Truther Networks

SUGARDROP: THE NEW SWEETEST TOMATO EVER

The Watchmen — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:04:48 -0800

A NEW tomato which tastes as sweet as a peach hits supermarket shelves today.

The new variety, named Sugardrop, was developed for Tesco to cater for sweet-toothed shoppers and particularly children who find standard tomatoes too sharp.

Tesco describes its gourmet hybrid of two other tomato varieties as the sweetest tomato ever.

The Spanish-grown Sugardrops have around three times the natural sugar content of a standard strain.

Tesco tomato buyer Ashleigh McWilliams said creating the Sugardrop was a long process which involved finding tomato seeds that could be cross- pollinated to produce a new strain.

Growers carried out trials for two years involving 3,000 different tomato types before eventually hitting on the new variety.

“A few years ago we sat down with our suppliers and asked them to find us a high-quality tomato that would appeal to gourmets with a sweet tooth,” said Ashleigh.

“The result is the Sugardrop and now this week UK shoppers will be the first to try it.”

Gerry Hayman, spokesman for the British Tomato Growers’ Association, said the past few years had brought a marked shift in customer demand towards more sugary varieties of the popular salad staple – technically a fruit, not a vegetable.

“There has been a trend towards sweeter tomatoes. It is all about flavour,” he explained.

“This is very much something that consumers are looking for.”

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/142065/Sugardrop-The-new-sweetest-tomato-ever

Gestapo making arrests to expand database (3 articles)

The Watchmen — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:57:48 -0800

Police are arresting innocent people in order to get their hands on as many DNA samples as possible, senior Government advisers revealed last night.

The Human Genetics Commission said the Big Brother tactic was creating a 'spiral of suspicion' among the public.

The panel - which contains some of Britain's leading scientists and academics - said officers should no longer routinely take samples at the point of arresting a suspect.

They also called for all police - including support staff - to place their own DNA on the national database in a show of solidarity with a public being routinely placed under suspicion.

By law, officers are only allowed to make an arrest if they have ' reasonable suspicion' that a person has committed a crime.

But the HGC, which has carried out a lengthy review of the merits of the database, said evidence had emerged of police arresting people purely so they could take their DNA.

Its chairman, Professor Jonathan Montgomery, said: 'People are arrested in order to retain DNA information that might not have been arrested in other circumstances.'

The claim, which was backed by evidence from a senior police officer, delivers a significant blow to the Government's defence of the database - which contains more than 5.6million samples.

Campaigners have long feared officers were carrying out mass sweeps of the population to load their samples on the database, and make future crime fighting easier.

The result is one million entirely innocent people having their genetic details logged by the state.

The Commission said one of the consequences of current DNA laws was that young black men are 'very highly over-represented', with more than three quarters of those aged 18-35 on the database.

Professor Montgomery warned this was creating a 'spiral of suspicion' among sections of society.

A retired senior police officer, a superintendent, told the commission: 'It is now the norm to arrest offenders for everything if there is a power to do so.

'It is apparently understood by serving police officers that one of the reasons, if not the reason, for the change in practice is so that the DNA of the offender can be obtained.'

Officers in England and Wales are entitled to take samples from everyone they arrest for a recordable offence.

Proposals within the Crime and Security Bill - published last week - will for the first time put a time limit, in most cases six years, on how long profiles are stored when the alleged offender is either not charged or later cleared.

But there are no plans to reduce police powers to take samples on arrest.

One possibility is to only take DNA when a suspect is charged - making it harder for police to target innocents for their DNA.

In a 110-page report, the commission said more detailed research is required to evaluate how useful the database is in helping to solve crimes, describing current evidence as 'flimsy'.

It accused politicians of using single case studies where the database has secured a conviction instead of carrying out a rigorous evaluation of its scale and function.

Latest Government figures show the costs of running the system - the largest in the world - have risen dramatically, to £4.3million from £2.1million in just a year.

Over the past two years, more than 1.17million new profiles have been added to the database but the number of DNA-related detections fell from a peak of 41,148 in 2006-07 to 31,915 in 2008-09.

LibDem spokesman Chris Huhne said: 'The Government's cavalier attitude to DNA retention has put us in the ridiculous situation where people are being arrested just to have their DNA harvested.

'Ministers make no distinction between innocence and guilt and as a result everyone is treated like a suspect.'

Liberty warned police were being given a 'perverse incentive' to arrest individuals just to get their details on the database.

Tory home affairs spokesman James Brokenshire said: 'For too long the Government has had a policy of growing the DNA database for the sake of it, regardless of guilt or innocence.'

Tories last night attacked reported Government plans to charge innocent people a £200 fee to apply to have their names removed from the national DNA database.

And they called for England and Wales to follow the Scottish model by not retaining the DNA of such innocents, save in exceptional circumstances. The Government has proposed such DNA should be kept for six years.

Tory security spokesman Baroness Neville-Jones told the Lords: 'If it is the case that making an application for removal is subject to a £200 fee, several individuals will be prevented from making any appeal or indeed getting their names off the database.

'Perhaps the Government is using the right of individuals to appeal to help fill the big public sector deficit.'

The Daily Mail

Police are routinely arresting people simply to record their DNA profiles on the national database, according to a report published today.

It also states that three quarters of young black men are on the database. The finding risks stigmatising a whole section of society, the equality watchdog has warned.

The revelations will fuel the debate about the DNA database, the world’s largest. They are included in a report by the Human Genetics Commission, an independent government advisory body. It criticises the piecemeal development of the database and questions how effective it is in helping the police to investigate and solve crimes.

Jonathan Montgomery, commission chairman, said that “function creep” over the years had transformed a database of offenders into one of suspects. Almost one million innocent people are now on the DNA database.

Professor Montgomery said: “It’s now become pretty much routine to take DNA samples on arrest, so large numbers of people on the DNA database will be there not because they have been convicted, but because they’ve been arrested.”

Recorded crime has fallen every year since 2004-05, but the number of people arrested in England and Wales annually is rising. Latest figures show that arrests rose by 6 per cent to 1.43 million in 2005 and a further 4 per cent to 1.48 million in 2006-07.

Professor Montgomery said there was some evidence that people were arrested to retain the DNA information even though they might not have been arrested in other circumstance.

He said that a retired senior police officer told the commission: “It is now the norm to arrest offenders for everything if there is a power to do so. It is apparently understood by serving police officers that one of the reasons . . . is so that DNA can be obtained.” He said that the tradition of only arresting someone when dealing with serious offences had collapsed.

The Equalities and Human Rights Commission said the proportion of black men on the database created an impression that one race group represented an “alien wedge” of criminality.

The report’s foreword states that the DNA profiles of 75 per cent of black men aged 18 to 35 are recorded. But the commission admitted that it had “hardened up slightly” earlier estimates quoted in Parliament.

The Crime and Security Bill heralded in last week’s Queen’s Speech proposes cutting to six years the time that innocent people’s profiles are kept. Those arrested but not charged, or those cleared in court, currently remain on the database for ever. There are no plans to reduce police powers to take samples from everyone arrested.

Chris Grayling, the Shadow Home Secretary, has said that innocent people should not have their DNA retained by the police once they are acquitted of a crime.

The commission report said that the database should be placed on a clear statutory basis and overseen by an independent authority. Isabella Sankey, of Liberty, said: “Not only are we stockpiling the most sensitive information of innocents who have never been charged, let alone convicted, we are also creating a perverse incentive to arrest people solely to get their details on the database.”

The Home Office suggested that the over-representation of young black men on the database was linked to disproportionality in other areas of the criminal justice system.

The London Times

olice officers are now routinely arresting people in order to add their DNA sample to the national police database, an inquiry will allege tomorrow.

The review of the national DNA database by the government's human genetics commission also raises the possibility that the DNA profiles of three-quarters of young black males, aged 18 to 35, are now on the database.

The human genetics commission report, Nothing to hide, nothing to fear?, says the national DNA database for England and Wales is already the largest in the world, at 5 million profiles and growing, yet has no clear statutory basis or independent oversight.

The highly critical report from the government's advisory body on the development of human genetics is published as the number of innocent people on the database is disclosed to be far higher than previously thought ‑ nearing 1 million.

The commission says the policy of routinely adding the DNA profiles of all those arrested has led to a highly disproportionate impact on different ethnic groups and the stigmatisation of young black men, with the danger of their being seen as "an 'alien wedge' of criminality".

The crime and security bill published last week by the home secretary, Alan Johnson, proposes to keep DNA profiles of people arrested but not convicted of any offence on the database for six years. This follows a landmark European court judgment last December, ruling illegal the current blanket policy of indefinite retention of DNA profiles whether or not the person has been convicted of an offence.

It adds that parliament never formally debated the establishment of the DNA database. Its evolution involved a "function creep" from being used to confirm police suspicions to identifying suspects. This resulted in the addition of more and more profiles without being clearly matched by an improvement in convictions.

The chairman of the commission, Prof Jonathan Montgomery, said: "It's now become pretty routine to take DNA samples on arrest. So large numbers of people on the DNA database will be there not because they have been convicted, but because they've been arrested."

He said the commission had received evidence from a former police superintendent that it was now the norm to arrest offenders for everything possible. "It is apparently understood by serving police officers that one of the reasons, if not the reason, for the change in practice is so that the DNA of the offender can be obtained," said Montgomery, adding that it would be a matter of very great concern if this was now a widespread practice.

The report says there is very little concrete evidence on the importance of the DNA match in leading to a conviction and whether the suspect would have been identified by other means anyway.

It argues the database creates "pre-suspects" who are the first to be checked whenever a new crime is entered. This leads to a "no smoke without fire" culture that may be pervasive and hard to overcome.

Professor Montgomery says in his foreword to the report that the DNA profiles of over three-quarters of young black men between 18 to 35 are recorded on the database. But the report itself says that such precise figures are unreliable because the categorisation of ethnicity depends entirely on the perception of the arresting officer: "The extreme preponderance of young black males on the database is [however] undeniable," says the commission and recommends that an equality impact statement be drawn up when legislation is introduced putting the database on a statutory footing.

The latest Home Office estimate for the number of innocent people on the DNA database is 980,000 according to the crime and security bill regulatory impact assessment published last Friday. This is a sharp rise compared with the 850,000 estimate of the DNA profiles of those who have been arrested but not charged or convicted published at the time of the European court of human rights ruling last year.

The Guardian

I AM Your Worst Enemy - A Short Walk Through The Future

Jeff — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:30:00 -0800

Let's peer into the future...

I am the leader of a band of 8-to-12 looters. It varies. There are more of us in the summer months. I have some basic military training. We move from place to place like locusts devouring everything in our path. My group is armed with light weapons and can develop and follow simple plans of attack. We take what we want by force of arms. We prefer none of our victims survive because that could cause problems for us in the future. You are a target.

It has been six months since the grid went down. Me and the other eight current members of my party have settled into what may be a long grinding existence. The every day tasks of growing and gathering have now become routine. The news from the outside is extremely limited but I don’t really miss it much. Life is simple but physically demanding. Killing people is now second nature.

Although things may seem stable I need to keep my team focused and alert. This is my first and most important layer of defense. I hold an immediate reaction drill once per week. Keep things simple. Practice a specific response to such threats as injury, fire, attack and evacuation. Despite the challenges I must maintain contact with those around me for vital clues that trouble is brewing. Regularly monitoring the radio will be critical in providing an early warning of trouble keeping in mind that the information I get from them may not always be reliable.

While I have been farming I have been learning the best tactics to employ to seize your property and your goods. I have been refining them since we hit the road right after the lights went out. I have conducted eight “hits” so far and have been successful seven times.

Intelligence gathering and target selection is critical to my success. Targets include those who have large quantities of fuel, food and other valuable supplies. If you have a working vehicle you're as good as dead. My posse is constantly questioning anyone and everyone we contact searching for our next victim. Anyone who has ever had knowledge, even second hand, of your preparations is someone of interest to me. I may approach them directly or indirectly. If anyone knows something I will find out about it. Who seems well-fed? Who still has transportation? Who has lights? Who was prepared? Where are they exactly? Somebody talks, either in person or on the radio. They always do.

We search for victims night and day. During the day we are listening for the sounds of machinery, cars, tractors, gunfire or generators. Day or night without a lot of wind those sounds can carry for miles. At night I look for any sort of light. Even a small flash indicates somebody with electricity and that means a rich target. I always have somebody listening to the scanner for any news, leads or insecure chatter.

Operational Security is an important concept for my entire group to understand and maintain. If somebody outside my circle doesn’t have a real need to know about my plans, preparations or procedures then they shouldn’t know period. I've developed a cover story and live it like it was a bulletproof vest. During events I need to blend in with the surrounding environment. I carefully observe noise (such as generators and other engines) and light discipline especially at night. If I need to test fire weapons I do it in one sequence to avoid a prolonged noise signature.

Once I find and target you, reconnaissance of your retreat is my next step. Only a fool would try to rush in and try to overwhelm a group of “survivalists”. We had a bad experience with that during our second hit. Now we spend at least a day or two trying to size up a large opportunity and the best way to take it down. I will observe your home activity from a nearby-concealed position. I will get an idea of your numbers, weapons, routines and so much more by careful surreptitious observation. If your group seems alert, I will try and trigger a false alarm with a dog or child to watch your reaction to a threat. That helps me know how you respond, where you are strong and how to attack. I may also obtain a topographical map of the area to identify likely avenues of approach and potential escape routes you will try to use. I may coerce your neighbors into uncovering a weak spot or access point or other important intelligence. I also have a Bearcat handheld scanner. I will be listening for any insecure chatter from your radios, if you have any.

Regular patrols at irregular intervals focused on likely observation points and avenues of approach could keep me at bay but you don't know that. You could put down sand or other soft soil in key choke points as a way of “recording” if anyone has recently traveled through the land but you don't bother. Dogs, with their advanced sense of hearing and smell are able to detect and alert you to intruders well in advance of any human but you've eaten all the dogs already. Motion sensing IR video cameras as a part of a security plan could play a part in your layered defense as long as you have power, but you don't. A 24 hour manned observation point equipped with high quality optical tools is a must. It should be fortified and if possible concealed. It should have a weapon capable of reaching to the edges of your vision but intruders are rare and you don't bother. Seismic intrusion devices, night vision and thermal imaging are phenomenal force multiplying tools. They can give you critical intelligence and warning. I have them, you don't. Understand though that they are not fool proof and I can often neutralize them if I know you have them but again, you don't.

These tools and techniques provide me with reaction time. They insure my success.

Don’t underestimate me.

It'll be the last thing you do.

What happened to the Ning Chatroom?

Greg aka Sonatadude — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:16:27 -0800

Vaccines: A Bullet to the Head - Dr Sherri Tenpenny

Blaine — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:14:20 -0800

http://www.newswithviews.com/Tenpenny/sherri126.htm

A BULLET TO THE HEAD

Dr. Sherri Tenpenny, DO
November 21, 2009
NewsWithViews.com

It seems people often need to experience a bullet to the head before they will believe bullets can be deadly...and then they rue the day they ignored warnings about playing with loaded guns.

Vaccination seems to hold a similar place. People ignore words of caution and roll up their sleeves to get a flu shot. It seems they think getting a vaccine is the same as taking a multivitamin, and equally as benign. But when serious adverse events occur, such as Guillain-Barre paralysis, a seizure disorder or even a death, a jolt of reality lays bare just how damaging a “simple vaccine” can be.

The stranglehold of fear, perpetrated by those in white coats and by the medical bureaucrats in Washington DC who take their marching orders from pharma, is working hard to choke rationally thinking adults into submission. I get emails almost every day that say something like, "I bought your DVDs and your books...but I have a question: Should I get a flu shot?" WHAT?@!>! My mouth drops. I have to clear my head and find a way to say, "No, you should not get the flu shot", being cautious to keep my tone void of sarcasm. That may seem harsh, but in very turbulent times. Soft language and hand holding until people “get it” is becoming increasingly more difficult.

Being in the business of waking people up to the hazards of vaccines certainly has its ups and downs. A recent “up” was the public policy debate held on November 10 at the University of Texas in Austin. Sponsored by the Libertarian Longhorns, the Texas College Republicans and a few other Texas health freedom groups, the discussion called, "Are Vaccine Mandates Good or Bad for Public Health?" was open to the general public. Interest in this timely topic was reflected by the standing-room only attendance of the meeting.

Speaking in support of vaccination and school mandates was Tom Betz, MD, MPH, Director of Region 7 for the Texas Department of Health Services. Several of his health department colleagues joined him in the audience but chose not to join him on the stage. I had the pleasure of being teamed with Dawn Richardson, President and Co-founder of PROVE (Parents Requesting Open Vaccine Education) in Austin, Texas and the Directory of State Advocacy for the National Vaccine Information Center in Vienna, Virginia. Our presentation was mostly about opposition to vaccine mandates but we were able to address our opposition to vaccines in general. Based on the hundreds of comments we received, the debate (found all on YouTube) was well received and enlightening for all.

All three participants were given the questions to review prior to the debate. There is so much to say about vaccines that preparation was important to cover key points, almost as sound bites; only three short minutes were allowed for each answer. Our very professional moderator, Dr. Donna Campbell, allowed equal time for each side.

During the personal introductions, Dr. Campbell informed the audience that the plan was to have two persons on each panel; but that Dr. Betz was the only person from the Health Department who would agree to participate. Prior to settling in on the stage, I had learned the reason why.

Shaking Dr. Betz’ hand, I thanked him for joining the discussion. He returned the niceties with a slight shrug, confessing that, “No one else wanted to do it.” Surprised, I queried, “Why not? This is a great way to tell everyone your message about vaccines.” My unspoken question was, “Why didn’t the Health Department want to jump on the opportunity to bury anti-vaccination ‘pseudo-science’, as you call it, once and for all, in front of everyone?” He quietly replied, “We’ve done these types of programs before; they never go well.”

It seems pro-vaccine arguments are being soundly defeated, time after time. And the real vaccine “pseudo-science” is being exposed for the rhetoric it is: factoids crafted by public health officials from the WHO and the CDC, and then regurgitated by under-informed medical professionals to a naïve public. Funny how medical bureaucrats and doctors are considered the "experts" when it is strangely obvious they don't understand – and probably don’t even read – their own medical literature.

The Austin debate was the next important step in exposing that the “science of vaccination” isn’t so scientific after all. Vaccination has been accepted as safe, effective and protective. The shots can be described as a medical sacred cow, defined as “a medical procedure that is unreasonably immune to criticism.” Doctors and patients who question vaccines are ridiculed and marginalized. It is heresy to suggest that the status quo is wrong.

Vaccine adverse events are considered “rare,” so when reactions occur, steps are taken to negate the association to the vaccine. Patients are discredited, parents are dismissed. Doctors subject very ill persons to thousands of dollars of inconclusive medical tests, rather than to simply acknowledge – and rightfully assign causality – to the vaccine. When a person reacts to penicillin or Paxil or any other drug, it’s it is blamed on the drug? Not so with vaccines.

Going to Austin was an upbeat offset to other particularly disturbing news reported over the last few weeks about the H1N1, swine flu vaccine:

• Several schools have vaccinated children without parental consent.
• The growing list of reported miscarriages.
• A teen athlete who is now crippled.
• Two students and a teacher in China who died hours after getting the shot.
• Children having hallucinations, and then committing suicide, after taking Tamiflu.
• The strange and virulent outbreak in the Ukraine, where the WHO has been deafeningly silent about its findings – but knows that whatever is the cause, vaccination is the answer.

We seem to regard germs the same way we think about terrorism: Random attacks that can be deadly. All parties who promote vaccination hawk this view, particularly those pushing both types of flu shots. Tens of millions have been spent in the US on national advertising campaigns, and even Sesame Street merchandising, to convince us that flu shots are necessary to keep us well – and keep us alive. But perhaps we have it backwards. Bugs can cause random, mostly benign attacks, particularly among the healthy. But random, “deadly” attacks, with health consequences that can show up years later? I’d worry more about the vaccines.

After 200 years, with our many advances in science and medicine, you would think that someone could develop a method to protect babies and adults from infectious disease other than injecting them with animal cells, stray viruses, heavy metals and toxic chemicals. Why do we call this health and protection? Until my dying breath I will never understand why people resolutely defend – and demand – the right to inject themselves and their children with these risky potients.

For those who meet resistance when trying to warn family and friends of vaccine risks, the only thing to do, really, is to keep spreading the word. Don’t be discouraged. You never know who is listening and you never know when the seeds will sprout. Focus on those who are waking up and gratefully support them. The rest, well sadly, they may have to find out the hard way what it feels like to get hit by that stray bullet.

© 2009 - Sherri Tenpenny - All Rights Reserve

cartoons say the damnedest things

margaret — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:00:00 -0800

Slimy Politics Help Advance ObamaCare In The Senate

Blaine — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:41:12 -0800

Slimy Politics Help Advance ObamaCare In The Senate
-- But we still have a chance to kill this bill

Gun Owners of America E-Mail Alert
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151
Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408
http://gunowners.org

"Gun Owners of America sent out an action alert to its 300,000 members on Friday...." -- The Washington Post, November 23, 2009

Monday, November 23, 2009

By now, you have probably heard the bad news regarding Saturday night's vote on the anti-gun ObamaCare bill.

Sixty Senators voted to bring the legislation to the Senate floor for discussion and debate, which means that rather than killing the bill
outright, we must fight to defeat it another day.

Saturday's vote was very, very important. And every Senator who supported the
legislation should be taken to the woodshed for casting an
all-important vote in favor of the bill, at a time when we had the best
chance to kill ObamaCare.

The good news is that we still hope to win our battle against ObamaCare, and we can do that because Saturday's vote was not the only opportunity to filibuster the bill. At least four Senators -- who voted for ObamaCare on Saturday -- have said they will support a filibuster if the bill stays
in its current form.

Nevertheless, it would have been nice to kill the legislation on Saturday, especially
given that the American people had not had an opportunity to thoroughly
look at it.

As you know, GOA's legal team has reviewed each version of the legislation and found it wanting. GOA has reported on
these problems for several months, and now, these concerns are starting
to gain traction inside the Beltway.

Today, The Washington Post reported that GOA's gun-related objections "could cause political indigestion
for Democrats from conservative states," thus threatening the eventual
passage of the bill. The Post said:

"The conservative group Gun Owners of America sent out an action alert to its 300,000
members on
Friday warning that the Senate legislation would mandate that doctors
provide 'gun-related health data' to 'a government database,' including
information on mental-health issues detected in
patients, which could jeopardize their ability to obtain a firearms
license.

"In addition, the group said the legislation's 'wellness' provisions --
designed to encourage more healthful lifestyles -- would allow federal
officials to mandate that companies charge higher insurance premiums
for employees who own guns."

Saturday night's "cloture vote" is not the end of the road for us. But for the so-called "moderate"
Democrats -- Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana,
Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, and Evan
Bayh of Indiana -- it does make it clear that they were bribed into
selling out the American people because Harry Reid ordered them to do
so.

Can you spell R-E-C-A-L-L? GOA is looking into which states are the best targets for recalls -- and you can be sure that we
will be pursuing this option aggressively, exposing the Senators who
sold their vote.

Landrieu's price tag
was $300 million -- paid for by the American taxpayer. When a lobbyist
gives a financial present to a Senator, they go to prison. Well,
what's the difference between that and what Harry Reid did? Senator
Landrieu sold her vote!

But do not lose heart. The bill will be debated in the Senate over the
coming weeks. And the first step is to let your senators know of your
approval of their "no" vote or your strong disapproval of their "yes"
vote.

Wondering how your Senator voted? Every Democrat and Independent Senator supported the bill. All Republican Senators voted
"no," except for Senator Voinovich of Ohio who missed the vote. To see
the official roll call vote, go to: http://tinyurl.com/yaeu5am

ACTION: Please write your Senators. Let them know how you feel about their votes on cloture Saturday night. You can use the Gun Owners Legislative Action Center at http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm to send a pre-written message to your Senators -- the appropriate e-mail will automatically be sent, based on how they voted.

----- Prewritten letter for ANTI-GUN Senators who voted "yes" ------

Dear Senator:

Just so you know, I will not forget how you voted on Saturday, November 21
when you threw your support in favor of anti-gun socialized health care.

Even if you vote against it at some point in the future, you went on record
(on Saturday) to vote for higher taxes and more gun control, at a time
when the forces of freedom had the best chance to kill the
bill.

I am VERY upset and I will not forget.

Sincerely,

----- Prewritten letter to thank Senators who voted "no" ------

Dear Senator:

Thank you so much for your vote against cloture on ObamaCare. I totally support the vote that you cast.

This bill will raise taxes and lead to more gun control, and I, for one, am
glad that there are some Senators who are willing to stand up against
socialized health care.

Regarding the latter point, readers of The Washington Post saw in the November 23 edition that:

"The conservative group Gun Owners of America sent out an action alert to
its 300,000 members on Friday warning that the Senate legislation would
mandate that doctors provide 'gun-related health data' to 'a government
database,' including information on mental-health issues detected in
patients, which could jeopardize their ability to obtain a firearms
license.

"In addition, the group said the legislation's 'wellness' provisions --
designed to encourage more healthful lifestyles -- would allow federal
officials to mandate that companies charge higher
insurance premiums for employees who own guns."

I hope you will continue to oppose this bill and make sure the rights of gun owners are protected.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Olofson Relief Fund

David Olofson has been subjected to a gross miscarriage of justice. What happened to Olofson could
happen to any American who owns a semi-automatic firearm.

He was convicted of knowingly transferring an unregistered machine gun -- a
standard semi-auto rifle which fired two three-round bursts and then
jammed. Gun owners call that a malfunction. The federal government
calls it an easy way to get a felony conviction. David was sentenced to
30 months in federal prison.

The Olofson Relief Fund has been set up to allow concerned Americans help the Olfosons make their
mortgage and (their one) car payments while Dave is unable to work. Gun
Owners of America is acting as the agent for the fund.

ALL moneys collected will be transferred regularly to the mortgage and car loan holders.

For more information about Olofson's railroading, and to contribute to the fund, please see: http://gunowners.org/olofson.htm

Evans-Pritchard: Gold Target Could Be $6,300

Blaine — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:40:15 -0800

http://moneynews.com/streettalk/evans_pritchard_gold/2009/11/23/289608.html?s=al&promo_code=91BB-1

Evans-Pritchard: Gold Target Could Be $6,300

Monday, November 23, 2009 10:44 AM

By: Gene J. Koprowski Article Font Size

The last time gold skyrocketed was in the 1970s, when central banks around the world hoarded bullion with the same enthusiasm as gold bugs.

A trend just like that is happening once again, writes financial columnist Ambrose Evans-Pritchard.

Writing in London’s The Telegraph, Evans-Pritchard reckons the “eerie similarity” of the move of India’s central bank to buy half the IMF’s entire sale of gold and the decision by France’s central bank to start converting dollars into gold 44 years ago was the “start of the slippery slope” leading to the demise of the Bretton Woods financial policy system and the closing of the U.S. gold window under President Nixon.

“In the gold mania that followed, the price rose to levels that matched the U.S. dollar monetary base — it reached 140 pence at the peak,” writes Evans-Pritchard.

“If that were to occur today after Ben Bernanke’s go at the printing press, gold would have to reach $6,300 an ounce.”

The columnist notes that gold has been up and been down but is trading now at approximately the same real price as in the mid-13th century “when an ounce bought a light suit of chain mail.”

The price of the precious metal doubled in the late medieval bubble before crashing over the next 500 years after the Spanish gold discoveries by Cortes and Pizarro in the New World and then the finds in California, Australia, and South Africa. Gold bottomed in 1930 during the Hoover administration.

Gold hit a record high at $1,170.55 an ounce on Monday as dollar weakness pushed the metal through key technical resistance levels, fuelling momentum buying after the metal's sharp run higher earlier this month, Reuters reports.

© 2009 Newsmax. All rights reserved.

What's the deal with sweeteners?

death_to_the_NWO — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:37:24 -0800

Why do sweeteners have to be toxic poisons?

In our time: Saccharine...Aspartame...High fructose corn syrup...Sucralose...

Well, even the Romans had problems with sweetening.

They used lead acetate (aka sugar of lead).

lead acetate, chemical compound, a white crystalline substance with a sweetish taste. Like other lead compounds, it is very poisonous. Lead acetate is soluble in water and glycerin. With water it forms the trihydrate, Pb(CH3COO)2·3H2O, a colorless or white efflorescent monoclinic crystalline substance that is commonly known as sugar of lead, plumbous acetate, or Goulard's powder. Lead acetate is used as a mordant in textile printing and dyeing, as a drier in paints and varnishes, and in preparing other lead compounds. It is made by treating litharge (lead monoxide, PbO) with acetic acid.

Like other lead salts, lead acetate has a sweet taste, which has led to its use as a sugar substitute throughout history. The ancient Romans, who had few sweeteners besides honey, would boil must (grape juice) in lead pots to produce a reduced sugar syrup called defrutum, concentrated again into sapa. This syrup was used to sweeten wine, and to sweeten and preserve fruit. It is possible that lead acetate or other lead compounds leaching into the syrup might have caused lead poisoning in anyone consuming it.

Presumably, they were ignorant of the effects of lead sugar. What's our excuse today?

Den Flächennutzungsplan-Inspektor (the zoning inspector)

death_to_the_NWO — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:08:30 -0800

Den Flächennutzungsplan-Inspektor (the zoning inspector) of Fairfield, Ohio, stopped by my neighborhood today. He says no one called him - he was just out looking in the neighborhoods for "problems."

He took several pictures of my next-door neighbor's house. He does not approve of some work they have done themselves, on the roof, gutters, and landscaping, without the proper building permits.

I have been directed to replace a broken fence railing. This was the first visit, so no consequences were communicated.

As JFK said in Germany, "Ich bin ein Berliner!"

EVERYTHING ALEX SAYS IS T-R-U-E !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Check theIR Seal for illuminati influences:

A New Prosperity: United States Credit Scoring System

Jonathan Peretz Chance — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:31:43 -0800

What is your real credit score?

