This is one of those astonishing things where you watch it and your brain just freezes for a few moments while you try to make sense of what you just saw.
No wonder we have so much discrimination in this Country.
Yesterday in Tampa, the public watched on as CV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircrafts, Chinook helicopters, Zodiac boats, and ground-mobility vehicles conducted military drills in preparation for the Republican National convention in August.
The urban training drills included a assault by land, sea and air which simulated a mock terrorist attack that included terrorists kidnapping Mayor Bob Buckhorn. The Special forces included international troops form around the world with countries like; Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Jordan, Norway, Poland, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates all playing a role in the drill.
The mock attack comes less than 100 days before 50,000 people are expected to occupy Tampa for the Republican National Convention.
Major Increase in Urban Warfare Drills
From the urban warfare drills in Chicago, Miami, and Los Angeles to the gigantic show of force during Chicago’s NATO summit, some are starting to wonder what these drills are really all about. While we get that our troops need to train, the overwhelming number of recent urban warfare drills on the streets of America really makes you wonder what’s about to go down. Does the government have intel that suggests a future attack, or is this just to desensitize Americans to the site of military patrolling the streets of America?
The United Nations is set to issue an urgent warning to guard against the most powerful computer virus ever unleashed amid fears it could be used to bring countries to a standstill.
In what was being seen last night as the dawn of a new era in cyber warfare, UN computer security chief Marco Obiso said: ‘This is the most serious warning we have ever put out.’
He was speaking after it was revealed that a massive superbug had been used to hack into computers in Iran.
Israel did little to dispute claims yesterday that it was behind the clandestine online assault.
The sophisticated spyware – said to be about 100 times the size of most malicious software – also hacked other machines in the Middle East, including Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Egypt, but Iran appeared to be the primary target, according to a Russian Internet security firm.
Mr. Obiso, cyber security coordinator for the UN’s International Telecommunications Union, said the warning will underline the danger the virus represents to the critical infrastructure of member nations.
Dubbed ‘Flame’, the Trojan bug worms its way into computer systems and reportedly turns infected machines into listening devices.
It can activate a computer’s audio system to eavesdrop on Skype calls or office chatter, take screenshots or log keystrokes and even suck information from Bluetooth-enabled phones left nearby.
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The Russians discovered the virus after being asked by the United Nations to find a piece of mystery malware that was wiping out sensitive information across the Middle East.
It is believed to have been coded by the same programmers who hacked into Iran’s nuclear programme six years ago.
Last night, Iran’s National Computer Emergency Response Team posted a security alert saying it believed Flame was responsible for ‘recent incidents of mass data loss.’ It also claimed an antidote had been found.
The discovery of the Flame virus came just days after talks between Iran and six world powers in Baghdad failed to persuade Tehran to freeze uranium enrichment. A new round of talks is expected to take place in Moscow next month.
Former El Paso city councilman Beto O’Rourke has defeated US Rep. Silvestre Reyes in the battle for the Democratic Party nomination for the seat Reyes has held since 1996. According to election results from the Texas Secretary of State’s office early Wednesday morning, O’Rourke had picked up 51.3% of the vote to Reyes’ 41.3%, meaning O’Rourke also avoids the need for a run-off election.
O’Rourke is a vocal marijuana legalization supporter, while Reyes, a former Border Patrol official, has built a career on tough on the border and tough on drugs politics.
O’Rourke garnered national attention in 2009, when he championed a council resolution calling for a national conversation on legalizing and regulating drugs as a possible solution to the drug cartel violence just over El Paso’s border in Mexico. The mayor vetoed the unanimously-passed resolution and the council was set to override the veto until Congressman Reyes threatened that the city would lose federal funding if it insisted on pushing the legalization conversation. The override vote failed, but O’Rourke has managed to use the issue as a launching pad for his campaign against what had been a heavily-favored incumbent.
O’Rourke has spoken eloquently of the violence in Mexico and its roots in drug prohibition, including at Drug Policy Allianceconferences, and is the co-author, along with fellow El Paso city council member Susie Byrd, of Dealing Death and Drugs: The Big Business of Dope in the US and Mexico, which calls explicitly for marijuana legalization.
Having won the Democratic primary almost certainly assures O’Rourke of victory in November. The district is solid Democratic, having sent Reyes to Washington in the last eight elections. But now, El Paso will be sending a drug reformer, not a drug warrior, to Congress.
Not everyone is worried about the Eurozone ‘Grexit’ that may take place as soon as June 18th, the day following Greece’s latest elections.
From Nick Dewhirst, director at wealth management firm Integral Asset Management:
Dewhirst said that there had been a significant amount of “scaremongering” from the euro elite about the ramifications of a “Grexit” but that it would be feasible and even orderly.
“It’s a bit like Y2K, [also known as the Millennium bug, the much- hyped problems that would affect computers globally as the year changed to 2000] there would be a lot less to it then everyone thinks.
“The Greek banking system would close for a week and there’ll be a new currency. Not the drachma but ideally it would be two Geuros (the name given to a possible Greek parallel currency) to one euro so they devalue and fix to the euro,” Dewhirst said.
He added that this would transform Greece and the rest of the euro zone for the better.
“Greeks would no longer be able to afford German cars and Germans would be able to buy Greek villas and the young unemployed in Greece would have jobs as tourism booms. The best thing would be that they [Greeks] could blame the foreigners,” Dewhirst said.
He said suggestions of a bank run and contagion have been overplayed by some quarters.
“Yes, the banks would run dry but it can be done, there is a lot more money electronically than there is cash. In Argentina they closed everyone’s bank account and then they were reopened using Pesos. The club would rally round the rest so the weaker members – Spain, Italy, Ireland and Portugal -would receive a massive support mechanism. The Germans would provide support to the rest of the euro but not to the Greeks,” he said.
Next time you head over to your local sushi joint you may want to take a Geiger counter with you. According to researchers at the National Academy of Sciences radiation from the Fukushima disaster has found its way across a 6,000 mile ocean to the coasts of California:
Across the vast Pacific, the mighty bluefin tuna carried radioactive contamination that leaked from Japan’s crippled nuclear plant to the shores of the United States 6,000 miles away — the first time a huge migrating fish has been shown to carry radioactivity such a distance.
“We were frankly kind of startled,” said Nicholas Fisher, one of the researchers reporting the findings online Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The levels of radioactive cesium were 10 times higher than the amount measured in tuna off the California coast in previous years. But even so, that’s still far below safe-to-eat limits set by the U.S. and Japanese governments.
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But scientists did not expect the nuclear fallout to linger in huge fish that sail the world because such fish can metabolize and shed radioactive substances.
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To rule out the possibility that the radiation was carried by ocean currents or deposited in the sea through the atmosphere, the team also analyzed yellowfin tuna, found in the eastern Pacific, and bluefin that migrated to Southern California before the nuclear crisis. They found no trace of cesium-134 and only background levels of cesium-137 left over from nuclear weapons testing in the 1960s.
The results “are unequivocal. Fukushima was the source,” said Ken Buesseler of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, who had no role in the research.
Despite warnings from various international organizations about the dangers posed from radiation contamination to global food supplies, researchers funded by the US and Japanese governments maintain that the food is safe to eat.
