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  New Dictionary Additions F-Bomb, Sexting, Bucket List & Energy Drink
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  3 Killed During Texas Home Eviction
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  Cal EMA Exercise Simulates Large-Scale Southern California Earthquake - YouTube
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  Unmanned Vehicles Systems International Lobbying Group
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  CNN: Israel To Strike Iran Before U.S. Election
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  WE ARE ANONYMOUS
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  TSA Investigating Claims Of Racial Profiling By TSA Agents, Claims Also Made By TSA Agents
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  DOS Attack Downs WikiLeaks Website After They Exposed New Big Brother Surveillance System
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  Liberal Democrats Rush Stage During Paul Ryan Campaign Stop (VIDEO)
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    I know the history of the Rise of Fascism in Germany & it seems like Obama & his thugs want to recreate this in the US. REMEMBER, Germany was the most educated, cultured country in Europe. Negative ads/(propaganda turns normal people into monsters who are capable of torturing & killing innocent people.
    The President uses his PAC ads like Goebells, who made up the Rules of Propaganda. They use main stream TV like Leni Rufenstahl created ''Triumph of Will.'' for the totalitarian regime they wanted to subjugate the people's freedom.
    When the little bands marched thru the streets of cities & towns, even Jews found that they had to Heil Hitler or they would get beaten. In fact, The American Nazi Party helped in the design of the Occupy Wall Street movement along with the Adbusters Media Foundation of Vancouver, BC. (The American Nazi Party has the first registered lobbyist in American history NOW.)
    BTW, BO uses the word ''Forward,'' as his campaign slogan. It turns out that the Hitler Youth sang as their anthem ''Forward, Forward.''
    NAZI = the national SOCIALIST party. ''Socialists'' in the Soviet Union, also slaughtered millions of Ukrainian farmers because they were too independent '' minded.
    The Blue Dog Democrats, who valued Scoop Jackson/Daniel Moynihan/ Bill Clinton branch of the Democrat Party will be destroyed, & their children & grandchildren along with the US. Unless the Blue Dog Democrats help in the smashing defeat of these members of the current administration '' all will be lost like Germany in 1933. Watch out for a big event like the Reichstag Fire. It's coming to a town near to you.
  School Children Being Jailed For Dress Code Violations, Flatulence, Profanity & Disrespect
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  Health Epidemics, Germ Warfare & Civil Liberties
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  Lessons Learned From The Meltdown Of Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Reactors
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  Man Dressed In Afghan Police Uniform Attacks NATO Forces For The Fifth Time In One Week
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  Egyptians Celebrate New President's Action To Remove Top Ranking Military Officials
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  New Report Says Norway Attack Could Have Been Prevented "Police Could Have Caught Breivik Sooner'"
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  Man Says He Leaked The Pope's Letters Because "He Saw Evil & Corruption Everywhere In The Church"
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  Penn State child-sex abuse scandal mirrors Omaha's ''Franklin'' horror : Deadline Live With Jack Blood
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    Sun, 12 Aug 2012 19:44
    Browse > Home / Featured / Penn State child-sex abuse scandal mirrors Omaha's ''Franklin'' horror By Jed Killian
    Contributor to Deadline Live
    November 11, 2011
    The reports of child-sex abuse coming out of Penn State this week have been vile and sickening.
    Reading The Washington Post's link to the Grand Jury report have been shocking and graphic. To learn that Penn State's Gerald ''Jerry'' Sandusky, a popular Nittany Lions defensive coordinator, was raping young boys in the showers and worse proves that pedophilia and the sexual abuse of children is rampant at all levels of society and that people in great positions of power and influence are either directly involved, or if they do find out about it, do little if anything to prevent it. Cover-ups usually take place and in this case did take place.
    And the children are suffering. Sandusky '' who preyed on disadvantaged youth with his ''Second Mile'' charity, promising football game tickets and more '' allegedly had a virtual ''rape room'' in the fieldhouse locker room and the Penn State elite looked the other way as innocent lives were destroyed.
    And as we find out that these children may have been ''pimped out'' to wealthy Penn State donors. A local radio host recalls Sandusky always putting his hand on his thigh when he was 11. And there are far worse stories. Regardless, there were signs everywhere that Sandusky was a pedophile! And now the Happy Valley house of cards appears to be collapsing. Will this have a domino-like effect, exposing more pedophile rings? We will say this '' weird things go on at Happy Valley. We've heard about that for years.
    Michael Tomasky, writing earlier this week at The Daily Beast, about this shocking scandal notes that legendary Penn State Coach Joe Paterno is viewed by sports fans as a ''great moral man.'' But, Tomasky adds, ''Great moral men don't hire depraved monsters. Great moral men don't let things like this happen in their orbit. Great moral men take care of these things. But he didn't.''
    Paterno, Tomasky says, needs to go. And he's gone, as of today. But it's more than just sending an old, arrogant and self-important man off to pasture. It's about a man who is just about worshipped by Penn State fans '' ''JoePa'' '' and his decision not to report Sandusky '' accused of sexually abusing 8 boys over a a 15-year period, and we're sure there were many others '' to the authorities.
    And now Paterno is gone and the students are rioting. No, no, JoePa can't go??? What? It's disgusting and misguided anger. What about the kids? These people need to reassess what is really important '' helping abused children. That has been lost in their obsession with football and winning and says a lot about American society.
    Amazingly, as JoePa sits at home during the first Penn State football game he has not coached since the mid-1960's, the coaching assistant who spied Sandusky raping the boy in the showers will be on the sidelines '' as if nothing happened. It's like an upside-down world up there in so-called ''Happy Valley.'' I guess they are right when they say large, powerful institutions like universities, the Catholic Church, governments and more, can get away with a lot and act like nothing is amiss when they are called out on it.
    This news of the powerful turning a blind eye to outrageous corruption and odious abuse brings to mind the sad and disturbing case of Johnny Gosch. Gosch, was the 12-year-old Des Moines Register paperboy who was kidnapped in September 1982 while on his paper route. He was never found and is now believed to have been forced into a pedophile ring linked out of Omaha, Nebraska (read The Franklin Cover Up by John DeCamp or YouTube the Conspiracy of Silence video or check out Nick Bryant's book The Franklin Scandal).
    As online reporter Tim Schmitt wrote in 2005 '' a weird year, in retrospect '' many are beginning to believe in the existence of ''a vast network of high-profile people '' powerful politicians, business leaders, law enforcement and government agents '' who exist in a subculture of degenerates who participate in child pornography, snuff films, drugs, devil worship, brainwashing and kidnapping.'' And with more coming out of Penn State, was that university just one of many hotspots for this horrific and illegal activity?
    Gosch's mother, who re-entered the headlines in 2005 when fake reporter Jeff Gannon (a.k.a. James Guckert) was rumored to be the long-lost Johnny Gosch. Interestingly, Gannon was outed in February of that year after lobbing softball questions to President George W. Bush while claiming to represent a conservative, online outfit called Talon News, connected to a group called GOPUSA.
    The Gannon revelation so startled Washington '' that a con artist/fake reporter '' had unfettered access to the White House, that members of congress, including two House Democrats, wrote to then-Bush Administration Press Secretary Scott McClellan, demanding to know why Gannon was spending so much time at the White House when many of his visits did not involve press conferences.
    Gannon turned out to be a gay hustler, with evidence of this discovered all over the Internet. Retired FBI Agent Ted Gunderson was said to have claimed that he thought Gannon/Guckert was the kidnapped boy, now a man in his late 30'²s or early 40'²s.
    ''I'm convinced 99 percent that he is Johnny Gosch,'' Gunderson said. ''The only way I'd be 100 percent sure is if there was a DNA test or if he admitted it.''
    And while he refused to give a DNA test, Noreen Gosch, Johnny's mother, isn't 100 percent convinced Gannon is her missing son.
    Gosch wrote a book about her son's disappearance called Why Johnny Can't Come Home and in an interview with Charlene Fassa in 2005, said, ''Pedophilia, kiddie porn and child prostitution is a multi-billion dollar business. The only reason we it to this degree is 'supply and demand and supply and demand.'' We have many high level wealthy pedophiles.''
    Interesting that if you check Wikipedia's page for ''Jeff Gannon,'' nothing is mentioned about his alleged links to the Johnny Gosch disappearance, despite Gannon appearing on the cable show ''Dietl and Daniels'' answering questions from host Bo Dietl about it. Where is Jeff Gannon? He seems to have disappeared.
    Like the current Jerry Sandusky child-rape case at Penn State, there is a weird angle to it. As The New York Timesreminded readers today, it was in 2005 that Centre County, Pa. District Attorney Ray Gricar went missing. While his car and laptop computer were found, D.A. Gricar never was, but his hard drive was destroyed. A few years earlier he had been investigating then-Penn State assistant coach Sandusky and opted not to pursue charges after reports of Sandusky showering with a boy made it to his office. District Attorney's who have every reason to live '' a daughter, a girlfriend, a good job '' don't simply vanish. Clearly Gricar's computer was targeted. What was on that computer? What did Gricar know? An assistant district attorney says Gricar never told him about what he discovered in the Sandusky case.
    Did Gricar unwittingly uncover something related to the so-called ''interstate pedophile network'' that operates ''from coast-to-coast'' as reported by ''Franklin Scandal'' author Nick Bryant, as he told Red Ice Radio two weeks ago? Is there more to the Penn State connections to Sandusky's crimes? If Gricar found out about it, we may never know since he disappeared over six years ago during that weird year of 2005.
    And now there is the weirdness this week surrounding Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain. The outspoken, conservative businessman is at the heart of a scandal involving allegations of sexual harassment on the part of multiple women. It sounds like it's made up and likely is. But it is suspicious and has a strange, synchronistic resonance with the earth-shattering news coming out of State College, Pennsylvania, where this weekend, perhaps ironically, they are playing their final game '' against Nebraska!
    On Tuesday, Cain addressed the allegations and claimed he did not sexually harass anyone and that the charges are made up.
    Remember, Cain is the same guy who served as chairman of the Omaha branch of the Kansas City Federal Reserve. Omaha, of course, is where the notorious Franklin Cover-Up took place and where rising black Republican star Lawrence King was based before his downfall in the wake of the Franklin Federal Credit Union scandal of 1988 and '89.
    Meanwhile, Cain is focused on rebuilding the ailing Godfather's Pizza, based in Omaha, and promoting ''Pizzaology,'' he and a group of investors actually purchased the franchise from Pillsbury. As he notes in his bio This is Herman Cain! he writes that in September 1988, ''we closed on a leveraged buyout and we are now the heavily in debt owners of Godfather's Pizza, Inc,'' with help from CitiBank. Were there any other lending institutions or investors from Omaha involved in that process? We are not sure. The New York Times, at the time, interviewed Cain about the Godfather's purchase. Cain told the Times that ''he and his management team were investing much of their own net worth in Godfather's.'' At its peak, Godfather's had 911 restaurants, interestingly enough. Perhaps Mr. Cain will release all that information since it is not detailed in his book and questions are being asked about this time of his career.
    The failing Godfather's Pizza chain, that third-rate chain with the mobster theme, was started by William ''Willy'' Theisen, a ''wild'' man Cain would obviously have known. As they say, you are known by the company you keep. But reading a recent Omaha World-Herald overview of Cain's Omaha years, Theisen's marketing director for Godfather's, Tim McMahon, said that while Cain was charismatic, he ''simply doesn't register as a significant force'' in Godfather's success, this despite the Cain campaign's rhetoric. Cain does not mention Willy Theisen in his biography, despite the man having started the restaurant Cain claims to have saved. It sounds like there may be bad blood between Cain and Theisen. But that's only speculation.
    Moving on, during Cain's ''Omaha years,'' Lawrence E. ''Larry'' King, it would be revealed, was, according to a December 1988 New York Times article, being investigated by the FBI and IRS after money '' $39 million, all told '' was found to be missing were noted in the Franklin Community Federal Credit Union overseen by King. King would be sentenced to prison. He is now out of prison and believed to be living in Virginia.
    Then there is King and Franklin's link to the distinguished Catholic orphanage on Omaha's outskirts '' Boys Town '' where young boys were ferried out to rich and powerful pedophiles., allegedly including judges in the region. Sounds like what we're finding out in regards to Penn State. The priest who ran Boys Town during this time and up to 2005 refused to cooperate with any investigators looking into allegations.And remember the film Boys Town with Spencer Tracy? It turns out it is a favorite of another presidential candidate and friend of Cain '' Newt Gingrich. And note Gingrich's bizarre reference to Oliver Stone and cannibalism and his desire to see Macaulay Culkin in a remake.
    Cain was in Omaha for 13 years. It was during this time that a shocking June 1989 report in The Washington Times appeared, headlined ''Homosexual prostitution inquiry ensnares VIPs with Reagan, Bush.'' A lot of things end up happening in Washington. A lot of secrets in that city by the Potomac. A lot of once-good people have been compromised and controlled as a result of what really goes on there.
    Anyway, one of the boys allegedly forced into prostitution by King was Paul Bonacci. He was one of the young male prostitutes that is known to have toured the White House back in the '80s and featured in that aforementioned Washington Times article from June of '89.
    In 1999, Bonacci won a $1 million lawsuit against King, with the federal judge believing Bonacci's testimony against King was truthful. At the same time, a grand jury had already said the sexual-abuse allegations that came up in the case was ''a hoax'' and never happened. And everyone went back to sleep.
    Back in 1990, the lead investigator for the Nebraska legislative Franklin Senate Subcommittee, Gary Caradori, listed Godfather's Pizza founder Theisen as one of the people he wanted to interview on behalf of the legislative committee.
    In Caradori's notes he had written that Willy Theisen is ''alleged to have used a substantial amount of cocaine with numerous people in the Omaha area.'' And in another part of Caradori's report, a man named Richard Cottage, who worked for the City of Omaha, allegedly had ''information reference photos depicting drug activity and sexual activity at a party hosted by Will(y) Theisen.'' It is not clear if Theisen was ever questioned. He reportedly remains in the pizza business in Omaha.
    During this time, leading up to the death of Gary Caradori, the FBI was allegedly intimidating victims and harassing investigators, as noted by author Nick Bryant. The Department of Justice is corrupt, says Bryant, and they helped cover up the Franklin Scandal.
    Caradori's investigation would end abruptly, sadly. He would be one of many mysterious deaths linked to the Franklin Scandal, according to author Nick Bryant. Flying back to Lincoln, Nebraska from Chicago in July 1990, Caradori's plane broke up over Ashton, Illinois killing him and his 8-year-old-son. No cause was ever found and at the site of the wreckage, in Lee County, Illinois, a witness said child pornography photos were found at the scene of the crash.
    Caradori had allegedly met with Larry King's photographer, Rusty Nelson, while in Chicago. As author Nick Bryant notes, Caradori got incriminating photos from Nelson and flew back with them.
    Writes Bryant: ''The pictures showed who the adults were and who the kids were. I (Nelson) gathered that the purpose was blackmail and it was political. The contents of the pictures, and the events surrounding them, would be an instant end to a politician's career.'' That evidence was allegedly taken away by persons unknown, and never seen again.
    State Sen. Loran Schmit, the chairman of the legislature's Franklin committee, which Caradori was working for, told the Associated Press after Caradori's death that ''he had no doubt there were people who wanted to see Caradori dead.''
    ''They got their wish,'' Schmit told the AP. ''They question to be answered is whether it was a coincidence.''
    Cain, as we said, was in Omaha during King's heyday in the late 1980's. What does Cain know about the things King was involved in? We have been unable to find Cain mentioned, linking him to any of this and we are not alleging Cain was involved in anything illegal or wrong. However, noting Omaha's size and that he would be a known figure, particularly among Omaha's minority community, the question should be asked by the media.
    We do know the power elite of Nebraska, including the influential Omaha World-Herald newspaper, were accused of covering up the details of the child-sex scandal, which included allegations of drug trafficking and the laundering of money for the contras in Nicaragua. It's wild stuff. While people came forward and gave their eyewitness accounts of what they saw and experienced '' much of it shocking and horrific, as noted in Bryant's book The Franklin Scandal '' federal and local law enforcement did their best to cover up crimes for very powerful people.
    Interesting side note: reading the Omaha World-Herald's coverage of the Penn State scandal today, nothing is noted about the Franklin Scandal. It's almost as if the reporter was deliberately dancing around the issue. Caradori, before his murder-by-plane-crash, had linked a high-ranking World-Herald staffer to the scandal. Omaha's establishment elite, it would appear, is still in denial about what happened in their city over 20 years ago. Will they finally face the horror that they so effectively covered up?
    Interestingly, the late ''gonzo'' author Hunter S. Thompson, who allegedly committed suicide in 2005, was believed to have been loosely linked to the Franklin Scandal, although no proof has been put forth. But coincidentally, Thompson's death happened shortly after fake reporter/gay hustler Jeff Gannon (aka James Guckert, aka Johnny Gosch?) was exposed as a fraud and shill for the Bush administration, on Feb. 20, 2005. For some, this was a major red flag.
    Thompson comes into the story because of reports from some of the boys that Thompson and others took them to the mysterious playground in northern California for the rich and powerful '' Bohemian Grove. Note this bizarre interview Thompson gave to David Letterman, where he talks about killing up in the mountains. It's creepy.
    This is a rumor, and a low-down dirty one for sure, but researcher Mark Dice has his suspicions about what Thompson knew and was involved with. It's horrifying if true. And it is interesting in light of his death, coming just two months after the ''suicide'' of former San Jose Mercury News reporter Gary Webb, another truth-seeking journalist who also happened to blow CIA-crack cocaine scandal wide open in 1996 with his ''Dark Alliance'' series, and was completely ruined in the aftermath.
    Thompson, who is lovingly portrayed by his old friend Johnny Depp in the film adaptation of Thompson's first novel, The Rum Diary, frequently refers to supporting and voting for black activist and 1968 Peace and Freedom Party presidential candidate Dick Gregory.
    Gregory, interestingly enough, is on to Cain and is letting the public know about it. As he noted in a recent interview with liberal talk-show host Thom Hartmann, Gregory said that ''no negro has ever had that spot,'' in reference to Cain being chairman of Omaha branch of the Kansas City Federal Reserve. Gregory told Hartmann that he thinks Cain is ''brilliant'' and is simply ''dumbing down'' his act to garner wider appeal and sympathy.
    And since we mentioned the Hollywood connection, notice how the media ignored the allegations made by former child actor Corey Feldman who claims Hollywood is '' a den of molesting pedophiles,'' as noted by CinemaBlend.com.
    But back to the disgraced Lawrence King. He served 10 of a 15 year sentence for his role in the failure of Franklin. Where that links back to Hunter S. Thompson, who as a Rolling Stone reporter closely followed the campaign of George McGovern in 1972, as revealed in his classic book Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72, would probably have crossed paths with Lawrence ''Larry'' King. King, who, according to The New York Times, ''headed a national political organization, Black Democrats for George McGovern,'' would later see the political winds shifting in the Cornhusker State and switch to the GOP '' and his inevitably successful rise with the Republican elite '' for a short while anyway.
    We are only acknowledging that there was a scandal out there and Thompson has been linked to it by some. Of course a real investigation would need to be conducted, although considering all the powerful people linked to it it would probably not happen.
    Back in July, the blogger Down With Tyranny posted an eye-opening piece titled ''Does Herman Cain have a $40 million problem? One that could, as they say, come out?'' Again, it was $38 '' nearly $40 million that went missing after it was ripped off from the Franklin Federal Credit Union. This took place two months after Cain and his business partners got approval from CitiBank, in Sept. '88, to go ahead with their leveraged buyout of Godfather's Pizza from Pillsbury, which saw the chain as a loser.
    Down With Tyranny said a ''confidential DWT informant'' wrote the guest article outlining Cain's history in Omaha and how it is highly unlikely that Lawrence King, also a restauranteur and businessman, did not cross paths with Herman Cain. Again, we are only asking questions.
    And one must remember that in Omaha, folks know one another and Larry King's lavish lifestyle and flamboyant escapades were something of legend. This guy sang the national anthem at TWO Republican National Conventions. One in '84 and another in '88 '' right before his downfall 23 years ago this month.
    Writes the Down With Tyranny blog informant: ''Omaha is tornado country, so when I say it's a great big small town, I'm talking acreage versus gossipy connectivity. It's flat and spread out with few tall buildings, but everyone is a whisper away from everyone else's business. It's not so big as to be home to two up-and-coming black Republicans with strong ties with the bigwigs in the Republican Party who could never cross paths.''
    So, Mr. Cain, when did you cross paths with Lawrence E. King and how much time did you spend with him and his associates? If you know anything, please let us know. Let the American people know what you heard and what you thought about that scandal, particularly now that presidential candidates like Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania are commenting, in light of Santorum having given an award to Jerry Sandusky while he was a U.S. Senator. Now there's something you wish had never happened.
    As the DWT blog noted '' Everybody in Omaha knew about this (Franklin Scandal) story, and everybody knew somebody connected to it. I almost opened an account in Franklin, until a friend who worked there told me not to put my money in 'the booty bank.'''
    The booty bank? One wonders if former Omahan Herman Cain ever heard of this so-called ''booty bank?'' If so, what were his thoughts? Or did he just ignore it? Perhaps he was simply too busy perfecting pizza sauce and picking out exciting new toppings to be bothered with the illicit activities of local degenerates. Regardless, as sensational as this stuff may sound, these sorts of questions are beginning to be asked in certain corners of the media.
    In fact, some corners of the web, like the DemocraticUnderground.com, a site that of course would not like Herman Cain, has already brought up the issue. People want to know, especially now that this Penn State scandal has absolutely exploded. And it is coming out more and more, in Canada, with the murder and abuse of aboriginal children. That was covered up. And the reports out of Scotland that are coming out.
    And if elected president, would a President Cain instruct the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney General to reopen the case and find out what really happened and track down the Omaha and Boys Town child sex-abuse victims? Would this ''different kind of politician'' really rock the status quo and do the right thing for those young people who suffered in throughout the late 1980'²s in close proximity to his offices at Godfather's Pizza back in Omaha? Only Herman Cain can answer that.
BBC News - Afghan helicopter crash kills 11 in Kandahar, Isaf says
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  Source: BBC News - Home
  Thu, 16 Aug 2012 12:50
  16 August 2012Last updated at 08:49 ET Eleven people have been killed after a Black Hawk helicopter carrying foreign troops crashed in southern Afghanistan, the Nato-led coalition force says.
  Those killed include three US soldiers and four other foreign troops, as well as four Afghans, the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) said.
  The crash took place in the Shah Wali Kot district of Kandahar province, the Afghan authorities said.
  Isaf said it was investigating the cause of the crash.
  Three of the Afghans killed were members of the security forces, while one was a civilian interpreter, Isaf said in its statement.
  The nationalities of the non-US foreign troops have not yet been disclosed.
  The Taliban said it carried out the attack but its claim could not be verified. Correspondents say the group is prone to exaggeration.
  Helicopter crashes are not uncommon in Afghanistan, where international forces depend heavily on air transport.
UK police descend on Assange's embassy refuge
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  Source: Dave Winer's linkblog feed
  Thu, 16 Aug 2012 12:46
  Video will begin in 5 seconds.
  Police scuffle with Assange supporterA growing number of London police have gathered outside the Ecuadorian embassy where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been holed up.
  UPDATE:Police have clashed with a protester at the Ecuadorian embassy in west London as tension mounts over WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's bid for political asylum.
  The Australian, wanted by British authorities for breaching his bail conditions, is just hours from learning if Ecuador will protect him. If not, he faces being ejected from the embassy into the arms of police.
  Assange sought refuge in the embassy on June 19, after a British court ordered his extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning about allegations of rape and sexual assault.
  Metropolitan Police Officers wait outside the main door of the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is holed up. Photo: AFP
  Assange says he fears deportation to the United States, which may seek to convict him for his website's release of a trove of secret official documents.
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  Assange's supporters say the Swedish charges are trumped up and believe the US has secretly indicted him and would extradite him from Sweden.
  In Australia, Assange's mother Christine said she feared a decision by Ecuador not to protect her son could lead to him eventually being deported to the United States to face trial over the publication of the secret documents.
  Police stationed outside the Ecuadorian embassy where Julian Assange remains.
  "What the US wants, the US gets from its allies, regardless of if it's legal or if it's ethical or in breach of human or legal rights," Ms Assange told AAP.
  The Ecuadorian government will announce its decision on Assange's future at 10pm today (AEST).
  The New York Times is reporting that Ecuador is prepared to allow Assange to remain in its embassy in London indefinitely under a type of humanitarian protection.
  Scuffle breaks out between police and a protester outside the embassy.
  A government official in Ecuador's capital, Quito, said that the British government had made it clear it would not allow Assange to leave the country to travel to Ecuador, so even with a grant of asylum or similar protection, he would probably remain stuck in the embassy.
  Despite a growing police presence at the building that houses the embassy, and social media speculation, police have not entered the embassy. However, the Metropolitan Police may be preparing to deal with angry supporters if Assange emerges and is arrested.
  Shortly before 1pm Australian time, WikiLeaks released a statement saying that, in a message to the Ecuadorian government, Britain had "threatened to forcefully enter the Ecuadorian embassy in London and arrest Julian Assange".
  Police outside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London where Julian Assange is seeking political asylum. Photo: Paul Stewart Photo: Paul Stewart
  The statement claimed that Britain had said such action would be permissible under the Diplomatic and Consular Premises Act 1987.
  It said British authorities had given the warning because it had become aware Ecuador was planning to grant Assange asylum.
  Condemning the threat, the WikiLeaks statement said: "Any transgression against the sanctity of the embassy is a unilateral and shameful act, and a violation of the Vienna Convention, which protects embassies worldwide."
  Embassy of the Republic of Ecuador in London. Photo: Paul Stewart
  Several police vans were outside the embassy, police were seen entering through a side door and uniformed officers were standing guard at the front entrance.
  A crowd of Assange supporters was ordered behind police tape 20 metres from the door.
  Police forcefully moved a young man who tried to obstruct a police van, as protesters shouted that police were invading the embassy of a sovereign nation.
  A police inspector, after asking protesters blocking an alleyway to move, told them "as far as I know [Assange] is not in police custody".
  Asked if police were there to arrest the Australian, he said: "I can't say at the moment."
  Late last night, local time, the British Foreign Office issued a statement that said "we are still committed to reaching a mutually acceptable solution" with Ecuador.
  A crowd began building in the street outside the embassy within minutes of police arriving. Assange supporters used social media to urge people to gather at the location. "Ecuadorian embassy" is trending worldwide on Twitter.
  Occupy Wall Street tweeted shortly after the raid: "ANNOUNCEMENT: #Assange supporters are calling for an occupation at #Ecuador's Embassy in #London RIGHT NOW.
  Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino told a news conference that Ecuador had received a written threat on Wednesday from Britain that "it could assault our embassy" if Assange was not handed over.
  He said the threat was delivered to Ecuador's Foreign Ministry and ambassador in London.
  Any such incursion would be "without modern precedent" and could end up before the international courts, an Australian law expert said.
  Professor Donald Rothwell, from Australian National University College of Law, said the government's stance shows just how serious Britain is about extraditing the WikiLeaks founder to Sweden.
  "The Ecuadorian embassy enjoys protection under Article 22 of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations which precludes the United Kingdom authorities from entering the embassy without consent. Assange has enjoyed the protection of the embassy since he sought asylum there on June 19, 2012.
  "If the United Kingdom revoked the embassy's diplomatic protection and entered the embassy to arrest Assange, Ecuador could rightly view this as a significant violation of international law which may find its way before an international court."
  In Australia, Attorney-General Nicola Roxon said the Commonwealth had little power to intervene.
  Ms Roxon said the government had yet to receive any formal advice on Assange's asylum application to Ecuador. She said she had learnt of the latest updates through the media.
  Despite calls for government intervention into Assange's predicament, Ms Roxon insisted the matter was an issue between Assange and Ecuador, "and increasingly it seems it is a matter between Ecuador and the United Kingdom".
  "Our role in this is only a diplomatic one, a consular one to make sure Mr Assange has support that he needs for consular issues. It's not something where we have any legal role where we can play."
  - with AFP, PA, AP, Philip Dorling, Dylan Welch and Jessica Wright
  British Police have reportedly entered the Ecuadorian embassy in London where Australian Wikileaks publisher Julian Assange is holed up after his request for political asylum.WikiLeaks tweeted this morning that two large police vans had arrived "to surround the Ecuadorian embassy in London".
  One person stationed outside the embassy has started livestreaming the action, saying eight police officers were at the embassy's door.
Ecuador deplores Julian Assange 'threat' from Britain - video | Media
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  Source: Dave Winer's linkblog feed
  Thu, 16 Aug 2012 12:45
  Ecuador's foreign minister, Ricardo Pati±o, deplores what he describes as a threat from the British government to raid the country's London embassy if it fails to hand in Julian Assange. The WikiLeaks founder took refuge in the embassy two months ago in a bid to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he faces allegations of sexual assault
What do Julian Assange and Andrea Davison have in common? '' Final Part 4 Eyre International '' Bringing You The News No One Else Wants To Bring You
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  Thu, 16 Aug 2012 12:17
  They both ended up seeking political asylum in this building '' The Ecuador Embassy in London
  As I told you all in my last article Ms Andrea Davison has far more to offer than the CIA conman Julian Assange so why isn't the world media interested in this scoop and more to the point just what does this women know that the British Government does not want you to know and why did the Derbyshire Police seize thousands of documents on 'Arms to Iraq' using the Proceeds of Crime Act
  Is it possible that Ms Davison has so much information to offer the Chilcott Inquiry (Iraq Inquiry) that could implicate many ex and current PM's and cause them to end up in prison?'...'...'.....I will let you decide!!
  Just how long can these criminals avoid prison?
