Trial and The Verdict

Trial for the Underwear Bomber started this week, on Tuesday. Since neither Kurt or I had been contacted about being witnesses or being sequestered from the courtroom, we decided to head down to the trial in the hopes of being able to observe. Seats were reserved for all victims, and we really wanted to be there as much as possible. When going through security on the first floor of the court, we ran into someone who works for Anthony Chambers, who told us a pre-trial Motion had been filed that morning to exclude Kurt and I from being in the courtroom for the trial as we may be potential witnesses. We decided to head up and see what happened anyway, since the Motion was not ExParte and had not yet been granted.

Headed up to Floor 8, where Judge Edmunds is. Had to go through more security and obtain a pass to wear allowing us in the court. Sat down in the spot indicated for victims and waited for things to start. The trial started with the pre-trial motions, which one was filed by the prosecution and two by the defense. The prosecution actually filed a Motion that listed Kurt and I, by name, asking that we not sit in on trial as we may be witnesses for the defense. Judge Edmunds excluded Kurt from the courtroom, but said she was not excluding me since I was not on the witness list. I had to stand, and she told me that she did not want me to discuss anything with Kurt about the trial, which I agreed to.

Kurt left, and the other pre-trial Motions were heard. One Motion was to exclude an Exhibit which was a picture of Umar's genital area and thigh of his burns, and the other Motion was one to stop the prosecution from describing the device Umar had as a bomb or explosive. Both Motions were denied.

After this, there was a sidebar, and a really long meeting was held in a jury room between Chambers and Umar. No idea what was discussed. I could only guess it was about a plea deal or maybe about letting Chambers finally take on the role of his attorney. When they came back, the Judge asked if another sidebar was needed, and Chambers said no, we can proceed. We were all DYING to know what was discussed.



Trial then started with a VERY LONG opening statement by the prosecution (about 1 hour 10 minutes). The opening statement, while very detailed, completely lacked ALL emotion, and I would have approached it differently, but hey, it was not my case to prosecute. The opening statement used the overhead projector and also audio of the pilot calling into the airport during the emergency. SO eerie to hear that, and again, so weird to live through hearing about the incident, once again. Once the opening statement was done, the defense chose to reserve their right to give an opening statement and we moved on to the first witness at about 12:25 PM.

The first witness was a passenger on the plane whom neither Kurt or I have ever met. He was sitting about a row back from Umar and witnessed everything, and helped stop him from doing more damage than he did to our plane. He is a grandfather and former military (Army). His testimony was pretty straightforward, just what he witnessed in regards to Umar and the fire. Court then stopped at 1:00 PM for the day.

It was VERY draining for me to be down there. Hearing the witness talk about the incident all over again, and hearing the audio of the call for emergency, exhausted me and took me back to that day all over again. And not bein able to talk to Kurt about anything and rehash it all was KILLING me. :).

Day two of trial, I could not attend first thing in the morning, but, I guess I did not miss much. Apparently, as soon as court was called to session, another long meeting happened between Chambers and Umar until around 10:50 AM. Once they came into the court, the Judge was informed that Umar was going to plead guilty to all 8 charges against him. I got there at 10:10 AM and walked into the overflow courtroom. I sat down, ready to take notes and watch, and heard the Judge say something to the effect "How do you plead to count 2......." and hear Umar say "Guilty". I think I almost fell over in shock at this point. I stepped back and sat down on a bench and after deciphering between calling Kurt and watching, I started to watch. I watched as he pled guilty on all 8 counts. I watched as he gave him statement to the court. I watched as he was taken away again by probation. I heard the Judge schedule a sentencing for January.

I was floored.

I really never thought he would plead to anything. Or if he did, I thought it would be way before this.

I did not even know how I felt about this. All I felt at first was, a sense of total and complete relief, like some huge weight had been lifted off my chest.

I had a very stressful couple days, coupled with the fact that Kurt being named as a defense witness was making me fearful of his and my safety...........

I walked in the hall and sat on a bench and looked at my phone, which had a bunch of calls from the media on it, and I dialed Kurt.

Me: "Did you hear what happened with Umar"
Kurt: "No, what?"
Me: "He pled guilty on all 8 counts?"
Kurt: "WHAT?? Did he get a sweet plea deal or something?"
Me: "No idea, I don't know what the sentence is, that's not until January"

I then realized I was almost crying as this was all really overwhemling me, and I asked Kurt to come over to deal with the media since I knew they would want to talk to us. He could not leave his hearing. I hung up and was immediately approached by the associated press wanting to ask me some questions. Talked to them, and headed outside to the rest of the press. I was bombarded as soon as I walked outside the court, asked questions about my reaction, how it felt, etc. Kurt called and said he was heading over, so once he got there, I let him talk to the media.

So, how do I feel now about this? A variety of emotions, really. Relief is the biggest one. I am glad this guy is permanently off the streets and not able to harm anyone else. I am glad I don't have to go to trial every day for the next month plus. I am glad I don't have to worry about Kurt's safety. I'm also disappointed. I really wanted Kurt to get to testify, however, neither one of us actually thought he ever would be allowed to. Curious--as to "why" he pled guilty, what was really going on behind the scenes that we may never know. I'm also saddened that the general public is never going to see as part of this trial the lies the government told, covered up and participated in. I'm saddened that people like Umar are allowed to travel to this country and put our lives at risk in order to allow the government to further their own personal agendas.

Anyway, wanted to post my thoughts on everything while they were still fresh in my memory. It's so odd this is all complete now.

Random Updates

Have not posted in forever--been busy, and I always feel weird posting when so many people I don't know personally are visiting the blog to read Kurt's posts about the trial. But, whatevs. This was initially MY blog and was taken over by Kurt, so people can just skip over this, ;).

Trying to think of anything relevant that has happened recently to blog about since my last post, which was San Fran related......

Went to Manistee to a wedding in late September, one of my sister's best friend's, Tara, from high school got married. I left work early, around noon, and headed to Manistee. Got stuck in stopped traffic on the Zilwaukee bridge for an hour, which sucked, but got to Manistee around dinner time. Got there and was greeted by baby Nick, who RAN out the door to greet me and hugged me! He kept saying "Hi Aunt Lordie!" Too cute. Quite the difference from the super shy little boy I got to hang with last trip! :). Was so happy to see him. My sister had a rehearsel dinner to get to, so Nick, my Mom and I headed to Ludington to have dinner at a Mexican restaurant and stops at Meijer and Maurices. Ended up buying a cute new pair of jeans at Maurices, and after coupons and sales, I paid a grand total of $11.00. Score. Next morning, headed out for a 5 mile run. LOVE that Manistee has sidewalks (which are lacking in Newport). Did a tiny bit of shopping with my Mom, then headed to the wedding. It was gorgeous and took place in the Ramsdell Theatre, which is a historic theatre in Manistee (i was actually in some plays during junior high and high school while living there). Reception was in the ballroom at the theatre and super fun as well. Nick danced with us the entire night, which was super cute. We left kinda early to get Nick home to bed, and stopped and picked up my fav food in the world, Big Al's breadsticks, on my way home. To die for. I forget all about counting calories when those breadsticks are in the room.......I only get them once or twice a year, so whatever. Sunday, took another run, then stopped at some stores and at a coffee shop with my Mom. Left around 2 to come home. Way too quick of a trip. Wanted to see some other people while there, but there was just not time. Need to plan another trip soon.

Tigers are in the playoffs! Whoot! Kurt and I went to both home games. The first we took the office and their significant others and my Dad, and the second, was just us. Had a blast at game one. Awesome. Game two, not as fun, horrible loss. Have tickets to two games this week, and will get them to game three if it goes that far. Who knows. Was so psyched to eliminate the Yankees, who I hate, and was happy to see the Phillies eliminated since they are so talented. Was thinking about going to Monday night football, but decided no as tickets are crazy expensive, and with the Tigers game, I dont want to put too much on my calendar.



Did one run last weekend called the Red October Run in Wayne, MI. I was set to run my first 10K, but ended up doing a 5K since I had a really bad cold and did not want to overdo it. Boo. My goal was simply to get through the race since I could barely breathe, and I did. I really liked the course. There were a TON of people too, I did not even come close to placing. Which I was OK with since I was sick and it was kinda cold out. So, I got to come straight home and rest up for the work week.



Also, went to Lions opening day! Have not been to a Lions game in forever (since we stopped our season tickets many years back). Had awesome seats on the 45 yard line behind the visitors side, row 4 first level. Seats were amazing. Game was incredible. I don't remember being at a better game ever for the Lions. It was crazy and almost unreal........Loved every second. Except for the reallllllly long lines and security to get in. How obnoxious. They had separate lines for men and women, so Kurt and I totally got separated and ended up just meeting at our seats.

Was so happy for some nice weather this weekend! Went running outside both Friday and Saturday, Saturday at the park since it was still light out when I went. I am still really leery running outside on the street. Every car that goes by, I flinch. Wish I could get over this fear. I still have not taken a bike ride since the accident, but I might try that tomorrow. Am slightly terrified though. Boo.