The Obama Administration has arranged to provide—free of charge—several customized special-operations military vessels to the Government of Kenya, U.S. Trade & Aid Monitor has learned. Finalization of those plans came exactly one week prior to today’s explosion in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.
Although officially it remains unclear whether the blast was the result of a utility problem or the work of terrorists, Reuters reports that a witness saw a man place a suspicious package in business-district building right before the explosion.
The U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command is awarding a noncompetitive “sole-source contract to United States Marine Incorporated (USMI) of Gulfport, Miss to provide five (5) 11M Naval Special Warfare Rigid Inflatable Boats,” according to a presolicitation notice that NAVSEC uploaded to a federal contracting database May 21.
The U.S. Navy in a separate “Fact File” describes the vessels as “High-speed, high-buoyancy, extreme-weather craft with the primary mission of SEAL insertion/extraction.”
A History Channel report referred to the boat as “the Lamborghini of special warfare craft.”
The 36-ft. turbocharged vessels typically carry a crew of three in addition to one SEAL squad, and are armed with an “M60 7.62mm machine gun, MK19 40mm, [and] M2 .50 cal. machine gun.” Although the presolicitation document did not specify whether NAVSEC was equipping the USMI-provided boats with such armaments, it said the company “will provide services and materials required to build the boat, as well as execute testing, trials, depreservation of the boat in preparation for transportation, and perform in-country reactivation.”
NAVSEC did not dislcose the estimated cost of the Kenya-bound boats.
The naval unit justified the sole-source contract based on its claim that USMI “is the only source with the 11M Naval Special Warfare Rigid Inflatable Boat data rights necessary to build and perform services depicted through a foreign military case for the Kenyan Government. This firm has the requisite background knowledge and experience required.”
A review of Federal Election Commission campaign contribution records supports NAVSECs contention that it awarded the noncompetitive contract based on USMI’s ability to provide the equipment; indeed, the Obama Administration clearly did not allow the company executive team’s generosity to Republican causes to stand in the way of this award.
USMI Chairman John Dane III, for example, donated $104,000 largely to Republican committees and candidates since 1998.
The most sizeable gift from Dane III was a $25,000 contribution to the Republican National Committee in 2004. He also gave $15,000 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee in July 2010—a contribution that he matched once again in October 2011.
Six days later he contributed $2,500 to Romney for President, Inc.
Most recently he gave $2,500 to Palazzo for Congress Committee. U.S. Rep. Steven McCarty Palazzo (R-MS) currently serves on the House Armed Services Committee, which gives him a seat on its Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces as well as the Subcommittee on Readiness.
CEO Barry Dreyfus also has given more than $100,000 mainly to Republican candidates and committees over the past fifteen years, most recently cutting two separate $2,500 checks on the same day (Jan. 26, 2012) to the Palazzo for Congress Committee
Interestingly, the sole FEC record of a campaign contribution made by Bryant Bernhard, USMI president, was a $2,400 check made out May 24, 2010 to the Gene Taylor for Congress Committee. Taylor was the Democrat who lost his seat to Palazzo in the following November election.
There is no record of any campaign contributions made by VP Conrad Keubel.
Steve Peacock is a freelance writer who has sold work to publications including The Tampa Tribune, WorldNetDaily (WND), Drug Enforcement Report, Corrections Journal, and The Revered Review.
We all know that the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) signed by President Obama on New Year’s Eve contained a now-struck-down provision to authorise the indefinite detention of American citizens on US soil.
But did you know that the NDAA also paves the way for war with Iran?
Section (6) rejects any United States policy that would rely on efforts to contain a nuclear weapons-capable Iran. Section (7) urges the President to reaffirm the unacceptability of an Iran with nuclear-weapons capability and opposition to any policy that would rely on containment as an option in response to Iranian enrichment.
This language represents a significant shift in U.S. policy and would guarantee that talks with Iran, currently scheduled for May 23, would fail. Current U.S. policy is that Iran cannot acquire nuclear weapons. Instead, H. Res. 568 draws the “redline” for military action at Iran achieving a nuclear weapons “capability,” a nebulous and undefined term that could include a civilian nuclear program. Indeed, it is likely that a negotiated deal to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran and to prevent war would provide for Iranian enrichment for peaceful purposes under the framework of the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty with strict safeguards and inspections. This language makes such a negotiated solution impossible.
At the same time, the language lowers the threshold for attacking Iran. Countries with nuclear weapons “capability” could include many other countries like Japan or Brazil. It is an unrealistic threshold.
The Former Chief of Staff of Secretary of State Colin Powell has stated that this resolution “reads like the same sheet of music that got us into the Iraq war.”
The notion of a “nuclear weapons capability” seems like a dangerously low standard. Let us not forget that Mossad, the CIA and the IAEA agree that Iran does not have a bomb, is not building one and has no plans to build one.
But the bill clearly spells out its intent:
SEC. 1222. UNITED STATES MILITARY PREPAREDNESS IN THE MIDDLE EAST.
Section 2 (A) pre-positioning sufficient supplies of aircraft, munitions, fuel, and other materials for both air- and sea-based missions at key forward locations in the Middle East and Indian Ocean;
(B) maintaining sufficient naval assets in the region necessary to signal United States resolve and to bolster United States capabilities to launch a sustained sea and air campaign against a range of Iranian nuclear and military targets, to protect seaborne shipping, and to deny Iranian retaliation against United States interests in the region;
(D) conducting naval fleet exercises similar to the United States Fifth Fleet’s major exercise in the region in March 2007 to demonstrate ability to keep the Strait of Hormuz open and to counter the use of anti-ship missiles and swarming high-speed boats.
As Kucinich notes:
This is an authorization for the use of military force against Iran. It ignores the warnings of both current and former U.S. top military brass who have spoken in opposition to the use of military force against Iran, including former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, and current Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta. A February 2012 poll demonstrated that less than 20% of the Israeli public supports an Israeli strike on Iran if approved by the United States. Congress must avoid the same mistakes it made in the Iraq war and reject any language that can be construed as authorizing war against Iran.
It seems like the framers of the bill are exceptionally keen on striking Iran as quickly as possible. Maybe they are receiving lots of money from defence contractors?
Unsurprisingly, the biggest Congressional recipient of donations from defence contractors was Howard “Buck” McKeon, the chairman of the armed services committee who also happens to be the sponsor of the NDAA:
The fact that Ron Paul is the number two recipient is a sign that not all defence contractors are keen to hit Iran. But some are.
Still, even though the bill hints very strongly toward it, it doesn’t mean that it is going to happen. Congressmen might be hungry for a war but the military — already overstretched — isn’t. Admiral Fallon was reportedly the force that kept Bush from hitting Iran, and it would not be surprising to see the Pentagon put up fierce opposition to a future war with Iran. It would be a long, expensive war, with the potential of massive negative side-effects, like dragging in other regional powers, disrupting global trade, and squeezing the US economy by spiking the oil price.
With warnings about the Fukushima disaster getting more dire every day, many are wondering how they can avoid the inevitable radioactive fallout should things worsen in Japan.
