third parties without consent,” Stanton said. He added,
“BigString’s new technology returns privacy and security to the consumer and
should be used by anyone who communicates in real-time online.”

    BigString IM users can send instant messages (IMs) that self-destruct
afterbeing sent.  Additionally, IMs sent via BigString’s service cannot be
copied, logged or screen-printed.

    BigString IM is a free advertising supported service available at
https://www.bigstring.com. It is available as a web version or as a free
plug-in for AOL’s AIM.

    The patent-pending technology leaves no trail or copy of the IM on any
server
once the message self-destructs. The time for self-destruction is set by the
sender, and can be set to disappear in as little as a few seconds to over an
hour.  The sender can also choose a number of visual effects for the
self-destruction. A message will disappear in real time simultaneously from
both the sending and receiving IM screens.

    About BigString

    BigString Corporation, owner and operator of BigString.com, is a provider of
social networking messaging applications and user-controllable email services.
In addition to permitting users to send recallable, erasable, self-destructing
emails and video emails, BigString’s patent-pending technology allows emails and
pictures to be rendered non-forwardable, non-printable and non-savable before or
after the
recipients read them, no matter what email service provider is used.

    Forward-Looking Statements

    Statements about the future expectations of BigString Corporation, and all
other statements in this press release other than historical facts, are
“forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange
Act
of 1934, as amended, and as that term is defined in the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. BigString Corporation intends that such
forward-looking statements shall be subject to the safe harbors created
thereby. Since these statements involve certain risks and uncertainties and
are subject to change at any time, BigString Corporation’s actual results could
differ materially from expected results.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union aims to launch a planned air and naval force in December to combat piracy threatening sea lanes off Somalia, the bloc’s foreign policy chief said Tuesday.

Piracy has soared off the coast of Somalia, with at least 30 ships hijacked this year, earning an estimated $18-30 million in ransom payments and turning the area into the world’s most dangerous waterway.

EU envoys decided Tuesday that British navy vice-admiral Philip Jones would head the bloc’s planned operation and kick-off planning with the aim to launch the operation in December, Javier Solana said in a statement.

The operation’s headquarters would be in London, the statement said.

“Javier Solana is confident that these undergoing preparations will allow the EU, in due time, to make an important contribution to the World Food Program, to the protection of vulnerable vessels off the coast of Somalia and to the fight against piracy,” the statement said.

The World Food Program requires military escorts to bring food aid to the 2.4 million people it feeds in the war-torn Horn of Africa country.

France said earlier this month that at least 10 EU countries were willing to take part in the anti-piracy operation and that it hoped the plan could be finalized next month.

The countries included France, Spain, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Cyprus, Belgium, Sweden and probably Britain, French Defense Minister Herve Morin said after talks among EU defense ministers in Deauville, France.

German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung said EU states planned to deploy three frigates, a supply ship and three surveillance ships. He said Germany planned to send a frigate.

The sealane in the Arabian Sea between Yemen and Somalia links Asia to Europe via the Suez Canal and is critical to Gulf oil shipments.

(Reporting by Ingrid Melander)

Anti-piracy force thwarts attack on ship

SAN’A, Yemen — An international anti-piracy force thwarted the attempted takeover of a Chinese cargo ship off the Somali coast on Wednesday, sending in attack helicopters that fired on the bandits and forced them to abandon the ship they had boarded.

In another blow to the region’s thriving piracy trade, the Indian navy handed over 23 pirates it caught at sea to authorities in Yemen.

In Wednesday’s assault, nine pirates armed with guns overtook the Chinese ship with speedboats and boarded the vessel, said Noel Choong, who heads the International Maritime Bureau’s piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

He said the 30-member crew sent a distress message to the bureau as it saw the pirates approaching, then barricaded themselves inside their living quarters. Choong said the bureau quickly alerted the international naval force, which dispatched two helicopters and a warship.

“Two helicopters arrived at the scene first and helped deter the hijacking. They fired at the pirates, forcing them to flee the ship,” he said. There were no injuries during the five-hour ordeal.

“The Chinese ship is very fortunate to have escaped. This is a rare case where pirates have successfully boarded the ship but failed to hijack it,” he added.

Somali pirates, spurred by widespread poverty in their homeland, have hijacked more than 40 vessels off their country’s coastline this year. Many of the seizures have taken place in the Gulf of Aden, which lies between Somalia and Yemen and is one of the world’s busiest waterways. Many of the vessels are taken to pirate-controlled regions in Somalia, where they are held for ransom.

China’s official Xinhua News Agency identified the boat involved in the latest attempt as the Zhenhua 4 and said it belonged to China Communications Construction Co. and was registered in the Caribbean island of St. Vincent.