Anyway, Tigers game coming out of rain delay, so I gotta watch......Night!

Looks Like I'll Be A Witness For The Defense In The Underwear Bomber Case

by Kurt Haskell

Today was the day for final jury selection in the Underwear Bomber case. I watched some of it on Tuesday and I was interested to see which jurors were picked. The final jury was set to be picked today at 1:30. I adjusted my schedule so that I could be down there at 1:30 today. I had a trial a few blocks away that was due to last until around 1:00 today. My plan was to head over there when I finished my trial. As my trial was ending, I got the following text from my brother "I hear that you will be testifying in the underwear bomber case". This was news to me as my status as a witness was undetermined as of Tuesday. I gave my brother a call and he said he heard on the radio, that stand-by Anthony Chambers said in court this morning that I would be testifying. While walking to Federal Court to watch final jury selection, I ran into someone that works with stand-by attorney Chambers. He told me that final jury selection was done as it didn't take as long as expected. He also told me that it was Umar that said he would call me as a witness, not Chambers. He then said Chambers is right there, go talk to him and he pointed across the street. Chambers was standing on the sidewalk across the street. I talked to Chambers for a minute and we agreed to talk again soon. He said I won't be testifying for approximately another month as the trial is supposed to be lengthy. I then headed back to my office and found out that I had messages from Fox National News and the A.P. I talked to Ed White from the A.P. on Tuesday and he misquoted me in the article he wrote. Specifically, Ed White asked what I though about Umar making outbursts in court. I said the following "I saw him before boarding and he never said anything, I've seen him in court several times, and I even saw him when he lit his fake bomb and his crotch was burning and he never makes a peep. This is totally out of character for him." You can see how Ed White did a cut and paste job of my quote here:

http://www.ydr.com/crime/ci_19035789

Note that Ed White left out that I saw Umar before boarding and that he lit a fake bomb.

I talked to Ed White again today and told him that I would only talk to him if he didn't twist my words around to mean something else. He agreed, but here is the hatchet job Ed White did to my interview with him today. Note that he says I have a "wild theory" among other things:

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/10/05/2666662/final-jury-pool-settled-in-underwear.html

This is the last straw in my discussions with the media. The media is nothing but a 4th branch of the government. I will no longer talk to any of them except the alternative media that has been supportive all along.

Note, however, in the above article, Chambers indicates that I may be the only defense witness called. How ironic is it that I will have Umar's life in my hands just as Umar had my life in his hands (or underwear) on Christmas Day 2009? I will be up to the task. I realize that some may not agree with me and may attempt to harm me. Nevertheless, I will speak the truth and not be intimidated. I will do this for the common good of all of the citizens of the United States. It is not often that I quote a passage from the bible, but I think it is appropriate here:

"And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

Underwear Bomber Jury Selection Hearing October 4, 2011

by Kurt Haskell

Yesterday, I went to the first day of jury selection in the underwear bomber case. I was the only passenger from the flight present. Lori could not attend as she had a hearing in Mt. Clemens that she could not get out of. The process involved picking 40 potential jurors to bring back on October 6, 2011. The selection of the jury will be made that day from the remaining 40 potential jurors. The process I witnessed involved the judge asking questions of each juror, then the prosecution asking questions and finally the defense asking questions. The prosecution and the defense were given 6 minutes each to question each juror. Only one juror was allowed in the courtroom at a time. I was in the courtroom when Umar arrived. When he entered he said "Great Mujahideen, Anwar is alive" referring to Anwar Al Awlaki and his reported recent death. He then said "We will wipe out the U.S., the cancer that is the U.S." Judge Edmunds had not yet arrived. When Judge Edmunds got there, she told Umar he should dress better to make a better impression on the jurors. He was dressed in a white t-shirt as he always is. Umar said "I wanted to wear a Yemeni belt with a dagger, but nobody would let me". Judge Edmunds then said "I don't think you'll be bringing a dagger into my courtroom". Umar then said that he wanted to change and the court went into recess. Umar returned shortly thereafter and was dressed in a tan collared shirt and a black suit coat. When he entered the court this time he said "Allah Akbar Anwar is alive". Judge Edmunds again was not in the courtroom. Jury questioning then began. I stayed for 4 hours and watched 18 jurors get questioned. Of the 18 that were questioned, 5 were sent home and 13 told to come back on October 6, 2011. Judge Edmunds indicated that either Umar or stand-by Attorney Chambers could question the jurors, but only one could question each juror. Umar only questioned one juror. He actually did a good job in questioning the one juror. He sounded intelligent and well spoken. The juror Umar questioned was juror #119, a 60 year old white female who stated that "I am concerned about being attacked after the verdict". That is what Umar questioned her about. He wanted to know if she was concerned about being attacked after a guilty verdict or a not guilty verdict. She stated that she was concerned both ways. This juror was told to come back. What was most interesting to me was the type of questions asked by Judge Edmunds and Chambers. The following questions were asked multiple times with slightly different variations:

1. Do you think after listening to the evidence that you will be able to determine whether the Defendant actually possessed a "bomb"?

2. Do you realize that sometimes the media does not always report the truth?

Obviously, each of these questions points directly at what I've been saying for months. Umar was given a fake bomb and put on this plane intentionally to stage a false terrorist attack. Also, the question about the media indicates knowledge that the media has been complicit in the lie. I spoke to several reporters once again. They were from Reuters, AP, UPI, CNN, Detroit News, and a couple of others. Also, the Detroit Free Press reporter asked to talk to me and I said "Why? You never actually report anything that I say". Sadly, the AP was the only one to report anything that I said. Here is a link to the article (The AP is used by several media outlets):

http://www.macombdaily.com/articles/2011/10/05/news/doc4e8ba1c8dad56858908674.txt

The CNN reporter did indicate that we would continue our interview on October 6, 2011. This time, as opposed to others, it seemed as if the reporters were starting to realize that my theory of events is indeed correct. I had more of them agreeing with me instead of grilling me over the evidence. This had not previously been the case. Also, I am now seeing a change in the language in regards to how this story is reported. Previously, articles would read, Umar is "being charged with attempting to detonate . . ." Now articles are stating that "The government says" Umar intended to blow up the plane . . ." This is a small but significant change. It shows that the media is now reporting that what the government says may not be what really happened. See this story for an example:

http://www.eagletribune.com/worldnational/x597293726/Airline-attack-suspect-starts-trial-with-outburst/print

Note that none of the major media outlets reported anything in reference to the two questions I listed above, however, except for the live blog from the courthouse running on Freep.com, which only indicated the following:

12:17 p.m.
"The media is taking a beating in juror interviews. The 15th person to be questioned for jury duty – a computer analyst for a major retailer -- agreed with Edmunds that the media doesn’t always get it right. It’s the same response Edmunds got from other jurors, several of whom don’t read or listen to the news. But based on what she has seen and heard, she thinks Abdulmutallab is guilty. “I don’t believe that was an innocent act,” she said in response to Chambers’ questions."

You can look at it here for now, but look quick as the Free Press is known for erasing evidence that supports the real story of events from its website:

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011111004013

Lastly, I did have a chance to talk to Chamber's associate attorney for a minute and found out that my status as a witness is currently "undetermined". That's an improvement over what I thought it was. We agreed to meet in Chambers office soon. Final jury selection is tomorrow and I will be going down to watch the festivities. Sadly, this is the only way to find out what is really going on.

A Closer Look at Selected Domestic "Terrorist Attacks" From The Past Decade

by Kurt Haskell

Over the past 21 months, I have come into contact with many people that fail to even consider the possibility that U.S. intelligence agents could have been involved in the underwear bomber plot. It is with these people in mind that I decided to write the following article. I have noticed that recent terrorist attacks within the United States have many similar characteristics. If you look at these plots together as a series of attacks, the modus operandi of U.S. intelligence agencies begins to develop. For this article, I have decided to look at only "terrorist attacks" from January 1, 2002, to the present.

1. Mohamed Mohamud (The Portland Christmas Tree Bomber)
Date Of Incident: November 26, 2010.

The 2010 Portland car bomb plot involved an incident in which Mohamud, a Somali-American student, was arrested in an FBI sting operation, after attempting to set off what he thought was a car bomb at a Christmas tree lighting in Portland, Oregon.
Mohamud had been monitored by the FBI for months. Prior to Mohamud's arrest, an undercover FBI agent, posing as a terrorist, had been in contact with him since June 2010 (A 5 month period). In preparation for the planned bombing of a public gathering, Mohamud and undercover FBI operatives drove to a remote area of Lincoln County, Oregon, where they conducted a test run on November 4, 2010 by detonating a real bomb Mohamud believed to have been hidden inside a backpack. The fake bomb was in a white van that carried six 55-gallon drums with what appeared to be real detonation cords and plastic caps. Mohamud tried to detonate the bomb by dialing a cell phone that was attached to it. When the device failed to explode, the undercover agent suggested he get out of the car to obtain better reception. When he did so, arresting agents moved in. According to the FBI, the device it provided to Mohamud had no explosive components (even the detonating caps were inert) and the public was never in any danger.

