War On You

Fractures in the Truth Movement, Part III The Fissure Becomes a Gulf

2009-12-21T00:43:00.000-05:00

Fractures in the Truth Movement, Part III
The Fissure Becomes a Gulf

http://waronyou.com/topics/fractures-in-the-truth-movement-part-iii/
http://waronyou.com/topics/fractures-in-the-truth-movement/
http://waronyou.com/topics/fractures-in-the-truth-movement-part-ii/

“Strange powers have our enemies, and strange weaknesses! But it has long been said: oft evil will shall evil mar.”

–J.R.R. Tolkien, from The Two Towers

“This fracture in the truth movement between the anti-zionists and the Alex Jones automatons was building gradually for a few years until [Jason] Bermas blew the issue wide open on Alex Jones’ show in April. Since then the fracture has become a fissure, and the fissure will soon become a gulf.“

–from Part 1 of “Fractures in the Truth Movement”

As covered in part 1 of this series, the split between anti-zionists and those who equate anti-zionism with anti-semitism was blown wide open last April by Jason Bermas of Loose Change fame, while guest-hosting the Alex Jones Show. He accomplished this by berating a caller who had the audacity to ask about Jewish control of the Hollywood media. This split widened to a fissure with the firing of Jeff Rense from GCN’s radio network, with Texe Marrs writing an article critical of Jason Bermas, and with Nathaniel Kapner opening the debate on whether Alex Jones is a zionist shill–or just a useful idiot.

Well, a new fissure has appeared between Alex Jones and those who honestly seek the truth in politics and history, which has been building gradually–along with the anti-zionist rift–since the PrisonPlanet.com forums were created in 2007. The two rifts, side by side, represent what has now become a gulf between the Alex Jones world and the rest of the war for truth and justice. As explained in Parts 1 and 2 of this series, when Alex Jones had the PrisonPlanet.tv forums deleted in a hissy fit live on air, it was just before this time that the PrisonPlanet.com forums were created. Because the members only .tv forums were un-moderated, Alex Jones equipped the new free forums at PrisonPlanet.com with moderators who would make Pol Pot flinch. These moderators have been suppressing the flow of information on PrisonPlanet.com’s forums ever since.

What information is there to suppress on an internet forum, you ask? It’s funny you should ask, because that’s one of the things I’d like to address. I made the case for anti-zionism in part 2 of this series, and it just so happens that this is one of the subjects under extreme scrutiny at PrisonPlanet.com. It seems Alex Jones has a reason to suppress any talk of Jews or zionism. I will leave it up to you to decide why that might be, although if you’ve been reading this series, I think I’ve made my opinion on the matter abundantly clear. When someone claims that Arabs own Hollywood, I have to sit back and smile at the sheer arrogance of the statement. Not to mention, my first thought is: “Who the hell is paying this guy to say that?” Yet Alex Jones has made this exact statement not once, but a number of times.

And how does one go about suppressing the flow of information on an internet forum? How do you go about the seedy business of appearing to be for truth and uncovering political crimes, while hiding and removing any trace of your own lies and crimes? It’s easier than you may think. People who are used to being lied to their entire lives sometimes have a hard time seeing through new lies, even if this is their main desire. But as with all lies, eventually the jig is up. A home built upon a foundation of lies is no home at all…

Following are four main tactics I have observed, which are used by internet forum moderators to suppress the free flow of information:

The first tactic is ridicule. Any idea outside of the accepted bubble must be ruthlessly vilified by both moderators and sycophantic registered users alike.

The second tactic is moving threads to “dunce” boards, which are basically forum boards where moderators can quarantine all “kooky” threads. This effectively quarantines the idea of the thread, along with the thread itself and the person who posted the thread. New users naturally shy away from these boards, not wishing to be outcasts. Included in this tactic is changing the title of threads to make the poster appear ignorant or even hateful, and merging “dunce” threads with other “dunce” threads in order to confuse the issues.

The third tactic is deleting posts and threads altogether… Forum posts which are critical of the moderators, or whose topics are taboo, can be simply deleted.

The fourth tactic is banning registered members from using and viewing the forums outright. The ban can be temporary or permanent. This is the tactic that appears to be the downfall of the PrisonPlanet.com forums.

PrisonPlanet.com’s forum moderators apply all of the above tactics to their forums with ruthless efficacy. Many users become disgusted by the blatant abuse of authority, and simply leave, not waiting to get banned or ridiculed. So some see the scam for what it is, and leave on their own terms. Others, as mentioned earlier, are too used to being manipulated to see through the charade.

There is an immediate danger the internet poses for the powers-that-be, and those powers have every motive–financial and political–to attempt to stifle dissent on the internet. It only makes sense considering the effort they’ve expended on suppressing truth through the mainstream media. They would be stupid to not attempt control of their opposition…

Fractures in the Truth Movement, Part III: The Fissure Becomes a Gulf

The Rich Have Stolen The Economy

2009-10-17T04:14:00.001-04:00

The Rich Have Stolen The Economy

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s closest aides earned millions of dollars a year working for Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and other Wall Street firms. Bloomberg reports that none of these aides faced Senate confirmation. Yet, they are overseeing the handout of hundreds of billions of dollars of taxpayer funds to their former employers.

The gifts of billions of dollars of taxpayers’ money provided the banks with an abundance of low cost capital that has boosted the banks’ profits, while the taxpayers who provided the capital are increasingly unemployed and homeless.

JPMorgan Chase announced that it has earned $3.6 billion in the third quarter of this year.

Goldman Sachs has made so much money during this year of economic crisis that enormous bonuses are in the works. London Evening Standard reports that Goldman Sachs’ “5,500 London staff can look forward to record average payouts of around 500,000 pounds ($800,000) each. Senior executives will get bonuses of several million pounds each with the highest paid as much as 10 million pounds ($16 million).“

In the event the banksters can’t figure out how to enjoy the riches, the Financial Times is offering a new magazine–”How To Spend It.” New York City’s retailers are praying for some of it, suffering a 15.3% vacancy rate on Fifth Avenue. Statistician John Williams (shadowstats.com) reports that retail sales adjusted for inflation have declined to the level of 10 years ago: “Virtually 10 years worth of real retail sales growth has been destroyed in the still unfolding depression.”
The Rich Have Stolen The Economy | War On You: Breaking Alternative News

Merck Wins U.S. Approval for Gardasil Vaccine in Boys

Merck & Co.’s Gardasil, a vaccine used to prevent cervical cancer in women, won U.S. regulatory approval for preventing genital warts in boys.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared the vaccine for use in males ages 9 to 26, Merck said today in a statement.

Gardasil protects against a sexually transmitted infection called human papillomavirus, or HPV, that can lead to cervical cancer in women and genital warts and cancer of the penis and anus in men. Gardasil, approved for females ages 9 to 26, is given mostly to school-age girls as a U.S.-recommended routine vaccination. Expanding the shot’s use could revive sales, which declined 5 percent last year, analysts have said.
Merck Wins U.S. Approval for Gardasil Vaccine in Boys | War On You: Breaking Alternative News

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Obama-Care, Euthanasia, and The Boiled Frog Syndrome

2009-07-30T03:21:00.001-04:00

We’re going to be covering quite a bit of ground in this article: I’ll be discussing “Glen Beck’s Common Sense,” Ezekiel Emanuel (Dr. Death), Collectivism, AARP, Sorelian myths, the Fascist Left, and The Boiled Frog Syndrome, among other things—so let’s get started.

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[Uruknet 56467 30-jul-2009 00:59 ECT] It's NOT Anti-Semitism~It's Our Right

2009-07-30T03:20:00.007-04:00

Israel is all a dither because people are angry and outraged at the litany of Zionist rip offs, cheats, liars, spies, money laundering, scam artists, paid for politicians and theft perpetuated around the globe at the hands of none other than "Zionists" working for Israel. And as totally predicted, they fall on the never ending "Pity Party" call of "Anti-Semitism". I'm not going to list the massive succession of events, but let's just list a few of the major ones for the mindset...

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[Uruknet 56474 30-jul-2009 02:15 ECT] Using the UN to undermine Palestinian rights

2009-07-30T03:20:00.005-04:00

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana surprised observers on 11 July when he called, during a speech in London, for the UN Security Council to recognize a Palestinian state by a certain date even if no agreement had been reached between Israelis and Palestinians. On its face, this proposal sounds dramatic. There must be some who still believe that a Security Council decision would result in real and drastic action. The reality, however, is that the Security Council is not the powerful executive organ it was created to be...

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Should a 7-Day-Long Job be Counted as a ‘Job Created’ by Stimulus?

2009-07-30T03:20:00.003-04:00

Some state governments are playing fast and loose with the stats to “prove” that stimulus money is going to “new jobs” by counting temporary jobs that lasted for as little as seven days as a “new job” credited to the stimulus.

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[Uruknet 56469 30-jul-2009 01:28 ECT] Video: Israeli soldiers' revelations from Gaza

2009-07-30T03:20:00.001-04:00

Israeli soldiers involved in the attacks on Gaza at the start of this year claim that they were ordered to fire, regardless of the risk to civilians. Alex Thomson reports. Israel banned journalists from its invasion of Gaza in December and January, making it hard to verify allegations of indiscriminate firing, the use of phosphorous bombs, and forcing Palestininas to be human shields...

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[Uruknet 56413 28-jul-2009 01:38 ECT] Israel and Nazi Germany, Tweedldee and Tweedldum

2009-07-29T05:25:00.001-04:00

Avigdor Lieberman, the brashly-racist foreign minister of the apartheid Israeli state, reportedly recently ordered Zionist embassies around the world to circulate a 1941 photo showing the former Mufti of Jerusalem Hajj Amin Husseini meeting with German Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. Lieberman hopes that the picture would help counter growing international pressure on the Zionist regime to stop ethnic-cleansing measures against the Palestinians, especially in occupied Jerusalem . The release of the picture is widely viewed as a desperate feat by the widely-reviled Lieberman to make a difference as a foreign minister. Lieberman has been largely boycotted by the international community, mainly due to his radical and expressly racist views...

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[Uruknet 55725 06-jul-2009 04:26 ECT] Attack on Iran would be 'very destabilizing' -- US military chief

2009-07-05T23:39:00.003-04:00

A US military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities would be "very destabilizing," top US military commander Admiral Mike Mullen said Sunday, warning that any attack could have serious "unintended consequences." "I've been one who has been concerned about a strike on Iran for some time, because it could be very destabilizing, and it is the unintended consequences of that which aren't predictable," the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff told the Fox News Sunday television program...

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I’m With Sarah!

2009-07-05T23:39:00.001-04:00

Millions of liberals rejoiced and thousands of Republicans heaved a sigh of relief Friday as Sarah Palin announced her decision to resign as Alaska’s governor. In her usual forthright manner, Gov. Palin made clear that she was not content to squander her time on ‘politics as usual’. Hear, hear.

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�Bailout� for Transportation Agencies?

2009-07-05T04:22:00.003-04:00

CQ.com is reporting the following: "Passenger rail and bus advocates are pressing conferees on the war supplemental bill to include a Senate-passed provision that would allow public transit agencies to spend some of their stimulus dollars on operating expenses, instead of capital improvements." According to the article, transit agencies received $8.4 billion in stimulus funds.

Does this not sound like a bailout in the making: "Many transit agencies are facing budget deficits that leave them unable to keep up with dramatic increases in ridership. As a result, service and personnel cuts are being proposed in cities across the country."

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TARP - A Big (Really, Really Big) Mistake

2009-07-05T04:22:00.001-04:00

An appropriately titled column ("The $787 Billion Mistake") on TARP at Forbes.com.

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UC Santa Barbara Students Confront ADL�s Genocide Denial

2009-06-08T00:23:00.001-04:00

By Armine Amy Kaladzhyan

Students Protest Anti-Defamation League�s Involvement in UCSB Matter
Almost two years ago, a group of outraged students at UC Santa Barbara banded together.� They united, just as� citizens in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts had done before them, to get campus and community entities to� disassociate themselves with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) [...]