  Let's just take a look at her own account of just what the Derbyshire Police confiscated on the day they raided her property in 2010 and the fact that she very clearly blames the ex Prime Minister, Gordon Brown for arranging the raid. I would urge you to pay particular attention to the sensitive documents seized from Ms Davison's house and ask yourself two questions
  How could such secretive documents remain in her possession for such a long period of time and why has she and her investigative journalist, Pete Sawyer, not been charged under the ''Official Secrets Act''?Why was she called as a star witness to the previous Scott Inquiry and yet not called to the Chilcott Inquiry to provide them with not only the documents that were held in her possession but also her own knowledge and involvement in the ''Arms to Iraq'' debacle?I would remind you all again that Dr David Kelly and Andrea Davison have several things in common both were experts on Biological Weapons and both were involved in the arms that went to Iraq and WMD's and both were whistleblowers.
  One has to remember what she declared herself into the public domain when she said:.
  ''The seizure of my documents and notebooks, including amongst other things intelligence reports and letters from various Ministers and former Ministers of HMG is in my view political and as such I trust falls within your remit. The last Government promised ''No British document and no British witness will be beyond the scope of the Inquiry'' clearly the seizure of my documents by Derby Police has put them beyond the scope of the Inquiry. Whilst I understand a number of people not least Gordon Brown and Tony Blair do not want my documents to be available to the Inquiry however in my view this is not a legitimate reason for them being seized and retained by the Derby Police.''
  ''I urge you to secure the return of my Arms to Iraq documents from the Derby Police.''
  ''But as the doors to Iraq Inquiry closed no reply had been received. Begging the question just what is the Government so afraid off?''
  Here is the very list that she herself published after the raid on her property by the Derbyshire Police in her own words:
  Preliminary list of property seized from the two flats and communal areas.
  A very large amount of property was seized during the execution of the warrant so this list remains not restricted to but including. In effect they took the lifetimes accumulation of documents and property some which will only come to light later no doubt
  CASH ETC AND SHARE CERTIFICATES
  · Cash £100-£.200
  Cash in Euros 200 to 500
  · Share certificates
  · Credit Cards
  SOLID GOLD JEWELERY and Watches
  · Masonic Jewels (father was a mason)
  · Gold and Jewellery worth now about £40,000,00
  · Watch Jules Audemars
  · Watch Rolex
  PERSONAL DOCUMENTS
  · Passports
  · Driving licence
  · Training Records
  · Educational and Professional Certificates Employment records (clearance correspondence)
  · Personal records concerning security Top Secret Nuclear
  · Family History Records
  · Company Pension Records
  · All insurance documents for property and vehicles
  · MOT certificates
  · Family Photographs
  · Parents death Certificates
  · Tax Records
  · Pay Slips
  · All bank statements and documents with passwords etc. House deeds and original documents
  · Cheque books personal and business
  · Credit card statements
  · Files of receipts guarantees and instruction books
  Keys
  · Spare keys for the House and barn and outbuilding and all keys to the locked gates
  · Property Keys
  · Car Keys
  Since then there have been burglaries and numerous ''brake ins'', car doors opened windows opened and left open etc
  EQUIPMENT
  · Coolpix camera with SD Card installed
  · Eriksson Mobile phones 3 off
  · 3 other mobile phones
  · Electronic scales
  · 2 Desktop computers
  · 4 laptops
  · Ipaq Personal organiser
  · 3 portable hard drives
  · I mobile dongle (now paying each month for a service only the derby police can receive because they have the dongle
  SOFTWARE
  · Large box of various software for the computers perhaps 20-30 CD's
  · Windows
  · Office 2007
  ODDS AND ENDS
  · Fire proof safety box
  · One wooden 4 draw filing cabinet
  ARMS TO IRAQ DOCUMENTS
  Large Box containing documents not restricted to but including Documents and Records (some originals and some copies).
  · Project Babylon (supergun) file and corresponded about same
  · Biological weapons and delivery systems in Iraq
  · Location of Planes and WMD's following Desert Storm
  · Mobile Biological Weapons Laboratory in Iraq
  · UK supply of Biological and Chemical agents to Iraq
  · Evidence given in secret to Lord Justice Scott
  · Note books concerning arms to Iraq
  · Production line facilities in Iraq for CBW
  · Gulf War Syndrome.
  · Arms running through Yugoslavia.
  · Electromagnetic Warfare (star Wars).
  · Iraq's nuclear programme.
  · Hard evidence and papers on investigation by Ministry of Defence police (fraud Squad) with which I was assisting NATO sensitive.
  · Correspondence from Gordon Brown, Tony Blair, Gerald Kaufman, Lord Douglas Hoyle, Lew Smith, Stan Crowther covering several years mostly about Arms to Iraq and Yugoslavia plus correspondence with Tony Blair about Child abuse in Children's Homes in North Wales and Cheshire.
  · Documents concerning a nuclear warhead and group discussion with Peter Hain, Pete Sawyer, David Lowrey and Peter Hains researcher Isabell.
  · Documents on Jonathan Aitken including letters from Customs about Jonathan Aitken.
  · Computer discs several boxes all about arms to Iraq and the war in Yugoslavia and the IRA.
  · Records cards 1 box dealing with companies that supplied Iraq one box dealing with the people involved in the supply of arms to Iraq .
  · Record box with cards of those involved in the Care Homes child abuse enquiry.
  · Correspondence Atomic Weapons Establishment
  · Documents concerning the Atomic Weapons Establishment.
  INVESTIGATION INTO PEODOPHILES WITHIN THE POLICE AND GOVERNMENT
  · Letters from Tony Blair when he was shadow Home Secretary
  · Letters from Kenneth Clarke and others
  · Evidence concerning Police Officers, Judiciary, MP's and Government Ministers involved
  · Witness statements from victims including statements from witnesses in the Welsh Childrens Homes Scandal
  · Notebooks containing information and conversations with victims, carers and whistle blowers
  · large amount of index cards with names and links
  · Various documents concerning International Paedofile Network
  · Evidence collected to write various newspaper and magazine articals calling for a public enquiry
  ONGOING INVESTIGATION
  · File of my ongoing investigation into a fraud (in which I am the victim)
  · Hard Evidence an original signed document
  · Hard evidence in the form of letters
  DOCUMENTS SPECIFICALLY EXCLUDED FROM TEE WARRANT
  PERSONAL
  · Chamber of mines medical records
  · Records about current incurable illness
  · Legal Council during divorce
  · File of letters from solicitor about property purchase
  · Privileged letters between my solicitor and myself
  CLIENT CONFIDENTIAL
  · Client records with confidential details from when I was acting as an appropriate adult (I was a mental health advocate for over 10 years) and an appropriate adult on call. Including personal and confidential details of adults who had been abused in the North Wales Children's Homes scandal
  · Investment Club financial records
  · Confidential Client coaching session records
  JOURNALISTIC Material and client in confidence
  · Journalistic Material Documents and records of interviews given in confidence including but not limited
  End of Ms Davison's own account of items seized.
  When you consider that our Prime Ministers and our Government have in the past placed an emphasis in not allowing such countries as North Korea and Iran to enter into the WMD phase or drawn attention to the fact that a particular country may have Chemical and Biological Weapons( CBW) (such as the very deadly VX Gas) and may use them against us!!!!'...'... we have to understand that all of this is only lip service to cover up their own illegal arms dealings.
  The same naturally applies to the Presidents of the US and their government who together with the British Government paid for, delivered and built Iraq's CBW's facilities and indeed provided Saddam with VX gas which was then used on the Kurds and again during the Iraq-Iran War's.
  Now perhaps you can now see just how hypocritical and two faced our leaders are and believe me it goes much deeper than this when one puts together just how much Ms Andrea Davison knows and again I ask the question as to why the international media is not camped outside the Ecuador Embassy in London for one of the biggest scoops of all time??
  Obviously it goes without saying that her sidekick (investigative journalist) Pete Sawyer should be pulled in for questioning based on her own admittance above where she quoted '' Documents concerning a nuclear warhead and group discussion with Peter Hain, Pete Sawyer, David Lowrey and Peter Hains researcher Isabell'...'.....since when would an ordinary journalist be involved in such sensitive discussions unless our Mr. Sawyer worked for MI5/6 as could be the case with Ms Davison!!
  It was again Ms Davison who declared in her own words:
  ''In a new 'Arms to Iraq' scandal Judge John Burgess sitting in private issued a Court Order which in effect prevents me from even buying a loaf of bread or food for my cat and specifically prohibits me from paying for any legal help to challenge the Court Order he made. The evidence Judge Burgess relied on was supplied in a witness statement made by Derby Police Officer DC Stephen William Winnard and Authorised by Chief Superintendent Anthony Blockley. This statement is littered with obvious falsehoods and fabrications. The question is why ''?
  ''The Iraq Inquiry headed by Sir John Chilcot is calling on me to supply sensitive evidence which was seized by the Derby Police mid January 2010. I am a former adviser to the Trade and Industry Select Committee on Arms to Iraq is struggling to know what to do. As she did when giving evidence to the Scott Inquiry into Arms o Iraq she expected to do so in total secrecy but the actions of Derby police have made this impossible.''
  She also later said:
  ''But conversely Brown either colluded, organised or aided and abetted Derby police seizing documents, mid January 2010, which were pertinent to the inquiry implicating himself in a cover-up. Five weeks later he would himself be called to the Inquiry to give evidence.''
  ''These Iraq documents were seized by DC Steven Winnard on the 13th of January just weeks before they were due to be presented to the Iraq Inquiry. Although by now everyone in the New Coalition Government knows about the seizure of the Iraq Documents from me they have not been returned.''
  End of Ms Davison's Statement
  I again repeat the importance of Ms Davison and why so many ex and current PM's and respective high profile politicians are determined to keep her out of the public domain'...'...one could make up a short list such as Maggie Thatcher, John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and David Cameron. The list of other senior MP's and members of the House of Lords is endless but certainly include Lord Alpine, Lord Heseltine, Lord Robinson, Sir Ken Warren, Peter Lilley MP etc etc
  Add to this the current Prime Ministers involvement (with others, including the above latter two) in the illegal purchase of 3 Israel/South African built nuclear weapons that were stored without security in Oman and then stolen by the same arms dealer who sold them (John Bredenkamp, a Jewish Rhodesian) and one can see just how evil and corrupt our leaders and MP's are!!
  Let's again remind ourselves as to how important Ms Davison was to all the main line political parties in her own words, some of which become somewhat dramatic:
  MY EARLY HISTORY IN EXPOSING ARMS TO IRAQ
  ''Back in 1989 whilst I was investigating covert arms shipments concurrently with an investigation into the International Paedophile Network I was given documents proving the then Conservative Government were selling arms to Iraq. On instructions I went to see Neil Kinnock at his home and he put me in touch with Alan Rodgers. From this first meeting I was pivoted into the forefront of exposing 'arms to Iraq'.''
  TRADE AND INDUSTRY SELECT COMMITTEE INTO ARMS TO IRAQ AND THE 'SCOTT' ENQUIRY
  ''I went on to be an intelligence advisor to the Trade and Industry Select Committee on 'Arms to Iraq'. Then gave evidence to Lord Justice Scott and a written submission which is kept in a secret room along with other evidence given in secret, but now siezed by the Derby Police. I also worked with Tony Blair who was then shadow Home Secretary exposing the Paedofile Network within the Police and high places. Exposing illicit arms deals and highly placed paedofiles is very dangerous work and when I was eventually able to retire from front line involvement I sold my home and kept my whereabouts and identity as secure as I could without being given a new identity to protect me.''
  13 MALE POLICE OFFICERS RAID MY FLAT AND KEEP ME IN MY NIGHTCLOTHES ALL DAY
  ''On the 13th of January, I was alone in my flat and asleep when the Derby Police headed by DC Stephen Winnard raided my flat in North Wales with 12 other male officers executing a warrant obtained under Proceeds of Crime Act. At the same time they raided the flat downstairs, occupied by DW a man with Top Secret Clearance, and also the communal areas of the property. They seized almost every document and everything of value from myself and DW who has never been interviewed or spoken to by the Derby Police. Amongst their trove they seized documents specifically excluded, letters from my solicitors, medical details about my illness, journalistic material and further to this a large amount of documents, note books, discs, and tapes on the illicit arms trade and 'Arms to Iraq' plus letters from Gordon Brown and other Labour and Conservative politicians.''
  WARRENT ISSUED BY JUDGE JOHN BURGESS ON AFFIDAVIT OF DC WINNARD
  ''This warrant was obtained from Judge Burgess, the same Crown Court Judge who 3 months later was to issue a restraint order against me. The apparent grounds for issuing the warrant was that I had provided a client, calling himself Robin Jacob, with a mailing address at MAOS Mail services in Hyde, Cheshire and I had dealt with his mail and that Robin Jacob had committed an International Fraud through his company Regal and Archer which was formed by Turner and Little. ''
  ''After spending about 9 hours putting all my property and that of DW into cardboard boxes, and having searched the property for drugs and cash with a sniffer dog, I was finally allowed to get dressed so that I could be arrested and taken into custody. They arrested me for International fraud in 2007 and 2008 telling my duty solicitor I was the mastermind. I was deposited back home that night at about 8 pm to a devastated house. It was like being raped and burgled but unable to go to the Police, because it was the Police.''
  LORD DOUGLAS HOYLE PERSONALLY GIVES MY LETTER TO PRIME MINISTER GORDON BROWN
  ''Shocked I contacted a former member of the Trade and Industry Select Committee now in the Lords. Lord Douglas Hoyle was astounded by what had happened and concluded that it must be political. There was no way that the seizure of documents on arms to Iraq in an alleged fraud case covering 2007 and 2008 could be legitimate Also in 2007 I was very ill after being diagnosed with an incurable illness. which left me confused and weak''.
  ''After writing a letter to Gordon Brown I arranged with Lord Hoyle to have this letter given directly to The Prime Minister advising him about the stolen documents. Lord Hoyle later confirmed he had personally passed my letter directly to Gordon Brown and that if Gordon Brown wanted more information he would ask for it through him. ''
  RESTRAINT ORDER ISSUED ON WITNESS STATEMENT OF DC WINNARD IN WHICH HE LIED TO THE COURT AND OMMITTED MATERIAL FACTS
  ''Two months later on the 16th of April Judge Burgess made a Restraint Order against me relying on evidence from the witness statement of DC Stephen Winnard. This Restraint Order prohibits me from spending my own money, allowing me only to spend money received from State Benefits. But DC Winnard a financial investigator accredited by the Director of National Policing Improvement Agency knew that I was not in receipt of any State Benefits.''
  ''Because of the Statement made by DC Stephen Winnard with the signed approval of Chief Superintendent Anthony Blockley using the power invested in Judge john Burgess by the Court, they together made it illegal for me to buy a loaf of bread or buy food for my cat and if I did I could be fined or imprisoned for Contempt of Court. This is inhuman and degrading treatment against a vulnerable older lady, who they have already mentally tortured for 4 months, making unsubstantiated allegations that I am the mastermind behind this international fraud and threatening to confiscate my only home as the proceeds of crime. If it were not for the 'Arms to Iraq' documents it would make no sense at all, although some victims believe the government is trying to protect the real fraudsters. I have not been charged with this offence, but after writing this there may be an anxious to silence me.''
  End of Ms Davison's own statement.
  As you may recall from my previous articles Gordon Bowdon and I have been involved in a Civil Court Case at the Royal Courts of Justice in London as a direct result of Ms Davison taking exception to our published articles about her which resulted in her taking out a case of defamation against us.
  Even though we had a very good case against her and indeed a counter claim the Procedural Judge squashed our case on a very small technicality'.....however we have appealed and hopefully we can move forward with a full open court and jury'...'....in the meantime Ms Davison was charged by the Derbyshire Police and was put on trial at the Mold Crown Court in Wales'...'...she was tried by jury and found guilty of 27 of the 28 charges and sentenced to 2.5 years'...'.....however she did not attend the court and then had a bench warrant issued for her arrest'...'.....she then suddenly turned up at the Ecuador Embassy in London seeking political asylum'.....which proved that what we had published had an element of truth about it'...'....such is the state of the British Judicial System!!
  I guess you may be asking can it get worse or more sordid?'...'...'...'.....you bet'...'...'...maybe you can all recall the loss of a ''Black Ops'' Chinook helicopter on the headland of the Mull of Kintyre '' On the 2nd of June 1994 an RAF Chinook helicopter took off from Belfast Aldergrove Airport bound for a high level conference at Fort George, Nr Inverness, Scotland. Onboard were four very experienced crew members and 25 top level terrorism experts. The helicopter flew out over the sea in a north north-easterly direction towards the Mull of Kintyre, Scotland and crashed into the headland at approximately 1800 local time, killing all onboard. The aircraft tail number was ZD576 and crewed by Flt Lt Tapper (captain), Fl Lt Cook (co-pilot) with MALM Forbes and Sgt Hardie (crewman).
  You may find it hard to believe that it was Ms Davison who spoke with me on the telephone during a fairly long conversation and said that this Chinook crash was an inside job'...'...basically she explained that when the Northern Ireland peace talks were not going too well a few problems occurred and as one would expect when you have a problem you remove the problem'...'....hence the loss of the Chinook and those 25 VIP passengers that covered the best of the best in Anti Terrorist, Northern Ireland Police and MI5 who believe it or not all traveled on the same flight which is against normal civil and military protocol!!'...'...needless to say Ms Davison was not involved in this terrible act but obviously would have been aware as to what the DTI were doing at the time!!
  Why hasn't the MoD, the Police or the Lord Philip Chinook Review Board interviewed Ms Davison?
  There is certainly more behind the crash of RAF Chinook ZD576 and the death of the best anti terrorist experts and 4 crew who all died under very suspicious circumstances, none of which makes sense!!
  I myself (being an aviation fixed wing and helicopter operations expert) decided to investigate this crash and in conjunction with my own knowledge and the input from other whistle blowers found out that the crew were not responsible for this crash (as first blamed) and that their was a huge government cover-up.
  Information was provided to me which stated that an MP had lied in Parliament when he stated that only one helicopter left Northern Ireland Airspace that evening and that was the fated Chinook ZD576'...'...that was far from the truth because one witness said they had seen the above Chinook flying erratically down a valley as if in trouble and another witness who stated they sighted a second rather strangely painted Chinook that appeared to be American tracking in from the Belfast Airport direction and heading out over the sea around the same time as ZD576'...'.....this also agreed with another statement saying a secondary radar target was observed on radar in the Mull of Kintyre area'...'...'...'...add to this the rather strange lack of communications coverage for such an important flight and the lack of handover from Northern Ireland ATC to Scottish ATC etc etc.
  The final bombshell came when another whistle blower told me that via another third party the passengers and crew had not all died as one would expect from multiple high impact injuries but had all died from gunshot wounds to the head which means they were all dead when the Chinook hit the higher ground on the headland of the Mull of Kintyre!!
  There were so many grey areas associated with this terrible disaster that I myself submitted evidence to Lord Philip the head of the second inquiry'...'...needless to say my evidence has not come out in the report and no further communication or acknowledgement were received for the time and effort I put into this investigation'...'...'...!!
  One should also add that relatives of the crew and passengers also wanted to take civil action against the MoD/RAF but were all settled out of court to the tune of £.5 million each'...'.....why would you do an out of court settlement unless you had something to cover up!!
  So there you have it'.....an incredibly intelligent women with so many hidden secrets and one which our leaders and government do not want you to know about'...'...'....I would challenge any media to come forward and allow me to present a story outside of the Ecuador Embassy that could only be described as the biggest scoop of all times'...'...'....as you would expect no takers!!!
  It is also fact that Ms Davison gave much information to Tony Blair about the ring of Paedophiles in Wales and one would ask the question why did Tony Blair not act upon this information?'...'....this was the second time that Blair had received such a list'...'...maybe there is more to Mr Blair than meets the eye'...'.....certainly such is the case with Gordon Brown, Lord Robertson and MP's like Lord Mendelson.
  It is of grave concern to me that it was the FBI who also gave Mr Blair a list of such high profile people who were involved in such activity and who could be considered as a security risk to this country!!
  Oh and by the way one would assume that having been found guilty as charged you would cease your fraudulent activities'.....well folks her business AFBIO is till up and running and can be viewed on the following link http://www.afbio.com '...'....it is still advertising virtual officers all around the world that Gordon Bowden and I call ''Boiler Rooms'''...'.....so much for justice hey?
  Peter Eyre '' Middle East Consultant '' 5/8/2012
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CIA-MOSSAD IN TURKEY; TEHRAN CONFERENCE
  Link to Article
  Source: aangirfan
  Thu, 16 Aug 2012 06:58
  Russia, China, India, Iran, Pakistan, Indonesia, Venezuela, Algeria, Iraq, Cuba, Belarus... 30 Nations Meet in Tehran for Alternative to Hillary Clinton's Attack on Syria
  Syria's envoy to the UN, Bashar al-Jaafari, says the CIA and Mossad, based in Turkey, are guiding and commanding armed groups operating in Syria.
  Syria: CIA, Mossad Commanding Armed Rebels from Turkey - 11 August 2012
  In a letter to the UN Security Council, Jaafari wrote:
  "Turkey has established military command centers on its soil that are being operated and managed by the intelligence services of the US, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Qatar,"
  "These military centers command the insurgents' battles in Aleppo and other cities..."
Dishonorable Disclosures - YouTube
  Link to Article
  Thu, 16 Aug 2012 06:41
Dishonorable Disclosures | FrontPage Magazine
  Link to Article
  Source: FrontPage Magazine
  Thu, 16 Aug 2012 06:39
  A new documentary, ''Dishonorable Disclosures,'' sets out to educate Americans about the Obama administration's shocking breaches of American security. Watch it below:
  Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: Click here.
  About Frontpagemag.com Print This Post AAA Tags:America, Dishonorable Disclosures, Obama, security, U.S. Special Forces Operators
BBC News - Prince Philip remains in hospital
  Link to Article
  Source: BBC News - Home
  Thu, 16 Aug 2012 06:39
  This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.
FLU SHOTS - not here today!
  Link to Article
  Source: the tap
  Thu, 16 Aug 2012 03:59
  Message from a chiropractor, trying to save patients from unnecessary illness. That's now. When the pandemic attack comes, that's how they'll spread the disease. First panic is to be created in the media about a bird flu, or a swine flu. Then people will rush to be vaccinated. The vaccine has a three week delay. Then people contract the deadly lab created flu. Most who are vaccinated will die. Those who don't get vaccinated have a far better chance of survival if the lessons of the 1918 flu are remembered.Meantime there is enough evidence of the damage vaccines are doing to human beings every day. Don't send your kids to have their nervous systems smashed to pieces by the toxic metals contained in all vaccinations. Think before you permit. The government is trying to introduce compulsory school-delivered vaccination programs. Say NO.Stop trusting - stop trusting doctors. Stop trusting the TV and the smiling faces claiming to tell you the news. Just yesterday I saw a weather forecast. It said that there would be a little sunshine in the North East. Then the forecaster told the listeners to remember to wear Factor 30 suncream! I mean, FGS, in the North east of England, when people are now seriously short of Vitamin D after a summer without sun. The plan is to deprive people of this vital element so they succumb to the flu about to be spread.The sun was lost to chemtrailing. See the previous post. This is a depopulation program. All the elements are being readied for a mass cull. If you trust the NHS, the media and your doctor, you will be unlikely to survive. They are the executioners. If you learn to think for yourself, keep away from hypodermic needles and pharmacy, and find nutrition and sunlight that will help your immune system to stay strong, you have a much better chance of making it.
Reuters hacked (again) with fake story of Saudi minister's death | Security & Privacy
  Link to Article
  Source: CNET News
  Thu, 16 Aug 2012 03:12
  Someone must have it out for Reuters. For the second time in two weeks, the blogging platform for the news source's Web site has been hacked into and false stories have been illicitly published.
  Today's sham article reported that Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal had died, according to Reuters. The first bogus story, posted earlier this month, was about the rebel Free Syrian Army suffering setbacks in their battle against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime.
  "Reuters did not report the false story and the post was immediately deleted," Reuters News' director of global communications Barb Burg said in a statement. "We are working to address the problem."
  In addition to the Web site's blogging platform, Reuters' Twitter account was also hacked in the past two weeks. Hackers got into the Reuters Tech account, renaming it TechMe, and false tweets were posted about the Syrian rebels being defeated in a major battle.
  It's still unclear who is behind these news hacks. But Reuters hints that it may have been pro-government forces in Syria. In its article today it writes, "Saudi Arabia has emerged as a staunch opponent of Assad." This news comes as an investigation by the watchdog group the Electronic Frontier Foundation discovered that Syrian activists, journalists, and government opposition groups are the focus of directed malware attacks. The malware, called AntiHacker, installs surveillance software into targeted people's computers under the guise of protecting them from viruses.
Is Syria's War Spreading to Lebanon? -- News from Antiwar.com
  Link to Article
  Source: News From Antiwar.com
  Thu, 16 Aug 2012 03:06
  There has been some on-and-off violence in Lebanon related to the Syrian Civil War before, but today's announcement by the Meqdad Clan that they had kidnapped some 30 people they suspected of belonging to the Free Syrian Army (FSA).
  The vast majority of the captives were Syrians, but the militia also kidnapped a Saudi Arabian and one Turkish citizen as well. The group's statement threatened more moves against Saudi, Turkish and Qatari citizens.
  Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, the members of the GCC, have all issued statements urging their citizens to leave Lebanon immediately, saying that threats against them are getting worse.
  The GCC and Turkey have been openly backing the FSA in the civil war, while the Meqdad Clan, one of Lebanon's most powerful Shi'ite families, supports the Assad regime. As the sectarian war in Syria continues to worsen, it is sure to continue fanning the flames of tension on the other side of the border as well.
  Last 5 posts by Jason Ditz
Elton John's bass player found dead | Music
  Link to Article
  Source: Culture | guardian.co.uk
  Thu, 16 Aug 2012 02:26
  Robert Wayne Birch, left, with Elton John: Birch was found dead near Los Angeles on Wednesday. Photograph: Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic
  Robert Wayne Birch, a backup musician and bass player for Elton John, was found dead in the Los Angeles area on Wednesday. He died from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, officials said.
  Los Angeles County chief assistant coroner, Ed Winter, said Birch's body was found after 1am (8am GMT) in a community of the San Fernando Valley. The case is "being investigated as a possible suicide," Winter said.
  Birch, who also played saxophone, worked as the bass player in John's band starting in the early 1990s, opening the door for him to play with other famous musicians and bands such as Billy Joel, Keith Emerson, and the Replacements.
BBC News - Should extremely obese children be taken into care?
  Link to Article
  Source: BBC News - Home
  Thu, 16 Aug 2012 02:23
  15 August 2012Last updated at 20:41 ET By Helen GradyBBC Radio 4's The ReportDoes allowing a child to become morbidly obese qualify as child abuse? Some health and social care professionals believe it is a question that needs to be considered more seriously.
  Just a few months ago, the town of Aberdare in South Wales, was the scene of a dramatic rescue.
  A 19-year-old girl was pulled from her house by a crew of fire fighters - not because of a fire, but because she weighed more than 50 stone (318kg).
  The girl needed urgent medical treatment but could not fit through the front door of her house and so a wall was knocked down so she could be taken to hospital.
  Continue reading the main story''Start QuoteIt is my view that child obesity should be treated as a form of child mistreatment, as any type of under-feeding is''
  End QuoteJoanna NicholasSocial workerMedics and social workers were on standby to give the girl much needed support, but the question some people have asked is why social workers did not take preventative measures - such as taking the girl into care when she was younger - before such extreme action was needed?
  The question of whether extreme obesity is a child protection issue is a sensitive subject, but one which is gaining traction with some health and social care professionals.
  "It is my view that child obesity should be treated as a form of child mistreatment, as any type of under-feeding is," says Joanna Nicholas, a child protection consultant who has been a social worker for 17 years.
  "If a child is obese it is a form of abuse because of the physical impact on the child, the implications for their future health and the psychological impact," she told Radio 4's The Report.
  "We hear time and time again that these children just don't go out anymore. They stay at home eating because they are so miserable that nobody wants to be their friend."
  Ms Nicholas has personally dealt with six child protection cases where child obesity was a significant factor.
  "In one case the parents were both clinically obese and their view was that there wasn't a problem and we were sticking our noses in," she says.
  "Initially the child was placed on the child protection register and help and support was in place, but because of the family's unwillingness to accept there was a problem, we ended up going to court... and a decision was made by the court that the child should be removed from the parents' care."
  A big decisionThere are no official figures on how many children have been taken into care where obesity has been a deciding factor.
  This is because hearings at the family court are rarely reported due to restrictions. Although local authorities have a duty to collect data on care proceedings, obesity cases are usually logged under the more general category of neglect.
  So how do social workers decide child obesity is a protection issue in the first place? What guidelines do they use to decide that a child's weight problem is so serious that they should be taken into care?
  "The key criteria is whether the harm is significant in terms of the child's development and whether the harm is due to the parents or care-givers behaviour," says Colin Green from the Association of Directors of Children's Services.
  Continue reading the main story''Start QuoteYou can't just follow a rubric that a child with a certain Body Mass Index means it's a child protection issue''
  End QuoteColin GreenAssociation of Directors of Children's Services"You would also be looking to medical colleagues to help you with that assessment as social worker training is not really competent to judge health impact in precise terms," he adds.
  The Report has learned that the interpretation of these guidelines varies considerably from one local authority to the next.
  As far as we know, the case of the 50-plus stone Welsh teenager never made it to court but there have been much less extreme cases where councils did start care proceedings.
  The amount of time social workers give families to tackle a child's weight problem also varies wildy. In one case, an authority waited five years before taking action, another threatened action after a few months. So why are social workers so inconsistent?
  "There will be variability because the circumstances of every child are significantly different," says Colin Green.
  Continue reading the main story15-year-olds reported to be overweight according to BMIRankCountryGirls %Boys % 1
  USA
  27
  34
  2
  Greece
  13
  28
  3
  Canada
  17
  24
  4
  Wales
  15
  22
  5
  Slovenia
  13
  23
  6
  Portugal
  15
  19
  7
  Iceland
  13
  20
  8
  Luxembourg
  12
  22
  9
  Italy
  11
  22
  10
  Croatia
  10
  23
  23
  Scotland
  11
  16
  30
  England
  11
  11
  Source: World Health Organization: Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children Survey 2009/2010.