2. Sami Samir Hassoun (Wrigley Field Bomber)
Date of Incident: September 19, 2010

Hassoun placed a backpack authorities say he thought contained a bomb near Chicago's Wrigley Field. The fake but ominous looking device (a paint can fitted with blasting caps and a timer)was given to him by an FBI undercover agent. According to Hassoun's attorney, Hassoun didn't bring anything of his own making to the incident. All materials were given to him by an under cover FBI agent. Hassoun also had no apparent affiliation with extremists. The complaint alleges he raised the specter of terrorist groups only by suggesting it would be helpful to blame them for any attacks he staged. At least two FBI undercover agents got in touch with Hassoun, posing as co-plotters and eventually helped to deliver the bogus bomb.

3. Bronx Terrorism Plot
Date of Incident: May 20, 2009

On May 20, 2009, US law enforcement arrested four black Muslim men in connection with a plot to shoot down military airplanes flying out of an Air National Guard base in Newburgh, New York and blow up two synagogues in the Riverdale community of the Bronx. The events leading up to the attempted attack began in June 2008. Shahed Hussain, an Albany hotel owner and FBI informant, showed up at the Masjid al-Ikhlas mosque under the name "Maqsood", talking of jihad and violence. Hussain, a Pakistani immigrant, agreed to serve as an FBI informant after being arrested in 2002 over a scam involving driver's licenses. Four men expressed interest to Hussain. They planned to both bomb the Riverdale Temple and nearby Riverdale Jewish Center in the Bronx, and, using Stinger surface-to-air guided missiles, shoot down military planes flying out of a nearby air base. On May 6, 2009, the men traveled to Stamford, Connecticut, to pick up what they believed to be a surface-to-air guided-missile system and three improvised explosive devices, all of which were incapable of actually being used. The men placed fake bombs wired to cell phones in three separate cars outside the Riverdale Temple and nearby Riverdale Jewish Center, both in the Riverdale community of Bronx. The FBI informer also served as the driver of the suspects’ vehicle. Both the car bombs and the missiles were actually fakes given to the plotters with the help of an informant for the FBI. Each of the two homemade bombs was equipped with about 37 pounds of inert material designed to look like C-4 plastic explosive, and "there was no danger to anyone," according to the FBI. The men were returning to their vehicle and heading to attack aircraft at the Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York, with the fake Stinger missiles when law enforcement stopped them.

4. Antonio Martinez
Date of Incident: December 8, 2010

Martinez was arrested in an FBI sting after agents said he tried to detonate a phony bomb outside a Maryland military recruitment center. The FBI began investigating Martinez in early October 2010 after an informant pointed out postings on Martinez's Facebook page. Martinez's attorney said the lack of a recording of the informant's initial three conversations with Martinez is a sign the government was trying to obscure its role in developing the plot. It was in those conversations that Martinez first mentioned attacking the recruiting center, according to a criminal complaint. Also according to his attorney, the government "induced him to be involved in an act which was clearly the design of the government and provided Martinez with the fake bomb".

5. Rezwan Ferdaus
Date of Incident: September 28, 2011

Federal prosecutors allege in court documents that Rezwan Ferdaus outlined an elaborate plan to undercover FBI agents posing as al-Qaeda operatives that involved the use of three drone aircraft carrying deadly payloads to attack and destroy federal government landmarks. Ferdaus was arrested after allegedly accepting delivery of materials, including three grenades, six Ak-47 assault rifles and a quantity of what he believed to be powerful C-4 explosives. U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz said all of the weaponry was in the control of undercover agents who were closely monitoring the plot's developments. She said the public was never in danger.
However, some legal organizations and Muslim groups have questioned whether Ferdaus, whose activities were carried out with two undercover FBI agents posing as terrorists, would have been able to carry out such a sophisticated plot if left to his own devices. In numerous previous cases in the US, the FBI has been accused of over-zealousness in its investigations and of entrapping people into terror plots who might otherwise not have carried out an attack. On April 19, 2011, undercover agents met with Ferdaus and questioned the "feasibility" of his plan. That raises the prospect that the FBI agents were somehow goading Ferdaus into more action.
At the same meeting the undercover agents also gave financial assistance for Ferdaus to travel to Washington on a scouting trip: a fact that raises the question of whether he would have made the trip without that financial help. The undercover agents also supplied thousands of dollars in cash for Ferdaus to buy the F-86 Sabre miniature plane to be used in an attack.


Analysis Of These 5 Attacks:

When looking at these plots, the most obvious connection between them (Other than the Muslim male connection) is that the FBI provided each of these "terrorists" with fake weapons, including fake explosives, to carry out the plots. Also, each of the terrorists attempted to carry out the plots with the aid of undercover FBI agents. It is unclear to what extent the FBI agents came up with the initial idea. However, it certainly is questionable whether any of these attacks would have occurred without the aid of the undercover FBI agents. Before meeting up with the undercover FBI agents, most of these men had little to no criminal record and were guilty of no more than random terroristic thoughts. It is also very apparent that the undercover FBI agents allowed the "terrorists" to conclude a significant portion of the plots including attempting to detonate fake bombs. While researching these and other "terrorist" attacks, I could not help but notice the lack of "terrorist" attacks from 2002-2008. I can't help but question whether the increase in these attacks is related to the term of office of President Obama, which began in January 2009. As I chose to not make this article poilitical, I won't delve into such aspect any further. During this same time period, on December 25, 2009, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab,the "Underwear Bomber" attempted to detonate an explosive in his underwear as he sat 8 rows in front of me.

Analysis of the Underwear Bomber Incident:

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab(Umar)allegedly received his bomb from Al Qaeda in Yemen and due to U.S. Intelligence Agencies "failing to connect the dots", was able to board flight 253 with a bomb. The U.S. Intelligence Agencies "failed to connect" the dots despite the fact that they had been warned by Umar's own father several months earlier that Umar was a threat. Further, we are told that it was this "failing to connect the dots" that led to Umar boarding, despite the Congressional testimony of Patrick Kennedy (see his testimony here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jN_33ojupTc).
This testimony from Kennedy, the Under Secretary of State, indicated that a yet to be disclosed intelligence agency was tracking Umar, and wanted to track him into the U.S. to catch "bigger fish". Now how would such agency do that if it didn't allow Umar to board a plane heading to the U.S.? What's also troubling is that nearly all of the mainstream U.S. media failed to even report on this Congressional testimony. The one newspaper that did, the Detroit News, has now erased the story from its archives. Of course, I witnessed Umar near the boarding gate of flight 253. He was escorted by a sharp dressed man, that spoke perfect American English without an accent and told the gate agent that Umar didn't have a passport, that he needed to board the plane, that he was from "Sudan, and we do this all the time". My next question is who is the "we" that he was referring to. Obviously, I have to ask what sort of U.S. authority figure in Amsterdam could say that "we" let refugees on planes all of the time without passports and apparently, has the authority to make it happen. It seems that an undercover FBI agent would fit the bill. Although Schiphol Airport has the most security cameras in the world, the airport audio and video remain unreleased under a court protective order. In December 2010, Umar's stand-by attorney, Anthony Chambers reported to the Detroit Free Press that "The Government's own experts have indicated that the bomb was impossibly defective as it lacked a blasting cap". That story has now been erased from the Free Press archives. Although pieces of the bomb laid all over the airline cabin near row 19, law enforcement officers made no effort to remove passengers from such area and passengers trampled through pieces of the bomb as they exited the plane. The NPR interview of Jay Howard, the man who sat next to Umar, is very telling (see below)(http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123821351. In this interview, Howard relates that the FBI told him not to talk about what happened and took all of his clothes that were covered with pieces of the bomb. Although the FBI had samples of the bomb all over the airline, it seized all of his clothes to "test the bomb materials". I have to wonder if the FBI actually seized Mr. Howard's clothes in order to not let others test the bomb materials. In his NPR interview, Mr. Howard makes the following curious comment "I don't want to call him a terrorist because he hasn't been treated as a terrorist and it wasn't a national threat". Really Mr. Howard? Why wasn't it a National threat? Is this why the FBI told you not to talk about this too much? Note that I am not saying that Jay Howard was involved in this lot, but only that he knows more than he is letting on. Remember, after we exited the plane, we were taken to a baggage claim area where we stood with our carry on bags for an hour, not knowing if other bombs were located in the carry on bags. Law enforcement was not concerned, however. At this time, Umar had already exited the plane and told officers that "there is another bomb on board". Another man was taken into custody during this time, after a bomb sniffing dog found explosives in his carry on bag. The U.S. Government changed its story on who this man was 5 times before finally deciding to ignore the existence of the man entirely. It's most likely that this man was an FBI undercover agent that provided Umar with his "bomb" and the bomb resideue in his bag alerted the dog. In late 2010, Umar was charged with conspiring with "persons known and unknown" yet none of these persons have ever been named. Their involvement with the plot has never been explained. Shouldn't such persons be on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted List? Shouldn't the FBI solicit the public to help identify such individuals, who should be some of the most wanted men in the world? Not if they are FBI agents. There are very few differences between the Underwear Bomber incident and the 5 incidents I listed above. One difference being that this attack occurred on a plane which caused a fire that did indeed threaten lives. The other plots seemingly didn't risk injury to others. We must remember that the U.S. needs legitimate "terrorist attacks" to keep making money for those that benefit from the fraudulent war on terror. Also, a legitimate airline attack was needed to usher in the body scanning machines. Without a failed bomb in a terrorist's clothes, the American public would never stand for the body scanning machines. Lastly, the flight proceeded over Detroit before the "bomb" was lit, on Christmas Day, in order to make the biggest splash in the media. The U.S. Government's modus operandi of setting up these attacks with fake bombs and without risking injury to others was seemingly achieved. This led to Janet Napolitano's explicit comment that "the system worked" when referring to this attack. Janet knows what happened here, and so do I. Hopefully, I have convinced other that read this post that the U.S. Government, via its intelligence agencies, gave Umar a fake bomb and escorted him through security in order to assure a fake "terrorist attack". This "terrorist" attack occurred in order to continue padding the wallets of those that benefit from the war on terror and its repulsive body scanners. Would this plot have happened without the aid of the unnamed U.S. Intelligence Agency that allowed Umar to board, provided Umar with his fake bomb and God knows whatever else? Not a chance. I sit here writing this article a mere 30 minutes from Dearborn, Michigan, which has the largest segment of Muslims in the U.S. I realize that if the U.S. were truly in danger of terrorist attacks from Muslims, this area should be in jeopardy of suicide and car bombings that frequently occur in the middle east. These attacks do not occur here. I know why, and I ask that you also ask yourself why. Those that are hopeful that the upcoming trial will reveal anything of this sort should think again. Umar is representing himself and thereby refusing to let standy-by attorney Chambers use the entrapment defense (that he told me he would) if he was allowed to. This action by Umar is inexplicable, unless of course he is involved in the plot, has been threatened or promised a lenient sentence. I don't know which, but there seemingly is no other explanation. Obviously, there is more to this story than the FBI is telling us.