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North Korea defies world with Hiroshima-size nuclear device

2009-05-27T19:23:00.003-04:00

Country risks further international isolation as underground nuclear explosion triggers earthquake
North Korea today risked further international isolation after it claimed to have successfully tested a nuclear weapon as powerful as the atomic bomb that destroyed Hiroshima.
The test comes less than two months after the North enraged the US and its allies by test firing a [...]

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Cameron pledges shake-up of power

2009-05-27T19:23:00.001-04:00

David Cameron has promised his party would deliver a dramatic redistribution of power in response to voter disgust over MPs’ expenses.
The Conservative leader, writing in the Guardian, says he would reduce prime ministerial power and boost the role of Parliament to win back public support.
Decisions must be handed back "to the man and woman [...]

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Two held over �attack� on boy, 11

2009-04-05T22:07:00.001-04:00

Two young boys have been arrested after an alleged assault left an 11-year-old boy with life-threatening injuries in a ravine in Doncaster, police said.
Police were called to the Brick Ponds area of Edlington on Saturday afternoon after a nine-year-old boy was seen in the street with face and arm injuries.
Inquiries led police to a [...]

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Baghdad in a time of cholera

2009-03-24T02:42:00.001-04:00

Matthew Schofield: Baghdad's drinking water is so polluted that an outbreak of cholera is expected

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Soundwave 2008 video

2009-03-11T00:33:00.001-04:00

I had a request to do another cut from the footage for Soundwave 2008.

This video is part of a video series that was taken at Soundwave 2008 from July 18 to 21. Additional videos at Soundwave 2008. Videos from last year available at Soundwave 2007.

Soundwave 2008: Saturday Morning - Mykee (3:52)

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Tsvangirai out of hospital after crash

2009-03-08T00:11:00.001-05:00

Zimbabwe PM suffered head injuries in collision with lorry whose driver admitted being asleep at the wheel, according to reportsMorgan Tsvangirai, the Zimbabwe prime minister, today left hospital a day after surviving the car crash in which his wife, Susan, was killed.Tsvangirai was seen walking out of the hospital in the company of security guards [...]

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Saving Canada, Criminalization of Organic Farms, FDIC Could Be Insolvent, and two articles well worth the read

2009-03-08T00:10:00.001-05:00

1) Stop Bill C-15: Say No To Mandatory Jail Terms For Marijuana - SStephen Harper has introduced mandatory minimums for marijuana - previously known as Bill C-26, but now introduced as Bill C-15. Harper wants a mandatory minimum six months in jail for one plant, and one year for trafficking involving "organized crime", which is simply defined as three or more people - that could be you, your dealer, and the grower! Canadians know the drug war has failed, and 62% support the legalization of marijuana. Speak up and help defeat C-15!

Further information at SStephen Harper wants Canadians to spend billions implementing a failed and costly US prison system

2) HR 875 The food police, criminalizing organic farming and the backyard gardener, and violation of the 10th amendment - SThis bill is sitting in committee and I am not sure when it is going to hit the floor. One thing I do know is that very few of the Representatives have read it. As usual they will vote on this based on what someone else is saying. Urge your members to read the legislation and ask for opposition to this devastating legislation. Devastating for everyday folks but great for factory farming ops like Monsanto, ADM, Sodexo and Tyson to name a few.

"I have no doubt that this legislation was heavily influenced by lobbyists from huge food producers. This legislation is so broad based that technically someone with a little backyard garden could get fined and have their property siezed. It will effect anyone who produces food even if they do not sell but only consume it. It will literally put all independent farmers and food producers out of business due to the huge amounts of money it will take to conform to factory farming methods. If people choose to farm without industry standards such as chemical pesticides and fertilizers they will be subject to a vareity of harassment from this completely new agency that has never before existed. That's right, a whole new government agency is being created just to police food, for our own protection of course."

For further information and a discussion read the comments section for bodo"s post at Guerrilla News Network

3) Bair Says Insurance Fund Could Be Insolvent This Year - SFederal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair said the fund it uses to protect customer deposits at U.S. banks could dry up amid a surge in bank failures, as she responded to an industry outcry against new fees approved by the agency. Without these assessments, the deposit insurance fund could become insolvent this year," Bair wrote in a March 2 letter to the industry. U.S. community banks plan to flood the FDIC with about 5,000 letters in protest of the fees, according to a trade group.

SA large number" of bank failures may occur through 2010 because of rapidly deteriorating economic conditions," Bair said in the letter. Without substantial amounts of additional assessment revenue in the near future, current projections indicate that the fund balance will approach zero or even become negative."

SThe FDIC last week approved a one-time emergency" fee and other assessment increases on the industry to rebuild a fund to repay customers for deposits of as much as $250,000 when a bank fails. The fees, opposed by the industry, may generate $27 billion this year after the fund fell to $18.9 billion in the fourth quarter from $34.6 billion in the previous period, the FDIC said. The fund, which lost $33.5 billion in 2008, was drained by 25 bank failures last year. Sixteen banks have failed so far this year, further straining the fund.

4) "Francisco's Money Speech" by Ayn Rand - SSo you think that money is the root of all evil?" said Francisco d'Anconia. Have you ever asked what is the root of money? Money is a tool of exchange, which can't exist unless there are goods produced and men able to produce them. Money is the material shape of the principle that men who wish to deal with one another must deal by trade and give value for value. Money is not the tool of the moochers, who claim your product by tears, or of the looters, who take it from you by force. Money is made possible only by the men who produce. Is this what you consider evil?

SWhen you accept money in payment for your effort, you do so only on the conviction that you will exchange it for the product of the effort of others. It is not the moochers or the looters who give value to money. Not an ocean of tears not all the guns in the world can transform those pieces of paper in your wallet into the bread you will need to survive tomorrow. Those pieces of paper, which should have been gold, are a token of honor--your claim upon the energy of the men who produce. Your wallet is your statement of hope that somewhere in the world around you there are men who will not default on that moral principle which is the root of money, Is this what you consider evil?

5) The Cute Cat Theory Talk at ETech - SIf you want to prevent your users from accessing online content, you"ve got four basic options. You can block keywords, block URLs, pollute your DNS or block IPs. It"s surprisingly hard to block keywords - you need to open and examine all the packets crossing your network. China does a bit of this, but mostly blocks keywords within URLs - it"s prohibitively expensive to examine every packet for an entire nation and check against a blocklist. URL blocking simply doesn"t work very well - it"s easy to rewrite a URL and access the same content. DNS blocking is very simple, but it tends to backfire - your smarter users simply switch towards using an unpolluted DNS and you have no way to control their behavior with this technique in the future. And so, most repressive governments block IPs, which limits access to banal as well as sensitive content.

SBut perhaps this isn"t stupidity on the part of nations. When Pakistan blocks YouTube, it limits traffic to the site. Google notices these sorts of things. Perhaps it"s coincidental that the video named by Pakistan has been removed from YouTube due to a terms of service violation - perhaps not. But while advocates try to raise the price of censorship for governments, smart governments are raising the price for noncompliance for Web 2.0 companies.

SMy colleagues at the Open Net Initiative began documenting net censorship a bit more than five years ago. At that point, Saudi Arabia and China were censoring widely. Now at least two dozen nations censor the net regularly, and more may be participating in Sevent-based filtering, blocking access to political sites before a key election, for instance. My fear, in the medium to long term, is that every nation that constrains freedom of the press will begin filtering the net, realizing that the Internet is where important press takes place these days.

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Chicago Rushes Head First Into Limitless Surveillance

2009-03-05T00:32:00.001-05:00

Source: Tech DirtFrom the but-will-they-be-able-to-spot-political-corruption? deptGovernments around the world are finding reasons to install surveillance cameras, but few are keeping account of the costs and benefits that come from those CCTV systems. Chicago, in its bid to follow in Chinas steps as host of the Olympics, is the most recent one to do so. By [...]

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Zardari rules out Taleban truce

2009-03-04T00:17:00.001-05:00

Pakistani President Asif Zardari has said Pakistan has not and will not negotiate with the “extremist Taleban and terrorists”.Mr Zardari said that the “clerics” with whom his government had engaged in Swat valley were not the Taleban.Authorities and a key radical cleric recently agreed a deal that would bring Sharia law to the region in [...]

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Stephen Harper shows his true colours again: Canadians will spend billions implementing a failed and costly US prison system

2009-03-04T00:16:00.004-05:00

Update: Since this is an extremely important topic for Canadians, this piece will remain the top post for the next couple of days. Please note that a new study released on Monday has revealed that 7.3 million Americans were processed through the US prison system in 2007, which is equivalent to S1 in every 31 adults:

SA record number of Americans served time in corrections systems across the country in 2007, according to a report released Monday by the Pew Center on the States. The U.S. correctional population -- those in jail, prison, on probation or on parole -- totaled 7.3 million, or 1 in every 31 adults.

This is what Harper wants to do to Canada, turn us into a prison State.

A warning to Canada, Dr Jekyll has turned into Mr. Hyde again, and it didn"t take long.

Stephen Harper has on numerous occasions promised to work with every party in parliament for the betterment of Canadians, but don"t you believe him. He is back to his old ways at the first opportunity that has presented itself, promising to send Canadians back to the dark ages.

On Friday 27 February 2009, the Conservative government revived a bill to impose automatic jail terms for drug-related crimes, Swhich would send people to jail for growing as little as one marijuana plant for the purpose of trafficking. This is the same type of system which has bankrupted the United States and has led to the Sunprecedented decision to reduce the nation"s largest prison system by one-third. Just this month, three federal judges called Sfor California to cut its prison population by as much as a third, effectively ruling that (the) dysfunctional state government is incapable of overseeing the prison system.

A 2007 report from the JFA Institute, a Washington criminal-justice research group, revealed that the US prison system is costly, harmful, and a complete failure, requiring a Smajor justice-system overhaul.

SThe number of people in U.S. prisons has risen eight-fold since 1970, with little impact on crime but at great cost to taxpayers and society It recommends shorter sentences and parole terms, alternative punishments, more help for released inmates and decriminalizing recreational drugs. It said the steps would cut the prison population in half, save $20 billion a year and ease social inequality without endangering the public.
SBut the recommendations run counter to decades of broad U.S. public and political support for getting tough on criminals through longer, harsher prison terms and to the Bush administration's anti-drug and strict-sentencing policies.

Unfortunately for Canadians, the Conservative Government is planning to mimic the present flawed US prison system that this report faults in so many ways, in spite of the fact that Canadian crime rates have fallen over the last few years. This will increase the Canadian prison population and divert billions of dollars from needed social programs.

To give people an idea of the sheer madness of this proposal consider the following data for the United States: Since the mid-1980"s, marking the new beginning of the American SWar on Drugs", the United States prison population has more than doubled. They have over 2.2 million people incarcerated, representing 25% of the worlds prison population from a country that only has 5% of the world"s populace. A staggering $41+ billion is spent annually on corrections alone, even though reports indicate that $37 billion would be saved annually with legalization. They have a private prison industry that is automated for maximum profitability. There is no rehabilitation in the United States because the machine that feeds on these brutal laws is making too much money for the elite. If the majority of Canadians would just review the statistics available from the US Department of Justice"s own website they would be appalled as to what Stephen Harper and the Conservatives are proposing.

In the United States, police arrested a record 829,625 persons for marijuana violations in 2006. Marijuana arrests in the US have topped previous records and are costing taxpayers billions of dollars per year.

Based on 2005 population figures for both prisons and cities in the United States, the US Sprison population would rank as the 4th largest city behind New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago while beating Houston out by over 200,000 people. This is what Stephen Harper and his Conservative Government are proposing, to create a prison population that will rank as Canada"s fourth largest city, at a cost of billions of dollars to Canadians.

The beginning of the Canadian "War on Drugs" and the introduction of the American style of mandatory minimum sentencing are just the start of the changes that Canadians are about to buy into. This stepping stone, geared to create the same type of class structure that dominates the United States is the beginning of the process of dismantling Canada.