  "You can't just follow a rubric that a child with a certain Body Mass Index means it's a child protection issue."
  But surely a better steer for social workers would ensure a more consistent approach across the country?
  "I think the guidance is very clear," says Mr Green. "I think social workers need to ask for less guidance and be more focussed on the exercise of professional judgment."
  According to the social workers and family lawyers who spoke to The Report, the topic of child obesity as a child protection issue is certainly being discussed more seriously - and medical professionals are joining the debate too.
  Dr Matthew Capehorn runs an obesity service in Rotherham and proposed a motion to the British Medical Association suggesting that child obesity in under-12s should be regarded as neglect and a child protection issue.
  "If a parent comes to a doctor and says 'I'm concerned about my child's weight' then they cannot be held responsible for the fact that their child is morbidly obese.
  "But on the rare occasion where a parent has been told again and again and again that their child is getting bigger and bigger and putting their health at risk and they don't engage with weight management services then, yes, in some way social services should be involved."
  However Dr Capehorn also recognises that patchy resources and support to tackle child obesity is also an obstacle.
  "This is the main issue as far as I am concerned. If we look where I work in Rotherham, the NHS has invested a huge amount of money and resources in weight management services for children and adults. However, in other areas they might have little or nothing," he says.
  Back in Wales, scene of the dramatic rescue of the 50-plus stone teenager, childhood obesity is a political hot potato.
  Continue reading the main storyFind out moreHear more on this story on The Report on Radio 4 on 16 Thursday August at 20:00 BST
  A recent report published by the World Health Organization revealed the Wales has some of the most overweight teenagers in the world and subsequently politicians there are also talking about obesity as a child protection issue.
  "We don't want to take children from loving parents, but they're sometimes making their children's lives abject misery. That's not right. That's not a happy childhood," says Lindsay Whittle, a Plaid Cymru member of the Welsh Assembly.
  "What we have to hammer home is that if parents carry on killing their child with kindness, we should consider taking children into care to ensure they are properly fed," he says.
  But more often than not it is medical staff who are left to deal with extreme obesity problems long after they began to spiral out of control.
  At the Welsh centre for surgery for morbid obesity at Morriston Hospital in Swansea, they have just reached their 1000th referral in 15 months - over 60 of these cases concern patients under the age of 25.
  "We have patients three times the weight they should be. We've got some young patients who weighed around 48 stone (304kg)," says surgeon Jonathan Barry.
  "The sad part of the argument is that we should have been treating these patients 5, 10, 15 years ago," he says.
  "It's the disease of the 21st Century, and it's not going away."
  Hear more on this story on The Report on BBC Radio 4 on 16 Thursday August at 20:00 BST.
  You can also listen again via the Radio 4 website or The Report download.
Daily Press Briefing - August 15, 2012
  Link to Article
  Thu, 16 Aug 2012 01:29
  12:48 p.m. EDT
  MS. NULAND: Happy Wednesday, everybody. Before we get started, let me welcome the participants in the Fundamentals of Public Diplomacy class from FSI. Go forth and do good public diplomacy work. Let's go to what is on your minds.
  QUESTION: I don't have anything that's really worthy of starting the briefing, so ''
  MS. NULAND: It's August. All right.
  QUESTION: Defer.
  MS. NULAND: Jill.
  QUESTION: Just one thing on Syria. Valerie Amos '' they just sent out an announcement '' is there, visited some camps where people are. What's the U.S. understanding of how cooperative or not cooperative the Syrian Government is in terms of providing access to people who are displaced internally?
  MS. NULAND: Well, as you know, as Valerie Amos has said, one of the purposes of her trip is to try to expand access. The UN agencies have been getting into places but not as quickly as they would like and not when conflict is ongoing in those places. So she is looking to expand access. And as you know, the UN is all over Syria '' both UNHCR, also World Food Program. Some 850,000 Syrians are now being fed by the World Food Program. So the need is extreme. Access has been okay, but not as good as it should be, and particularly not as good as it should be when violence is ongoing in the area.
  QUESTION: But are there actual attempts by the government to impede access, or is it just that there's so much fighting that people '' the UN can't get in?
  MS. NULAND: My understanding '' but again I'm going to refer you to the UN and Valerie Amos's people '' is that access is uneven and it depends on how the government evaluates the security situation.
  QUESTION: Toria ''
  QUESTION: Do you have any comment on the UN Human Rights investigators report that said that war crimes were being committed on both sides in the conflict in Syria?
  MS. NULAND: Well, we are carefully reviewing this report which just came out. It's some 102 pages. We regret that the Government of Syria refused to cooperate with the commission of inquiry when it was there. Our reading of the report is that the commission of inquiry finds the same thing that we have been saying, which is that the preponderance of the violence, the preponderance of the abuses, are on the side of the regime, are on the side of government forces, which is not to say that there have been no problems on the rebel side. Obviously, there have been problems, but the preponderance of violence has been with government-led forces.
  Please, Said.
  QUESTION: Yes. With what was said in the last couple days about the regime losing its grip on the country more and more '' it's accelerated '' what is your own assessment of that? Because, as you said yesterday, the vice '' the former prime minister said that the Assad regime only controls 30 percent of the country. So what is your own assessment?
  MS. NULAND: Well, again, as we said yesterday, I'm not prepared here to put a percentage on the amount of territory still controlled by the regime, but our own view is very much in keeping with what the former prime minister said, namely that much of the rural areas, many of the smaller towns are now controlled by the opposition, that the fight is now for the major cities of Damascus and Aleppo.
  What we're also starting to see is the opposition beginning to set up interim governing structures, interim structures to provide services and food and medical supplies, et cetera, for the people in the towns where they are holding territory. And as I said yesterday, we are in contact with them and we are calling on them to set a positive example for the kind of Syria we all want to see going forward in the way they deal with populations, protecting Syrians of all stripes in the territory that they control, no reprisals, no acts of vigilante justice, and providing services as much as they can, not destroying institutions or structures of the state that will be important and useful in the future.
  QUESTION: With the country being destroyed fast and furious in a way or rapidly, during your deliberations with other countries, would it be a good idea, let's say, to have something akin to the Marshall Plan for the day after, because everybody talks about the day after? Is that something that you can '' or you discussed or you have discussed with the rich oil countries in the Gulf?
  MS. NULAND: Well, in fact, we are, as an international community, already beginning to look at some of these day-after issues, as the Secretary said when she was in Istanbul. And one of the issues is this question of economic support when a democratic government gets back up on its feet. In fact, we have a preliminary conference beginning tomorrow in Berlin on the potential economic needs of a democratic Syria. Fred Hof will represent us at that conference, and we anticipate that that will lay the groundwork for further work in September.
  Syria is not Iraq. It doesn't have that great, vast natural wealth. And depending on how long this goes on, we are already seeing a lot of the economic underpinnings of Syria's prosperity at risk from this fighting. So there's going to have to be a serious rebuilding job that will be Syrian-led obviously, but the international community has to be ready to support, so we're beginning to think about those things.
  Please.
  QUESTION: Another one on Syria, please. There's a story today that says essentially the United States is providing communications equipment to the opposition, to fighters as well, but that some of the sanctions are impeding their attempt to communicate because the Syrian Government has access to things that can track their cell phones, et cetera. Did you see that story, and do you have any concern that perhaps the sanctions are boomeranging on the opposition in terms of having secure communications?
  MS. NULAND: I did see the story. As you know, one of our main lines of efforts with the nonlethal assistance has been to try to provide the kind of equipment and support to the Syrian opposition to help them communicate with each other, to help them to be better organized, to help them to circumvent some of the restrictions that the regime places on internet, some of its efforts to track their movements, their communications. So that is what our programs are designed to do.
  We have heard some of these same concerns from the Syrians that are in that article, and we are working with them as we institute this program to try to better understand what it is that they would like that we're not able to provide, what it is that they need to help them circumvent some of these efforts by the Syrian regime to use the very same communications against them.
  But we take great pains '' and this is part of why we don't talk in much detail about what we're giving and who we're giving it to '' to protect those people that we're helping and to protect the equipment that we are putting in from this very same kind of effort by the Syrian regime to use it against those who are getting it.
  Margaret. Sorry, just to Margaret, who's been patient here, and then back to Matt.
  QUESTION: Thanks. Russia's Foreign Minister said that external players need to stop encouraging the opposition to continue their military struggle. Is the U.S. encouraging the opposition to continue its military struggle, and what's the response?
  MS. NULAND: Well, there's no question that we are endeavoring through our support to the opposition to hasten the day when the violence ends, when Assad leaves power, and when a democratic transition can begin. That said, as you know, we tried very hard repeatedly '' three times, in fact '' through the UN Security Council to work with Russia to put some teeth behind the UN efforts and Kofi Annan's effort to get compliance with his six-point plan. We wanted very much for there to be a penalty, a sanctions penalty in particular, if those six points were not implemented. And Russia again vetoed. So I would ask the question: Who is doing the most now to try to hasten the day?
  Please.
  QUESTION: On Russia, of course Wendy Sherman has been '' will be there, right, I guess?
  MS. NULAND: She's going to be there tomorrow. She's en route today. Yeah.
  QUESTION: So what's the message? Because if '' I mean, we haven't heard much from the Russians recently on this anyway. But is there any new message to the Russians now that the U.S. is working with Turkey and others on a more specific plan for both helping the opposition and for the day after?
  MS. NULAND: Well, first let me say that Under Secretary Sherman's primary purpose on her stop in Russia is to work with the Russians on the P-5+1 process vis-a-vis Iran, which she is the lead American on. And she'll be meeting her counterparts there.
  Obviously, Syria is going to come up. She will say what the say has been saying to Lavrov, what we've been saying at all levels, which is that the Russians themselves have expressed to us, has expressed internationally, grave concerns about this turning into a civil war or turning into a proxy war, spilling beyond borders. And we have those exact same concerns. But not allowing the UN to work, not allowing real teeth behind efforts that we've all agreed to '' that we need a transitional structure, as the P-5 agreed in Geneva, that we actually need the Kofi Annan plan to have enforcement mechanisms '' is not helping and is not contributing to stopping the violence and containing this crisis so that we can move on and we can rebuild Syria.
  Please.
  QUESTION: (Off-mike.)
  MS. NULAND: Matt was patient here. Go ahead, Matt. Still on Syria?
  QUESTION: Yeah. On Syria.
  MS. NULAND: Go ahead.
  QUESTION: Well, no, let him go.
  MS. NULAND: Said.
  QUESTION: No, I just wanted a quick follow-up to this. I mean, basically the Secretary of Defense yesterday acknowledged that others are providing lethal aid to the opposition, perhaps suggesting that your allies, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, are providing lethal aid while you stood at this podium time and again and spoke against violence and that really extending lethal aid to the opposition will only serve to sort of exacerbate the violence and destruction.
  MS. NULAND: Well, let's start with the main message that the Secretary of Defense gave very strongly yesterday and which most of you covered, which was our grave concern about the training and the materiel and the support that Iran is giving to the Assad regime, and the prolonging of the misery of the Syrian people that Iran is now responsible for, and the other nefarious efforts that they have going there. You know where we are on this, Said. We have made a decision to only provide nonlethal assistance, but we do coordinate with others who have made other decisions.
  Matt.
  QUESTION: So I was intrigued by your statement of fact a few minutes ago where you said Syria is not Iraq; it doesn't have the great natural wealth that Iraq does. I presume you're talking about oil, yeah?
  MS. NULAND: Yeah. I mean, it has some natural wealth, but it's not swimming in an ability to --
  QUESTION: Would you say that that's one of the reasons why you're not doing anything to intervene, because Syria doesn't have the amount of oil that either Iraq or Libya had?
  MS. NULAND: There are no connections between these two things. This is --
  QUESTION: So anyone that would --
  MS. NULAND: Our --
  QUESTION: You yourself brought up the distinction. I just want to make sure that that's not '' that oil is not the reason that you're not doing anything militarily to help the Syrian people .
  MS. NULAND: My point with regard to Iraq was that Syria is a country that in the rebuilding phase is likely to want, need, and request significant international economic support because it doesn't have the same kind of natural benefits that some of these other --
  QUESTION: So all right. From your experience, Iraq didn't need any help rebuilding?
  MS. NULAND: No, of course they did. But they didn't need '' they mostly took loans, they mostly took technical support. They didn't take straight-out assistance in the same way. So --
  QUESTION: So you're not intending to suggest that going in, militarily intervening in a country with oil is in the U.S. interest, but not intervening in a country that doesn't have oil isn't in U.S. interests? That's not what you mean?
  MS. NULAND: There is no connection between those two things. Our decisions about how to support the opposition are based on the litmus test that the Secretary has put out very clearly in Istanbul and which we've been saying all along. We want to ensure that what we do to support the opposition actually hastens the day rather than increasing the suffering.
  Please.
  QUESTION: How do you read Minister Lavrov saying that the spirit of the Geneva declaration should be '' I mean, should stay alive?
  MS. NULAND: We agree with that, which is precisely why the last time we went to the UN Security Council in June our effort was to try to get a UN Security Council resolution that endorsed the Geneva understandings about transition but put real teeth into a resolution in the form of sanctions if Assad didn't start moving in that direction. And it was the Russians and the Chinese who chose to veto that.
  QUESTION: Do you see this as a first step maybe to Russia agreeing on that?
  MS. NULAND: I can't speak to what Foreign Minister Lavrov has in mind.
  Please.
  QUESTION: Another subject?
  MS. NULAND: Are we still '' anything else on Syria? No? Please, here.
  QUESTION: One more on Syria.
  MS. NULAND: Yeah.
  QUESTION: You've said for a while now you're in touch with a broad cross-section of the opposition. In those contacts, are you hearing an increased call for more direct aid from the U.S., such as a no-fly zone or more lethal aid, that sort of thing?
  MS. NULAND: There are a lot of different voices in the opposition with regard to what they need. We are talking to as many players as we can. And as I said, we're making clear that our decision is on the nonlethal side, but they are also talking to other countries who have made other decisions.
  Please.
  QUESTION: (Off mike.)
  MS. NULAND: Still Syria? No?
  QUESTION: (Off mike.)
  MS. NULAND: Wait a minute. Still Syria? Margaret? No?
  Okay. Goyal.
  QUESTION: Madam, as India and Pakistan celebrates their 65 years of independence yesterday and today, I know Secretary has sent messages to the both countries. My question is: Can you put some '' give some reflection on the both countries, their progress, where they're heading, and 65 years, as far as you '' in the eyes of the U.S.? Both are friends of the United States.
  MS. NULAND: Well, Goyal, I don't think I can improve on the two birthday messages sent by the Secretary, so I would refer you to those. We have important relationships with both of those countries, and I would refer you to her words and the statements that she issued.
  QUESTION: What I'm asking you really, on the '' both got independence on the same day 65 years ago. India, you can see where is India today, as far as progress is concerned. Pakistan is still supporting terrorism. And as Secretary Panetta said yesterday, that safe haven is still in Pakistan, and Pakistan is not doing what it's supposed to do as far as U.S.-Pakistan support is concerned.
  What I'm asking you is: Are you still thinking of talking to Haqqani Network? According to some press reports, U.S. might be in the way of talking to the Haqqani Network. Or some Pakistanis are saying that if there is a problem of terrorism inside Pakistan into Afghanistan, then why U.S. is not stopping it from that eastern border of Afghanistan.
  MS. NULAND: Well, on the larger issue of cross-border violence, Afghanistan/Pakistan, I want to refer you back to what Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Dempsey said yesterday. They talked about improved cooperation in recent weeks between Afghanistan, Pakistan, and ISAF on cross-border. Obviously, this is something that we've been stressing for many, many months, that the best way to deal with the Haqqani threat and with the threat that crosses borders is for Afghanistan, Pakistan, and ISAF to work together in joint operations, joint planning, joint pressure that squeezes these terrorists and doesn't allow them to run back and forth across the border.
  With regard to Haqqani, our position is unchanged, as you know, which is that we've designated a number of the kingpins, and we're continuing to look at the larger question of designation. And we're continuing our dialogue with Pakistan about how it can do as much as it can to close down the space for those affiliated with Haqqani to perpetrate terror.
  QUESTION: And one more quickly.
  QUESTION: Are you sure you don't want to give us a list of why India is better than Pakistan 65 years later? No?
  MS. NULAND: I think the Secretary's statements are quite eloquent on the birthday message.
  QUESTION: New topic?
  MS. NULAND: Yeah, please, Shaun.
  QUESTION: Just one more quickly. I'm sorry. India's Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh is planning two visits '' to Iran and Pakistan. Do you have any '' do you get in advance any of these notices that he's visiting Pakistan at all, then he's visiting Iran?
  MS. NULAND: Well, we don't clear his travel schedule in advance, if that's what you're asking.
  QUESTION: No, I mean --
  MS. NULAND: We talked a lot '' a little bit yesterday about the Indian visit to Iran. I'll refer you to those comments. With regard to Pakistan, any high-level communication between India and Pakistan that can help them address the various issues among them is something that we would support.
  QUESTION: In East Asia, it's obviously a sensitive anniversary, August 15th. The '' there was an incident today with pro-China activists going to disputed islands. And I was wondering if the U.S. has anything to say specifically on the incident, or more broadly about Japan's relations with its neighbors.
  MS. NULAND: Well, with regard to the incident, with regard to the general issue of this set of territorial disputes, we talked about it at some length yesterday, and we also talked about it on Monday. We don't take sides in these things. We want to see people work it out. With regard to the Senkakus in '' specifically '' is that the incident that you're talking about, the Hong Kong incident?
  QUESTION: Yeah.
  MS. NULAND: We expect the claimants to resolve the issue through peaceful means and any kinds of provocations are not helpful in that regard.
  QUESTION: In terms of provocations, does that mean the actual trip was '' I'm not putting words in your mouth, but was that considered provocation?
  MS. NULAND: Again, these guys have got to work this out, and we're not going to take a side with it. But these kinds of pressures and pushing are not helpful to an environment where they can sit down and work it out.
  QUESTION: Sorry. I need you to parse a word, which I know you're going to be reluctant to do. But we have this '' this thing comes up. When you say, ''we expect,'' does that mean that you have reason to believe that they are going to resolve this peacefully because they have told you that?
  MS. NULAND: We want to '' no.
  QUESTION: Or is it ''expect,'' meaning that we would hope that --
  MS. NULAND: We want to see them '' we would hope that, we want to see them. Is that helpful --
  QUESTION: So they haven't told you definitively one way or another that we're going to resolve these peacefully?
  MS. NULAND: They have not.
  QUESTION: Okay.
  QUESTION: Ambiguous wording.
  MS. NULAND: Yeah. Sorry. In the back.
  QUESTION: On this dispute issue, yesterday the Japanese Government arrest the 14 Chinese after the activists landed on the dispute island, and they are including the two reporters from Hong Kong Phoenix TV and by the reporting freely. Would you please give us some response on that?
  MS. NULAND: So you're talking about the same incident, where we had a Hong Kong group landing on the Senkakus that were arrested by the '' by Japan?
  QUESTION: Yeah. Yes. And there were, like, two Hong Kong news reporters on the boat, and they are arrested as well.
  MS. NULAND: Again, I don't have any particular information about who this group was. I don't think I have anything further to say, beyond the fact that we want to see Japan and China work this through together. We're not taking sides in it, but it needs to be resolved consensually, not through provocative acts.
  Please.
  QUESTION: Egypt?
  MS. NULAND: Yeah.
  QUESTION: The new Egyptian military leader, General Sedki Sobhi back in 2005 wrote a lengthy paper. I don't know whether you had time to go through it last night.
  MS. NULAND: He's the new chairman of the armed forces?
  QUESTION: Yeah.
  MS. NULAND: The General Dempsey counterpart?
  QUESTION: I believe. I mean, I guess he's described as --
  MS. NULAND: This is beginning to sound like something that's got to go to the Pentagon, but go ahead, Jill.
  QUESTION: Well, no, I'm sure this is interesting reading for somebody who's interested in foreign policy, because he talks about '' he wrote it when he was the U.S. Army War College.
  MS. NULAND: Boy, you've been busy at Carlisle.
  QUESTION: He was.
  MS. NULAND: You've been busy.
  QUESTION: Yeah, at the bars. And he said that he calls for full U.S. withdrawal from all Middle Eastern countries and criticizes the U.S. for always taking Israel's side. So just wondering, since we're looking at this, whether there is '' whether you've looked at it, whether you know about it, might have any reaction?
  MS. NULAND: I have not seen it. I'm not sure whether anybody in this building has seen it. But if you go back to the press conference that Secretary Panetta and General Dempsey gave yesterday, General Dempsey makes clear that he's reached out to him, that he's somebody that we know, and that General Dempsey's expectation is that we'll be able to work well together. But I don't know whether anybody in that building has studied his scholarly works while he was here or whether any of us ought to be held to school papers, but anyway, I can't imagine what my school papers said. (Laughter.)
  QUESTION: Well, the War College, that's hardly a school paper. If the guy's an officer in the Egyptian military, does not mean he's a 17-year-old kid expanding on Ayn Rand or anything else. (Laughter.)
  MS. NULAND: Anyway '' general '' yeah. I certainly don't have anything beyond what General Dempsey had to say.
  QUESTION: To follow-up on Jill, I mean, General al-Sisi did make very strong statements, very controversial on the fact, that where it deems to be Islamist or, in fact, extremist Islamist in the past. Did anyone really look at his credentials in that particular way?
  MS. NULAND: Again, we talked about this yesterday.
  QUESTION: I understand that --
  MS. NULAND: We talked about the fact that Egyptian personnel decisions are for --
  QUESTION: -- but more and more is coming out.
  MS. NULAND: -- Egyptians to make and that we have reached out to him and we want to have a good working relationship continuing with the SCAF and its leadership, and we want to be able to work together, not only on issues of Egypt's security, but of the whole neighborhood's security.
  Please.
  QUESTION: Secretary Panetta was saying also that Israel has not yet decided on any attack on Iran. Is he implying that there is coordination between the U.S. and Israel on an eventual military action there?
  MS. NULAND: Well, I'm going to send you to the Pentagon for a parsing of the Secretary of Defense's words.
  QUESTION: No, no. This is a political thing, not military.
  MS. NULAND: That would be '' yeah.
  Please, Scott.
  QUESTION: Anything new that you can give us on Venezuela and this American?
  MS. NULAND: Yes, a little bit. So we can confirm that a U.S. citizen was arrested. We can confirm that the Government of Venezuela has notified us of the arrest '' that was yesterday or the day before yesterday late in the afternoon. We're now working with the Government of Venezuela on a consular visit. You'll recall that yesterday I said we had not had joy on that subject. We're now actively working on being able to get in to see the individual. But until we do that, I don't think I'll have more to share.
  QUESTION: Just a quick '' when you say working on a consular visit, that means the Venezuelans have agreed to that, and it's just a matter of the practicalities?
  MS. NULAND: That's my understanding. Yeah.
  QUESTION: But wait. Yesterday you said that they hadn't notified you in the normal way. That you were told, here in Washington, not in Caracas, is that --
  MS. NULAND: Now all of that has been worked through, as well as --
  QUESTION: So they went and talked to the Embassy?
  MS. NULAND: Yeah.
  QUESTION: So they have followed, now, belatedly followed regular procedures?
  MS. NULAND: That's my understanding, that our Embassy in Caracas is working with the authorities now.
  Please, Said.
  QUESTION: Victoria, I wonder if I could have a quick follow-up question on my email question, and thank you for responding. Dr. Ashrawi did speak to the diplomat, and she apparently suggested that the Palestinians are going ahead with their effort in the journalists under the '67 section. But she also said she's trying to appeal for a substitute aid to '' that comes from the United States in the event that you will cut the aid in the event that they do go to the General Assembly. Are there any plans to cut off aid to the Palestinians in the event that they go to the General Assembly for membership, observer status?
  MS. NULAND: Well, you're into about three levels of hypothetical there, Said, which you can imagine I'm not going to be --
  QUESTION: Not hypotheticals; they are going.
  MS. NULAND: We continue to make clear to the Palestinian Authority leadership at all levels '' and David Hale has been out there in fact, just this week '' that we continue to oppose any efforts to advance their cause through the UN before they have had a full settlement with Israel. That's not the right sequence, and it's not going to lead to peace, it's not going to lead to two states living side-by-side in security. So that's the message that we continue to give. That's the message that the Secretary gave to President Abbas when she saw him in Europe not too long ago and that David Hale continues to give. It's the wrong way to go.
  QUESTION: Is she exaggerating the feel or the concern that you might cut off aid?
  MS. NULAND: Again, you know that our Congress has been strong on these issues; we have been pretty strong on these issues. There are a number of legislative things on the books, of which the Palestinians are well aware. But fundamentally, if the goal is to have a state, to live in peace with your neighbors, to be secure, going to the UN is not going to get you there.
  Please.
  QUESTION: So would you say that her description of the peace process as being completely paralyzed is not true?
  MS. NULAND: We disagree with that. And we've had David Hale out there this week, as well. He met with his counterparts, the Israeli negotiator Yitzhak Molho in Tel Aviv on August 11th. And he also met with President Abbas in Amman on August 11th. And then he went on to Jordan. He saw Fayyad in Ramallah, and he also saw Defense Minister Barak. So we are continuing to do our part and try to keep these '' get these parties back to the table.
  QUESTION: Sorry '' you said he saw Abbas in Amman, and then he went to Jordan? Isn't that the same thing? I just want to make sure I got these places right.
  MS. NULAND: So he saw '' just to get it right ''
  QUESTION: Or are you saying Oman?
  MS. NULAND: -- he was in the region August 11th and 12th. On Saturday, August 11th, he met with Israeli negotiator Yitzhak Molho in Tel Aviv. And then he went to Amman, where I assume Palestinian President Abbas was visiting because he saw Abbas in Amman. Then on the 12th, he also saw Jordanian Foreign Minister Judeh, and then he went back to Ramallah and saw Prime Minister Fayyad. Then he went on to Jerusalem to see Defense Minister Barak and other Israeli officials. And he's now in Geneva seeing his Quartet pals.
  QUESTION: Okay. That was all on the 12th. Good thing these places are close together.
  MS. NULAND: Exactly.
  QUESTION: Just want to clarify one thing: The message that he's giving them contains the Congressional stuff '' the consequences of, ''Look, if you guys do this, we have laws back here which are going to require us to do '' if you do X, Congress says that we have to do Y, right?''
  MS. NULAND: You're connecting dots that I didn't connect.
  QUESTION: Well, that's what --
  MS. NULAND: His message is the overall one that we continue to give, which is that direct dialogue, direct discussion, is the way to go here; that the UN track is not going to lead to peace; that we want to support and we are prepared to continue to support any efforts that are going to get these parties back to the table.
  QUESTION: But does he not also say that not '' that the UN track, not only does it not lead to peace, but it will also lead to '' it'll also lead to cutoff in funding, as mandated by Congress? It would be --
  MS. NULAND: Look, when called upon, he can explain U.S. legislative and congressional requirements. He's certainly not in the business of predicting what policy is going to be in advance of --
  QUESTION: Well, but the '' it's not predicting. I mean, Congress has said if the Palestinians achieve '' if they get recognition or if they get '' win admission to UN bodies, then there are consequences for that.
  MS. NULAND: It is not our impression that there are any gaps in understanding on the Palestinian side in terms of what our legislative requirements are.
  Please.
  QUESTION: Can you explain, then, why they would go ahead with it? Do they not think that --
  MS. NULAND: You need to speak to them about that.
  Please.
  QUESTION: A quick follow-up on the '' Syria and the UN. Has '' are you talking about renewing for the observers? Did it '' is it coming up in discussions at the UN?
  MS. NULAND: Well, we had this 30-day technical rollover to allow the observer force that was there to have an orderly withdrawal. There remains a question about what their fate will be when that 30 days is up, which I think is at the end of August. We're having informal consultations in New York, but there haven't been any decisions or any particularly firm plans put forward.
  QUESTION: Are you happy with the choice of Mr. Brahimi as an envoy?
  MS. NULAND: I think you're assuming a choice that hasn't been announced, so I think we won't speak to it unless and until it's announced.
  Please, Margaret.
  QUESTION: Saudi Arabia called on its citizens to leave Lebanon immediately today. What's the U.S. threat assessment in Lebanon? And how connected is that to what we heard last week about growing concern about Hezbollah and potential attacks in Europe and elsewhere?
  MS. NULAND: Well, our concern in Lebanon first and foremost has been the spillover from the Syrian conflict, and the fact that the sectarian tensions in Syria are potentially being replicated in Lebanon, and that we've seen clashes between different groups in Lebanon that have had to be managed by the Lebanese defense forces. So we are obviously supportive of their efforts to try to keep and maintain calm, but it's been a very tense and difficult situation, including with these allegations of kidnapping, et cetera. So that's the main angle of concern here. We have done the appropriate travel warnings, et cetera, to our own. We haven't gone as far as the Saudis have.
  Anything else?
  QUESTION: Thank you.
  QUESTION: One more?
  MS. NULAND: Thank '' oops, Ros.
  QUESTION: Yeah. I wanted to ask you about the May 11th shooting in the Mosquitia region '' I'm probably mispronouncing that '' during a joint Honduran-U.S. law enforcement action, DEA action. Four people were killed. A preliminary Honduran military report suggests that it may have been a case of mistaken identity. The people were killed because they were thought to be drug traffickers and it seems that they weren't. Two NGOs today released a report calling for U.S. accountability. I have a few questions if you'll indulge me.
  MS. NULAND: This is May '' the May 11th --
  QUESTION: May 11th incident.
  MS. NULAND: Yeah.
  QUESTION: Yeah, because there have been at least two other shootings since in which DEA agents were found to have actually fired and caused peoples' deaths.
  The first question: Is the U.S. Government fully cooperating in the ongoing Honduran investigation? Is it reviewing the actions of any DEA or other U.S. personnel who were taking part in that counternarcotics action that night?