The bottom line is, unless you’ve got a fully stocked nuclear bunker and radiation suits, there’s not much you can do to prevent exposure – other than to get the heck out of Dodge.
Over the years there have been numerous maps developed to identify nuclear safe zones in the event of war between nuclear powers like the United States, Russia and China. While not exactly perfect, as the Fukushima nuclear release is not the same as multiple, simultaneous nuclear detonations across the Northern Hemisphere resulting from war, the following map may provide some insight as to where nuclear radiation will be limited and significantly lowered based on global weather patterns.
Evacuation tip: If you’ve made the decision to evacuate due to nuclear fallout north of the equator, you’ll want to head to the Southern Hemisphere as depicted by this map made available by Nuclear Darkness:
This may explain why elite members of society, most notably George Soros and the Bush family, have purchased thousands of acres of land in South America, directly above a major aquifer.
For those who cannot evacuate, the following map from the Federal Emergency Management Agency depicts a potential radioactive fallout pattern for the United States.
*Fallout would be everywhere during a nuclear disaster, but this map provides for some some safe zones that may have lowered radiation levels.
The National Field Marshal for the New Black Panther Party (NBPP), King Samir Shabazz, engaged in multiple vicious tirades on his national radio show this weekend, calling for broad violence against whites.
“I love black people, and I hate the goddamn white man, woman, and child, grandma, aunt, uncle, Pappa Billy Bob, and whoever else. Redneck Tom and Blueneck Robert, and whoever else you wanna name. I hate the white man. I hate the very look of white people. I hate the sound of white people. Goddamnit, I hate thesmell of white people. I hate the oppression of white people, I hate the murder and the rape and the torture and the taking away of our names, our culture, our God, our music and damn, I hate this cracker for everything he has done to us.”
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You should be thankful we’re not running around here hanging crackers by nooses and all that kind of stuff, yet, yet, yet.”
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“We’re raising men and women in this army, we don’t have time for punks. We don’t allow faggots and lesbians in this army– sorry, wrong army. This is for blackliberation, not rainbow liberation.”
“These men came in with badges around their necks and kicked my customers out. It was like a police raid,” Perkins said of the proceedings Wednesday morning.
Lunch diners were disappointed to be greeted by a closed sign and several postings stating City Cafe was closed because of “nonpayment of Tennessee State taxes by virtue of a levy issued by the Department of Revenue, Tax Enforcement Division … ”
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“I had an interesting cup of coffee this morning,” said Henry Phillips of Henry’s Florist shop, located at the corner of Church and East Main streets. “Just after 9 this morning, they asked us to leave. They waited until the bulk of people had completed their meals and then ushered us out.”
Perkins took over the 100-plus-year-old business in 2007. The downtown restaurant, touted as being the “original meat-and-three” place in the city, is at 113 E. Main St.
“I had no idea this was coming,” Perkins said. “They did not alert me.”
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The Department of Revenue requires businesses to pay sales tax based on the income of sales made. Perkins said the state is asking for $180,000 for two months. Based on the 9.75 percent sales tax in Murfreesboro, that would account for more than $1 million in sales made at the restaurant.
The US military is developing software that will let it secretly manipulate social media sites by using fake online personas to influence internet conversations and spread pro-American propaganda.
A Californian corporation has been awarded a contract with United States Central Command (Centcom), which oversees US armed operations in the Middle East and Central Asia, to develop what is described as an “online persona management service” that will allow one US serviceman or woman to control up to 10 separate identities based all over the world.
The project has been likened by web experts to China’s attempts to control and restrict free speech on the internet. Critics are likely to complain that it will allow the US military to create a false consensus in online conversations, crowd out unwelcome opinions and smother commentaries or reports that do not correspond with its own objectives.
The discovery that the US military is developing false online personalities – known to users of social media as “sock puppets” – could also encourage other governments, private companies and non-government organisations to do the same.
The Centcom contract stipulates that each fake online persona must have a convincing background, history and supporting details, and that up to 50 US-based controllers should be able to operate false identities from their workstations “without fear of being discovered by sophisticated adversaries”.
OKLAHOMA CITY – The governor and other state officials would be prohibited from banning or confiscating firearms during a state of emergency under a bill signed into law by Gov. Mary Fallin.
Fallin signed the bill Wednesday that specifically bars any state or local official from restricting the sale, possession or transportation of firearms and ammunitions, even during a declared state of emergency.
The bill was pushed by gun rights advocates who cited a situation in Louisiana in which firearms were confiscated after Hurricane Katrina.
The measure amends the Oklahoma Riot Control and Prevention Act, which gives the governor broad power during emergencies, including the ability to impose curfews, prevent public gatherings and restrict the sale of certain items.
Corporate news blackout as Obama designates John Brennan as the sole person in charge of designating people to be assassinated.
John Brennan, Obama’s chief counterterrorism advisor was a name that you did not see on the Mainstream media today as the continue to run stories that serve to distract the masses from stories that matter.
Most recently he publicly spoke about the drone program calling it moral and ethical and just.
According to reports from the Associated Press, John Brennan has now seized the lead in choosing who will be targeted for drone attacks and raids and Obama has delegated him the sole authority to designate people for assassination under the United States top-secret assassination program.
Yes, if it such a secret program then why is the associated press running a story on it? Because it is only a “top-secret” matter of National Insecurity when the public and organizations such as the ACLU request more details on it than the propagandized reports the public is fed through the corporate media.
While this story deserves to have been put before the eyeballs of every U.S. citizens, it was merely a side note ran by the Associate Press that didn’t make corporate news headlines anywhere.
According to the AP, under the new plan, Brennan’s staff compiles the potential target list and runs the names past agencies such as the State Department at a weekly White House meeting.
“So the moral of the story is that the Government Lies. They disguise themselves as beautiful people but then at night, they turn in to freaks tryin’ to put everyone on a leash”. “Don’t let em fool you and give into all the tricks. Makes me sick that they feeding us poison just for kicks…..Show me politicians that don’t lie I’ll show you Santa Claus”.
In the wake of the anti-NATO protests surrounding the Chicago NATO summit on Saturday and Sunday, it has now emerged that there were several troubling incidents of vicious police actions targeting journalists.
Unfortunately, police brutality in the United States has become so commonplace that it is almost to be expected, and when officers stand up to this savagery, they are targeted and can even face being fired.
There were numerous incidents reported after the chaos had died down, including some journalists who were arrested and injured by police simply for doing their job and covering the protest.
Photographers found themselves targeted even more frequently than other journalists, likely because they were there recording the hard, indisputable evidence of this brutality.
In the eyes of police who no longer consider it their duty to protect and serve the people, this seems like a wholly logical move in order to avoid being held liable for wrongdoing.
Scott Olson, for instance, a photographer with Getty, was struck with a police baton on Sunday, leaving him bleeding from the head as you can see in this image. This was just one of multiple incidents cited by the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) on Monday.
Unfortunately, it appears that the image of another photographer, Joshua Lott, who is a freelancer with Getty, being arrested is no longer available.
In another incident on May 20, Tracey Pollock, who is self described as “a credentialed photographer for The UpTake,” which is a Minnesota-based news outlet, was attacked by police.