It was the latest in a series of attacks by Somali pirates on Chinese vessels. On Tuesday, said it was considering sending warships to the area to help battle piracy.

The announcement came during a unanimous U.N. Security Council vote to authorize nations to conduct land and air attacks on pirate bases on the coast of Somalia.

“The area is just too wide to patrol. Hopefully with the U.N. resolution, there will be more firm action to stop this menace,” Choong said.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei told the council that China was considering sending warships to the Gulf of Aden to join ships from the U.S., Russia, Denmark, Italy and other countries.

In Yemen, meanwhile, the Indian navy handed over 23 pirates arrested in the Gulf of Aden last Saturday after they threatened a merchant vessel in the lawless waters off the Yemeni coast, a Yemeni security official said.

The Indian sailors boarded two pirate boats and seized what was described as a substantial arms cache and equipment at the time. The security official said the pirates included 12 Somalis and 11 Yemenis.

The handover took place in the southern port of Aden, and the pirates were to be interrogated and charged in court. He stressed that Yemen has the right to try Somali pirates because their arrest took place inside Yemeni waters.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to media pending a government statement. He spoke to The Associated Press by telephone from Aden.

———

Associated Press writers Henry Sanderson in Beijing, and Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, contributed to the report.

From a Recon Marine in Afghanistan

It’s freezing here.  I’m sitting on hard, cold dirt between rocks and shrubs
at the base of the Hindu Kush Mountains along the Dar ‘yoi Pomir River
watching a hole that leads to a tunnel that leads to a cave.  Stake out, my
friend, and no pizza delivery for thousands of miles.

I also glance at the area around my ass every ten to fifteen seconds to
avoid another scorpion sting.  I’ve actually given up battling the chiggers
and sand fleas, but them scorpions give a jolt like a cattle prod.  Hurts
like a bastard.  The antidote tastes like transmission fluid but God bless
the Marine Corps for the five vials of it in my pack.

 tunnel entrances and storage facilities,type the info into the handheld,
shoot the coordinates up to the satellite link that tells the air commanders
where to drop the hardware, we bash some heads for a while, then I track and 

I’ve been living with these Tajiks and Uzbeks and Turkmen and even a couple
of Pushtins for over a month and a half now and this much I can say for
sure: These guys, all of ’em, are Huns…actual, living Huns.  They LIVE to
fight.  It’s what they do.  It’s ALL they do.  They have no respect for
anything, not for their families or for each other or for themselves.

They claw at one another as a way of life.  They play polo with dead calves
and force their five-year-old sons into human cockfights to defend the
family honor.  Huns, roaming packs of savage, heartless beasts who feed on
each other’s barbarism.  Cavemen with AK47’s.  Then again, maybe I’m just
cranky.

I’m freezing my ass off on this stupid hill because my lap warmer is running
out of juice and I can’t recharge it until the sun comes up in a few hours.

Oh yeah!  You like to write letters, right?  Do me a favor, Bizarre.  Write
a letter to CNN and tell Wolf and Anderson and that awful, sneering, pompous
Aaron Brown to stop calling the Taliban ‘smart.’  They are not smart.  I
suggest CNN invest in a dictionary because the word they are looking for is
‘cunning.’  The Taliban are cunning, like jackals and hyenas and wolverines.
They are sneaky and ruthless and, when confronted, cowardly.  They are
hateful, malevolent parasites who create nothing and destroy  everything
else.  Smart.  Pfft.  Yeah, they’re real smart.

They’ve spent their entire lives reading only one book(and not a very good
one, as books go) and consider hygiene and indoor plumbing to be products of
the devil.  They’re still figuring out how to work a Bic lighter.  Talking
to a Taliban warrior about improving his quality of life is like trying to
teach an ape how to hold a pen; eventually he just gets frustrated and
sticks you in the eye with it.

OK, enough. Snuffle will be up soon so I have to get back to my hole.
Covering my tracks in the snow takes a lot of practice but I’m good at it.
Please, I tell you and my fellow Americans to turn off the TV sets and move
on with your lives.

The story line you are getting from CNN and other news agencies is utter
bullshit and designed not to deliver truth but rather to keep you glued to
the screen through the commercials.  We’ve got this one under control.  The
worst thing you guys can do right now is sit around analyzing what we’re
doing over here because you have no idea what we’re doing and, really, you
don’t want to know.  We are your military and we are doing what you sent us
here to do.

You wanna help?  Buy Bonds America.

Saucy Jack

Baltimore “Unit One… Signal 13″

Baltimore Sun via YellowBrix

January 03, 2009

BALTIMORE, MD – Baltimore police dispatchers put out a call just after midnight yesterday that captured everyone’s attention: Unit One … Signal 13.

In other words, the police commissioner needs help – fast.