What makes Harper think that Canadians want this failed system implemented in Canada, especially during the greatest economic crisis since the great depression?

As Canadian MP Bill Siksay (BurnabyDouglas, NDP) pointed out during Friday"s Parliament session:

SWhile tough on crime measures always top the list of potential fixes, there is a growing realization that drug prohibition policies are making the situation worse.
SAlcohol prohibition did not work. Many of the same problems now associated with the drug trade were experienced in the United States during its period of alcohol prohibition. Gang violence that often caught innocent citizens, impure and dangerous alcohol sold in black markets, home stills and underground production, untreated addictions and family dislocation were all serious issues.
SIt took ending prohibition and implementing alcohol control policies to restore respect for the law and make progress on alcohol related social issues.
SWe must apply what we know to be true. We must move from prohibition to drug control regimes modelled on the experience of alcohol prohibition and control. Bold steps to confront our drug use hypocrisy and end the profitability of illegal drugs will make our communities safer.

One final word to all Canadians, including anyone who was foolish enough to vote for Harper, it"s your money that is going to be used to build these prisons, pay the court fees, hire lawyers and judges, and enforce laws which will in turn lead to more violence. The most important thing to keep in mind is that those who consume cannabis are not criminals. They are your brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, and your children, and many have been sacrificed to further the agenda of certain individuals and organizations who feed off the profits from the criminalization of this simple plant that has the potential to save us and our environment.

So while we wait for Harper to be removed from office for his complete lack of understanding for what is best for our society, and for his disregard of the mandate of the majority of Canadians that believe the consumption of cannabis should be legalized, why not educate ourselves further by watching three amazing documentaries about the complete disaster known as the War on Drugs" and the prison industrial complex (Please note that the first few minutes of the first movie are in Dutch, but the rest is in English).

War on Drugs: The Prison Industrial Complex

The Union (1:44:30)

Hemp Revolution part 1 of 2

Hemp Revolution part 2 of 2

Related Information
Human Rights Watch: Incarcerated America
Why the United States has a drug problem, and how to solve America"s drug problem: Four Must See Documentaries
Deforestation and Hemp: How we can protect the environment
Coming out of the Dark Ages: Psychedelic Science, an introduction to LSD, DMT, Ibogaine, and Ayahuasca
Marijuana, War on Drugs, the Prison Industrial Complex, and a couple of Documentaries
Happy 420! Marijuana Appreciation Day (almost everything you wanted to know about Ganja)
Remembering Albert Hoffman and LSD
Salvia Divinorum and "Brett's Law": Part I
North American Currency: The Integration of Canada, USA, and Mexico

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Interpol issues arrest warrants for 15 Israelis

2009-03-03T18:47:00.001-05:00

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 23:36:57 GMTTehran’s Public Prosecutor Saeed MortazaviThe International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO) has issued a circular calling for the arrest of 15 top Israeli officials over war crimes. At a news briefing on Sunday, Tehran’s Public Prosecutor, Saeed Mortazavi, said that Iran had referred the case to the organization, known as Interpol, [...]No related posts.

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[Source: RETROGRESSING - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

NONE DARE CALL IT CONSPIRACY

2009-03-03T17:33:00.003-05:00

by Gary Allen, 1971____________________Originally published by Concord PressP.O. BOX 2686Seal Beach, Calif. 90740………..This act (the Federal Reserve Act)establishes the most gigantic trust on Earth…When the President signs this act,the invisible government by the money power,proven to exist by the Money Trust Investigation,will be legalized…The new law will create inflationwhenever the trusts [...]

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[Source: Mint Dollar - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Buffetts happy monoline snub

2009-03-01T19:18:00.001-05:00

Sometimes the best deals are the ones you don’t get.Bookmark and Share More »Powered by Bookmarkify™

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[Source: Mint Dollar - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Leave the police state that is America

2009-02-27T23:05:00.003-05:00

Leave the police state that is AmericaShareThis Some time between 9/11 and now America became a police state. I cannot pinpoint the tipping point because the last several years are a blur of laws and policies that were passed so quickly and in such volume that no one could track them, let alone provide [...]

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[Source: Mint Dollar - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

What's wrong with white men? In search of an explanation by Kevin MacDonald

2009-02-27T23:05:00.001-05:00

What's wrong with white men? In search of an explanation by Kevin MacDonald

In my previous column, I attempted to analyze two important sex differences in political behavior: Womens tendency to be attracted to wealthy, powerful men, and womens relati...

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[Source: Ron Paul forum - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Nationwide raises borrowing costs for credit card customers

2009-02-26T01:05:00.002-05:00

Nationwide credit card holders face more expensive bills from May after the building society announced today it is putting up interest rates on its cards by up to 2%.People with a Nationwide Gold card will see their purchase rate increase from 15.9% annually to 16.9%, while the Classic card rate will increase from 17.9% to [...]

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The End of the Illuminati .....Extortion! The Real Reason for War and Depression

2009-02-25T00:38:00.005-05:00

Extortion! The Real Reason for War and Depression

Quote

by Henry Makow Ph.D.

""Woe unto those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness"... Isaiah 5:20

"The individual is handicapped by coming face-to-face with a conspiracy so monstrous he cannot believe it exists." J. Edgar Hoover

"We are in the midst of a phase of history in which nations will be redefined and their futures fundamentally altered." --Rupert Murdoch Feb 24, 2009

At the end of the 19th Century, the Catholic church organized massive resistance to Illuminati Jewish domination of national life. The Illuminati instigated World War One partly to crush and punish a recalcitrant Europe.

Lenin defined "peace" as the end of all forms of resistance to Communist (i.e. Illuminati Jewish) despotism.

After WWI and WWII, the League of Nations and the UN both promised world government to prevent war. Indeed, Illuminati globalists always promise this--but we don't realize they are blackmailing us. They start the wars in the first place.

The Elders of Zion vowed to harass the nations with corruption and strife until they accepted their "Superstate" (i.e. world government tyranny.)

"The recognition of our despot may also come ...when the peoples, utterly wearied by the irregularities and incompetence - a matter which we shall arrange for - of their rulers, will clamor: "Away with them and give us one king over all the earth who will unite us and annihilate the causes of disorders - frontiers, nationalities, religions, State debts - who will give us peace and quiet which we cannot find under our rulers and representatives." (emphasis mine, Protocols of Zion, 10-18)

Of course, this also applies to the current economic depression. Right on cue, Henry Kissinger, CEO of the NWO, tells us: "the alternative to a new international order is chaos." The "E" in CEO stands for Extortion. "Please Mr. Kissinger, give back our prosperity. We'll agree to anything."

We are in the eighth inning of a long term conspiracy and must shake off our complacency. This is not another recession; it is a final life-and-death power grab. A satanic cult, the Illuminati, has subverted all nations and religions and now is moving to consolidate its power. Our "leaders" (including Obama) belong to this cult. From their past record (in Russia & China), it is possible to predict the future: Conditions will deteriorate. There will be civil unrest. An assassination or some other contrived terror will result in war or martial law. Anyone who has expressed opposition to their agenda, -- patriots, Christians, "anti Semites" -- will be put into concentration camps and possibly murdered. The war and suffering will be such that the masses will accept the Illuminati's sugar coated tyranny. I hope I am wrong.

The Illuminati were founded by Cabalistic Jewish bankers like the Rothschilds who used "anti Semitism" to brainwash and empower other Jews as their agents. But, as we have seen, they will sacrifice these Jews to achieve their aims.

They are Freemasons --both Jews and non-Jews-- who want to hog all the world's wealth, cull the human race, enslave it mentally and spiritually, if not physically. They have been conspiring for thousands of years and we have the honor of seeing their endgame. They are a hydra headed monster-operating under many facades but today the main ones are socialism, communism, liberalism, feminism, zionism and neo conservatism.

THE CHURCH'S STRUGGLE WITH SATANISM

For centuries, until after World War Two, the Catholic Church was the bastion of Western civilization and main obstacle to Illuminati world control.

Recently, the Vatican opened their secret archives and revealed their centuries-long struggle to arrest the Illuminati (i.e. Masonic) Jewish stranglehold on European politics and culture. Jewish historian David Kertzer documents this struggle in his book "Popes Against the Jews"
(2001) which of course he spins as the church's role in creating anti Semitism. Nevertheless the book is a treasure trove of valuable information including a graphic account of the 1840 "Damascus Affair," the most famous instance of satanic Jewish human ritual sacrifice. (pp.86 ff.)

The salient points are 1. a prominent Italian Capuchin monk, father Tommaso was ritually slaughtered (and blood drained) by prominent cabalist Jews. 2. They confessed and led authorities to his identifiable remains and clothing. 3. The Rothschilds sent a delegation of prominent English Jews to Damascus and pressured all concerned to say the confessions were extracted by torture. 4. The Pope, Gregory XVI, had reliable intelligence and refused to knuckle under. Nor did any future Pope. They also had the testimony of a Moldavian priest, a former Jewish rabbi, who described and explained all the rituals, including the use of Christian blood in Passover matzoh. (92)

When a new ritual murder was reported in Hungary in 1899, the official Vatican newspaper L'Observatore Romano issued this warning "not to all Jews but to certain Jews in particular: Don't throw oil on the fire...Content yourself with the Christian's money, but stop shedding and sucking their blood." (163)

Obviously these instances of human ritual sacrifice are relatively rare. The masses of Jews are not satanic and genuinely want assimilation. Only satanists among them engage in this practice. Nonetheless, all Jews are implicated by denials and cries of "blood libel." Satanists --Jewish or not--engage in human ritual sacrifice. The Illuminati do it regularly. In addition, they have been doing it to the human race for centuries by virtue of war.

While Jews are not satanists, their leadership, the Illuminati bankers are. In 1913, Illuminati bankers went to great length to whitewash the rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl in Atlanta Georgia by Leo Frank, the head of the local B'nai Brith lodge. They even bribed the jury and the governor. (See the account in Michael Jones, The Jewish Revolutionary Spirit, p. 707-729)

For these Illuminati Jews, lying and deception are the norm, what they call "magic." They have convinced their fellow Jews that anti Semitism is a sickness of the gentile mind, a delusion, when in fact it is resistance to the satanic Illuminati agenda. Ordinary Jews will be sacrificed when the going gets tough unless they take a stand against their "leaders."

The naivete of Jewish intellectuals is well illustrated by Kertzer himself. He portrays Vatican opposition to Masonic Jewish control as an old reflex born of prejudice, envy and fear of change. Yet, he relates that both Bismark and Metternick, the Austrian Chancellor, were in the Rothschilds' pocket. Metternick depended on them for loans to keep his government afloat as well as "when members of his own family needed financial help." (80)

Kertzer quotes voluminously from Catholic newspapers: "The Jews will be Satan's preferred nation and his preferred instrument...The Jew Freemasons govern the world...in Prussia of 642 bankers, 550 are Jews and in Germany, in Austria and in some parts of the Orient, the word invasion is no exaggeration to express their number, their audacity and their near-irresistible power." (172-3)

Wherever they live "the Jews form a state within a state," an Italian monk wrote in 1825. Unless Christians act quickly, the Jews will finally succeed in reducing the Christians to be their slaves. Woe to us if we close out eyes! The Jews' domination will be hard, inflexible, tyrannical..." (65)

In 1865 the editor of Civilta Cattolica warned of secular Jews joining Masonic secret societies
"which threaten the ruin and extermination of all Christian society." Such sects "express that anger, that vendetta, and that satanic hate that the Jew harbors against those who--unjustly he believes--deprive him of that absolute dominion over the entire universe that he Jewishly believes God gave him." (139)

In 1922, the Vienna correspondent for Civilta Cattolica wrote that if present trends continue, "Vienna will be nothing but a Judaic city; property and houses will all be theirs, the Jews will be the bosses and gentlemen and the Christians will be their servants." (273)

JEWS' BLINDNESS TO LEGITIMATE CAUSES OF ANTI SEMITISM

Like most Jewish intellectuals, Kertzer is incapable of seeing the viewpoint of people his masters wish to despoil. He treats Catholic grievances as delusions and naively argues that Freemasonry was just a way of "providing satisfying social interaction." (p.174) His book was partly sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation.