JPChance.wordpress.com

As you might know, your hypothetical “credit score” assigned by private central banks such as the Federal Reserve Corporation is close to the opposite of your real credit score.

Private central banks have been issuing fractional-reserve “dollars”, “pounds”, “francs” and other counterfeit currency for hundreds of years, therefore such banks are not creditors.

Private central banks and their subsidiaries are debtors.

To determine your real credit score on a scale of one hundred (100) to one thousand (1000) points, please use the following guidelines:

1) If you are a United States Citizen age sixteen (16) years or more, begin with a neutral credit score of five hundred (500) points.

2) If you have read the United States Constitution and understand the rule of law, add one hundred (+100) points. If not, subtract one hundred (-100) points.

3) If you have watched “The Money Masters” and/or understand the history of money, usury, banking, energy and war, add one hundred (+100) points. If not, subtract one hundred (-100) points.

4) If you have filed individual and personal income tax forms to the IRS (other than reporting that you are EXEMPT) subtract one hundred (-100) points. If you have not filed individual and personal income tax forms to the IRS (or have reported that you are EXEMPT) add one hundred (+100) points.

5) If you have promoted renewable energy production and efficiency rather than petro-banking warfare, add twenty (+20) points per year of activity, not to exceed the maximum credit score of one thousand (1000) points.

6) If you have promoted petro-banking warfare, subtract twenty (-20) points per year of activity, not to decline below the minimum credit score of one hundred (100) points.

EXAMPLE ONE:

If you are a US Citizen (+500), understand the US Constitution (+100), have payed unlawful taxes to the IRS (-100), but have been promoting renewable energy production and efficiency rather than petro-banking warfare for ten years (+200), your credit score is seven hundred (700).

EXAMPLE TWO:

If you are a US Citizen (+500), do not understand the US Constitution (-100), have payed unlawful taxes to the IRS (-100), and have promoted petro-banking warfare for ten years (-200), your credit score is one hundred (100).

EXAMPLE THREE:

If you are a US Citizen (+500), understand the US Constitution (+100), have not payed unlawful taxes to the IRS (+100), and have been promoting renewable energy production and efficiency rather than petro-banking warfare for twenty years (+400), your credit score is one thousand (1000).

JPChance.wordpress.com

Climate Gate Videos from the Main Stream News + other sources

James aka adap2k — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:11:57 -0800

Australian Lateline (CRU hack/leak report):

Australian Lateline (Interview with Tim Flannery, Australian climate change activist):

Russia Today:

BBC 4 Radio — Lord Lawson vs Robert Watson (East Anglia University climate scientist):

New & Related:

“Climate change” PSA featuring polar bears falling to their deaths:

Naomi Klein on Democracy Now, recorded post-CRU-hack, discussing “climate debt” and “climate rage” (pt2) (pt3):

P Retired climatologist Dr. Tim Ball joins us to discuss the significance of the recently leaked emails and documents from the Climate Research Unit at East Anglia University which expose deceit, duplicity and collusion between climate researchers to maintain the fraud of the manmade global warming theory. These emails reveal stunning behind-the-scenes details about how this fraud has been developed and perpetuated, and Dr. Ball shares his insights on what they show.

For more information on this incident, please see the following articles from The Corbett Report and other sources:

Hacker leaks thousands of emails showing conspiracy to "hide" the real data on climate change

http://www.corbettreport.com/articles...

The Death Blow to Climate Science
http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/...

Collusion, Corruption, Manipulation and Obstruction

http://noconsensus.wordpress.com/2009...

Mike's Nature Trick
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2009/11/20...

For more information on the Climate Research Unit and their unwillingness to share data with other researchers, please see The Corbett Report's earlier interview with Dr. Ball:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8CVh2...

See Also:

Climate Center Hacked - Thousand of Files leaked on Internet http://tinyurl.com/yexsnzo

Inhofe to call for hearing into CRU, U.N. climate change research http://tinyurl.com/ycklnuh

Call For Independent Inquiry Into Climategate as Global Warming Fraud Implodes http://tinyurl.com/ycklnuh

Alex Jones TV: Doom & Gloom Climate Fraudsters Exposed http://tinyurl.com/y87hbam

'Global Warming' SCAM - Hack/Leak FLASH http://tinyurl.com/ydow9wt

Climate Center Hacked - Thousend of Files leaked on Internet PDF http://tinyurl.com/yh2gw8x

Hackers 'expose global warming con': Leaked emails reveal research centre massaged temperature data http://tinyurl.com/y9xfmtx

Climate scientists manipulate global warming data' http://tinyurl.com/yfl24u3

Hackers leak e-mails, stoke climate debate (The Associated Press) http://tinyurl.com/y8opxxz

With Hurricanes At Thirty Year Low, Gore Turns To Photoshop http://tinyurl.com/y9ag7u3

Al Gore Admits CO2 Does Not Cause Majority Of Global Warming http://tinyurl.com/yzxe4gv

Al Gore CO2 Parasite – Millionaire accoring to NYT http://tinyurl.com/ygryb2a

ABC website tells kids when they should die http://tinyurl.com/kl3ve5

Global warming scam, Rothschild to take the lead in carbon credit trading http://tinyurl.com/yhfw6cp

Rothschild, E3 launch carbon credit investment fund (Reuters) http://tinyurl.com/ylrncny

Carbon Advice Group Plc is pleased to announce the appointment of Oliver Rothschild as its non-execu http://tinyurl.com/yfmxz3h

Heavy supply & personnel movement in and out of US DUMBs

Blaine — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:52:26 -0800

Ukraine plagues and now heavy supply and personnel movement in and out of US Deep Underground Military Bases (DUMBs)

http://labvirus.wordpress.com/2009/11/18/ukraine-plagues-and-now-heavy-supply-and-personnel-movement-in-and-out-of-us-deep-underground-military-bases-dumbs/

getting TOO REAL something is about to happen

Blaine — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:38:27 -0800

Fwd: getting TOO REAL something is about to happen and has everythin
Posted by: "Oropallo@aol.com" Oropallo@aol.com prevere9
Sun Nov 22, 2009 4:33 pm (PST)
[Attachment(s) from Oropallo@aol.com included below]

Sent: Thu, Nov 19, 2009 12:02 pm
Subject: Re: getting TOO REAL something is about to happen and has everything to do with attached

Strange things are happing. This morning the airlines are having computer glitches, our satellite TV having glitches, my sons satellite clock also having glitches, my computer was having glitches. It was just announced NASA is installing a new antenna, but they wont make the connection. I think it is all connected.

Attached is some great info maybe you already have it. I thought it was worth sending.

Jeneen
www.HealthGained.com
www.jzucker.stemtechbiz.com

----- Original Message -----
From: oropallo@aol.com
To: undisclosed-recipients:
Sent: Thursday, November 19, 2009 3:25 AM
Subject: getting TOO REAL something is about to happen and has everything to do with attached

Iron Mtn report
China has facilities for their ENTIRE country to go underground.
Do you know why?

Attachment(s) from Oropallo@aol.com

2 of 2 File(s)

143217 US Population To be medical expiraments.pdf

100 DEAD SCIENTISTS AND MICROBIOLOGISTS.doc

Viscount Monckton on Climategate: ‘They Are Criminals’

Guy Razer — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:17:08 -0800

THE REASON THIS IS SO HUGE IS THAT GLOBAL WARMING WAS THE FAKE THREAT EXCUSE TO MARTIAL IN A GLOBAL FASCIST GOVERNMENT!!

The man who challenged Al Gore to a debate is furious about the content of the leaked CRU emails — and says why you should be, too.

November 23, 2009
- by Christopher Monckton
http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/viscount-monckton-on-global-warminggate-they-are-criminals-pjm-exclusive/2/
This is what they did — these climate “scientists” on whose unsupported word the world’s classe politique proposes to set up an unelected global government this December in Copenhagen, with vast and unprecedented powers to control all formerly free markets, to tax wealthy nations and all of their financial transactions, to regulate the economic and environmental affairs of all nations, and to confiscate and extinguish all patent and intellectual property rights.

The tiny, close-knit clique of climate scientists who invented and now drive the “global warming” fraud — for fraud is what we now know it to be — tampered with temperature data so assiduously that, on the recent admission of one of them, land temperatures since 1980 have risen twice as fast as ocean temperatures. One of the thousands of emails recently circulated by a whistleblower at the University of East Anglia, where one of the world’s four global-temperature datasets is compiled, reveals that data were altered so as to prevent a recent decline in temperature from showing in the record. In fact, there has been no statistically significant “global warming” for 15 years — and there has been rapid and significant cooling for nine years.

Worse, these arrogant fraudsters — for fraudsters are what we now know them to be — have refused, for years and years and years, to reveal their data and their computer program listings. Now we know why: As a revealing 15,000-line document from the computer division at the Climate Research Unit shows, the programs and data are a hopeless, tangled mess. In effect, the global temperature trends have simply been made up. Unfortunately, the British researchers have been acting closely in league with their U.S. counterparts who compile the other terrestrial temperature dataset — the GISS/NCDC dataset. That dataset too contains numerous biases intended artificially to inflate the natural warming of the 20th century.

Finally, these huckstering snake-oil salesmen and “global warming” profiteers — for that is what they are — have written to each other encouraging the destruction of data that had been lawfully requested under the Freedom of Information Act in the UK by scientists who wanted to check whether their global temperature record had been properly compiled. And that procurement of data destruction, as they are about to find out to their cost, is a criminal offense. They are not merely bad scientists — they are crooks. And crooks who have perpetrated their crimes at the expense of British and U.S. taxpayers.

I am angry, and so should you be.

What have the mainstream news media said about the Climategate affair? Remarkably little. The few who have brought themselves to comment, through gritted teeth, have said that all of this is a storm in a teacup, and that their friends in the University of East Anglia and elsewhere in the climatological community are good people, really.

No, they’re not. They’re criminals. With Professor Fred Singer, who founded the U.S. Satellite Weather Service, I have reported them to the UK’s Information Commissioner, with a request that he investigate their offenses and, if thought fit, prosecute. But I won’t be holding my breath: In the police state that Britain has now sadly become, with supine news media largely owned and controlled by the government, the establishment tends to look after its own.

At our expense, and at the expense of the truth.

Viscount Monckton on Climategate: ‘They Are Criminals’

Guy Razer — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:16:44 -0800

Making Public Education Unavailable To The Average American

Jeff — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:58:42 -0800

Local community colleges were once absolutely free. When I was in college a course ranged from free to $5o bucks at the local college. I could have completed two years of advanced education for less than $1,000.

That's over. They are removing advanced education from the grasp of most of society to allow not only for a dumbed down population but to provide the labor for the society they're creating. Young people with advanced degrees can't populate the Wal-Mart cash registers all over this country. We need workers. Poorly educated workers.

Police are arresting and attacking student protesters on University of California (UC) campuses again. “Why did he beat me I wasn’t doing anything,” screamed a young Cal Berkeley women student over KPFA radio on Friday evening November 20. Students are protesting the 32% increase in tuition imposed by the UC regents in a time of severe state deficits. The Board of Regents claims that they have no choice. Students will now have to pay over $10,000 in tuition annually for a public university education that was free only a few decades ago.

The corporate media spins the tuition protests as if we are all suffering during the recession. For example, the San Diego Union Tribune November 20 writes, “These students need a course in Reality 101. And the reality is that there is virtually no segment of American society that is not straining with the economic recession. With UC facing a $535 million budget gap due to state cuts, the regents have to confront reality and make tough choices. So should students.”

Yet, the reality is something quite different. Our current budget crisis in California and the rest of the country has been artificially created by cutting taxes on the wealthiest people and corporations. The corporate elites in the US, the top 1% who own close to half the wealth, are the beneficiaries of massive tax cuts over the past few decades. While at the same time working people are paying more through increased sales and use taxes and higher public college tuition.

The wealthy hide their money abroad. Rachel Keeler with Dollars & Sense reports that over the years, trillions of dollars in both corporate profits and personal wealth have migrated offshore in search of rock-bottom tax rates and the comfort of no questions asked. Offshore banks now harbor an estimated $11.5 trillion in individual wealth alone, and were a significant contributing factor to the international economic downturn in 2008.

We're being conned. The media is participating wholeheartedly. They are complicit as are the politicians. It's a scam of vast proportions and it is but the harbinger of things to come.

College degrees are only for the wealthy elite.

Well, of course that doesn't make sense right now. But in 20 years it surely will.

How many of you between 20 and 40 have kids or are expecting to have kids?

How many of you between 20 and 40 have career positions that will allow you to pay for college educations for your kids that cost between $10,000 and $100,000 per year?

That's what I thought.

Religion; Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Atheism and the NWO

Jeff — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:48:36 -0800

I don't know everyone on this web site however I have interacted with many of you. I'm older than most all of you. Fortunately for me, in that I won't live much longer (10 years or so at best), I have escaped the coming storm. It won't ever affect me. I'm retired and a non-participant. It's just a slight drizzle now and it will only be a rainfall for many years to come. The actual storm is a long way off.

For those of you that are between 20 and 40 the future holds a myriad of unanswered questions but some things are certain.

Here's what you can expect because it's happening now. I want to make it very clear that change happens so slowly that it's actually unnoticeable.

The goal is the "Third Worldization" of the United States: an increasingly underemployed, lower-wage work-force; a small but growing moneyed class that pays almost no taxes; the privatization or elimination of human services; the elimination of public education for low-income people; the easing of restrictions against child labor; the exporting of industries and jobs to low-wage, free-trade countries; the breaking of labor unions; and the elimination of occupational safety and environmental controls and regulations. All of this is happening right now, again, on a slow and steady pace.

The siege that the human race is under has nothing to do with religion. That's where many of you seem to have made a critical error. It is social, economic and political only.

In fact, the NWO prefers the religious state of the world just as it is. Religion divides us all and prevents us all from forming cohesive bonds. If we were all Christians, if we were all Muslims, if we were all Jews, we would be bonded eternally and we would rise up against the machine, so to speak. Because we are inexorably divided by religion we are divided amongst ourselves forever. That's the way they want it. That's the way it's always been and it's precisely the paradigm that has allowed, for centuries, the elite to manage the masses.

Religion also prevents us from seeing the realities of the siege. Many of us are consumed by what we see as an attack against our religious beliefs by the NWO when in fact nothing of the sort exists. They don't care what religion you have faith in, only that you have faith in one of them. That faith keeps us, humanity, divided.

Religion is not now and never was an issue.

Religion is the only subject that fractures our relationships. It's the ONLY subject that divides us and it divides us VERY EFFECTIVELY.

As I stated, it's social, economic and political. The NWO is comprised entirely of extraordinarily well-educated college graduates with extended degrees. Degrees in Russian, American and Chinese studies, finance, banking, commerce, economics and other necessary educational aspirations. The NWO is made up of people of various religious beliefs BUT what they have in common is this:

Their religious beliefs have no place in their social, economic and political goals. They are private personal beliefs and nothing more. Just as whether they are vegetarians or not, which has no place in the scheme of things, neither does their religion.

Those of you that bring personal religious dogma into the fold of fighting against the NWO are certain to lose the war and the battles. You have fallen into the false paradigm that religion has a place in this war. It doesn't. It only fosters division.

I've met ardent Christians, committed Muslims and devout Jews on this site. All of you have two things in common. You are staunch supporters of the fight against the NWO and you have allowed your religious beliefs to color your perceptions of this war and divide you.

I am confident that I have made at least one dedicated enemy here as the result of religious discussions. That is, sadly, EXACTLY what the NWO counts on to further their cause and it's a clear example of the reasoning behind my commitment not to allow religious beliefs to enter the arguments. That enemy of mine has been effectively pawned, propagandized and subverted by the NWO and fails to recognize the profound and necessary aspects of dialogue and cohesiveness in this war. We are now divided. Dialogue is impossible. The necessary cohesiveness is gone forever.

Until we all realize that WE are the ones under attack, regardless of our religious beliefs and until we are ALL able to dispense with allowing our religious beliefs to enter the overall argument against the NWO we will remain divided.

Whether we are Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Catholic or Atheist, whether we are American, British, Afghan, Iraqi or French, whether we are white, black, brown or yellow, we are ALL UNDER ATTACK. The attack is of a social, economic and political nature. Religion doesn't matter, except that it eternally divides us and fractures our ability to form a cohesive response to the attackers.

So, put on your armor, grab your sword, make sure your guns have ammo, but leave religion at home. That's where it belongs.

What A Difference An Internet Makes! Global Climate Hoax Emails Get Reviewed/Exposed In Near Real Time!

Guy Razer — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:30:00 -0800

THIS IS HOW A CONSPIRACY IS KEPT SECRET AND ANY TRUTH SEEKING INVESTIGATORS ARE THREATENED AND VILIFIED TO KEEP THE "IT IS ONLY A THEORY" CONCEPT ALIVE!!
AND WE PUT THE INFORMATION RIGHT UP FRONT!! WHY? BECAUSE WE ARENT THE HOAXSTERS!! THIS EXPOSE ALSO SHOWS THE GAMES PLAYED WITH FOIA REQUESTS FROM THE INSIDE PLAYERS THAT DONT WANT TO REVEAL THE CONSPIRACY!!

http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/the_warmist_conspiracy_tthe_emails_that_really_damn_professor_jones#63704

GREAT SITE BEING UPDATED AS MORE IS UNDERSTOOD!!
http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2009/11/20/climate-cuttings-33.html

HERE ARE THE EMAILS....IN AN INITIAL ORGANIZED GROUPING...WITH KEYWORD SEARCH!!
http://www.eastangliaemails.com/index.php

http://www.blacklistednews.com/news-6423-0-6-6--.html

What A Difference An Internet Makes! Global Climate Hoax Emails Get Reviewed/Exposed In Near Real Time!

Guy Razer — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:30:00 -0800

Libertarian inebriates, unite!

Nicole is ~READY — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:53:28 -0800

November 23, 11:38 AM Phoenix Libertarian Examiner Daniel Heller

All right all of you unholy degenerate lovers of liberty—it’s time to get our drink on! Liberty on the Rocks! is meeting tomorrow night, Tuesday, November 24th, from 6:00-9:00 pm at Monti’s La Casa Vieja on Mill Ave.. Monti’s is providing complimentary hors d’oeuvres, and happy hour is from 3:00-7:00 pm. So, if you feel like showing up an hour or so before 6:00 pm to take full advantage of recession-era libations, I will be there appeasing my palate with whiskey, day-dreaming of a Ron Paul presidency (after BHO’s impeachment).

Directions can be found here. And, of course, libertarian teetotalers—whether by choice or because your carry a firearm—are welcome, too! (We won’t judge you. Besides, it’s more fun to lampoon the Phoenix New Times, among other thoughtless swamp creatures.)

Two nights later most of us will be stuffing our faces with turkey and falling asleep to football. So, before we give thanks for the harvest in commemoration of Indians, Pilgrims and pumpkin pie, be a pilgrim for liberty!

Come on out, be merry and give thanks to the cause of freedom!

Can’t wait to see you there! Gobble-gobble!

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-9377-Phoenix-Libertarian-Examiner~y2009m11d23-Libertarian-inebriates-unite

1918 RBD D225G in Lung Cases in Ukraine and Norway

Swtnlovabl — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:59:00 -0800

1918 RBD D225G in Lung Cases in Ukraine and Norway
Recombinomics Commentary 11:29
November 21, 2009

For the two 1918 HA variants, the South Carolina (SC) HA (with Asp190, Asp225) bound exclusively alpha2-6 receptors, while the New York (NY) variant, which differed only by one residue (Gly225), had mixed alpha2-6/alpha2-3 specificity, especially for sulfated oligosaccharides.

The above description is from a paper analyzing receptor binding domain differences in sequences from the 1918 pandemic. The New York variant had D225G, the same change found in lung tissues from fatal swine H1N1 sequences in Brazil, Ukraine, and Norway. The above result clearly demonstrated a change in receptor specificity for D225G, which was present in A/New York/1/1918 and A/London/1/1919, demonstrating the same change I 1918 that has been described in 2009. Although WHO stated that this change was "not significant" in the Ukraine samples, it was associated with the fatal cases and is cause for concern. The concern was increased by the announcement from Norway indicating the same change was found in fatal H1N1 lung infections there also.

Although there have been comments that this change was "spontaneous" and did not spread, the finding of the same change in all four deceased patients in Ukraine from two distinct locations, indicates it did spread, as did the finding of the same change in multiple cases in Brazil and Norway. Although the concept of "random mutation" has been used to explain away the sudden appearance of the same polymorphism on multiple backgrounds, the appearance via recombination is a much stronger argument for the same change to appear at multiple locations at the same time.

The spontaneous mutation theory, which is the foundation of WHO policy and statements on significance of changes relies heavily on a "selection" component, arguing that the same change keeps appearing on different backgrounds because of string selection pressure. However, this same phenomenon was described for a silent mutation on H5N1, which offers no clear selection pressure. Similarly, a silent change was also found in seasonal H1N1 in sequences that had acquired the Tamiflu resistance marker, H274Y. Thus, these silent (synonymous) changes string argue against a coincidental spontaneous mutation, and instead argue that this acquisition is concurrently acquired because of a widespread common donor.

The concept of acquisition via recombination has serious implications for the current pandemic. It was used to predict the D225G change, in part because the change was "in play" and appearing in July/August sequences at increasing frequency, even though the H1N1 sequences represented different genetic backgrounds. Similarly the clusters of Tamiflu resistance in Wales and North Carolina are also driven by recombination, as happened when the identical change was acquired in H1N1 seasonal flu in patients who were not taking Tamiflu (oseltamivir).

Thus, the concept of recombination predicts that the D225G receptor binding domain change, and the H274Y Tamiflu resistance change, which continue to spread via recombination

Media Links

Recombinomics Presentations

Recombinomics Publications

Recombinomics Paper at Nature Precedings
http://www.recombinomics.com/News/11210902/D225G_1918.html

Cooking a Perfect Turkey

Greg aka Sonatadude — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:12:27 -0800

Preparing and serving a centerpiece turkey can create anxiety for even the most seasoned cook. Each year, turkey hotlines receive thousands of calls from desperate cooks looking for answers on everything from cooking to carving. We’ve put together the following cooking tips and recipes to help guide your once-a-year turkey preparations and assure success.
Choosing the Turkey

Working with the highest quality ingredients makes it easier for any cook to produce a great meal. When ordering your whole turkey, allow at least 1 pound per person, plus 1/2 pound per person for leftovers. (Remember to take into account the size of your fridge and oven!) For turkey breast, plan on 3/4 pound per person. If it is a boneless breast, allow 1/2 pound per person.
Turkey Tool Kit

Depending on your method of preparation, here are a few things you may want to have on hand:

* Heavy duty roasting pan with rack to keep turkey from resting on bottom of pan.
* Trussing string for tying together the turkey legs for a nicer presentation.
* Foil for covering turkey while it cooks to keep it moist and tender.
* Basting brush to baste turkey with melted butter.
* Bulb baster for basting with pan juices.
* Fat separator for a leaner gravy.
* Fine sieve for straining the pan juices.
* Wire whisk for making lump-free gravy.
* Good quality carving set.
* Meat thermometer, preferably instant read variety.
* Apron to keep your holiday clothes fresh.

Safe Turkey Handling

While prepping turkey, wash your hands, knives, cutting board, and counter thoroughly and often with hot water and soap. Take care that raw turkey or its juices do not come into contact with other foods. Make sure you use your meat thermometer to check for the proper internal temperature. This is the only way to ensure the bird is cooked adequately and safely.
To Stuff or Not To Stuff?

Stuffing is a matter of preference. We recommend cooking the stuffing and turkey separately. If you do stuff, we advise baking the stuffing and turkey separately and then placing cooked stuffing in the turkey cavity during the final 30 minutes of roasting time. Here are some additional stuffing tips:

* Estimate about one cup of stuffing per pound of turkey.
* Stuffing your bird increases the cooking time, add about 5 to 7 minutes per pound.
* If you stuff your turkey, make sure you check the temperature of the stuffing and not just the bird before serving. The stuffing must register at least 160°F before it is safe to eat.
* Never stuff the bird ahead of time. Stuff it just before putting in the oven.
* If brining your turkey, we do not recommend stuffing it since the stuffing will absorb too much salt.
* If not stuffing, you can place some fresh herbs along with roughly chopped celery, onion and carrots in the cavity for added flavor.

All About Brining

Brining your turkey helps produce a moist, flavorful bird with minimal effort. The brine works to infuse the meat with flavor, and helps the bird retain moisture. Brining at its most basic is simply submerging the turkey in a large pan filled with a salt-water solution for several hours, in the refrigerator.

You can brine for a few hours or overnight. Brining only works well for small and medium birds. The really large 20+ pound birds are too heavy to make this practical. The basic brine ratio: 1 gallon water to 1 cup table salt.

Remove the neck and giblets from the cavity. Soak the turkey in the salt-water solution, making as much as you need to fully submerge the bird. Place the container in the refrigerator for approximately 4 hours. If you prefer to brine overnight, reduce the salt to 1/2 cup salt per gallon of water. If using Kosher salt, you will need to double the quantity used since it is less dense than table salt.
Brining may produce saltier pan gravy than you prefer, so when making gravy from brined drippings, be sure to use low-sodium broth.
General Turkey Cooking Tips

* Always remove the giblets before seasoning and roasting your turkey.
* Our fresh birds have not been frozen, but you may find them coated with a thin layer of ice. This is to ensure the freshest, best-tasting bird. The ice glaze keeps the turkey colder without affecting taste and texture.
* Refrigerate a fresh turkey immediately. Frozen turkeys should be defrosted in the
* refrigerator for two days prior to cooking (larger turkeys may require more time). Do not thaw at room temperature.
* Remove a turkey from the refrigerator about one hour before placing it in the oven.
* Brush the bird generously with melted butter before roasting to assist in browning and
* adding flavor.
* Baste only at the beginning of the roasting process. Basting later may make the skin soft instead of crispy.
* Cook your turkey on a rack with white wine or chicken broth in the bottom of the pan.
* Roast the bird with the breast side down for the first hour.
* Use a meat thermometer for best results. When done, all parts of the turkey should be 165°F.
* Save the drippings for gravy!
* Allow bird to rest (covered) after cooking for about 30 minutes. This redistributes the juices and makes for smooth carving.

Turkey Roasting Chart

All turkey roasting charts are basic approximations. Actual cooking time varies depending on a number of factors, including oven accuracy, temperature of the bird when it is placed in the oven, whether or not your bird is stuffed, oven temperature, the height and thickness of the roasting pan, and how frequently you open the oven door.

Also, since our birds are fresh, lean and contain no additives, your turkey may cook faster than a conventional turkey. Begin to check for doneness approximately 30 minutes before the end of suggested cooking time. Use a meat thermometer—there really is no substitute for determining when your turkey is done. If you are cooking a stuffed turkey, add an additional 5–7 minutes per pound.

Check the temperature of the stuffing as well as the turkey to determine when it is fully cooked—160°F for the stuffing. When done, all parts of the turkey should register 165°F.
Weight Total Roasting Time
8-12 pounds 2 to 3.5 hours
12-16 pounds 3 to 4 hours
16-20 pounds 4 to 5 hours
20-25 pounds 5 to 6 hours
25-30 pounds 6+ hours
Recipes

Beware of a false flag attack on the US to justify "defensive" war with Iran

Tara — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:03:50 -0800

A false flag attack is a military term that describes a nation attacking itself disguised as an attack coming from another nation. The purpose of a false flag attack is propaganda for public support for war. The best known historical example is Nazi Germany’s attack on Poland under Operation Himmler.

If US “leadership” is committed to war with Iran, a predictable strategy is false flag. This would involve a US target being attacked, US lives lost, outraged political rhetoric, media propaganda, and a “defensive” US military action.

Former National Security Advisor and founding member of the Trilateral Commission Zbigniew Brzezinski warned the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 2007 that this is possible to begin war with Iran. He described a "plausible scenario for a military collision with Iran," which would include "some provocation in Iraq or a terrorist act in the US blamed on Iran, culminating in a ‘defensive’ US military action against Iran that plunges a lonely America into a spreading and deepening quagmire eventually ranging across Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan.”

The Council on Foreign Relations repeated this warning in 2007. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh described in 2008 plans then Vice President Dick Cheney considered for a false flag attack to justify US attack upon Iran. The planning of such a War of Aggression is a Crime Against Peace under the London Charter and also illegal by the UN Charter.

Below in the 4-minute video, Seymour Hersh explains Cheney’s plans, Keith Olbermann’s 1-minute take on that information, and a 10-minute clip of Alex Jones giving history and context.

I’ve previously documented the two principle fears some Americans espouse with Iran and threaten war to prove beyond doubt they are without basis in fact:

-Iran’s nuclear energy program is in compliance with international treaty, fully inspected with all evidence showing energy-use only, and all US intelligence agencies in agreement of zero evident threat of nuclear weapon production. The US is out of compliance by refusing to help Iran achieve nuclear energy and accept inspections to ensure safety.

-Iranian President Ahmadinejad’s statements toward Israel have been contrived by US political “leaders” from both parties and the corporate media as a threat when the text and context of the speech clearly and verifiably show only interest in an Israeli government that respects the rights of Palestinians. This means Americans are being lied to from their political leadership and media, just as we were lied to about Iraq. Please let that sink in.

Please verify these two facts to your satisfaction. I’ve also documented that the US overthrew Iran’s democracy from 1953 until 1979; denied by the US government until 2000, but now conservative and unchallenged history. The US aided Iraq’s invasion of Iran from 1980 to 1988, supplying chemical and biological weapons to kill Iranians defending their nation, and US military attacked and destroyed Iranian oil platforms and a commercial airliner. I've also written the facts in a story as if the US were in Iran's position.

http://www.examiner.com/x-18425-LA-County-Nonpartisan-Examiner~y2009m11d23-Beware-of-a-false-flag-attack-on-the-US-to-justify-defensive-war-with-Iran

From Ukraine To Iowa! Flu Vaxs Followed By Severe Lung Diseases!