The city’s top cop, Frederick H. Bealefeld III, was alone in the basement of a Southwest Baltimore rowhouse holding a suspect at gunpoint.

A member of his executive protection unit, Peter Sullivan, was upstairs searching the house for a second man with a gun.

“I was worried about him,” Bealefeld said yesterday, referring to his fellow officer. “I’m sure he was worried about me.”

A hands-on leader, Bealefeld is known to ride around the city and has chased down the occasional suspect.

But ordinarily, at midnight on New Year’s Eve, Baltimore’s police commissioner is downtown overseeing officers assigned to the Inner Harbor during the annual fireworks display. The department bulks up its ranks, canceling all leaves so there are enough officers on hand to help with the crowds and an anticipated spike in crime because of the city’s tradition of celebratory gunfire.

With the fireworks postponed this year because of high winds, Bealefeld took advantage of the extra 1,100 officers on duty and sent them throughout the city. That meant 1,500 officers working the streets, up from about 400 on a typical night.

“You either send people home and tell people come back tomorrow, or you make use of those resources,” he said. “The overwhelming consensus was let’s make use of the resources we already had programmed and let’s put them in the neighborhoods.”

The result: In addition to the pair of guns Bealefeld seized, city officers took 46 other firearms between midnight and 3 a.m. They arrested 44 suspects on gun charges, police said. But even with the extra officers on the street, one city man was shot in East Baltimore about 1 a.m. yesterday and was on life support yesterday evening. This morning, police said the man has died.

Bealefeld participated in the patrols and initially drove with his two-member protection detail and his communications director around east-side neighborhoods.

Satisfied with coverage there, they headed to the Bridgeview-Greenlawn community on the west side, where a man had shot five people on Sunday.

“We figured that people would be on edge,” he said. “It is not rocket science. We do this every day.”

As midnight approached, Bealefeld heard gunfire.

The group drove toward it, heading to Catherine Street near Bon Secours Hospital.

Bealefeld and Sullivan jumped from the car. “We’re looking west up the alley,” Bealefeld said. “A guy walked out and started shooting. You could see the muzzle flash. You know it is a gun, a big gun.”

The men ducked into the basement of a rowhouse in the 2500 block of W. Fairmount Ave., with Bealefeld and Sullivan in pursuit.

Inside, Bealefeld and Sullivan encountered a roomful of people. The police commissioner spotted one of the suspects there and held him downstairs. Sullivan went upstairs to find the other.

“For a little minute, we were in there by ourselves,” Bealefeld said.

The second member of the commissioner’s protection unit, Annie Miller, had called for backup. She was outside and did not know which rowhouse the commissioner had entered.

Bealefeld got on the radio, too, and called in the address for the rowhouse. “I was on the radio saying Unit One,” he said.

He then added the code that set the whole force on edge: “Signal 13.”

So many cars responded to the distress call that Bealefeld worried about protection in other parts of the city, causing him to have mixed feelings about the incident.

“This is the professional dilemma of being the police commissioner and being out on the street. I was grateful for the backup. But we have other cops in the city. We have to be covering them too.”

In the end, police arrested Davon Rogers, 23, and Devin Rogers, 18. Each was charged with illegally firing a gun in the city, records show. And officers seized two sawed-off shotguns, a Remington and a Mossberg, police said.

Shortly afterward, Bealefeld fielded an angry phone call from his wife, who had become worried when he did not call her at midnight on New Year’s Eve as he normally does.

Her first question was whether he was wearing a bullet-resistant vest. He told her he was.

Why should you and I buy American?
This is not another patriotic statement without foundation, it just makes sense.

Simply for peace of mind. A label that says “Made in USA” is proof of unsurpassed quality, it says “this is the best there is” Such items are coveted everywhere around the world, but why not in our own country anymore?

In fact, our raw materials and our manufacturing methods remain far superior to the competition. So why settle for anything else? Our future depends on the choices we make now. Companies that once stood as American icons to the eyes of the world are now exporting the manufacturing of goods previously made here in the USA. What is happening to us? Every time we settle for an import we cheat a fellow American out of work. Big corporations are planning on very short term investments. By exporting their business, they save on labor and materials but sacrifice quality. When Americans go broke who will by the imports? Certainly not the people who produce them. A strong economy makes a strong country, it is very simple: if person A can work, person A does not have to resort to crime to feed his family.As more and more jobs go overseas, we can expect a rise in violent crimes. Our country will be made of a very few rich people and a lot of very poor people, just like a third world country.