  MS. NULAND: Well, first, we '' as you know, the Hondurans, as you said, are leading in their own investigation. We are being supportive of their investigation, as we said, since May 11th. That investigation has not yet concluded. DEA, as it always does in these kinds of incidents, is doing its own work to look at what its people were involved with. So with regard to specific questions about where that's going, I'll send you to DEA, Ros.
  QUESTION: Now it's my understanding that the helicopters that were being used in this operation are actually owned by the U.S. State Department. When something of this sort happens and there is a requirement for an investigation, does that mean that the U.S. State Department has those vehicles grounded pending the outcome of the investigation? Is there any requirement to suspend any aid to the Honduras Tactical Response Team that leads these sorts of operations?
  MS. NULAND: While those are options in this case, we have not suspended assistance to Honduras. We are continuing, but we are obviously, as I said, supporting the investigation that the Hondurans are undertaking. And if other action is warranted on our part, we'll obviously look at that.
  QUESTION: And then finally, given that there's been a lot of local press reaction to the May 11th incident, a lot of concerns that the Americans need to back off, is the U.S. concerned that trying to help Honduras get its arms around its drug trafficking problem could lead to any anti-American sentiment in Honduras? And if so, what is the U.S. doing to try to counter those feelings?
  MS. NULAND: Well, as you know and as we say regularly in Honduras, U.S. efforts in support of Honduran counternarcotics efforts are at the invitation of the Honduran Government. They are worked out with and for and are supportive of Honduran agencies' efforts. And they have been increasingly successful, so this is the standard against which this has been judged. We are not in there doing our own thing without any partnership. We are doing what we are doing at the request of and in support of Honduran efforts.
  QUESTION: And then one quick follow-up: Have there been any requests from any of the relatives of those who were killed on May 11th for compensation from the U.S. Government?
  MS. NULAND: To my knowledge, no, but if there is a change to that, I'll let you know.
  QUESTION: Okay. Thank you.
  MS. NULAND: Okay. Thanks, everybody.
  (The briefing was concluded at 1:24 p.m.)
  DPB #145
Drones and iPad Apps May Help in Power Failures - NYTimes.com
  Link to Article
  Thu, 16 Aug 2012 01:12
  Electric Power Research Institute
  Matthew Olearczyk with a drone his institute is evaluating for helping to assess storm damage.
  A storm knocks out electric power? There's an app for that, and soon there may be a spy drone, too.
  Facing more frequent storms that cripple electric distribution systems over big areas, utility companies are drafting iPads and military-style aerial surveillance robots to get the lights back on faster.
  Much of their problem in restoring service quickly usually has to do with information and logistics. In the latest wave of power failures, on Thursday night and Friday morning, a line of extreme storms knocked out electricity to thousands in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey. In some places, damage was so extensive, and so many roads were blocked, that utilities had not even finished assessing the problem by midday Friday.
  After the powerful storm known as a derecho struck on June 29, East Coast utilities were forced to bring in help from as far away as Ontario and Oklahoma, and had to determine quickly where to put the borrowed crews to work, even before the roads were passable. Then they had to deliver poles, transformers, wires, crossbars and other parts to the precise locations where they were needed.
  A prototype app for the iPad, developed by the Electric Power Research Institute, a nonprofit utility research consortium, is aimed at solving part of that problem. Here is how it works: The electric company preloads the iPad with data about the equipment in the field. With GPS, the device knows its location. A field worker can then point the device at a utility pole and quickly see an ''augmented reality'' view, showing precisely what kind of pole, crossbar, transformer and wire are present, and how the system is wired.
  The technician selects the image of the parts that need replacing, and ''click, click, it goes back to the loading dock,'' where workers begin loading trucks with what is needed for that spot, said Clark Gellings, a senior researcher at the institute.
  It even has a ''Star Wars'' name: Field Force Data Visualization. The Field Force, though, refers to the workers, not to the subliminal energy field sensed by the Jedi.
  The industry is also testing remote-controlled drones to help it quickly count downed poles, wires and transformers on streets that are still impassable because of fallen trees.
  The technology has helped the military find the enemy around a corner or over the next hill. Applying it to a broken distribution system is ''a no-brainer,'' said Matthew Olearczyk, a senior program manager at the Electric Power Research Institute.
  His organization has been testing a drone at a test range operated by New Mexico State University, near Las Cruces. But it has been flying at 8,000 feet, probably much higher than needed; the solution is probably a much smaller drone that would fly at very low altitudes, Mr. Olearczyk said.
  It is looking at the Hornet Maxi, a 25-pound helicopter that looks like a miniature of the real thing, sans pilot, or the Aeryon Scout, which has four rotor blades, one in each corner, and appears to have flown straight out of a science fiction movie. Other models look like toy airplanes and can be launched by a worker with a throw like a quarterback's. Some drones have a wingspan of a mere 18 inches.
  Simple optical cameras would probably do the trick, Mr. Olearczyk said, although other sensors might be added.
  Southern Company will try the drones first, in Alabama, he said.
  But one problem is getting approval from the Federal Aviation Administration, which has been slow to approve the use of drones over populated areas; for one thing, they cannot see other aircraft and thus are more collision-prone.
  Mr. Olearczyk suggests that a governor could declare a state of emergency, giving the utility the ability to conduct a flight of two or three hours to gather information that would also be useful to road crews.
  John Schwartz contributed reporting.
Embassy of Ecuador in London >> ECUADOR SHOCK AT THREATS FROM BRITISH GOVERNMENT
  Link to Article
  Thu, 16 Aug 2012 00:49
  An Ecuadorian government spokesperson commenting on the threats by the British Government to enter the Embassy said:
  ''We are deeply shocked by British government's threats against the sovereignty of the Ecuadorian Embassy and their suggestion that they may forcibly enter the embassy.
  This is a clear breach of international law and the protocols set out in the Vienna Convention.
  Throughout out the last 56 days Mr. Julian Assange has been in the Embassy, the Ecuadorian Government has acted honourably in all our attempts to seek a resolution to the situation. This stands in stark contrast to the escalation of the British Government today with their threats to breakdown the door of the Ecuadorian Embassy.
  Instead of threatening violence against the Ecuadorian Embassy the British Government should use its energy to find a peaceful resolution to this situation which we are aiming to achieve. ''
DHS Classifies Ammo Purchase Following Controversy
  Link to Article
  Source: BlackListedNews.com
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 20:31
  Source: From The Trenches The Department of Homeland Security has redacted information relating to the quantity of bullets it is buying following a controversy concerning the agency's purchase of over a billion rounds of ammo, which many fear is a sign the federal government is preparing for civil unrest in the United States.
  Despite the fact that documents are only supposed to be redacted if authorized by Congress or for national security reasons, a solicitation posted on the FedBizOpps website yesterday concerning ammunition purchases made by the DHS on behalf of Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) contains numerous blacked out sections.
  The classified portions of the document include references to the amount of 223 62 and 223 64 grain ammunition being purchased.
  The solicitation explains how the contract put out by the DHS to purchase the ammunition was not subject to ''full and open competition,'' a process justified by what the DHS claims was an ''unusual and compelling urgency'' to acquire the bullets, noting that there is a shortage of bullets which is threatening a situation which could cause ''substantial safety issues for the government'' should law enforcement officials not be adequately armed.
  The Department of Homeland Security's decision to black out sections of the document, including the number of bullets being purchased, is likely to be related to a massive controversy which has snowballed over the last few weeks pertaining to concerns as to why the federal agency has purchased well over a billion rounds of bullets over the last 6 months alone.
  The DHS' decision back in March to purchase of 450 million rounds of .40-caliber hollow point bullets that are designed to expand upon entry and cause maximum organ damage prompted questions as to why the federal agency required such powerful bullets and in such large quantities merely for training purposes.
  This was followed up by a more recent order for a further 750 million rounds of assorted ammunition, including bullets that can penetrate walls.
  Given the fact that the DHS is also acquiring riot gear in preparation for civil unrest which could take place at the upcoming DNC, RNC and presidential inauguration, the purchase of ammunition in such massive numbers has stoked fears that the federal government could be preparing to use force against the American people.
  This screenshot illustrates how the DHS has blacked out information pertaining to the amount of bullets being purchased.The trigger for this could be an economic collapse that causes angry Americans to flood the streets similar to scenes witnessed across Europe over the last two years.
  As Mike Adams writes, ''The U.S. government clearly sees the writing on the wall. What lays ahead for America is a day of unbearable reckoning. The financial collapse will wipe out savings accounts, pensions, investment funds and equities of the working class, all across the nation. Imagine bank accounts being reset to zero, ''bank holidays'' enforced at gunpoint. That will unleash a wave of violent protests, social chaos and even talk of revolution. The government will almost certainly respond with a declaration of Martial Law, the rolling out of highway checkpoints, and before long, the use of live ammo on unruly protesters.''
  The Social Security Administration has also recently purchased a large quantity of hollow point bullets, potentially signaling that authorities fear welfare riots could occur if benefit payments cannot be made. The NOAA also recently purchased 46,000 rounds of hollow point ammunition.
  The DHS' decision to censor information related to bullet purchases for immigration authorities could also be an attempt to assuage concerns that the agency is expecting to have to resort to force to deal with a mass influx of immigrants from Mexico.
  Back in December, Department of Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano directed ICE to prepare for a substantial inundation of immigrants into the United States, calling for the plan to deal with the ''shelter'' and ''processing'' of large numbers of people.
  During the Iran-Contra hearings in 1987, it was revealed that the federal government had established a contingency program under the pretext of a mass influx of immigrants called Rex 84. The program was a secretive ''scenario and drill'' developed by the federal government to suspend the Constitution, declare martial law, assign military commanders to take over state and local governments, and detain large numbers of American citizens determined by the government to be ''national security threats.''
Bill Black Slams Bartiromo Over Goldman Non-Prosecution: "FBI Agents Were Never Even Assigned To Investigate The Case! Was A Grand Jury Even Convened?" - Home
  Link to Article
  Source: The Daily Bail
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 20:29
  So let me get this straight. The Goldman Sachs Dept. of Justice failed to seriously investigate massive financial fraud at Goldman Sachs.
  Sounds about right.
  William Black decimates CNBC's money-honey.
  "FBI agents were never even assigned to investigate the case. Was a Grand Jury even convened?"
  Wow. Watch this all the way to the end, as Maria tries to shut down Black and mistakenly calls the DOJ 'the defense department', not referring to the military but rather a department of justice filled with criminal defense attorneys instead of prosecutors. She went to the core of the issue at Eric Holder's DOJ aka Dept. of Criminal Defense Attorneys Masquerading as Prosecutors, and didn't even realize it.
  This mis-step into the Orwellian zone is both frightening and sickening.
Condoleezza Rice makes fashion model debut
  Link to Article
  Source: TheBlaze.com - Blog
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 20:28
  '...for the NFL:
  Via the Daily Mail:
  Wearing a fitted football jersey and a big smile, the 57-year-old poses for a newly revamped line of NFL apparel for women called 'It's My Team'.
  The campaign, which aims to be a message of empowerment in the hopes of enticing women to the sport, also features a handful of notably successful women including Melania Trump, Serena Williams and Dancing With The Stars' Peta Murgatroyd.
  Rice is a dedicated fan of the Cleveland Browns and an avid devotee of the sport '-- she once said that serving as NFL commissioner would be her dream job.
Chelsea Clinton profiled in Vogue magazine September issue
  Link to Article
  Source: TheBlaze.com - Blog
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 20:21
  Vogue magazine's September issue is out next week and inside is a nine-page (online version) profile of Chelsea Clinton. Here's the parts you may find moderately interesting:
  1. Clinton knows she's a celebrity. And she's kind of into it: ''Either it was something I could continue to ignore or it was something I could try to use to highlight causes that I really cared about.'' Something finally clicked. ''Historically I deliberately tried to lead a private life in the public eye,'' she says. ''And now I am trying to lead a purposefully public life.''
  2.Hillary Clinton didn't want to participate in the reality home-decorating show Trading Spaces with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.): ''Chelsea, did I ever tell you about the first time I actually spoke to Lindsey Graham? He came up to me one day on the floor of the Senate and said, 'Guess who called me?' 'Who?' I said. 'A producer from the television show Trading Spaces. They want you and I to trade places. What do you say?' And I said, 'I don't think so!'
  3. Her husband let her know that she has a lot of gay friends: ''It was something that I wasn't even aware of until Marc [Mezvinsky] pointed it out,'' she says.
  Find out who walked in on Clinton while she was using the restroom after the jump.
  4. Renowned fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg walked in on Clinton while she was in the bathroom: During our travels, [Clinton] left her BlackBerry on the takeout window of a drive-through in Joplin; her book on a plane in Bentonville, Arkansas; and forgot to lock the door to the single-toilet unisex bathroom backstage at the Kennedy Center, which Diane von Furstenberg opened on her.
  5. She may want to run for office some day: ''Before my mom's campaign I would have said no. Not because it was something I had thought a lot about but because people have been asking me that my whole life. Even during my father's 1984 gubernatorial campaign, it was, Do you want to grow up and be governor one day? No. I am four'...And now I don't know. . . . I mean, I have voted in every election that I have been qualified to vote in since I turned eighteen. I believe that engaging in the political process is part of being a good person. And I certainly believe that part of helping to build a better world is ensuring that we have political leaders who are committed to that premise. So if there were to be a point where it was something I felt called to do and I didn't think there was someone who was sufficiently committed to building a healthier, more just, more equitable, more productive world? Then that would be a question I'd have to ask and answer.''
Global Car-Maker Channel Stuffing Conspiracy 'Theory' Now Conspiracy 'Fact'
  Link to Article
  Source: Untitled Feed
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 20:18
  From HFT to LIBOR manipulation and European bond legal-covenants, and now Auto-manufacturer channel-stuffing; all conspiracy 'theories' proved conspiracy 'facts' - as Gabby Douglas might say "Nailed It!" We have been vociferously pointing out the incredible levels of channel-stuffing occurring at GM in the US, then China, and most recently into Europe (must read here) and now the WSJ confirms the latter; as sales of BMW and Mercedes, helped by heavy discounts and contingencies to dealers, are being questioned. Kenn Sparks, a BMW spokesman, said its July sales total includes vehicles that were purchased by its dealers for use as what are known as "demos"'-- cars used on lots for test drives. He declined to say how many reported sales were demos, saying BMW doesn't release the figure. "These vehicles may stay on the lot because they are used as demo models," he said. BMW's incentives appeared to help propel the car maker to a 1,900-vehicle lead over Mercedes-Benz (as surprisingly 7-Series sales tripled MoM, and 3-Series doubled).
  Via WSJ:
  It sold 1,696 of its 7 Series sedans in July, the highest monthly total so far this year, and triple the June total of 539. For the 3 Series coupe, which had demo discounts totaling $3,200, sales climbed to 2,555 cars, up from 1,222 in June and that vehicle's highest total for the year.
  Dealers said they believe a few thousand BMW vehicles were sold as demos. The auto maker reported it sold 21,297 vehicles in July compared with 19,312 for Mercedes.
  Fortunately there's no way to track it...
  BMW's Mr. Sparks said BMW doesn't break out sales of demonstration vehicles.
  Mr. Sparks said demo models should be clearly marked and sold as used cars. But managers who own or oversee more than a dozen BMW dealerships said they routinely offer the vehicles as new and that BMW's U.S. sales unit approves of the practice.
  But dealers feel forced...
  Several managers at BMW dealerships said they had no customers lined up to buy or lease the demo cars, but reported them as sold to lock in the discounts. "If I don't take them, then I'll be at a disadvantage to my competitors," one dealer executive said.
  and the GM debacle is not a new thing...
  In the past, GM, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler would lease thousands of cars a month to rental-car companies for very little. They counted those vehicles as sold. Then after a few months, the car companies took the rental cars back and passed them on to dealers that sold them as used cars.
  One well known case of sales inflation occurred in 1998, when GM's Cadillac brand and Ford's Lincoln division racing to claim the top spot in luxury-car sales. Cadillac was trailing but its sales suddenly surged in December and it took the crown. Months later an embarrassed GM acknowledged that the Cadillac unit had purchased vehicles itself from its dealers, boosting the reported total.
  Though this just seems like a ridiculous unreality game of catch-up...
  Last year, BMW edged out Mercedes as the top-selling U.S. luxury car. At the end of November, Mercedes was ahead of BMW for the year. When it came time to report December sales totals, each company balked for 24 hours, hoping to force the other to go first.
  Finally, Mercedes disclosed that it had sold 25,701 cars in December, and 245,192 for the year. Shortly thereafter, BMW said it had sold 26,834 cars in the month, enough to push its full-year total to 247,907 and claim the luxury-car sales crown.
  Mr. Sparks said he is unaware of any discounts that were aimed at driving demo sales last December.
  Average: Your rating: NoneAverage: 4.6(9 votes)
Hypersonic flight test fails over Pacific
  Link to Article
  Source: Defense Tech
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 20:12
  A aircraft built to fly six times the speed of sound plummeted into the Pacific Ocean after being dropped by an adapted B-52bomber in a failed test Tuesday.
  The Air Force built the X-51A Waverider to test hypersonic flight, or an aircraft flying more than Mach 5. Air Force officials had hoped the Waverider, which looks like a 25-foot missile, would reach Mach 6, or at least 4,500 miles per hour.
  However, the Waverider dropped into the ocean only 16 seconds into its test flight, according to the Air Force. Scientists and engineers had hoped it would fly for 300 seconds. One of the control fins failed causing operators to lose control, the Air Force said in a statement. Investigators will inspect the data collected during the flight and issue a report in about two weeks.
  The hypersonic aircraft uses scramjet technology to reach such high speeds meaning it doesn't have moving parts and uses oxygen in the air opposed to liquid fuel.
  This was the program's last budgeted test. Air Force officials will have to fight for Congressional funding to meet its goal of outfitting an operational aircraft with hypersonic technology by 2016.
  Service leaders have said they want to develop the hypersonic capability to either deliver a ballistic missile to anywhere in the world in minutes, or a reconnaissance platform that could fly overhead a special operations team undetectable by radar. No surface-to-air missile defense system is equipped to hit an object moving that fast.
  The Waverider program started in 2004 with the military already having spent $140 million on it. The Air Force completed two other tests before Tuesday's in 2010 and 2011. The 2011 test was also considered a failure. In the 2010 test, the Waverider flew for 143 seconds and reached 3,400 miles per hour.
  August 15th, 2012 | Air | No Comments
JPMorgan, UBS Said Among Banks Queried in Libor Probe
  Link to Article
  Source: Twitter / BreakingNews
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 20:10
  By David McLaughlin - 2012-08-15T19:53:12Z
  JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Barclays Plc (BARC)and UBS AG (UBSN) are among seven banks subpoenaed in New York andConnecticut's investigation into alleged manipulation of Libor,according to a person familiar with the matter and companyfilings.
  Subpoenas were sent in recent weeks to Deutsche Bank AG (DBK),Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (RBS), and HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA) inaddition to Barclays and JPMorgan, said the person. CitigroupInc. (C) and UBS received subpoenas earlier this year as part of theinvestigation.
  New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and ConnecticutAttorney General George Jepsen are jointly investigating allegedmanipulation of the London interbank offered rate, or Libor, bylenders. RBS, UBS, Lloyds Banking Group Plc and Deutsche Bankare among the lenders regulators in Europe, Asia and the U.S.are investigating.
  Confidence in Libor, a benchmark for financial productsvalued at $360 trillion worldwide, has been dented by Barclays'sadmission that it submitted false rates. Robert Diamond resignedas Barclays' chief executive after the bank was fined 290million pounds ($454 million).
  Jennifer Givner, a spokeswoman for Schneiderman, and JaclynFalkowski, a spokeswoman for Jepsen, declined to comment on thesubpoenas.
  Various Regulators Sarah Binnie, a spokeswoman for RBS, said the bankcontinues to receive requests from various regulatorsinvestigating the setting of Libor and other interest rates. Thelender is cooperating with the investigations and ''keepingrelevant regulators informed,'' she said in e-mail.
  ''It is not possible to estimate with any certainty whateffect these investigations and any related developments mayhave on the group,'' Binnie said.
  Kathryn Hanes, a spokeswoman for Deutsche Bank, said thelender has received subpoenas and requests for information fromcertain regulators and governmental entities in the U.S. inconnection with setting interbank rates and is cooperating.
  New York-based Citigroup said in a regulatory filing thatsubsidiaries ''have received additional requests for informationand documents from various U.S. and non-U.S. governmentalagencies, including the offices of the New York and Connecticutattorneys general.''
  Regulatory Filing UBS said in a regulatory filing that numerous agencies,including ''various state attorneys general'' are investigatingwhether there were improper attempts to manipulate Libor andother rates. A second person familiar with the matter said thebank received a subpoena from New York in February. Bothdeclined to comment because the matter is private.
  JPMorgan spokesman Joe Evangelisti, Juanita Gutierrez atHSBC and Barclays spokesman Michael O'Looney declined to commenton the subpoenas.
  New York-based JPMorgan dropped almost 1 percent on thenews. JPMorgan was unchanged at $37.10 at 3:36 p.m. in New YorkStock Exchange composite trading. London-based Barclays'sAmerican depositary receipts fell 7 cents to $11.46. One receiptequals four shares. Zurich-based UBS fell 2 cents to $10.72 inNew York. Frankfurt-based Deutsche Bank rose 8 cents to $30.77.
  To contact the reporter on this story:David McLaughlin in New York at dmclaughlin9@bloomberg.net
  To contact the editor responsible for this story:Andrew Dunn at adunn8@bloomberg.net
  Workmen raise the JP Morgan Chase Inc. flag outside company headquarters in New York. Photographer: Peter Foley/Bloomberg
Has Radio 1 killed the jingle? | Media
  Link to Article
  Source: Culture | guardian.co.uk
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 20:09
  Nick Grimshaw '' breaking out of Chris Moyles' shadow? Photograph: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images
  Chris Moyles hasn't left the Radio 1 Breakfast Show yet, and already we're starting to miss him. Well, maybe not him exactly. But the recent memo that musical idents for his successor Nick Grimshaw would steer clear of "sung jingles" has already led to an unexpected swell of nostalgia. "Surprisingly upset to hear this," tweeted @Speakers_corner, while Mike Russell, head of voiceover company Music Radio Creative, argues: "People regard them as something that accompanies them through every day life. And the thing I loved about Moyles is that he was a self confessed 'radio geek' and loved radio jingles."
  Then again, didn't jingles go out of fashion shortly after Tony Blackburn split up with Tessa Wyatt? Perhaps, but they've been with us way longer. Dallas ad agency Pams began producing them for US DJs in 1951, and when Radio 1 launched in 1967, it enthusiastically embraced the trend, and even hip bands such as the Jimi Hendrix Experience composed impeccably groovy tributes ("Radio 1. You stole my gal!" he purrs).
  Radio jingles soon began to conform to a bizarre barber-shop-quartet style, which lasted long into the 80s, and you can still hear now on (cue close harmonies) "Radio Twoooooooo".
  Still, it helped mavericks such as Kenny Everett stand out as they toyed irreverently with the art form '' and, yes, mispronouncing "the biggest hits in Britain" really was the pinnacle of irreverence back then. That 'zany' approach was even more irritating in the wrong hands, though, even if Steve Wright's afternoon show in the 1980s and early '90s certainly had its moments. ()
  When the controller of the rebranded "1 FM', Matthew Bannister took a new broom to the station in the early 90s, the jingle's days looked numbered, but they survived largely because they served the same purpose that they always had '' a welcome break for DJs, allowing them to cue up the next item. But with credibility at a premium, frantic, sample-filled noise beds became the order of the day. None the less, the best modern jingles have taken the Moylesian approach of parodying the tradition at the same time as they embrace it, with examples such as "the cheesy song".
  While you can't blame Radio 1 for wanting Nick Grimshaw to distance himself from the Leeds lips' shadow, you're also reminded of groups that suddenly want to be taken seriously. That, invariably, is a recipe for the sworn enemy of pop '' boredom.
The coming war - the people versus the banks.
  Link to Article
  Source: the tap
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 20:08
  There is a huge world war coming up! How>> do you stop a world recession? By going to war. The US is finding out now, just as the British people found out in the 1980s, that capitalism has no national allegiances '' it will back stab whoever>> it damn well pleases if it makes a bigger profit. No matter how much you provide incentives to it and try to appease it, capitalism will turn on you.The banks took the newly printed trillions and instead of lending to the American people, they put it in the emerging economies still looking to make a quick buck off the ''hot money''. The banks exported the inflation which was intended for the USA. If the US Treasury and Federal Reserve were smart which they're not, they would impose capital controls so that money and the inflation can't leave the USA or even nationalize the banks so they>> can direct lending to the people.Solution: All governments around the world immediately stop borrowing money from the private international banksters and put>> the creation of money back into the hands of the people of the nations where it properly belongs''When a government is dependent upon bankers for money, they and not the leaders of the government control the situation, since the hand that gives is above the hand that takes.Money has no motherland; financiers are without patriotism and without decency; their sole object is gain.''- Napol(C)on Bonaparte''The issue which has swept down the>> centuries and which will have to be fought sooner or later is the people versus the banks.''- Lord Acton
Obama's War On Whistleblowers Accelerates: Science Itself is Now Contraband
  Link to Article
  Source: BlackListedNews.com
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 20:07
  By Mike KriegerLibertyblitzkrieg
  Obama's War On Whistleblowers Accelerates: Science Itself is Now Contraband
  The Obama administration is evil. Sorry, there is no other adjective to describe it at this point. They know they are corrupt, they embrace their corruption and now they are doing everything possible to silence anyone who dares call them out on it. The latest case of Obama's war on whistleblowers relates to how the Scientific Integrity Officer within the Interior Department, Dr. Paul Houser, was attacked when he started raising some scientific and environmental questions. According to Kate Sheppard of Mother Jones:
  When he raised those concerns to then-DOI press secretary Adam Fetcher, Houser says he was told that he should not write anything about them in any electronic correspondence. ''He wanted a hard copy, no email,'' says Houser, in order to avoid creating any internal correspondence that could be subject to a Freedom of Information Act request. (Fetcher is now the deputy national press secretary for Obama's reelection campaign.) Houser says his boss, who was out of the office during the initial exchange, also chastised him for emailing other scientists working on Klamath regarding the release. ''I was told that the secretary of interior wants to remove the dams, so my actions weren't helpful,'' says Houser.
  See how Mr. Fetcher was punished for covering up the truth. He was promoted! How about this revelation from Glenn Greenwald's latest article on a related topic.
  Recently disclosed emails revealed that Jim Messina '-- then-former White House deputy chief of staff, now the Obama campaign manager '' deliberately met with lobbyists for the pharmaceutical industry at coffee houses rather than the White House when drafting the health care bill, and used his personal rather than official email account to communicate with them, in order to evade record-preservation and transparency obligations).
  Wow. We are in very big trouble. This is not the time for silence; this is the time for action. The United States is progressing into a mindset best characterized by the Middle Ages. Spread this info far and wide.
  Here is the Kate Sheppard article.
  Here is Glenn Greenwald's.
  Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.
SOURCES: Gunman With Chick-Fil-A Bag Opens Fire At Conservatives - Family Research Council
  Link to Article
  Source: Twitter / The2News
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 20:05
  Hero guard shot thwarting attack at Family Research Council HQ
  Published August 15, 2012 | FoxNews.com
  A security guard at the Family Research Council's headquarters in Washington, D.C. is being hailed as a hero after he stopped a gunman posing as an intern, taking a bullet in the arm before wrestling the suspect to the ground.
  The gunman entered the lobby of the organization's Chinatown headquarters around 10:45 and expressed disagreement with the conservative group's policy positions, Fox News has learned. When the guard, who was not identified, asked him where he was going, he opened fire, according to police.
  ''The security guard here is a hero, as far as I'm concerned,'' D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier said. ''He did his job. The person never made it past the front.''
  The guard, who was not identified, was shot in the arm and was conscious after the shooting and was in stable condition. The gunman, who also was not identified, was being questioned by the FBI, sources said. Sources said he is in his twenties.
  The suspect "made statements regarding their policies, and then opened fire with a gun striking a security guard," a source told Fox News. WJLA-TV7 reported the suspect was also shot. Sources also said thegunman may have been carrying a bag from Chick-fil-A, the embattled fast-food restaurant whose president came under fire from gay activists after he said he did not agree with same-sex marriage.
  Sources told Fox New that after guard took away his gun, the suspect said, "Don't shoot me, it was not about you, it was what this place stands for."
  Authorities were treating the attack as a case of domestic terrorism, although James McJunkin, the head of the FBI's Washington Field Office, said authorities do not yet know the gunman's motive.
  READ MORE HERE
  ==========
  WASHINGTON, August 15, August 15, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A security guard is in stable condition after being shot at the Family Research Council headquarters Wednesday in an incident authorities are reportedly treating as domestic terrorism.
  FRC spokesperson Darin Miller confirmed the shooting to LifeSiteNews.com late Wednesday morning before releasing a statement from FRC president Tony Perkins.
  ''The police are investigating this incident. Our first concern is with our colleague who was shot today. Our concern is for him and his family,'' said Perkins.
  One local report initially said that another individual was also wounded, but now reports only the injury of the security guard. The guard was reportedly shot in the arm and retained consciousness, while a suspect is in police custody.
We could make history '-- I.M.H.O. '-- Medium
  Link to Article
  Source: Dave Winer's linkblog feed
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 20:04
  Let me enter the URL of something I write in my own space, and have it appear here as a first class citizen. Indistinguishable to readers from something written here.
  And of course vice versa. Let me take this piece, published here, and turn it into a URL that returns the source code for the document. No formatting. Just text with a little structure and metadata.
  We need to break out of the model where all these systems are monolithic and standalone. There's art in each individual system, but there's a much greater art in the union of all the systems we create.
  We fucked up in the first go-around. But now we can do it right.
  I have a great publishing environment. It's very different from the one you're creating, but there is common ground.
  This thing I'm typing right now, a blogpost, exists in my world too.
  Why don't we agree on how to format one of these things, let's create interop in a very simple and powerful way.