As you can clearly see in the video, police begin using their bicycles as weapons in order to force the crowd back. After police established a barricade, an unknown incident occurred and when Pollock attempted to get closer in order to record it, an officer grabbed the lens of her camera and attempted to rip it out of her hands.
The unknown officer then pushed her over some bicycles after which she was pulled to safety by protesters. Thankfully she was just bruised and never sustained serious injuries.
However, the most important aspect of Pollock’s story is that she was clearly displaying press credentials (which aren’t even necessary) and she says that she never crossed the police barricade.
Paul Weiskel, a self-described “emerging photojournalist” from Boston also experienced police using bicycles as weapons and was even attacked by a police officer who “launche[d] a bike into [his] stomach” according to a May 20 tweet and video (posted below).
Even the mainstream media – as hard as this is to believe – has picked up on the ludicrous activities of the Chicago Police Department (CPD).
Independent journalists like myself – in this case members of the group We Are Change – were pulled over my CPD officers early Sunday morning, around 2 am and confronted quite aggressively by Chicago police.
The police officers surrounded the vehicle and approached the journalists with their guns drawn and were detained. After the insane police response, the officers claimed that the vehicle matched the description of another vehicle they were looking for.
As you can see in the footage they captured (embedded below), the completely unwarranted police tactics were clearly an effort to terrorize, not to keep anyone safe.
That being said, the mainstream media’s coverage was still far short of what I would consider even approaching adequate.
Thankfully, Russia Today (RT), and specifically the Alyona Show, highlighted this fact in a May 21 broadcast embedded below.
As Curt of Room 101 Radio and I discussed on Sunday’s episode of End the Lie Radio, this is just a small sampling of the large-scale abuse that was meted out to individuals simply for exercising their right to free speech and assembly.
Even more unfortunate is that this is far from something restricted to the protests surrounding the NATO summit.
Indeed, this is so widespread at this point it is almost becoming par for the course. This is far from acceptable in the United States of America where we are supposed to be protected by the Constitution from these types of abuses.
It is quite tragic to say that our Constitution seems to have become increasingly irrelevant to out of control police who seek to crush dissent in whatever way possible, even if it means resorting to violence.
Madison Ruppert is the Editor and Owner-Operator of the alternative news and analysis database End The Lie and has no affiliation with any NGO, political party, economic school, or other organization/cause. He is available for podcast and radio interviews. Madison also now has his own radio show on Orion Talk Radio from 8 pm — 10 pm Pacific, which you can find HERE. If you have questions, comments, or corrections feel free to contact him at admin@EndtheLie.com
This is a familiar scenario the world over as divide-and-conquer techniques pit police against the very people it is in their best interest to protect … while the engineers of the collapse sit back and watch from afar. These images have continued to multiply throughout other collapsed economies, past and present, where the First World quickly can become the Third.
The conflagration that could take place in America amid a lethally armed population defies the imagination, which is clearly why the police state is oiling its machinery to take on the outraged and weaponized. We would do well to keep the following images from Greece as an up-to-date reminder of what violence produces.
Meanwhile, as shown in the second video below, whole communities in other areas of Greece are taking positive action to build something new by devising ways to sell freedom, and thus render irrelevant the system that has led to their decline.
Which of these possibilities contains the most hope for changing the human condition?
Unlike the past, the entire world is now on the bankster chopping block. So, the solutions we choose for what we experience afterward could have similar global ramifications.
I was recently reading the Twitter Terms and Privacy Policy which they sent to me by email. Is this the Gestapo or what?!?
“Any information that you provide to Twitter is subject to our Privacy Policy, which governs our collection and use of your information. You understand that through your use of the Services YOU CONSENT TO THE COLLECTION AND USE (as set forth in the Privacy Policy) OF THIS INFORMATION, INCLUDING THE TRANSFER OF THIS INFORMATION TO THE UNITED STATES AND/OR OTHER COUNTRIES FOR STORAGE, PROCESSING, AND USE BY TWITTER.” (emphasis added)
Everything we do is public. #R.I.P. Privacy
We’re just tweeting directly to the government, then they use this stuff against us:
Of course being off social networks prevents countless business/etc. opportunities, and being on them allows other people to stupidly post, “LOL, LIEK OMG THAT PARTY WAS AWESOME LAST NIGHT!” “IT WAS A PLEASURE MEETING YOU AT SECRET MEETING WHICH I SHOULDN’T HAVE PUBLICLY MENTIONED THAT YOU WERE AT!” Everything is public, everything is public.
Google wants to have everyone SIGN IN THEIR LOCATION every time people use PLUS on the Ipad. Techno-fascism.
GMAIL goes in to our emails to find content to provide advertising for.
MORE TWITTER POLICY:
“Law and Harm: Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Policy, we may preserve or disclose your information if we believe that it is reasonably necessary to comply with a law, regulation or legal request; to protect the safety of any person; to address fraud, security or technical issues; or to protect Twitter’s rights or property. However, nothing in this Privacy Policy is intended to limit any legal defenses or objections that you may have to a third party’s, including a government’s, request to disclose your information.”
“Business Transfers: In the event that Twitter is involved in a bankruptcy, merger, acquisition, reorganization or sale of assets, your information may be sold or transferred as part of that transaction. The promises in this Privacy Policy will apply to your information as transferred to the new entity.”
Needless to say, I have deleted my Twitter and need to delete my Gmail account. We need to think about the future of social media and its relationship to free enterprise and civil liberties.
This article has been generously contributed by Paul Hakel
A parent video taping a local youth soccer game happened to catch an ‘odd little plane’ flying over Elgin, Illinois on May 12, 2012, prior to the Chicago NATO summit and Red Zone lock down.
Armed or just for surveillance?
Whatever the case, there will be 30,000 more of these patrolling U.S. skies by 2020.
If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
For example, what if someone told you:
“Drake” is the name used by an insider to the plan to arrest many thousands of bad guys in the United States who are responsible for numerous crimes against the general public. This man “Drake” was asked by the Pentagon to inform people about what to expect when these mass arrests are broadcast.
Drake was given a large stack of papers detailing a plan for all this back in 1979. He said he did not read all of it, but he did read some of it, and this is the basis for the plan of arresting all the high-level crooks. Much work has been done through the years to get this done in a lawful and peaceful manner, with research that Drake did on the origins of law going back many thousands of years.
The bottom line is, the good guys have paperwork that gives the military civilian authority to contact Federal Marshals, who in turn contact local law enforcement, who actually make the arrests. The important thing to know is that this is NOT about military action, or a military coup, or martial law. There may be a stand of troops to back up the law enforcement actions, and the Federal Marshals will be with them. The military will be there only to give assistance as needed.
David Wilcock and Drake will be notified of arrests a day or so ahead, so it can be put on the Internet and go viral. David Wilcock says there are “an astonishing number of deeply-imbedded moles, who are so much closer to these people {arrestees} than anybody thought they could get.”
This is a synopsis of the “Drake Interview” that is a huge topic of conversation on Patriot websites and forums. Basically, it sounds like we all have nothing to worry about; the guys in white hats are about to ride in and take care of everything. Apparently, we can all relax and go back to American Idol now.