Americans eventually will figure out that the Rothschilds and their agents are responsible for the Depression and Obama is their creation and puppet. They will discover that the Illuminati has waged war on humanity for centuries and the US media and education system are a farce. They will recognize the out sized role played by Jews in enacting this diabolical agenda.
That's when Illuminati Jews may again turn ordinary Jews, loyal American citizens, into their scapegoats.

Hopefully, people will also see the huge role played by non-Jewish satanists. For example, the Illuminati Skull and Bones was founded at Yale in 1832 but didn't admit Jews until the 1950's. Their members undermined American life from inception.

Now is the time for people to decide where they stand, with the Illuminati and the "peace" of slaves, or with their fellow citizens and freedom.

As Leonard Cohen wrote in his song, "The Future"--"I've seen the future baby and it is murder."
...

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[Source: WAR ON YOU FORUMS

Inheriting Halliburtons Army: What Will Obama Do With KBR?

2009-02-24T00:58:00.008-05:00

President Obama will almost certainly touch down in Baghdad and Kabul in Air Force One sometime in the coming year to meet his counterparts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and he will just as certainly pay a visit to a U.S. military base or two. Should he stay to eat with the troops, he will no [...]

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[Source: Mint Dollar

Rock to offer 90% mortgages

2009-02-24T00:58:00.005-05:00

Alistair Darling today defended his decision to allow Northern Rock to resume offering 90% mortgages, insisting the bank has learned from its mistakes.Allowing Northern Rock to loan an extra 14bn over the next two years would help to kick-start the mortgage market, the chancellor insisted this morning.Darling’s comments came only hours before Northern Rock announced [...]

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[Source: vote tags: Tracking the Vote - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Crazy Republican Tricks

2009-02-24T00:58:00.001-05:00

TPM: GOP Sen. Shelby Questions Obama's Citizenship. Not to be outdone by Alan Keyes:
"Well his father was Kenyan and they said he was born in Hawaii, but I haven't seen any birth certificate," Shelby said on Saturday, in response to a constituent's question at a public event. "You have to be born in America to be president."
Oh, wait! It's a joke, son!
Late Update: Shelby's spokesman has responded to the story, telling Ben Smith that it's a "distortion." The spokesman says Shelby mentioned the birth certificate as a "throwaway line" in explaining the qualifications for office, and that Shelby "doesn't have any doubt" of Obama's eligibility.
Times-Picayune: "Jindal rejects $98 million in stimulus spending"
Saying that it could lead to a tax increase on state businesses, Gov. Bobby Jindal announced Friday that the state plans to reject as much as $98 million in federal unemployment assistance in the economic stimulus package.... The part that Jindal rejected would require permanent changes in state law that the governor said makes it unacceptable....
But U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., disputed the governor's interpretation and said the new unemployment benefits are designed to be temporary.
TPM: Everyone Has Their Price -- Grandstanding GOP Governors Are Taking The Stimulus Money
Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who co-wrote an op-ed piece with South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford about all the things that were wrong with the bill, has now informed the White House that he'll accept the money. (By the way, Sanford is taking some of the money, too.)
Think Progress: At Least 22 Lawmakers Have Touted The Money From The Recovery Package They Voted Against
Sen: Mike Crapo (R-ID); Kit Bond (R-MO); Lindsey Graham (R-SC); Bob Bennett (R-UT)
Rep: Frank Lucas (R-OK); Greg Walden (R-OR); Glenn Thompson (R-PA); Leonard Lance (R-NJ); John Mica (R-FL); Don Young (R-AK) Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO); Ken Calvert (R-CA); Pete Hoekstra (R-MI); Adam Putnam (R-FL); Cliff Stearns (R-FL); Congressman Bill Posey (R-FL); Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL); Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL); Tom Rooney (R-FL); Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL); Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL)
Honorary Republican: Heath Shuler (D-NC)

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[Source: RETROGRESSING - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Zionist Logic: Malcolm X on Zionism

2009-02-22T06:42:00.002-05:00

The Zionist armies that now occupy Palestine claim their ancient Jewish prophets predicted that in the “last days of this world” their own God would raise them up a “messiah” who would lead them to their promised land, and they would set up their own “divine” government in this newly-gained land, this “divine” government would [...]No related posts.

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Missing billionaire found in Virginia

2009-02-20T21:57:00.003-05:00

Federal agents have located financier Robert Allen Stanford and served him with papers accusing him and three of his companies of orchestrating a $9.2 billion investment fraud scheme, the FBI said Thursday.Bookmark and Share More »Powered by Bookmarkify™

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[Source: Mint Dollar - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

New U.S. health insurance program envisioned

2009-02-20T02:31:00.001-05:00

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A prominent private U.S. health policy group on Thursday proposed creating a major new public health program and government-operated insurance exchange as part of a plan to expand coverage and rein in health care costs. Go to Source

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[Source: vote tags: Tracking the Vote - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

POLL: Huge Public Demand for Investigation Into Bush Administration

2009-02-14T04:36:00.002-05:00

Earlier this week, Sam Stein of the Huffington Post made a bit of news when he asked President Obama about whether he supports Senator Patrick Leahy's effort to examine/investigate the Bush administration's potential crimes. Obama danced around the issue a bit, basically dodging the question.

But now, a new Gallup poll shows there's actually huge public support for such an investigation. Check out these numbers - they are overpowering:

That's right - 71% of Americans believe there should be an investigation by either criminal prosecutors or an independent panel into the actions of the Bush administration. That's absolutely huge.
Of course, you don't hear this in the media - or even in Gallup's headline, which claims - in defiance of its own polling numbers - that there is "No Mandate for Criminal Probes of Bush Administration." Indeed, What you hear is one of two storylines: 1) Only the hard-core left that wants retribution supports any investigation into the Bush administration or 2) there's "no mandate" for any investigation.

But as these poll numbers show, both storylines are fantasy. The facts show that the broad majority of the public wants an investigation - likely because people understand that if you let crimes go unpunished, you set a precedent that those crimes are perfectly acceptable.

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[Source: RETROGRESSING

Killing progress.... Why GM is broke

2009-01-30T01:36:00.004-05:00

Killing progress Why GM is broke

Quote

"Who killed the electric car?"
In the late 1990s, General Motors sold an electric car that traveled 300 miles on a charge, could be fully charged in an hour, and could be operated for the equivalent of 60 ce...

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[Source: WAR ON YOU FORUMS -

Youtube Video: White Ethnocentrism 1

2009-01-28T19:58:00.004-05:00

Youtube Video: White Ethnocentrism 1

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/dNCgtVs0C8M&ap=%2526fmt%3D18&rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/dNCgtVs0C8M&ap=%2526fmt%3D18&rel=0</a>

This is a video tribute to the article, White Ethnocentrism: Can Americans Really Be Brainwashed? By Professor Kevin M...

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[Source: Ron Paul forum

The Zionist Wolf in Sheeps Clothing

2009-01-24T20:22:00.006-05:00

Change? Obama is controlled by the same Jewish extremist financial, political, media and financial forces that have led America to the catastrophe of 9-11, the disaster of the Iraq War and the financial robbery and economic crisis.A message to the world on the Obama InaugurationWake Up!ByDavid DukeIf you want to know who the real establishment [...]

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Obama Re-Sworn To Office After Foiling Coup Attempt

2009-01-24T20:22:00.001-05:00

A most disturbing report is circulating in the Kremlin today stating that the newly installed US President Barack Obama has survived, during his first day in office, a coup attempt designed to plunge the United States into immediate war and threaten our Worlds existence.According to these reports, the Bush appointed Chief Justice of [...]

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[Source: Mint Dollar - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Net neutrality rules sneaked into stimulus bill

2009-01-16T23:03:00.002-05:00

The House Democrats’ $825 billion legislation released on Thursday was supposedly intended to “stimulate” the economy. Backers claimed that speedy approval was vital because the nation is in “a crisis not seen since the Great Depression” and “the economy is shutting down.”That’s the rhetoric. But in reality, Democrats are using the 258-page legislation to sneak [...]

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[Source: vote tags: Tracking the Vote

Using Eminent Domain To Acquire Mortgages Would Be Reckless And Dangerous

2009-01-16T23:01:00.004-05:00

Just when I think that the bailout plans couldnt get any wackier, along comes this gem proposed by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition to the House Financial Services yesterday- they propose using eminent domain to buy loans to modify them. Heres a summary from Diana Olick of CNBC:We all know that the biggest roadblock to [...]

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[Source: Mint Dollar

Core of Corruption-Just the facts. Video 5 yrs in the making

2009-01-13T18:19:00.006-05:00

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/8m7Cio7Jjdc&rel=0&fs=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/8m7Cio7Jjdc&rel=0&fs=1</a>

based on these facts

http://www.coreofcorruption.com/index.php/?page_id=26

A must hype set...

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[Source: WAR ON YOU FORUMS

Cheney on Finding Bin Laden:Well, weve got a few days left yet,

2009-01-13T01:28:00.002-05:00

This Dick gets to write history?Pressed on some of the foreign policy missteps and shortcomings of the Bush administration, Dick Cheney, even with just days to go in his time in public office, pleaded for more time.Asked by CNNs Wolf Blitzer why President Bush had been unable to capture or kill [Osama] bin Laden or [...]No related posts.

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[Source: War On You

Reject Interventionism and Embrace Liberty

2009-01-13T01:24:00.002-05:00

by Jacob G. Hornberger Ludwig von Mises pointed out that one government intervention will inevitably lead to more interventions. The reason is that the initial intervention produces a crisis, which then leads public officials to call for a new intervention to address the crisis. That new intervention then produces a new crisis, which then leads [...]No related posts.

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[Source: War On You

Power Players: Cantor Whips up Support from Finance Sector

2009-01-10T22:07:00.005-05:00

Name: Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.)Position: A rising star among House Republicans from day one, Cantor will now replace Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri as House minority whip. In this position, Cantor is charged with corralling support among his colleagues for the Republican leadership’s proposals. Money Summary: Cantor has been called a prolific fundraiser more than [...]

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[Source: Mint Dollar

Trans Texas Corridor renamed, not dead

2009-01-10T22:07:00.004-05:00

Trans Texas Corridor renamed, not dead TURF supporters demand ACTION, not rhetoric TURF reaction to TxDOT announcement:The announcement by TxDOT Executive Director Amadeo Saenz at the Texas Transportation Forum that the “Trans Texas Corridor, as it was originally envisioned, is no more,” is just another in a series of comments to lead opponents into believing the Trans [...]

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[Source: Mint Dollar

CBS: KBR knowingly exposed troops to toxic dust

2008-12-31T07:38:00.004-05:00

A CBS News investigation has obtained evidence that a subsidiary of Halliburton, the giant energy company formerly headed by Vice President Dick Cheney, knowingly exposed United States soldiers to toxic materials in Iraq.CBS interviewed Commander James Gentry of the Indiana National Guard, who is dying of a rare form of lung cancer that he believes [...]

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[Source: RETROGRESSING

D.C. cops caught stealing from Toys for Tots on Christmas eve

2008-12-31T07:37:00.002-05:00

This year, the Grinch is wearing blue instead of green.On Christmas day, four Washington, D.C. police officers were caught on tape stealing from Toys for Tots, a charity organization that collects toys for poor children. The United States Marines led the group’s toy collection drive.Yvonne Smith, the Washington, D.C. police department’s outreach coordinator, pleaded with [...]

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[Source: vote tags: Tracking the Vote

Does the World Need a Global Population Control Agency?

2008-12-31T05:54:00.002-05:00

Overpopulation hysteria has real world consequences. One of these is a United Nations population control agency that goes by the name of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA).