Forged Passport In Underwear Bomber Case?

by Kurt Haskell

I spent much of this evening reading court documents from the underwear bomber (Umar) case. For those that are interested, you can read them at:

http://www.mied.uscourts.gov/hpc/

There are many gems in the documents, but I'll only focus on one of them tonight.
While reading the documents, I found what I believe to be another smoking gun. Since day one when Lori and I exited flight 253, I've maintained that Umar boarded flight 253 with the help of a sharp dressed man and WITHOUT A PASSPORT. Early on in this case, Judge Edmunds issued a protective order forbidding either side from discussing any of the evidence in the case. However, that didn't stop the U.S. Government from releasing propaganda pictures into the media. The most famous picture is a picture of Umar with law enforcement on the plane. The two that were the most obvious frauds were the picture of Umar's minimally damaged underwear and the picture of Umar's passport. The passport picture was released for no other reason then to attempt to discredit my eyewitness testimony. In no other case (to my knowledge) has the government released a picture of some one's passport to the media. I have taken great offense to the release of the passport and it is with great pleasure that I now believe I can show it was a fake. Interestingly enough, stand-by attorney Chambers indicated at the July 7, 2011 hearing that he had just received a copy of Umar's passport. Chambers referred to this (and some other evidence) document as "significant evidence". We must now ask why it is considered "significant evidence" by Chambers. I also have to wonder why such a seemingly insignificant document like a passport was withheld for 18 months from the defense (Maybe it took that long to create a good fake?).

When I looked for the picture of Umar's passport tonight, it was not easy to find. I did however, manage to find a copy of it here:

http://www.911oz.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=6651

I encourage everyone to take a very good look at Umar's signature, particularly the "m" and the "a" in Umar. Also note that it doesn't include his last name. Further, the picture doesn't particularly look like Umar and seems to show a man with a receding hairline. At this time, I will leave a discussion of the picture for another day.

Now take a look at this document filed by Umar and written in his own handwriting:

http://www.mied.uscourts.gov/hpc/docs/10.Defendant_Motion_for_Detention_Hearing.pdf

Note that the "a's" are completely different in that the "a" in the passport photo has a closed loop while in the court document, the "a's" are open at the top. Further, note that Umar's "m" is significantly larger than the "a" is in the passport photo. Also, note that the "m's" in the court document look significantly different then the "m" in the passport. Specifically, the "m's" in the court document are the same size as the "a's" are and are significantly more slanted and pointed then the "m's" in the passport. In the court document, you can also see that most of the "m's" contain a side arm while the "m" in the passport photo does not. Lastly, note that the passport appears to have very neat handwriting while the court document has very sloppy handwriting.

Of course, the conclusion is that one of the documents is a fake. It is much more likely that the passport photo is a fake as there would be no legitimate reason to fake the court document. If the passport photo, is in fact a fake, we must ask why the government would release a fake passport photo. The only logical explanation is that a real passport did not exist. Obviously, the U.S. Government felt a need early on to release a fraudulent passport to discredit my eyewitness account. The reason for the attempt to discredit me is obvious and points directly at my theory in this case.

Umar was escorted through security without a passport and with an intentionally defective bomb in order to stage a false flag terrorist attack.

Note that in this court document, Chambers has indicated that U.S. Government agents have given contradictory statements (see item 9):

http://www.mied.uscourts.gov/hpc/docs/05.Motion_for_Disclosure_of_Grand_Jury_Materials.pdf

Surprise, surprise, U.S. Government agents are giving false statements. Why should we be surprised when their employer releases a fraudulent document?


*** I am editing this post this morning (9-28-11) to make one comment about the passport photo. The passport appears to be issued on September 15, 2005. Umar was age 18 on that date. The man in the passport piture clearly has a receding hairline (and to me doesn't look like Umar). The possibility of an 18 year old having a receding hairline is remote at best. It appears that the U.S. Government has once again been exposed in this matter.

*** Second edit: See below for a copy of my fax to Anthony Chambers:

Facsimile Cover Sheet

To: Anthony Chambers, Esq.
Company:
Phone:
Fax: 313-xxx-xxxx
From: Kurt R. Haskell, J.D., L.L.M.
Company: Haskell Law Firm, P.C.
Phone: 734-285-5625
Fax: 734-281-0969
Date: September 28, 2011
Pages including this cover page:
3, RE: Umar Farouk Adbulmutallab

Comments: Tony, I am assuming that since I haven’t heard from you that I will not be testifying. I assume that to mean that Umar has chosen to not use the entrapment/excessive government involvement defense. That is unfortunate and leads me to believe that Umar is complicit with the government for some reason. Nonetheless, I am attaching my recent blog post to make you aware of some passport anomalies. Obviously, I was there when Umar was posed as a Sudanese refugee and boarded without a passport. Thus, I know that he didn’t have a passport. I doubt that you will have enough control in the trial to admit the passport anomalies into evidence. However, I am providing this evidence to you for impeachment purposes on the off chance that you can use it. I know there is a great deal of evidence in this case and I just wanted to make you aware of this information. Good luck with the trial. I am not envious of your position. I will be there whenever my schedule allows.

The Colossal Deceit Known As The Underwear Bomber Case

by Kurt Haskell

With jury selection set to begin in the Underwear Bomber Trial set to begin tomorrow, I've spent the evening reminiscing about Christmas Day 2009 and the 21 months since. The Underwear Bomber attack has fundamentally changed my life. Not in the way most would think, but it has destroyed any faith I've had in the U.S. Government, the media and this country as a whole. To say that I believe the government is corrupt and the media is complicit doesn't fully explain my beliefs. Not only have I come to those conclusions, but I've witnessed that an ordinary person who sees something important can be silenced despite his efforts to spread the truth. Such is the Underwear Bomber case. I can do nothing but laugh at the TSA's new policy of "If you see something say something." That is exactly what I did, and not only did the U.S. Government not want to hear what I had to say, but it actively lied about it, attempted to get me to change my story, and hid, by withholding (secret government) evidence or putting a protective order on the evidence and nearly everything that would support my eyewitness account.

Where are we now? We now have The Underwear Bomber (Umar) representing himself with the help of standby attorney Chambers. Attorney Chambers has indicated to me that if he were Umar's attorney, that the defense would be entrapment and that I would be a key witness. Of course, such a defense would expose the U.S. Government's involvement in the plot. It is much too convenient to have Umar represent himself and be in charge of what the defense will be, what evidence is presented, what witnesses are called and what questions each witness is asked. A trial with Umar representing himself will leave the relevant facts of this case unknown for generations. I can't help but think that Umar fired his attorneys for a reason other than he is a crazy terrorist. It is much too convenient that the entity that staged the event, also controls the evidence, what information is leaked to the media, who the prosecutors are, and the prison where Umar has sbeen staying at for the last 21 months. Let's not overlook the fact that the U.S. Government has admitted to waterboarding and torturing terrorists. Do you see the pieces of the puzzle forming a clear picture yet?