Drake refers frequently to the website Freedom Reigns. The site treats Drake as a fountain of information, has“Drake FAQs” page that gets right down to the nitty gritty of how he takes his coffee and what he thinks of the Pope, and has a page of “Alerts” to keep America informed of the actions that are going to be taken against the Elite any day now.
Personally, I’m not switching on Dancing with the Stars just yet.
I just don’t believe this.
First of all, if these plans were truly in the works, why on earth would the Pentagon tap this anonymous fellow, “Drake”, to spread the word via an internet interview with David Wilcock? Would that really be the media of choice for the Department of Defense, who could simply take over the networks with the flip of a switch?
Secondly, why would this advance warning be given? The Elite, with their unlimited funds, would be able to hop on their private jets and vanish if there was any basis to these rumors. If such an action were being taken, wouldn’t it be above top secret until the second it happened?
Finally, if this has been in the works since 1979, why did it take over 30 years for the paperwork and arrest warrants to be put together? Why were the banksters and politicos allowed to run America into the ground for all that time if their guilt was proven?
This is nothing but a psyops operation, something defined by the US Department of Defense as “the planned use of propaganda and other psychological actions having the primary purpose of influencing the opinions, emotions, attitudes, and behavior of hostile foreign groups in such a way as to support the achievement of national objectives.”
This is a method to assuage the Patriots, many of whom are chomping at the bit to deal with those who have nearly destroyed our country. The PTB do not want a revolution – revolutions are messy, chaotic and bloody affairs, and they are too narcissistically proud of their precious skins to risk a revolt if it can be prevented at all. If enough Patriot activists are sitting by, waiting for these mass arrests, this simply gives the Elite a little more time to put their plans into effect.
On the Alerts page of Freedom Reigns, instructions are given. Read these excerpts with a cynical eye.
…..Media may say its martial law and try to spread panic, but the actions are lawful and benefit humanity…. ….International travel will be stopped for 3 days…. ….Remain calm. Support the troops and law officers that are arresting thousands of criminals guilty of heinous crimes against us all….
….Research stories on the internet to assure yourself that the arresters are good and the arrestees are bad
This is an attempt to program us not to resist as martial law is instated. This is an effort to convince Patriots to go along with the enemy like sheep to the slaughter. Believe this and you will end up in a FEMA camp, convinced it’s for your own safety whilst the “bad guys” are being rounded up.
Joel Skousen, prominent political scientist and well-respected commentator in the Patriot movement, puts it bluntly on Liberty Round Table. “All of this is so patently ridiculous that I’m embarrassed for the movement and those good people who are taken in by it. But, perhaps that’s part of the purpose—to drive thinking people away and discredit the ones who understand how the true conspiracy operates.”
Hear more from Skousen on this Infowars interview with Alex Jones.
As we get closer to the vital breaking point in the Resistance, we will be flooded with more and more disinformation. Verify the sources of what you hear. Consider the credibility and the agendas of those sources. Don’t fall victim to a hoax, no matter how elaborate or widely spread. If it sounds like liberty is going to return via the proper channels, while we stand patiently by on the sidelines, you can be assured that it is NOT TRUE.
KILLEEN (May 19, 2012)—Members of the controversial anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., were picketing against soldiers on Armed Forces Day Saturday.
Westboro members picket the funerals of fallen troops, saying their deaths are God’s punishment for the country’s tolerance of homosexuality.
On its website, the church boasts of conducting 48,015 pickets in 859 cities.
Members holding signs with such messages as “pray for more dead soldiers” were gathered Saturday outside the gates of Fort Hood.
Local residents organized a rally in support of the troops in the same area during which funds were being raised for the Wounded Warrior Project.
About 100 area residents took part in the counter demonstration Saturday morning.
“Our intention is to take away any attention the WBC could possible gain during their protest in a peaceful and positive manor,” organizer Hayley Kunkel said.
III Corps and Fort Hood released a statement on Facebook that said, “This group has a right to protest and express their opinions. We are working hand in hand with the City of Killeen to ensure the safety of both the protestors and residents of Killeen and Fort Hood.”
About 35 Killeen police officers stood by during the protest, but there were no reports of any major incidents.
In March 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment protects the fundamentalist church members who stage attention-getting, anti-gay protests outside military funerals.
The court voted 8-1 in favor of the church, upholding an appeals court ruling that threw out a $5 million judgment awarded to Albert Snyder, the father of a fallen Marine who sued church members after they picketed his son’s funeral.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that even “hurtful speech” on public issues must be protected, so that debate isn’t suppressed, but the court’s lone dissenter, Justice Samuel Alito, said the commitment to free speech doesn’t mean the nation has to tolerate what he calls a “vicious verbal assault.”
The Marine’s family had the support of 48 states, 42 U.S. senators and veterans groups, who said the church protests amounted to “psychological terrorism.”
But a daughter of the church’s minister, Margie Phelps, who’s also the lawyer who argued the case, said the court would have had to “shred the First Amendment” to rule against the church.
What happens when a child is abused, neglected or living in an unsafe environment? Child Protective Services (CPS) steps in and either monitors the welfare of the child or removes the child from the environment and places the child into care. What goes on behind the scenes could actually put the child in worse danger and/or conditions.
A 4 year old Texas girl was taken away from her parents by CPS and what the parents of the girl later discover is very disturbing:
The parents of a 4-year-old girl are outraged after their daughter was placed under the care of Child Protective Services and then heavily medicated with psychotropic drugs.
Christina and David Harrison were heartbroken when Child Protective Services took away their daughter, Rachel, when she was only three. At the time, authorities suspended their parental rights after the child’s mother tested positive for cocaine, something she now says she heavily regrets. When she finally got to see her daughter again, however, she noticed some serious changes with Rachel.
The next time the Harrison’s saw their daughter, it was Rachel that was on drugs.
“She was never abused or neglected in any way except by CPS,” Debbie Flores, Rachel’s grandmother, tells a Fox News affiliate in Houston.
“They actually testified in the first hearing that Rachel was never neglected, never abused and she was a happy healthy child,” Christina Harrison adds. When the CPS sent Rachel to a doctor, however, a physician wrote a prescription that would soon change all of that.
“There’s paperwork saying she was screaming for mommy and daddy,” says her mother.
“And the easiest way to handle her acting up was to medicate her,” her father adds.
To Fox 26, Rachel’s parents say their daughter was drooling and appeared emaciated.
“Every time we would go visit her at visitation she was skinn[i]er and she’d just be lethargic not wanting to move not wanting to say hi just sit in the corner and keep to herself,” her father claims.
“She was also writing prescriptions,” her mother tells the network. “They might play doctor but she was writing prescriptions on paper, ‘Here take your medicine.’”
The Harrisons asked CPS if their daughter was put on drugs, to which the agency allegedly replied no.
Six months after continuously asking, though, it was finally revealed in a court hearing that their small daughter was being prescribed heavy medication that the US Food and Drug Administration says shouldn’t be given to a child under the age of 10.
“3-years-old, given psychotropic drugs, there’s no reason for it none at all,” David Harrison tells the network.
Rachel, at only three years old, was hooked on Risperdal, a drug used to treat Schizophrenia and Bi-Polar disorder. Sadly, she isn’t the only one either.