Guy Razer — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:57:52 -0800

IOWA STARTED MIST (LIVE VIRUS) H1N1 VAXS MID OCTOBER AND NOW IS EXPERIENCING THE UKRAINE LIKE SYMPTOMS REPORTED AS HEMORRHAGIC VIRUS WHICH IS SET UP TO BE SPUN INTO A MUTATION OF THE SWINE FLU VIRUS WHICH COULD THEN BE USED AS A PRETEXT FOR MASS QUARANTINE...BUT AS IN THE UKRAINE, THIS DISEASE CAME AFTER THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE SEASONAL OR H1N1 FLU VACCINE....THAT PART IS ALL IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER AS BAXTER HAS A FACILITY THERE (AS A DISAPPEARED MOSHE HAS SHARED)!!

http://www.idph.state.ia.us/IdphNews/Reader.aspx?id=B9010685-41A1-4C79-B01D-6A1A8F942461

DOCTORS IN THE UKRAINE ACCUSE PRESIDENT OF GENOCIDE
23 November 2009 09:52
http://www.theflucase.com

Doctors in the Ukraine have accused the President, Viktor Yushchenko, and his agents of committing genocide in a letter published on the Ukrainian website Rupor Info, sparking fears that the reports of the deaths of thousands of people from artificially created pandemics and vaccinations are true.

The doctors accused the Yuschchenko of deliberately creating "epidemics" in specific regions for political reasons.

By the ploy of pandemics, the doctors say Yushchenko was able to postpone elections he would have almost certainly lost, declare martial law and remain in power as president.

The doctors who signed the letter have been forced to withdraw it.

The letter has ignited fears that many more people have died inside the quarantine zones set up in the Ukraine than the government-controlled media is reporting.

Sources in Poland are reporting that many people who are sick in the Ukraine received vaccinations.

One source reported that 99% of the people who came down with an unusually severe sickness were vaccinated.

After a vaccination with what appears to be the seasonal flu with an HIN1 virus, they became sick in 2 to 3 weeks and infected their family.

According to sources, 200,000 people in the Ukraine got a flu shot, resulting in an epidemic of sickness.

An especially severe flu gripping Poland also appears to be associated with the seasonal flu jab, with an H1N1 virus, according to the package.

Last week a woman reported thousands of people had been killed by vaccines inside closed-off quarantine zones inside western Ukraine.

Link to letter

Federal "Water Tax" Would Threaten Florida's Economy

Swtnlovabl — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:34:03 -0800

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Warning that coming federal action on water quality could devastate Florida’s struggling economy, two former Florida Department of Environmental Protection secretaries and leaders from taxpayer advocacy and business groups are alerting Floridians to onerous and arbitrary water quality standards that lack scientific merit and could soon force Floridians to pay higher costs.

To settle a lawsuit, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is poised in January to propose costly and arduous standards for Florida’s streams, canals, and lakes and by January 2011 for coastal waters.

These standards will apply only to Florida.

Groups opposed say unfair federal restrictions would punish Florida – a national leader in protecting clean lakes and rivers.

“These new restrictions would force us to start over with arbitrary numerical criteria that have no scientific basis and will only hinder our efforts to clean up our waterways,” said former DEP Secretary Virginia Wetherell.

Wetherell noted Florida has spent millions to scientifically evaluate the quality of its water and implement mechanisms necessary to clean up pollution.

"During my time at DEP, protecting water quality was a top priority. We worked shoulder-to-shoulder with the EPA on this issue and reached a solution that worked for all, the environment, the citizens and the taxpayers' wallets,” added former DEP Secretary Colleen Castille. “This overreaching proposal by EPA will only lead to more lawsuits, putting the goal of clean water on the back burner. I am convinced the best way to protect Florida's diverse and unique water resources is to address it on a water body by water body basis."

The group says the regulations would in effect impose an economically harmful “federal water tax” on Florida.

“Creating an arbitrary standard will hit every Florida family in the wallet,” said Paul Steinbrecher, vice president of the Florida Water Environment Association Utility Council. “Our data shows that just the wastewater treatment capital improvement costs could reach $50 billion in Florida and add over $720 to a family’s yearly sewer bill.”

Steinbrecher added strict regulations would tax Florida’s suffering economy by forcing utilities to increase rates on average by $62.

The group announced a new Web site at www.DontTaxFlorida.com to highlight the economic threat.

A hearing on the issue is scheduled for November 16th in Federal Court in Tallahassee.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Federal-Water-Tax-Would-bw-1150538169.html?x=0&.v=1

The Twisted Logic Behind the Prosecution of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, A Trial That Will Convict Us All

Tara — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:30:43 -0800

By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS

Republican members of Congress and what masquerades as a “conservative” media are outraged that the Obama administration intends to try in federal court Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of 9/11, and four alleged co-conspirators.

The Republican and right-wing rant that a trial is too good for these people proves what I have written for a number of years: Republicans and many Americans who think of themselves as conservatives have no regard for the US Constitution or for civil liberties.

They have no appreciation for the point made by Thomas Paine in his Dissertations on First Principles of Government (1790):

“An avidity to punish is always dangerous to liberty. It leads men to stretch, to misinterpret, and to misapply even the best of laws. He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself.”

Republicans and American conservatives regard civil liberties as coddling devices for criminals and terrorists. They assume that police and prosecutors are morally pure and, in addition, never make mistakes. An accused person is guilty or government wouldn’t have accused him. All of my life I have heard self-described conservatives disparage lawyers who defend criminals. Such “conservatives” live in an ideal, not real, world.

Even some of those, such as Stuart Taylor in the National Journal, who defend giving Mohammed a court trial do so on the grounds that there are no risks as Mohammed is certain to be convicted and that “a civilian trial will show Americans and the rest of the world that our government is sure it can prove the 9/11 defendants guilty in the fairest of all courts.”

Taylor agrees that Mohammed deserves “summary execution,” but that it is a good Machiavellian ploy to try Mohammed in civilian court, while dealing with cases that have “trickier evidentiary problems” in “more flexible military commissions, away from the brightest spotlights.”

In other words, Stuart Taylor and the National Journal endorse Mohammed’s trial as a show trial that will prove both America’s honorable respect for fair trials and Muslim guilt for 9/11.

If, as Taylor writes, “the government’s evidence is so strong,” why wasn’t Mohammed tried years ago? Why was he held for years and tortured--apparently water boarded 183 times--in violation of US law and the Geneva Conventions? How can the US government put a defendant on trial when its treatment of him violates US statutory law, international law, and every precept of the US legal code? Mohammed has been treated as if he were a captive of Hitler’s Gestapo or Stalin’s KGB. And now we are going to finish him off in a show trial.

If the barbaric treatment Mohammed has received during his captivity hasn’t driven him insane, how do we know he hasn’t decided to confess in order to obtain for himself for evermore the glory of the deed? How many people can claim to have outwitted the CIA, the National Security Agency and all 16 US intelligence agencies, NORAD, the Pentagon, the National Security Council, airport security (four times on one morning), US air traffic control, the US Air Force, the military Joint Chiefs of Staff, all the neocons, Mossad, and even the supposedly formidable Dick Cheney?

Considering that some Muslims will blow themselves up in order to take out a handful of Israelis or US and NATO occupation troops, the payoff that Mohammed will get out of a guilty verdict is enormous. Are we really sure we want to create a Muslim Superhero of such stature?

Originally, according to the US government, Osama bin Laden was the mastermind of 9/11. To get bin Laden is the excuse given for the US invasion of Afghanistan, which set up the invasion of Iraq. But after eight years of total failure to catch Osama bin Laden, it became absolutely necessary to convict some culprit.

Unfortunately, there will be no such sensible outcome. David Feige has told us what the outcome will be (Slate, Nov. 19). The prosecution doesn’t need any evidence, because no judge and no jury is going to let the demonized “mastermind of 9/11” off. No judge or juror wants to be forever damned by the brainwashed American public or assassinated by right-wing crazies. Keep in mind that the kid, John Walker Lindh, termed “the American Taliban” by an ignorant and propagandistic US media, was guilty of nothing except being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Despite the complete trampling of his every right, he got 20 years on a coerced plea bargain.

The price that Mohammed will pay will be small compared to the price we Americans will pay. The outcome of Mohammed’s trial will complete the transformation of the US legal system from a shield of the people into a weapon in the hands of the state. Feige writes that Mohammed’s statements obtained by torture will not be suppressed, that witnesses against him will not be produced (“national security”), that documents that compromise the prosecution will be redacted. At each stage of Mohammed’s appeals process, higher courts will enshrine into legal precedents the denial of the Constitutional right to a speedy trial, thus enshrining indefinite detention, the denial of the right against damning pretrial publicity, thus allowing demonization prior to trial, and the denial of the right to have witnesses and documents produced, thus eviscerating a defendant’s rights to exculpatory evidence and to confront adverse witnesses, The twisted logic necessary to disentangle Mohammed’s torture from his confession will also be upheld and will “provide a blueprint for the government, giving them the prize they’ve been after all this time--a legal way both to torture and to prosecute.”

It took Hitler a while to corrupt the German courts. Hitler first had to create new courts, like President George W. Bush’s military tribunals, that did not require evidence, using in place of evidence hearsay, secret charges, and self-incrimination obtained by torture.

Every American should be concerned that the Obama administration has decided to use Mohammed’s trial to complete the corruption of the American court system. When Mohammed’s trial is over, an American Joe Stalin or Adolf Hitler will be able to convict America’s Founding Fathers on charges of treason and terrorism. No one will be safe.

http://www.counterpunch.org/roberts11232009.html

Gold surges to a fresh record

The Watchmen — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:20:29 -0800

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Gold rallied to an all-time high Monday, climbing ever closer to $1,200 an ounce, as the U.S. dollar slid and investors showed nervousness about the economy.

December gold was up $20.90 to $1,167.70 an ounce, after having climbed to a record $1,173.50 earlier in the session.

The rally came as the dollar weakened against its main trading partners, with the euro climbing 0.8% to $1.4979. A softer greenback makes commodities that are priced in dollars cheaper for investors holding other currencies.

"We're seeing significant dollar weakness, and I think that's the main driver today," said Joe Foster, portfolio manager for the Van Eck Global International Investors Gold Fund.

The weak dollar has sent gold surging more than 10% this month as investors flocked to a safe-haven investment. Demand for gold and other so-called tangible assets, which tend to store value better than equity-based investments, often rises in times of economic uncertainty.

Gold is also being supported by a growing expectation in the market that central banks around the world will move to increase their hoards.

India's central bank bought 200 metric tones of gold from the International Monetary Fund earlier this month, and the central bank of Mauritius bought a smaller amount last week.

"We believe the activity of central banks and seasonal weakness in the U.S. dollar in the final four weeks of the year will sustain the strong rally in gold prices," analysts at Deutsche Bank wrote in a recent research report.

Meanwhile, gold is benefiting from a "break-down of confidence" as investors fret about growing fiscal deficits and the ability of governments around the world to oversee the financial system, Foster said.

Given the current momentum in the gold market, and the growing interest from big investment funds, analysts expect prices to continue rising.

"We might have a bit of a pull-back, but the long-term trend is higher," Foster said. Gold will probably top $1,200 some time in December and could climb to $1,300 early next year, he added. To top of page

MSM Fails Again Reporting On The Climate Hoax Breakthrough! No Wonder They Are Tanking!!

Guy Razer — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:30:40 -0800

Climategate: how the MSM reported the greatest scandal in modern science
Published on 11-23-2009
Source: Telegraph
http://www.blacklistednews.com/news-6423-0-6-6--.html

Here’s what the Times has had to say on the subject:

E-mails allegedly written by some of the world’s leading climate scientists have been stolen by hackers and published on websites run by climate change sceptics.

The sceptics claim that the e-mails are evidence that scientists manipulated data in order to strengthen their argument that human activities were causing global warming.

(Yep – definitely an improvement on their earlier, non-existent coverage; but not exactly pointing up the scandalousness of this scandal).

And the Independent:

(Yep. Nada).

And here’s how The New York Times (aka Pravda) reported it:

Hundreds of private e-mail messages and documents hacked from a computer server at a British university are causing a stir among global warming skeptics, who say they show that climate scientists conspired to overstate the case for a human influence on climate change.

(Yep. That’s right. It has only apparently caused a stir among ’skeptics’. Everyone else can rest easy. Nothing to see here.)

And here’s how the Guardian has reported it:

Hundreds of private emails and documents allegedly exchanged between some of the world’s leading climate scientists during the past 13 years have been stolen by hackers and leaked online, it emerged today.

The computer files were apparently accessed earlier this week from servers at the University of East Anglia’s Climate Research Unit, a world-renowned centre focused on the study of natural and anthropogenic climate change.

(Oh. I get it. It’s just a routine data-theft story, not a scandal. And a chance to remind us of the CRU’s integrity and respectability. And – see below – to get in a snarky, ‘let’s have a dig at the deniers’ quote from Greenpeace).

A spokesman for Greenpeace said: “If you looked through any organisation’s emails from the last 10 years you’d find something that would raise a few eyebrows. Contrary to what the sceptics claim, the Royal Society, the US National Academy of Sciences, Nasa and the world’s leading atmospheric scientists are not the agents of a clandestine global movement against the truth. This stuff might drive some web traffic, but so does David Icke.”

Here’s the Washington Post:

Hackers broke into the electronic files of one of the world’s foremost climate research centers this week and posted an array of e-mails in which prominent scientists engaged in a blunt discussion of global warming research and disparaged climate-change skeptics.

The skeptics have seized upon e-mails stolen from the Climatic Research Unit of the University of East Anglia in Britain as evidence that scientific data have been rigged to make it appear as if humans are causing global warming. The researchers, however, say the e-mails have been taken out of context and merely reflect an honest exchange of ideas.

(Ah, so what the story is really about is ’skeptics’ causing trouble. Note how as high as the second par the researchers are allowed by the reporter to get in their insta-rebuttal, lest we get the impression that the scandal in any way reflects badly on them).

Here is the BBC:

E-mails reportedly from the University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit (CRU), including personal exchanges, appeared on the internet on Thursday.

A university spokesman confirmed the email system had been hacked and that information was taken and published without permission.

An investigation was underway and the police had been informed, he added.

(Ah yes, another routine data-theft story so dully reported – “the police had been informed, he added” – that you can’t even be bothered to reach the end to find out what information was stolen).

Meanwhile, the Climategate scandal (and I do apologise for calling it that, but that’s how the internet works: you need obvious, instantly memorable, event-specific search terms) continues to set the Blogosphere ablaze.

For links to all the latest updates on this, I recommend Marc Morano’s invaluable Climate Depot site.

And if you want to read those potentially incriminating emails in full, go to An Elegant Chaos org where they have all been posted in searchable form.

Like the Telegraph’s MPs’ expenses scandal, this is the gift that goes on giving. It won’t, unfortunately, derail Copenhagen (too many vested interests involved) or cause any of our many political parties to start talking sense on “Climate change”. But what it does demonstrate is the growing level of public scepticism towards Al Gore’s Anthropogenic Global Warming theory. That’s why, for example, this story is the single most read item on today’s Telegraph website.

What it also demonstrates – as my dear chum Dan Hannan so frequently and rightly argues – is the growing power of the Blogosphere and the decreasing relevance of the Mainstream Media (MSM).

This is not altogether the MSM’s fault. Partly it is just the way of things that more and more readers prefer their news and opinion served up in snappier, less reverent, more digestible and instant for.

But in the case of “Climate Change”, the MSM has been caught with its trousers down. The reason it has been so ill-equipped to report on this scandal is because almost all of its Environmental Correspondents and Environmental Editors are parti pris members of the Climate-Fear Promotion lobby. Most of their contacts (and information sources) work for biased lobby groups like Greenpeace and the WWF, or conspicuously pro-AGW government departments and Quangos such as the Carbon Trust. How can they bring themselves to report on skullduggery at Hadley Centre when the scientists involved are the very ones whose work they have done most to champion and whose pro-AGW views they share?

As Upton Sinclair once said:

“It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his job depends on not understanding it.”

So don’t expect this scandal to be written up in the MSM any time soon. But why would you want to anyway? It’s all here, where the free spirits and independent thinkers are, on the Blogosphere.

UPDATE: I particularly recommend Bishop Hill’s superb summary of some of the key points of the CRU correspondence.

Also, Andrew Bolt’s summary of the correspondence likely to be most damaging to the reputation – and career, we can but pray – of Professor Phil Jones, the head of the CRU.

And do check out Watts Up With That, whose traffic went through the roof yesterday, enabling to demonstrate scientifically that Hockey Stick is after all a genuine phenomenon – and not merely a figment of Michael Mann’s overactive imagination.

MSM Fails Again Reporting On The Climate Hoax Breakthrough! No Wonder They Are Tanking!!

Guy Razer — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:29:20 -0800

WHO Is Whacko! Calls Death A Mild Reaction To H1N1 Vax! Poland Plays It Smart!

Guy Razer — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:00:40 -0800

NO KIDDIN! THIS WHO IDIOT SAYS ALL REACTIONS HAVE BEEN MILD...MINUTE 2:13 UN FLIPPIN BELIEVABLE!!

WHO Is Whacko! Calls Death A Mild Reaction To H1N1 Vax! Poland Plays It Smart!

Guy Razer — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:00:19 -0800

NO KIDDIN! THIS WHO IDIOT SAYS ALL REACTIONS HAVE BEEN MILD...MINUTE 2:13 UN FLIPPIN BELIEVABLE!!

FBI report: Sharp increase in anti-gay, racial hate crimes

The Watchmen — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:56:35 -0800

WASHINGTON — The number of US hate crime victims rose slightly last year to nearly 9,700 from 9,500 in 2007, with most people targeted because of their skin color, the FBI said Monday.

More than half of hate crimes committed in the United States were racially motivated, and three-quarters of the victims were black, the FBI's annual report on hate crimes said.

Of the 6,927 known perpetrators of all hate crimes -- which include attacks driven by not only racial bias but also by the victims' religious affiliation, sexual orientation, ethnic origins or disability -- 61 percent were white. Blacks perpetrated attacks in around 20 percent of cases.

The report was compiled after the issue of race was thrust into the center of US politics with African American Barack Obama's successful bid to be elected the first black president of the United States.

Around 17 percent of hate crime victims were attacked because of their sexual orientation, the overwhelming majority, 96 percent, because they were gay or lesbian.

Nearly 20 percent were attacked for their religious affiliation, with Jews making up around two-thirds of the victims of those attacks.

Muslims were the targets of less than eight percent of religious hate crimes, putting them in third place behind Jews and followers of unspecified "other religions" attacked in 13 percent of religion-fueled hate crimes.

In 2007, Muslims represented about eight percent of victims attacked because of their religion, and in 2006 they made up 12 percent of victims of religion-motivated hate crimes.

Members of the large US Hispanic community were victims of 64 percent, or nearly two-thirds, of the 1,148 hate crimes driven by a bias against a person's ethnicity or national origin.

Most hate crimes targeting individuals were intimidation or simple assault, but seven murders and 11 rapes were counted among the hate crime statistics.

The FBI compiled the report using data submitted by 13,690 law enforcement agencies in most of the 50 states. More than 80 percent of the participating agencies reported no hate crimes in their jurisdictions in 2008.

http://rawstory.com/2009/11/fbi-report-sharp-increase-antigay-racial-hate-crimes/

NYPD tell conductor to seal passengers in with murderer

The Watchmen — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:53:00 -0800

In the remade-twice film "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3," armed men take passengers on a New York City subway train hostage.

On Saturday, the NYPD effectively informed a train conductor to seal passengers in a subway car with a murderer.

Apparently, creating potential hostage situations is a new crime stopping tactic.

"Nearly 30 petrified passengers were trapped on a Midtown hell train yesterday with a knife-wielding madman and the blood-soaked body of a straphanger he just stabbed to death in a senseless argument over a seat," The New York Post reported Sunday. "The Bronx-bound D train came to a screeching halt at around 2 a.m. in the tunnel between the Rockefeller Center and Seventh Avenue stations when a rider yanked the emergency cord after watching the carnage unfold."

The paper adds, "The group of riders were stuck in the car behind locked doors as a pool of blood began to form around the dying man and the suspect, Gerardo Sanchez, 37, of The Bronx, coldly stood over him. Eventually, Sanchez strolled to one end of the car, and the rest of the passengers fled to the opposite end."

The Post reports, "Cops relayed word to the operator to keep the car sealed until they arrived — leaving horrified straphangers trapped in with the killer and the body for about five minutes until the doors opened at the station, the sources said."

Monday, the Post seems to be blaming the situation on passengers, warning readers to "think before you pull chord."

Chuck Bennett advises, "If a passenger witnesses a crime or a passenger becomes ill, the cord can be pulled if the train is still at the station but not when it's already departing."

"You can't get help to anyone if the train is between the stations," NYC Transit spokesman Charles Seaton tells the NYC tabloid.

Angry commuters unloaded on the NYPD in Monday's Daily News.

"[They] gambled with a lot of lives," said Richard Kaye, 45, of Morrisania, when asked whether keeping passengers locked inside was the right call.

"God forbid he had stabbed four more people."

"If you lock us in the train, he could go crazy and start killing us, start slashing us," said Gloria Whyte, 34, of Long Island City.

"I wouldn't want to be one of those people stuck in the train with someone who commits murder," said Anne-Marie Christensen, a 28-year-old social worker from the upper East Side. "He's already in a heightened state, so it's dangerous to leave people alone with him."

"What if he'd had a gun?" asked Jonathan Gack, 19. "That would have made everything 10 times worse."
The Daily News notes that only one of the passengers sealed in with the murderer thanked the police for doing "the right thing."

http://rawstory.com/2009/11/nypd-conductor-seal-passengers-murderer/

Likely Multiple Sclerosis cure found, MS societies in panic

Blaine — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:52:12 -0800

http://tickerforum.org/cgi-ticker/akcs-www?post=118758

Bank crisis shows need to expect the very worst: study

The Watchmen — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:44:45 -0800

LONDON (Reuters) - Two years of economic and market turmoil mean that investors cannot ignore the chances of even the most extreme events like global depression or a killer pandemic, a leading investment consultancy said on Monday.

Watson Wyatt said in its study, "Extreme Risks," that investors should prepare for everything from currency and banking crises to trade protectionism and even the end of capitalism.

The firm said it had drawn up the list to underline that risk management in investing cannot afford to ignore threats even in the bottom 5 percent of possible events and recommended ways of hedging -- a form of insurance -- against them.

"The events of the last two years have demonstrated that risk management cannot afford to stop at the 95th percentile. We need to find a way to include very unlikely, but potentially high impact, events," Watson Wyatt said in the report.

Its 15 extreme risks were ranked in order as of mid-year.

They were economic depression, hyperinflation, excessive leverage, a currency crisis, a banking crisis, sovereign default, climate change, political crisis, insurance crisis, protectionism, disunity in Europe, the end of capitalism, the end of fiat money, war and a killer pandemic.

Of its top risk, economic depression, the firm said that while the immediate threat appeared to have been reduced by government action, there was now little governments could do if demand dropped again.

The risk from climate change, meanwhile, was anything from flooding to reduced agricultural output and countries in conflict over diminishing resources.

As for disunity in Europe, that the potential for the break up of the euro zone, a major threat to foreign lenders.

WHERE TO INVEST

But all would not be totally lost for investors if some of these extreme risks did come to pass, according to the study, with Watson Wyatt offering potential hedge positions.

Economic depression, for example, could be offset to some extent with globally-diversified long-dated sovereign nominal bonds.

Gold, which is currently at nominal record highs, was a hedge for a range of threats, including hyperinflation and a currency crisis, while going long pharmaceuticals/short airlines was seen as combating investment losses from a pandemic.

Not everything was hedgeable, however, including climate change and political crises that led to the rise of extremism.

As for the end of capitalism, Watson Wyatt said gold was the best holding, but admitted that in such circumstance "investors should probably worry more about the return "of' their investments than the return 'on' their investments."

<---------------------------------------------------

See the report at: here

---------------------------------------------------->

IMF chief says global economy in holding pattern

The Watchmen — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:42:35 -0800

LONDON (Reuters) - The global economy is in a holding pattern and vulnerable to more upheaval, and a lasting recovery will depend on policymakers taking the proper steps in coming months, the head of the IMF said on Monday.

Rich countries' top priority should be planning to clean up the fiscal mess left by emergency support measures although it was still too early to remove them, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said.

"Exiting too soon would be terrible. It may mean the double-dip -- which is not our central scenario -- may happen. So we have to wait until we have a real recovery in private demand," he said in remarks to the Confederation of British Industry's annual conference.

Governments have committed trillions of dollars in stimulus and guarantees and central banks have cut interest rates to record lows since the financial crisis intensified after the collapse of Lehman Brothers (LEHMQ.PK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) in September 2008.

Those efforts helped to stem the crisis, Strauss-Kahn said.

He cautioned that the sense of global policy unity forged during the darkest days of the financial crisis might dissolve, and urged close cooperation even though exit strategies differ from country to country.

For advanced economies, where debt burdens have grown sharply over the past year, the IMF wants governments to plan to get their respective finances back in order.

That means ensuring stimulus measures are temporary and putting entitlement programs on a sustainable path. Eventually, more drastic measures will be necessary, Strauss-Kahn said, including spending cuts and -- in some cases -- tax hikes.

"I see fewer problems with monetary policy," he said, adding that central banks had the proper tools to unwind the trillions of dollars worth of emergency lending programs they cobbled together in the midst of the financial panic.

"Especially in many advanced economies, monetary policy can afford to stay accommodative for some time, given little sign of inflation on the horizon," he said.

EMERGING MARKET RISKS

Some emerging economies might need to move sooner, he said.

Since emerging economies recovered more quickly from the recession than industrialized economies did, capital flows have swelled, posing a threat to stability in some markets.

In separate remarks to French newspaper Le Monde, the IMF's chief economist Olivier Blanchard said some emerging markets were at risk of "capital movements, accumulation of reserves and bubbles which would be difficult to control."

Strauss-Kahn said capital controls could be part of a package of measures that countries used to limit inflows, but cautioned that "all tools have their limitations."

He said China and other emerging Asian surplus countries were leading candidates to replace U.S. consumers as the main engine of world growth.

Still, he said they had "some way to go," and urged China to allow its yuan currency to appreciate more rapidly.

"By reducing global imbalances, the world will be a safer place, less prone to crises," he said. "It will also be in China's long-term interest."

On financial reform, he said it was essential to put tougher rules in place to avoid a repeat of the crisis, but policymakers must take care not to clamp down too hard or too quickly because that could derail the recovery.

He suggested laying out future requirements and the timetable for implementation to reduce regulatory uncertainty, which might be inadvertently encouraging more risk-taking.

(Reporting by Emily Kaiser in Washington, Fiona Shaikh in London and Anna Willard in Paris, Editing by )

Falling Chicago Fed index bodes ill for U.S. recovery

The Watchmen — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:41:04 -0800

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago said on Monday its gauge of the national economy fell further into negative territory in October, in a report that suggested the economic recovery could be in trouble.

The Chicago Fed said its National Activity Index slid to -1.08 from a revised -1.01 in September. September's reading was originally reported at -0.81.

The index's three-month moving average, CFNAI-MA3, decreased to -0.91 in October from -0.67 in September, declining for the first time in 2009, the Chicago Fed said.

"October's CFNAI-MA3 suggests that growth in national economic activity remained below its historical trend," the report said.

The Chicago Fed said that a move below -0.70 in the index's three-month moving average following a period of economic expansion indicates an increasing likelihood that a recession has begun.

The report appears to highlight the fragile state of the economy, which only started growing again in the third quarter this year following the worst slump in decades.

The Chicago Fed's report also said the amount of economic slack reflected in the three-month moving average "indicates low inflationary pressure from economic activity over the coming year."

The 85 economic indicators that comprise the Chicago Fed's index are drawn from four categories: production and income; employment, unemployment and hours; personal consumption and housing; and sales, orders and inventories.

Thirty-two of the 85 individual indicators made positive contributions to the index in October, and 53 made negative contributions. Forty-three indicators improved from September to October, while 42 indicators deteriorated.

Values of zero in the National Activity Index indicate a national economy expanding at historical trends, negative values indicate below-trend growth and positive values signal growth above trend, the Chicago Fed said.

Financial markets showed little reaction to the report.

(Reporting by Burton Frierson; Editing by Padraic Cassidy)

The Global Warming Scam Is TOAST!! The HOAX Has Been EXPOSED!! The Elitist Hell Freezes Over!!

Guy Razer — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:34:31 -0800

THE LUNACY OF AL GORE (SPONSORED BY ROTSCHILD AND ROCKEFELLER) TO CREATE A NEW CO2 TAX AND A GLOBAL GOVERNMENT IS FALLING APART!! 32,000 SCIENTISTS HAVE PETITIONED A DUMB ASS PUPPET JUNK SCIENCE POLITICIAN TO STOP THE NONSENSE, BUT HE WILL NOT UNTIL WE STOP HIM!! THE RELEASE OF THE CLIMATE GATE EMAILS SHOW THIS SCAM FOR EXACTLY WHAT IT IS!! LISTEN TO ROTSCHILD FROM 1992!! HE IS A FREAKIN QUACK!! AHH, BUT FIRST LISTEN TO THE EAGLES!!

http://www.petitionproject.org/
DOWNLOAD THE NEWLY REVEALED JUNK SCIENCE COVER UP EMAIL FILE HERE!!

ROTSCHILD TALKS CO2 TO BE USED TO MAKE DRY ICE!! BUT OF COURSE HE NEEDS OUR TAX MONEY!

THE REALLY WELL INFORMED MAN ON THE LEFT HERE IS AWESOME!! THE OTHER TWO WOULD MAKE GOOD SAIL BOAT FUEL!!

40 PLUS ARTICLES ON THE GREAT GLOBAL WARMING TAX CREATION HOAX!!

THIS IS HOW DEVIOUS THEY ARE!!
Al Gore Trying To Indoctrinate Pre Teens Into His Global Warming Farce!!