Make no mistake that Umar did in fact attempt to detonate a device (although it was a defective device) on Flight 253. He is not innocent. It remains to be discovered whether my belief that Umar is complicit with the "theatre" going on before our eyes came about before or after the event of Christmas Day 2009. It really is not important except that you must understand that he is now complicit in covering up the true story of Christmas Day 2009. There is no other explanation as to why Umar is representing himself and rejecting the entrapment defense (Which I have discovered he will do).

For those that are still skeptical of my claims, please realize that I do not make my claims without a great deal of thought and research. My firm belief is that Umar was escorted around security and given an intentionally defective bomb by a U.S. intelligence agent. The bomb was never intended to detonate, but merely intended to create a "simulated terrorist attack" or a "false flag attack" if you will. In December of 2009, the U.S. Government hadn't seen a terrorist attack in 8 years, It was getting more and more difficult to spend hundreds of billions a year on terrorism and to continue to fight two fraudulent wars based on terrorism. Those making their livings off of the war on terror didn't want to lose their cash cow. Enter Umar the Underwear Bomber. A second benefit of a failed bomb being found in Umar's underwear, was to enable body scanning machines to be placed in every airport. How convenient for Michael Chertoff , a former head of the DHS, to have ties to the body scanning companies. I doubt that this was any coincidence. Once again, billions of dollars would flow from the U.S. Government for body scanning machines that were needed to protect us.

What we are now left with are the bits and pieces of the Underwear Bomber case that can form a clear picture of what happened that day. For those of you attempting to put it all together, please take your time and think about the evidence instead of glossing over it and continuing to remain in denial. The truth is that your U.S. Government staged a false terrorist attack in order to steal your tax dollars and your 4th Amendment Rights to be free of unreasonable searches and seizures. Please thoroughly consider the following with an open mind and think about why this sort of behavior must stop now:

My thoughts on this case and the list of anomalies that differ from the official version of events were made through: (a) numerous discussions with other passengers, (b) my own eyewitness account, (c) discussions with Umar's standby attorney, (d) hundreds of articles on the story (e) evidence provided to me by others "in the know" or just other concerned citizens, and (f) from the official record at hearings I attended.

Anomalies of the case in no particular order:

1. In December 2010, Chambers told the Detroit Free Press that the Government's own explosives experts indicate that the bomb was impossibly defective. The Free Press later erased this article from its online site, but did not erase earlier underwear bomber stories.
2. The FBI has admitted to supplying the Portland Christmas Tree Bomber and the Wrigley Field Bomber with intentionally defective bombs shortly after the underwear bomber event.
3. Janet Napolitano's comment that "the system worked" was a Freudian slip.
4. The plane taxied to the gate. The passengers were not allowed off of the plane for 20-30 minutes (Was the bomb still on the plane?). There was bomb material that was supposedly explosive all over the cabin of the plane. Nobody took any action to make sure the passengers were safe or that the "explosives" were of no danger to the passengers. This is evidence of foreknowledge that there was no danger to the passengers.
5. TSA admitted knowledge of the threat while the flight was over Canada/Atlantic Ocean. No measures were taken to notify the pilot or to divert the flight for an emergency landing elsewhere.
6. My eyewitness account of the sharp dressed man and the related evidence as to this man. There is no other likely explanation for this man except for government involvement. The airport video has never been released and remains under protective order of the court.
7. The government's continued release of Umar's passport picture through the media. This was done for no other reason that to attempt to discredit me. Why such an effort to show a passport picture all over the media? In no other case has a passport picture been shown in the media. A copy of the supposed "passport" of Umar, however, was not released to Chambers until June 2011. The release of the passport to standby defense counsel was delayed 19 months in order to limit the amount of time Chambers would need to have experts verify its authenticity.
8. The explanation for the cameraman is near unbelieveable. He started filming the sky just before the attack started and then he turned to film the entire attack from beginning to end. We all thought we were going to die. The last thing on anyone's mind at that time was to film something.
9. On 1-5-10 Breibart posted an article that indicated the Government had viewed over 200 hours of video from the airport and it showed no evidence of an accomplice. This article is contradicted by the 1-22-10 article of ABC News by Brian Ross that indicated that "The government is looking into the identity of a man that helped Umar at Schiphol." The article fails to mention that this "sharp dressed man" escorted Umar through security without a passpot and instead tries to paint this man as Al Qaeda. The government is contradicting itself in both of these stories and is attemptin weak coverups in each story.
10. Umar is charged with conspiracy. The accomplices names or contributions are never mentioned. They are not listed as wanted and they are never discussed. This is because they are U.S. Intelligence agents.
11. Customs spokeperson Ron Smith changed the official story about the 2nd man taken into custody in Detroit 5 times. Then he sent a half hearted apoogetic email to the media. My story as to this man has never changed. Ron Smith eventually gave up lying and quit talking about this man who was witnessed by nearly all of the passengers.
12. Why were pictures of Umar's underwear constantly released to the media? These pictures show Umar's underwear is largely intact. I have information from a credible source that due to this incident, Umar "Will never have any kids". This fact is not in line with undamaged underwear. The continued release of the underwear was used as a propaganda piece to reinforce the deceit.
13. The prosecution has continued to block evidence from Umar's standby attorney and in some cases, has provided it late. Why? If Umar was a terrorist nut, what is it that the government does not want the defense to see? It seems to me that if the official story is true, then this is an open and shut case. It appears that the government feels a need to insulate itself from civil cases filed by the passengers.
14. Why has Chambers repeatedly indicated that Umar has a very valid defense? The answer is the entrapment defense.
15. Portions of the Patriot Act were set to expire just before Christmas Day 2009. The Congressional vote to extend them was delayed until February. Body scanning machines were already built and sitting in warehouses. Michael Chertoff, the former head of the Department of Homeland Security has ties to the body scanning manufacturers. The U.S. had no terrorist attacks from 2001 until Christmas Day 2009. A new terrorist attack was needed to get the body scanning machines in the airports.
16. If flight 253 had crashed, nobody would know that the bomb was in Umar's underwear. An unsuccesful staged attack was necessary to show where the bomb was held. This was needed to sell the American public that body scanners were needed to prevent similar future attacks.
17. The story of Umar obtaining his bomb in another country and wearing it to Schiphol is not logical. It is much more likely that he was given the defective bomb at or near the airport. It is likely that the second man taken into custody in Detroit gave him the bomb at Schiphol. My theory is that the bomb sniffing dog (which we witnessed) in Detroit sniffed bomb residue in his bag after we landed.
18. Umar could have been stopped in Amsterdam after boarding and been charged with various charges that would have resulted in a life sentence. Instead he was allowed to fly into U.S. airspace and light his bomb there, over Detroit, on Christmas Day in order to make this a MUCH large media story to usher in the body scanners.
19. How did Umar pick his window seat over the gas tank when he paid cash for his ticket? (You must buy your ticket with credit in order to pick your seat).
20. Other terrorist attack videos are released within hours. The relevant video in this case has never been released. Note that Schiphol airport has more cameras than any airport in the world.
21. The bomb was lit in the cabin and not in the bathroom so that it could be filmed and make more of a media event than a dud bomb lit in a bathroom.
22. Obama's "failed to connect the dots speech" is discredited by the Congressional testimony of Patrick Kennedy of the State Department. Kennedy indicated that, in so many words, that the government was tracking Umar and did not revoke his visa in order to track him into the U.S. This is almost, but not quite an admission that he was let into the U.S. on purpose.
23. The Congressional testimony of Michael Leiter indicated that the U.S. Government frequently lets terrorists into the U.S.
24. In early 2010, a Mr. Wolf appeared on the Keith Olberman Show and indicated that the Obama administration was looking into the possibility that this was an intentional plot by a U.S. intelligence agency.
25. Watch the Congressional testimony of Patrick Kennedy (available on the internet) and watch how he does vocabulary gymnastics to avoid saying that this was an intentional plot by U.S. intelligence.
26. Dutch military police initially indicated that Umar did not go through normal security measures. This was only reported once.
27. Why did a passenger call me in early January 2010 and attempt to convince me that I did not see Umar being escorted around security, but I instead witnessed a minor child being taken through security. This was untrue. I later found out that such passenger works for a contractor that receives a great deal of business from the Department of Defense.
28. Why does the mainstream media continue to not investigate this story and continue to not report my eyewitness account?
29. A second passenger contacted me and confirmed my acount of the Sharp Dressed Man. She is scared and refuses to come forward.
30. Why have nearly all of the passengers refused to talk about this case?
31. Why were a great deal of the passengers, military personnel, government workers and government contractors?
32. Why did the prosecution indicate at a recent hearing that it was still withholding some evidence that was deemed to be secret (top seret?). What could be so secret if the government was not involved in the plot?
33. Why has the online Detroit Free Press site erased all underwear bomber articles that support my theory on the case, but retained older articles that support the official story?

It is unfortunate that the upcoming trial will be nothing but a farce and deceitful theatre to imbed lies in the minds of the sheeple.