A report from ABC News published in November 2011 reveals that around one-fourth of foster children examined by the Government Accountability Office were prescribed at least one psychiatric drugs, with thousands of youngsters forced to take doses higher than what the FDA approves.
“And hundreds of foster children received five or more psychiatric drugs at the same time despite absolutely no evidence supporting the simultaneous use or safety of this number of psychiatric drugs taken together,” ABC adds in their report.
The network adds that in Texas, home of the Harrison Family, children are more likely to be prescribed psychotropic drugs than non-foster children in four other states examined — Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan and Oregon — and not just by a little.
“In Texas, foster children were 53 times more likely to be prescribed five or more psychiatric medications at the same time than non-foster children,” the ABC report reveals. Nationally speaking, children in foster care are nearly five times more likely to be prescribed psychotropic drugs than non-foster children.
In the case of little Rachel Harrison, her parents say a CPS-appointed physician filled out a Risperdal prescription for their daughter, but only after he met with the girl for 16 minutes. Dr. Osagie ignored attempts from Fox to comment on the issue, the station reports, which very well be because he is very busy — they network adds that he has so far treated 755 children in CPS foster care.
It’s been over a year since the most powerful 9.0 earthquake in Japan’s history struck and a monstrous tsunami reached an astonishing height of 133 feet, severely damaging the Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. I published my first article about this disaster back in July, 2011. Since that fateful day on Friday, March 11, 2011, every second of every day, millions of unsuspecting people continue to be exposed to harmful amounts of radiation from three reactor meltdowns. This includes a host of fission products: Iodine, cesium, strontium, plutonium and uranium. Even as I type this essay, mass exposure is ongoing on multiple continents and, as a direct result, many healthy souls will get sick and die premature deaths. However, the worst may be forthcoming …
I truly wish the worst was over, I do. But sadly, that’s not the case. In addition to the ongoing three reactor meltdowns, an even greater tragedy is poised to unleash radioactive hell. The Reactor 4 building is on the verge of collapse. According to structural experts, seismicity standards rate the building at zero, meaning even a small earthquake could send it into a radiated heap of rubble. Plus — here’s the worst part — sitting 100 feet above the ground in a pool at the top of the building that is cracked, leaning, leaking, and precarious, are 1,565 fuel rods (give or take a few), some of which are “fresh fuel” that was ready to go into the reactor on the morning the earthquake and tsunami hit. Fresh fuel will make the situation much worse. Former clinical researcher Christina Consolo published an informative article about this and, considering how “precarious” our monetary system is as well, her title asks a valid question — “Which will collapse first, the economy or the spent fuel pool at Fukushima?” It’s worth the time spent, you can read her sobering essay here.
In addition, Robert Alvarez, a senior scholar (and nuclear expert) who served as senior policy adviser to the Energy Department’s secretary and deputy assistant secretary for national security and the environment from 1993 to 1999, voiced his concern when he published an article at the Huffington Post stating the obvious,The Fukushima Nuclear Disaster Is Far From Over. Mr. Alvarez wrote… “The irradiated nuclear fuel stored in spent fuel pools amidst the reactor ruins pose far greater dangers than the molten cores. This is why: Nearly all of the 10,893 spent fuel assemblies sit in pools vulnerable to future earthquakes, with roughly 85 times more long-lived radioactivity than released at Chernobyl.”
Amazingly, all of this atomic danger begs the question: who the hell is in charge of safeguarding humanity from all this radioactive madness? You would think they could at least warn us of the danger? Well, that’s not the case. Perhaps if the institutions we put our trust in had their priorities in our corner, they would rightfully protect the public at large. Shamefully, the Defense Nuclear Agency (DNA), Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), etc… are all quiet a mouse on Christmas Eve. But all doubt has been removed. The entire world now knows what many of us have known for decades. That these bogus, lying institutions will never bite the filthy hand that feeds them. For if they do, it will destroy the credibility (and business) of the very industry that created a need for these same worthless institutions.
So here we are, the world is in peril and what is the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) doing about it? Nothing. Even though they could easily do it, they refuse to cut loose with the needed funds to fix this big mess. The IAEA also has a stockpile of money they could easily access to help the situation. Regardless, no one is doing a damn thing. This is unreal!
And so the story goes, the madness of this nuclear fuel-rod storage bomb will continue until its eventual collapse, which will cause imminent global exposure. And offering even less than a pittance of concern for any of this is the heartless bastards employed at the many “proxy” institutions named above. You can always rely on them to continue unabated, providing “damage control” (like they have done since the very first day the industry split the atom) emphatically embracing their role as public relations “sluts” that (as needed) receive smooth hand-rubs from powerful corporate interests to ensure they remain obedient servants. Thus, the slut owners’ manual reads as follows: “Protect thy business and safeguard thy nuclear industrial complex at any and all cost. And, even if everyone falls over f-ing dead in a burning heap of glowing melted flesh, minimize and/or eliminate all exposure ramifications whatsoever (that leads back to us) in the public domain.”
See the picture here? So don’t expect this trend to change anytime soon, because the profiteering business of all things nuclear — the most dangerous business in all creation –will silently operate with impunity while being protected from all public scrutiny or justice. Yes, the money rolls in, the isotopes spread out … and the people be damned. I know it’s hard for most folks to wrap their minds around the severity of this situation — to grasp that the whole system is corrupt inside and out, from top to bottom — to fully understand that our fundamental birthright to inherit a healthy, livable environment is on the verge of forever being compromised — to truly come to the realization that we are ruthlessly being poisoned on a cellular level by a radioactive assassin that is silent, invisible and has no smell or taste.
Although some of us will get to live a while longer, the most vulnerable among us — infants and our youth — will suffer the ultimate price because they have always been and remain the first casualties of radiation exposure. In fact (insert gasp here), not that many of them would want to live anyway after seeing how deformed they are; many fetuses will not even make it out of the womb to experience the miracle of birth and life. Sadly, hot radioactive particles or rays have no age boundaries when destroying the chain of life. They indiscriminately attack cells that are developing the fastest, so this is especially bad news for the youth of future generations.
Many of you may perceive this article as bit depressing, harsh or even hateful. However, before you cast judgment, perhaps you should take a moment and try to imagine walking in my shoes for the past five decades. For if you do, you may gain a clear understanding of why I can’t paint a rosy picture about all of this. Perhaps you would if you had a father (as I do) who honorably served his country in two world wars, walked on the ashes of Hiroshima and afterwards, was ordered to go to the nuclear gallows and participate in atomic testing. Then, after doing so, as a kid and for most of your adult life, watch him get very sick and suffer as his spine painfully fuses together, partially paralyzing him. Throughout your whole life, you were forced to watch your government try to sweep your father under the carpet like a worthless piece of dirt, just as they had done with countless others. In truth, most everyone on the opposing side wished my father would keep his mouth shut and just quietly die. Indeed, stories such as this can hit a little closer to home than most prefer. It’s life experiences such as this that gives a person a clear understanding in real terms of how the world precariously turns.