Lions and Tigers and Gore! Oh My!! 32,000 Scientsits Versus One Global Hot Air Bag!!
32,000 SCIENTISTS CALL AL GORE'S GLOBAL WARMING A HOAX!! THAT SURE IS A LOT OF SMART DUDES!! BUT, IN ALL FAIRNESS, MAYBE AL BABYS DEPTH OF KNOWLEDGE AND/OR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE MAKE HIM THE ONE TO BELIEVE!! SO I DID SOME LOOKIN....
EXCERPTS FROM REAL SCIENTISTS CONFERENCE ON CLIMATE CHANGE:
March 10, 2009 (EIRNS)—Yesterday, Dr. Arthur Robinson, Director of the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine and the originator of the petition against Al Gore's global warming hoax which as of now 32,000 scientists have signed, told the 2nd International Conference on Climate Change, that the people like Al Gore who promote global warming alarmism are committing genocide by the withdrawal of technology from the developing world.
http://www.larouchepub.com/pr/2009/090310climate_warming_conf.html
In his presentation to the conference, Lord Christopher Monckton used ridicule and humor in his attack on the genocidal fraud of global warming. Monckton said, "that the global warming alarmists should be referred to as bedwetters."

He called Al Gore's science advisor, James Hansen, the Dr. Strangelove of NASA, saying, "that Hansen's big scare of sea level rise of 426 feet was too preposterous to be believed and that the only threat from sea-level rise is the one being created by the bedwetters."

Monckton said, "There never was a climate crisis, there is not a climate crisis, and there will be no climate crisis. Since there is no climate crisis, the leaders of the world must have the courage to do nothing."

Monckton said that there is no climate crisis, and told the conference that the environmental movement has gone too far. "The environmental movement has to be outlawed, because their policies have murdered 40 million people, mainly children, with the ban on DDT." He added, "They have caused mass starvation and food riots with their nonsensical drive for bio-fuels. The forces of darkness in the environmental movement want create a new dark age in which humanity is pushed back to the Stone Age and without the right to light a fire."

HERE IS AN EXAMPLE OF AL GORES RATHER UNDERWHELMING DEPTH OF EXPERIENCE!! (HIS ENTIRE VIETNAM SERVICE SPANNED 4 COUNT EM 4 WHOLE ENTIRE MONTHS WRITING FOR THE POST NEWSPAPER!! YGBSM!!)
Gore had basic training at Fort Dix from August to October, and then was assigned to be a journalist at Fort Rucker, Alabama. In April 1970, he was "Soldier of the Month". On May 19, 1970, Gore married Tipper at the Washington National Cathedral.

His orders to be sent to Vietnam were "held up" for some time and he suspected that this was due to a fear by the Nixon administration that if something happened to him, his father would gain sympathy votes. He was finally shipped to Vietnam on January 2, 1971, after his father had lost his seat in the Senate during the 1970 Senate election, one "of only about a dozen of the 1,115 Harvard graduates in the Class of '69 who went to Vietnam." Gore was stationed with the 20th Engineer Brigade in Bien Hoa and was a journalist with the paper, The Castle Courier. He received an honorable discharge from the Army in May 1971.

Of his time in the Army, Gore later stated, "I don't pretend that my own military experience matches in any way what others here have been through [...] I didn't do the most, or run the gravest danger.
I WOULD SAY HE DIDNT DO THE SQUARE ROOT OF ANYTHING AND WAS EXPOSED TO ZERO DANGER, BUT HEY, AL IS THE JOURNALIST NOT ME!! AND AS FOR HIS DEEP BACKGROUND IN THE SCIENTIFIC AND STRATEGIC NATURAL GLOBAL NUANCES LEADING TO UNIVERSALLY CATASTROPHIC AND EXPLOSIVELY DAMAGING WEATHER CHANGES....
HE HAS A BACHELOR OF ARTS (NO BS!!) DEGREE....AND IT APPEARS HE TOOK ONE CLASS ON WEATHER....
As a freshman, Gore planned to be an English major and was working on a novel. In 1967 Gore took a course on climate science from Roger Revelle which made a strong impression on him, influencing him in the direction of environmental concerns. He was not tremendously engaged in his studies.

Gore: World Will Agree To New Climate Deal
Published on 03-14-2009 Email To Friend Print Version
http://www.roguegovernment.com/Gore%3A_World_Will_Agree_To_New_Climate_Deal/14760/0/9/9/Y/M.html

Source: London Guardian

Al Gore, the former US vice-president, delivers an upbeat assessment of the global response to climate change today, saying he believes a "political tipping point" has been reached which will enable leaders to avert environmental catastrophe.

In his first newspaper interview since the US election, the Nobel peace prize winner tells the Guardian that Barack Obama's arrival in the White House, combined with a growing realisation of the problem among business leaders, means there is now enough political momentum to tackle the world's greatest environmental threat.

He believes a global climate deal will be agreed at the UN-brokered climate talks scheduled in Copenhagen for December.

"There is a very impressive consensus now emerging around the world that the solutions to the economic crisis are also the solutions to the climate crisis," he says. "I actually think we will get an agreement at Copenhagen."

While admitting there is a big challenge ahead, he says he is seeing signs of hope. "[Obama's election] is one of the main factors," he says. "But we also have a big ally in reality the planet is under assault. This collision with human civilisation ... is increasingly dire."

Gore, awarded an Oscar for his 2006 documentary An Inconvenient Truth, held private talks with Obama in December in which they reportedly discussed the "green" components of the $787bn US stimulus package signed into law on 17 February.

Gore says he has also detected a shift in the view of many business leaders. "They're seeing the writing on every wall they look at. They're seeing the complete disappearance of the polar ice caps right before their eyes in just a few years," he says. "They're seeing the new US administration. They're seeing Gordon Brown and David Cameron both advocating dramatic changes here in the UK."

Gore warns business leaders who did not yet "get it" that they should look to the collapse of the sub-prime mortgage market as a warning. "We now have several trillion dollars worth of sub-prime carbon assets whose value is based on the assumption that CO2 is free and there is nothing wrong with 70m tonnes of it entering into the atmosphere every 24 hours," he says. "That assumption is also in the process of collapsing and the remedy for it will include ... a change in business practices."

Responding to James Lovelock, the originator of the Gaia theory, who said the European trading system for carbon was "disastrous", Gore says: "James Lovelock has forgotten more about science than I will ever learn. But in analysing political systems he is perhaps allowing his ... frustration ... to obscure some of the opportunities for change in the political system. There are tipping points in nature, but there are also tipping points in politics."

Gold hits record high past $1,160 per ounce

The Watchmen — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:32:53 -0800

(AFP) – 9 hours ago

HONG KONG — The price of gold soared to a record close of 1,166.00-1,167.00 US dollars an ounce in Hong Kong on Monday as dealers moved into the safe haven commodity due to the weak greenback, analysts said.

It opened at 1,158.00-1,159.00 US dollars.

The precious metal was up from Friday's close of 1,145.00-1,146.00 dollars as stocks on Wall Street suffered a third straight loss and as the US unit continues to struggle due to super-low interest rates.

"We closed on the day's high Friday, so that prompted more buying this morning," Anderson Cheung, director of precious metals at Mitsui Bussan in Hong Kong, told Dow Jones Newswires.

"People are talking about buying gold long-term exposure, as a safe haven," Cheung said.

The price of gold has soared 11.5 percent since India's central bank at the start of November bought 200 tonnes from the International Monetary Fund.

"We might see some early profit taking on the London opening, but a real bull trend has formed. It's very easy to push the price higher right now. The sentiment in the gold market really changed since the IMF gold sale to India's central bank," said Wallace Ng, chief gold dealer at Fortis in Hong Kong.

Dollar Slump Persisting as Top Analysts See No Bottom

The Watchmen — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:29:37 -0800

Nov. 23 (Bloomberg) -- The most accurate dollar forecasters predict the world’s reserve currency will continue sliding even when the Federal Reserve begins to raise interest rates, which policy makers say is an “extended period” away.

Standard Chartered Plc, Aletti Gestielle SGR, HSBC Holdings Plc and Scotia Capital Inc. say the dollar will depreciate as much as 6.4 percent versus the euro. About $12 trillion of fiscal and monetary stimulus, the world’s lowest borrowing costs and a record $4 trillion of government bond sales between 2009 and 2010 will weigh on the currency, they said. So will the nation’s 10.2 percent unemployment rate and signs that the economic recovery may falter, they said.

“History tells us the dollar shouldn’t start rising on a sustained basis until 12 months after the Fed starts to lift rates,” said Callum Henderson, the Singapore-based global head of foreign-exchange strategy for Standard Chartered.

The best forecaster of the dollar against the euro in the six quarters ended June 30 in Bloomberg’s ranking of 46 firms last month predicts the greenback will weaken 5.3 percent to $1.58 per euro in 2010, from $1.4970 today.

“It’ll take time to drain the oversupply of dollars from the market,” Henderson said. “The dollar will remain weak until the Fed’s rates rise above the competitors’.”

Group of 10

The U.S. will be one of five economies represented in the Group of 10 to wait until after mid-2010 to raise benchmark rates, according to median predictions in Bloomberg surveys of as many as 60 economists. The Fed, the European Central Bank, the Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank will increase borrowing costs in the third quarter and the Bank of Japan will remain at 0.10 percent at least through March 2011, the surveys show.

By the end of 2010, only Japan will have lower borrowing costs, and those will be higher when adjusted for inflation, the forecasts show. The Fed’s target for overnight loans between banks will be 1 percent, compared with the ECB’s 1.5 percent benchmark.

U.S. borrowing costs will make dollar-based assets less attractive, said Camilla Sutton, the foreign-exchange strategy director at Scotia Capital in Toronto. The Bank of Nova Scotia unit, the most-accurate forecaster of the dollar versus the Swiss franc in Bloomberg’s rankings, predicts 2010 will end with the greenback weaker at $1.60 per euro.

“The dollar will lose the near-term race for interest rate increases and then lose the long-term race,” Sutton said.

History Lesson

Once the Fed raises its target, the dollar’s performance likely will mimic the pattern that followed the central bank’s past three rounds of increases, Sutton and Henderson said.

After policy makers started boosting borrowing costs in July 2004, the Dollar Index tumbled 10 percent and didn’t get back to where it had been before the first increase and stay there for more than a month until November 2005.

Intercontinental Exchange Inc.’s dollar gauge fell 6 percent and took seven months to recover after the Fed began lifting borrowing costs in July 1999. It dropped 16 percent following the Fed’s 1994 move without regaining lost ground until 1997.

The top forecasters are in the minority, with median predictions in Bloomberg surveys of as many as 43 strategists showing the dollar gaining against the euro, pound, yen, Swiss franc and Swedish krona by Sept. 30. The other currency measured by the Dollar Index, Canada’s dollar, will outperform the greenback by 0.7 percent by the end of the third quarter, the projections show.

Limiting Liquidity

Twenty-four of 37 predictions for the end of next year have the U.S. dollar strengthening against the euro. The median is $1.46, up 2.5 percent. Twenty-seven of 31 strategists see the yen also getting beaten. The U.S. currency will gain 15 percent to 102 yen, from 88.85 today, the median shows.

“The dollar will gain support as soon as the Fed starts to rein in liquidity,” said Lee Hardman, an analyst in London at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd., Japan’s biggest lender by market value. The dollar will strengthen 9.8 percent to $1.35 per euro by the end of 2010, the bank predicts.

The stock rally that pushed the MSCI World Index up almost 70 percent since March 9 will grind to a halt as the global recovery slows, spurring demand for the perceived safety of the dollar, according to Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg, which scored highest overall in Bloomberg’s rankings with a 5.6 margin of error for all currencies.

Global Growth

“Financial markets and equity markets have been too optimistic concerning economic growth next year,” said Gernot Griebling, the Stuttgart bank’s head of bond and economic research. “Risk aversion should rise again,” strengthening the U.S. currency to $1.37 per euro by Sept. 30, he said.

For now, the global recovery is on track, with the Paris- based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development doubling its 2010 growth forecast for leading developed economies to 1.9 percent and predicting a 2.5 percent expansion for 2011. The recovery is fueling investments in higher-yielding currencies funded by selling dollars.

The Dollar Index has fallen 16 percent since March 5, a steeper drop than in any eight calendar months in 23 years. The decline began four days before the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index of stocks started its strongest rally since the 1930s, gaining 60 percent.

Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said on Nov. 16 that “significant economic challenges remain” in the U.S. and reiterated the Federal Open Market Committee will keep borrowing costs low for an “extended period.”

Waiting

Policy makers may not change course until 2012, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said Nov 18.

“If you look at the last two recessions, in each case the FOMC waited 2 1/2 to three years” after they ended to raise rates, Bullard said.

What happened after those moves convinces Standard Chartered’s Henderson and Scotia Capital’s Sutton that the dollar will keep sliding. HSBC, the top pound-dollar forecaster, and Aletti Gestielle, the best on the dollar versus the yen, also say the greenback will depreciate, to $1.50 and $1.60 per euro by mid-year, respectively.

The dollar will weaken “as investors worry about its status as a reserve currency and the public deficits,” said Sutton, a former Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System money manager.

Budget Deficit

The U.S. budget deficit reached a record $1.4 trillion in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. Its debt amounted to 9.9 percent of the economy, up from 2004’s average of 3.5 percent.

Central banks that disclose which currencies they hold put 63 percent of their new cash into euros and yen in April, May and June, the highest percentage for any quarter when global reserves grew more than $80 billion, Barclays Capital data show.

Henderson sees similarities to 2004, when the Fed had lowered its overnight target below the ECB’s.

The 2001 recession, induced by the crash of technology stocks, prompted the U.S. to cut rates by 5.5 percentage points to 1 percent in June 2003, a point below the euro region. The Fed stayed there until June 2004, more than two years after the recession ended. The dollar started rallying after the rate surpassed the ECB’s 2 percent that December.

“If the apex of the crises were in 2001 and 2008, then dollar weakness will last into 2011,” said Henderson.

‘Being Dovish’

The dollar didn’t start rallying after the Fed’s June 1999 increase until the ECB began raising its rates that November.

“When the Fed shifts from being dovish to the early stages of the tightening, the dollar continues to trade weak,” said Ray Farris, global head of foreign exchange research at Credit Suisse Group AG in London, the third-best euro-dollar forecaster. “It’s really only in the late stages of a Fed tightening when U.S. interest rates are high relative to everybody else that the dollar stabilizes and then recovers.”

The dollar plunged to a record low $1.6038 in July 2008 as seven Fed cuts opened up a 2.25 percentage gap to the ECB, making Europe’s securities more attractive. It rallied later in the year as the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in September froze credit markets and sent investors to the safety of U.S. assets and the greenback.

“There’s nothing in the cards from a monetary policy angle that could persuade me from being a dollar bear in 2010,” said Jens Nordvig, a managing director and head of G-10 currency strategy at Nomura International Plc in New York, Japan’s largest brokerage firm, which bought Lehman Brothers’ European, Asian and Middle Eastern assets in 2008.

To contact the reporter on this story: Bo Nielsen in Copenhagen at bnielsen4@bloomberg.net.

Call For Independent Inquiry Into Climategate as Global Warming Fraud Implodes

The Watchmen — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:15:48 -0800

Calls for an independent inquiry into what is being dubbed “Climategate” are growing as the foundation for man-made global warming implodes following the release of emails which prove researchers colluded to manipulate data in order to “hide the decline” in global temperatures.

Former British chancellor Lord Lawson was the latest to demand an impartial investigation be launched into the scandal, which arrives just weeks before the UN climate conference in Copenhagen. “They should set up a public inquiry under someone who is totally respected and get to the truth,” he told the BBC Radio Four Today programme.

The emails were leaked at the end of last week after hackers penetrated the servers of the Climatic Research Unit, which is based at the University of East Anglia, in eastern England. The CRU is described as one of the leading climate research bodies in the world.

The hacked documents and communications reveal how top scientists conspired to falsify data in the face of declining global temperatures in order to prop up the premise that man-made factors are driving climate change. Others illustrate how they embarked on a venomous and coordinated campaign to ostracize climate skeptics and use their influence to keep dissenting reports from appearing in peer-reviewed journals, as well as using cronyism to avoid compliance with Freedom of Information Act requests.

As expected, the establishment media has gone into whitewash overdrive, characterizing the emails as evidence of “rancor” amongst the climate community and focusing on some of the lesser emails while ignoring the true significance of what has been revealed.

Organizations with close ties to the CRU have engaged in psychological terrorism by fearmongering about the planet with doomsday scenarios, illustrating their argument with outlandish propaganda animation videos which show pets drowning and others that show computer-generated polar bears crashing to earth in a throwback to 9/11 victims jumping from the towers, when in reality polar bear population figures are thriving.

“One of the emails under scrutiny, written by Phil Jones, the centre’s director, in 1999, reads: “I’ve just completed Mike’s Nature [the science journal] trick of adding in the real temps to each series for the last 20 years (ie, from 1981 onwards) and from 1961 for Keith’s to hide the decline,” reports the London Telegraph.

The author admitted to the Associated Press that the e mail was genuine.

In another example, researchers discuss data that is “artificially adjusted to look closer to the real temperatures”. Apparently, the “real temperatures” are whatever global warming cheerleaders want them to be.

As Anthony Watts writes, attempts to claim e mails are “out of context,” as the defense has been from CRU, cannot apply in this instance.

You can claim an email you wrote years ago isn’t accurate saying it was “taken out of context”, but a programmer making notes in the code does so that he/she can document what the code is actually doing at that stage, so that anyone who looks at it later can figure out why this function doesn’t plot past 1960. In this case, it is not allowing all of the temperature data to be plotted. Growing season data (summer months when the new tree rings are formed) past 1960 is thrown out because “these will be artificially adjusted to look closer to the real temperatures”, which implies some post processing routine.

Spin that, spin it to the moon if you want. I’ll believe programmer notes over the word of somebody who stands to gain from suggesting there’s nothing “untowards” about it.

Either the data tells the story of nature or it does not. Data that has been “artificially adjusted to look closer to the real temperatures” is false data, yielding a false result.

Another email discusses changing temperature data to fix “blips” in studies so as to make them conform with expectations, which of course is the cardinal sin of scientific research.

“Conspiracy, collusion in exaggerating warming data, possibly illegal destruction of embarrassing information, organized resistance to disclosure, manipulation of data, private admissions of flaws in their public claims and much more” was revealed in the 61 megabites of confidential files released on the Internet for anyone to read, writes Andrew Bolt.

Another email appears to celebrate the death of climate change skeptic John L Daly, with the words, “In an odd way this is cheering news.”

In another communication, the author expresses his fantasy to “beat the crap out of” climate change skeptics.

In another exchange, researchers appear to discuss ways to discredit James Saiers of the Geophysical Research Letters journal, by means of an academic witch hunt, because of his sympathies with climate change skeptics.

“If you think that Saiers is in the greenhouse skeptics camp, then, if we can find documentary evidence of this, we could go through official AGU channels to get him ousted.”

Other emails express doubt about whether the world is really heating up and infer that data needs to be reinterpreted.

“The fact is that we can’t account for the lack of warming at the moment and it is a travesty that we can’t. The CERES data published in the August BAMS 09 supplement on 2008 shows there should be even more warming: but the data are surely wrong. Our observing system is inadequate.”

Scientists discuss trying to disguise historical data that contradicts the man-made climate change thesis, such as the Medieval Warm Period (MWP), which must be ‘contained’ according to one email.

Suppression of evidence is also discussed, with scientists resolving to delete embarrassing emails.

“And, perhaps most reprehensibly,” writes James Delingpole, a long series of communications discussing how best to squeeze dissenting scientists out of the peer review process. How, in other words, to create a scientific climate in which anyone who disagrees with AGW can be written off as a crank, whose views do not have a scrap of authority.”

“This was the danger of always criticising the skeptics for not publishing in the “peer-reviewed literature”. Obviously, they found a solution to that–take over a journal! So what do we do about this? I think we have to stop considering “Climate Research” as a legitimate peer-reviewed journal. Perhaps we should encourage our colleagues in the climate research community to no longer submit to, or cite papers in, this journal. We would also need to consider what we tell or request of our more reasonable colleagues who currently sit on the editorial board…What do others think?”

“I will be emailing the journal to tell them I’m having nothing more to do with it until they rid themselves of this troublesome editor.”“It results from this journal having a number of editors. The responsible one for this is a well-known skeptic in NZ. He has let a few papers through by Michaels and Gray in the past. I’ve had words with Hans von Storch about this, but got nowhere. Another thing to discuss in Nice!”

Scientists also “discussed ways of dodging Freedom of Information Act requests to release temperature data,” reports the Daily Mail.

The emails show that scientists relied on cronyism and cosying up to FOIA officials to prevent them from being forced to release data.

“When the FOI requests began here, the FOI person said we had to abide by the requests,’ the email says. “It took a couple of half-hour sessions to convince them otherwise.”

“Once they became aware of the types of people we were dealing with, everyone at UEA became very supportive. I’ve got to know the FOI person quite well and the chief librarian – who deals with appeals.”

It is important to stress that this compendium merely scratches the surface of the monumental levels of fraud that have been exposed as a result of the hacked emails.

People will look back on this moment as the beginning of the end for global warming alarmism and the agenda to implement draconian measures of regulation and control along with the levy of a global carbon tax.

Many more revelations will be forthcoming as a result of this leak, and the desperate effort on behalf of the establishment to whitewash the whole issue will only end up making the damage worse.

http://www.prisonplanet.com/call-for-independent-inquiry-into-climategate-as-global-warming-fraud-implodes.html

The Road to Copenhagen part III: A “Planetary Regime” in the Making

The Watchmen — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:10:57 -0800

“It is the sacred principles enshrined in the United Nations charter to which the American people will henceforth pledge their allegiance.” George H.W. Bush addressing the General Assembly of the U.N, February 1, 1992

The machine of mass media is working overdrive now that the Copenhagen summit is approaching. All major media outlets have by now obviously received their talking-points which have an strangely similar ring about them all across the board. Even a superficial comparative study in the overall reporting reveals not only a stunning disregard for national sovereignty, but a willingness to support carbon-taxes imposed by a- as John P. Holdren puts it- “planetary regime”.

Oxford professor Dieter Helm: “I’m in favor of quite a low carbon tax to start with – for political economy reasons, to get it in place.”

Last month experts told the Second Committee Panel Discussion of the UN General Assembly that “a new regime of governance was under way in the global financial system.” The same is being said about global climate measures, global resource management and global development.

The mass media is not only setting the agenda themselves, they more often than not simply parrot the globalists that are being shoved in our face on a daily basis. Many of whom have a Ph.D. behind their name. Under the header ‘Carbon Tax’ is sensible, and perhaps inevitable, advocate says‘, the Los Angeles Times quotes Oxford professor Dieter Helm stating:

“(..) I’m in favor of quite a low carbon tax to start with – for political economy reasons, to get it in place, (…). Across Europe, my guess is within five years everybody will have a carbon tax…”

This, according to Helm, will make sure that the United States will eventually be forced into the global carbon tax policy as well:

“(…) is everybody else doing it? That’s a very good protection for politicians. The answer is yes, they are.”

Back in December of 2001, the Africa division of the UN Development Programme apparently already seriously considered such a tax:

“The main energy sources that would be affected by a carbon tax include coal, petroleum, kerosene and natural gas. The tax would be reflected in an increase in their price, at a level based on the capacity of each type of fuel to emit carbon dioxide.”

Answering the question who would collect the taxes and enforce such a global tax policy, the UN panel was quite clear:

“The panel said a new international tax organization should be created to assume all functions performed by existing institutions. I
t would serve as a global intergovernmental forum for international cooperation on all tax issues.
It would also help resolve conflicts between countries and help them to increase tax revenue by fostering information exchanges and measures that could reduce tax evasion on investment and personal income earned at home and abroad.”

This sounds a lot like John P. Holdren doesn’t it, exclaiming in Ecoscience that “a Planetary Regime- sort of an international superagency for population, resources, and environment” could impose global policy and enforce it. “Such a comprehensive Planetary Regime”, said Holdren, “could control the development, administration, conservation, and distribution of all natural resources, renewable or nonrenewable, at least insofar as international implications exist.”

Furthermore, the UN panel advocated in 2001:

“We thus endorse the Commission’s proposal to create a global council at the highest political level to provide leadership on issues of global governance. The proposed council would be more broadly based than the G7 or the Bretton Woods institutions.”

In 2007, Reuters quoted Mr. Global Warming Himself, Al Gore as saying that a global carbon trading scheme could be “quite efficient if the world’s top polluters, the United States and China, fully joined.” Gore also stated that a direct tax on carbon would certainly be “an even simpler and more direct measure.”

It was the Bilderberg-appointed Herman Van Rompuy- the new EU-president- who stated recently that “The Climate Conference in Copenhagen is another step towards the global management of our planet.” He also announced that 2009 would be the “first year of global governance.” And he’s not the first to call for such global management. All people who occupy a position of power in the infrastructure of the New World Order have called for it since its very conception shortly after World War II.

As a preface to the coming Copenhagen summit in December, the United Nations Population Fund in a recently published ‘ State of the Population 2009‘ is pushing for global reproductive health services. This means not only universal access to ‘family planning’ but also better access to abortion facilities. Humans, after all, are supposed to be the prime driver of climate change and therefore: less humans means honouring Mother Earth.

In the foreword, the executive director of the UNFPA, Thoraya Obaid addresses the fake global warming hype, saying that “floods, storms and rising seas” will soon envelope the planet if not for quick, decisive and global efforts to combat these calamities.

“A Copenhagen agreement that helps people to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and adapt to climate change by harnessing the insight and creativity of women and men would launch a genuinely effective long-term global strategy to deal with climate change.”

Global strategy. That’s the talking point we hear over and over again from all agencies, UN or otherwise, who have an interest in profiting from the deal they are proposing. Never mind that all nation-states who sign on to the Copenhagen treaty will effectively forfeit their representative systems to this global authority, deciding which taxes will be paid by which nation-state. In the end, all roads seem to lead to a “planetary regime” envisioned by the elite long before “global warming” was even heard of.

http://www.prisonplanet.com/the-road-to-copenhagen-part-iii-a-%E2%80%9Cplanetary-regime%E2%80%9D-in-the-making.html

Global body needed to direct green technology, G77 says

The Watchmen — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:02:43 -0800

A green technology body with powers to direct a worldwide transition away from a high-carbon economy is needed to combat climate change, according to the world's developing nations. While most negotiations ahead of the UN's climate change summit in Copenhagen next month have been concerned with which nations should slash greenhouse gas emissions and by how much, the method in which these cuts will be achieved has received far less attention. Yet the importance of green technology – from wind turbines to electric cars to zero-carbon buildings – is enormous.

Developing nations argue that the costs should be paid by the rich nations, and that a new global body is required, perhaps working as part of the UN, to direct the world's low-carbon transformation in sectors as diverse as power, transport and heavy industry.

"We know that, to limit global temperature rises to below 2C, we'll need a step change in global innovation and technology transfer," said Shane Tomlinson of environment consultants E3G. "In the period to 2020, it's vital we avoid high carbon lock-in. The infrastructure decisions that developing countries are taking today, such as new power stations, are going to determine their emissions pathways for 20-30 years."

In the short term, that means rolling out proven technologies such as onshore and offshore wind power, solar photovoltaics and energy efficiency measures. A recent analysis by the Climate Group found that, to meet the emissions targets already agreed by nations, 9.3bn tonnes of CO2 must be prevented from entering the atmosphere by 2020. But these will not be enough for the deep cuts – 80% or more on 1990 levels – that many rich countries will have to deliver by 2050, if the world is to limit warming to the 2C that scientists agree is the safe limit. By then, according to the International Energy Agency, 17 technologies will have to be developed and rolled out to deliver a reduction of 42bn tonnes of CO2. Most of that technology – ranging from carbon capture and storage, solar power and zero-emission vehicles – will need to be deployed in emerging economies.

At Copenhagen, the first decision on technology will be to decide if a new co-ordinating body should have powers to command the clean tech roll out. "The G77 [group of developing nations] and China have proposed a new central executive, political body," said Tomlinson. It would be part of the existing UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which administers the Kyoto protocol.

However, Europe and the US want only an advisory committee – their main concern is that a strong political body may end up channelling funds into state enterprises rather than keeping a level playing field for all businesses. Developing countries say an advisory body would have little power to drive the dramatic changes needed.

The polarised debate has led some to compare the sharing of IP in green technology to arguments over whether pharmaceutical companies should give up patents for expensively developed HIV or malaria drugs in those nations blighted by the illnesses. Alia al-Dalli, deputy resident representative in Morocco for the United Nations Development Programme, said that without local education programmes, the only winners from Copenhagen will be multinational technology companies. "Capacity-development is very important – people need to be educated and aware. You've got to be able to produce technologies by the south for the south, in the south," she said. "It will not merely be technology transfer."

Ambuj Sagar, a professor of policy studies at the Indian Institute of Technology – Delhi, said: "The best step would be if we stopped using the term technology transfer and started using something like innovation co-operation to signify that this is not a simple issue. It is not a hand-off from producers of technology to users of technology. We need co-operation instead of a simple reliance on markets to tackle what is an immense challenge."

The Global Warming Scam Is TOAST!! The HOAX Has Been EXPOSED!! The Elitist Hell Freezes Over!!

Guy Razer — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800

Muslim demands................Read it and weep......

Kim Moore — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:56:48 -0800

HEY GUESS WHAT FOLKS....WE HAVE AN ILLEGAL MUSLIM RULING THIS COUNTRY....DOES THAT WORRY ANYONE?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCAffMSWSzY

quite scary

Adapted from Dr. Peter Hammond's book: Slavery, Terrorism and Islam: The Historical Roots and Contemporary Threat

Islam is not a religion, nor is it a cult. In its fullest form, it is a complete, total, 100% system of life.

Islam has religious, legal, political, economic, social, and military components. The religious component is a beard for all of the other components.

Islamization begins when there are sufficient Muslims in a country to agitate for their religious privileges.

When politically correct, tolerant, and culturally diverse societies agree to Muslim demands for their religious privileges, some of the other components tend to creep in as well.