San Fran, Personal Record Run, and Related Stuff

Ran yesterday in a local race in Flat Rock, which is held every year in memory of a high school senior who died while running cross country for the school (I think he had a heart attack or something?).  Anyway, it was a great race.  I ran my best time ever, 24:50, and got first in my age group.  So, another medal, yay!  Anyone have any ideas on how to display the medals in my office?  Right now I have them hanging from my bookcase, but would like to do something fun with them.

On Friday night, I decided to run up to the rec center and work out, and while on the way, something flew into my eye. At the time, I stopped, closed and opened my eye, and it seemed fine again, although it was kinda stinging. By the time I got to the gym, I was fine. Worked out, came home. Next morning, eye was kinda bloodshot, but I thought it was go away. Went and ran the race, seemed to be getting worse. So, I took my contacts out and started wearing my glasses, thinking maybe it was my contacts. Still did not get better and this morning, was worse. Found an eye place to go into, and they looked at it and I guess no tears or cuts or anything, it just seemed "irritated" which could be from allergies, could be from the bug that flew in there Friday night, could be from my contacts. Anyway, they gave me some sample drops and called me in a prescription for the drops. So far, the drops seem to be working and my eye already seems slightly less bloodshot, which is good. I HATE wearing my glasses, and the dr wants me to wear them until my next appointment on Friday night. Boo.

So, San Fran! Have not uploaded pics, but thought I would do highlights of the trip, in bullet form! Here goes.......

• Flight there was great.  Direct via Delta.  Grabbed a cab to our hotel, the Omni, which is in the area known as the financial district in San Fran.   Emily has told me NOT to stay in certain areas, so I tried to find a place that was in a good location, and had a gym with cardio and weights, as well as free internet.  The Omni fit the bill.  Our room was on the 13th floor and super nice.  The employees at this hotel really went above and beyond with being helpful and friendly.  When I bought tix on Stubhub, the front desk printed them for me for free, when really, I should have been charged through the business center.  Bed was super comfy, shower was nice.  Free safe to use in room.  We had room service one night after a game, and the food was yummy as well.  Did not eat in their restaurant as well, but that's only because I am anti eating in hotel restaurants.  I generally think they are overpriced and not as good as venturing out.
• Anyway, first night we ate at this awesome vegetarian place near the hotel called Enjoy Vegetarian.  Everything on the menu is vegetarian.  No meat whatsoever.  I had a faux chicken and fish rice meal, and we split hot and sour soup to start off with.  AWEsome.  Oh, and I had some kinda of vegan ice cream dessert with bananas.  Went to bed after that, since we were still kinda on Detroit time.  :).
• Day two, decided to wander down to Pier 39.  Ended up taking a double decker bus tour, that started at 1030 AM.  Thought it would be a good way to see the different areas of town and feel everything out, and it was.  There was a stop at the golden gate bridge, which was kewl.  Got out there and took some pics.  Had lunch at Pier 39 after that, at a place called Neptune, and had a table overlooking the bay which was super nice.  Had salad and soup there.  Kurt got garlic fries that looked amazing.  Wandered around Pier 39 after that, saw the sea lions, stopped and bought a tour to Muir Woods and Sausalito and a tour of Alcartraz for later on in the trip.  Headed that night to the Giants baseball game.  I was excited to see Lincecum pitch, but he had an off night.  Game was super fun.  We ended up sitting like a few rows back from Barry Bonds, who was at the game with his family.  That was pretty kewl.  The stadium is absolutely gorgeous, prob the nicest stadium in baseball.  Comerica is my fav, but that's only based on the fact that the Tigers play there!  :).
• Next day, we had brunch with my friend, Dawn, from high school, and her husband, Todd.  We met at a place called Plant Organic, at Pier 3.  Brunch was yummy, and we found out Dawn is pregnant and due in February.  Super excited for her.  After that we went and walked around the shopping at Union Square, and Kurt headed to Chinatown while I shopped some more and he had a massage. Ended up scoring some great deals at White House Black Market, and tried on a dress I loved at Banana, but since it was not on sale, I decided not to buy it yet since everything goes on sale there within weeks.  It was from their new Mad Men collection, super retro.  That night, we had dinner with Kurt's friend, Dag, at The Stinking Rose in Little Italy.  My Mom had suggested the restaurant, and we liked it a lot.  The soup was incredible. 
***Sausalito
• Labor Day!  Woke up to catch our bus to Muir Woods and Sausalito.  We were taken to the Pier and transferred to a smaller bus to Muir Woods.  Got there, and walked around to see the amazing trees and forest there.  Totally gorgeous.  After that, drove to Sausalito, which is a gorgeous little town on the bay.  Walked around there some, then came back to the Pier in San Fran.  Once we got back, had lunch at a little hole in the wall Mexican place near the Pier, then headed to get massages in China Town.  Great massage.  And cheap!  :).  After that, we met up with Rachael for dinner at an Italian place near where she lives.  Super fun night and nice talking to and seeing Rach.  We closed the place down!  At all of 1000 PM.  Heh.

**Me and Rach.


• Tuesday, we met up with Emily for lunch at a Thai place.  It was awesome to meet her in real life, and I think we could have talked for the entire day.  :).  We went after that and walked Lombard Street and went to a couple stores on Union Street again.  Emily had suggested one called Loehmann's, and I loved walking around the place.  High end stuff at lower prices.  We bought tickets to an A's game that night, and had amazing seats in the 1st row, visitors side.  Game was super fun, and it was easy to get there taking the BART.  Ordered room service that night for dinner.  Oh, and Kurt caught a foul ball at the game!  So that was super kewl.
• Wednesday, packed up our stuff.  Headed out to Pier 39 for our Alcatraz tour at 1100 AM.  Spent several hours there, then had lunch at another place overlooking the bay.  Decided to get Thai massages after that at a place called Royal Thai Massage, then got ice cream at a cute local place and went to Ripley's Believe it or Not and wandered around.  Had dinner at a really cute Italian place, then headed back to the hotel to grab our stuff and head to the airport.
***Me and Emily.
• We worked out every day of this trip at the hotel gym and did a ton of walking in San Fran, so even though I ate like crap, I did get exercise in!  :).
• The weather in San Fran was not what we expected.  Last time I was there, it was in Feb, and MI was freezing so I thought San Fran was fab!  This time, the weather in MI was 95 degrees when we left, so San Fran felt freezing to us!  So weird.  I think it was the first time I have worn pants since May, since I wear so many dresses and skirts to work and shorts at home.

Anyway, we rated this trip as awesome.  Loved the city and how much there is to do, loved seeing so many friends and people we knew.  Loved getting to see two ballparks and loved how Kurt finally got to see Alcatraz.  Only downside was being exhausted since we took the redeye back, we are getting too old for this redeye stuff.  :).

We got the bikes back yesterday from the bike shop, good as new.  I went running the other night and was terrified with each car that passed me, so I guess Im not totally over the being hit by a car thing, which is annoying, but I guess I should cut myself some slack.

Bought tickets to the Lions season opener at home, and we have awesome seats.  cannot wait.  Especially after they won today!  Whoot!  I can't believe they actually looked good.  It's a shock.  Hopefully, it continues!  Can't wait to break my Haskell jersey out to wear to the game!

Kurt went to the dr yesterday morning for follow-up stuff from the accident and in having to get an MRI, go to rehab, and was put on two prescriptions, one for muscle spasms and another for pain.  He also was given a shot for pain while there.  My bruises are starting to fade, finally, but I still have some pain in my left calf and my hip/back where the car hit me.  Ugh. 

So, this is getting long...........Will post more soon with more pics.  Hope everyone had a nice weekend.

The Crash

So, I should have posted about this a long time ago, but life has been crazy. Between work, the accident and follow-up, going to San Fran for the holiday, working out.....no spare time to blog. :).

So, two weeks ago, on a Friday night, after I had just psoted a status on facebook about "looking forward to a relaxing bike ride after work with Kurt"......Kurt and I were involved in a bike accident on the street we live on. We were riding our bikes, on the side of the road, and we were about three houses away from ours (feeding into the theory that most accidents occur close to home). All the sudden, I was hit, and falling to the ground. I was watching in front of me, and saw Kurt fall. However, through all of this, I did not really see or know what happened, except I was on the ground.

I finally figured out that a car hit us. I did not even know if the car had hit Kurt or if he had just fallen off his bike. I was hit really hard on the back and hip, and then my handlebars were hit. Later found out that the guy's side mirror hit me and his mirror then flew off his car from the impact and flew about 20 feet away into the ditch on the side of the road. After he hit me, he hit Kurt's handlebars, which caused Kurt to fall. I was REALLY shaken up and kinda shocked. Once i realized what had happened, I slowly stood up, not knowing if anything was broke, and walked to the grassy area of the yard we were near, sat down, and started crying. Some other cars stopped and were coming up to me asking me if I was OK, to which I have no idea what I replied. Kurt then came up to me and asked if I was hit, told him yes, and he then became livid. The guy who hit me circled back and Kurt asked him for his license and registration and he was kinda leery about giving it to Kurt. He had expired insurance, but said it had been renewed. The people who owned the house we were hit in front of made me walk to their front porch and sit there while the ambulance and other rescue people came. The ambulance came, and we declined to go and decided to drive ourselves to the hospital so we had a ride home. We talked to the police for the report, and the fire department.