  It just takes two to make something like this happen.
  This is good7.7
How much does a digital subscription to the NYT cost per year?
  Link to Article
  Source: Dave Winer's linkblog feed
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 20:03
  World OutlineSign-inSign-upv0.64;
  Threads > 8/15/12 by DWThread started by Dave Winer 35 minutes ago.At lunch today this question came up and no one knew the answer.One person asked how much a song on iTunes costs. 99 cents, everyone said.Seems we should know the answer to the question about the Times.View the forum thread.
When are drone killings illegal?
  Link to Article
  Source: robertleather news feed
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 16:29
  U.S. drone strikes have killed as many as 4,400 people since 2002.
  STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  O'Connell: U.S. drone strikes have killed as many as 4,400 people since 2002Many drone attacks are occurring outside war zones, says O'ConnellThose attacks have generally violated the right to life, she saysO'Connell: A legal argument against targeted killing requires international law Editor's note:Mary Ellen O'Connell holds the Robert and Marion Short Chair in Law and is research professor of international dispute resolution at the Kroc Institute for Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame. She is a specialist on the international law of armed conflict and is the editor of "What Is War? An Investigation in the Wake of 9/11" (Martinus Nijhof/Brill, 2012).
  (CNN) -- The Bush and Obama administrations' extraordinary program of targeted killing has resulted in the deaths of as many as 4,400 people to date. Books such as Daniel Klaidman's "Kill or Capture" and David E. Sanger's "Confront and Conceal" are appearing thick and fast, focusing on the program and particularly on the use of drones to carry it out.
  The belated scrutiny is welcome. Yet it still fails to critically assess the essential question: Is this killing occurring in war?
  Both Presidents Bush and Obama have attempted to justify thousands of drone attacks as part of a "war" or "armed conflict." But is that correct?
  Mary Ellen O'Connell
  The question must be answered in terms of international law. When the United States kills people in foreign, sovereign states, the world looks to international law for the standard of justification. In war, enemy fighters may be killed under a standard of reasonable necessity; outside war, authorities are far more restricted in their right to resort to lethal force.
  Independent scholars confirm that many drone attacks are occurring outside war zones. These experts know the legal definition of war, and they understand why it is important to know it: Above all, protecting human rights is different in war than from protecting them in peace.
  News: Pakistan spy agency chief to tell CIA: End drone strikes; ID targets for us to attack
  Admittedly, this dual standard for justifiable killing makes the law protecting the right to life more complicated than the law protecting other fundamental rights. Torture, for example, is absolutely prohibited in international law at all times, in war and peace.
  The law on killing is different. The human right to life codified in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which the United States is a party, prohibits the "arbitrary" deprivation of life. It does not prohibit absolutely all taking of life.
  The military may use lethal force against enemy fighters during an armed conflict if the use of force meets the requirements of military necessity, and if it will not have a disproportionate impact on civilian lives and property. Countries may lawfully initiate armed conflict in self-defense if the state is the victim of a significant armed attack, as long as the self-defense is carried out against the state responsible for the armed attack.
  President Bush declared a "global war on terror" after 9/11 to, presumably, gain the advantage of more relaxed rules on killing and detention. Some of the same lawyers who tried to develop legal cover for the use of torture produced an even flimsier analysis of why the entire world was a war zone, so that the president could authorize killing and detention of individuals worldwide.
  Lawyers in both the Bush and Obama administrations have reportedly prepared memos that according to the media assert the CIA may lawfully conduct so-called "targeted killings" of the "war on terror" without violating President Reagan's ban on assassination. Legality seems to turn in this analysis on the president personally approving a "kill list."
  In November 2002, the first killings occurred under this "global war" assertion. Six people, including a 23-year-old American, were killed by Hellfire missiles in Yemen fired from CIA-operated drones based in Djibouti. The UN special rapporteur for extra-judicial killing condemned the attack as an arbitrary deprivation of the right to life, but it would take over six years and a change of party in the White House before human rights advocates, international law scholars, moral philosophers, theologians, and others would begin to focus on targeted killing as they had focused on the use of torture.
  Why has it taken so long to focus on so many questionable deaths? As already indicated, the law is more complicated on killing than on torture. To make the legal argument against targeted killing requires sophisticated knowledge of a broader range of international law than is involved in defending a human right such as the right to be free from torture.
  Also, the Bush administration carried out fewer targeted killings: Of the 336 attacks as of July 2012 in Pakistan, 284 have occurred under Obama. Bush officials were better able, therefore, to suppress discussion. Also, human rights advocates had their hands full with the more visible problems of the Bush era: torture, Guantanamo Bay and military commissions. A number of them then joined the Obama administration; rather than condemn targeted killing as the violation of international law that it is, some former critics are defending it, presumably as part of their job.
  Opinion: Civilian casualties plummet in drone strikes
  The job of the International Law Association is to report on international law in a scholarly and objective fashion. The ILA has had a Committee on the Use of Force for decades. From 2005 to 2010, when I was its chair, the 18-member committee, including members from five continents, undertook to produce a report on how "war" is legally defined.
  That report assesses hundreds of violent incidents over a period of 65 years. It concludes that under international law, war or armed conflict exists only when there is intense inter-group fighting by organized armed groups.
  These are objectively verifiable criteria that cannot be fabricated by politicians. The International Committee of the Red Cross recently invoked them with respect to the violence in Syria. The situation in Syria became a civil "war" when organized armed groups were fighting with intensity of some duration.
  Targeted killing with drones in Yemen, Somalia, and Pakistan have generally violated the right to life because the United States is rarely part of any armed conflict in those places. The human right to life that applies is the right that applies in peace.
  Today, the United States is engaged in armed conflict only in Afghanistan. To lawfully resort to military force elsewhere requires that the country where the United States is attacking has first attacked the United States (such as Afghanistan in 2001), the U.N. Security Council has authorized the resort to force (Libya in 2011) or a government in effective control credibly requests assistance in a civil war (Afghanistan since 2002).
  If the president has been advised otherwise with regard to his "kill list," he should read "What Is War?"
  Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion
  Join us on Facebook/CNNOpinion
  The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Mary Ellen O'Connell.
Erwin Olaf roept op tot Kiss Inn COC Nederland
  Link to Article
  Source: Twitter / MickyHoogendijk
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 16:26
  Erwin Olaf roept op tot een massale Kiss Inn op woensdagavond 15 augustus a.s. op het Hugo de Grootplein in Amsterdam-West. De fotograaf doet zijn oproep nadat hij en zijn vriend daar naar eigen zeggen zaterdagavond waren lastiggevallen omdat ze stonden te zoenen. De actie is niet gericht t(C)gen de snackbarhouder die bezwaar maakte tegen het zoenen '' met hem heeft Erwin Olaf zich inmiddels verzoend '' maar v""r het recht van lesbiennes en homo's om elkaar in het openbaar te zoenen.
  Erwin Olaf en zijn vriend Kevin Ray Edwards stonden te zoenen bij hun fiets op het Hugo de Grootplein in Amsterdam-West, nadat ze wat hadden gegeten op het terras van een restaurant. ''We belemmerde niemand de doorgang en vielen niemand lastig. Vanachter de toonbank van een naastgelegen afhaalrestaurant/snackbar, riep een man ons toe dat we daarmee moesten ophouden en uit zijn gezichtsveld moesten gaan staan zoenen'', schrijft Erwin Olaf op zijn Facebook-pagina.
  De snackbarhouder heeft tegenover de Amsterdamse tv-zender AT5 verklaard dat hij 'absoluut niets tegen homo's heeft. Ik heb veel homoseksuele klanten en dat vind ik echt geen enkel probleem'. Maar volgens de snackbarhouder bleef het 'niet bij een kus, het ging behoorlijk ver.' Naar eigen zeggen heeft de man Erwin Olaf en zijn vriend 'netjes gevraagd om ergens anders te gaan staan zoenen.' 'Maar hierop begon hij dingen te roepen als; 'dit is Nederland, het is een vrij land en dit mag hier''.
  Inmiddels heeft Erwin Olaf vrede gesloten met de snackbarhouder. ''We hebben elkaar de hand geschud'', laat Erwin Olaf weten. ''Ik heb mij verontschuldigd over de toonhoogte van mijn woede, maar niet voor de inhoud van mijn woorden.''
  Erwin Olaf wil woensdag 15 augustus a.s. om 20.30 uur met de Kiss Inn laten zien 'dat we hier mogen trouwen, dus we elkaar ook overal mogen zoenen'. De fotograaf roept zoveel mogelijk mensen '' 'homo, hetero, bi, transgender, maakt niet uit wat' '' op naar het Hugo de Grootplein te komen om 'met elkaar liefdevol' te gaan staan zoenen. Om 20.35 uur zullen Erwin Olaf en de snackbarhouder elkaar eerst de hand schudden op het Hugo de Grootplein, ter beindiging van het conflict. Volgens Erwin Olaf neemt de snackbarhouder geen aanstoot aan de actie. ''Hij vindt het best''.
  De Amsterdamse loco-burgemeester Eric van der Burg en wethouder Carolien Gehrels hebben laten weten aanwezig te zullen zijn bij de actie.
  Erwin Olaf kreeg in 2011 van het COC de Bob Angelo Penning, omdat hij als geen ander de maatschappelijke verontwaardiging over LHBT-vijdandig geweld en ''discriminatie onder woorden weet te brengen, daarmee mensen activeert (C)n ook zelf tot actie overgaat. Verder neemt hij het ook in zijn werk als kunstenaar onvermoeibaar op voor LHBT's.
  [Bron: Erwin Olaf - foto: Sebastiaan ter Burg]
US special ops to launch campaign targeting Obama on Bin Laden raid | World news
  Link to Article
  Source: The Guardian World News
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 16:25
  President Barack Obama speaks during campaign event in Waterloo, Iowa on Tuesday. Photograph: Carolyn Kaster/AP
  A group of former US intelligence and special forces operatives is set to launch a media campaign, including TV ads, that scolds President Barack Obama for taking credit for the killing of Osama bin Laden and argues that high-level leaks are endangering American lives.
  Leaders of the group, the Special Operations Opsec Education Fund Inc, say it is nonpartisan and unconnected to any political party or presidential campaign. It is registered as a so-called social welfare group, which means its primary purpose is to further the common good and its political activities should be secondary.
  In the past, military exploits have been turned against presidential candidates by outside groups, most famously the Swift Boat ads in 2004 that questioned Democratic nominee John Kerry's Vietnam war service.
  The Opsec group says it is not political and aims to save American lives. Its first public salvo is a 22-minute film that includes criticism of Obama and his administration. The film, to be released on Wednesday, was seen in advance by Reuters.
  "Mr President, you did not kill Osama bin Laden, America did. The work that the American military has done killed Osama bin Laden. You did not," Ben Smith, identified as a navy seal, says in the film.
  "As a citizen, it is my civic duty to tell the president to stop leaking information to the enemy," Smith continues. "It will get Americans killed."
  An Obama campaign official said: "No one in this group is in a position to speak with any authority on these issues and on what impact these leaks might have, and it's clear they've resorted to making things up for purely political reasons."
  Obama has highlighted his foreign policy record on the campaign trail, emphasizing how he presided over the killing of Bin Laden, as well as how he ended the war in Iraq and set a timeline for winding down the war in Afghanistan.
  However, Obama has come under sharp attack from Republican lawmakers who have accused his administration of being behind high-level leaks of classified information.
  They have pointed to media reports about clandestine drone attacks, informants planted in al-Qaida affiliates and alleged cyber-warfare against Iran that Republicans say were calculated to promote Obama's image as a strong leader in an election year.
  The White House has denied leaking classified information.
  The president of Special Operations Opsec Education Fund Inc, Scott Taylor, is a former navy seal who in 2010 ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for a congressional seat in Virginia.
  Calling itself "Opsec" for short '' which in spy jargon means "operational security" '' the anti-leak group incorporated last June in Delaware, a state that has the most secretive corporate registration rules in the US.
  It also set itself up as a nonprofit organisation under section 501(c)4 of the US tax code, allowing it to keep donors' identities secret. Spokesmen for the group declined to discuss its sources of financing.
  Several group representatives say their main motivation for setting up Opsec was dismay at recent detailed media leaks about sensitive operations.
  In an interview, Taylor denied Opsec had any political slant. He described the group as a "watchdog organisation" but added that the current administration "has certainly leaked more than others".
  Opsec spokesmen said the group has about $1m at its disposal and hopes to raise more after the release of its mini-documentary, entitled Dishonorable Disclosures, which aims, in spy-movie style, to document a recent spate of leaks regarding sensitive intelligence and military operations.
  Following the film's release, Opsec's spokesmen said, the group expects to produce TV spots on the anti-leak theme that will air in a number of states, including Virginia, Florida, Ohio, Colorado, North Carolina and Nevada '' key battleground states.
  Fred Rustmann, a former undercover case officer for the CIA who is a spokesman for the group, insisted its focus on leaks was "not a partisan concern". But he said the current administration had been leaking secrets "to help this guy get re-elected, at the expense of peoples' lives '... We want to see that they don't do this again."
  Chad Kolton, a former spokesman for the office of Director of National Intelligence during the George W Bush administration who now represents Opsec, also said the group's message and make-up are nonpolitical.
  "You'll see throughout the film that concern about protecting the lives of intelligence and Special Forces officers takes precedence over partisanship," he said.
  Responding to criticism about the president taking credit for the Bin Laden raid, an Obama campaign official pointed to an interview with CNN last month in which Admiral Bill McRaven, commander of the raid, said: "At the end of the day, make no mistake about it, it was the president of the United States that shouldered the burden for this operation, that made the hard decisions, that was instrumental in the planning process, because I pitched every plan to him."
  "I think Admiral McRaven knows more about the president's role in the Bin Laden operation than this group," the campaign official said.
Hidden History: America's Secret Drone War in Africa | Danger Room
  Link to Article
  Source: robertleather news feed
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 16:24
  An MQ-9 Reaper in Iraq in 2008. Photo: Air Force
  More secret bases. More and better unmanned warplanes. More frequent and deadly robotic attacks. Some five years after a U.S. Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicle flew the type's first mission over lawless Somalia, the shadowy American-led drone campaign in the Horn of Africa is targeting Islamic militants more ruthlessly than ever.
  Thanks to media accounts, indirect official statements, fragmentary crash reports and one complaint by a U.N. monitoring group, we can finally begin to define '-- however vaguely '-- the scope and scale of the secret African drone war.
  The details that follow are in part conjecture, albeit informed conjecture. They outline of just one of America's ongoing shadow wars '-- and one possible model for the future U.S. way of war. Along with the counterterrorism campaigns in Pakistan, Yemen and the Philippines, the Somalia drone war demonstrates how high-tech U.S. forces can inflict major damage on America's enemies at relatively low cost '... and without most U.S. citizens having any idea it's even happening.
  Since 2007, Predator drones and the larger, more powerful Reapers '-- reinforced by Ravens and Scan Eagle UAVs and Fire Scout robot helicopters plus a small number of huge, high-flying Global Hawks '-- have hunted Somali jihadists on scores of occasions. It's part of a broader campaign of jet bombing runs, naval gun bombardment, cruise-missile attacks, raids by Special Operations Forces and assistance to regional armies such as Uganda's.
  In all, air raids by manned and unmanned U.S. aircraft have killed at least 112 Somali militants, according to a count by the London-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism. Fifty-seven innocent civilians also died in the raids, the nonprofit Bureau found. The dead jihadists have included several senior members of al-Qaeda or the affiliated al-Shabaab extremist group. In January, a drone launched three Hellfire missiles at a convoy near Mogadishu and killed Bilaal al-Barjawi, the mastermind of the 2010 bombing in Kampala, Uganda, that claimed the lives of 74 soccer fans.
  In an escalating secret war, drones are doing an ever-greater proportion of the American fighting.
  A Scan Eagle drone launches from a Navy ship in the Middle East. Photo: Navy
  The Drones Are ComingIt wasn't until relatively recently that U.S. drones were permanently stationed in East Africa. The military and CIA have operated armed versions of General Atomics' one-ton Predator since 2001, but early on the remote-controlled warplanes were in high demand and short supply. Afghanistan and later Iraq monopolized the drones.
  That was a big problem for the small U.S. force in East Africa struggling to keep tabs on increasingly radical, and dangerous, Somali militants. ''The largest gap is knowledge,'' Navy Rear Adm. Tony Kurta, former commander of U.S. troops in Djibouti, told Danger Room in 2009.
  In 2003, Joint Special Operations Command resorted to spending six months sneaking SEALs into Somalia by submarine to painstakingly plant disguised surveillance cameras '-- all to capture just a fraction of the images a drone could acquire in a single mission.
  ''If we're having to go to that extreme, it's because we lack other capabilities because they're drawn elsewhere,'' a senior intelligence official told Army Times' ace reporter Sean Naylor. ''Instead of doing it like that, you'd want to have more Predators.''
  The drone shortage represented a huge risk for CIA agents attempting to build an intelligence network for tracking suspected terrorists in Somalia. The agency used cash payments to Somali warlords as a ''carrot'' to draw them to the American side. U.S. air power was supposed to be the ''stick'' that helped motivate the Somalis. But for years the intel agency didn't actually possess any stick. So it lied, telling the warlords there were drones overhead when in fact there weren't.
  It was risky bluff. ''But it worked,'' an intelligence official told Naylor.
  It took a surprise '-- and ultimately doomed '-- invasion of Somalia by regional power Ethiopia to open the door for a stronger U.S. presence in East Africa. American commandos followed along behind the Ethiopian tank columns as side-firing AC-130 gunships provided lethal top cover.
  Where once the small U.S. force in East Africa had relied mostly on a single large base in Djibouti, just north of Somalia, in the wake of the Ethiopian blitz American bases sprouted across the region. The CIA and American security contractors set up shop alongside a U.N.-backed peacekeeping force at the shell-crated international airport in Mogadishu. American contractors quietly carved a secret airstrip out of a forest in Arba Minch, Ethiopia. Under the guise of tracking Somali pirates, the Pentagon negotiated permission to base people and planes on the Indian Ocean island nation of the Seychelles.
  Soon all these bases would support drone aircraft being churned out at an accelerating rate by the U.S. aerospace industry. In 2003 the U.S. military possessed only a handful of Pioneer, Predator and other drones. After spending around $5 billion annually, year after year, by 2012 America's robotic arsenal had swelled to 678 large and medium drones and no fewer than 3,000 small, hand-launched Ravens.
  Some of each were destined for Somalia, where the CIA and Pentagon were advancing plans for a far-reaching, but subtle, campaign to defeat militants and prop up a fledgling, U.N.-backed government. It was a campaign that, in stark contrast to the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, would not include any large, permanent American ground forces. American CIA agents, mercenaries, commandos and drones would provide intelligence, training, raiding prowess and air cover while Ethiopian, Ugandan and Kenyan troops did most of the day-to-day fighting inside Somalia.
  An MQ-1 Predator armed with Hellfire missiles flies over southern Afghanistan. Photo: Air Force
  Opening SalvoOn Jan. 7, 2007, a Predator took off from an American base in Africa '-- all evidence suggests it was Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti. Command of the aircraft was then transferred to a two-person crew, most likely sitting in a trailer in Nevada. The Predator cruised the roughly 500 miles to the southern Somali town of Ras Kamboni. Following coordinates provided by Ethiopian intelligence, the Predator used its high-fidelity video camera to track a convoy of vehicles transporting Aden Hashi Farah, one of Somalia's top Al Qaeda operatives. Farah had trained in Afghanistan and returned to Somalia where he led the kidnapping and murder of aid workers.
  The Predator was unarmed, possibly to save weight for its long-distance flight. So an AC-130 gunship fitted with cannons and machine guns opened fire, smashing the convoy. Farah was wounded but survived: he would be killed a year later in another U.S. air strike. While it failed to take out the primary target, the Ras Kamboni raid was the opening shot in the East African drone war. Subsequent robot-led attacks would be much more successful for the Americans.
  The drones came by land and by sea. Besides Camp Lemonnier, Predators and Reapers operated by the Air Force (and possibly the CIA) deployed to the Seychelles and Ethiopia for flights over the Somalia. It's been difficult to verify exactly how many drones are present at each base, but Predators and Reapers normally deploy in groups of three or four known as ''orbits,'' each staffed by around 75 people who launch, land, arm and repair the 'bots. If all three major known African UAV bases have single orbits, the robot force structure in the region could include as many as 12 Predators and Reapers at a time.
  At around the same time the larger drones were settling in, American agents, commandos or contractors in Mogadishu '-- it's not clear who, exactly '-- received an unknown number of five-pound, hand-launched Ravens from manufacturer AeroVironment. The simple, camera-equipped Ravens were ideal for short-range surveillance flights during the urban battles aimed at liberating Mogadishu from militants. In 2011 Washington approved a $45-million package of arms and training to Ugandan peacekeepers in the city that included another four Ravens.
  Meanwhile Navy ships sailing off the Somali coast began carrying catapult-launched Scan Eagles manufactured by Boeing and Insitu as well as Northrop Grumman's vertical-takeoff Fire Scout robo-copters. The Fire Scouts initially helped in Navy counter-piracy efforts, but by 2011 had shifted to ''overland intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance '... for Special Operations Forces,'' according to a recent Navy story. The sailing branch also deployed one of its five RQ-4 Global Hawks '-- Northrop-built spy drones with the wingspan of a 737 airliner '-- to an unspecified Indian Ocean base to, among other duties, provide air cover for the 5th Fleet off the Somali coast. And although unmentioned in press reports, Air Force Global Hawks are also theoretically available for Somalia patrols from their forward base in the United Arab Emirates.
  The Ethiopians occupied Somalia for three bloody years then retreated, leaving behind a mostly Ugandan peacekeeping force that gradually fought its way out of its Mogadishu strongholds, finally recapturing the city this year. In late 2011 the Kenyans invaded in Somalia's south. American support steadily expanded in concert with the Ugandan-Kenyan attacks. The pace of U.S. drone flights increased commensurately.
  ''The number of reports concerning the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in Somalia in 2011-12 has increased,'' the U.N. Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea reported in late June. The group said it tracked 64 unidentified military aircraft over Somalia, including drones, in the 11 months between June 2011 and April this year. There were surely many more flights the U.N. observers did not see.
  How many? It's possible to make an educated guess.
  In 2009 Air Force Gen. John Corley, then chief of Air Combat Command, said that 95 percent of his branch's UAV sorties were focused on ''Southwest Asia,'' which to the Pentagon means Iraq and Afghanistan. Let's say just half of the remaining five percent of flights occurred in the Pentagon's other major drone battleground, Somalia. Since 2007 the Air Force's Predators and Reapers, today numbering around 300, have flown nearly a million flight hours. By our reckoning, the percentage that may have occurred over East Africa '-- some 25,000 hours over five years '-- equates to around 12 hours of robot flight time per day. And that's assuming the proportion of drone flights devoted to Somalia hasn't increased lately, which in fact it most certainly has.
  Conservatively speaking, it's possible at least one Predator or Reaper drone has been airborne over Somalia half the day, every day since the first Predator took off from Camp Lemonnier in 2007. Flights by Global Hawks, Fire Scouts, Scan Eagles and Ravens adds to this persistent robot presence.
  For the first four years the aerial robots played a strictly supporting role, surveilling and tracking targets for Special Operations Forces, gunship attacks, F-15 bombing runs, helicopter raids and cruise-missile strikes. When the Predators and Reapers began using their own weapons is unclear. The first verifiable drone attack occurred on June 23, 2011, after which the robotic strikes occurred in rapid-fire fashion. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism counted as many as nine confirmed drone attacks between June 2011 and today.
  Again, the actual number of strikes is undoubtedly higher. If a robotic strike occurs out of sight of reporters or their sources, it remains secret.
  An MQ-8 Fire Scout robot helicopter lands aboard the Navy frigate USS Simpson off the African coast this year. Photo: Navy
  Telltale SignsThe military rarely confirms drone operations over Somalia '-- and the CIA never does. This reporter actually witnessed what appeared to be a Predator takeoff from Camp Lemonnier in 2009 while waiting to board the destroyer USS Donald Cook to cover a counter-piracy mission. The robot launch was just part of the flurry of warplane activity I observed over the bustling base. Leaving aside from that fleeting firsthand sighting, the best evidence of America's African drone war is left by the pilotless warplanes themselves '... when they crash, or nearly crash. The sheer number of flying robots tumbling out of the sky over Somalia seems to indicate much more intensive UAV operations than official and press reports imply.
  Some of the first evidence of any U.S. drone activity in Somalia came in March 2008, when what appeared to be a ship-launched UAV tumbled into the sea near Merka, then a hotly-contested town in militant-dominated southern Somalia. ''It's small and can be carried by three people,'' local government official Mohamed Mohamoud Helmi said of the winged object his constituents dragged from the water. The description roughly matches the 40-pound Scan Eagle that the Navy uses to shoot video just over the horizon from its ships.
  After the apparent Scan Eagle incident, drones began falling from the heavens like zapped insects. On May 13, 2009, a Predator was destroyed following an incident at what Air Force investigators described as a ''forward operating location.'' It probably wasn't Iraq or Afghanistan, as those countries are usually named in crash reports. Nor was the location likely to be Pakistan, as drones there are generally understood to be the CIA's responsibility. By process of elimination, it seems the 2009 crash was in East Africa.
  2010 seems to have been a pretty safe years for American UAVs over Somalia. But in 2011 Predators crashed near Camp Lemonnier on Jan. 14, March 15, May 7 and May 17. A Reaper plunged into the ground in the Seychelles on Dec. 13, 2011, and another crash-landed on the island nation on April 4 this year. Unidentified drones, possibly Ravens, lost their power of flight in Mogadishu on Aug. 19, 2011 and Feb. 3 this year.
  While not crashes per se, twice drones have nearly caused serious accidents in Mogadishu, as pointed out by the U.N. monitoring group in its rather defensively-toned report. Last November 13, a Raven flew over a delicate U.N. fuel depot, alarming the world body's personnel on the ground who were fearful of a crash, the group claimed. And on Jan. 9 a 737 carrying Ugandan peacekeepers ''almost collided with an (sic) UAV'' on takeoff from the Mogadishu airport.
  The crash reports match the apparent pattern of America's secret East African drone flights: sporadic in the early years, steadily increasing before reaching a fever pitch in 2011 and 2012.
  The crashes also seem to corroborate our guess at the at the overall number of drone flight hours in the region. Recently Predators have crashed at a rate of just over seven per 100,000 flight hours. Reapers crash roughly twice as often. Since 2009 the Air Force alone has lost at least four and probably five Predators plus two Reapers in East Africa, indicating these 'bots flew at least the 25,000 hours we surmise from indirect Air Force statements.
  A Ugandan soldier in Mogadishu. Photo: U.N.
  Robot EffectFrom the evidence we can roughly outline the history of America's secret drone war in Africa. But is the robotic campaign against Somalia's Islamic militants working? That's a much harder question to answer.
  To be sure, the militant threat in Somalia is hard to dispute, especially with the homegrown al-Shabaab group openly aligning itself with al-Qaeda and pulling offmore international attacks. ''In Somalia, it is indeed worrying to witness al-Qaeda's merger with al-Shabaab, whose ranks include foreign fighters, some with U.S. passports,'' John Brennan, Pres. Barack Obama's top counterterrorism official, said in a rare public speech in April.
  Brennan singled out drones as one of the best weapons in the fight against these terrorists. ''Remotely piloted aircraft in particular can be a wise choice because of geography, with their ability to fly hundreds of miles over the most treacherous terrain, strike their targets with astonishing precision, and then return to base,'' he said. ''It's this surgical precision '-- the ability, with laser-like focus, to eliminate the cancerous tumor called an al-Qaeda terrorist while limiting damage to the tissue around it '-- that makes this counterterrorism tool so essential.''
  But some skeptics point to popular backlash against drone strikes as evidence the robots are doing more harm than good. In Pakistan, especially, public resentment over American UAV attacks could fuel, rather than suppress, militant sentiment '... and have the unintended effect of driving young men into the arms of extremist groups. Would-be Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad, for instance, said the drone strikes helped motivate him to carry out his attack.
  In other countries, however , attitudes might be different. This spring, University of Virginia researcher Chris Swift spent a week interviewing tribal leaders in southern Yemen, another target-rich zone for U.S. drones. Swift found that war-weary rural populations were ambivalent about robot strikes. ''Nobody in my cohort [of interview subjects] drew a causal link between drones on one hand and [militant] recruiting on other,'' Swift said.
  Somalia is not Yemen, but it's more similar to Yemen than it is to Pakistan. Famed war reporter Robert Young Pelton, writing for his SomaliaReport online journal, ''found most of the people we interviewed in Mogadishu to be favorable to the concept'' of the drone war. ''Keeping in mind,'' he added, ''this is a city in which thousands have been killed by indiscriminate shelling and gunfire.''
  To be sure, not every Somali is so supportive of American air attacks in general. During my visit to Mogadishu in late 2007, a middle-aged school teacher pulled me aside. ''You Americans,'' the man scolded, ''you'll destroy an entire city to get three people.''
  Still, the absence so far of popular backlash against America's shadowy robot campaign in Africa should be encouraging news for U.S. policymakers. With the war in Iraq over and major combat ops in Afghanistan rapidly drawing to a close, America is entering a new era of warfare, one in which most U.S. conflicts could be waged in the shadows by intelligence agents, commandos and high-tech robotic aircraft '-- some merely spies, others armed and primed to kill.
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Senate body says drones cause high civilian casualties
  Link to Article
  Source: robertleather news feed
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 16:23
  15 August, 2012ISLAMABAD: A report of the Senate committee on defence and defence production has suggested that drone attacks in Pakistan caused heavy civilian causalities and were widely disapproved by society.
  The report said that out of the total drone attacks, 95 percent were carried out in Pakistan while 20 percent of the victims were civilians.
  The report quoted CIA officials as saying that the drone attacks created safe havens for militants. It said that militants were unpopular but due to collateral damages they attracted sympathies and support.