Here's how it works:

As long as the Muslim population remains around or under 2% in any given country, they will be for the most part be regarded as a peace-loving minority, and not as a threat to other citizens. This is the case in:

United States -- Muslim 0.6%
Australia -- Muslim
1.5% Canada -- Muslim
1.9% China -- Muslim 1.8% Italy -- Muslim
1.5% Norway -- Muslim 1.8%

At 2% to 5%, they begin to proselytize from other ethnic minorities and disaffected groups, often with major recruiting from the jails and among street gangs. This is happening in:

Denmark -- Muslim 2%
Germany -- Muslim 3.7%
United Kingdom -- Muslim 2.7%
Spain -- Muslim 4%
Thailand -- Muslim 4.6%

From 5% on, they exercise an inordinate influence in proportion to their percentage of the population. For example, they will push for the introduction of halal (clean by Islamic standards) food, thereby securing food preparation jobs for Muslims. They will increase pressure on supermarket chains to feature halal on their shelves -- along with threats for failure to comply. This is occurring in:

France -- Muslim 8%
Philippines -- 5% Sweden --
Muslim 5% Switzerland -- Muslim
4.3% The Netherlands -- Muslim
5.5% Trinidad & Tobago -- Muslim 5.8%

At this point, they will work to get the ruling government to allow them to rule themselves (within their ghettos) under Sharia, the Islamic Law. The ultimate goal of Islamists is to establish Sharia law over the entire world. When Muslims approach 10% of the population, they tend to increase lawlessness as a means of complaint about their conditions. In Paris , we are already seeing car-burnings. Any non-Muslim action offends Islam, and results in uprisings and threats, such as in Amsterdam , with opposition to Mohammed cartoons and films about Islam. Such tensions are seen daily, particularly in Muslim sections, in:

Guyana -- Muslim 10%
India -- Muslim 13.4%
Israel -- Muslim 16%
Kenya -- Muslim 10%
Russia -- Muslim 15%

After reaching 20%, nations can expect hair-trigger rioting, jihad militia formations, sporadic killings, and the burnings of Christian churches and Jewish synagogues, such as in:

Ethiopia -- Muslim 32.8%

At 40%, nations experience widespread massacres, chronic terror attacks, and ongoing militia warfare, such as in:

Bosnia -- Muslim 40%
Chad -- Muslim 53.1%
Lebanon -- Muslim 59.7%

From 60%, nations experience unfettered persecution of non-believers of all other religions (including non-conforming Muslims), sporadic ethnic cleansing
(genocide), use of Sharia Law as a weapon, and Jizya, the tax placed on infidels, such as in:

Albania -- Muslim 70%
Malaysia -- Muslim 60.4%
Qatar -- Muslim 77.5%
Sudan -- Muslim 70%

After 80%, expect daily intimidation and violent jihad, some State-run ethnic cleansing, and even some genocide, as these nations drive out the infidels, and move toward 100% Muslim, such as has been experienced and in some ways is on-going in:

Bangladesh -- Muslim 83%
Egypt -- Muslim 90%
Gaza -- Muslim 98.7%
Indonesia -- Muslim 86.1% Iran -- Muslim
98% Iraq -- Muslim 97%
Jordan -- Muslim 92%
Morocco -- Muslim 98.7%
Pakistan -- Muslim 97%
Palestine -- Muslim 99%
Syria -- Muslim 90%
Tajikistan -- Muslim 90%
Turkey -- Muslim 99.8%
United Arab Emirates -- Muslim 96%

100% will usher in the peace of 'Dar-es-Salaam' -- the Islamic House of Peace. Here there's supposed to be peace, because everybody is a Muslim, the Madrasses are the only schools, and the Koran is the only word, such as in:

Afghanistan -- Muslim 100%
Saudi Arabia -- Muslim 100%
Somalia -- Muslim 100%
Yemen -- Muslim 100%

Unfortunately, peace is never achieved, as in these 100% states the most radical Muslims intimidate and spew hatred, and satisfy their blood lust by killing less radical Muslims, for a variety of reasons.

'Before I was nine I had learned the basic canon of Arab life. It was me against my brother; me and my brother against our father; my family against my cousins and the clan; the clan against the tribe; the tribe against the world, and all of us against the infidel. -- Leon Uris, 'TheAdapted from Dr. Peter Hammond's book: Slavery, Terrorism and Islam Haj'

It is important to understand that in some countries, with well under 100% Muslim populations, such as France, the minority Muslim populations live in ghettos, within which they are 100% Muslim, and within which they live by Sharia Law. The national police do not even enter these ghettos. There are no national courts, nor schools, nor non-Muslim religious facilities. In such situations, Muslims do not integrate into the community at large. The children attend madrasses. They learn only the Koran. To even associate with an infidel is a crime punishable with death. Therefore, in some areas of certain nations, Muslim Imams and extremists exercise more power than the national average would indicate.

Today's 1.5 billion Muslims make up 22% of the world's population. But their birth rates dwarf the birth rates of Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, and all other believers. Muslims will exceed 50% of the world's population by the end of this century.

Adapted from Dr. Peter Hammond's book: Slavery, Terrorism and Islam: The Historical Roots and Contemporary Threat

Climate change scientists reject claims they 'manipulated' data to prove global warming is caused by humans

The Watchmen — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:55:05 -0800

The director of a climate research unit at the centre of a row over manipulating data on global warming after hundreds of private emails were stolen by hackers said today it was 'ludicrous' to suggest anything untoward took place during the research.

The material was taken from servers at the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit, a world-renowned research centre, before it was published on websites run by climate change sceptics, possibly in a bid to undermine next month's global climate summit in Denmark.

But Professor Phil Jones, the centre's director whose emails were at the centre of the row, said he wanted to put the record straight.

Some commentators claimed his emails showed that scientists at the centre manipulated data to bolster their argument that global warming is genuine and is being caused by human actions.

In one email seized upon by sceptics, Prof Jones referred to a 'trick' being employed to massage temperature statistics to 'hide the decline'.

Today, he said the email 'caused a great deal of ill-informed comment, but has been taken completely out of context and I want to put the record straight'.

He said: 'The word 'trick' was used here colloquially as in a clever thing to do. It is ludicrous to suggest that it refers to anything untoward.'

But Lord Lawson, the former chancellor who is now a prominent climate change sceptic, called for an independent inquiry into the claims.

He said the credibility of the unit and of British science were under threat.
'They should set up a public inquiry under someone who is totally respected and get to the truth,' he told the BBC Radio Four Today programme.

'If there's an explanation for what's going on they can make that explanation.'

Kevin Trenberth, a leading climate change scientist whose private emails were also among those stolen, said the leaks may have been aimed at undermining next month's global climate summit in Denmark.

Dr Trenberth, of the US National Centre for Atmospheric Research, in Colorado, said he believed the hackers deliberately distributed only those documents that could help attempts by sceptics to undermine the scientific consensus on man-made climate change.

'It is right before the Copenhagen debate, I'm sure that is not a coincidence,' he said.

The lead author on the 2001 and 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessments said he found 102 of his emails posted online.

'I personally feel violated,' he said.

'I'm appalled at the very selective use of the e-mails, and the fact they've been taken out of context.'

In one of the stolen e-mails, he is quoted as saying: 'We can't account for the lack of warming at the moment and it is a travesty that we can't.'

He said sceptics had argued it showed scientists can not explain some trends that appear to contradict their stance on climate change.

But Dr Trenberth said his phrase was actually contained in a paper he wrote about the need for better monitoring of global warming to explain the anomalies - in particular improved recording of rising sea surface temperatures.

Last week, a spokesman for the University of East Anglia said: 'It is a matter of concern that data, including personal information about individuals, appears to have been illegally taken from the university and elements published selectively on a number of websites.

'The volume of material published and its piecemeal nature makes it impossible to confirm what proportion is genuine.

'We took immediate action to remove the server in question from operation and have involved the police in what we consider to be a criminal investigation.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1230122/How-climate-change-scientists-dodged-sceptics.html#ixzz0XhbLjIUh

Iraq war files: British colonel's scathing attack on 'arrogant, bureaucratic' Americans

anthory ford — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:52:04 -0800

Q: Did you receive the correct level of advice and support for the nation-building task that the Division faced?

A: We got virtually no advice for nation-building and we had to make up a lot of things ourselves. Surprisingly, as a result, we got ahead of the Americans in the North. I was particularly lucky because I enjoyed complete support from PJHQ [Permanent Joint Headquarters, the main UK-based operational command HQ] over nearly everything.

Unfortunately, they often did not have the resources to give us as these were embedded in the CPA [the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad.]

At that level the bureaucratic inefficiency, the inability to spend money, even though it was there, and the frustrations that this caused were immense. This was compounded by US commercial practices as their system of contracts seemed designed to exclude all other but US business.

The whole system was appalling. We experienced real difficulty in dealing with the American military and civilian organisations who, partly through arrogance and partly through bureaucracy, dictate that there is only one way: the American way. As far as the Iraqis were concerned, here was a nation who could put people on the moon but who could not, or would not, fix the electricity supply. You need to have money in order to make things happen, to buy protection from the looters, to smooth out tribal problems and to have immediate and visible effect and we did not have that. Despite our so-called 'special relationship' I reckon that we were treated no differently to the Portugese.

I did not really get too involved in the political side. We were fortunate that there remained quite a residue of Iraqi folklore from long ago that the British would treat them fairly. The
British soldier himself also has an ability to get on with people even though he cannot speak the language. The Dutch, Danes and Norwegians achieved the same but at the other extreme I believe that many of the problems experienced by the Italians and Rumanians were caused by their inability to treat with the Arabs.

Q: Did the role of HQ Multinational Division South East clash with the role of HQ COMBRITFOR? [commander British forces - a job also simultaneously held by General Stewart]

A: There was no conflict between the two roles of MND (SE) and COMBRITFOR though there were occasions when we got close to threatening the Italians that if they did not carry out operations we would insert British soldiers to do them instead. As far as our lead nation status was concerned, the NSE [National Support Element] provided life support for the Headquarters and we also provided the Signals regiment.

Q: Do you have advice on operating with Coalition Forces?

A: I realise now that I am a European, not an American. We managed to get on better militarily and administratively with our European partners and indeed at times with the Arabs than with the Americans. Europeans chat to each other whereas dialogue is alien to the US military.

They need to reintroduce dialogue as a tool of command because, although it is easy to speak to Americans face-to-face and understand each other completely, dealing with them corporately is akin to dealing with a group of Martians. If it isn't on the PowerPoint slide, it doesn't happen.

General Sanchez [US commander] visited us once in seven months, I spoke only once to the COS [chief of staff] of the [US] corps headquarters and it was only when an old acquaintance General Metz [commander 3 US Corps] took over that dialogue actually began. There was no COS forum until my last month when the US 3 Corps staff were in place and trying to speak to the Headquarters to arrange visits for discussion proved impossible. Eventually we tried communicating through the embedded British staff officers in CJTF-7 [Coalition Joint Task Force 7] but the Headquarters proved impenetrable.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/defence/6634115/Iraq-war-files-British-colonels-scathing-attack-on-arrogant-bureaucratic-Americans.html

U.S. dollar no longer a one-way bet

The Watchmen — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:49:48 -0800

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The one-way bet in the U.S. dollar that has lasted several months may be over for now despite distress over its malaise that has stretched from Washington to Paris.

The dollar recently hit a 15-month low against a basket of other major currencies. This weakness has become a political football in the United States, as opponents of the Obama administration charge that it shows fiscal policy is hurting the U.S. economy. Other countries have also become increasingly vocal about the dollar's decline.

Even Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke commented on the dollar, saying on Monday that the Fed does watch the dollar's value.

But the greenback has shown resilience in recent days. Activity in the options market, valuation measures and a slight divergence in the tight relationship between stocks and the dollar suggest a possible end to dollar weakness.

There is growing nervousness that the rally in risky assets is overdone, with experts questioning whether the rebound in the global economy can go on without government support.

"A lot of good news is already priced in. For the dollar to meaningfully break below these levels, we'll probably have to see something that adds significantly to the already upbeat outlook for the global economy," said Omer Esiner, senior market analyst at Travelex Global Business Payments in Washington.

Selling the dollar to buy stocks, commodities and higher-yielding currencies has been a popular trade of late as low U.S. interest rates and an abundance of liquidity have lured investors into riskier assets in search of returns.

The dollar fell to a 15-month low against a currency basket this week and is down 15 percent since March. It also hit a 14-month trough versus the euro at 1.5064 on electronic trading platform EBS in late October.

But the euro's struggle to stay above the key $1.50 level may be a sign the market is overextended. The single currency pierced $1.50 for the first time this year on October 21 and closed above it for three straight sessions. It last hit that level on Monday, trading lately at $1.4852.

"The markets have gotten so choppy. Even if the euro breaches $1.51, I'm not entirely sure there's a strong enough risk appetite to chase it much higher," said Amelia Bourdeau, senior currency strategist at UBS in Stamford, Connecticut.

She expects the dollar's rebound to continue into year-end as investors take risk off the table and close out their bets against the currency. She expects the dollar to strengthen to $1.45 per euro in one month and $1.40 in three months.

EQUITIES REMAIN KEY

To keep bears on their toes, Bernanke -- in rare comments on the value of the dollar -- said on Monday that the U.S. central bank is monitoring currency markets "closely" and is "attentive" to the implications of a falling dollar.

His comments, which were backed by European Central Bank chief Jean-Claude Trichet, helped boost the dollar this week. But analysts caution that without a change on the policy front, the impact of verbal attempts to talk up the dollar are likely to be short-lived.

David Gilmore, a partner at FX Analytics in Essex, Connecticut, called the remarks "an introduction of two-way risk, even if in a fairly discreet fashion."

He added that there is "nothing credible" behind Bernanke expressing concerns about the dollar as the Fed has pledged to keep interest rates low for an extended period.

To be sure, the dollar still has room to fall. Despite its losses so far, the greenback remains 7.5 percent above its record low against the euro at $1.6040 set in July, 2008. Speculative positioning data also shows that dollar shorts are not at extreme levels, and more good economic news could hasten more bets against the greenback.

In the near-term, the currency market will likely continue to trade off stocks, analysts say. The 25-day correlation coefficient between the S&P 500 index and euro/dollar is 0.77, Reuters data show, although that relationship has weakened slightly since October.

Ashraf Laidi, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in London, said dollar weakness has increasingly become a catalyst for U.S. equity rallies, which look unsustainable given mixed economic news and the recent struggle in oil prices.

"Aside from U.S. dollar weakness, we have yet to see any fundamental dynamic that justifies U.S. indices higher." If stocks begin to retreat, the dollar could stabilize, he said.

The downside risks in euro/dollar are growing. Marc Chandler, global head of currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman in New York, said investors are paying "among the largest premiums of the year" for euro puts -- the right but not the obligation to sell euros -- over calls.

Some valuation measures also indicate the dollar is becoming undervalued. Morgan Stanley said the euro/dollar is now 27 percent too high compared with its median fair value.

(Additional reporting by Nick Olivari; Editing by Dan Grebler)

Renters becoming latest victims as foreclosure crisis widens

The Watchmen — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:17:34 -0800

MULTIFAMILY DEFAULTS RISING

Some tenants left in dilapidated buildings

By Robin Shulman
Washington Post
Monday, November 23, 2009

NEW YORK -- A new wave of foreclosures stands to hurt people who may have never taken out a mortgage: renters. In cities such as New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, where many investors are carrying upside-down mortgages on large rental buildings, some tenants are watching their homes fall apart along with the financing.

Janeia Sandiford, a 24-year-old GED student in New York, has two young children and a deteriorating apartment. When a leak over Sandiford's bathroom and kitchen caused the ceiling to flake off and then cave in, nobody came to fix it for a year, she said. She lacked heat most of last winter, and she has duct-taped her loose-fitting windows in place to cut down on drafts.

"I'm really worried about the kids," she said.

The real estate investment company Ocelot Capital Group bought the building where Sandiford lives and about two dozen others in the Bronx in 2006 and 2007. As the new owners struggled to keep up with payments, 10 of the buildings appeared on the city's list of most dilapidated rental properties in 2007 and 2008. Last winter, as Ocelot defaulted on its loans amid the deepening financial crisis, the buildings plummeted further into decline. Together, they racked up thousands of Code C violations --the most serious kind -- from housing inspectors.

Fannie Mae, which had bought much of the debt from the original lender, entered foreclosure proceedings for Sandiford's building early this spring. A state court appointed receivers.

In the meantime, the building on Manida Street has been beset by problems, according to tenants and their advocates, whose accounts were confirmed by the crumbling walls and damaged plumbing apparent on a tour of the property and its neighbor, also owned by Ocelot. Vandals stole the lock on the front door, giving squatters access to vacant apartments to sell drugs. Plumbing in the building was disrupted after the squatters broke through the walls and stole pipes to sell as scrap metal.

Nationwide pattern
Similar conditions could crop up across the country this winter as foreclosures climb for large rental-unit buildings. In the first three quarters of 2009, 475 foreclosure proceedings were begun against multifamily rental or cooperative homes in the District, according to NeighborhoodInfo DC, a partnership between the Urban Institute and the D.C. Local Initiatives Support Corp. That figure already eclipses the 458 foreclosures for all of 2008.

In Chicago's Cook County, 328 multifamily rental buildings were in foreclosure by the second quarter of this year, compared with 185 last year, according to a yet-unreleased study by the Institute for Housing Studies at DePaul University.

In Los Angeles, foreclosures for buildings with five or more units totaled 78 -- encompassing 1,344 units -- in the first three quarters of 2009, compared with 49 buildings and 432 units over the same period last year, and 13 buildings and 239 units in the same period of 2007, according to the city's housing department.

In New York, housing analysts estimate that the number of apartment units in buildings at risk of default because of upside-down loans -- in which the property is worth less than is owed on the loan -- could range from 50,000 to 100,000.

And through the first nine months of this year, across the country, Fannie Mae had 74 foreclosed multifamily properties on the books, compared with 25 through the first nine months of last year.

The pattern is also showing up in smaller cities. Apartment buildings and complexes are entering foreclosure in Lexington, N.C., and Des Moines, Iowa. In East Palo Alto, Calif., an investor bought about 1,800 units, or about half the rental properties in town, failed to pay the loan, and one weekend "tore up all their computers, shut down their offices and left," said Mayor Ruben Abrica.

A recent study by Richard Parkus, the head of research in commercial mortgage-backed securities at Deutsche Bank, found that loan performance on multifamily buildings is deteriorating at a dramatic pace. Some 65 to 75 percent of multifamily buildings could face problems refinancing at their current rates, he said in an interview. These problems could "sit and fester" for a while, he said, or result in a burst of loan failures.

"We're at the front end of that wave," said Raphael Bostic, assistant secretary for policy development and research at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. "Are we concerned? Absolutely."

A 'sugarplum notion'
Analysts say international speculators and private-equity firms took on mortgage payments larger than their income from rents in such buildings. Some may have hoped they could eject rent-regulated tenants in favor of higher-paying ones.

"It was a sugarplum notion," said David Jones, president and chief executive of the Community Service Society, an advocacy group for low-income New Yorkers, who calls this "predatory equity."

Other buyers may have simply been over-exuberant in a market that seemed as though it could boom forever.

"There was this pervasive view: 'We're all going to the moon, it's going to be a big party from here on out, somehow this could last,' " Parkus said. "Nobody should have lent on these strategies. They're ridiculous."

Other factors have intervened as well. A decline in property values has made it difficult for owners to refinance. High unemployment has pushed up vacancies, cutting into landlords' income.

Yet analysts agree that the potential crisis is different from the one that devastated single-family homeowners.

"It wasn't as outright reckless or abusive or fraudulent as single-family lending," said Jack Markowski, president of the Community Investment Corp. in Chicago and the city's former housing commissioner.

The impact on tenants is uneven. New York City officials say the owners of the vast majority of buildings in foreclosure there are likely to maintain decent standards of living. Yet, of the 200 properties on the city housing agency's 2008 list of buildings with the worst maintenance problems, at least 77 had been in foreclosure, according to data from PropertyShark.com.

In buildings where a landlord is struggling to make loan payments, maintenance is often the first thing to go. Garbage can pile up, lists of overdue repairs get longer, and vermin multiply.

"I went on vacation to California for a week and a half and put out 20 mousetraps and caught 20 mice," said Gloria Robinson, 51, the head of the tenants association at a Bronx building where tenants say maintenance has declined as the landlord manages an upside-down mortgage.

Dire case in the Bronx
Sandiford's building in the Bronx is one of the most dire cases.

"This is a dump," said Sandiford's neighbor Alfredo Martinez, 35, a truck driver. He has stretched a garden hose from his kitchen to bring water to flush the toilet; plastered his disintegrating walls, adding metal screens to stop mice from chewing through; repaired the ceiling twice after a leak caused it to cave in; and installed a steel grate over a window after a burglar stole money, jewelry and video games.

One of the court-appointed receivers for Ocelot properties last month asked a state court to order Fannie Mae to pay him $20,000, saying the company had promised funds to fix life-threatening problems but failed to deliver.

"My responsibilities are clear: collect rents, maintain the property and when it's dangerous, address it," said Marc A. Landis, the receiver, a real estate lawyer experienced in foreclosures. "When I don't have enough money to do that, the lender is supposed to step up to the plate."

Brian Faith, a spokesman for Fannie Mae, wrote in an e-mail that the company is "concerned about welfare of the tenants," noting that it has spent $1.7 million to make repairs and provide oil, utilities and insurance, among other items.

Other lenders maintain that tenants need not suffer, even if their buildings face foreclosure.

"This is a business," said Jamie Woodwell, vice president of commercial real estate research for the Mortgage Bankers Association, a trade group. "The lender has every incentive to make sure . . . the property continues to operate, so that its value continues to be maintained."

Staff researcher Meg Smith in Washington contributed to this report.

Forced labour and rape, the new face of slavery in America

Nicole is ~READY — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:04:55 -0800

Published on 11-22-2009

Source: Guardian

Human trafficking has become a major issue in the Midwest heartland of America, causing some campaigners to dub it a modern form of slavery.

Figures from the State Department reveal that 17,500 people are trafficked into the US every year against their will or under false pretences, mainly to be used for sex or forced labour. Experts believe that, when cases of internal trafficking are added, the total number of victims could be up to five times larger. And increasing numbers of trafficked individuals are being transported thousands of miles from America's coasts and into heartland states such as Ohio and Michigan.

"It is not only a crime. It is an abomination," said Professor Mark Ensalaco, a political scientist at the University of Dayton, Ohio, who organised a recent conference on the issue. In Ohio a human trafficking commission has just been set up to study the problem, while in the northern Ohio city of Toledo a special FBI task force is tackling the issue. For many local law enforcement officials, it is a bewildering new world.

In one recent incident a 16-year-old Mexican girl was found to have been trafficked across the US border. Doctors noticed the heavily pregnant girl showed clear signs of physical abuse when she was brought into a hospital in Dayton to give birth. The police were called but the couple who had brought her had already fled. When the girl's story emerged, it became clear she had been kept against her will in the nearby city of Springfield and used for labour and sex. "I thought slavery ended a few centuries ago. But here it is alive and well," said Springfield's sheriff, Gene Kelly.

He emphasised the risks to the girl's baby after it had been born if the doctors had not been so alert: "Like the mother, the baby could have ended up a victim for years to come. Who knows? Future labour? Future person to traffic?"

Ohio anti-trafficking campaigner Phil Cenedella, founder of Combating Trafficking Anywhere, believes that the baby was destined to be sold off by her captors. "They would have put the kid on the black market. It is crazy that this is happening." Human trafficking – defined as forcing someone against their will to work for no reward – has been dubbed modern slavery. At the Dayton conference, it was discussed as a growing social problem, not in some far-off foreign land, but among the cornfields of Ohio.

"The problems are broader than we realised," said Ohio's attorney general, Richard Cordray. "What we want to do is find and disrupt these networks."

One of the country's leading anti-trafficking advocates is Theresa Flores, a former victim. Flores puts a different kind of face on human trafficking in America. She is white, middle-class and blond and looks the epitome of a suburban American woman. She grew up in a wealthy suburb of Detroit in Michigan and did well at school. Yet Flores tells a nightmarish story of two years being drugged, raped and sold for sex.

Flores, whose ordeal was turned into a book called The Sacred Bath: An American Teen's Story of Modern Day Slavery, was attacked and raped when she was 15. Her assailant used the threat of photographs he had taken during her rape to force her into having sex with strangers. She became the effective prisoner of a drugs gang that used her as a prostitute and kept her earnings, or gave her away free to gang members as a "reward". "People don't think that trafficking looks like me or that it can happen to someone who came from a nice neighbourhood. But it does. People need to see outside that box," said Flores.

Flores said that her lowest point came when the gang took her to a seedy motel where she was raped by as many as two dozen men. She woke up alone, abused and with no clothes. "I was told I would die if I told anyone. It happened over and over for two years as I became a sex slave for those men," she said.

Anti-trafficking campaigners point out that cases in the US come in a wide variety of forms involving men, women and children. One major area is that of trafficked labour with people used for domestic work or, more commonly, for back-breaking labour in agricultural industries. But trafficking cases have also occurred in businesses such as restaurants, hair salons and beauty parlours. The overwhelming majority of the rest are sex cases, usually involving young women or children forced into prostitution. The methods used to keep people vary. They include confiscating the passports of those brought in from a foreign country or the threat of extreme violence. Other tactics are to threaten family members if a victim does not comply or, as in Flores's case, to use blackmail.

Trafficking represents a new challenge to law enforcement, especially in regions which have traditionally not thought of it as a major problem. That is especially true where it happens within an immigrant community. Languages are a problem as well as cultural issues and a natural fear that many immigrants – some of them possibly illegal – have of contacting the police.

Kelly believes that is the case in Springfield, a town that is almost the Midwestern archetype. It was once featured in a story in Newsweek magazine entitled "The American Dream". But its 65,000 citizens also face all the problems of a modern America in the grip of a deep recession: an immigration crisis and profoundly changing demographics. The town now hosts several prominent minority communities who make up more than a fifth of its population, including Russians, Chinese, Latinos and Somalis. "There are a lot of people who distrust law enforcement. We need to break down those barriers. Our officers need training, especially in languages," said Kelly. "If you can't speak to people, you can't reach them."

Some commentators and experts have accused victims' advocates and academics of overstating the problem, arguing the problem has been exaggerated and expressing scepticism at the notion that vast organised criminal networks are dealing in human beings for sex or labour. Law enforcement officers also acknowledge that the definitions of trafficking may need refining.

In North Carolina last week the mother of a five-year-old girl was charged with human trafficking after being accused of offering her daughter for sex. The child was later found dead. The crime was horrific, but the distinction between trafficking and simple, sadistic child abuse might not be immediately obvious.

"We have a problem with definition. It is not always straightforward and easy to explain," said Laura Clemmens, a government lawyer in Dayton. "The hard part is bringing it into the light. At the moment these crimes are clouded in secrecy."

http://blacklistednews.com/news-6420-0-13-13--.html

Google Chrome OS: Are clouds the future of computing?

anthory ford — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:00:00 -0800

This time next year, disk drives will be a thing of the past; instead, computer users will be pulling in emails, documents, music and photos from the web, and computers will need just a few gigabytes of storage.

Google says the first Google Chrome OS powered netbooks will be ready by the second half of 2010

At least, that’s Google’s vision. This week the search giant gave the world a first look at its new computer operating system, Chrome OS, which it believes could revolutionise computing.

Based on Google’s web browser, also named Chrome, the operating system effectively acts as a gateway to the web. Rather than storing files and documents on the computer’s hard drive, Chrome OS instead relies on data stored on remote servers, pulling these files, on demand, to any internet-connected computer. Users access their emails, documents or social networking sites by clicking on application tabs in the browser-like interface and use panels at the bottom of the desktop to send an instant message or view a video.

Google says the benefit of this “cloud computing” approach is that computers can boot up faster – indeed, in the demonstration this week, Chrome OS was up and running and connecting to the web in just seven seconds, substantially faster than most other computers lumber into life. By the time the first Chrome computers hit shops, Google wants that time to be reduced to around two seconds.

“We want Chrome to be blazingly fast,” said Sundar Pichai, Google’s vice president of product management. “We want it to be like a TV – turn it on and it’s booted up.”

In a world where 90pc of computers run Microsoft’s Windows operating system, Chrome represents a step-change.

Chrome will run only on computers that use flash memory solid state drives instead of conventional hard drives. It’s a bold approach. Google is taking a leaf out of Apple’s book to design an end-to-end user experience where the hardware is built specifically to support the software.

Google says that the time is right to move away from traditional desktop computing. With more and more services now in “the cloud” – such as Flickr, the photo-sharing website, and many music-streaming and video services – and consumers snapping up cheap, ultra-portable “netbook” computers, the conditions are in place to launch a new platform that exploits these advances to provide a completely new way of using a computer.

“Over the past few years, people have been spending more and more of their time online doing more and more powerful things, and we wanted to build a fundamentally different computing experience built for the way we use the web today,” says Pichai. “With Google Chrome OS, we’ve made computing faster, easier and safer than ever before.”

But some experts say Google could find it difficult to persuade consumers. Users will not be able to install their own software or applications on Chrome OS devices – so that means no iTunes, no Skype and no Tweetdeck.

“There’s no doubt that Chrome OS looks fast, but it’s fairly limited in terms of its functionality,” says Annette Jump, an analyst with Gartner. “A lot of work needs to be done to convince consumers that this operating system will be useful to them.”

And that’s not the only stumbling block Chrome OS faces – its reliance on always-on web connectivity might be possible in large cities, with good mobile phone network coverage and plenty of Wi-Fi hotspots, but in rural areas, or on a flight, Chrome will be hobbled.

“I think Chrome is initially going to appeal to a small subset of the general consumer population,” says Ray Valdes, another analyst with Gartner. “The question is, can Google build on that and expand that over time?”