But the story does not end there, although to some degree, it did have an inspiring end. For decades, I alsowatched my parents fight the powers at the forefront of the anti-nuclear movement. I’m proud to say that after a lifetime of bureaucratic battle, they finally won and helped pass Federal Legislation that guaranteed that more than 250,000Veterans got their needed healthcare and benefits. Something the Defense Department, the government, the VA, the entire nuclear industry and all the supposed watchdog organizations fought tooth and nail to prevent every step of the way. Unfortunately, this round, we don’t have the luxury of a lifetime to cure this big problem. This time, we’re in BIG f-ing trouble.
However, I refuse to give up all hope. I want to see my children and grandchildren live long and prosperous lives worth living. I suppose there is hope that a great awakening can quickly spark the mighty flame of activism that can save humanity from this pending disaster; that world governments can put their differences aside and come together as a world-wide consortium to contain this nuclear monster. However … thus far, I have seen no sparks, smelled no smoke, nor do I see any hint of flame happening. And for these many months, I have not even heard a tiny sound-bite in our mainstream media. So, for the love of God, for the sanctity of life and for everything good that is to occur in this journey, please get involved now and help us save the world for what could be our most tragic moment in human history. Stand with me and be the mighty architects of change! Let all of us assemble as one huge mass of movers and shakers and demand this disaster be dealt with, no matter the cost. It comes down to this — either we come together NOW or suffer the consequences of inaction. The choice is ours.
Authors Bio:Vincent L. Guarisco is a freelance writer from Arizona, a contributing writer for many web sites, and a lifetime founding member of the Alliance of Atomic Veterans.
Go to Google and type in “H.R. 4133.” You will discover that, apart from a handful of blogs and alternative news sites, not a single mainstream medium has reported the story of a congressional bill that might well have major impact on the conduct of United States foreign policy. H.R. 4133, the United States-Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act of 2012, was introduced into the House of Representatives of the 112th Congress on March 5 “to express the sense of Congress regarding the United States-Israel strategic relationship, to direct the president to submit to Congress reports on United States actions to enhance this relationship and to assist in the defense of Israel, and for other purposes.” The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) reportedly helped draft the bill, and its co-sponsors include Republicans Eric Cantor and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Democrats Howard Berman and Steny Hoyer. Hoyer is the Democratic whip in the House of Representatives, where Cantor is majority leader. Ros-Lehtinen heads the Foreign Affairs Committee.
The House bill basically provides Israel with a blank check drawn on the U.S. taxpayer to maintain its “qualitative military edge” over all of its neighbors combined. It requires the White House to prepare an annual report on how that superiority is being maintained. The resolution passed on May 9 by a vote of 411–2 on a “suspension of the rules,” which is intended for non-controversial legislation requiring little debate and a quick vote.
A number of congressmen spoke on the bill, affirming their undying dedication to the cause of Israel. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas was the only one who spoke out against it, describing it as “one-sided and counterproductive foreign policy legislation. This bill’s real intent seems to be more saber-rattling against Iran and Syria.” Paul also observed that “this bill states that it is the policy of the United States to ‘reaffirm the enduring commitment of the United States to the security of the State of Israel as a Jewish state.’ However, according to our Constitution, the policy of the United States government should be to protect the security of the United States, not to guarantee the religious, ethnic, or cultural composition of a foreign country.” Paul voted “no” and was joined by only one other representative, John Dingell of Michigan, who represents a large Muslim constituency.
It is interesting to note what exactly the bill pledges the American people to do on behalf of Israel. It obligates the United States to veto resolutions critical of Israel, to provide such military support “as is necessary,” to pay for the building of an anti-missile system, to provide advanced “defense” equipment (including refueling tankers, which are offensive), to give Israel special munitions (i.e., bunker-busters, which are also offensive), to forward deploy more U.S. military equipment to Israel, to offer the Israeli air force more training and facilities in the U.S., to increase security- and advanced-technology-program cooperation, and to extend loan guarantees and expand intelligence-sharing (including highly sensitive satellite imagery). Actually, there’s even more included, and I may have missed the kitchen sink. But the objective is to provide Israel with the resources to attack Iran, if it chooses to do so, while tying the U.S. and Israel so closely together that whatever Benjamin Netanyahu does, the U.S. “will always be there,” as our president has so aptly put it.
But the scariest bit of the bill is its call for “an expanded role for Israel within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), including an enhanced presence at NATO headquarters and exercises.” If Israel becomes part of NATO, which is clearly Congress’s intent, the U.S. and other members will be obligated to come to the aid of a nation that is expanding its borders and is currently engaged in hostilities with three of its neighbors. Israel has also initiated a series of regional wars. Whether NATO membership for Israel would benefit anyone is questionable, but it is something the neocons have been seeking for years, to turn Israel’s wars into a new crusade against the Muslim world.
Despite claiming he does not believe in the birther conspiracy theory, Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett has threatened to keep Obama off the state’s general election ballot if he can’t verify the president was born in Hawaii.
“I’m not a birther. I believe the president was born in Hawaii—or at least I hope he was,” Bennett told KFYI radio host Mike Broomhead on Thursday. “But my responsibility as secretary of state is to make sure that the ballots in Arizona are correct and that those people whose names are on the ballot have met the qualifications for the office they are seeking.”
Bennett, who is preparing to run for Arizona governor in 2014, claimed the move is not meant to appease birthers in the state ahead of that election.
Bennett said he has petitioned the state to verify the existence of Obama’s long-form birth certificate, and that his request has gone unanswered for eight weeks. The White House released Obama’s long-form birth certificate last year. Still, that doesn’t seem to have satisfied the legion of conspiracy theorists who continue to believe the president was born elsewhere. —TEB
The Huffington Post:
Bennett’s move is just the latest birther bustle in Arizona, which has been a hotbed for Obama eligibility conspiracy theories over the past few years. Clamor over a bill meant to address the issue was temporarily silenced last year when Gov. Jan Brewer (R) vetoed the measure, calling it “a bridge too far.”
Birthers returned with a vengeance this year, however, first emerging with an “investigation” carried out by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who had determined that there was reasonable cause to believe that Obama’s birth certificate was a forgery.
In the subsequent legislative session, a state GOP lawmaker reintroduced her failed birther bill.
Authorities in Chicago are gearing up for a weekend of anti-NATO activity in the Windy City, but it’s already being reported that law enforcement there might be a little too eager to begin arrests. The home of known activists was raided Wednesday.
The National Lawyers Guild confirms that law enforcement agents broke down the door of a 6-unit apartment building in the Chicago, Illinois neighborhood of Bridgeport at around 11:30 pm on Wednesday. Once inside, they entered the apartment of known activists with guns drawn and then cuffed the residents.
For two hours, tenants were shackled and questioned by officers with the Organized Crime Division of the Chicago Police Department. The Chicago Tribune writes that police reports detailing the incident have been obtained by the newspaper and confirm that nine people were arrested in the raid for allegedly making or possessing Molotov cocktail explosives. Police sources add to the paper early Friday, however, that none of the suspects had been charged.
Attorneys for the accused attest to the innocence of their clients. The reason they cannot prove that they were making Molotov cocktails, they say, is because they weren’t — instead, police saw and seized equipment used for home brewing beer.