  The report also assessed limitations of use of the drones, and technology. It elaborated the history of technology and said that such drones were developed specifically for targeting al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.
  The committee said that relying on the short-term tactics of drone postponed and undermined the development of a comprehensive strategy to address the root causes driving militancy. It said that militant extremists were not simply a group of evil people but a mindset and set of ideas.
  "Drones kill people but multiply supporters of the idea," the report said. "A more successful strategy will centre on robust diplomatic engagement at all levels to address legitimate grievances. Tribal groups targeted by drones have legitimate grievances against their governments," it added.
  End.
We don't need no stinking podcast stars
  Link to Article
  Source: Newsmix
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 15:40
  Are podcasts to radio like blogs are to newspapers? That's the question Richard MacManus of ReadWriteWeb asks in his piece ''Radio Killed the Podcasting Star.'' But his answer comes down clearly on the side of, ''no.'' He argues that, ''Sadly, there are no podcasting stars '' and it's all radio's fault.''
  The crux of his argument is that there is no equivalent of the Drudge Report or Huffington Post in the podcasting world, that there is no podcast or producer that has captured significant mainstream attention that rivals established broadcasters. As evidence, he points to the top podcasts list on iTunes which is dominated by public radio, ''along with semi-celebrities who already had a following via TV or radio (like Chris Hardwick and Adam Carolla).''
  On the one hand, it's hard to quibble with MacManus. I agree that the podcasting landscape is well saturated by traditional broadcasters. At the same time, I don't think it's fair to dismiss the success of the podcast networks built by the likes of Hardwick and his Nerdist network, Carolla and Leo Laporte with his TWiT empire, just because they all have prior public exposure and broadcast experience. While it's true that Matt Drudge made his name strictly on the internet, the same is not true for Arianna Huffington who was a well-known TV commentator and columnist prior to starting her eponymous website. Just because someone was able to use her public recognition to jump-start a venture in a new medium doesn't mean that the new medium is therefore lesser, or the site of less innovation.
  And while what one might call ''pure'' blogs''sites started as blogs rather than networks and aggregators''brought success and attention to writers who had no prior visibility or fame, there are plenty of early blogs that benefited from writers' name recognition in other venues. This is true for former Star Trek: The Next Generation actor actor Wil Wheaton as well as founders of the popular and influential boingboing, like Cory Doctorow, who had some success as a science fiction author and activist before blogging.
  I also think it's difficult to compare podcasting to blogging, even if podcasting is barely five years younger than blogging. In my opinion blogging was a truly revolutionary platform because it brought easy-to-use content management tools to the entire internet community when before they were only the domain of large publishers and commercial sites. The ability to quickly and simply publish updates to a website without having to know or use html and ftp was exactly what the web needed to propel it from being a niche medium for the technologically adventurous to being a true mass medium, permitting all users to reach a mass audience rather than just receive a mass message.
  Podcasting certainly builds on this model of innovation, but producing podcasts is also still less accessible than just typing text into a box on a website and clicking publish. Furthermore, creating more polished podcasts that are more attractive to a mass audience still requires more equipment, skill and technique than writing a blog.
  I also have to call into question the assumption behind MacManus' argument, that the domination of podcast charts by established broadcasters means new independent podcasters have failed to ''seriously challenge the mainstream media incumbents.'' Frankly, if you use that same criteria to judge the top websites, you'll be hard pressed to find an ''indie voice'' that found it's way into the top 10 or 20 via blogging.
  To me the success and value of blogging or podcasting comes from the fact that audiences are exposed to a wide variety of voices, publishers and producers who they never would have been able to find just fifteen years ago. While large corporate sites dominate the top of the rankings, it's also very easy to find plenty of sites and podcasts that have no relationship to these behemoths and old media incumbents. These sources just simply didn't exist in this kind of quantity, nor were they this accessible in 1997.
  In fact, I'd say that mainstream broadcasters, especially public radio, moved to embrace podcasting much faster than the mainstream media embraced podcasting at the beginning of the 2000s. Frankly, there was less time for podcasting to be the unspoiled playground of the independents and misfits before the big boys moved in to both exploit and legitimize the medium.
  The early years of podcasting saw countless debates about whether or not blogging was journalism, or if it could be considered a legitimate medium rather than an amateurish venue for hobbyists and cranks. There were few, if any, such arguments around podcasting. By the time podcasting birthed in 2005 the blogging debate was largely settled, with blogs winning their place at the mainstream table. Podcasting never had to go through that hazing period.
  Sure, I'm excited to see podcasters reach larger audiences and find success. But I also think we don't have to create a few new podcast stars. I'd rather see thousands more podcasts bloom and find their audiences, no matter how small or large. That's the power of podcasting.
Federal Reserve Economists Warn About Municipal Bond Market
  Link to Article
  Source: EconomicPolicyJournal.com
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 15:38
  Although not coming out with a full warning about the municipal bond market, some New York Fed economists come pretty close to warning just that. It's probably as far as these economists could go without getting fired. Fed economists Jason Appleson, Eric Parsons, and Andrew Haughwout write (my bold):The last couple of years have witnessed threatened or actual defaults in a diversity of places, ranging from Jefferson County, Alabama, to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to Stockton, California. But do these events point to a wave of future defaults by municipal borrowers? History'--at least the history that most of us know'--would seem to say no. But the municipal bond market is complex and defaults happen much more frequently than most casual observers are aware.Here's how they back up this view (my bold):The $3.7 trillion U.S. municipal bond market is perhaps best known for its federal tax exemption on individuals and its low default rate relative to other fixed-income securities. These two features have resulted in household investors dominating the ranks of municipal bond holders. As shown below, individuals directly hold more than half, or $1.879 billion, of U.S. municipal debt; when $930 billion in mutual fund holdings is included, the household share rises to three-quarters. Although the low default history of municipal bonds has played a key role in luring investors to the market, frequently cited default rates published by the rating agencies do not tell the whole story about municipal bond defaults. Two large bond rating agencies, Moody's Investors Service (Moody's) and Standard and Poor's (S&P) provide annual default statistics for the municipal bonds that they rate. S&P reports that its rated municipal bonds defaulted only 47 times from 1986 to 2011. Similarly, Moody's indicates that its rated municipal bonds defaulted only 71 times from 1970 to 2011. As shown in the table below, this record of defaults compares very favorably with the corporate bond market, especially given the larger number of issuers in the municipal bond market
  However, not all municipal bonds are rated and the market's rated universe only tells part of the story. We have developed a more comprehensive municipal default database by merging the default listings of three rating agencies (S&P, Moody's, and Fitch) with unrated default listings as tracked by Mergent and S&P Capital IQ. Rather than confirming Moody's 71 listed defaults from 1970 to 2011, our database shows 2,521 defaults during this same period. Similarly, our database indicates 2,366 defaults from 1986 to 2011 versus S&P's 47 defaults during this same period. In total, we find 2,527 defaults from the period beginning in the late 1950s through 2011. (We don't have complete information on the number of issues, so we can't compare default rates.)
  Our findings raise the question, What causes such markedly different default frequencies between rated and unrated municipal bonds? Our answer: Not all municipal bonds are created equal. Different types of municipal bonds are secured by very different revenue sources with varying levels of predictability and stability. Furthermore, we believe that rated municipal bonds tend to be self-selected: issuers are less likely to seek ratings if their municipal bonds are not likely to achieve investment grade ratings.Given this analysis along with the earlier analysis by these economists that (my bold): ....there has been some recovery in the state sector, but we expect that the hangover from the recession will affect both state and local governments and the economy for years to come. Some of the actions taken to address short-term funding needs can increase the severity of the long-term structural challenges that states and localities face, including underfunded pension plans and deficient infrastructure stocks. Until these challenges are successfully resolved, the state and local public sector may continue to be a drag on economic activity in the years ahead.This is likely to be the closest you are going to get from the Federal Reserve itself that the municipal bond market is a minefield that investors stay away from. What's most intriguing is that these economists show the graph which displays that 75% of municipal bonds are held either directly or through muni bond funds by individuals. Could they be suggesting that if muni defaults pick up there could be a run out of the muni bond market? As far as I am concerned, reading between the lines, that is exactly what they are saying.
Waiting in the Wings: An Exclusive Interview with Chelsea Clinton - Magazine - Vogue
  Link to Article
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 15:34
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  With her father's magnetism and her mother's discipline, Chelsea Clinton is finally embracing her political birthright. In this exclusive interview, Jonathan Van Meter discovers a young woman ready to change the world.
  Chelsea Clinton is representative of her generation in a surprising number of ways: She has a highly developed sense of irony; a late-bloomer aspect; a promiscuous career ambition; an unusually close relationship with her parents'--and, above all, an obsession with elaborate coffee drinks. Indeed, I have been to coffee shops all over this great nation with Chelsea Clinton as I trailed her this spring and summer. Once, in Joplin, Missouri, we were hanging around a parking lot waiting for the camera crew she works with in her role as special correspondent for NBC, and her attention kept drifting across the street. ''I am pretty intrigued by Joplin Avenue Coffee Company,'' she said. A few moments later, her chief of staff, Bari Lurie, appeared to say the camera guys were an hour away. ''I don't know what we should do,'' said Lurie. ''When in doubt,'' said Clinton, ''coffee.''
  I first meet Clinton in late March at her favorite coffee shop in New York City, a very grad-student kind of place called Birch in the Flatiron neighborhood, not far from the apartment on Madison Square Park that she shares with her husband, the hedge-fund manager Marc Mezvinsky. The night before, I attended a panel Clinton moderated uptown, ''Running in Heels,'' about the inherent challenges facing women in elected office. She came onstage in a sleeveless leopard-print dress with an UGG on one foot and an orthopedic boot on the other and began, without ever looking at her notes, to reveal an inside-out mastery of the subject.
  Clinton's public-speaking manner is one of studied mellowness, with a measured tone and cadence that is like neither her mother's nor her father's. (''She definitely has her own style,'' says Nicole Fox, her best friend, who gave a toast at her wedding. ''It's a little bit wonky, a little bit flirtatious, a little bit Southern.'') When Clinton introduced Sandra Fluke, the law student whom Rush Limbaugh had just a month earlier called a ''slut,'' she startled everyone by saying, ''She and I actually have something in common. We've both been attacked by Rush Limbaugh. . . . She was 30, I was thirteen. In 1993 he said . . . 'You may know that the Clintons have a cat, Socks, in the White House. They also have a dog.' And then he put a picture of me on the screen.'' If she hadn't had everyone's undivided attention before, she certainly did then.
  When Chelsea walks into Birch, which is packed, people immediately notice her. Without missing a beat, she says, ''Can I deputize you to go upstairs and look for a table, and in return I will stand in line and get us coffee?'' Sure, I say. ''What would you like?'' A latte. ''Whole, skim, 2 percent, or soy?'' she asks, and we both laugh. Whole, I say. ''Yum,'' she says. ''Good call.'' I am instantly charmed.
  By the time she joins me upstairs, Lurie is with her, as well as Matt McKenna, Bill Clinton's press secretary, who also handles Chelsea's press. Chelsea is meeting me, after all, to decide whether or not to do something she has been protected from or studiously avoided her entire life: be interviewed. The first thing that comes up is the orthopedic boot. ''It's a stress fracture,'' she says. ''My third metatarsal. All the fancy medical Latin terms I know are from my injuries. I broke my calcaneus a couple of years ago.'' She smiles, clearly delighting in knowing the term. ''I love the right words,'' she says. ''I think economy and precision of language are important.''
  Both of these injuries come from running'--it turns out she's a New Yorker to the bone, literally. ''I think I have run on every street in Manhattan,'' she says. ''Running is my prophylactic stress relief for the day. Or the segue so that I can go home and be with my husband in a kind of clearheaded way.'' She runs early in the morning, sometimes at night, always alone. ''Running is the one part of my life in which I fundamentally feel like the observer instead of the observed.''
  I did not remember these details until I looked them up: Chelsea Clinton arrived at Stanford in a motorcade with her parents, Secret Service, and 250 journalists. Her dorm room was outfitted with bulletproof windows, and her security detail lived in her building and dressed like students. She majored in history. When she arrived at Oxford, where she went to study international relations, it was shortly after September 11, 2001. She was immediately brutalized by the British press for saying, ''Every day I encounter some sort of anti-American feeling. . . . I thought I would seek out non-Americans as friends. . . . Now I find that I want to be around Americans'--people who I know are thinking about our country as much as I am.''
  This begins to explain why Clinton was eager to make New York City her home, which she did the minute she graduated from Oxford, and why she feels so comfortable here. I ask her if she is surprised by how surprised people are by how so-called normal she is. ''The word normal . . .'' she says, and then ponders it. ''I don't know. I've always been aware of both how extraordinarily normal and how extraordinarily extraordinary my life has been. It's always been important, first to my parents when I was younger, and now very much to me, to live in the world. I would never want to live in a cloister. It's important to me to walk down the street and hear what people are talking about or go for a run on the West Side Highway. Marc and I go to a movie every Sunday. We ride the subway. It's one of the great gifts of New York City. Why would I want to miss that?''
  Once in New York, Clinton worked for the consulting firm McKinsey & Company for three years, then for another three on Wall Street, for a hedge fund'--two career choices that, given her parents' lifelong devotion to public service, seemed out of character, almost a rebellion. ''I really wanted to work in the private sector,'' she tells me. ''I felt as if I had no inherited understanding of that from my parents. But I didn't fundamentally care about denominating success through money. And I think it's important to be in professions in which you care about the metric of success.''
  After leaving Wall Street, Clinton returned to academia, first earning a master's in public health from Columbia, then joining New York University as the assistant vice provost for the Global Network University, and currently pursuing a Ph.D. in international relations from Oxford. She now teaches graduate classes at Columbia. One day in April, I sit in on one of her lectures, in a class called ''Cross National Health Policy.'' ''I promise today to break before 4:00,'' she says to the couple dozen students, most of them women, ''and I see by your smiles that you ratify that decision.'' When she finally looks at her notes after nearly an hour, I exhale: She is human. But more than that, she is engrossing. Partly, this has to do with the fact that she is a Clinton talking about health care, and, like her parents, she has a gift for taking complicated subject matter and making it come alive. But it also has to do with her lecture style: standing stock-still, speaking very slowly, her big blue eyes moving back and forth almost metronomically. ''She has no filler like most of us,'' says Lurie. ''She waits for the right word, and until it comes, she's silent. It's one of the reasons why some people find her a little distant.''
  She can also come across as the absent-minded professor. During our travels, she left her BlackBerry on the takeout window of a drive-through in Joplin; her book on a plane in Bentonville, Arkansas; and forgot to lock the door to the single-toilet unisex bathroom backstage at the Kennedy Center, which Diane von Furstenberg opened on her. (''Happens all the time,'' says Lurie.) She can also get a little pedantic, using words like node, modality, and paradigm in casual conversation. Her digressions are frequent and lengthy, but for the most part, her mini-lectures, which might come up when you are, say, dining at an Applebee's, are well worth the price of admission. As someone close to her says, ''You ask her what time it is and she will build you a wristwatch.'' And who would dream of interrupting? ''This is my gracious challenge with her,'' says Jay Kernis, one of Clinton's segment producers at NBC. ''People in television constantly interrupt each other. But when you are with Chelsea, you really need to allow her to finish. She's not used to being interrupted that way.''
  Unlike most nerdy academic types, however, Clinton is also a social creature, happy to put on a party dress and go out for a good cause. One night in Chicago, as she is heading to the House of Blues for a Clinton Foundation benefit concert with Ben Harper, she turns up in the hotel lobby wearing something you might expect to see on Beyonc(C): black, skintight J Brand jeans, black Rag & Bone jacket, and platform stilettos. Wow, I say. Lurie'--who has known Clinton since they were teenagers, when Lurie was a White House intern working for Hillary Clinton'--shoots me a look: ''Don't encourage her.'' Although Chelsea claims she is ''not a naturally fashionable person,'' I can't help noticing that she always looks great. ''Oh, she is sooo stylish, Chelsea,'' says her friend Burberry designer Christopher Bailey.
  One night in early May, she and Mayor Michael Bloomberg cohost a book party for Jim Steyer, a Stanford professor whom Chelsea worked closely with; she now sits on the board of his organization, Common Sense Media (she actually sits on seven different boards, from the School of American Ballet to Barry Diller's IAC/InterActiveCorp). The party begins to fill up with a very particular New York crowd'--Diller, Tom Wolfe, Joel Klein, Arianna Huffington. When Clinton arrives, wearing a purple J.Crew cardigan over a floral-print Erdem dress, she plunges right into the power circle'--a minefield of kisses and ''relevant'' small talk. As seems to happen often, a fair number of her old friends are here, too, including Fox and her husband, Michael; Zach Iscol, whom she met on the Vineyard; and a couple of Brits from her Oxford days. (''Friendship is very important to her,'' says her good friend Simon Woods. ''She has built a fortress of friends around her.'')
  Bloomberg takes to the podium to introduce Clinton, but first he praises Steyer's book, Talking Back to Facebook, calling it ''a common-sense guide . . . on how to help our kids navigate the digital age.'' But then he says this: ''My daughters are 32 and 29, and I don't think I can help guide them through anything. But it would be nice if they answered my phone calls.'' It's hard to imagine Bill or Hillary making a joke like this about Chelsea. When she gets on stage, she tells a story, as she often does, from her childhood: ''I am incredibly grateful that my parents had as stringent rules for media consumption as they did for the consumption of sugar cereal.'' Then she proceeds to put a fine point on the issue at hand: ''How do we help cultivate curiosity about content . . . while also protecting kids so that every kid gets to be a kid and not have his or her dreams overly curated by Facebook or Twitter . . . ?''
  Clinton is here tonight with Marc and his mother, former U.S. congresswoman Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky. When I'm introduced to them, Marc says, ''Did Chelsea tell you about my family?'' His mom interrupts: ''Eleven children!'' Marc is talking to Zach about the Met Gala, which the couple attended the previous night. ''It was glamorous and ridiculous and over-the-top and amazing,'' says Marc. ''Just like New York. It was surreal.''
  ''But you must have been to some pretty surreal events,'' says Zach, ''given the world you now travel in.''
  ''Yeah, but I'm just a nerdy Jewish boy from Philly,'' says Marc, ''so all of this is pretty surreal.'' Then he backpedals slightly. ''But you know, Bill Clinton grew up with a dirt floor in Arkansas, so it's all relative.'' Chelsea and Marc met in 1992 at Renaissance Weekend, the original ''ideas'' retreat the Clintons regularly attended during their White House years. She was twelve; he was fifteen. They remained friendly from afar. Then Chelsea went off to Stanford, where Marc was a sophomore. He was, as one friend tells me, ''a total playboy,'' and their relationship remained platonic until Chelsea and her longtime boyfriend from Oxford, Ian Klaus, broke up. ''Chelsea really used Marc as a shoulder to lean on, and it just kind of happened,'' says Lurie. ''She always says that it's like one of those bad after-school specials.''
  Zach drifts away, and Marc and I talk about his wife. When I marvel at her ability to speak without any notes, he says, ''I would say there is a ten-to-one ratio of preparation to performance. When I first saw her mother campaign for the Senate twelve years ago, I said, 'Your mom speaks in fully formed paragraphs.' It defies logic. And Chelsea has a similar gift. Not sentences. Paragraphs.'' He laughs. ''She's very much the yin to my yang. I don't want to say I'm aloof, but I definitely can exist in a cloud. I walk into parking meters. She's the antithesis of that. She's like: This is where the parking meters go!'' A few minutes later, he tries to remember the name of a ryokan they stayed in together in Kyoto, and can't, so he calls out to Chelsea. She not only remembers, she spells it for him.
  Everyone in Chelsea's world seems to adore Marc. ''He's a real mensch,'' says Fox. ''We were always rooting for them to get together, even when she was dating other people.'' Says Lurie: ''He's this playful schoolboy stuck inside this wicked-smart, really astute adult body. He's as happy goofing off as he is talking finance with world leaders. He's the best of both worlds.''
  Last year there were tabloid reports that the couple's marriage was in trouble, seemingly based on the fact that Marc had rented a place out West to play the ski bum after he quit his job at 3G Capital. The paparazzi camped out in front of their building, and people kept asking Chelsea if she was getting divorced. ''None of it was true,'' says Lurie. ''But what put a strain on them was that the stories were being written because none of us were paying attention to it. It was an eye-opening lesson. Chelsea realized, Maybe I need to get out there and demystify myself a little bit.''
  Lately, Chelsea Clinton has been deadpanning jokes about how impatient her mother is for grandchildren. She lands the best one like a Vegas pro at the Vital Voices gala at the Kennedy Center in early June, the first event in fifteen years at which Hillary, the organization's founder, couldn't be present (Azerbaijan). ''I am proud of my mom for many, many reasons,'' says Chelsea, in sleeveless black Chanel, ''but one of the reasons that I'm chiefly proud of her is the legacy that she will leave as secretary of State. That women's voices won't only be a vital part of how America is seen around the world, but a central part of how we . . . try to build a better world for'--if she were here she would say'--the grandchildren she hopes to have.'' The comedy was all in the timing, and she brought down the house.
  When I ask later if the joke is true, Chelsea says, ''Yes, but in the most loving sense. She always tells me it was the greatest thing that ever happened to her. And as the subject of such an amazing compliment, I can't do anything but be grateful and smile and say that I'm confident that I will feel the same way when I am so blessed. It's certainly something that Marc and I talk a lot about. I always knew I was the center of my parents' lives when I was growing up. And I am determined that our children feel the same way. Marc and I are both working really hard right now, but I think in a couple of years, hopefully . . . literally, God willing. And I hope my mom can wait that long.''
  Hillary was 32, exactly the age Chelsea is now, when she gave birth to her only child in February 1980. In the year prior, she had become not only the first lady of Arkansas but also the first woman to be made full partner in the Rose Law Firm, where she was earning more money than her husband. It's not hard to imagine that Chelsea might feel that she, too, needs to make a bigger mark on the world before becoming a mother.
  What was it like being the only child of two such towering overachievers? ''Well, we had dinner together every night,'' she says. ''Some of my earliest memories are trundling around in the back of the car with my parents while my father was campaigning. On Saturdays we would be in Bald Knob for the turkey hunt or in Toad Suck for Toad Suck Daze'--yes, there is a Toad Suck, Arkansas. And Sundays were really sacred times. We would go to church, have lunch, and we always did something new, whether it was crack open coconuts or go on a new hike. We had these rituals that rooted us very much together.''
  She is remarkably close to each of her parents. ''There was a real effort from them,'' she says. ''They organized their lives so that we could have that time. Even during my father's first campaign for president, there were only three nights when I wasn't with one or both of them. Wherever they were, at least one of them would fly home to be with me while I was doing my homework and to tuck me in at night.'' Simon Woods sums it up: ''There was always a core of something quite normal and domestic and safe within the madness of their political careers.'' A superhuman feat given how little separation there is between the public and private realms in American political life.
  Very few people are born in a governor's mansion. As Chelsea likes to remind people, ''My father was governor when I was born'--I was on the front page of the newspaper the next day.'' It shaped her behavior from the outset. Chelsea's best friend from Little Rock since the age of three, Elizabeth Weindruch, observes: ''She's always lived her life as if she's being watched, by which I mean she was always very well behaved and very well spoken.''
  Even fewer people spend their teenage years in the White House. ''I was very aware of why we were there and that I was living among history,'' she says. ''One of the things that my parents did a good job of was talking with me about their work. So at the end of the day, over dinner, I would tell them what I learned in biology class and my mother would tell me about advocating for women's health around the world, and my dad would talk about the budget fight or what was happening in advance of a trip he was planning to Russia. I knew that we were having a different type of conversation than most of my friends, but there were normal rhythms that we started in Arkansas that very much carried through.''
  Her parents took her out of school just once, she says, ''for the signing of the peace agreement between Rabin and Yasser Arafat.'' She also always had summer jobs and internships, traveling with them only when school was out. ''Again, I think my parents succeeded, thankfully, in bringing me along this journey in ways that were appropriate'--and critical to ensuring that I still saw them as working parents.'' Of course, most working parents don't face professional crises of near-biblical proportions. And yet, despite everything we know about the roller-coaster scandals of the Clinton years, Chelsea refuses to dwell on the downside. ''There were constant reminders of how blessed I really was, and the blessings always far outweighed the burdens.'' (Chelsea speaks of ''blessings'' frequently; like her mother, she is an observant social-justice Methodist who gets to church on most Sundays.)
  But the burden of so much unwanted scrutiny must have been painful for her at times. I bring up the fact that she repeated Rush Limbaugh's odious words at that panel. Did you actually hear him say that then? ''Oh, I heard it,'' she says. ''It was really important to my parents that I go to public school, and I loved it, but kids can be really cruel. If I hadn't read about something in the newspaper that day that someone had said about my family or my dad or my mom or me, you could be sure that some snarky boy would tell me about it. They would shout things at me in the hallway.'' She pauses. ''Having thick skin is an important quality for anyone who wants to do something in the world, and thankfully that's something I had to develop early on.'' Spoken like a true politician's daughter.
  Nicole Fox met Chelsea in eighth-grade science class, shortly after the Clintons moved into the White House. ''You could definitely see how someone could come out of that life feeling bitter,'' she says, ''like they've been beaten down in some sort of a battle. But she's the total opposite of that. And if you look at her parents, the thing that defines them is resilience. I'm just continuously amazed by their stamina and optimism. They are always the ones leading the way out of the ditch. Chelsea really got that from them.''
  Her friends all say that the key to understanding Chelsea Clinton is through her relationship with her grandmother Dorothy Rodham, Hillary's mother, who died last November at the age of 92. Her death, says Fox, ''was the hardest thing I've ever seen Chelsea go through. She was really destroyed by it.''
  Dorothy was, by all reports, hilarious and fun: a real character who loved Glee and Dancing With the Stars; football and margaritas. ''She always wanted to go to Cactus Cantina near the National Cathedral. I would drive Marc and my grandmother there, and they would get a large pitcher of frozen margaritas, and then I would drive them home, both slightly inebriated. Which gave me inordinate joy.'' One afternoon, I admire a vintage Chanel chain necklace that Lurie has on, and Lurie says it belonged to her grandmother. ''Isn't it beautiful?'' says Chelsea. ''I try to wear something of my grandmother's every day.'' Her voice cracks. ''Because I miss her every day. Every single day.''
  They became especially close after Hillary's father died in 1993. ''My grandmother and I spent a lot of time in Washington together, and then she was diagnosed with colon cancer four days after I graduated from Stanford.'' Chelsea changed her summer plans and moved into the hospital with her grandmother. ''Although I clearly wish she hadn't had to go through that, that was the first time where we really talked about everything.''
  As mother of and daughter to Hillary, she and Dorothy shared a singular bond. They also shared a love of reading. One day in Joplin, Chelsea insists that we go to Books-A-Million. She pulls a book off the shelf called Lion in the Valley, by Elizabeth Peters, and hands it to me: It is one in a series written by Barbara Mertz under a pseudonym. Mertz, says Clinton, ''was the first woman to get her Ph.D. in Egyptology from the Oriental Institute in Chicago. And her protagonist is a woman named Amelia Peabody, who is an amalgamation of different archaeologists' wives from the Victorian era in Egypt, who were integral to many of the great discoveries there. I randomly picked up one of these books in a great used-book store during the 2008 campaign, and I fell in love with the story and the writing and gave it to my mom, and she loved it and then we gave it to my grandmom, and then all three of us read all eighteen or nineteen books.''
  A woman who at eight was sent to live with unforgiving grand-parents, who ran away to become a housekeeper at fourteen, and who supported herself through high school, Dorothy apparently ''pulled no punches'' in talking to her grand-daughter. ''She thought that I should be doing more with my life,'' Clinton says. ''She felt like we have a responsibility gene in our family. And while, thankfully, she thought I was a good daughter, a good wife, and a good friend, and that I worked hard, it was starting to become time to do something more. I think she saw it as her role to challenge me in that way.''
  At almost the same moment, the media circus that surrounded Chelsea during her wedding made her realize that, for better or worse, she was a celebrity. ''Either it was something I could continue to ignore or it was something I could try to use to highlight causes that I really cared about.'' Something finally clicked. ''Historically I deliberately tried to lead a private life in the public eye,'' she says. ''And now I am trying to lead a purposefully public life.''
  Over the course of two months, I watched Chelsea Clinton switch hats so many times from one day to the next, it was dizzying: the academic work, the speeches, the book parties, the unglamorous travel, the getting dressed out of the trunk of a rental car, the wheeling her suitcase through tiny airports after getting off small planes where she had been jammed into coach with little sleep, the interviews with dozens of people for her ''Making a Difference'' segments for NBC, the mountains of reading and hours of preparation to teach a graduate seminar, the two-day swing through Chicago for her father's Global Initiative conference, the standing in for her mother at Vital Voices. At one point I joke that there must also be a time-bending gene in her family for somehow finding extra hours in the day. ''We work very hard. I'm sure they wouldn't recognize me as their daughter if I didn't work really hard.'' She sees her three essentially full-time careers'--journalism, academia, and philanthropy'--as ''mutually supporting and advancing of one another.'' Also true to her generation, she's interested in solving the world's problems. ''I'm sort of obsessed with what works. And why things work and how they work and who should be doing that work and whether it's the government or the private sector. It's part of what so strongly motivates me. It's in our little family Zeitgeist.''
  Also in the family Zeitgeist is an empathetic curiosity. ''I don't think I have ever had a day where someone hasn't come up and said something to me: Oh, you're Chelsea Clinton? I'm Albanian. Thank you to your father for stopping the genocide of the Kosovar Albanians,'' she says. ''Most people are respectful and nice, and thankfully the people who are not are generally so much not that it's easy to realize that it's about them, not about me. Like when people say that I am the seed of the Devil. Like, uh, no. I don't agree.'' Then she gets more serious. ''I feel incredibly grateful that people feel so connected to my family, because those connections are part of what continue to motivate all of us to work as hard as we do.''