This week’s demonstration was designed to drum up interest in the platform. Google released the code to the operating system in the hope that developers would build new products, services and applications, in much the same way as they build apps for the iPhone, or Google’s mobile phone operating system, Android.

By offering more tools and apps for Chrome OS, Google will hope to win over consumers who may be unsure about what the platform offers. While Chrome OS has potential, it will need to add some compelling new features if it is going to top Christmas lists next year.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/6616391/Google-Chrome-OS-Are-clouds-the-future-of-computing.html

Obama’s feeble dollar sparks a new goldrush

The Watchmen — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:12:02 -0800

Visitors to America might have noticed the television ads urging us to buy gold. One such “spokesman”, formerly in charge of managing the government’s hoard of the yellow stuff, including the ingots buried at Fort Knox, points out that the value of gold has never fallen to zero. Why investors are expected to find such a modest claim reassuring I can’t imagine. But something is persuading people to buy gold, driving the price to and past $1,100 per ounce, from about $270 at the beginning of this decade, and around $700 when the financial crisis first hit.

This is not mere panic buying by a herd of small investors trying to benefit from what is called a momentum play. John Paulson (no relation to Hank), the investor who made $20 billion for his hedge fund between 2007 and 2009 by betting on a collapse of the financial and housing markets, is betting on gold in a big way. Paulson & Co already holds $3 billion in gold-related investments (including AngloGold Ashanti and Kinross Gold), and Paulson has just seeded a new gold-related fund with some $250m of his own funds. His modest objective: appreciation at a rate higher than the increase in the price of gold itself.

All of this means that investors do not believe that President Barack Obama will respond to the enormous pressure put on him during his visit to Beijing and take steps to strengthen the dollar. The president and Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner might talk the talk of a strong dollar but they walk the walk of a declining one. A weak dollar should lift exports and cut imports, which in White House terms means jobs for American workers. And it is jobs that the president asks his aides about first thing every morning. With reason.

Should the unemployment rate remain in double digits when elections roll round a year from now, Republicans would gain congressional seats by making the plausible claim that the Democrats’ deficit spending served only to create a debt burden that will weigh down the living standards of our children and grandchildren.

The economics are every bit as simple as taught in elementary classes. The government is running huge deficits, upwards of 12% of GDP (3% is considered sustainable), and selling its IOUs to pay its bills. The very accommodating Federal Reserve Board is buying those IOUs, printing dollars with which to pay for them. The flood of dollars will, economists argue, some day trigger inflation. That would enable the government to pay off the holders of its bonds and notes in depreciated dollars, which is what the Chinese, holders of over $1 trillion in such paper, fear.

Of course, that hasn’t happened yet. There is simply too much excess capacity in the economy to permit producers to raise prices, and too much unemployment for workers to hold out for higher wages. That will change when the recovery takes hold and the economy starts to grow again. Then, says Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Fed, I will sell all of the notes and other assets I have accumulated for dollars, and withdraw those dollars from circulation. Meanwhile, says the president, that is when I will take steps to cut the deficit. So don’t worry, be happy.

Not many seem to believe either man. Bernanke is famous for academic work emphasising the danger of tightening too soon, and so might wait so long that inflationary expectations take root. Obama would have to cut spending or raise taxes to reduce the deficit, neither of which he will be inclined to do.

Indeed, he returned from China announcing his concern about the size of the deficit — and proceeded to push hard to get Congress to pass a $1 trillion healthcare bill and a $250 billion raise for doctors, after approving renewal of the about-to-expire $8,000 credit for new home buyers, and before pressing for passage of a very expensive energy bill. As for tax increases, he has promised not to raise the taxes of families earning less than $250,000 per year, and there aren’t enough higher earners to tap to cut substantially into the deficit.

Which means the printing presses will continue to run, creating the threat of inflation. When that happens, and the dollar depreciates, people flock to commodities — oil (which already has $20 built into its price to reimburse producers for the decline in the value of each dollar), gold, art, property. Arab oil producers can protect themselves by raising the price of oil, John Paulson will rake in another odd billion or so, Goldman Sachs will figure out how to profit from the new inflation, the US and others who have run up large debts will pay back in cheap money, and pensioners will scour supermarket shelves for bargains they can afford with their withered dollars.

America has been there before, and not so long ago. It took Ronald Reagan and then-Fed chairman Paul Volcker to wring inflation out of the system they inherited from Jimmy Carter in the early 1980s. Oh yes, the price of gold promptly fell in half. Which means that investors in gold are betting that the spending policies of the Obama administration and the easy money policy of Bernanke’s Fed will remain in place. If they are wrong, they might end up unloading $1,100 gold and related investments at half that price. There are no sure things when it comes to investing.

But there is an almost sure thing in the currency market. For as far ahead as a reasonable person can see, the Chinese will continue to peg the renminbi to the dollar. That means that a lower dollar cannot make imports from China more expensive. It also means that countries that allow their currencies to float will have greater difficulty competing with China in the US market. Which might, only might, bring together a large coalition of nations, ranging from the US and the EU to Asian and Latin American countries that compete with China for markets, to pressure China to allow its currency to float upward. Their threat: that they will band together and protect themselves from Chinese imports with tariffs and other measures. That would get President Hu Jintao’s attention.

Irwin Stelzer is a business adviser and director of economic policy studies at the Hudson Institute

stelzer@aol.com

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/columnists/article6926940.ece

Forced labour and rape, the new face of slavery in America

The Watchmen — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:09:04 -0800

Human trafficking has become a major issue in the Midwest heartland of America, causing some campaigners to dub it a modern form of slavery.

Figures from the State Department reveal that 17,500 people are trafficked into the US every year against their will or under false pretences, mainly to be used for sex or forced labour. Experts believe that, when cases of internal trafficking are added, the total number of victims could be up to five times larger. And increasing numbers of trafficked individuals are being transported thousands of miles from America's coasts and into heartland states such as Ohio and Michigan.

"It is not only a crime. It is an abomination," said Professor Mark Ensalaco, a political scientist at the University of Dayton, Ohio, who organised a recent conference on the issue. In Ohio a human trafficking commission has just been set up to study the problem, while in the northern Ohio city of Toledo a special FBI task force is tackling the issue. For many local law enforcement officials, it is a bewildering new world.

In one recent incident a 16-year-old Mexican girl was found to have been trafficked across the US border. Doctors noticed the heavily pregnant girl showed clear signs of physical abuse when she was brought into a hospital in Dayton to give birth. The police were called but the couple who had brought her had already fled. When the girl's story emerged, it became clear she had been kept against her will in the nearby city of Springfield and used for labour and sex. "I thought slavery ended a few centuries ago. But here it is alive and well," said Springfield's sheriff, Gene Kelly.

He emphasised the risks to the girl's baby after it had been born if the doctors had not been so alert: "Like the mother, the baby could have ended up a victim for years to come. Who knows? Future labour? Future person to traffic?"

Ohio anti-trafficking campaigner Phil Cenedella, founder of Combating Trafficking Anywhere, believes that the baby was destined to be sold off by her captors. "They would have put the kid on the black market. It is crazy that this is happening." Human trafficking – defined as forcing someone against their will to work for no reward – has been dubbed modern slavery. At the Dayton conference, it was discussed as a growing social problem, not in some far-off foreign land, but among the cornfields of Ohio.

"The problems are broader than we realised," said Ohio's attorney general, Richard Cordray. "What we want to do is find and disrupt these networks."

One of the country's leading anti-trafficking advocates is Theresa Flores, a former victim. Flores puts a different kind of face on human trafficking in America. She is white, middle-class and blond and looks the epitome of a suburban American woman. She grew up in a wealthy suburb of Detroit in Michigan and did well at school. Yet Flores tells a nightmarish story of two years being drugged, raped and sold for sex.

Flores, whose ordeal was turned into a book called The Sacred Bath: An American Teen's Story of Modern Day Slavery, was attacked and raped when she was 15. Her assailant used the threat of photographs he had taken during her rape to force her into having sex with strangers. She became the effective prisoner of a drugs gang that used her as a prostitute and kept her earnings, or gave her away free to gang members as a "reward". "People don't think that trafficking looks like me or that it can happen to someone who came from a nice neighbourhood. But it does. People need to see outside that box," said Flores.

Flores said that her lowest point came when the gang took her to a seedy motel where she was raped by as many as two dozen men. She woke up alone, abused and with no clothes. "I was told I would die if I told anyone. It happened over and over for two years as I became a sex slave for those men," she said.

Anti-trafficking campaigners point out that cases in the US come in a wide variety of forms involving men, women and children. One major area is that of trafficked labour with people used for domestic work or, more commonly, for back-breaking labour in agricultural industries. But trafficking cases have also occurred in businesses such as restaurants, hair salons and beauty parlours. The overwhelming majority of the rest are sex cases, usually involving young women or children forced into prostitution. The methods used to keep people vary. They include confiscating the passports of those brought in from a foreign country or the threat of extreme violence. Other tactics are to threaten family members if a victim does not comply or, as in Flores's case, to use blackmail.

Trafficking represents a new challenge to law enforcement, especially in regions which have traditionally not thought of it as a major problem. That is especially true where it happens within an immigrant community. Languages are a problem as well as cultural issues and a natural fear that many immigrants – some of them possibly illegal – have of contacting the police.

Kelly believes that is the case in Springfield, a town that is almost the Midwestern archetype. It was once featured in a story in Newsweek magazine entitled "The American Dream". But its 65,000 citizens also face all the problems of a modern America in the grip of a deep recession: an immigration crisis and profoundly changing demographics. The town now hosts several prominent minority communities who make up more than a fifth of its population, including Russians, Chinese, Latinos and Somalis. "There are a lot of people who distrust law enforcement. We need to break down those barriers. Our officers need training, especially in languages," said Kelly. "If you can't speak to people, you can't reach them."

Some commentators and experts have accused victims' advocates and academics of overstating the problem, arguing the problem has been exaggerated and expressing scepticism at the notion that vast organised criminal networks are dealing in human beings for sex or labour. Law enforcement officers also acknowledge that the definitions of trafficking may need refining.

In North Carolina last week the mother of a five-year-old girl was charged with human trafficking after being accused of offering her daughter for sex. The child was later found dead. The crime was horrific, but the distinction between trafficking and simple, sadistic child abuse might not be immediately obvious.

"We have a problem with definition. It is not always straightforward and easy to explain," said Laura Clemmens, a government lawyer in Dayton. "The hard part is bringing it into the light. At the moment these crimes are clouded in secrecy."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/22/people-trafficking-usa-prostitution-ohio

Health Department sees low numbers at vaccination clinic

Nicole is ~READY — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 06:02:22 -0800

By Rosa Ruizrosa@newstribune.com

Next H1N1 vaccine clinic to be held Dec. 5

Published: Sunday, November 22, 2009 8:04 AM CST

The Cole County Health Department held its third H1N1 vaccination clinic Saturday at Cole County R-1 School in Russellville.

The rural site is one of six sites planned for the 2009 year.

Patrick Joyce, epidemiology specialist/response planner, was optimistic in anticipating 250 people to show up. By mid-morning, 150 people had received the free vaccine. Saturday morning's clinic allotted for 613 vaccines.

Joyce said the county will be hosting H1N1 vaccine clinics open to the general public in the future, but at this time designated priority groups must be targeted. Smaller clinics are planned for the smaller schools in the evening.

For more information, please visit www.colehealth.org.

http://www.newstribune.com/articles/2009/11/23/news_local/nt039local06clinics09.txt

Lawsuits challenge second proposal to change judicial selection

Nicole is ~READY — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:58:47 -0800

By Bob Watson bwatson@newstribune.com

Published: Monday, November 23, 2009 4:38 AM CST

For the second time in two months, a proposal to change the way Missouri chooses its appeals and Supreme Court judges faces a court fight.

Friday afternoon, lawyers filed two different lawsuits challenging parts of the proposed constitutional amendment that would return Missouri to the direct election of all judges - the method the current Nonpartisan Court Plan replaced at the state level after voters approved it in 1940.

The group “ShowMe Better Courts” filed the petition seeking the proposed Constitutional Amendment with Secretary of State Robin Carnahan's office in October. The same group also submitted a different proposed amendment last summer, which also faces a court challenge.

The new lawsuit challenging the new petition was filed by the same plaintiffs as the suit filed in September against the previous proposal: Annie Busch, a Springfield lawyer, and former state Sens. Roseann Bentley, R-Springfield, and John D. Schneider, D-St. Louis County.

The 29-page lawsuit asks the Cole County Circuit Court to order Carnahan to reject the petition because she “wrongfully and unlawfully approved the form of the Proposed Initiative Petition (when it) did not comply with the requirements and provisions” of state law.

Among the lawsuit's complaints:

* The proposed petition says its language “may repeal, change or modify” the current Constitution when, the suit says, it clearly requires Constitutional sections to “be either amended or repealed.”

* The notice of changes “does not include other provisions of the Constitution that should have been included.”

For instance, the lawsuit said, the petition doesn't say it would change the way municipal judge vacancies would be filled in different charter cities around the state, including Jefferson City, Columbia, St. Louis and Kansas City.

The proposal appears to violate sections of the state and U.S. constitutions, by shortening the terms of sitting judges, and by allowing judicial candidates to seek and receive campaign contributions and to “announce ... views on disputed legal or political issues,” the suit said.

And the lawsuit challenges a proposal authorizing “party nominating committees” to select judicial candidates, since there's no provision for an independent candidate, and “it also appears that 'party nominating committees' would supplant primary elections.”

The suit also asks the court to reject or, at least, rewrite Carnahan's ballot summary.

The suit was filed by Jefferson City lawyer Alex Bartlett and by two former Missouri Supreme Court chief justices - Ann Covington, now practicing law in Columbia, and Ronnie White, now practicing in St. Louis.

To view the entire article, please go to our e-edition. http://www.newstribune.com/e-edition

http://www.newstribune.com/articles/2009/11/23/news_local/nt038local25judicialselection09.txt

Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.

Jeff — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 01:06:55 -0800

I don't celebrate corporate holidays.

Before you go, listen to my reasoning. I'm not asking you to agree but simply to think it over.

Because gift-giving and many other aspects of the Christmas festival involve heightened economic activity among both Christians and non-Christians, the holiday has become a significant event and a key sales period for retailers and businesses, the same corporate entities I've chosen to boycott for the remainder of my life. The economic impact of Christmas is a factor that has grown steadily over the past few centuries and is a significant sales period for all retailers. So much so that most major retailers make little profit throughout the year and bank on the holiday season to reach their yearly sales goals. For most of us, if not all of us, this means shopping at Target, the malls and Wal-Mart, all places I try to stay away from at all costs. They are the equivalent of sweat-shops in the United States. Retail stores in this country aren't terribly different than sweat shops in India. An person cannot maintain a lifestyle, pay rent, utilities, buy food, cover medical expenses, own a car and enjoy life as a retail employee.

All holidays here in the United States are nothing more than a corporate facade to boost sales.

Our Christmas season, the 25th of December and slightly before and after, has nothing to do with the birth of Christ.

Isaac Newton argued that the date of Christmas was selected to correspond with the winter solstice, which in ancient times was marked on December 25.

In 1743, German Protestant Paul Ernst Jablonski argued Christmas was placed on December 25 to correspond with the Roman solar holiday Dies Natalis Solis Invicti and was therefore a "paganization" that debased the true church.

In 1889, Louis Duchesne suggested that the date of Christmas was calculated as nine months after the Annunciation (March 25), the traditional date of the Incarnation.

The New Testament does not give a date for the birth of Christ.

Around AD 200, Clement of Alexandria wrote that a group in Egypt celebrated the nativity on Pachon 25. This corresponds to May 20th. Tertullian (d. 220) does not mention Christmas as a major feast day in the Church of Roman Africa. However, in Chronographai, a reference work published in 221, Sextus Julius Africanus suggested that Jesus was conceived on the spring equinox, popularizing the idea that Christ was born on December 25. The equinox was March 25 on the Roman calendar, so this implied a birth in December. De Pascha Computus, a calendar of feasts produced in 243, gives March 28 as the date of the nativity. In 245, the theologian Origen of Alexandria stated that, "only sinners (like Pharaoh and Herod)" celebrated their birthdays. In 303, Christian writer Arnobius ridiculed the idea of celebrating the birthdays of gods, which suggests that Christmas was not yet a feast at this time.

Likewise, Thanksgiving is very much the same. It's a holiday based on myth.

The date and location of the first Thanksgiving celebration is a topic of modest contention. The traditional "first Thanksgiving" is the celebration that occurred at the site of Plymouth Plantation, in 1621. The Plymouth celebration occurred early in the history of what would become one of the original thirteen colonies that became the United States. The celebration became an important part of the American myth by the 1800s. This Thanksgiving, modeled after celebrations that were commonplace in contemporary Europe, is generally regarded as America's first. Elementary school teacher Robyn Gioia has argued that the earliest attested "thanksgiving" celebration in what is now the United States was on September 8, 1565 in what is now Saint Augustine, Florida. Today, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. Thanksgiving dinner is held on this day, usually as a gathering of family members and friends.

Honestly, for me and my family, every day is a holiday worth celebrating.

So for those of you that sent me Thanksgiving wishes, it is much appreciated. Forgive me if I celebrate every single day of my life and don't regard any single day as more important than another. And forgive me if I refuse to participate in gift giving in any way other than perhaps to hand craft certain items through the entire year for no other reason than that I love my friends and family and choose to show it consistently throughout the year as opposed to following a corporate, or Fascist policy.

Peace

Russia Today on the Ukraine Flu Epidemic

Jeff — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:02:31 -0800

I figured not many of you regularly view Russia Today.

More Job Losses - Screwed By The Banks, AGAIN

Jeff — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 23:44:39 -0800

The 'too big to fail' banks are preparing to thank Americans for their kindness in agreeing to loan them the money necessary to prevent their failure.

They'll be outsourcing jobs to India as our reward. To the tune of BILLIONS.

MUMBAI (Reuters) – Leading Indian outsourcers such as Tata Consultancy (TCS.BO), Infosys (INFY.BO) and Wipro (WIPR.BO) stand to gain contracts worth about $1 billion in the next one or two years as U.S. banks emerge from the troubled asset relief program, the Economic Times reported on Monday.

The newspaper said JPMorgan (JPM.N), Goldman Sachs (GS.N) and Morgan Stanley (MS.N) that received approval to buy back government stakes worth $68 billion earlier this year are among the firms seeking operational efficiencies by outsourcing non-core IT and back-office projects to India.

American Express (AXP.N), Bank of New York Mellon (BK.N) and Capital One, which have started repaying government debt, were also considering outsourcing, it said.

FEMA Plans Disaster Drill on Las Vegas Strip

Swtnlovabl — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 23:14:09 -0800

November 20, 2009
Las Vegas Sun

Las Vegas is the designated spot for a mock nuclear explosion planned by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Las Vegas is the designated spot for a mock nuclear explosion planned by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

FEMA had planned to simulate a nuclear explosion right on the Las Vegas Strip to test for emergency preparedness. But the plan is meeting a lot of opposition from all the key players, including Boyd Gaming, MGM Mirage, the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce and the LVCVA.

“All of our focus should be on attracting visitors on reasons why they should visit Las Vegas, not inhibitors,” said Vince Alberta with the LVCVA.

LVCVA wrote a letter on behalf of those against the idea saying, “We believe a scenario such as this will generate undue anxiety about visiting or conducting business in Las Vegas.”

Critics say a mock nuclear explosion should happen at a place where the damage would have a greater impact, like the Hoover Dam. But it's a step-by-step process and the first battle won is moving the exercise away from the Strip and over to Sunset Park. But it's not enough. “The biggest request we have is to change the exercise,” said Alberta.

LVCVA says a flood or earthquake drill would be a better alternative over a nuclear blast drill.

FEMA responded by saying, “We will continue to reach out to key stakeholders, including state and local officials, to receive their input as we prepare for and continue to develop this important event.”

The exercise is scheduled for May 17, 2010 and is expected to bring 10,000 people to town.'

http://www.lasvegasnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=11548851

http://standeyo.com/NEWS/09_USA/091123.Las.Vegas.nuke.html

Terrorism Trial May Point Way for 9/11 Cases

The Watchmen — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 22:21:55 -0800

Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, suspected of being a Qaeda terrorist, was captured in Pakistan in 2004, held in secret prisons run by the C.I.A. and then moved to the naval base at Guantánamo Bay. During about five years of detention, he says, he was confined in harsh conditions, abused during interrogation and denied a lawyer.

Since the spring, Mr. Ghailani has also been a defendant in federal court in Manhattan, the first Guantánamo detainee to be moved to the civilian courts.

From the moment the Obama administration announced that it would seek to try Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the professed planner of 9/11, and other Guantánamo detainees in the same federal court, the wisdom of the decision has been debated. Critics of the move have worried that government secrets will leak, that evidence won through harsh tactics could lead to dismissals, or that a trial would be used as a platform to spew hate.

There is much that distinguishes a potential trial of Mr. Mohammed from that of Mr. Ghailani. Mr. Mohammed is a much higher-profile defendant, he could face the death penalty, and he has said he wants to represent himself. But the prosecution of Mr. Ghailani, a Tanzanian accused of aiding the bombing of American Embassies in Africa in 1998, could hold important meaning for prosecutors and defense lawyers alike.

So far, he has fought — unsuccessfully — to hang onto the military lawyers who worked with him at Guantánamo. He has argued — successfully — that prosecutors should seek to preserve as evidence the secret C.I.A. prisons where he was held.

And just last week, Mr. Ghailani and his lawyers filed a formal motion to have his case thrown out, arguing that he had been denied a basic constitutional right afforded everyone in the federal court system: a speedy trial.

Gregory Cooper, one of Mr. Ghailani’s lawyers, put it this way: “I’m the scout going through the forest before the main force comes through.” He added that the cases against his client and Mr. Mohammed were factually “worlds apart.”

The government, for its part, has said in court that it is not going to introduce at trial any statements made by Mr. Ghailani “while he was in custody of other government agencies,” a clear reference to his imprisonment overseas or at Guantánamo.

One of the most interesting aspects of the Ghailani case involves the judge hearing it, Lewis A. Kaplan. Judge Kaplan is the most recent judge assigned to the long and complex series of Qaeda cases in the federal courthouse, and he could wind up presiding over any prosecution of Mr. Mohammed.

Mr. Ghailani, who is believed to be in his mid-30s, was arraigned for the first time in New York on June 9, weeks after President Obama announced he would be sent for trial as part of the effort to close Guantánamo. He pleaded not guilty.

“After over a decade, it is time to finally see that justice is served,” Mr. Obama said at the time.

Mr. Ghailani has been formally charged with participating in a conspiracy that included the 1998 bombings of American Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, attacks organized by Al Qaeda that killed 224 people. He later gained the trust of Osama bin Laden, working for him as a cook and bodyguard, the authorities say.

Mr. Ghailani has sat quietly in court over the months, assisting his lawyers, responding politely to the judge and forcefully asserting his rights on often novel issues that could arise if the Sept. 11 defendants go to trial.

In an appearance at Guantánamo in 2007, he apologized for helping others who had planned and carried out the attack, but said he had been unaware of its purpose.

“It was without my knowledge what they were doing, but I helped them,” he said, a transcript shows.

One of the first issues Mr. Ghailani raised as a civilian defendant was his desire to retain the help of two military lawyers who had represented him at Guantánamo.

Mr. Ghailani sent a personal letter in broken English to the Defense Department, asking to keep the lawyers. “It seem to me it will be terribly unfair to me to loose these two important figures in my defense,” he wrote.

Judge Kaplan last week rejected Mr. Ghailani’s request.

Virtually from the start of the proceedings against Mr. Ghailani, his lawyers, Mr. Cooper and Peter E. Quijano, made clear they planned to investigate deeply into Mr. Ghailani’s treatment while in detention. Mr. Ghailani has written in court papers that he was subjected to cruel interrogation techniques.

“It appears undeniable that the defendant was subjected to harsh conditions and harsh interrogation techniques while detained in C.I.A. ‘black sites,’ ” his lawyers wrote to Judge Kaplan, asking for an order that the government not destroy any of the overseas jails where Mr. Ghailani was held until the defense could visit and inspect them.

David Raskin, chief of the terrorism unit in the United States attorney’s office in Manhattan, suggested in court this summer that his office would seek to have the evidence preserved.

Mr. Raskin’s statement that the government would not use Mr. Ghailani’s statements while he was detained could well be suggestive of its approach should a trial of Mr. Mohammed take place. Mr. Mohammed was waterboarded 183 times in 2003 as part of the government’s efforts to extract information.

Indeed, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., when asked about a trial in light of the interrogation techniques, said there was other evidence “that gives me great confidence that we will be successful in the prosecution of these cases in federal court.”

If the Sept. 11 detainees decide to mount a defense — still an open question given their requests to plead guilty at Guantánamo — prosecutors will have to give their lawyers a mountain of documents, including classified evidence, under the rules of discovery.

To ensure that secrets do not leak, Judge Kaplan has imposed a protective order on all classified information, which may be reviewed by the defense lawyers only in a special “secure area,” a room whose location has not been disclosed.

The order covers all materials that might “reveal the foreign countries in which” Mr. Ghailani was held from 2004 to 2006 — the period when he was in the secret jails — and the names and even physical descriptions of any officer responsible for his detention or interrogation, the order says.

It also covers information about “enhanced interrogation techniques that were applied” to Mr. Ghailani, “including descriptions of the techniques as applied, the duration, frequency, sequencing, and limitations of those techniques.”

The defense lawyers, who had to obtain security clearance, cannot disclose the information to Mr. Ghailani without permission of the court or the government. Any motions they write based on the material must be prepared in the special room, and nothing may be filed publicly until it is reviewed by the government.

So, last Monday, when Mr. Ghailani’s lawyers filed a motion seeking dismissal of the charges because of “the unnecessary delay in bringing the defendant to trial,” they included only a few mostly blank cover sheets.

The rest of the motion, which presumably offers rich details about Mr. Ghailani’s time in detention, remains secret, and a censored version will be made public only after it is cleared by the government.

Judge Kaplan has set a trial date for next fall.

“There’s a public interest in seeing justice done here,” he said.

Karen J. Greenberg, executive director of the Center on Law and Security at New York University Law School, called the Ghailani prosecution “a perfect transition case.”

She cited his role as a relatively obscure defendant in a case involving terrorist acts that occurred before Sept. 11, where there has already been a trial and convictions, but who is also pressing claims from his years in detention.

“It allows them to take a less emotionally charged case, try it in Manhattan, and create the parameters of what the court proceedings would be like,” she said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/23/nyregion/23ghailani.html?hp

Economic Survey: Job Losses to Bottom Out in 1Q

The Watchmen — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 22:17:57 -0800

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 12:42 a.m. ET

Economists expect the joblessness that has weighed down the nation's economic recovery will start to slowly abate in 2010, but they predict consumers will continue to keep a tight rein on spending, according to a new survey.

While signs have pointed to the end of the recession, joblessness remains rampant. The national unemployment rate jumped to 10.2 percent in October, the highest in 26 years. About 9 million people currently receive unemployment benefits.

The November outlook by the National Association for Business Economics, which is set to be released Monday, shows economists expect net employment losses to bottom out in the first quarter of next year. Employers are seen starting to add to their payrolls after that.

''While the recovery has been jobless so far, that should soon change,'' said Lynn Reaser, NABE's president and chief economist at Point Loma Nazarene University. ''Within the next few months, companies should be adding instead of cutting jobs.''

But even if companies do start restaffing next spring, they aren't expected to ramp up hiring very quickly. Some 7.3 million jobs have been lost since December 2007, according to NABE. Of the 48 panelists surveyed, 61 percent do not expect a complete recovery of those lost jobs until 2012. And they expect the unemployment rate will remain ''stubbornly high,'' averaging 9.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Panelists ranked high unemployment as their second biggest concern over the next five years, expressing ''extreme concern'' first and foremost about the federal deficit. Those surveyed expect inflation will remain low and the dollar to remain weak, though they see it strengthening against the euro and continuing to be a major reserve currency.

The economy grew at a 3.5 percent pace in the third quarter, the Commerce Department announced last month, a strong signal that the economy is entering a recovery phase from the worst recession since the Great Depression. But the pace of the recovery is expected to be slow because of high unemployment and tight credit.

The latest survey by NABE notes that sluggish consumer spending will continue to weigh on the economy. But it predicts rebounds in housing, growth from business spending as more companies restock lean inventories, and a rise in stock prices.

Economists polled in the survey predict 3 percent real GDP growth in the 2009 fourth quarter, and 3.2 percent growth for all of 2010. For the two years combined, the projected growth is half a percentage point higher than the forecast NABE gave in October.

''Real GDP growth should also be enough to recover losses from the recession and return output to an all-time high by the end of 2010,'' NABE forecasters predict.

Those surveyed say the housing recovery will gather momentum, helped by low interest rates, with housing starts expected to jump 36 percent and residential investment climbing 9 percent next year. Such results would make 2010 the first year since 2005 that the housing sector contributes to overall growth. Economists expect home prices to gain 2 percent next year, after bottoming out in 2009.

Consumer spending gains are expected to be ''lackluster,'' as workers continue to worry about jobs and investments. Panelists also expect to see a ''persistently elevated sense of thrift'' as consumers save more. They expect the personal savings rate to average 4 percent in 2010, the highest level since 1998.

Businesses, though, will increase their spending. The survey said the inventory liquidation of the past year will bottom out and companies will restock in 2010, while also spending more on equipment and software because of higher profits.

Corporate profits are expected to gain 12.4 percent in 2010, which the survey said was average for the first year of an economic recovery. All survey respondents expect the stock market to grow in 2010, with the S&P 500 Index seen rising 9.5 percent next year.

The NABE survey of 48 professional forecasters was taken Oct. 24-Nov. 5.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/11/23/business/AP-US-NABE-Survey.html

VIDEO: "End The Fed" rally in Denver 11/22/09

In Theory — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 20:33:38 -0800

Scenes from when I first arrived at the rally in front of the Denver branch of the Federal Reserve.