Through all of this, the guy who hit us (who also had his wife, three kids and dog in his car), NEVER asked once if we were OK, nothing. Towards the end of all this, I noticed him taking pictures of ouri bikes and then of us. I was livid. I wanted to go tell him off, but decided I was not really in the right state of mind to cause a scene, LOL. It's sad what our society has turned in to. I live in a small, rural community where everyone is generally super nice. I could not believe this man was totally selfish and setting such a bad example for his kids, not checking on us or saying he was sorry or ANYTHING. I would feel beyond horrible if I hit someone on their bike, let alone TWO people.

Anyway, I am still hurting from the incident, and Kurt's hamstring/back has been horrible. He had a really hard time while we were in San Fran walking around town. He has a follow-up appointment at the doctor tomorrow and I imagine will be sent for an MRI. We did go the hospital to be on the safe side, and they did xrays, but did not find anything broken, but told us to followup with our normal doctor. So, really, I am happy it was not worse. We are dealing with his insurance now for the cost of the bike repairs, my iPhone being smashed, medical bills, my sunglasses being fixed.

I think I freaked my Mom out when I called her. I keep doing that, whoops. I told her "I was hit by a car". I think she thought I meant while in my car, then I told her, I was literally HIT by a car while on my bike and she was a little more concerned! :). Love you Mom. Sorry I keep being involved in near death incidents.....

Energy Run--Monroe

Ran this morning in the Energy Run in Monroe, MI. It was a 5K at the local community college and raised funds for adult literacy. Kurt decided to sit this one out since his hamstring is bothering him, so I headed out myself this morning. Got there, and heard the end of the kids 1 Mile run, which is always so cute to see. The little kids running are always adorable. Anyway, got my t-shirt and put it in the car (BRIGHT orange), and pinned on my number, 163. Walked to the start of the race, which was at the back of a field. Race was pretty tough. It was not on cement or roads at all, but instead, was through trails covered with branches, logs, etc., with hills--and through grass that was pretty long. So, mostly trail like running. My time was a lot higher than normal, but I think it's because I have a harder time running on grass and dirt trails. The trails had a lot of really sharp turns as well, which made it interesting and relaxing, but a harder run. Better workout than usual though! :). Anyway, the age group medals were different as well, in that they grouped ages in groups of 10 instead of 5 (meaning I was in the 30-39 age group). Ended up getting 3rd and got a kewl medal. My # was also drawn in a raffle and I won a picture frame, which was kewl. After race food was bagels, bananas, oranges, and water. I drank like 4 little water bottles, the race got pretty hot in the sun. Loved that this race was local!

Had a massage this afternoon with Kurt at Biundo's Salon and Spa in Monroe (they had a $10 off each massage coupon on facebook), and ran some errands this afternoon. Drove to Westland tonight and had dinner out with Auntie, grama, Dad and Kurty at Eastside Mario's, which was super yummy. Hopefully, I can use those carbs at the run in the morning! :). Doing another 5K for the Vietnam Veterans United.

Booked our flights to San Francisco this week. Have not booked the details of the trip or anything, need to kinda figure out how much time we want to spend in San Fran vs the redwoods hiking and stuff like that, but have been too busy to look into it a ton. Need to do that soon.

Hope everyone is having a nice weekend!

Can't Feel my Arms

This is a positive statement, however. :).

Tonight, I started working out at a studio again (this does not mean the rest of my workouts will end, I just want something to build and tone muscle more than running and biking do). Before law school started, I worked out at a studio called Animal Instinct. Loved it a TON. Best workout of my life. I started out there doing kickboxing, added in a Core class, did some Pilates, and ended by starting to learn Krav Maga. I got some of my friends at the time to go with me, and the workout made one of my friends actually vomit. My kinda workout! :).

Enter law school and the end of my working out career.

Exit law school, begin insanely busy career, working 80+ hours a week, and still not taking care of myself.

Enter taking care of myself, but by working out at home, running, and biking, and loving summer.

Find studio again, which is now called The Fighting Fit, has two new locations. Same owner, same awesome people. I stopped in yesterday to get pricing, a schedule, and information in general.

Stopped in today at 545 PM to sign up and take my first class! Yay! Tonight, I just took basic kickboxing which, kicked my butt! I cannot feel my arms. Still. 3 hours later. Class was awesome. For those of you who have taken cardio kickboxing, this is entirely different. You wear wraps and gloves, actually HIT pads and bags, and do a lot of other training as well. Training included running outside (around the block), tons of abs, tons of push-ups, burpees, squats, kettle bell workouts, etc. Amazing all over workout. Plus, I ran into a friend of mine from the 5Ks, so that was kewl as well! I knew one person! Can't wait to take the other classes as well, once I can feel my arms again. They have a class that sounds awesome called Cage Rage, another called H.I.I.T., another that does Xtraining, a kickboxing bag class, and combo classes. Anyway, I just know taking classes here is going to improve my running and workouts in general. I was sweating and exhausted the bulk of the class.

We ran in one race this past weekend, in Brownstown, called the Wood Duck Dash, which was on Saturday. Was a very pretty race, through Lake Erie Metro Park, which is not far from our house. Loved running over bridges over the water and through the trails in the woods. Ended up 4th in my age group/female, and Kurt was thrilled I did not place as he hates staying and waiting for the medals, LOL. It was fine though, as I had a lot of plans on Saturday and needed to get going. The run felt really good, and I could tell my 5 Mile runs earlier in the week had helped my 5K time and endurance. Saturday afternoon, I headed to Canton to pick up my Aunt and head to the Milford Art Fair. It has really gotten huge! Prob twice the vendors from when I was last there. Ended up buying a really pretty wire pearl ring, and some drink mixes for fat free, calorie free drinks that are SUPER yummy and a good change from diet soda. Had lunch with my Aunt after that and headed home to get ready for dinner out with Kurt, and our friends Cassie and Ken and Zyon, at Crave in Dearborn. Had awesome sushi and a great time.

Sunday, I got up and the weather was perfect for running, so I ran 6 miles and stopped when it started raining. I worked part of the day as well, and ran some errands.

Work has been insanely busy, as usual. I feel like I am running all day long every day. Tons of court all over the place (mostly Detroit and Monroe for me, but Kurt has been in Detroit, Pontiac, Mt. Clemens, Ann Arbor and other district courts locally). Tons of appointments in all three offices.......Am thrilled Kory had been in all week, love when he has short breaks from school.

The mosquitos have been crazy around here lately. Ugh on mosquito bites.

Oh! We finally joined the Jefferson Rec Center, which is part of the high school I was on the school board for. Anyway, we rode the bikes up there and walked around. It is insanely cheap (like $100 per year per household) and I am looking forward to using the pool (I want to train for a tri, and can swim laps in the pool), racquetball (we are going to learn to play and they have courts), the track (for running NOT on a treadmill in the winter months).....We basically joined because there are a few machines Kurt does not have in the basement and does not want to buy cuz they are really pricey and they have them there (including leg press and a back machine).

Hope everyone is doing well!

You Look Like an Athlete

Race this weekend was super fun. Put on by the Detroit Lions in Allen Park, near their training facility. Instead of medals, they gave out glasses with Detroit Lions and the race info on it, and there were a lot of Detroit Lions prizes and stuff. Anyway, the race was at 900 AM, and of course, it was gorgeous and sunny and hot and muggy. And, I have not been running as much because of the heat, except on the treadmill (have been biking WAY more). So, I was just hoping to just get through the race without passing out. The course was fun. Neighborhood residents had sprinklers on for us to run through, and there were a lot of spots with water and/or gatorade. Anyway, I did way better than I thought I would, clocking in at 26:01. Got 1st in my age group and 77th overall. Kurt clocked in just less than 30 minutes, which he was OK with since he has not been running at all lately because of injuries to his hamstring and back. Our friend Jeff got first in his age group, and our friend Paul got 2nd in his. Anyway, I really liked this one and will do it again next year for sure.

Had a massage after the race at a place I had booked that I had a Groupon to, and could not believe that the therapist underSTOOD deep tissue. I will be back for sure. I don't even think he was using all his strength with me, but I was kinda sore from the run. My dinner plans that night got postponed, so I decided to stop at the mall to use a coupon I had, and ended up buying nothing. Went home, and Kurt and I decided to go out for sushi, which was super yummy.