Started in 1969 following a massive lobbying effort by billionaire John D. Rockefe...

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[Source: Ron Paul forum

Cheney the torturer

2008-12-28T03:09:00.000-05:00

Author's note: The statements Cheney made this week during an interview with the Washington Times about his role in approving the waterboarding of three Guantanamo detainees and the so-called "enhanced interrogation" of 33 prisoners was, disturbingly, not covered at all by the mainstream media.

Also published at my web magazine, The Public Record.

Vice President Dick Cheney, in another stunning admission during his campaign to burnish the Bush administration’s legacy, said he personally authorized the “enhanced interrogations” of 33 suspected terrorist detainees and approved the waterboarding of three so-called “high-value” prisoners.

“I signed off on it; others did, as well, too,” Cheney said about the waterboarding, a practice of simulated drowning done by strapping a person to a board, covering the face with a cloth and then pouring water over it, a torture technique dating back at least to the Spanish Inquisition. The victim feels as if he is drowning.

Cheney identified the three waterboarded detainees as al-Qaeda figures Abu Zubaydah, Khalid Sheik Mohammed and al Nashiri. “That's it, those three guys,” Cheney said in an interview with the right-wing Washington Times.

Other detainees at secret CIA prisons and at Guantanamo Bay were subjected to harsh treatment, including being stripped naked, forced into painful stress positions, placed in extremes of heat or cold and prevented from sleeping – actions that international human rights organizations, and previously the U.S. government, have denounced as torture and illegal abuse.

“I thought that it was absolutely the right thing to do,” Cheney said of what he called the “enhanced interrogation” of the detainees. “I thought the [administration’s] legal opinions that were rendered [endorsing the harsh treatment] were sound. I think the techniques were reasonable in terms of what they [the CIA interrogators] were asking to be able to do. And I think it produced the desired result.”

Cheney also took issue with the notion that waterboarding was torture.

“Was it torture? I don't believe it was torture,” Cheney said. “The CIA handled itself, I think, very appropriately. They came to us in the administration, talked to me, talked to others in the administration, about what they felt they needed to do in order to obtain the intelligence that we believe these people were in possession of.”

Other experts, including some military and intelligence interrogators, have disputed Cheney’s claims of success in extracting reliable information through waterboarding and other harsh techniques. Much of the confessed information turned out to be dubious or incorrect.

The First Case

Zubaydah was the first “war on terror” detainee to be subjected to the Bush administration’s waterboarding, according to Pentagon and Justice Department documents, news reports and several books written about the Bush administration’s interrogation methods.

However, according to author Ron Suskind who interviewed CIA and other insiders, Abu Zubaydah was not the "high-value detainee" that the Bush administration had claimed. Rather, Zubaydah was a minor player in the al-Qaeda organization, handling travel for associates and their families, Suskind wrote in his book The One Percent Doctrine.

Nevertheless, Suskind said President George W. Bush became obsessed with Zubaydah and the information he might have about pending terrorist plots against the United States.

"Bush was fixated on how to get Zubaydah to tell us the truth," Suskind wrote. Bush questioned one CIA briefer, "Do some of these harsh methods really work?"

Abu Zubaydah's captors soon discovered that their prisoner was mentally ill and knew nothing about terrorist operations or impending plots. That realization was "echoed at the top of CIA and was, of course, briefed to the President and Vice President," Suskind wrote.

But Bush did not want to "lose face" because he had stated Zubaydah’s importance publicly, according to Suskind.

WARONYOU

RCA Dome Implosion In Indianapolis December

2008-12-23T05:42:00.002-05:00

Senate scandal snares Obamas chief aide

2008-12-17T23:09:00.002-05:00

Times OnlineSarah Baxter, Washington THE bullish, foul-mouthed but effective Chicago arm-twister Rahm Emanuel has come under pressure to resign as Barack Obamas chief of staff after it was revealed that he had been captured on court-approved wire-taps discussing the names of candidates for Obamas Senate seat.Emanuels presence at the heart of the scandal threatens to [...]

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[Source: War On You

In Search of Followers of the False Messiah

2008-12-13T22:40:00.002-05:00

By Orly Halpern‘Shabbatai Tzvi enthroned,’ Amsterdam, 1666Aubrey Ross is an unusual man with an unusual pastime. Hes looking for Jewish Muslims. In Turkey. With the help of the Internet. And hes convinced he has found some.In a book entitled The Messiah of Turkey, due to be published this winter by Frank Cass Publishers in Great [...]

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[Source: War On You

Back to business in Iraq?

2008-12-10T22:07:00.013-05:00

Some progress in Iraq, as a deal is struck on the export of oil to Turkey

The Iraqi government is turning its attention increasingly towards issues relating to economic development, now that an agreement of sorts has been hammered out on future security steps, notably the deal struck over a timetable for US withdrawal. Oil remains on top of the economic agenda, with efforts now being directed towards bridging the gap between the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) and the Baghdad authorities in their turf war about new field development. The government is also making moves in the telecoms sector, with new licences on the way, and addressing Iraq's chronic electricity shortages.

The latest progress in the oil sector occurred in late November, when the KRG's prime minister, Nechiravan Barzani, and the federal oil minister, Hussein al-Shahristani, agreed on the export of some 250,000 barrels/day of oil to Turkey from the northern Tawke and Taq Taq fields. These are operated under KRG-administered contracts respectively by Norway’s DNO and a joint venture of Turkey’s Genel Enerji and Switzerland-based Addax Petroleum. They are both to be connected to the main Kirkuk-Ceyhan northern export pipeline by mid-2009. ...

The coming days: The week ahead

2008-12-10T22:07:00.012-05:00

America's troubled carmakers look set for a bail-out, and other news

• CONGRESS is set to vote on giving America's embattled carmakers a huge handout to save them from the scrapheap. The bosses of Detroit's Big Three recently visited Washington, DC, to ask for some $34 billion to keep their firms in business. General Motors and Chrysler have given warning that they will not make it to the end of the year without extra cash. If, as seems likely, the troubled car firms get a vast dollop of taxpayers' money, it is unlikely to be enough to return them to good health. So America's politicians should prepare themselves for another visit.

For background, see article ...

American carmakers: A deal for Detroit?

2008-12-10T22:07:00.011-05:00

Congress appears poised to agree upon a temporary bail-out for troubled American carmakers

THERE are two ways of fixing a broken-down car. A nut-and-bolt restoration of the whole vehicle would return it to top condition, whereas a patch-up of the worst problems might keep it on the road. Late on Monday December 8th congressional Democrats agreed in principle to opt for the latter fix, putting off big repairs, but making available $15 billion in emergency loans, perhaps in exchange for some shares in the companies. It is unclear, however, whether the Bush administration will support the deal.

Car bosses have spent as much time in Washington, DC, as they have in Detroit of late, trying to convince lawmakers of the urgent need for cash to keep their industry alive. And they learned a little about politics along the way. A first visit to hold out the begging bowl was ill-received, not least because the beggars whizzed in on corporate jets. For the second round of congressional investigation they opted to drive in green vehicles. That piece of belated PR and the prospect that General Motors and Chrysler could go bust before the year ends prompted lawmakers to dip into a previously approved fund which is intended to help carmakers build more fuel-efficient vehicles. ...

Fragile state

2008-12-10T22:07:00.010-05:00

India and America want Pakistan to fight terrorism harder

It is difficult to overestimate the extent to which the terrorist attack on Mumbai has complicated the outlook for Pakistan's relations with both India and the US. Whether or not conclusive evidence emerges of Pakistani complicity in the attack, the damage to relations with India has already been done, and the challenge will now be to ensure that hostilities do not escalate further. Meanwhile, the Mumbai attack will ensure that the US increases its already-destabilising pressure on Pakistan to deal with locally-based terrorist groups.

The biggest immediate risk is that India could decide to launch a retaliatory attack on militant training camps either in Pakistan-administered Kashmir or in Pakistan proper. On the plus side, government-level relations between India and Pakistan are much stronger than they have been in the past. Thus far the Pakistani administration has shown commendable restraint; the president, Asif Ali Zardari, has expressed in unusually forthright terms a desire not to let the current situation derail the ongoing process of normalising bilateral relations. ...

People's Success?? 'BoA set to lose billions in business as Governor, President-elect show solidarity with workers'

2008-12-10T22:06:00.017-05:00

In a stinging note of support for the laid off workers that have taken up residency in Chicago's Republic Windows & Doors factory, the Governor of Illinois has suspended business with Bank of America until it reissues credit to the shuttered company. Bank of America cut off credit to Republic Windows & Doors company last week, and workers, demanding severance pay, began staging sit-ins, effectively taking control of the building.The governor's bold move comes immediately after President-elect Obama, himself a Chicago native, expressed sympathy for and agreement with the worker's plight and resulting actions.When it comes to the situation here in Chicago with the workers who are asking for their benefits and payments they have earned, I think they are absolutely right, said Obama during a Sunday news conference. Whats happening to them is reflective of whats happening across this economy."

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Hubble telescope's top ten and....

2008-12-10T22:06:00.016-05:00

The best of the final frontier, snapped by the Hubble telescope from 16 years. But first.... Have you ever thought about this; What does the hubble see when it is pointed at the earth ? I still know people that say I'm crazy for saying that.Never thought about that did you? If you have, you...

Take Back Your Media! Tell Obama What The New FCC Chair Should Do

2008-12-10T22:06:00.015-05:00

Wanted: A leader who understands that the "open" Internet doesn't mean a burst pipe, thinks a diverse media is more than just a few minority network anchors, and isn't afraid to battle chest-thumping corporate lobbyists to protect the public's interest.Alright, so we may not be doing the hiring, but President-elect Barack Obama is, and we the public need to hold the president-elect to his campaign promises as he picks the next head of the Federal Communications Commission.Obama will soon announce his choice to lead the FCC, a decision that will influence every facet of our media system - from media consolidation to broadband access and cell phone innovation. Obama has pledged to make media in America more open, diverse and democratic, but will he stand by this promise in the face of intense insider pressure to choose a more industry friendly FCC chairman?Vote now on the top three qualifications you most want for the FCC chair. We'll compile the votes and send them on to Obama's FCC transition team. Now is our best chance to change course and make real the possibility of universal broadband access, an open Internet, and more locally controlled radio and TV.

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The Deluder In Chief

2008-12-10T22:06:00.014-05:00

ihtWe long ago gave up hope that President Bush would acknowledge his many mistakes, or show he had learned anything from them. Even then we were unprepared for the epic denial that Bush displayed in his interview with ABC News' Charles Gibson the other day, which he presumably considered an...

Hottest Search: Laura Bush Killed A Guy

2008-12-10T22:06:00.013-05:00

Last night's episode of FOX's 'Family Guy' featured the phrase "Laura Bush killed a guy" repeated throughout the half hour. The line refers to the fact that, at age 17, Laura Bush (then Laura Welch) ran a stop sign while driving, killing a young man in another vehicle. Although it has been speculated that Laura may have been intoxicated, the accident was not investigated as a crime. Out of nowhere, the 'Family Guy' episode has propelled searches concerning the story to the top of Google trends.""