Andrew G. Eggleston Sr., Colorado's organizer for The Liberty Coalition explains the goals of his group.

Thoughts from some of the rally's participants.

More thoughts from some of the rally's participants.

To see videos of other End the Fed events across the country visit this thread at RonPaulForums.com.

A letter to Queen Nasty Pelosi

I811st — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 20:27:53 -0800

A very good example of a letter to our dearest and most corrupt,moral-less,elected representatives ,the queen of Botox, Nancy Pelosi.

About the author:
Dennis L Guthrie
Born St. Louis , Missouri , August 21, 1944
Bar Admissions:
North Carolina, 1969
U.S. District Court, Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of North Carolina , 1969
U.S. Tax Court
Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals
Education: Wofford College , 1966A.B.
Mercer University, 1969J.D.
Phi Alpha Delta
Vice-Justice, District XIV, 1968 - 1969
Professional Associations and Memberships:
North Carolina and American Bar Associations (Member, Sections on: Administrative Law; General Practice; Litigation)
26th Judicial District and North Carolina State Bar
Mecklenburg County Bar Association
American Association of Justice
North Carolina Trial Lawyers Association
Captain, U.S. Army, 1969-1971, Vietnam
National Defense Medal, 1969
Republic of Viet Nam Service Medal, 1970
Bronze Star Medals (2), 1971
Assistant District Attorney, Mecklenburg County , 1971 - 1974
Charlotte Chamber of Commerce
Chairman, Board of Trustees Providence United Methodist Church
Board of Directors, Alexander Children's Home
Board of Directors, Charlotte Culinary Institute
Wofford Alumni Executive Council
Scoutmaster, Boy Scouts of America
Board of Directors, Boy Scouts of America of Mecklenburg County
Board of Directors, Girl Scout Council
Life Member, National Eagle Scout Association
Life Member, Girl Scouts of America

Active sworn officer “glad to see an organization like Oath Keepers”

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 03:09:59 -0800

To me it's a no brainer. I took an oath as a police officer. I made a promise (gave my word, or how ever you want to say it). That means something. Often today a promise means less that the breath that gave it or the paper that it was written on. That is not how I was raised. My dad was a vet (served in Korea) and lucky for me, he taught me what it means to be an American and a Patriot.

I will continue to honor the Oath to support and defend the Constitution

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 03:04:41 -0800

In the event of an "emergency" I suppose the possibility exists that some bureaucrat somewhere may attempt to issue unlawful orders in regards to our airports and the aviation system. I will not obey any unlawful order or directive that ultimately seeks to infringe on the rights of the People.

Images From The End the Fed Rally 11/22/09

Clint Milby — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:00:00 -0800

I Believe In What The Constitution Stands For

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 02:58:06 -0800

I am a 24 year retired Viet Nam combat pilot/officer of the USAF. Took an oath to uphold the constitution when I received my commission and still believe in the constitution.

46 years ago today...

death_to_the_NWO — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 16:58:17 -0800

This was the first attack of many by the NWO, in the modern era, against the people of the U.S.A.

It is a long march to tyranny.

John F. Kennedy vs The Federal Reserve.pdf

Climategate: the final nail in the coffin of ‘Anthropogenic Global Warming’?

Jeff — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 16:03:57 -0800

Source: UK Telegraph

If you own any shares in alternative energy companies I should start dumping them NOW. The conspiracy behind the Anthropogenic Global Warming myth (aka AGW; aka ManBearPig) has been suddenly, brutally and quite deliciously exposed after a hacker broke into the computers at the University of East Anglia’s Climate Research Unit (aka Hadley CRU) and released 61 megabites of confidential files onto the internet. (Hat tip: Watts Up With That)

When you read some of those files – including 1079 emails and 72 documents – you realise just why the boffins at Hadley CRU might have preferred to keep them confidential. As Andrew Bolt puts it, this scandal could well be “the greatest in modern science”. These alleged emails – supposedly exchanged by some of the most prominent scientists pushing AGW theory – suggest:

Conspiracy, collusion in exaggerating warming data, possibly illegal destruction of embarrassing information, organised resistance to disclosure, manipulation of data, private admissions of flaws in their public claims and much more.

One of the alleged emails has a gentle gloat over the death in 2004 of John L Daly (one of the first climate change sceptics, founder of the Still Waiting For Greenhouse site), commenting:

“In an odd way this is cheering news.”

But perhaps the most damaging revelations – the scientific equivalent of the Telegraph’s MPs’ expenses scandal – are those concerning the way Warmist scientists may variously have manipulated or suppressed evidence in order to support their cause.

Here are a few tasters. (So far, we can only refer to them as alleged emails because – though Hadley CRU’s director Phil Jones has confirmed the break-in to Ian Wishart at the Briefing Room – he has yet to fess up to any specific contents.) But if genuine, they suggest dubious practices such as:

Manipulation of evidence:

I’ve just completed Mike’s Nature trick of adding in the real temps to each series for the last 20 years (ie from 1981 onwards) amd from 1961 for Keith’s to hide the decline.

Private doubts about whether the world really is heating up:

The fact is that we can’t account for the lack of warming at the moment and it is a travesty that we can’t. The CERES data published in the August BAMS 09 supplement on 2008 shows there should be even more warming: but the data are surely wrong. Our observing system is inadequate.

Suppression of evidence:

Can you delete any emails you may have had with Keith re AR4?

Keith will do likewise. He’s not in at the moment – minor family crisis.

Can you also email Gene and get him to do the same? I don’t have his new email address.

We will be getting Caspar to do likewise.

Fantasies of violence against prominent Climate Sceptic scientists:

Next
time I see Pat Michaels at a scientific meeting, I’ll be tempted to beat
the crap out of him. Very tempted.

Attempts to disguise the inconvenient truth of the Medieval Warm Period (MWP):

……Phil and I have recently submitted a paper using about a dozen NH records that fit this category, and many of which are available nearly 2K back–I think that trying to adopt a timeframe of 2K, rather than the usual 1K, addresses a good earlier point that Peck made w/ regard to the memo, that it would be nice to try to “contain” the putative “MWP”, even if we don’t yet have a hemispheric mean reconstruction available that far back….

And, perhaps most reprehensibly, a long series of communications discussing how best to squeeze dissenting scientists out of the peer review process. How, in other words, to create a scientific climate in which anyone who disagrees with AGW can be written off as a crank, whose views do not have a scrap of authority.

“This was the danger of always criticising the skeptics for not publishing in the “peer-reviewed literature”. Obviously, they found a solution to that–take over a journal! So what do we do about this? I think we have to stop considering “Climate Research” as a legitimate peer-reviewed journal. Perhaps we should encourage our colleagues in the climate research community to no longer submit to, or cite papers in, this journal. We would also need to consider what we tell or request of our more reasonable colleagues who currently sit on the editorial board…What do others think?”

“I will be emailing the journal to tell them I’m having nothing more to do with it until they rid themselves of this troublesome editor.”“It results from this journal having a number of editors. The responsible one for this is a well-known skeptic in NZ. He has let a few papers through by Michaels and Gray in the past. I’ve had words with Hans von Storch about this, but got nowhere. Another thing to discuss in Nice !”

Hadley CRU has form in this regard. In September – I wrote the story up here as “How the global warming industry is based on a massive lie” – Hadley CRU’s researchers were exposed as having “cherry-picked” data in order to support their untrue claim that global temperatures had risen higher at the end of the 20th century than at any time in the last millenium. Hadley CRU was also the organisation which – in contravention of all acceptable behaviour in the international scientific community – spent years withholding data from researchers it deemed unhelpful to its cause. This matters because Hadley CRU, established in 1990 by the Met Office, is a government-funded body which is supposed to be a model of rectitude. Its HadCrut record is one of the four official sources of global temperature data used by the IPCC.

I asked in my title whether this will be the final nail in the coffin of Anthropenic Global Warming. This was wishful thinking, of course. In the run up to Copenhagen, we will see more and more hysterical (and grotesquely exaggerated) stories such as this in the Mainstream Media. And we will see ever-more-virulent campaigns conducted by eco-fascist activists, such as this risible new advertising campaign by Plane Stupid showing CGI polar bears falling from the sky and exploding because kind of, like, man, that’s sort of what happens whenever you take another trip on an aeroplane.

The world is currently cooling; electorates are increasingly reluctant to support eco-policies leading to more oppressive regulation, higher taxes and higher utility bills; the tide is turning against Al Gore’s Anthropogenic Global Warming theory. The so-called “sceptical” view is now also the majority view.

Unfortunately, we’ve a long, long way to go before the public mood (and scientific truth) is reflected by our policy makers. There are too many vested interests in AGW, with far too much to lose either in terms of reputation or money, for this to end without a bitter fight.

But if the Hadley CRU scandal is true,it’s a blow to the AGW lobby’s credibility which is never likely to recover.

Recording Fearless Broadcasting in Full Video with Screen Capture Software

Marklar — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:50:59 -0800

Find more videos like this on 12160.org

PATRIOT ALERT! This is shocking!

LeAnne — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 14:40:06 -0800

Received the following in an email today:

Patriot Alert Regarding Continental Congress 2009

A Brief Synopsis:
A concerted effort was made to set-up the entire patriot/constitutionalist/militia movement into formally making terroristic threats which would have (and still holds some) potential to trigger the justification of declaring martial law and the round-up of all patriots as terrorists.

The Scheme:
Robert Schulz , through his We The People Foundation, whether voluntarily or under duress, organized a Continental Congress 2009 consisting of 105 duly elected citizen delegates representing 48 of the several states. The Congress was held in St. Charles, IL from Nov. 11-22.

Manipulated by a pre-planned agenda, the delegates formed sub-committees to draft “reports” which would become part of a finished document entitled, “The Articles of Association” (since changed to “The Articles of Freedom”). The pre-determined format of these reports was to include instructions to the Congress, the State Legislatures, and the People.

Instructions to the Congress included the formation of an unelected/appointed “Advisory Council” to which all legislation was to be submitted for Council approval before enactment. Such statements within these initial reports did not immediately raise “red flags”.

Subsequently the final document of the “Articles of Association” would include (under a section entitled “Instructions for Civic Action”) a call for the mobilization of millions of American citizens pledging to simultaneously carry out across America such acts as: to stop traffic on highways, bridges (George Washington Bridge, NY, etc.), tunnels; to close Congress, State Houses, IRS offices, TV stations, etc. This was not readily realized by the delegates who were swamped with initial reports, then found themselves voting on reports they were not afforded the opportunity to read due to “lack of toner in the copy machines”.

One delegate made it a point to read a written copy of each of the reports and the initial proposed “The Articles of Association”. In reading all of the fine print, he realized that the entire agenda boiled down to a manipulation of the delegates into making a demand on Congress to submit to an unelected authoritative body under threat of “serious public inconvenience”. (See Black’s Law Dictionary “terroristic threat”) This is very similar to the communist tactic of making a demand for power under threat of national labor strikes.

This final document package from Continental Congress 2009 would serve as a means to marginalize and demonize the entire patriot/constitutionalist/militia movement in the eyes of the American people. It would give a perceived justification of rounding up millions who signed the pledge.

The delegate stopped the proceedings by calling for a “Point of Information”, requesting a legal definition of the term “terroristic threat” and consideration of that definition in relation to the Continental Congress delegates being charged with the felony offense of “conspiring to commit terroristic threats”. He was immediately ruled out of order by the President of CC2009, Michael Badnarik. The Sgt of Arms was instantly called to escort the delegate from the podium. As he was being escorted out, another delegate (who had been trying to bring out information about the 14th Amendment) stepped up to the microphone and began reading the requested definition from Black’s Law Dictionary. That delegate was also immediately ruled out of order and the microphone grabbed away.

Delegate Number Two was told that any further effort to bring information forward would result in immediate removal and arrest. Thus began an exodus of the 14th Amendment sub-committee. Delegate Number One, Two and many of the other delegates, not willing to subject themselves to felony prosecution for conspiring to threaten Congress with terroristic acts, have submitted formal resignations and disassociation letters to the Continental Congress 2009 and We The People Foundation by certified mail.

It is imperative that the freedom-loving people of America be made aware of this treachery, become activated to expose it, and warn their fellow citizens to beware of signing on to any document pledging their support to carryout acts resulting in “serious public inconvenience”.

Peter F. Boyce

Member Chat Room 12160.org - test

James aka adap2k — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 12:30:00 -0800

Forced Labour and Rape, the New Face of Slavery in America

Marklar — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 12:18:07 -0800

In the Midwestern heartland, police are encountering a new social evil: trafficking, often involving women and children who are forced to work as prostitutes or unpaid labour; and the outcomes can be brutal.

By Paul Harris in Dayton, Ohio

November 22, 2009 "The Guardian" -- Human trafficking has become a major issue in the Midwest heartland of America, causing some campaigners to dub it a modern form of slavery.

Figures from the State Department reveal that 17,500 people are trafficked into the US every year against their will or under false pretences, mainly to be used for sex or forced labour. Experts believe that, when cases of internal trafficking are added, the total number of victims could be up to five times larger. And increasing numbers of trafficked individuals are being transported thousands of miles from America's coasts and into heartland states such as Ohio and Michigan.

"It is not only a crime. It is an abomination," said Professor Mark Ensalaco, a political scientist at the University of Dayton, Ohio, who organised a recent conference on the issue. In Ohio a human trafficking commission has just been set up to study the problem, while in the northern Ohio city of Toledo a special FBI task force is tackling the issue. For many local law enforcement officials, it is a bewildering new world.

In one recent incident a 16-year-old Mexican girl was found to have been trafficked across the US border. Doctors noticed the heavily pregnant girl showed clear signs of physical abuse when she was brought into a hospital in Dayton to give birth. The police were called but the couple who had brought her had already fled. When the girl's story emerged, it became clear she had been kept against her will in the nearby city of Springfield and used for labour and sex. "I thought slavery ended a few centuries ago. But here it is alive and well," said Springfield's sheriff, Gene Kelly.

He emphasised the risks to the girl's baby after it had been born if the doctors had not been so alert: "Like the mother, the baby could have ended up a victim for years to come. Who knows? Future labour? Future person to traffic?"

Ohio anti-trafficking campaigner Phil Cenedella, founder of Combating Trafficking Anywhere, believes that the baby was destined to be sold off by her captors. "They would have put the kid on the black market. It is crazy that this is happening." Human trafficking – defined as forcing someone against their will to work for no reward – has been dubbed modern slavery. At the Dayton conference, it was discussed as a growing social problem, not in some far-off foreign land, but among the cornfields of Ohio.

"The problems are broader than we realised," said Ohio's attorney general, Richard Cordray. "What we want to do is find and disrupt these networks."

One of the country's leading anti-trafficking advocates is Theresa Flores, a former victim. Flores puts a different kind of face on human trafficking in America. She is white, middle-class and blond and looks the epitome of a suburban American woman. She grew up in a wealthy suburb of Detroit in Michigan and did well at school. Yet Flores tells a nightmarish story of two years being drugged, raped and sold for sex.

Flores, whose ordeal was turned into a book called The Sacred Bath: An American Teen's Story of Modern Day Slavery, was attacked and raped when she was 15. Her assailant used the threat of photographs he had taken during her rape to force her into having sex with strangers. She became the effective prisoner of a drugs gang that used her as a prostitute and kept her earnings, or gave her away free to gang members as a "reward". "People don't think that trafficking looks like me or that it can happen to someone who came from a nice neighbourhood. But it does. People need to see outside that box," said Flores.

Flores said that her lowest point came when the gang took her to a seedy motel where she was raped by as many as two dozen men. She woke up alone, abused and with no clothes. "I was told I would die if I told anyone. It happened over and over for two years as I became a sex slave for those men," she said.

Anti-trafficking campaigners point out that cases in the US come in a wide variety of forms involving men, women and children. One major area is that of trafficked labour with people used for domestic work or, more commonly, for back-breaking labour in agricultural industries. But trafficking cases have also occurred in businesses such as restaurants, hair salons and beauty parlours. The overwhelming majority of the rest are sex cases, usually involving young women or children forced into prostitution. The methods used to keep people vary. They include confiscating the passports of those brought in from a foreign country or the threat of extreme violence. Other tactics are to threaten family members if a victim does not comply or, as in Flores's case, to use blackmail.

Trafficking represents a new challenge to law enforcement, especially in regions which have traditionally not thought of it as a major problem. That is especially true where it happens within an immigrant community. Languages are a problem as well as cultural issues and a natural fear that many immigrants – some of them possibly illegal – have of contacting the police.

Kelly believes that is the case in Springfield, a town that is almost the Midwestern archetype. It was once featured in a story in Newsweek magazine entitled "The American Dream". But its 65,000 citizens also face all the problems of a modern America in the grip of a deep recession: an immigration crisis and profoundly changing demographics. The town now hosts several prominent minority communities who make up more than a fifth of its population, including Russians, Chinese, Latinos and Somalis. "There are a lot of people who distrust law enforcement. We need to break down those barriers. Our officers need training, especially in languages," said Kelly. "If you can't speak to people, you can't reach them."

Some commentators and experts have accused victims' advocates and academics of overstating the problem, arguing the problem has been exaggerated and expressing scepticism at the notion that vast organised criminal networks are dealing in human beings for sex or labour. Law enforcement officers also acknowledge that the definitions of trafficking may need refining.

In North Carolina last week the mother of a five-year-old girl was charged with human trafficking after being accused of offering her daughter for sex. The child was later found dead. The crime was horrific, but the distinction between trafficking and simple, sadistic child abuse might not be immediately obvious.

"We have a problem with definition. It is not always straightforward and easy to explain," said Laura Clemmens, a government lawyer in Dayton. "The hard part is bringing it into the light. At the moment these crimes are clouded in secrecy.

© Guardian News and Media Limited 2009

Pandora : Adware Galore

WTRH-AM-AE — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 11:00:00 -0800

I went to check back on Pandora, god's sake, it does not have any freedom left. Everytime you change the channel some stupid flash video comes up airing a "Twix" high caramel
bad for for teeth candy commerical. Next time I changed the station, it showed me this
stupid television special. What's next? I will list most of the commericals. What is next? Stupid dog food commerical, or some other annoying commerical?

Annoying Commericals Discovered So Far -

1 - Toshiba - Laptop Commercial
2 - HTC - Sprint Phone Commercial
3 - Ebay - Sales Commercial
4 - Bud Light - Beer Commercial
5 - LG - HDTV Commercial
6 - Marriot - Springhill Suites
7 - Nokia - Cell Phone Commercial
8 - Columbia - Great Outdoors Commerical
9 - Musketeers - Candy Bar Commerical
10 - Lacoste - Web Commerical
11 - Apple - Ipod Commerical

I feel Pandora needs to just drop the project since we already know where the money is
going : out the window! When I get time I am going to shut my stations down on Pandora and go somewhere else. I am getting tired of ad controlled crap on the internet,
thanks but no thanks. And it's too bad that Pandora does not care for the rest of the world even in the UK and other countries. But here in USA we get advertisements. I guess that's the new America for ya.

Heroic Human Rights Lawyer Jailed

Jeff — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:05:16 -0800

by Stephen Lendman

On November 20, New York Times writer Colin Moynihan broke the news headlining:

"Radical Lawyer Convicted of Aiding Terrorist Is Jailed," then saying:

"Defiant to the end as she embraced supporters outside the federal courthouse in Lower Manhattan, Lynne F. Stewart, the radical lawyer known for defending unpopular clients, surrendered on Thursday to begin serving her 28-month sentence for assisting terrorism."

Fact check:

Stewart did what all attorneys should, but few, in fact, do - observe the American Bar Association's Model Rules saying all lawyers are obligated to:

"devote professional time and resources and use civic influence to ensure equal access to our system of justice for all those who because of economic or social barriers cannot afford or secure adequate legal counsel."

Also to practice law ethically, morally and responsibly to assure everyone is afforded due process and judicial fairness in American courts. Sadly and disturbingly, Stewart was denied what she did for others heroically, unselfishly, and proudly. More on that below.

Stewart (prison number 53504-054) is now jailed at:

MCC-NY
150 Park Row
New York, NY 10007

Betrayed by American Justice

For 30 years, Stewart worked heroically to defend America's poor, underprivileged, and unwanted, never afforded due process and judicial fairness without an advocate like her. Where others wouldn't go, she defended controversial figures like David Gilbert of the Weather Underground, Richard Williams of the United Freedom Front, Sekou Odinga and Nasser Ahmed of the Black Liberation Army, and many more like them. She knew the risk, but did it fearlessly and courageously until bogusly indicted on April 9, 2002 for:

-- "conspiring to defraud the United States;

-- conspiring to provide and conceal material support to terrorist activity;

-- providing and concealing material support to terrorist activity; and

-- two counts of making false statements."

She was also accused of violating US Bureau of Prisons Special Administrative Measures (SAMs) that included a gag order on her client, Sheik Abdel Rahman. When imposed, they prohibit discussion on topics the Justice Department (DOJ) rules outside of "legal representation," so lawyers can't discuss them with clients, thus inhibiting their defense.

At former US Attorney General Ramzy Clark's request, she joined him as part of Rahman's court-appointed defense team. In his 1995 show trial, he was convicted and is now serving a life sentence for seditious conspiracy, solicitation of murder, solicitation of an attack on American military installations, conspiracy to murder, and conspiracy to bomb in connection with the 1993 World Trade Center attack despite evidence proving his innocence on all charges.

The DOJ's case wasn't about alleged crimes. It reflected his affiliations and anti-western views. Rahman was connected to the Egyptian-based Al-Gamaa al-Islamiyya - a 1997 US State Department-designated "foreign terrorist organization." In the 1980s, however, he helped the CIA recruit Mujahadeen fighters against the Soviets in Afghanistan. For his work, he got a US visa, green card, and State Department-CIA protection as long as he was valued. When no longer, he was targeted along with Stewart.

Her case was precedent-setting, chilling, and according to the Center of Constitutional Rights Michael Ratner:

sent "a message to lawyers who represent alleged terrorists that it's dangerous to do so."

Her attorney, Michael Tigar, called it:

"an attack on a gallant, charismatic and effective fighter for justice (with) at least three fundamental faults:

-- (it) attack(ed) the First Amendment right of free speech, free press and petition;

-- the right to effective assistance of counsel (by) chill(ing) the defense; (and)

-- the 'evidence' in this case was gathered by wholesale invasion of private conversations, private-attorney-client meetings, faxes, letters and e-mails; I have never seen such an abuse of government power."

Her 2004 - 2005 show trial was a mockery of justice with echoes of the worst McCarthy-like tactics. Inflammatory terrorist images were displayed in court to prejudice the jury, and prosecutors vilified Stewart as a traitor with "radical" political views. In addition, days before the verdict, the militant pro-Israeli Jewish Defense Organization put up flyers near the courthouse displaying her address. It threatened to "drive her out of her home and out of the state," and said she "needs to be put out of business legally and effectively."

It was part of the orchestrated scheme inside and outside the courtroom to heighten fear, convict Stewart, and intimidate other lawyers to expect the same treatment if they dare represent unpopular clients effectively.

On February 10, 2005 (after a seven month trial and 13 days of deliberation) she was convicted on all five counts. Under New York state law, she was automatically disbarred, and the state Supreme Court's Appellate Division denied her petition to resign voluntarily. On October 17, 2006, she was sentenced to 28 months imprisonment, but remained free on bond pending appeal before the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Stewart Ordered to Prison

The Justice for Lynne Stewart web site (lynnestewart.org) announced the news. On November 17, the Appeals Court revoked her bond, upheld the verdict, ordered her surrender forthwith, but stayed it until November 19 at 5PM to let her attorney file a motion for reconsideration. It was denied, so she must report to federal marshals as directed. A November 19 conversation with Lynne and her husband Ralph confirmed it.

The situation remains fluid, dire, and complicated by Stewart's battle with breast cancer. She has surgery scheduled for December 7, unlikely now, but if done in prison or where authorities direct, it won't be the quality she deserves.

In its ruling, the three judge panel (John Walker, Guido Calebresi and Robert Sack) was firm, hostile and belligerent in upholding the lower court's conviction. Judge Sack accused Stewart of lying and called for a longer sentence. "We think that whether (she) lied under oath at her trial is directly relevant to whether her sentence was appropriate," he wrote, and directed District Court Judge John Koeltl to re-sentence her "so as to reflect that finding." Judge Walker was even harsher, calling the original sentence "breathtakingly low." Judge Calabrese said: "I am at a loss for any rationale upon this record that could reasonably justify a sentence of 28 months' imprisonment for this defendant."

They all said Stewart was "convicted principally with respect to (her violating) measures by which (she) had agreed to abide," namely SAMs. They rejected her "argument that, as a lawyer, she was not bound by (them), and her belated argument collaterally attacking their constitutionality." They also:

"affirm(ed her conviction) of providing and concealing material support to the conspiracy to murder persons in a foreign country (and) of conspiring to provide and conceal such support....We conclude that the charges were valid (and) the evidence was sufficient to sustain the convictions. We also reject Stewart's claims that her purported attempt to serve as a 'zealous advocate' for her client provides her with immunity from the convictions...."

"Finally, we affirm Stewart's convictions for knowingly and willfully making false statements....when she affirmed that she intended to, and would, abide by the SAMs. In light of her repeated and flagrant violation of (them), a reasonable factfinder could conclude that (her) representations that she intended to and would abide by the SAMs were knowingly false when made. We reject the remaining challenges to the convictions. (We) affirm the district court's rejection of Stewart's claim that she was selectively prosecuted on account of her gender or political beliefs....We therefore affirm the convictions in their entirety."

They redirected her case to District Court Judge Koeltl for re-sentencing. The DOJ wants 30 years. Koeltl originally imposed 28 months, let Stewart remain free on bond pending appeal, implied his decision might be overturned because of a gross miscarriage of justice, effectively rebuked the Bush administration at the time, and handed it a major defeat. Her fate is now in his hands, but justice has already been denied at a time we're all as vulnerable as she if we dare resist state policies, unchanged under an administration no different from its predecessor.

In a November 17 news conference, Stewart said:

"I'm too old to cry, but it hurts too much not to." In criticizing the Court's decision, she said its timing "on the eve of the arrival of the tortured men from offshore prison in Guantanamo" suggests that lawyers appointed to represent them may face the same fate as she. "If you're going to lawyer for these people, you'd better toe very close to the line that the government has set out (because they'll) be watching you every inch of the way, (so those who don't) will end up like Lynne Stewart. This is a case that is bigger than just me personally (but she added that she'll) go on fighting."

So will her lawyer, Joshua Dratel, who said he'll pursue it "as far and as long as we can," including a possible Supreme Court review. The Obama US attorney's office was silent, effectively affirming a gross injustice at a time the due process and judicial fairness thresholds are so low that all Americans risk the same fate as Lynne.

Stephen Lendman is a frequent contributor to Global Research.

Dees Does It Again!! A Picture Worth A Thousand Words On The Rotschild Global Warming HOAX!! LOL!!

Guy Razer — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:03:01 -0800

Vaccine Reality Versus FRAUDULENT Cartoon Trash NONSENSE!!

Guy Razer — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 09:48:27 -0800

Subject: When They Start Doin Cartoons To Push Vaxs!! Shameful!!

....
THE 3 VIDEOS BELOW ARE OF REAL YOUNG HUMAN BEINGS NOT SOME FREAKIN DUMBSHIT CHARACTERS SOME JAB HAPPY PROFITEERS MADE UP BY SPENDING ALL THAT FREE MONEY OUR FOOL LEADERSHIP GAVE THEM!! (BILLIONS OF DOLLARS MAKES LOTS OF PEOPLE DO STUPID THINGS)!!

I can't even begin to express my opposition to this trash!!

Vaccine Reality Versus FRAUDULENT Cartoon Trash NONSENSE!!

Guy Razer — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 09:48:06 -0800

Urgent Fax Action NOW: Conyers Says Health Care Bill Smells Bad

Vincent L. Guarisco — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 09:35:39 -0800

As we promised this week's new "I'm A Democrat, I'm A Republican" (like there's a difference) videos on health care, this one subtitled "Ear Muffs", is up now on the fax action page at

Health Care Fax Action Page:

http://www.peaceteam.net/action/pnum1020.php

So please, watch the new "Ear Muffs" video, and submit the action page, AGAIN even if you did it last week too. We need to keep the pressure up to stop these awful worthless bills, and get real health care reform instead. Because it's now official, the health care bills Congress is trying to pass stink to high heaven.

Today John Conyers said that "progressives held their nose" in voting for it. But we didn't send them to Washington to hold their noses, we sent them there to get out there fight for good public policy. And they'd better start listening. But first, we need to speak out in greater and greater numbers.

And the Senate is working on something even worse, a bill that is even weaker than the one from the House, that won't even really kick in for 5 YEARS, like they think they can sneak through a couple more elections before we notice the sstench.

It's just a replay of the phony credit card reform bill, only with 5 times as long for the medical insurance companies to keep gouging us before the big nothing takes effect. We need each and every one of our participants to help us spread the word about these videos as far and wide as possible, so we can get more and more people to speak out. If you have a website, or a web page of any kind, there code at the top of the fax action page you can put on your own site or page, so people can watch the latest video right there. Health Care Fax Action Page:

http://www.peaceteam.net/action/pnum1020.php And here is the link direct to the YouTube video, but it is MUCH better to send people direct to the action page, where the free fax submission form is right there. http://www.youtube.com/watchv=_Vx3khPQD28

And if you are looking to fill up holiday stockings on a tight budget, help yourself to any of our activist gifts for a donation of any amount. And we will rush whatever you want out to you first class so you'll have it in time for the holidays.

Single Payer Amendments Action: http://apps.facebook.com/fb_voices/action.php?qnum=pnum1020

And the Twitter reply to send, to send this message to all your members of Congress that way, is @cxs #p1020 Please take action NOW, so we can win all victories that are supposed to be ours, and forward this alert as widely as possible. If you would like to get alerts like these, you can do so at http://www.peaceteam.net/in.htm

Dees Does It Again!! A Picture Worth A Thousand Words On The Rotschild Global Warming HOAX!! LOL!!