Yesterday, went on my sunday morning bike ride. I love these rides. It is generally gorgeous and sunny and I just ride and ride. This morning, I went over 13 miles. I can really tell the difference in my legs/muscles from adding the biking in too. Love that. At weigh in yesterday morning, I was my lowest weight to date, weighing in at 66.2 pounds less than when I started in September. I was thrilled with this, as I kinda stopped tracking my food and have been eating healthy choices, but eating when I am hungry, so I am sure I am eating more than I was previously, but I am still losing, so that rocks! I just kinda want to maintain now though, and make sure my clothes continue to fit. I guess if I gain a lot or my clothes get tight, I will start the tracking again. Speaking of that, I was looking for a particular supplement at GNC, and was kinda annoyed by the lady's reaction who worked there. She basicaly would not even SHOW it to me, because I think she thought I should not use it as I don't need to lose any more weight. I really don't think that's ANY of her business, and then she started lecturing me on eating breakfast, that I should drink protein shakes, etc. Umm, no. Did not ask your advice on my life. I don't eat breakfast because I am not hungry in the morning and food makes me kinda queasy in mornings. If I get hungry, I eat a banana or granola bar or other fruit. Anyway, I will not be going back to that GNC. Or Ill take Kurt with me and tell them the product is for someone else, LOL.

This morning at court, one of our attorney friends stopped me in the hallway and said to me "I just saw Kurt and was telling him that you two seriously look like athletes now, you both look amazing!" That totally meant a lot to me, as that is what I want to look like. I am not into the waif skinny look, and want to look slender, but with muscle tone as well. Apparently, whatever I am doing is working! Or at least it is to that guy. : Kurt even commented on my arm muscles tonight while we were working out, so all those push-ups and kickboxing bag workouts must be showing finally! I'm kinda jealous of my friends who can accomplish the same results in a lot less working out, but since I dont have the time or schedule to do anything more structured, I gotta keep with my own thing, which works (albeit slowly).

Our Labor Day trip is selected by a roll of the dice. I had narrowed it to three places, Kurt added three more, we assigned each place a spot on the dice, and we rolled. Number one came up twice immediately and so San Francisco (focusing on the redwoods and hiking) is it! :). can't wait. Have not booked yet, as I need to finalize dates, but can't wait for our second trip to cali this year! I have always wanted to see the redwoods, so I can't wait. Oh, the 6 choices were San Fran with redwoods, Calgary with Banff national park, glacier national park in Montana, Honduras, Vancouver, and Puerto Vallarta. This is a shorter 5 night trip, so we cannot pick anyplace crazy far. Any recs anyone has for places to stay, hikes to do, would be appreciated.

Hope everyone had a nice weekend!

Welcome Lucie Bella!

We have a new addition to the family! I would like to welcome Lucie Bella Haskell to our family.

Lucie was a stray kitty. We have tons of stray cats that come to our yard to eat and sleep (Kurt has a kitty house with AC and heat for the strays), but none of them ever come near us. Until Lucie. I was out one night after work and saw her near the front door. She did not run right away like the other strays did, so we called her. She did not come right away, but eventually sauntered over and kinda let us pet her. The next night, same thing. Before long, she was waiting for us at night, asking for canned food. She was also cuddling and demanding attention. Before long, Kurt brought her into the basement and she is now--after being checked at the vet, getting her shots, and getting fixed--living in the house. She is pretty nervous of the pugs and has been hanging out on the kitty condo in the living room, not really coming down, but, she is purring a lot and seems happy. Anyway, I think Lucie is a pretty smart kitty to adopt us! We are great feline parents. :). The only thing wrong with Lucie was that she was a little bit anemic, so she had meds for that. She was also realllllly skinny, almost bony, when she first came to the yard, but I have been working on fattening her up. The pic of Lucie above is when she was still outside and had not adopted us yet, but you can tell I already kinda liked her! :). we had just worked out and came home on the bikes to her waiting for us to get attention......

So, last Sunday was the Paul McCartney concert at Comerica Park. Loved seeing a concert at the baseball stadium outside. Only bad part was a tiny bit of rain right at the start, but other than that, perfect weather and night. The concert was awesome, and Paul sounds the same live as on the radio. He was awesome, and it's hard to believe he can put on a show like, at 69 years old! He was all over the stage and the show was almost 3 hours. We had great floor seats in Row 25 center.

Work week was crazy, as usual. We ran in a 4 Mile race on Friday after work in Southgate. I ended up placing, but the race was HARD. It was over 90 degrees out, even at 630 PM when the race started. I am not good with running in the heat like that, and I had to stop and walk a couple times becuz I felt like I was going to pass out. So, I was not expecting a medal, but I still got 3rd in my age group! I guess a lot of people had a hard time with the heat like I did. Kurt did really well too, and only came in about 1.5 minutes after me. We went and had dinner afterwards in Monroe, which was super yummy. I am getting better with eating out, making healthy choices. We really enjoy relaxing at dinners out, so I am trying to make good choices so I dont feel guilty about it. Saturday, I had lunch with friends, then Kurt met me and we drove to Birch Run for some outlet shopping. Kurt needed some new suits and has gone from wearing a 46L suit and 38/32 pants to a 40L suit and 33/32 pants. Crazy. We stopped at all my fav stores too, and I got a cute white suit coat and black skirt at BCBG (WAY marked down, I think the suit coat was originally $198 and I got it for $45), a dress, two shirts, and a tank at Ann Taylor, running shorts at Reebok, and a suit coat and skirt at Banana. There were a ton of good deals, as the stores are already getting fall stuff in and HELLO, its 95 degrees outside. We had dinner at a really good sushi place I found on Yelp while we were driving, where I had the house soup and a roll called a Firecracker Roll that was incredible. Great service and prices. wish the place was around my house or office! Today, we worked, did stuff around the house and grocery shopped. I got in a 12.25 mile bike ride this summer, which was really nice. The weather was just gorgeous, and I just randomnly picked roads to drive down, and saw some parts of Newport I don't think I have ever seen. Love the bike, although I can't wait for temps to cool down so I can run more outside again instead of on the treadmill. My attention span is really short on the treadmill.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

So, with the crazy hot weather this week (which I refuse to complain about because I would much rather have this than Michigan winters), I have been a little bit stir-crazy not being able to run outside. Since I am so not a morning person, I have no desire to get up early and run before work, and even later at night, it has been too hot (at least for me) to run outdoors. So, my workouts this week have been biking outdoors or working out in the basement gym. Boo. This morning though, I woke up at like 715 (without an alarm, go figure), so I decided to take advantage of that and go run. It was prob already like high 70s and super muggy, but I was determined. Ended up getting in just over 5 miles, which made me really happy. Followed it with an immediate shower since I was drenched in sweat, but that just means more calories were burned off, right? :). We ran a ton of errands today in Monroe and downriver, and then went on a bike ride today, when we proceeded to get drenched from a storm for about a mile of it, but whatevs! It was still fun.

My husband is an addict. To slushies. I think we have been to the ice cream place on bike rides like an average of three times a week. I think he has tried almost every flavor there. Tonight, he had a flavor called "Graveyard" where they mix several flavors together, which resulted, I guess, in a black cherry like taste.

We bought an inversion table last weekend and have been using it. I think it is actually really helping Kurt's back issue. He is upsidedown in it right now, haha. I have been using it too, and think it is helping with my issue with running and my one nerve in my back. My Mom has one and her and my stepDad love it, and my Mom was telling me she thought it would help Kurt's issues, and she was right! Thanks Mom!

This week was pretty busy and full. I had a ton of court. Had dinner with my lawyer friends on Wednesday night in wyandotte at Solero Cafe and Tequila Bar, which was fun. Got a massage on Tuesday night at Blu Water Spa, which was desperately needed. Then, got my hair done on Friday night at Daybreak Salon, which was WAY overdue as well. Ended up getting like three inches cut off, and instead of simply blonde highlights, got some strawberry blonde highlights mixed in. Really like it, although Kurt said he does not notice a difference at all, LOL. Today, we went to Blu Water for Kurt to get a massage, and I got a mani-pedi, which was also way overdue. I seriously have no time to get anything done and feel like I caught up on everything beauty-related this week alone. At least I am caught up for a while. :).

Tomorrow night, we are seeing Paul McCartney in concert at Comerica, and I can't wait. we have great floor seats, and I have been wanting to see him ever since I had tickets last time he was in town and sold them.

We are trying to figure out our Labor Day trip. I have mostly been looking at Central and South America, but may look at Canada and some american spots as well, since it's a pretty short trip. Nothing is really a front runner yet. And *someone* I know really needs to get on picking out destination for the Christmas trip, which is usually booked WAY before now.

Oh, made a new recipe tonight I have been wanting to try, Quinoa and Black beans. Turned out AWESOME. I used jarred cilantro (1/4 cup) instead of fresh, as I had no fresh, but other than that, followed the recipe exactly. anyway, super easy. I made mine with ahi tuna and Kurt's with tilapia. It would be good though, on it's own, with any fish or meat, or as a side with a mexican meal. Highly recommend.

Oh! One of my favorite high school friends, Becky, had her baby this week! Ended up being a c-section, as the baby was over 9 pounds, she was 12 days past due, and my friend is tiny (only 5'1), so I guess baby Nick was not going to come naturally. Sounds like everyone is recovering and doing well, and baby Nick looks super cute. cannot wait to meet him in real life. Guess I need another quick trip to San Diego? Would love to run on the beach again........

Hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend. Oh, will be posting about an addition to our family soon! (and no, not a human baby addition). Stay tuned......