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Christopher Hitchens On The Media's Disingenuous Failure To State The Obvious

2008-12-10T22:06:00.012-05:00

The obvious is sometimes the most difficult thing to discern, and few things are more amusing than the efforts of our journals of record to keep "open" minds about the self-evident, and thus to create mysteries when the real task of reportage is to dispel them. An all-time achiever in this category is Fernanda Santos of the New York Times, who managed to write from Bombay on Nov. 27 that the Chabad Jewish center in that city was "an unlikely target of the terrorist gunmen who unleashed a series of bloody coordinated attacks at locations in and around Mumbai's commercial center." Continuing to keep her brow heavily furrowed with the wrinkles of doubt and uncertainty, Santos went on to say that "[i]t is not known if the Jewish center was strategically chosen, or if it was an accidental hostage scene."This same puzzled expression is currently being widely worn on the faces of all those who wonder if Pakistan is implicated in the "bloody coordinated" assault on the heart of Bombay. To get an additional if oblique perspective on this riddle that is an enigma wrapped inside a mystery, take a look at Joshua Hammer's excellent essay in the current Atlantic. The question in its title—"[Is Syria] Getting Away With Murder?" — is at least asked

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UFO Enthusiasts Call on Obama to Release X-Files

2008-12-05T00:24:00.010-05:00

UFO enthusiasts are pressing Barack Obama to release classified documents about sightings of alien spacecraft, encouraged by support from within the President-Elect's own White House team.Desperate to see the US emulate the British Government and disclose reported "contact" with UFOs, the enthusiasts have written to Mr Obama to ask that his administration comes clean about the contents of America's "X-Files".They believe they have good prospects of success after public statements of support from both John Podesta, who is running Mr Obama's White House transition team, and Bill Richardson, the Governor of New Mexico - a UFO sighting hotspot - who is expected to secure a cabinet post.In the letter to Mr Obama, the Extraterrestrial Phenomenon Political Action Committee calls on the President-Elect to "end the six-decade truth embargo regarding an extraterrestrial presence engaging the human race".

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Alabama Mayor Arrested For Bribery

2008-12-05T00:24:00.009-05:00

In what federal prosecutors are calling a classic pay-to-play scheme, the mayor of Alabama"s largest city has been arrested and charged with bribery and money laundering for masterminding a multibillion-dollar sewer bond deal that practically bankrupted the surrounding county.

Long the target of a huge federal investigation, Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford has finally been hauled away in handcuffs and charged for accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in exchange for his influence on bond deals and swaps. The veteran politician committed the crimes while he was president of the Jefferson County Commission, according to authorities who have been watching him for months.

A 101-count indictment charges the Democrat mayor and two of his investment banker buddies with a series of crimes connected to the Jefferson County bond transactions and swap agreements. Among the charges are conspiracy, bribery, fraud, money laundering and filing false tax returns.

According to the indictment, Langford solicited $235,000 from an Alabama-based bond underwriter and a lobbyist in exchange for his help in getting lucrative government deals. The bribe was delivered in the form of cash, expensive jewelry and fancy clothes. Prosecutors say Langford sold out his public office to his friends through a web of financing agreements.

Currency collapse in Ukraine

2008-12-05T00:24:00.008-05:00

The battle in Ukraine to stop the currency plummeting

Ukraine’s currency is plummeting in response to the country’s declining economic prospects and financing difficulties. With the IMF now having a major say in policy decisions, non-market solutions are improbable; instead, the aim is to achieve an orderly depreciation rather than a rout. Ultimately, a weaker exchange rate will be beneficial to the economy. Yet the adjustment will be painful, and this may fuel political impulses that run counter to IMF strictures.

The hryvnya hit an all-time low of HRN7.38:US$1 on November 27th, a fall of around 38% from the HRN4.60:US$1 rate seen in the first week of July. The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU, the central bank) had been attempting to defend the currency through interventions in the foreign exchange market, but having seen reserves fall by 15% in October alone, to US$31.9bn, it can ill afford to further defend the currency. ...

U.S. Government Supplying Deadly Unapproved Drugs To Population

2008-11-29T02:40:00.002-05:00

Dozens of deaths have been linked to medications that have never been reviewed by the government for safety and effectiveness but are still covered under Medicaid, an Associated Press analysis of federal data has found.Taxpayers have shelled out at least $200 million since 2004 for such drugs, and millions of private patients are taking them as well.The AP analysis found that Medicaid paid nearly $198 million from 2004 to 2007 for more than 100 unapproved drugs, mostly for common conditions such as colds and pain. Data for 2008 were not available but unapproved drugs still are being sold. The AP checked the medications against FDA databases, using agency guidelines to determine if they were unapproved. The FDA says there may be thousands of such drugs on the market.The medications date back decades, before the Food and Drug Administration tightened its review of drugs in the early 1960s. The FDA says it is trying to squeeze them from the market, but conflicting federal laws allow the Medicaid health program for low-income people to pay for them.

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Online advertising: Not ye olde banners

2008-11-29T02:39:00.011-05:00

Internet advertising will be relatively unscathed in the downturn

AT THE beginning of the year Jeff Zucker, the boss of NBC Universal, a big television and film company, told an audience of TV executives that their biggest challenge was to ensure “that we do not end up trading analogue dollars for digital pennies”. He meant that audiences were moving online faster than advertisers, thus leaving media companies short-changed. Now, near the end of the year, the situation looks even worse, as the recession threatens to turn even the analogue dollars into pennies. Will this hasten the shift towards internet advertising, or will it decline too?

Advertising rises and falls with the economy, though how much is a matter of debate. Randall Rothenberg, the boss of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, a trade association for digital advertisers, points to the remarkable stability of advertising at about 2% of GDP since 1919, when the data began to be collected. This would suggest that ad budgets will move roughly in line with economic output. ...

No comment from Germany on Kosovo spy report

2008-11-29T02:39:00.010-05:00

22 Nov 2008 15:40:47 GMTSource: ReutersPRISTINA, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Germany declined to comment on Saturday on reports that three Germans arrested on suspicion of throwing explosives at an EU office in Kosovo were intelligence officers.The explosive charge was thrown on Nov. 14 at the International Civilian Office (ICO), the office of EU Special Representative Pieter Feith, who oversees Kosovo's governance, but caused only minor damage. The men were detained on Thursday.A spokesman for the German foreign ministry in Berlin confirmed that three Germans had been arrested, but declined to make any further comment as an investigation was under way.

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International Space Station Turns 10

2008-11-29T02:39:00.009-05:00

These are some amazing pictures...This month marks the 10th anniversary of the first launched module of the International Space Station (ISS). The module Zarya was lifted into orbit on November 20th, 1998 by a Russian Proton rocket lifting off from Baikonur, Kazhakstan. In the decade since, 44 manned flights and 34 unmanned flights have carried further modules, solar arrays, support equipment, supplies and a total of 167 human beings from 15 countries to the ISS, and it still has a ways to go until it is done.Originally planned to be complete in 2003, the target date for completion is now 2011. Aside from time spent on construction, ISS crew members work on a good deal of research involving biology and physics in conditions of microgravity. If humans are ever to leave the Earth for extended periods, the ISS is designed to be the place where we will discover the best materials, procedures and safety measures to make it a reality.Astronaut James Newman is seen here making final connections the U.S.-built Unity node to the Russian-built Zarya module. (Credit: NASA)

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Is The Video Game Industry Recession-Proof?

2008-11-29T02:39:00.008-05:00

Daniel Terdiman, cNet:It would be tempting for those in the video game business to take some recent news - for instance, that October sales were through the roof, or that the latest World of Warcraft expansion broke the all-time record for single-day PC game sales - as proof that their industry may be immune from the deep despair confronting the global economy.And indeed, that seems to be exactly what many people in the industry are choosing to believe: that in rough times, people always spend money on entertainment, and that as entertainment goes, video game software and hardware offer much higher value than other options. In other words, the theory goes, the video game industry is recession-proof.But people holding to that notion may yet want to consider getting their resumes ready or holding off on buying that Porsche, since all optimism aside, the future may not be so bright. It's true that sales may be up in the short term, and look good for the holidays, but Wall Street doesn't appear to be impressed.

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A Tale of Two Bailouts: Wall Street vs. Detroit

2008-11-25T23:28:00.013-05:00

The Rachel Maddow Show: Rachel's take on why there appears to be two different standards of bailouts. White collar vs. blue collar, those who take a shower before work and those who take one after:

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Coolest Company In The World

2008-11-25T23:28:00.012-05:00

This week, Better Place cut a $1bn dollar deal to bring electric car charging stations to the San Francisco area. Better Place is without question, the most ambitious startup to ever come out of Israel and perhaps the company that has the best chance of restructuring the automobile industry in the next 5 years.Better Place will replace fossil fuel burning cars with electricity consuming cars using a series of battery swapping stations around a given metropolitan area. Nissan is the first company to build the cars. Israel became the first country to commit to building the infrastructure and now Denmark and San Francisco are joining them.

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Refuse to Tolerate Torture - New report details shattered lives of released Guantanamo detainees

2008-11-25T23:28:00.011-05:00

Refuse to Tolerate Torture By Linda Rigas November 18, 2008 Excerpts from Scott Horton's Justice After Bush: Prosecuting An Outlaw Administration in Harper's Magazine. This administration did more than commit crimes. It waged war against the law itself. It transformed the Justice Department into a vehicle for voter suppression, and it also summarily dismissed the U.S. attorneys who attempted to investigate its wrongdoing. It issued wartime contracts to substandard vendors with inside connections, and it also defunded efforts to police their performance. It spied on church groups and political protestors, and it also introduced a sweeping surveillance program that was so clearly illegal that virtually the entire senior echelon of the Justice Department threatened to (but did not in fact) tender their resignations over it. It waged an illegal and disastrous war, and it did so by falsely representing to Congress and to the American public nearly every piece of intelligence it had on Iraq. And through it all, as if to underscore its contempt for any authority but its own, the administration issued more than a hundred carefully crafted "signing statements" that raised pervasive doubt about whether the president would even accede to bills that he himself had signed into law.New report details shattered lives of released Guantanamo detaineesFrom UC Berkeley Human Rights Center and International Human Rights Law Clinic | 12 November 2008 Press conference video from C-SPAN WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Detainees released from U.S. detention in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and Afghanistan live shattered lives as a result of U.S. policies in the war on terror, according to a new report by human rights experts at the University of California, Berkeley. (Read full article.)

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Chief Judge Gets Away With Obama Donations

2008-11-25T23:28:00.010-05:00

Utah"s chief federal judge won"t be disciplined for violating the Judicial Code of Conduct by making several contributions to Barack Obama"s presidential campaign.

Although Judge Tena Campbell violated Canon 7 of the Code of Conduct for United States judges, she will face no consequences for her unruly behavior. Judge Campbell, a Bill Clinton appointee, gave multiple donations of $100 and $200 to Obama"s campaign in mid 2007.

The Judicial Code specifically prohibits federal judges from making contributions to political organizations or candidates as well as demonstrative political activity. When a Utah newspaper broke the story in late October, Judge Campbell said she thought she was prohibited only from taking public action supporting a candidate and not from making donations.

Federal Election Commission disclosures of her Obama contributions list Judge Campbell"s profession as a lawyer and her employer the government. When the donations were made public by the media, the Obama campaign returned the money and the Tenth Circuit Judicial Council, which hears complaints against the region"s federal judges, launched an investigation.

In his decision not to take disciplinary action, Chief Judge Robert Henry acknowledges that Judge Campbell"s political donations were unethical but, at the time, she believed they were permissible. He further writes in the three-page ruling that Judge Campbell has agreed not to make similar contributions in the future and that she took Sappropriate voluntary corrective action that acknowledges and remedies the complaint.

The chief judge for the Tenth Judicial Circuit evidently bought an argument that many Americans may find tough to swallow; that a state"s top federal jurist, who spent years as a county and federal prosecutor before getting her lifetime bench appointment, truly didn"t know the rules that govern her prestigious job.

Mining: The sun sets on BHP's bid

2008-11-25T23:26:00.002-05:00

An audacious attempt by BHP Billiton to get control of Rio Tinto has fallen apart

BHP BILLITON’S boss, Marius Kloppers, wasted no time leaping into action when he took charge a little over a year ago. In November 2007, barely a month into his tenure as chief executive of the Anglo-Australian mining giant, he began making unwanted advances to Rio Tinto, a vast rival, in the form of a proposed all-share bid that was valued at some $140 billion. After a year of politely but firmly reiterating the merits of the huge deal and several months into painstaking antitrust investigations by the European Union, however, his company has sprung another surprise, deciding to drop its bid, now valued at $66 billion.