“As far as we know, there was no liquid in the bottles,” Kris Hermes, a spokesman for the lawyer’s guild, tells the Tribune on Friday in speaking of the alleged paraphernalia pilfered by law enforcement. Another source with ties to the police tells a Chicago ABC News affiliate that Molotov cocktails were discovered in the raid, but those claims have yet to be verified.
“We have an inquiry that we’re checking into as we speak. So obviously we’ll have more information,” Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy tells ABC7.
Four of the suspects have been released without charge. As of Friday morning, the remaining five were still detained.
Hermes adds to the Tribune that “there’s absolutely no evidence of wrongdoing,” and that law enforcement officers were simply trying to make the activists “disappear” days before police expect major anti-NATO protests in Chicago.
“We were literally calling all morning and all afternoon to try to contact these people,” Hermes says. “That’s why we used the term ‘disappeared.’ ”
I can tell you from experience. I sat on the jury in a high profile case 20 years ago. I heard on TV the DA day after day demonize the accused to make them guilty in the court of public opinion. When I was chosen as one of the jurors to sit in judgment of the accused, I had to clear my mind and listen. Once I heard the evidence against the accused, The DA had no case and the judge was making sure the state had the upper hand. The defendants were denied witnesses and testimony of their experts to counter the states case.
Not to mention, the accused was a black couple with an all white jury sitting in on the case. The public defender was not putting up a fight; The DA was using this case for brownie points to run for higher political office. The jury saw how this couple was being railroaded into prison with a frivolous charge. When we deliberated in the back room to weigh the evidence after the judge instructed us. We gave the verdict of not guilty because the judge would not allow us to hear the defense’s exculpatory evidence. We could not give a guilty verdict wit a clear conscience without hearing the defense side of the case. This was with an all white jury that ruled justly.
We must not fall into the trap of divide and conquer anymore based on skin color when it comes to Police misconduct. The police are not going after a certain group of people. They are coming after everyone. We are living in a Police State now. No one has any more rights under the Constitution. Those self-appointed black leaders love the police state and care less about real justice. When some poor black person claims being mistreated by the Police, these leaders have an issue to get face time on the TV camera to make to demonize the police even if the officer did nothing wrong. The officer is made to look like the bad guy no matter if the accused is guilty as sin.
The Police out of control are not just a black issue. It is everyone’s problem. Not just in the black community. If these Black civil rights leaders were so concerned about the Police and standing up for personal liberty. They would be standing up for everyone’s rights, not just black people’s rights. One violation is not on just one person, is a violation of all people rights. Regardless of a person’s, skin color. Everyone’s free speech and right to be left alone is under attack. The race card is getting old and annoying to see.
The Ford Foundation funds all these race pimps like Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and Quanel X and Rockefeller Foundation funds similar groups to keep us divided. They do not want us coming to together seeing we all have a common enemy. That is the bankers wanting to enslave us all as debt slaves. This is why we need to discredit these self-appointed black leaders and the Hispanic groups trying to keep us divided using hate. They have to be discredited or we will fall into chaos if we stay silent.
We cannot afford these race pimps to come in and throw gasoline on the fire. The Police are out of control attacking everyone. It is does not matter of you are male, female, white, and black, Asian, Hispanic, young and old. They are all being tazed, shot and beaten to death. No one is safe from these thugs. Police brutality is a civil liberties issue and not a race problem. Until we shatter the race paradigm and reveal that blacks are not the only ones singled out. We can come together and defeat the real enemy pulling the string behind the curtain.
In a recent working paper, researchers at the the IMF (International Monetary Fund) attempt to reconcile the Peak Oil debate that whether resource constraints will dictate the future of oil output and prices, or advance in technology motivated by high oil price would eventually provide a solution to more production, as well as higher oil prices.
An economic model was developed incorporating both views, and identified two biggest factors contributing to the recent run-up in oil prices:
Relative price insensitivity on the supply side – We have to point out that this IMF observation is partly due to oil production increase/decrease typically significantly lags the oil price movement.
“Shocks to excess demand for goods and to demand for oil” due to the recent phenomenal growth from countries like China and India.
The paper also gives out this dire warning:
“….our prediction of small further increases in world oil production comes at the expense of a near doubling, permanently, of real oil prices over the coming decade. This is uncharted territory for the world economy….”
In general, various forecasts by different agencies seem to agree that world oil production will likely continue to have small increases with producers venturing out to exploit the more difficult and challenging formation.
However, what most forecasts as well as the IMF paper did not discuss is the scarce human capital that’s already seriously plaguing the oil industry, which could have serious implication in the future oil production and technology development.
With the aging and retirement of the boomer generations that began their careers in the late 1970s (see chart below), the oil industry is suffering an acute shortage of experienced skilled professionals.
Chart Source: Schlumberger presentation, March 1, 2012
This will only add to the cost of an oil barrel and become very disruptive (see graph below) as oil projects are getting more complex, more difficult and expensive to execute.
Chart Source: Schlumberger presentation, March 1, 2012
A separate study by the Petroleum Human Resources Council estimates about 39,000 workers will be needed in Canada along to replace those who are expected to retire before 2020 just to maintain the status quo. The industry could need as many as 130,000 new hires by the end of the decade with more bullish oil and gas prices.
Already at least one analyst firm is scaling back its drilling activity forecast for 2012, in part because there aren’t enough workers who can drill big, complicated wells. For now, NES Global Talent sees a depletion of skilled workers in oil and gas fields in the United States, Great Britain and Australia, three of the busiest oil and gas regions, will become a major problem.
Schlumberger, the largest oilfield services company in the world, sees significant negative effect from peak oil labor manifesting by 2015, a short three years from now, with increasing inexperienced oil professionals, and that the talent problem will only get worse.
For now, most forecasts expect crude prices would remain high in 2012, mostly due to the Iran tension. Meanwhile, OPEC just revised its 2012 world oil demand outlook slightly upwards citing a stable US economy and the shutdown of nuclear plants in Japan. So if the IMF prediction comes true, it seems the peak oil labor could be just enough to tip the scale for doubling in oil price scenario a lot sooner than year 2022.
There was no arrest, no CRIMINAL charge. This seizure was done CIVILLY in the name of the War on Drugs. This officer ASSUMED that no one in their right mind would carry $20k in cash with them, so this man must obviously be a drug dealer.
I’m not a rich man. I “get by” just like most of you. But there have been times in my life when I have possessed this much money. When I quit law enforcement, cashed out my 401k and started a business with it is one example. Another would be several times while buying houses. The point is, there are PLENTY of legitimate reasons someone would have this much cash on them and but a few illegal reasons. But this officer chose to believe that this man must be a drug dealer. Why would he think that? I’ll tell you why, and it is at the root of the recent blatant abuse of civil asset forfeiture laws.
The victim here was from out of state. That means he is less likely to complain, fight for his property or return to get it (no doubt after several court appearences).
The aggressor (the police officer) gets to turn that money over to his department to be used for anything from new boots to new weapons and almost anything in between. Federal and state laws specify categories (equipment, personnel, uniforms, etc) seized money can be used for but in most cases they are very broad and can be interpreted to mean many things.
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John Brennan, Obama’s chief counterterrorism advisor was a name that you did not see on the Mainstream media today as the continue to run stories that serve to distract the masses from stories that matter.