  For some people, Clinton's decision to work for NBC came out of left field. But, as her friend Fox says, ''she has had a lifetime of accumulating these stories, and now she has an opportunity to tell the ones that have landed for her in an important way.'' Having watched her engage with people everywhere we went, I was continually amazed by how patient she was. ''That's a lot to carry around with you,'' says Fox, ''having the personal hopes and dreams and struggles of all sorts of strangers in your mind all the time.''
  Clinton got slammed in the press after her first segment aired, criticized on the one hand for having only gotten the job because of who she is, and on the other for doing stories that were ''soft'' and somehow beneath her. ''In a way, I think we failed her,'' says Lurie, ''because we didn't put out to the world that Chelsea Clinton didn't wake up one day and say, I want to be a journalist. She woke up over a series of days, months, and years and said, I want to use my voice to tell other people's stories.'' But since that first segment, nine months ago, Clinton's instincts have sharpened. A piece that aired in July about the Maya Angelou Academy was smart, moving, and celebrated a prison-education program that works.
  Chelsea joined the board of the Clinton Foundation a few years ago and has since stepped up her role in several ways (in July, she went to Africa with her father on a foundation mission). She now plays a vital part in both the Clinton Global Initiative and the Clinton Health Access Initiative. She is no doubt learning from her father what works. But she is also teaching him a thing or two. One night, over dinner at Cheddar's, Chelsea mentions that a lot of her male friends are gay. ''It was something that I wasn't even aware of until Marc pointed it out,'' she says. Observing the strength of those friendships'--many of Chelsea's friends spend every Thanksgiving with the Clintons at Chappaqua'--was one of the key factors in changing Bill Clinton's position on gay marriage. ''Those conversations often start in families and then billow out into the community. Change is hard. And I was really proud of my dad.''
  People around Chelsea have noticed a change in her, too. ''As she's been exposed to the foundation and to what her father's doing with his post-presidential life,'' says Hillary Clinton's deputy chief of staff, Huma Abedin, ''I think a light switched on: This is the legacy I'm going to inherit. To say it is an incredible one is an understatement. She now knows that in 20, 30 years, everything about her father's legacy is in her hands. It's going to be Chelsea's responsibility to carry that torch. This is the core of what her grandmother encouraged her to do: embrace her inheritance.''
  In many ways, she already has. Even the way she agreed to be interviewed'--having a writer embedded for weeks'--is the way she's watched her parents do it for years. Let's face it, she has their pace, if not yet their global platform. I ask her, Could you ever imagine running for public office? ''Before my mom's campaign I would have said no. Not because it was something I had thought a lot about but because people have been asking me that my whole life. Even during my father's 1984 gubernatorial campaign, it was, Do you want to grow up and be governor one day? No. I am four. And also because I believe that there are many ways for each of us to play our part. For a very long time that's what my mom did. And then she went into elected public life. Her life is a testament to the principle that there are many ways to serve.'' She pauses. ''And now I don't know. . . . I mean, I have voted in every election that I have been qualified to vote in since I turned eighteen. I believe that engaging in the political process is part of being a good person. And I certainly believe that part of helping to build a better world is ensuring that we have political leaders who are committed to that premise. So if there were to be a point where it was something I felt called to do and I didn't think there was someone who was sufficiently committed to building a healthier, more just, more equitable, more productive world? Then that would be a question I'd have to ask and answer.''
  It's old-home week in Little Rock: The Clintons are back in town. On a steamy Sunday in June, a full-scale friends-and-family reunion is about to get under way for the opening of an exhibition at the Presidential Library about Chelsea Clinton's grandmothers, titled ''Dorothy Howell Rodham & Virginia Clinton Kelley.'' Naturally, it was her idea.
  The William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum is a lot of things'--a state-of-the-art archive, a tourist attraction with a restaurant and gift shop'--but it is also a home. When the Clintons are here, they stay in the living quarters somewhere within the modernist slab of glass and granite that juts out over the Arkansas River. By noon, about 100 guests are beginning to pile up in the lobby, waiting for the private tour of the exhibition to begin. Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea suddenly appear, and every ion in the room gains a proton; the electrical charge is palpable. Chelsea is wearing a very tight, short presidential-blue Stella McCartney dress and nude Michael Kors platform pumps. When she spots Vic and Susan Fleming, the parents of Elizabeth, her childhood best friend, she runs at a full clip across the lobby and throws her arms around Mrs. Fleming, nearly knocking down the velvet rope.
  The exhibition (which runs through November 25) is fascinating, offering up clues in miniature to what shaped the lives of the two women who shaped the lives of the two people who came together in the crazy-great political marriage of all time and forever changed the lives of everyone around them. As I wandered through, I thought of something that a Chelsea intimate said to me: ''My perception is that her dad is a superhuman who is doing extraordinary things, and that her mom is like an ordinary person doing extraordinary things. He just feels like he's operating on a different plane. And the thing that I have always loved so much about Hillary is that it doesn't feel like she's operating on a different plane, but you are just overwhelmed by how much she's been able to accomplish walking the streets with the rest of us.'' Just like her daughter.
  There is a reception for about 500 people in the library's Great Hall, during which the family comes out onstage. Hil'¨lary, ebullient in purple, and Bill, silvery and sleek, holding hands. There are Hil'¨lary's brothers, looking a little uncomfortable: Tony Rodham, with his wife, Megan, their two young children, Fiona and Simon, and his older son, Zach; and Hugh Rodham and his wife, Maria. Chelsea steps up to the podium and works her magic. ''This is a really emotional week for my family. Last week would have been both my grandmother Dorothy's ninety-third birthday and my grandmother Virginia's eighty-ninth birthday. . . . Both of my grandmothers faced adversity that I think is almost unimaginable in the twenty-first century, and yet both transcended adversity . . . by the choices that they made and not the choices that others made for them.'' She lets drop another Mom's-impatient-for-grandchildren joke. Hillary rolls her eyes while her husband wraps her up in a big Bill Clinton hug. When their daughter turns around, Hil'¨lary says, ''Good job, Chels!'' and embraces her'--an affectionate bunch, this dynasty of three. Obviously these family moments have taken on even greater importance now that Chelsea's grown. As Chelsea says, ''We make a real effort to see each other and be together and talk on the phone.'' (''I will tell you,'' says Huma Abedin, ''the moment in Hillary's life when she is happiest is when there's a call from Chelsea. Even if we are in the middle of a horrible, horrible meeting, she'll answer the phone and say, 'HIII, CHELSEA!' It's just the best sound.'')
  The private reception in the library's restaurant, Forty Two, spills out onto a big deck that overlooks the sun setting on the Arkansas River. There are margaritas and Mexican food, and the whole affair takes on the air of a big family barbecue, with children running around, folks getting tipsy, and everyone going back for seconds. Chelsea is holding court with her friends, among them interior designer Ryan Lawson and Dan Baer, a deputy assistant secretary for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor at the U.S. Department of State. Hillary is regaling them with stories. The conversation turns to the fact that Dorothy had a real knack for making a beautiful home, which then leads to the revelation that Hillary's guilty pleasure, the thing she does when she really wants to take her mind off her work, is to sit with a big pile of interior-design magazines and flip through them. She also admits that she enjoys some of the reality shows on the subject. And then she says, ''Chelsea, did I ever tell you about the first time I actually spoke to Lindsey Graham? He came up to me one day on the floor of the Senate and said, 'Guess who called me?' 'Who?' I said. 'A producer from the television show Trading Spaces. They want you and I to trade places. What do you say?' And I said, 'I don't think so!' '' At that, she puts her finger to her dimpled cheek and exaggeratedly twists it a couple of times and then dramatically turns on her heel and saunters away. Everyone laughs while Chelsea convulses in a silent paroxysm of laughter and disbelief, with a look on her face that says, my mom!
  As the evening wears on, Chelsea's five-year-old cousin Fiona has begun pulling flowers out of the centerpieces. ''I am picking flowers!'' she says, which gives Chelsea no end of joy. ''Only a little girl who lives in Washington, D.C., would think that you 'picked' flowers from centerpieces.'' Suddenly she notices that Fiona has been stuffing the flowers into the pockets of her uncle Bill's suit. ''Ohhhhh, my Goood,'' says Chelsea, with her hands over her mouth, ''look at my father. She's made him a boutonniere!'' At that, Bill ambles over and announces to the group that he is tired and is retiring upstairs. He waits for Hillary to finish her conversation, and the two of them disappear down a long hallway.
  Chelsea, on the other hand, has decided to go out with her friends for a drink. A dozen or so head to the Capitol Hotel bar, about ten blocks away. In a giddy mood, Chelsea orders a scotch, and the group parties into the wee hours. ''It's just kind of her reality,'' says Lurie when I ask about the juxtaposition of Chelsea's life to that of her parents, with their staff and security and private jets. ''She lives in the world. But because she has always grown up with her parents having staff around, it's not strange for her. She transitions seamlessly out of those spaces. Let's put it this way: When the motorcade pulls away, there is no air let out of her world.''
  When the night comes to an end, everyone piles out into the street and says their goodbyes. A driver is waiting to take Chelsea Clinton back to the library'--home to her parents in Little Rock.
  August 13, 2012 12:18p.m.
Gaat Chelsea Clinton toch de politiek in? - Buitenland
  Link to Article
  Source: VK: Home
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 15:33
  Door: Redactie ''15/08/12, 17:04
  (C) afp. V.l.n.r.: Hillary, Bill en Chelsea Clinton in 2009.
  Chelsea Clinton, de dochter van Bill en Hillary Clinton die altijd zorgvuldig buiten de media werd gehouden, overweegt op 32-jarige leeftijd alsnog in de voetsporen van haar ouders te treden door haar politieke talenten in te gaan zetten.
  Dit vertelt zij in een interview met Vogue. 'Ik geloof dat het bijdragen aan het politieke proces deel uitmaakt van een goed mens. En om bij te dragen aan een betere wereld, moeten we er voor zorgen dat we politieke leiders hebben die zich inzetten voor de uitgangspunt', aldus Chelsea Clinton.
  Op de vraag of ze zichzelf ooit in de politiek kon voorstellen, antwoordde ze: 'Als ik op het punt kom dat ik me geroepen voel om iets te doen en als er op dat moment niemand is die voldoende toegewijd meewerkt aan het bouwen van een gezonde, rechtvaardige en productieve wereld? Dan zou ik daar zeker over nadenken.'
  De woordvoerder van Hillary Clinton, Huma Abedin, vertelt in het interview: 'Nu Chelsea actief door haar vader in zijn huidige carri¨re wordt betrokken, begint het haar te dagen dat ze een grote politieke erfenis heeft meegekregen en dat ze daar iets mee moet doen.'
Quad-core Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet costs $500, $550 | Mobile
  Link to Article
  Source: CNET News
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 15:32
  A pressure-sensitive stylus sets apart Samsung's quad-core, Android 4.0 Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet.
  (Credit:Josh Miller/CNET)On the heels of last week's global launch, Samsung has officially announced U.S. pricing for its 10-inch Galaxy Note tablet.
  Thetablet, whose standout feature is its pressure-sensitive S Pen stylus and compatible apps, comes in two colors, deep gray and white. It also comes in two storage capacities. A 16GB model costs $499, but $549 gets you 32GB for your movies, music, photos, and apps. An additional $50 for double the internal memory is a nice, juicy carrot to upsell customers to the pricier model.
  Here in the U.S., Samsung is peddling the Wi-Fi-only Note 10.1 for now, but the device-maker has said before that it plans to launch a 4G LTE-ready version later this year. The Note 10.1 will also update with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean later this year.
  Units go on sale August 16 from BestBuy, Office Depot, Amazon, TigerDirect, and H.H. Gregg.
  In addition to its productive and creative proclivities, theGalaxy Note 10.1 has gathered top specs. Samsung's latest flagship tablet runsAndroid 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and features the company's own quad-core Exynos processor. It also has a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera, and a front-facing camera for video chats.
  How does it compare to the iPad? Is the high price tag worth it? Check out CNET's full, thorough Galaxy Note 10.1 review for more details on the features you care about most.
  Does the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1's stylus pen make it a game changer?
Al-Qaeda's 'suicide bombers wanted' ad | The Times of Israel
  Link to Article
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 15:18
  Apparently low on bombers, al-Qaeda is running a (short-term) employment advertisement on its Shumukh al-Islam Internet forum. Under the heading ''Area of activity: The planet Earth,'' the ad seeks jihadists to carry out suicide attacks.
  Applicants must be Muslim, mentally mature, dedicated, able to listen, and utterly committed to completing their mission, the Hebrew daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Tuesday.
  Several email addresses are provided for applicants. While their real names are not required, candidates are asked to send details of their nickname or handle, their age, marital status, languages spoken and a list of passports in their possession.
  The ad on the forum, which is accessible only to al-Qaeda members, specifies the targets of the terror attacks that applicants will be expected to carry out, including ''People who fight Islam and Muslims'' and enemy ''financial, military and media targets.''
  The ad indicates that the anticipated attacks will be solo operations: ''Only one person will be in charge. He will gather all of the intelligence, he will prepare the operation '-- and he will complete the attack.'' However, it continues, ''a military panel'' will oversee the bomber's training and select the target.
  The job description promises only a ''very slight chance of being caught.''
  The ad has elicited several positive responses, the Yedioth article claimed. One forum participant requested that Germany, Denmark and Sweden be specified as potential targets. The same participant warned the forum to be very careful about what it publishes, for fear that the enemy may see what the group is planning.
BreakingNews: State of emergency declared in Dallas, Texas, over West Nile virus; 10 people killed in Dallas County - @dallasnews http://t.co/69YD05P9
  Link to Article
  Source: Twitter / BreakingNews
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 14:58
  Mayor Mike Rawlings has declared a state of emergency in Dallas over the spread of West Nile virus. He also requested that Dallas County and the state provide aerial pesticide spraying in the city to control mosquitoes that spread the virus.
  The virus has claimed 10 lives in Dallas County. Five of those were Dallas residents. Many of those who died were in frail health and had underlying medical conditions.
  ''I think this is the right thing to do. I cannot have any more deaths on my conscience because we didn't take action,'' Rawlings said.
  The city has seen 111 reported infections that caused 65 hospitalizations. The majority of reported cases have been the more serious neuro-invasive strain of the virus.
  Rawlings said that 25 percent of all West Nile virus cases reported in the country have been in Dallas County.
  Aerial spraying remains extremely controversial. Opponents say harm from the spray is far more serious than the risk of West Nile infection.
  City Manager Mary Suhm said spraying could begin as soon as Thursday. The state will determine the spraying schedule.
  Developing'...
  Rawlings West Nile Emergency Declaration
Devo to unleash song about Mitt Romney's dog | Music
  Link to Article
  Source: Culture | guardian.co.uk
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 15:08
  Ruff ride '... Devo take aim at Mitt Romney. Photograph: Mother
  Devo's next song is about Mitt Romney's dog. The American new wave band are putting an Irish setter front and centre on Don't Roof Rack Me, Bro! (Remember Seamus), which takes fire at the Republican presidential candidate.
  Twenty-nine years ago Romney took his family on a 12-hour road trip from Boston to Ontario, strapping the family dog to a kennel on their car roof. As the Chevrolet station wagon barrelled down the highway, Seamus clung on for dear life; even after the dog suffered a diarrhoea attack, Romney just sprayed everything down and continued with the journey.
  Although Seamus may not be at the forefront of Romney's election battle against Barack Obama, Devo have not forgotten him. On Tuesday the band announced their next single, due 25 August, with cover art depicting Romney behind the wheel and a terrified dog on the roof
  The song is part of a campaign by Gerald V Casale, one of Devo's founders. Remember Seamus proposes to "make 2012 the year where animals like Seamus are valued and honesty is praised". The group has rallied behind Dogs Against Romney, a Facebook page with more than 70,000 fans, and Casale has also contributed to a forthcoming video game, The Crate Escape: Seamus Unleashed, which is due on 26 August '' National Dog Day in the US.
  As for Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts insists that Seamus enjoyed being on the car roof. "The dog loved it," said his wife, Ann Romney, in April. "He would see that crate and, you know, he would, like, go crazy because he was going with us on vacation. It was to me a kinder thing to bring him along than to leave him in the kennel for two weeks."
Where in the World is Hillary? Nine Days with the Most Traveled Secretary of State in History
  Link to Article
  Source: @adamcurry - Twitter Search
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 15:03
  By KEVIN DOYLE from Conde Nast Traveler
  ONE COULD BE FORGIVEN FOR THINKING that there's little left to reveal about Hillary Rodham Clinton. Since she first moved into the White House and onto the world stage nearly twenty years ago, her every public utterance and action (and supposedly many private ones), along with details of her life ranging from the excruciatingly intimate to the numbingly mundane, have been recorded, disseminated, dissected, debated, fictionalized, and dramatized on celluloid. But even after living under the klieg-light scorch of media scrutiny as First Lady (eight years), senator (eight years), and now the sixty-seventh secretary of state (three years and counting), there's one very intimate detail that most people still don't know about Hillary Clinton, and which I shall divulge: She does not sweat. Literally. She does not even glow. No matter how high the heat, not a drop nor a drip nor a bead nor so much as the faintest glisten can be detected anywhere about her person.
  It's an improbable physical anomaly that was cited more than once (along with superhuman stamina, uncommon thoughtfulness, and a steel-trap mind) by longtime aides and members of the press corps whom I joined this spring on a nine-day, nineteen-thousand-mile breakneck trip following Clinton'--the most traveled secretary of state in history'--to China, Bangladesh, and India. It is also a trait that translates directly to metaphor, and which serves her powerfully in her duties as America's chief diplomat. This was abundantly clear to anyone who witnessed the trademark sangfroid she displayed in Beijing this past May, as she met with leading Chinese officials during one of the tensest diplomatic crises between the United States and China in memory.
  Read the rest (if you can stomach it)
MarketWatch (Wall Street Journal): Derde Wereldoorlog is begonnen
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  Source: ZapLog - externe links
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 15:02
  MarketWatch (Wall Street Journal): Derde Wereldoorlog is begonnen Maatschappij | Eindtijd & Profetie| 14 Augustus 2012 | 18:12:14MarketWatch (Wall Street Journal): Derde Wereldoorlog is begonnen
  'Ontkenners zullen spoedig worden opgeschrikt door totale oorlog om voedsel-, water- en energievoorraden'
  Nog nooit eerder werd het menselijk ras in zijn voortbestaan bedreigd door een chronisch tekort aan... alles.
  Langzaam maar zeker begint nu ook in de gevestigde media her en der het besef door te dringen dat de wereld niet in een 'gewone' recessie is beland, maar in een complete systeemcrisis die een einde zal maken aan het leven zoals we dat tot nu toe hebben gekend. Neem bijvoorbeeld Paul Farrel, analist bij MarketWatch, onderdeel van de gezaghebbende Wall Street Journal. Farrel baarde een week geleden opzien toen hij ronduit constateerde dat de Derde Wereldoorlog feitelijk al begonnen is. Hij voorspelt dat de hele wereld rond 2020 letterlijk zal vechten om de laatste overgebleven voorraden olie, voedsel, grondstoffen en drinkwater.
  De Eerste Wereldoorlog, die aan 37 miljoen mensen het leven kostte,werd na afloop 'de oorlog die een einde maakte aan alle oorlogen'genoemd. Slechts 21 jaar later brak de volgende Wereldoorlog uit die 60miljoen slachtoffers eiste. Zal de Derde Wereldoorlog w(C)l een eindemaken aan alle oorlogen, misschien wel omdat onze hele beschaving enmogelijk zelfs onze hele planeet erdoor zal worden vernietigd?
  Totale oorlog om het menselijk overleven
  'Spoedig zullen we allemaal uit onze ontkenning wordenopgeschrikt,' aldus Farrell. 'Een wereldwijde wake-up call zal de 10jaar oude voorspelling van het Pentagon doen uitkomen en een oud patroonvan wanhopige, totale oorlogen over voedsel, water en energievoorradendoen opkomen... Oorlog om het menselijke (over)leven.'
  Het is de boodschap van het nieuwe, duistere boek 'De race om wat er nog over is: De wereldwijde wedloop om 's werelds laatste hulpbronnen', geschreven door de internationale veiligheidsexpert Michael Klare.Ongeveer 10 jaar geleden, zo rond dezelfde tijd als de voorspelling vanhet Pentagon, schreef Klare in zijn klassieker 'Hulpbron oorlogen: Hetnieuwe landschap van wereldwijde conflicten' reeds dat hij hoopte dat dewereld niet zal eindigen in massale hongersnoden en een totale oorlogom de laatste overgebleven middelen om te kunnen overleven.
  'Samenzwering superrijke narcisten'
  Volgens Klare kan de afhankelijkheid van wereld van olie niet in (C)(C)n klap kan worden verminderd. Het vrije markt kapitalisme bestaat niet meer en is verworden tot eenanarchie die wordt gecontroleerd door een 'bizarre samenzwering vansuperrijke narcisten'. 'En ongeacht hoe vaak bedrijfs- enoverheidsofficials het ook willen ontkennen, er zijn bij lange na nietvoldoende niet-hernieuwbare bronnen op deze planeet om blijvend aan de groeiende behoeften van een exploderende wereldbevolking te kunnen voldoen.'
  Machten bereiden zich reeds voor op WO-3
  We bevinden ons dus in een schijnbaar onstuitbare race naarde Derde Wereldoorlog die ook wel de 'grote grondstoffenoorlog' kanworden genoemd. De wereldmachten bereiden zich nu al voor op deze oorlog door hulpbronnen in te slaan en zich massaal te bewapenen.
  Zowelde politieke en financile leiders als het grootste deel van dewereldbevolking leven echter nog steeds in pure ontkenning. 'De wereldstaat op de rand van een ongekende crisis die wordt veroorzaakt door hetuitputten van hulpbronnen,' waarschuwt Klare. 'Dit gaat verder danenkel olie en omvat ook kolen, uranium, koper, lithium, water enlandbouwgrond. Nu alle makkelijk toegankelijke voorraden raken uitgeputis er een wanhopige jacht ontstaan op hulpbronnen in gebieden dievoorheen als te afgelegen of te gevaarlijk werden beschouwd.'Zelfzuchtige greep naar schaarse bronnenEen duidelijk voorbeeld is de Noordpool. In 2007 plantte Rusland zijn vlag op zo'n 4 kilometer onder de ijskap. Dit had niets met nationale trots te maken maar alles met deinternationale wedloop om de controle over de enorme olie-, gas- enmineraalvoorraden die onder de Noordpool zijn te vinden. 'Als wanhopigebananenrepubliek dictators doen alle grote spelers zelfzuchtig een greepnaar de schaarse grondstoffen. De hele wereld wedijvert om een aandeelin het weinige dat er nog is, totdat er niets meer over is en wewegzinken in anarchie.'
  Peak everything
  In de ogen van Klare is de huidige crisis niet te vergelijkenmet eerdere wereldcrises. Nooit eerder stond het voortbestaan van dehele mensheid op het spel vanwege de uitputting van natuurlijkehulpbronnen en grondstofvoorraden. De sterk groeiende wereldbevolking ende toenemende welvaart in landen zoals China en India zal de vraag naargrondstoffen fors verhogen, terwijl deze juist aan het opraken zijn. Er komt dan ook niet alleen een 'peak oil', maar een 'peak everything': een gebrek aan alles.
  Wereld leeft nog steeds in ontkenning, totdat het te laat is
  Omdat vrijwel iedereen - van 'laag' tot 'hoog'- nog steeds inontkenning leeft is het volgens Klare bijna te laat om grote oorlogen,pandemien, wereldwijde hongersnood en torenhoge prijzen voorbasisvoorzieningen zoals voedsel en drinkwater nog te voorkomen. PaulFarrells conclusie: 'Of je nu een klimaatontkennende kapitalist oflinkse milieuactivist bent, iedereen moet Michael Klare's nieuwe boek'De race om wat er nog over is: De wereldwijde wedloop om 's wereldslaatste hulpbronnen' lezen. Of zoals ik het zelf liever noem: 'Hetnieuwe Tijdperk van Uitputting, Bezuinigingen en Instorting', of 'WO-3:De grote grondstoffenoorlogen die een eind zullen maken aan alleoorlogen.' (1)
  Xander
  (1) Market WatchDat worden binnenkort Mad Max scenario''s
  Het beste is voorr dat die tijd begint de grote steden te verlaten en er zo ver mogelijk vandaan te blijven.
  De natuur heeft bijna alles om te overleven.
  Hou de bewegingen van Bea Bilderberg en aanhang in de gaten, wanneer zij vertrekken dan weten we genoeg.
  Ook extreem veel vlieg verkeer, die in grote of kleine formaties zelfde kant opvliegen duiden er op dat er iets gaande is. Dit is te zien bij helder weer aan heel veel witte condensstrepen vlak naast elkaar.
  Waarom zwijgt het CDA, de CU en ook de SGP over de christenvervolging in de sharia landen?
  De enige die nog weet hoe de vork in de steel is die man die niemand pruimt, want hij spreekt de waarheid.
  Daarom ga ik dit keer op een partij stemmen die "politiek niet correct" is.
  Om een duidelijk signaal af te geven!!!
  Toen ik las dat deze meneer bij het Pentagon had gewerkt, kreeg ik al de kriebels, want alle machthebbers, instanties en overheden werken immers samen en construeren dit alles bewust wat er nu en in de toekomst gebeurt.
  Zoals semper paratus hierboven ook al schreef: ga de natuur in, daar vind je alles wat nodig is om te overleven.
  Cathalijn kopieer de link van het artikel en stuur deze naar alle partijen die in het Kunduz regiem zitten.
  Als we dat massaal doen dan loopt de emailbox vanzelf vol en gaat men de artikelen eens lezen, misschien dat hen dan de ogen open gaan. Zoniet dan zijn ze straks vanzelf wel aan de beurt en wordt er hadr afgerekend met deze kliek.
  Nog even vergeten, en altijd lekker warm, 28 - 30 graden hele jaar door. Met 50 kg rijst pp kom je een heel end. Re:
  Zoals ik al eerder zei: Curacao biedt alles. Visje op z'n tijd, banaantje, papaya.....nog gezond ook. .
  Ja..en 10.000 negers die jouw als blanke komen villen als het echt mis gaat.
  Eigenlijk had ik dit in de jaren 80 van de vorige eeuw al verwacht.Door politiek economies "beleid" van de afgelopen 40 jaar zijn de kansen op een goede vreedzame oplossing erg klein geworden.Ik vind dat je dit niet alleen kunt ophangen aan een samenzwering van superrijken.
  Overdreven !!!!!
  Nederland is heel goed om voor zichzelf te voorzien van alles.
  Het ijsselmeer is een enorme waterbekken.
  De landerijen zijn giga groot om ons te voorzien van granen.
  Energie hebben we ook genoeg wind water en kernenergie.
  Kortom we zullen een stapje terug moeten maar overleven doen we zeker.
  hier komt de geforceerde groei van de noordelijke landen van de EU. we verkopen onze grondstoffen aan azie en rusland en Amerika. Staat goed 0.2 % groei. Dit is natuurlijk ook nodig om de bevolking de belasting voor de zuidelijke landen uit te leggen. En de grote crash voor te bereiden. alles uit de koker van de NWO. De nog steeds plannende nazipartij. met behulp van de farmaceuten. Kijk hier voor aar een naar deze alles verheldrende uitleg vanDr. Rath - EU Politiek Perspectief
  en deze
  Groet en laten wij de wereld proberen te verbeteren en dan toch maar bij ons zelf gaan beginnen.
  Mensen allemaal,
  Roept het kwaad niet op jullie af.
  We gaan toch niet in paniek raken nu?
  Ga toch geen spoken zien.
  Er is genoeg landbouw in Nederland om ons allemaal te voorzien van eten.
  Ben zelf het goede voorbeeld van hoe het wel moet.
  We gaan net zo als vroeger weer allemaal bij de boer of bakker werken.
  We gaan geen onderlinge ruzie meer maken ongeacht het geloof wat iemand heeft.
  Iedereen wil toch eten?
  Laten we elkaar dan helpen zonder jalouzie.
  En breng geen stem meer uit naar charlatans die er alleen maar zitten om hun hoge salarissen.
  Ze bakken er niets van.
  De enige die er wat van bakt is de bakker.