The giant mining company admits that the crippling credit crisis and a deteriorating world economy mean that now is not the right time to pursue one of the world’s biggest takeovers. So a year of effort and $450m of shareholders’ cash, the cost of dropping the chase of Rio, have yielded nothing. The decision to quit may pain the ambitious Mr Kloppers, but the reasons for doing so had been mounting steadily. ...

The global economic summit: After the fall

2008-11-21T00:05:00.011-05:00

World leaders are meeting in Washington, DC, to fix finance. They have their work cut out

THE leaders arriving in Washington, DC, for this weekend’s economic summit are being presumptuous. If they want what they are calling Bretton Woods 2 to live up to the original, which took place in New Hampshire overshadowed by war and the Depression, it will have to establish a new economic order for the capitalist world. In 1944 that meant creating the IMF, the World Bank and a body to oversee world trade. Imagine Hank Paulson, America’s treasury secretary, as John Maynard Keynes; or picture Gordon Brown, Britain’s prime minister, as Winston Churchill (as Mr Brown himself secretly may), and you get a sense of the task ahead.

The Bretton Woodsmen of 2008 are grabbing the credit before they have earned it—rather as all those subprime householders did. More than two years of gruelling technical work laid the ground for the wartime conference of officials and finance ministers (prime ministers and presidents had other things to deal with). By contrast, the leaders gathering this weekend from the G20, a mix of industrial and emerging countries, plus the European Union, have cobbled together an agenda in a few frenetic weeks. They will doubtless produce no shortage of promises. Just what these are worth will depend on sweat and summits yet to come. ...

Dan Rather Starts To Prove CBS Fired Him To Please Republicans

2008-11-21T00:05:00.010-05:00

When Dan Rather filed suit against CBS 14 months ago — claiming, among other things, that his former employer had commissioned a politically biased investigation into his work on a "60 Minutes" segment about President Bush's National Guard service — the network predicted the quick and favorable dismissal of the case, which it derided as "old news."So far, Mr. Rather has spent more than $2 million of his own money on the suit. And according to documents filed recently in court, he may be getting something for his money.Using tools unavailable to him as a reporter — including the power of subpoena and the threat of punishment against witnesses who lie under oath — he has unearthed evidence that would seem to support his assertion that CBS intended its investigation, at least in part, to quell Republican criticism of the network.

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[Source: Disinfo.com -

The car industry: Pass the plate

2008-11-21T00:05:00.001-05:00

If Detroit’s disintegrating carmakers are bailed out, Europe’s will be next in line

IT IS not just in Washington, DC, that a fierce debate is being conducted about whether to provide state aid to the beleaguered car industry. On Tuesday November 18th, just as the bosses of General Motors (GM), Ford and Chrysler were lining up with their begging bowls before the Senate banking committee, the directors of the European Investment Bank, the European Union’s lending arm, were considering whether to give Europe’s carmakers €40 billion ($51 billion) in soft loans. The previous day, the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, had met executives of GM’s European subsidiary, Opel, to discuss guaranteeing a €1 billion liquidity line in the “worst case” of its parent company in America going bankrupt.

Despite the appearance of similarity on both sides of the Atlantic, however, there are big differences. For one thing, the plight of the Detroit Three is much more urgent. GM’s boss, Rick Wagoner, told the senators that the economy faced “catastrophic collapse” if bridging loans were not quickly made available. He gave warning that by the end of the year, GM might not have enough money to pay its bills. Ford’s cash position is stronger—company insiders reckon that it might just be able to scrape through on its own resources—but its chief executive, Alan Mulally, was not on Capitol Hill just for the ride. He fears that if either Chrysler or GM (particularly the latter because it is so much bigger) were to fail, the impact on the parts suppliers on which all three firms depend could bring down Ford as well. ...

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[Source: The Economist: News analysis - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Should History Be Decided In A Courtroom?

2008-11-15T15:43:00.001-05:00

Dr. Frederick Toben - Why Is He In Prison In London?

Background: Dr. Toben is an Australian citizen and founder and director of the Adelaide Institute and author of works on education, political science and history. He completed a Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Stuttgart in 1977. In 1999 he was imprisoned for nine months at Mannhein, Germany for breaching Germany's Holocaust Law, Section 130. In 2002 a judgement was passed in the Federal Court of Australia that prohibits him from questioning/denying the three pillars on which the Holocaust-Shoah myth is erected:

1. During World War II, Germany had an extermination policy against European Jewry;

2. Of which they killed six million;

3. Using as a murder weapon homicidal gas chambers.

He was further persecuted from 2006 to 2008 in a Federal Court of Australia action which alleges contempt of court. He is awaiting judgement in this case, and the prosecution has asked that a prison sentence be handed down.

"On October 1, 2008, Dr. Toben was detained at London's Heathrow Airport on an European Arrest Warrant issued by the German Federal Authorities which sought his extradition to Germany. Andreas Grossmann, the Mannheim district prosecutor handling Dr Toben's case, said that despite his attempts to avoid extradition from Britain to Germany, he expected Dr Toben to be on trial early next year."
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A Privacy Agenda For The New Administration

2008-11-13T22:16:00.003-05:00

Legislative Analysis by Tim JonesThis is the first post in a three part series directed at restoring some of the civil liberties we've lost over the past eight years. Today's post is about our privacy rights. We'll follow this up early next week with our thoughts on intellectual property rights...

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[Source: Not Another CONspiracy - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

The End Of Southern Political Influence

2008-11-13T22:16:00.001-05:00

For decades, the American South has been a disproportionately influential region in politics. It began with Nixon's "Southern strategy" and reached its apex in the '90s, with President Bill Clinton and several Southern Congressional leaders; for years, the South served as both the Republicans' strategic home base, and the place from which Democratic leaders had to originate. But, it's all over now. Obama's victory showed how easy it is to win nationally without the region, and revealed how out of touch the South is politically with the rest of the country.One reason is that the South is no longer a solid voting bloc; Virginia and North Carolina, the new "suburban South," made history by turning Democratic, even as rural and isolated Appalachian areas became even more conservative. All of that spells drastic problems for the G.O.P. The Republicans have "completely marginalized themselves to a mostly regional, Southernized party," while alienating the rest of the country; nearly half of the current Republican House delegation is from the South.

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[Source: Disinfo.com - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Foreclosure Phil: Who's to blame for the biggest financial catastrophe of our time?

2008-11-08T20:01:00.000-05:00

Years before Phil Gramm was a McCain campaign adviser and a lobbyist for a Swiss bank at the center of the housing credit crisis, he pulled a sly maneuver in the Senate that helped create today's subprime meltdown

Who's to blame for the biggest financial catastrophe of our time? There are plenty of culprits, but one candidate for lead perp is former Sen. Phil Gramm. Eight years ago, as part of a decades-long anti-regulatory crusade, Gramm pulled a sly legislative maneuver that greased the way to the multibillion-dollar subprime meltdown. Yet has Gramm been banished from the corridors of power? Reviled as the villain who bankrupted Middle America? Hardly. Now a well-paid executive at a Swiss bank, Gramm cochairs Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign and advises the Republican candidate on economic matters. He's been mentioned as a possible Treasury secretary should McCain win. That's right: A guy who helped screw up the global financial system could end up in charge of US economic policy. Talk about a market failure.

Gramm's long been a handmaiden to Big Finance. In the 1990s, as chairman of the Senate banking committee, he routinely turned down Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Arthur Levitt's requests for more money to police Wall Street; during this period, the sec's workload shot up 80 percent, but its staff grew only 20 percent. Gramm also opposed an sec rule that would have prohibited accounting firms from getting too close to the companies they audited—at one point, according to Levitt's memoir, he warned the sec chairman that if the commission adopted the rule, its funding would be cut. And in 1999, Gramm pushed through a historic banking deregulation bill that decimated Depression-era firewalls between commercial banks, investment banks, insurance companies, and securities firms—setting off a wave of merger mania.
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The economic crisis: Wolves at the door

2008-11-07T04:40:00.005-05:00

Financial mess and gathering recession dominate Barack Obama's agenda

HE HAD always planned for the economy to be his priority. Just not this economy.

As candidate, Barack Obama crafted a platform to address the concerns that preoccupied voters earlier this year: high energy and health-care costs, stagnant middle-class incomes and rising foreclosures. But such problems pale beside the eruptions since August. America’s housing crisis has become a global financial panic; the economy, which was muddling along as recently as July, may be in its deepest recession in decades. Consumer confidence, as our chart shows, is at its lowest in more than half a century (except for a brief sharp dip in 1980). ...

Bush Administration Committed War Crimes Against Prisoners, Reveals Physicians for Human Rights

2008-11-07T04:40:00.004-05:00

The Bush administration has committed war crimes in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay in its practice of torturing prisoners, according to the conclusions of a medical examination conducted by the organization Physicians for Human Rights."After years of disclosures by government investigations, media accounts, and reports from human rights organizations, there is no longer any doubt as to whether the current administration has committed war crimes," wrote retired Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba in the preface to the report. "The only question that remains to be answered is whether those who ordered the use of torture will be held to account.

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[Source: Disinfo.com - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Top McCain Adviser: Palin Is 'A Whack Job'

2008-11-05T03:27:00.002-05:00

ThinkProgress: The infighting within the McCain campaign has become increasingly public, with growing frustration directed at Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK). Last week, CNN reported that one McCain source called Palin "a diva" who "takes no advice from anyone." Politico's Mike Allen reports another McCain adviser's criticism of Palin:In convo with Playbook, a top McCain adviser one-ups the priceless "diva" description, calling her "a whack job."Asked to respond to reports that she is "going rogue," Palin declared them "absolutely, 100 percent false," adding, "John McCain and I, and our camps, are working together to get John McCain elected." MSNBC's Rachel Maddow noted Palin's word choice: "Your camps, plural? A McCain camp and a Palin camp? That does not sound good."

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[Source: Disinfo.com - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

The True Story of the Bilderberg Group

2008-10-31T00:37:00.009-04:00

Since the dawn of mankind, or at least the turn of the last century, conspiracy theories have always existed. From the Kennedy assassinations to rumors of an underground network of brainwashed sex slaves, such rumors have always benefited from the supposed secrecy of the shadowy organizations they addressed, whether they be the Freemasons or the Central Intelligence Agency. These groups are said to run the world, and in some cases they’ve come close to doing just that, but the truth is hardly that simple. Nor do their tentacles extend as far as some conspiracy theorists- and even the groups’ leaders themselves- would hope. Yet that is exactly what Daniel Estulin claims in his new book The True Story of the Bilderberg Group. It is an alarming tale of greed, paranoia, and power run amok, and yet, in many ways the book suffers from the same affliction as its subjects.

The story opens in 1996 Toronto. Daniel, a veteran and seasoned reporter of the Bilderberg scene, rendezvous with a source in a mall. The encounter is classic cloak and dagger espionage. Estulin makes eye contact with the asset; they walk towards a secure location and exchange words.

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[Source: War On You

TEN PLANKS OF THE COMMUNIST MANIFESTO

2008-10-31T00:37:00.008-04:00

Could this be happening in America? If so, how?Our "elected representatives" have passed laws implementing these anti-freedom concepts. The communists have achieved a de facto FEDERAL SOCIALIST GOVERNMENT in America.In 1848 Karl Marx and Frederick Engels wrote a book outlining a political...

In 1848 Karl Marx and Frederick Engels wrote a book outlining a political ideology, titled "The Communist Manifesto". Marxism's basic theme is that the proletariat (the "exploited" working class of a capitalistic society) will suffer from alienation and will rise up against the "bourgeoisie" (the middle class) and overthrow the system of "capitalism." After a brief period of rule by "the dictatorship of the proletariat" the classless society of communism would emerge. In his Manifesto Marx described the following ten steps as necessary steps to be taken to destroy a free enterprise society!! Notice how many of these conditions, foreign to the principles that America was founded upon, have now, in 1997, been realized by the concerted efforts of socialist activists? Remember, government interference in your daily life and business is intrusion and deprivation of our liberties!