The objective here is not to name a certain nation or to point out specific companies.( just go to any large retailer, pick up anything under $50.00 and read the label) Furthermore, we are not urging anybody to boycott anything that is not made in the USA. The truth is,competition is healthy ,it forces us to improve ,and sometimes there is no going around it: Some things are simply not made here at all. But for two items of the same nature, please demand “Made in USA” if you re tired of living in a “disposable” world.
There are two forms of terrorism. The one that we are unfortunately familiar with targets our way of life to weaken our economy. The other kind has a longer lasting effect, because of its slow nature it is almost invisible. This type of terrorism targets our economy directly. How can we compete with governments that offer 500% savings on labor and materials? Human rights are not respected in those countries. Privately owned companies do not exist. Our money is used to build armies or fund a space program. if we do not want to sell our way of life, we need to wake up and fight back. We need to work harder and whenever possible WE NEED TO BUY AMERICAN!

Last days for Marine were true Finest hours

By Denis Hamill, The New York Daily News, Tuesday, December 9th, 2008

Tuesday, December 9th 2008, 6:49 PM

Sometimes when old Marines die they do fade away into unmarked graves in Potter’s Field.

Such might have been the case for Gaspar Musso, USMC 925050, who fought in the Battle of Tinian in the Marianas Islands in 1944 and who died Nov. 15 at age 84 in a Brooklyn nursing home.

Enter Police Officer Susan Porcello, a PBA delegate at the 68th Precinct in Bay Ridge and one of those big-hearted New Yorkers who still make this the best city on Earth.

“No way was I going to let this brave old Marine who fought for his country in WWII get buried in Potter’s Field,” she says.

Porcello first met Musso back in July when she responded to a 911 ambulance call to the retired insurance broker’s one-bedroom apartment on, appropriately, Marine Ave.

“When my partner, Eddie Ennis, and I arrived at his apartment Gaspar seemed a little bit down about himself,” Porcello says. “He said he felt alone in the world. We talked to him a bit and as I looked around his tidy apartment I noticed that he had served in the military – the Marines to be exact.”

Porcello asked him about family and friends. “Look around you, what do you see?” Musso said. “I have no family or friends.”

To which Porcello said, “Well, I’m your friend.”

Right there, with those four beautiful words, Gaspar Musso was destined to die with the dignity he’d earned with a rifle in his hands, fighting in a USMC uniform, in a war that saved civilization.

If she didn’t already wear a badge, you’d want to pin a star on Susan Porcello.

Musso, a diabetic with a host of other age-related maladies, had accidentally overdosed on his prescription medications. Porcello accompanied him to Lutheran Medical Center.

“I told him I’d be back to visit him and take him to a senior center where he could make some friends,” said Porcello, who comes from a big Italian family with a mom, dad, three sisters and a brother.

“I told him I was making him my ‘Grandpa,’ and if he liked, he could spend Thanksgiving with my family. Eddie and I discussed alternating holidays with Gaspar so he wouldn’t be alone for any of them.”

Two days later Musso was placed in critical care. Porcello asked hospital staff where he’d be buried if he didn’t make it. “Potter’s Field,” said one administrator.

“This infuriated me,” said Porcello. “There was no way I was going to let a man who fought for our country be buried in Potter’s Field. Not on my watch!”

Porcello told the hospital to keep her apprised of Musso’s condition. She had a local priest visit him. Porcello even asked NYPD‘s Missing Person’s Squad to search for next of kin.

No luck.

Musso had been an only child to Anthony and Marie Musso, both deceased. He had no other relatives. Musso’s only friend, an upstairs neighbor, had died the year before.

After his health improved, Musso asked Porcello to become his official health proxy.

She transferred him to Caton Park Nursing Home, where he was treated extremely well. She visited him often, learning that Musso was born May 7, 1924, joined the USMC in December 1943, finished training at Camp Lejune in March 1944 and was fighting with the 2nd Marines on Tinian Island by July 1944.

“I visited Gaspar on Nov. 13, bringing him rosary beads, a Bible, and his reading glasses,” she said.

“The next day, Nov. 14, I returned and found Gaspar sitting up in a chair, dressed in his own clothes. Looking great.”

Porcello washed his hands and face, trimmed his nails and eyebrows and asked if he was coming to her house for Thanksgiving. “I’m trying!” he said. He also asked Porcello to bring him a Christmas wreath for his room.

The next morning Porcello received a phone call saying that Gaspar Musso had died peacefully in his sleep.

No way was she going to let her good friend be toe-tagged and buried in Potter’s Field.

Porcello paid out of her own pocket for a wake at McLaughlin’s on Third Ave. and a mass at St. Patrick’s Church in Bay Ridge, where a crowd of good-hearted cops from the 68th Precinct filled the pews, six serving as pallbearers. Sgt. Angel Rosa of the 68th, also a Marine, arranged for a USMC honor guard at Musso’s funeral.

Then taps blew over Gaspar Musso, United States Marine, as he was buried next to his mother at Resurrection Cemetery in Staten Island.

With the dignity he deserved.

Semper Fi.