Guy Razer — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 09:30:00 -0800

Another good read...

youhavetoforgiveme — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 08:45:34 -0800

...about how money is made out of nothing and "the powers that be"...and it's free! :D

PoliceStatePlanning.com

Example: At the head of Chapter Seven:

"The standard of living of the average American has to decline..."
- Paul Volcker, Chairman of The Federal Reserve, New York Times, 18 October 1979, p.1, Volcker Asserts U.S Must Trim Living Standard.

Who the HELL does he think he is???

Complete List of Event Locations - November 22, 2009

Brad — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 04:56:52 -0800

Germ Warfare And Experiments On YOU

Jeff — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 02:12:35 -0800

Just another disgusting example of what our government will do to us.

Pretty sick shit man.

Kennedy's Executive Order 11110 was never rescinded. So, the E.O. still stands.

jack — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 01:01:00 -0800

Kennedy issued his US Notes for much the same reason. On June 4, 1963, Kennedy signed Executive Order 11110, which authorized the US Treasury to issue a new form of silver certificate.

Kennedy issued $4,292,893,825 of cash money; free of debt and free of interest. It was a sufficient amount to allow the nation to operate without the private Federal Reserve. Just 5 months later, JFK was shot by the "crazed lone nut" Lee Harvey Oswald. Almost immediately after Kennedy's death, the US Notes were pulled out of circulation and destroyed except for samples in the hands of collectors.

A telling clue lies in the fact that the Warren Commission, now widely understood to have been a cover-up, counted among its seven members John J. McCloy, who had served as head of the World Bank and President of Chase Manhattan Bank. A rather odd resume for a man charged with investigating a murder, in hindsight!

Subsequent examination has shown that Kennedy's Executive Order 11110 was never rescinded. That would have taken an act of Congress, and in the atmosphere of near deification of JFK following his death, that would have brought more public attention to what Kennedy had wanted to do. So, the E.O. still stands.

I have written this commentary for two purposes. First, to remind President Obama that he already has all the authority he needs to order the US Treasury to start issuing currency. He just needs to pick up the phone or stroll through that tunnel and tell them to carry out Kennedy's EO 11110. Obama has that authority. He does not need Congress or anyone else's permission.

My second purpose is to send a message to the Federal Reserve. and that message is that if Obama does start issuing currency in accord with the Constitution and Kennedy's EO 11110, and anything happens to him (or for that matter to Ellen Brown), the owners of the Federal Reserve will be our first and most likely suspects.

We need to organize this worldwide on the same days......USA, England, France, Germany, Japan, and everywhere else. This is a Global problem.

jack — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:32:57 -0800

We need help from the tech guys that are organizing the endthefed.us website and blogs to see how we can build an umbralla type of website for every country to attach it´s own site....

Like www.endthecentralbanks.com and then you have a choice choosing your country, and-or language.

This would create a more powerfull medium!!

Here´s a guy from Oslo and i know there are many many more out there....so let´s team up and kick the banksters out

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cd6RlGR4Al4

And you...you are all alone

Matthew Socie — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:49:28 -0800

Not a call to arms, but a call to join arms. A unified consciousness. Unbridled unbroken love. Think of children playing in the sun. Think back to your childhood. The innocence. It is useless to say that things are unfair, or that there must be some way to stop all of this. We know damn well what we need to do. It all starts with YOU. If you are not dedicated, mind, body and soul, then please take sometime to realize how urgent these matters are.
Realize that you need to prepare yourself, and the people in your community, to live without the dollar. To live without the 'need' for government. Every aspect of your life is best handled by YOU. Grow gardens in your community. Make new currencies and mediums of exchange in your community. Make the need to borrow money a thing of the past. Form strong bonds in your community. Shop only local stores, no national chains. Make the problem shrink with the way you live your life. You do not want to be alone in all of this.
This spring, I'm going to be like Johnny Appleseed, but with all sorts of fruits, vegetable and herbs. Every bit of wasted space, vacant lot, public, private and any other property I see fit, I will plant food to grow. Imagine not needing to go the the market simply because there is just so much food growing all around you.
Attend community gatherings to spread the word. Not of conspiracy, but a message of freedom and hope. We only grant the ‘powers that be’ more power by describing, in sinister detail, just how scary they seem to be. What if the whole charade is like a 'wizard behind the curtain', for those of you familiar with "The Wizard Of Oz". Do yourself, and your community, a favor by getting a solution on the table, rather than a problem. Know of the nwo, by all means, but it is not productive to the solution to stand around screaming "Stop the nwo!".
“Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.” - Thomas Jefferson
He may be a Rosicrucian, but the words are no less important.
Know that peace can exist, and live like it already does. Know that you do not need money, at least not the current paper money, and live like you do not. Know what a vital role YOU play. They took the time to give you an identification number and take your tax. They realize that you have at least some value. You know you are more than just a number to be 'dealt' with. We do not need to create a sense of fear, just to inspire others to seek out a better way of life.
It doesn't take a very long time to get someone to begin to see that 'reality' is not all that it seems, yet it does take a long time to let it all soak in. Give everyone of your neighbors a chance to unravel the mystery, just as you have. Never walk away from a person saying "OK. Have it your way you sheep!" or "I'm telling you, if you don't listen to me, you are going to die!". That will never work. Being called a 'sheep' is just as detrimental to an unaware person, as being called a "conspiracy theorist", "Kool-Aid Drinker" or "Tin Foil Hat Man" is to us. Also, telling a person that they will die if they don't believe you creates fear, if they even believe you at all(most laugh), and fear is counterproductive to independence.
Love your neighbor. Who else is going to be there if times get tough, or when there are people knocking on your door that you may not want to be there? What of community? Social networking is not only a tool of the internet. It began with human interaction on a material level. It is wonderful to be able to connect with so many, so far away. Sadly though, we have allowed our neighborhoods to fall apart. Partly because we fear our neighbors, and partly because the system is set up that way.
No system can ever keep an aware person in check, it can only kill you. Though it will never kill your state of mind or the idea of freedom. I fear the enslavement and further oppression brought against my children more than I fear my own death. Let the fear subside. The mere fact that we fear our governments is reason enough to begin to act as if they have no authority over the citizens of the world. Not Anarchy. Anarchy is just a word that was created to make us fear the loss of government.
We know that they sit around and say "Those people wouldn't be able to live if it were not for the service of this government". Show them that they are wrong. The greatest scientific discoveries known to man, well...some men, belong to the government. Advancement belongs to humanity. We ARE being suppressed and oppressed, but before you go stand and scream to the sky at a rally, be sure to have already talked to everyone living on your block about this. Otherwise, when you get home from your rally, everyone around you will still be watching television. The will be unaware, and you...you are all alone.

Truthers Beware

Matthew Socie — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:47:31 -0800

This is just my opinion, but I'm afraid that nearly everyone in the "truth" movement is unknowingly advancing the plans of the "nwo". Nothing in the last 90+ years since the Fed was formed has changed. Nothing except for them grabbing more and more power. My question is...Why all the 'attention' now? One could consider it a sort of 'boiling point of society' allowing for concerned citizens to band together for truth and justice. I have a more pessimistic view, and quite honestly a more logical view at that.

We all know that there are plans to set up the North American Union. Think about it. What would the first move need to be in order to advance that goal? End the Fed! Ron Paul's audit will ultimately lead to the failure of the Fed. That is the purpose, that is what all "truthers" want. The sinister part of it all is the fact that this nation has not been running on a steady or sustainable level. "Truthers" need to be especially weary of what EXACTLY they ask for. By crashing the dollar, we are looking at a very scary situation. That means we need to be prepared for the massive riots, looting, government intervention, rebellion, famine, poverty, unemployment, and even death when this house of cards comes crashing down. All that chaos is what the government is counting on so that they can swoop down to pick up the pieces and make a whole new country and currency.

Anyone that has spent more than a few hours on anyone of the numerous 'truth' sites out there knows all of this. Yet we still follow orders blindly from the likes of Ron Paul, Alex Jones, and numerous others. For the "truther", whether they be 9/11 truth, Federal Reserve truth, or just plain government conspiracy truth altogether, to follow orders blindly seems a bit odd. Early on I will admit that I was drawn to Ron Paul because of his views on the Fed and his seemingly honest demeanor with a real touch of 'empathy'. I also know that people are, by nature, liars when the circumstance requires. He wants to 'audit' the Fed. Well what does he think is going to happen when the Fed gets audited? He is a doctor after all, so that means he is semi-educated to say the least. Why not the "Abolish the Fed" bill instead of "Audit"?

Either he knows that people, even many of the so called "truthers", will argue and battle over this issue inciting riots and dividing the people of this nation. Or he is too afraid of not getting enough co-sponsors for an "abolish the fed" bill. There is no better way to incite martial law than to have a civil war start. Believe me, there is some pretty heavy sentiment brewing all around this country. I mean we are all like wolves on the prowl. I'm done with the party system. The duality causes separation, even if we lie and pledge to the flag all day talking about “one nation under God” or “united we stand”, we are not like that anymore. Ron Paul, not to keep bashing this one man, doesn't even support the 9/11 truth movement. He is a Republican, and I don't care what party a person is, but it's the mere fact a person chooses to align himself to a group think environment makes me not trust him 100%. We tend to place all our faith into one person. Whole movements can die when the poster child goes away, or is exposed as a criminal. I will continue to support Ron Paul’s efforts, as long as there doesn’t appear to be an agenda. I do not like to put all of my eggs into one basket.

There is no logic in parties. Not all Republicans vote the same, just as is true with the Democrats. To take it even further into absurdity, both parties accept donations from the same people/corporations and mostly answer to all the same people. The party system is no part of the Constitution, as if that dead piece of paper really mattered anymore to the members of congress. I am proud, glad, inspired, and aware now that there is a truth movement. I just do not want us to become a tool. I really think we need to take the next step. The things we need to accomplish here in America are the same goals of the whole world. Just as you cannot Blog cancer away, social network a tornado, protest a hurricane or ask a volcano for a redress of grievances, you cannot do it to fix the problems of this world. They are tools to be used to spread awarness. We must take the next step.

Next,I want to talk about the tea-parties. I went to both of the tea-parties that were held in my community. The first Tax Day 09' and the next on the day after Independence Day. Both rallies were highly charged events with an active crowd and provocative guest speakers. In the end, however, both have only turned out to be nothing more than an assembling of a meat pile to be stacked at a dead end road. The topics discussed at thetwo tea-party events in my area were not open for public consideration. Most people came, listened to the guest speakers, ate a free meal and they went back home. I tried very hard to convice the ‘leaders’ of the event to let me take the microphone and spread some truth to the people of my community. Since when did the government allow national movements such as this to flourish? They wanted everyone to show up to these things, they know that most busy Americans will feel that they contributed all that they needed just by showing up to this meat pile. Plus, the tea-parties, rightfully named because I could have brought my 5 year old daughter and her teddy bear to play tea-party, are few and far between. They are helping to spread some awarness, so I will give them credit there.

If we do not start having rallies and protests every week in our own local districts then we are going to fail. They can't be National Media sponsored or featured events. They need to be rapid fire, not structural events where there is no leader to follow, only men and women getting together. And when we do get together, every week, we will come up with new ideas and strategies. So many and so quickly that Uncle Sam won't be able to keep up. It is easy to crash a tea-party. They are few and far between and are corporate like in structure, so no wonder the government so easily manipulates these types of movements. I do not even doubt that the Tea-parties are a government orchestrated event. All these truthers running around like chickens with their head cut off is going to be the death of the movement. We are never going to have a national movement so quit wasting your times clogging the streets of D.C., the men and women of Congress can do their jobs quite comfortably with millions in the streets outside.

Start doing it locally. Use Meetup, Facebook, Myspace, Restore the Republic, whatever. Get involved and in contact with local people. Settle the petty differences like religion and various political matters later and unite right now for the purpose of finally setting man free globally. It has always been with in humankind's grasp to have true freedom. For one reason or another we get comfortable, confused, or conned into just accepting this life and this world. No more! If you have any soul left in you, any bit of humanity that hasn't been tainted by the current worldview, then please follow your heart and do all that is necessary. Get active locally. I swear it will have a snow ball effect. In every town across America there will be that one night each week when the streets are quiet and the lights aren't on at home. The televisions are off, the stores are empty and the people are gathering.

One town at a time, leading to one county at a time. Then to states, whole regions and eventually we will have ourselves a real country to be proud of. Not a mob rule democracy, but an enthusiastic, loving and aware citizenry breaking the chains of oppression and debt to forge a new era of peace and prosperity. That is why we have this society. Nothing happens for no reason. We are at that point when we don't need to look over our shoulders anymore. We are free, we just need to take that truth and run with it. No government can keep mankind down, no matter how many men they imprison or kill. If you let your fear overcome you then they may as well just take you to a FEMA camp and do away with you, because you have already done it to yourself. We have become an extremely repressive/suppressive society. There are many 'filters' for our thoughts. Do not let fear be one of your filters.

I am but a simple man, I need your help. We all need each others help. I know I have a few hours to give each week, at the least, and I know most of you do too. Let those precious hours of your spare time not be wasted so that we can ensure future generations also have spare time in free societies.

Matthew Hoh: “I submit my resignation.”

margaret — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:41:37 -0800

SNL, just for research...

death_to_the_NWO — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:36:13 -0800

Every so often, I watch Saturday Night Live for NWO research purposes.

I was not disappointed tonight.

It's all Al Gore, pimping his new book with the photoshopped hurricanes and the government climate propaganda.

He didn't mention Climate-gate, with all the data-faking emails.

I remember when SNL used to be comedy.

It's just research. It's a good thing I'm not watching for entertainment, because it isn't funny. It's complete trash - even the segments without Al Gore.

Where Does One Get 300 Million Bucks To Bribe A Senator?

margaret — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:30:00 -0800

Thanks Guy for this post...
oh thats right .....that bottomless money bag...US TAXPAYER FUTURE FUNDS!! DOES THIS UPSET ANY OF THE FOOTBALL WATCHERS??
Sweeteners for the South
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/21/AR2009112102272_pf.html

By Dana Milbank
Sunday, November 22, 2009

Staffers on Capitol Hill were calling it the Louisiana Purchase.

On the eve of Saturday's showdown in the Senate over health-care reform, Democratic leaders still hadn't secured the support of Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), one of the 60 votes needed to keep the legislation alive. The wavering lawmaker was offered a sweetener: at least $100 million in extra federal money for her home state.

And so it came to pass that Landrieu walked onto the Senate floor midafternoon Saturday to announce her aye vote -- and to trumpet the financial "fix" she had arranged for Louisiana. "I am not going to be defensive," she declared. "And it's not a $100 million fix. It's a $300 million fix."

It was an awkward moment (not least because her figure is 20 times the original Louisiana Purchase price). But it was fairly representative of a Senate debate that seems to be scripted in the Southern Gothic style. The plot was gripping -- the bill survived Saturday's procedural test without a single vote to spare -- and it brought out the rank partisanship, the self-absorption and all the other pathologies of modern politics. If that wasn't enough of a Tennessee Williams story line, the debate even had, playing the lead role, a Southerner named Blanche with a flair for the dramatic.

After Landrieu threw in her support (she asserted that the extra Medicaid funds were "not the reason" for her vote), the lone holdout in the 60-member Democratic caucus was Sen. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas. Like other Democratic moderates who knew a single vote could kill the bill, she took a streetcar named Opportunism, transferred to one called Wavering and made off with concessions of her own. Indeed, the all-Saturday debate, which ended with an 8 p.m. vote, occurred only because Democratic leaders had yielded to her request for more time.

Even when she finally announced her support, at 2:30 in the afternoon, Lincoln made clear that she still planned to hold out for many more concessions in the debate that will consume the next month. "My decision to vote on the motion to proceed is not my last, nor only, chance to have an impact on health-care reform," she announced.

Landrieu and Lincoln got the attention because they were the last to decide, but the Senate really has 100 Blanche DuBoises, a full house of characters inclined toward the narcissistic. The health-care debate was worse than most. With all 40 Republicans in lockstep opposition, all 60 members of the Democratic caucus had to vote yes -- and that gave each one an opportunity to extract concessions from Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) won a promise from Reid to support his plan to expand eligibility for health insurance. Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) got Reid to jettison a provision stripping health insurers of their antitrust exemption. Landrieu got the concessions for her money. And Lincoln won an extended, 72-hour period to study legislation.

And the big shakedown is yet to occur: That will happen when Reid comes back to his caucus in a few weeks to round up 60 votes for the final passage of the health bill.

Republicans also knew that a single defection would kill the bill, so they tried to pressure the holdouts. "That's what we've got to choose today: Do we choose life or do we choose death?" declared Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.). "We just need one vote, one vote on the other side."

But Landrieu had already made up her mind. She went to the floor during the lunch hour to say that she would vote to proceed with the debate -- but that she'd be looking for much bigger concessions before she gives her blessing to a final version of the bill.

"My vote today," she said in a soft Southern accent that masked the hard politics at play, "should in no way be construed by the supporters of this current framework as an indication of how I might vote as this debate comes to an end." Among the concessions she'll seek: more tax credits for small business and a removal of the version of the "public option" now in the bill.

That turned all the attention to the usually quiet Lincoln, who emerged from the cloakroom two hours later to announce her decision. Her attire was school-principal prim -- blue suit with knee-length skirt, orange silk scarf tied tightly at the neck -- and she was clearly uncomfortable in the spotlight. She spoke with the diction of somebody giving a dramatic reading, and she stumbled more than once as she read, botching the crucial line: "I will vote to support, of, the, the, will vote in support of cloture on the motion to proceed to this bill."

She argued, a bit too strenuously, that "I'm not thinking about my reelection" in 2010. All the same, she made clear that Democratic leaders would have to give more if they want her to vote yes as the health-care debate continues. Specifically, she demanded removal of the public option. "I am opposed to a new government-administered health-care plan," she warned, further cautioning that "I will not vote in favor of the proposal . . . as it is written."

By the time this thing is done, the millions for Louisiana will look like a bargain.

Please sign petition to Barack Obama

anthory ford — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 18:28:34 -0800

It’s vital we mobilize millions of Americans to pressure Barack Obama NOT to
support destructive policies such as the “Card Check” scheme that will subject
workers to union intimidation and retaliation should they fail to say yes to
joining a union.

And we must put the new power brokers in Washington on notice that the public
will not stand idly by as they impose their forced unionism, Big Government
agenda on the American people.

You can help the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation defend against
this and other compulsory unionism power grabs by making a secure,
tax-deductible donation.

http://www.righttoworkfoundation.org/king1.aspx?pid=i10&gclid=CJDll9CjnZ4CFQ8eDQodfUIwmA

The Kennedy/Ben Gurion/Eshkol Nuclear Exchange

anthory ford — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 18:27:36 -0800

Documents

Document 1. On 5 July, less than ten days after Levi Eshkol became prime minister, Ambassador Barbour delivered a 3-page letter to him from President John Kennedy. Not since President Eisenhower's message to Ben Gurion, in the midst of the Suez crisis in November 1956, had an American president been so blunt with an Israeli prime minister. Kennedy told Eshkol that the American commitment and support of Israel 'could be seriously jeopardized' if Israel did not let the United States obtain 'reliable information' about Israel's efforts in the nuclear field. In the letter Kennedy presented specific demands on how the American inspection visits to Dimona should be executed. Since the United States had not been involved in the building of Dimona and no international law or agreement had been violated, Kennedy demands were indeed unprecedented. They amounted, in effect, to American ultimatum.

Source: Israel State Archive, Jerusalem
For more information: Israel and the Bomb, 153-162.

About the Documents

The book's novelty lies in its extraordinary sources, both archival and human. During the ten years of work I spent weeks researching in archives and private collections in Israel, the United States and Norway. Throughout the course of this search I surveyed about million documents. Many of the documents cited were recently declassified and most never before cited.
Some of the documents were obtained through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests submitted in the last seven years. As of the launching this site, October 1998, most of these requests are still pending. If and once these documents become available, they will be added to this collection.

Notwithstanding the new archival material, there are still serious archival constraints regarding research into Israel's nuclear history. Without access to the classified Israeli documents, the most critical evidence on the Israeli decision-making process is still lacking. Given these limitations the book focuses primarily on the politics and diplomacy regarding Israel's nuclear program, not on Israel's decision-making process.

So, how much did the United States know about Israel's nuclear activities? How much was there an American interest to know? Who in the US government knew what? What did Israel tell the United States? How did the two countries communicate and interact over this most sensitive issue? There is now enough archival material to start reconstructing the story of Israel and the bomb and answer, in part, these questions.

The documents in this collection are divided into six thematic groups (click on a group below to go to its list of documents and to view document images):

Before Dimona
Dimona Revealed
First American Visit to Dimona (1961)
The Kennedy/Ben Gurion/Eshkol Nuclear Exchange
Americans Visit Dimona
The Battle over the NPT: The Warnke-Rabin Confrontation
Miscellaneous Documents
Miscellaneous Hebrew Documents

While I was engaged in doing the archival research I was often reminded that to understand such a sensitive subject matter documents are not enough. There was much material-often the most important material was never put in writing; it could only be recollected and retold by the people involved. In order to get a "feel" for this I conducted some 150 interviews with key individuals in Israel, the United States and France. Several of these interviews were quite extensive, spanning the course of several days.

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/israel/documents/document.htm

LRP Store 2.0 Now Live!! Visit KC End The Fed Rally or Website for More!!

Kevin L. Kobe — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 18:00:00 -0800

We’ve been busy not only working on the rally, but also in getting new products and revamping our online store.
All of these products will be available at the rally in the morning except the DVD.

We will also be selling a limited edition event “Bankers” shirt only for attendees of the rally that is sure to go quick that is not on the website.

Try not to miss the rally at the KC Federal Reserve @ Noon. (tomorrow, Sunday 11/22)

Visit our upgraded store at http://www.libertyrestorationproject.org/store

Our products are printed by patriots within the State of Missouri. Please remember that this store is stocked and operated by the same people who are active movers and shakers in our organization. We do our best to rush orders out as we receive them, however, we are grassroots and have our own manufacturing time and distribution methods that may vary depending on when your order is placed and which products are ordered.

Your purchase goes to fund civics education and activism in Kansas City, Saint Louis, and the surrounding areas.

For more information about our products, feel free to email info@libertyrestorationproject.org

Liberty Restoration Products Store:

Click an item to see it's product page:

Twas the night before END THE FED Rally

charlene keller — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 17:29:30 -0800

We have about 32 cities participating with ETF rally and I'm sure volunteers are fine tuning details tonight, for the event. This evening, I will be ironing the creases out of the Texas flag while reflecting on Betsy Ross, hand stitching our American flag. Oh Yeah, we are super psyched here in Houston and can't wait to get this rolled out : ) END THE FED HOUSTON!

Please sign petition to Barack Obama

anthory ford — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:07:40 -0800

Please sign petition to Barack Obama

anthory ford — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:04:22 -0800

German Doctors Issue Swine Flu Vax Warning Of Significant Health Risks!! FINALLY!!!

Guy Razer — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:57:20 -0800

H1N1 Vaccine Deaths in Germany: German doctors issued warning about swine flu jab
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=16208
Global Research, November 20, 2009
The Flu Case

The German Professional Assocation of Environmental Doctors, (Deutschen Berufsverbands der Umweltmediziner) issued a press release on November 9th warning of the "significant health risks" of using GlaxoSmithKline's Pandemrix for mass vaccinations in view of the lack of data on its safety, especially for pregnant women and children.

The press release predicted the kind of deaths that are now being reported in Germany as a result of people taking the Pandemrix jab. The BILD newspaper today admitted that at least seven people have died after taking the shot in Germany so far.

The DBU notes out that GSK and pharma companies have been given immunity for any deaths or damage that their vaccines cause by the government leaving patients to bear all the risks.

In addtion, the DBU states that the adjuvant squalene -- illegal in the US and UK -- causes a proinflammatory response, activates the immune system and is immunogenic when taken as a subcutaneous or intramuscular injection and can provoke autoimmune diseases such as those found among US and UK soldiers who took squalene as part of the anthrax vaccine.

Studies on squalene, carried out mainly by pharma companies and WHO, did not assess side effects and so do not give the full picture.

The German government and the Paul Ehrlich Institute have systematically ignored the huge body of scientific evidence indicating the swine flu jab is dangerous and so exposed people to an unacceptable risk.

http://www.dbu-online.de/index.php?id=203&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=100&tx_ttnews[backPid]=13&cHash=44f00c0446

German Doctors Issue Swine Flu Vax Warning Of Significant Health Risks!! FINALLY!!!

Guy Razer — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:54:48 -0800

If A Mercury Spill on a City Street is so Toxic, Why is Mercury in a Vaccine "Perfectly Safe".

Joan McDaniel — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:45:25 -0800

November 19, 2009
$50,000 to clean up a 2 oz mercury spill (Updated)
Larrey Anderson
George Orwell where are you? Here is the headline in my local newspaper today: "Mercury Removal from T.F. [Twin Falls, Idaho] Apartment complex results in $50,000 bill." That's right - fifty grand.
Two ounces of mercury were found in the road that leads into an apartment complex. It cost local, state, and the federal governments $50,000 to clean up the two ounce catastrophe. Read the EPA report here.
This is a picture of the clean up crew:

The use of compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) will soon be mandatory in the United States. And CFLs contain what? What? Say it louder: MERCURY.
You can expect the cleanup crew in the picture to be coming to your house - to help you clean up a broken light bulb.
Congratulations America. And welcome to George Orwell's worst nightmare.
Update:
The EPA report states the amount of mercury was 2 teaspoons. An ounce is 6 teaspoons. (Who knew? I thought a teaspoon equaled an ounce. Do not eat anything I have cooked from a recipe.) So the actual amount of spilled mercury was less than one ounce.

Page Printed from: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/11/50000_to_clean_up_a_2_oz_mercu.html
at November 19, 2009 - 06:22:13 PM EST

Vitamin D not flu shots and Flu Shot Contents

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15ycdbSsnAU

LIST OF VACCINE FILLERS & ADJUVENTS: This list, officially administered by design with every vaccine provided to the public, in addition to the squalene that appears to be in this upcoming swine flu vaccine, is of great concern to many parents and grandparents, with the announcement that they will start vaccinating children and pregnant women first and then “wait to see if there are too many adverse events” (including seizures, neurological problems, and death).

In addition to the viral and bacterial RNA or DNA that is part of the vaccines, here are the fillers:

• Aluminum hydroxide - directly linked to causing Alzheimer's disease
• Aluminum phosphate - directly linked to causing Alzheimer's disease
• Ammonium sulfate - an inorganic chemical compound used as fertilizer and "protein purifier"; known to cause kidney & liver damage, gastrointestinal dysfunctions
• Amphotericin B - an "antifungal disinfectant" and anti-biotic, which damages the urinary tract, bowels, and heart functions
• Animal tissues (a causal element for all the various auto-immune diseases associated with vaccination): horse blood, rabbit brain, dog kidney, monkey kidney, chick embryo, chicken egg, duck egg, pig blood, Porcine (pig) pancreatic hydrolysate of casein (the pig protein/tissue is an additional objectionable issue for Jewish and Muslim people)
• Calf (bovine) serum & fetal bovine serum (cow blood is recognized as a significant transmitter of Mad Cow Disease)
• Betapropiolactone
• Formaldehyde - used as "a preservative & disinfectant", known to cause cancer, chronic bronchitis, eye irritation when exposed to the body's immune system
• Formalin
• Gelatin
• Glycerol
• Human diploid cells (originating from human aborted fetal tissue)
• Hydrolyzed gelatin
• Monosodium glutamate (MSG) - now known to cause cancer in humans, also linked to obesity
• Neomycin (anti-biotic)
• Neomycin sulfate (anti-biotic)
• Phenol red indicator - a highly toxic disinfectant dye, attributed to liver, kidney, heart & respiratory damage
• Phenoxyethanol (antifreeze) - proven to have extreme neurotoxic side effects
• Potassium diphosphate
• Potassium monophosphate
• Polymyxin B
• Polysorbate 20
• Polysorbate 80 – associated with infertility when injected
• Residual MRC5 proteins
• Sorbitol
• Sucrose
• Thimerosal (mercury) - a neurotoxin linked to psychological, neurological, & immunological problems—especially autism. Nervous system damage (such as sub-acute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), brachial plexitis, post-vaccinal encephalitis, transverse myelitis and peripheral neuropathies), kidney disease, birth defects, dental problems, mood swings, mental changes, hallucinations, memory loss, and inability to concentrate can occur. Symptoms also include tremors, loss of dermal sensitivity, slurred speech, and—in rare cases—even death and paralysis. This additive alone was the catalyst for another recent Class Action Lawsuit organized by mothers of children born with autism & the many related behavioral disorders associated with it. Autism is now occurring at levels never seen before in history; depending on the state, its rate is now 1 in 67 to 1 in 150. The autism rates used to be 1 in 20,000. Mercury may also be associated with the significantly increased rates of senility and Alzheimer’s, which is associated with five or more successive flu vaccinations. Although most mercury (thimerosal) has been removed from children’s vaccines, it is still in all flu vaccines at toxic doses.
• Tri(n)butylphosphate,
• VERO cells, a continuous line of monkey kidney cells - linked to the SV-40 virus known to cause leukemia
• Washed sheep red blood cells

In order to meet the growing need for swine flu vaccination in the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved another H1N1 vaccine for use in the U.S., distributed by GlaxoSmithKline. This vaccine is based on the seasonal flu vaccine called FLULAVAL.The formulation used in FLULAVAL contains formaldehyde as a result of the vaccine manufacturing process. This is an inactivated virus, used for injection. Formaldehyde is used during vaccine processing in order to kill the virus. According to the package insert for FLULAVAL, there are 25 micrograms of mercury in each .5mL dose of the H1N1 vaccine distributed in multi-dose vials. There are no single-dose vials of this vaccine.

Vaccinated By FORCE, NOW AUTISTIC
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7h-DPr_x2w

Watch Mercury Kill The Brain: Vaccines And Neurodegeneration
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKuznYVn40s