First Plank: Abolition of property in land and the application of all rents of land to public purposes. (Zoning - Model ordinances proposed by Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover widely adopted. Supreme Court ruled "zoning" to be "constitutional" in 1921. Private owners of property required to get permission from government relative to the use of their property. Federally owned lands are leased for grazing, mining, timber usages, the fees being paid into the U.S. Treasury.)

Second Plank: A heavy progressive or graduated incometax. (Corporate Tax Act of 1909. The 16th Amendment, allegedly ratified in 1913. The Revenue Act of 1913, section 2, Income Tax. These laws have been purposely misapplied against American citizens to this day.)

Third Plank: Abolition of all rights of inheritance. (Partially accomplished by enactment of various state and federal "estate tax" laws taxing the "privilege" of transfering property after death and gift before death.)

Fourth Plank: CONFISCATION OF THE PROPERTY OF ALL EMIGRANTS AND REBELS. (The confiscation of property and persecution of those critical - "rebels" - of government policies and actions, frequently accomplished by prosecuting them in a courtroom drama on charges of violations of non-existing administrative or regulatory laws.)

Fifth Plank: Centralization of credit in the hands of the State, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly. (The Federal Reserve Bank, 1913- -the system of privately-owned Federal Reserve banks which maintain a monopoly on the valueless debt "money" in circulation.)

Sixth Plank: Centralization of the means of communications and transportation in the hands of the State. (Federal Radio Commission, 1927; Federal Communications Commission, 1934; Air Commerce Act of 1926; Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938; Federal Aviation Agency, 1958; becoming part of the Department of Transportation in 1966; Federal Highway Act of 1916 (federal funds made available to States for highway construction); Interstate Highway System, 1944 (funding began 1956); Interstate Commerce Commission given authority by Congress to regulate trucking and carriers on inland waterways, 1935-40; Department of Transportation, 1966.)

Seventh Plank: Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the State, the bringing into cultivation of waste lands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan. (Depart-ment of Agriculture, 1862; Agriculture Adjustment Act of 1933 -- farmers will receive government aid if and only if they relinquish control of farming activities; Tennessee Valley Authority, 1933 with the Hoover Dam completed in 1936.)

Eighth Plank: Equal liability of all to labor. Establishment of industrial armies especially for agriculture. (First labor unions, known as federations, appeared in 1820. National Labor Union established 1866. American Federation of Labor established 1886. Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 placed railways under federal regulation. Department of Labor, 1913. Labor-management negotiations sanctioned under Railway Labor Act of 1926. Civil Works Administration, 1933. National Labor Relations Act of 1935, stated purpose to free inter-state commerce from disruptive strikes by eliminating the cause of the strike. Works Progress Administration 1935. Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, mandated 40-hour work week and time-and-a-half for overtime, set "minimum wage" scale. Civil Rights Act of 1964, effectively the equal liability of all to labor.)

Ninth Plank: Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries, gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country, by a more equitable distribution of population over the country. (Food processing companies, with the co-operation of the Farmers Home Administration foreclosures, are buying up farms and creating "conglomerates.")

Tenth Plank: Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children's factory labor in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production. (Gradual shift from private education to publicly funded began in the Northern States, early 1800's. 1887: federal money (unconstitutionally) began funding specialized education. Smith-Lever Act of 1914, vocational education; Smith-Hughes Act of 1917 and other relief acts of the 1930's. Federal school lunch program of 1935; National School Lunch Act of 1946. National Defense Education Act of 1958, a reaction to Russia's Sputnik satellite demonstration, provided grants to education's specialties. Federal school aid law passed, 1965, greatly enlarged federal role in education, "head-start" programs, textbooks, library books.

Historical Verdict on Bush Will Be Harsh

2008-10-28T02:58:00.000-04:00

The judgment of history may well be that the United States has been “taken into, and kept in, the Iraq War by a guy who is not quite right in his head,” a distinguished legal scholar says.

“It may take 25 or 50 years, but it is almost certain that one day this character will be exhibit number one for the danger of having a nut job in the oval office,” says Lawrence Velvel, dean of the Massachusetts School of Law at Andover.

Writing in his latest book, “An Enemy of the People,”(Doukathsan Press) Velvel said, “In everyday life, someone who refuses to recognize the actual facts of the world around him, and who instead lives in a dream world in his head, is regarded as not being sane, as being, to use the blunt words, insane or crazy. Why is it different when it is a national leader who refuses to recognize facts in the world and instead lives in a dream world in his head?”

Velvel goes on to say, “Most interesting is the idea that Bush suffers from a condition called ‘dry drunk’. Essentially, this means that even if one eventually stops drinking, as Bush did, years of alcoholism cause irreversible damage to brain chemistry. Results of this damage include such Bushian traits as rigid judgmentalism, irritability, impatience, grandiosity, obsessive thought patterns, incoherent speech and other unlovely characteristics.”

“Bush also seems to have chacteristics,” Velvel continues, “that, whether or not they are characteristic of ‘dry drunks’ are symptomatic of people who don’t fully have a grip. These include immense anger, exploitativeness, arrogance, lack of empathy, and difficulties arising from relationships with one’s father.”

“With regard to the specific analyses of Bush, there seems to be wide agreement that Bush is a sociopath, defined, one gathers, as someone who feels no empathy with others, who cannot feel for others, who does not feel or care for their pain (to use Clintonian jargon,”) Velvel writes.

“That Bush is utterly devoid of empathy seems plainly true to me. Unlike Lincoln or even Lying Lyndon Johnson, who sent people to their deaths but agonized over it, Bush is thought by the shrinks, and appears to the lay eye, to give not one damn about how many Americans he kills, let alone Iraqis.”

Explaining why Bush can’t feel guilt, Velvel writes: “Given his defense mechanisms, one gathers, and his psychology of having to overcome obstacles, overcome his father, etc., one gathers that Bush is a sociopath (or another word for it, a psychopath). Using charm as a vehicle for aggrandizement, he can’t allow himself to feel guilt and so feels no empathy for all those he smashes up in his pursuit of is grandiosity and delusions.”
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GREEN PARTY VP Candidate ROSA CLEMENTE, DADDY O on the STETSASONIC NYC Reunite, Pastor Kenneth Glasgow and the AFRO WHIGS

2008-10-27T07:05:00.007-04:00

ROSA CLEMENTE United States community organizer, independent journalist and Hip-Hop activist. She is the vice presidential running mate of 2008 Green Party Presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney...
PASTOR KENNETH GLASGOW Lawsuit .. going inside the prisons and registering over 2,000 inmates in the past 3 weeks who will be voting by absentee ballots.
DADDY O / STETSASONIC Founder of the first hip-hop crews to use a live band, and their positive, uplifting lyrics have made the group forerunners of alternative hip hop and jazz hip-hop. Their reunion in NYC...
AFRO WHIGS.....POLITICS , SOCIAL COMMENTARY REAL TALK STRAIGHT FROM THE BARBERSHOP
Political Commentary, Political Cartoons. The countdown to a new reality is coming. On The Real, Off The Record with Chuck D in NYC with Matt Ianni, and David DOC OCK Fazekas Bring The Noise , 25 stations, XM Satellite radio and worldwide across te world on the web.

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[Source: The Latest on Air America - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

This Sunday on Politically Direct 10-26-08

2008-10-27T07:05:00.005-04:00

Hi it's David Bender. Well, with just over a week to go in the election we're going to get the latest perspective on the campaign from someone who has a great view of what's going on...Joy Behar, co-host of The View, will be joining metoday on Politically Direct. Also from the campaign trail we will be joined my Democratic Senate Nominee from Oregon, Jeff Merkley. And then we'll be focusing on the battleground states...Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio...we'll be looking at the state of the race and the Democrats' effort to get to the magic number of 60 Senate seats...is it really within reach? Tune-in and find out!

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[Source: The Latest on Air America - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

DIY Ads: $500 Anyone?

2008-10-27T07:05:00.003-04:00

If you haven't already made your video, you're in for an all-nighter. Air America's $500 ad competition is going to close at midnight tomorrow. We've had a slew of new entries. Check out these entries, and think about how you might be able to do em one better.

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[Source: The Latest on Air America - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

Thrillsville: Live from 5 Cities!

2008-10-27T07:05:00.001-04:00

Remember the non-Ali "Thriller" from Manilla? Well, Michael Jackson's nonpareil 80s music video has now inspired a massive movement of mega-thriller meetups. Check it out!

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[Source: The Latest on Air America - Posted by FreeAutoBlogger]

What's 200-300 Points Between Friends?

2008-10-23T02:09:00.002-04:00

I am really upset about the Dow close today. Don't get me wrong, my portfolio is fine. (I don't have one.) I'm just bummed that I got it wrong today. Yesterday I boasted to my boss that I'd guessed right (more or less) every day since the Lehman thing weeks ago (not that that's hard), he suggested I point that out. I did. And what happens? I guessed wrong.

In the Morning Roundup we guessed the market would be off 200-300 points. Turns out we were only half right. Today the markets got trashed across the board.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell fell 6.10 percent to 896.79. in New York. The Nasdaq was down 4.77% to 1,615 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average sagged 514.45 points, retesting the 8500 bottom. New prediction: the next bottom if this one doesn't hold (and it won't) will be 7500).

More Bailout Contracts Contain Blacked Out Portions

2008-10-22T00:35:00.001-04:00

The Treasury Department has hired two big accounting firms to help keep tabs on the government's financial-industry rescue program, and once again certain basic elements of the deals are shrouded in secrecy.

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP will provide internal controls for the government's $700 billion bailout fund. Ernst & Young will provide general accounting and consulting. The Treasury Department said the first phase of the three-year contracts will be worth $191,469.27 and $492.006.95, respectively.

That sort of specific detail is lacking in the agreements themselves. The Pricewaterhouse Coopers contract released by the Treasury Department on Tuesday has blacked-out text in the area covering the firm's bid, and also conceals the name of the PricewaterhouseCoopers partner who signed the deal.

Another section listing the names of the PricewaterhouseCoopers employees designated to work on the contract also is blacked out.

The Treasury Department said it contacted 12 accounting firms about the contracts, and received six bids for each of the engagements.

BailoutSleuth believes that transparency is vital to the success of the taxpayer-funded bailout program. The $700 billion allocated for the Troubled Asset Relief Program translates to roughly $2,300 for every man, woman and child in America.

The contracts between the Treasury Department and PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ernst & Young have extensive language covering potential conflicts of interest. They include a provision allowing the firms to beg off certain assignments if they think the conflicts are too great.

PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ernst & Young have connections to at least two companies whose troubles helped ignite the financial crisis.
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Glenn Beck Highlights Threat Of Martial Law Following Economic Crisis

2008-10-19T18:19:00.015-04:00

Like him or loathe him, CNN's Glenn Beck became the only mainstream media source thus far to address on national TV the reality of the situation Americans are facing with the manufactured financial implosion — the direct threat of domestic martial law and a global financial dictatorship.

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[Source: Disinfo.com - P

Man Arrested After Trying To Pay For McDonald's Meal With Marijuana

2008-10-19T18:19:00.014-04:00

Associated Press reports:A McDonald's cashier called 911 after a Vero Beach drive-thru customer allegedly offered to pay for his meal with marijuana. A deputy spotted the vehicle, found marijuana in the car and arrested its occupant, 27-year-old Shawn Alexander Pannullo.A Sheriff's report did not say what the suspect ordered at McDonald's or if he ultimately purchased the meal using something other than marijuana.

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AIG's Dangerous Collapse

2008-10-19T18:19:00.013-04:00

Daniel R. Amerman, CFA: While it may look superficially similar to the recent implosions of such investment giants as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Lehman, the takeover and bailout of AIG is quite different, and means that the market is entering the next and even more dangerous phase.What is driving the fall of AIG — and potential government losses that may far, far exceed the $85 billion bailout announced late September 16th — is not mortgages or real estate (directly), but fears that AIG's huge, global credit-default swap positions will unravel. The $62 trillion dollar credit derivatives market is 50 times the size of the subprime mortgage derivatives market, and is indeed larger than the entire global economy.

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