  Je hoeft geen doemdenker te zijn om bang te worden; als WO II nog niet begonnen is komt hij toch wel heel dichtbij: het verzamelen van Russische en Chinese militaire macht in het midden oosten, de Amerikanen die de extreemste moslims aan de macht brengen en daardoor Isral bedreigen; de oorlogstaal van en tegen Iran; het ziet er naar uit dat de Amerikanen een totale oorlog in het midden oosten willen, waarschijnlijk om de uiteindelijke macht over de olie te krijgen. Als je daarbij betrekt de wereldwijde financile crisis dan denk ik dat het zo gek nog niet is om op het ergste voorbereid te zijn. Ik koop helemaal niks. Moet ik nog iemand zijn/haar bankrekening gaan vullen voordat ik apegapen lig ?Mooi dat ik de hele mensheid uit mag zien sterven.Opgeruimd staat netjes.Worden we het niet eens ?Dan is daar ons graf.Ik ben misschien niet de makkelijkste maar ik hou niet van moeilijk.Veel geld is aan mij ook niet besteed, maar deze wereld is te ver door geschoten.De gekte regeert en inderdaad de narcisten.Ze komen overal mee weg.Ik heb het helemaal gehad met deze planeet.Deze leidt nog maar naar 1 ding en dat is de totale ondergang.Toen ik 20 was geloofde ik nog wel dat het goed ging komen.Toen ik 30 werd zag ik weinig veranderen.En toen ik 40 werd zag ik het somber in.Toen ik 50 werd heb ik de moed opgegeven.Wat slecht is en nutteloos moet verdwijnen.Ik ben er al aan het wennen.Iedereen wacht een wrede doet.Het goede voorbeeld geven is helemaal niet meer aan de orde.Tevreden zijn met een klein beetje is er totaal nog niet bij.Sanne, vergeet het maar.Straks is er niks meer.De olielanden zullen bedreigd worden.Amerika heeft zelf olie, maar ze hebben nog handlangers die ze ook graag helpen.En als Amerika er niet meer is hebben we toch een probleempje.Overigens heeft Amerika veel steken laten vallen.We zullen nooit de waarheid weten.Maar ik aanbid die wel.Leef zonder leugen. Het kan.Je moet alleen maar willen en je best doen. Meer kun je niet doen.Meer wordt er ook niet verlangt.Het is een triest zooitje hier.Een kwestie van veel verkeerde keuzes.Met geweld bereik je niks.Alleen met liefde kun je wat bereiken.Echter dat ontbreekt op deze planeet.Zoveel haat en zo'n vergelding. Waterman ?Het ergste is de dood.Of geloof je niet in een beter hiernamaals ? ;-)Ik weet zeker dat ik onsterfelijk ben.Ergens hebben die oorlogen nog wel nut.Zou het echt allemaal voor niks geweest zijn ?Waar zijn al die oude beschavingen gebleven ?Hebben die ook zichzelf vernietigd door oorlog.Overigens is er niks mis met anarchie.De wereld is nog lang niet te besturen vanaf 1 plek door 1 man of vrouw.Dat moet je ook niet willen.Vroeger was er heel veel anarchie, maar aan een min of meer centrale besturing, nee geen regering, is niet meer aan te ontkomen.De stammen kunnen niet meer uitbreiden en we moeten alles eerlijk gaan delen.Dan kunnen we nog makkelijk groeien.Maar met diktators ofwel narcisten wordt het nooit wat.Dat weet ik al zo lang.Ik maak mij af voor het einde der tijden.Niet door een stukje rots uit de ruimte.Das ook weer zo'n verhaal dat door de NWO in de ruimte is geslingerd.Maar de NWO krijgt het ook niet voor elkaar met geweld.Afpersing moet ik eerder zeggen.De elite betaalt geen cent belasting.Ze hebben gefaald en met leugens de meeste mensen om de tuin geleid.Je kon het zien aankomen.Het is nu de laatste minuut voor 12.Ik reken er niet meer op dat het goed komt.Ik ben een getuige. Een vrij stille getuige. @ FantoomPARadox ,
  alleen met liefde kun je wat bereiken.
  Liefde overwint altijd het kwade als je maar blijft volhouden tot het bittere einde.
  Is er nog genoeg liefde in jou?
  Gebruik deze dan en ben deel van deze aarde om deze samen met zoveel anderen die ook veel liefde in zich hebben te veranderen
  Waterman, ik kan alleen maar liefde ZIJN en uitstralen.Er is overal een reden voor.Ze kunnen deze planeet aan de oppervlak vernietigen, maar niet al het leven.Leven is onuitroeibaar.Misschien kom ik terug in een andere gedaante.Uiteindelijk zal de liefde alles inderdaad overwinnen.Als je de geschiedenis bekijkt zit er weinig verandering in.Teveel wapens en te krachtig.Liefde kan het enige echte wapen zijn.En er gaat niks verloren. FantoomPARadox
  En waar denk je dat die liefde vandaan komt wat in je zit?
  Wij mensen hebben allen een iets gemeen.
  Wij hebben (C)(C)n Schepper.
  Pas als wij ook eens aan Hem gaan denken en onze dank aan Hem uit durven te spreken komt alles ook weer goed hier op aarde.
  Maar wel allemaal.
  Wat kan erger zijn dan te sterven? Ik zou het niet weten want iedereen moet een keer dood. Alleen degenen die niet kunnen loslaten hebben het zwaar maar dat is dan ook hun eigen keus. Helemaal waar. We raken in een alarmerend tempo door onze grondstoffen heen. We gaan echt ten gronde aan het grootste kwaad in de wereldgeschiedenis: Overbevolking. De meeste politici weten dit maar zwijgen. Overbevolkingsproblematiek is een onverkoopbaar thema. De natuur regelt zichzelf. Als je teveel hamsters in een kleine doos stopt vreten ze elkaar ook op. Ik ben een nuchter mens maar zie met grote interesse de apocalyps voltrekken. Geen meteoriet of omkering van de polen maar wijzelf zijn de "killers"
  Op martelingen ofzo zit ik niet te wachten. Een hongerdood is ook niet echt prettig. Opgevreten door parasieten lijkt me ook niet zo leuk. Het ergste is als je hier weer terug moet komen. Volgens mij is dit een hel. Volgens een schrijver zijn er wel hellen, maar geen echte hel. Maar ik vind dit al een hel. Soms kan het een paradijs lijken. Maar die heeft na de vorige grote oorlog niet lang geduurd.Nee, dit zou nooit gebeuren.Volgens deze schrijver komt er nooit meer zo'n grote oorlog en gaan we ook niet massaal dood.Ik heb daar zo mijn twijfels over. man man man man wat doen jullie allen ontzettend wanhopig en negatief.Hebben jullie niet door dat dit doemdenkerij is. Kijk eens naarverschillende analyses en voorspellingen die de afgelopen jaren gedaanzijn door verschillende zogenaamde "experts" Dan wordt het als snelduidelijk dat de voorspellingen simpelweg niet uitkomen. Ok dat hetminder is gegaan de afgelopen jaren klopt, maar het wordt allemaal veelerger voorspelt dan dat in werkelijkheid gebeurt. Laat je niet bangmaken, of willen jullie juist dat de boel instort, met dat gepreek ? Ja,het gaat economisch wat slechter, ja de werkloosheid stijgt en daargaat een hoop ellende mee gepaard, maar dat betekend niet het einde vande wereld. Heb een beetje vertrouwen, en toon eens wat karakter, ga watgoeds doen ! in plaats van de boel de put in te praten.
  Densi, overbevolking hoeft geen probleem te zijn.Maar politici lopen al gauw 10 tot 100 jaar achter.Natuurlijk wisten ze dit wel.Echter heb je nog veel met ego¯sme te maken en andere landen zijn ook een probleem.Dat Kyoto en zo is leuk.Maar als de grootste landen tegen werken dan houdt het op.Klimaathoax.Althans niet zo zeer door toedoen van de mens.Ik denk dat we hier makkelijk 10 miljard mensen kunnen herbergen.Ik denk niet dat we weten hoeveel van elke soort er rondloopt of rondvliegt.Veel land wordt niet gebruikt.Probleem is wel dat deze meeste landen onbewoonbaar lijken door de extreme hitte.Dus zonder airco wordt het daar niks.Maar je kunt aardig de hoogte in.We hoeven niet allemaal een tuintje te hebben ter grootte van een kompleet bos.Ik heb nu een tuintje, maar het had niet gehoeven.Heb totaal geen groene vingers.De natuur moet je zoveel mogelijk zelf laten doen.Maar ook hier heeft de mens te veel ingegrepen.Kappen van teveel bos.Dag zuurstof e.d.We hebben 1 eeuw nog kunnen doen om de grootste problemen voor te zijn.Maar men moest oorlog voeren.Als men het geld beter had besteed.Nee, koopt men zich weer in in zo'n mislukt vliegtuig projekt waar je geen hol aan hebt.Das echt allemaal weg gegooid geld geweest.Geld moet wel rollen.Men is vergeten te investeren in de toekomst en in voedsel ... en natuur.Oh, de natuur hebben we niet nodig.Belastingen zullen ons ook de nekslag geven, want je betaalt straks al je inkomsten, als je die nog hebt, aan belastingen.Werk was belangrijk, maar dat is nu allemaal naar de 3de wereld die daar winst in zag.Opkomende ekonomien.Of ze het winnen weet ik niet.Ik denk niet dat er straks winnaars zijn.De politiek maakt zich iedere druk over de kinderen van de toekomst.Hoeven ze zich geen zorgen meer over te maken.Slecht argument ook.Hadden we al zo BEWUST geleefd was er nou niet veel aan de hand.Investeren in recyclen.Dat wat we nu doen is vrijwel niks en veels te laat en te weinig.Als ik denk aan die plastic afvalberg op de stille oceaan kan ik me ontzettend kwaad maken.Lekker goedkoop.Politici denken nooit vooruit.Daarom stem ik ook niet meer.Mijn vrouw ook niet.Je hoeft van de politiek echt niks meer te verwachten.Nog steeds die strijd over de JSF.Geldverslindende projekten die niks opleveren.Want het gaat slecht met de werkloosheid.En de ekonomie is niet heilig voor mij.Mag best allemaal soberder. Een zwaluw in dew lucht maakt nog geen mooi weer!!!!!
  Als in Amerika er een droogte heerst wil niet zeggen dat er ergens anders het zelfde geld.... Dat de prijs van granen omhoog gaat is niet van een tekort maar meer de speculanten die het bericht misbruiken....
  Tarwe te koop en ingeblikte mais. De hoogste bieder mag ze hebben.....
  Met de groeten van Max....
  Anoniempje jouw preek heb ik zo vaak gehoord.Positief denken.Ik was NA�EF !Dit heeft niks met doemdenken te maken.Zodra je een kanttekening maakt word je afgemaakt en voor leugenaar uitgemaakt.De aarde is verkracht !Snap je dat dan niet ?We hebben onze eigen graf gegraven.Ik kon vroeger genieten van SF films en boeken.Maar ik weet nu dat het een illusie is.We staan al decennia stil.We hebben de zwaartekracht nog niet overwonnen.Het schiet helemaal niet meer op.De mensheid heeft wel de vreselijkste wapens gemaakt.Ja, er was een dag dat ik geloofde dat er nog iets goeds uit voor kwam.Komputers ?Maar helaas.Zoals ik al zei: ik was na¯ef.Om al die verhalen te geloven van positieve mensen.Er is een punt dat het niet meer omgedraaid kan worden.Zoveel leugens.We moeten meer uitgeven om de ekonomie te redden ?Er komt een punt dat er geen groei is.Maar omdat een paar mensen nog steeds grote winsten wil behalen hebben ze woekerpolissen e.d. gekreerd.Derivaten.Moet ik nog verder gaan ?En ze hebben anderen overtuigd dat het allemaal goed was.Enig idee wat er in Zuid Europa gaande is ?Ga er maar eens kijken.Niet alleen lezen.Het is veel erger dan je hier leest.Het is een nieuwe globale genocide.Dus wordt wakker en open je ogen.Niemand geloofde dat er iemand was als Hitler.Past natuurlijk ook niet in positief denken.Niemand kan zo slecht zijn.Het bloed van de ene oorlog is nog weg of de volgende bloedingen stromen alweer rijkelijk over de aarde.En men is er nog trots op ook.Zoals Putin.Nog nooit heeft iemand van Rusland gewonnen. Nog nooit is Rusland bezet geweest.De meeste dromen zijn bedrog. Dat de prijs van granen omhoog gaat is niet van een tekort maar meer de speculanten die het bericht misbruiken....
  Top iq
  Precies,
  er is geen tekort, er is een overschot, die ene droogte in amerika zorgt niet voor de prijzen omhoog, dat zijn de verkopers die er gebruik van maken
  Check eens de documentaire " A crude Awakening, the oil crash" You tube.....good luck..Jaring Beste fantoomparadox, dat anonieme bericht kwam van mij. Begrijp me niet verkeerd ik probeer de boel niet te verbloemen of iets dergelijke, ik ben iedere dag op zoek naar onder ander kritisch economisch nieuws, voorspellingen en analyses. Ook ben ik mij bewust van de beestachtige natuur van de mens en de destructieve krachten die we hebben en alle corruptie en oorlogen in de wereld. Als de omstandigheden daar zijn kunnen er de meest vreselijke dingen gebeuren.
  Maar lees bijvoorbeeld berichten van die Gerald Celente, of het Leap of andere denktanks, de voorspellingen die ze in 2009, 2010, 2011 of ga nog verder terug in de tijd, de voorspellingen van de club van Rome, kijk ook meteen wat voor geweldige postapocalyptische films er destijds uitkwamen, de mooie doemverhalen van deze mensen ze komen gewoon niet uit, je moet je dan ook gaan af vragen hoe serieus je deze voorspellingen kunt nemen ik ben er ook van overtuigd dat het de komende jaren zeker slechter gaat worden, de economische cijfers zeggen het, sinds 2008 leven we in een zombie economie, alleen ze vinden altijd wel weer manieren om de boel zo lang mogelijk draaiende te houden. Wanneer je boeken leest over de complexiteit van het systeem waar we in leven kom je er ook achter dat de basis infrastructuren:gas,water,elektra,voeding,telecom niet zo maar komen te vervallen. Het is eerder de droom van het oneindige consumeren en ons hoge inkomens die dreigt te vervallen, een herbalansering tussen verschillende wereld delen, een groei van het welvaartsniveau in Azie en een krimp in het westen wegens het massale ontschulden waar we de komende jaren mee te maken krijgen, maar dit betekend zeker niet het einde van de wereld. Voor zo lang ik me kan herinneren is er al onrust in het midden oosten, nou dan komt er een oorlog met Iran, Iran is geen supermacht hoor. Je moet niet 1 kant kiezen, het gaat er juist om dat je meerdere visies bekijkt het gaat niet om positief of negatief zijn maar om realistisch zijn. Ik ben al ontwaakt uit de droom, maar bij mij is het verval van de droom niet opgevuld met wanhoop en doemdenkerij, de pijn die komt nemen en doorgaan, over een aantal jaar is de lucht nog steeds blauw en je huis zal er ook nog staan, met een beetje mazzel heb je je baan ook nog :p
  Over Zuid-Europa, ga eens onderzoek doen naar de werkloosheid van Spanje in de jaren 90, over de staatsschulden toen der tijd. En kijk ook eens naar hoe vaak Griekenland wel niet failliet is geweest. Dit is niet de eerste keer dat de zuid Europese landen er zo voor stonden het is hun manier van politiek bedrijven het probleem is wij zitten er ook mee opgescheept :p . Er is inderdaad veel geweld en er zijn protesten in Zuid-Europa, logisch als men wakker wordt, ook racisme en antisemitisme groeit in dit soort situaties, maar dat betekend niet het einde van de wereld. Als je kijkt naar de euro koers dan zie je dat deze steeds lager wordt. En dat is niet perse erg, dat betekend dat er weer meer geexporteerd gaat worden, wat weer zorgt voor meer werkgelegenheid. Onze lonen gaan zo meteen omlaag en onze koopkracht achteruit zodat we weer concurrerend worden. De analisten proberen je te laten panikeren, en overheden proberen de zaak te verbloemen.
  Wordt wakker uit de droom maar ook uit de nachtmerrie !
  Wat bedoel je met de globale genocide ?
  Ik maak me niet druk om scenario's. Er zijn al zoveel scenario's in de afgelopen veertig jaar. De superkapitalisten zijn inderdaad narcisten. Wat ze echter totaal geen rekening meehouden, is het hiernamaals. Ze belanden in de allerverschrikkelijkste plek waar ook de rijke man voor altijd zit. De rijke man is degene die de arme Lazarus aan zijn eigen lot overliet. Ze kunnen hun aardse bezittingen niet meenemen als ze komen te overlijden. Denken ze over de hele wereld te kunnen heersen, als de kernoorlog achter de rug gaat!? Maar mijn vraag aan hen: wie zorgt voor schone drinkwater? Iemand moet zorgen voor de zuiveringsinstallatie waarmee drinkwater gezuiverd kan worden. Denken de kapitalisten er goed over na dat het drinkwater radioactief besmet is en niet meer te drinken is!? Wie zorgt voor riolering? Wie begraaft ontelbare lijken die overal in verwoeste steden en op het platteland liggen? De vogels soms? Maar de vogels zijn ook door het verzengende vuur gedecimeerd. De doden die niet begraven zijn, liggen te rotten waardoor z(C)(C)r besmettelijke ziekten kunnen uitbreken. Ook bossen en regenwouden zijn gedecimeerd door het verzengende vuur van de ontplofde atoombommen. Wie plant de verwoeste natuurgebieden? Wie bouwt de verwoeste steden? Al de infrastructuur is totaal ingestort. Er is geen systeem meer. De overlevenden moeten ook vechten om z(C)(C)r schaarse voedsel en water. Ze vallen terug in het stenen tijdperk. Als voedsel niet te vinden is, vervallen de overlevenden terug in kannibalisme. Vergeet het maar!! Dat is mijn eigen scenario dat ik aan de nietswaardige, domme en machtswellustige kapitalisten voorleg!!! Mijn boodschap aan hen: Denk er goed na over de verschrikkelijke gevolgen van de kernoorlog. Tja wat staat geschreven in onze heilige boek ook wel bijbel genoemd gebeurt gewoon en velen slapen nog steeds.Lees de bijbel en wordt wakker zowel de gelovige die slapen als de blinde ongelovige.Aanrader boek openbaring SSSSSSSspannend.
  Met een beetje mazzel heb ik weer en baan, ja. Nou, ik vrees het ergste met mijn lagere school.Ik ben de eerste die zogenaamd last heeft van een krisis.Ook al weet ik dat sommige mensen er al beroerder bij zitten.Ik heb mijn horizon aardig verbreed.Wat erbij niet in gaat is dat financile gedeelte.Goldman Sachs heeft er ook op los gespekuleerd.Ik geloof zonder meer dat dit waar is.Iemand heeft aan die ellende verdiend.Nog steeds maak ik me druk om bepaalde dingen.Hoe kan dit in vredesnaam nog bestaan en voort woekeren.Maar ik denk dat je juist kalm moet blijven.Echt veel verandert er niet.Ik ben blij dat ik niet mee ben gegaan met dat financile gedoe.Slecht betaalde baantjes die alleen maar toeslagen e.d. oplevert.Het is toch te belachelijk voor woorden dat je anno 2012 afhankelijk bent gemaakt van de belastingdienst, terwijl ik een enorme hekel heb aan belastingen.Als daar dan nog een vent als Rutte bijkomt heb ik het helemaal gehad.Wetende dat de belasting druk alleen maar hoger wordt.Toevallig vind ik brood erg lekker.Je kunt mij er wel dood mee gooien.Hoe het komt maakt ook niet erg uit, maar als dat te duur wordt.Veel dingen laten we nu al liggen in de winkel.Fruit is onbetaalbaar geworden.Veel groenten eigenlijk ook.De kwaliteit is ook al lang niet zo goed meer. Of lekker.Er zijn zoveel dingen die niet (meer) kloppen.Wat betreft Iran en Syri.Hetzelfde verhaal als met Libi.De elite doet zulke rare dingen.Waarom worden arbeiders nog steeds uitgebuit ?Ook India en China hebben last van de krisis. China beschuldigt andere landen van wat ze zelf doen.Op geraffineerde wijze dumpen ze hun zooi, want alles kan en mag daar, op onze markten.Ze ondermijnen onze vooruitgang en werpen die gewoon weer terug naar 1 eeuw geleden.Waarom wordt de gezondheidszorg onbetaalbaar ?Ik zou zeggen alleen nog maar omdat de top zoveel winst wil hebben en de kwaliteit alleen nog maar omlaag kan maar hun nog wel steeds meer gaan verdienen.En de politiek plundert gewoon lekker mee omdat ze er zelf voordeel aan hebben.We weten wat er in Rusland gaande is.Die Putin trekt daar goed aan de touwtjes en iedereen die kritiek heeft verdwijnt achter slot en grendel.Geen onvertogen woord of je leven wordt verzuurd.Waarom zit Mugabe nog steeds wel op zijn troon ?Konden de Belgen een genocide in Rwanda ontketenen ?Opkomende ekenomien vallen net zo hard terug als dat ze opgekomen zijn.De BRIC landen menen nu ook een enorme vinger in de pap te hebben.Ze willen de recessie helemaal niet beindigen.Er wordt wederom fors aan verdiend.Als je leest dat Spanje een rekord bedrag wil lenen van de ECB.Waar haalt die het geld vandaan ?Uit jouw kontzak zeker ? ;-)Het is allemaal door gestoken kaart.Je helpt hier niet echt mensen mee.Je helpt ze om zeep.Miljoenen mensenlevens worden kapot gemaakt.Kijk eens naar die verkiezingen in Amerika.Dat is toch mensonterend ?De mensheid is zijn eigen grootste vijand. Wat doen we...gaan wij in de angst of gaan wij in het vertrouwen staan ?
  Ik-zelf, doe het laatste...ik blijf geloven in God's bescherming.
  Ik denk niet dat dit over angst of paniek zaaien gaat.Maar meer waarschuwen: wees voorbereid. Ik hoop inderdaad ook voor je dat je weer werk krijgt. Ik ga zo meteen afstuderen in Azie en ga daar dermate mijn best doen dat ik hoop dat ik daar een baan kan krijgen, want ik heb er ook weinig vertrouwen in de komende jaren. En inderdaad de macht en de hebberigheid van de bankiers hebben er voor gezorgd dat we met deze financiele ellende zitten, en er wordt inderdaad enorm veel verdiend op crisissen aangezien een dal heel snel gaat, en men kan short sellen, en een stijging eigenlijk heel langzaam gaat.(Goldman staat bekend als criminele bank doordat ze short gingen op AIG en om de schulden verdoezeling van Griekenland)
  Het zal waarschijnlijk ook nooit veranderen deze hebberigheid en je hebt nou eenmaal destructieve krachten in de wereld die jou kunnen beinvloeden maar het gaat er om wat kun jij betekenen voor je familie en vrienden. Hoe kun je je hier zo goed mogelijk door heen slaan.
  We hebben gewoon de afgelopen 30 jaar in een schijn welvaart geleefd gebaseerd op schulden, nu mogen we de rekening gaan betalen, en die is niet van de 1 op andere dag betaald dat gaat nog jaren duren.
  Ik verwacht persoonlijk niet dat de voedselprijzen zo hoog worden dat jij en ik geen brood kunnen betalen (dan moet het wel heel raar gaan), maar onze levensstandaard gaat waarschijnlijk behoorlijk naar benedenLees voor de gein het volgende artikel eens van keynes:http://www.panarchy.org/keynes/laissezfaire.1926.html
  En je zult begrijpen dat we soms vrij gelaten worden (deregulering) de ontwikkelingen die dat met zich mee brengt (computers) en de economische groei en hoe dat vervolgens tot een hebzucht lijdt die destructief is voor het systeem. Waardoor vervolgens de macht weer in handen komt te liggen van overheden en de vrije markt begint af te zwakken.Ik zie de Chinezen en Indiers als een soort van moderne slaven, die zich voor ons uit de pleuris werken zodat wij op een hoge standaard kunnen leven, ik denk dat dat zo meteen voorbij is.
  Dat geld van de ECB kom inderdaad uit jou en mijn kontzak :p Dit is geld wat gecreerd wordt en vervolgens zorgt voor inflatie, wat dus eigenlijk een soort van verborgen belasting is.Je hebt simpelweg goede en slechte mensen, helaas streven slechte mensen vaak naar macht ten koste van anderen. Waardoor ze vaak hoge posities kunnen bekleden. Sommige wetenschappers zeggen dat 10% van de leiders psychopatische trekjes heeft
  Overal worden genocides gepleegd Christian.Etnische zuiveringen.Het is niet iets van alleen deze tijd.Maar nu wel overal ter wereld.Vaak raken ze vergeten na een tijdje, omdat dan weer de volgende gebeurtenis z'n aandacht opeist.En misschien hoe meer je er op gaat letten.Maar nee, dat is het niet.Onderdrukking is nog altijd overal.Hebben we met de EU stabiliteit gebracht en meer zekerheid ?Als je de politici moet geloven wel, ja.Je betaalt wel meer belasting e.d.Ik heb niks aan de euro, want ik had sowieso al weinig geld om op vakantie te gaan laat staan naar het buitenland.Is het goedkoper geworden ?Nee, het heeft een enorme krisis veroorzaakt.Ook al komt dat misschien hoofdzakelijk door die rommelhypotheken uit Amerika.Ook hier in ons eigen land werd aardig gerommeld en nog steeds hakt men de knoop niet door.Wel tornen aan de huurtoeslag.Als dat wegvalt ben ik ook weg.Nee, ik heb niks te verkopen.De Grieken had men nooit moeten toe laten.Neem nu Turkije die nog steeds op de nominatie staat.Kan die zijn eigen broek ophouden ?Enig idee hoeveel subsidie, noem het allemaal maar zo, krijgt ?Daarom gaat het zo goed daar. Of ging.Er was geld te investeren in een dooie ekonomie.En zo gaat die kapitalistische ziekte maar door.Men is verslaafd aan geld geraakt.Het kon allemaal niet open.De geldsluizen naar Turkije staan nog steeds wagen wijd open volgens mij.Waar komt dat geld vandaan ?!?Ook weer derivaten ?Dus ongedekt.Om een ekonomie te laten blijven groeien moet je overkonsumeren ?Maar er komt een punt dat mensen of verzadigd raken of dat de burger armer wordt en in de financile problemen komt.De staatsschuld schijnt niks vergeleken met de priv(C)schuld te zijn.Zo raar lijkt me dat ook niet met al die ingewikkelde belastingen en zo.Dat is gewoon een enorme goede bron van inkomsten voor een staat.Belasting paradijs ? Nou, niet voor mij.Maak je de belastingen lager kunnen de mensen meer uitgeven.Zo werkt dat gewoon.Nee, gaan ze die weer verhogen.Tuurlijk hebben al die zuidelijke landen er altijd een potje van gemaakt.Vandaar dat zij de eerste klappen krijgen.Wat wil je als ze altijd geholpen zijn door de sterke landen.Ook nu kunnen die weer diep in de buidel tasten.En een EU heeft helemaal niks veranderd. Integendeel.De afbraak gaat des te sneller.Met de euro ging het 10 keer sneller.En sinds de invoering van de euro werd alles ook onbetaalbaar.Zogenaamd marktwerking.Maar ik vrees dat die idioot daar na 12 september nog steeds zit als premier.Dus verandert er niks.Daarom zeg ik: lekker zo doorgaan met pappen en nathouden.Hoe hou je mensen na¯ef ? Ik heb verder weinig met god, maar ik geloof nog steeds in de goedheid van de mens, en ik denk ook niet dat iedereen die aan de top van de wereld zit het slechtste met ons voor heeft.
  In China en India heb je ook al die smerige elite zitten. Dat kapitalistische kommunsme is ook zo dom. Veel miljardairs. Ik neem aan dat de groei en uitwassen daar veel harder gaan. Ze zullen op ons nivo komen.Onze levensstandaard was al niet meer te betalen dus moest het werk naar lage lonen landen.En dan te bedenken dat het hier nog het best is van heel Europa. Samen met een paar andere landen.Vandaar de Polen e.d.Das weer verleggen van het probleem en nieuwe problemen kreren.Hier moest je de lat nog hoger leggen om je levensstandaard te behouden.Dat gaat moeilijk als je tot de minima behoort.Je ouders geen geld hadden e.d. en zichzelf al te barste moesten werken.Ook al was dat later allebei als ambtenaar.Ik ben het zelf ook nog geweest in een ziekenhuis als renpaard zogezegd.Zegt allemaal niet zoveel.Trendvolger meer.En ook nog semi. Dat was het mooiste werk en een droombaantje.Maar finaal wegbezuinigd.Marktwerking zullen we maar zeggen.Nu komen er steeds meer mensen die al de eindjes aan elkaar moesten knopen en nog amper of niet meer het hoofd boven water kunnen houden.Hoe kun je die goedkope arbeiders in verre landen dan nog verkopen ?Voor wie is dat dan goed geweest ?Ook een handjevol groot verdieners.Konkurrentie in eigen land draaien ze makkelijk de nek om, terwijl ze zelf miljarden op hun rekening hebben staan.Als je die prijzen van die smartphones tegenwoordig ziet.Het is misschien wel beter, maar niet goedkoper geworden.10 jaar geleden bestonden ze niet of nauwelijks.Toch heb ik er nu ook eentje.En dan lees je dat ze maar 1 eurootje ofzo zijn als ze uit die fabriek Foxconn komen.Transport is weer een ander verhaal.Dat hadden ze nooit uit moeten vinden.Olie. Ook een ramp.Hadden we al lang zonder moeten kunnen.Maar de tegenwerking van andere bronnen.Ik kan geen zonnepanelen betalen.Ook niet met subsidie.En ga zo maar door.Succes in India ? ;-) Nee, Christian. Dat denk ik ook niet. Maar laat ik het er op houden dat de meesten aan de top een beetje de weg kwijt zijn. De meesten willen niet delen. Ik vind dat kompetitiegedoe veels te ver door geschoten. Mag niet over lijken gaan. ze gebruiken voedsel voor bio brandstof daarom kommen we straks te kort.
  Waar is jullie GELOOF? Bijvoorbeeld in deze machtige profetie van Jesaja: 5 Vreemden zullen gereed staan om voor u de kudden te weiden, vreemdelingen zullen uw akkerlieden en uw wijngaardeniers zijn; 6 maar gij zult priesters des Heren heten, dienaars van onze God genoemd worden; gij zult het vermogen der volken genieten en u op hun heerlijkheid beroemen. 7 In plaats van uw schande gewordt u dubbele vergoeding en in plaats van smaad zullen zij jubelen over hun deel; zo zullen zij dan in hun land dubbele vergoeding verkrijgen, blijvende vreugde zal hun geworden. 8 Want Ik, de Here, heb het recht lief. Ik haat onrechtmatige roof, Ik zal hun stipt hun loon geven en een eeuwig verbond met hen sluiten. 9 En hun nageslacht zal onder de volken vermaard zijn en hun nakomelingschap te midden der natien; allen die hen zien, zullen erkennen, dat zij het nageslacht zijn, dat de Here gezegend heeft.
  Waar is jullie GELOOF? Christenen? Doemdenkers? Hosea zegt het volgende: 1 Komt, laat ons wederkeren tot de Here! Want Hij heeft verscheurd, en zal ons helen; Hij heeft geslagen, en zal ons verbinden. 2 Hij zal ons na twee dagen doen herleven, ten derden dage zal Hij ons oprichten, en wij zullen leven voor zijn aangezicht. 3 Ja, wij willen de Here kennen, ernaar jagen Hem te kennen. Zo zeker als de dageraad is zijn opgang. Dan komt Hij tot ons als de regen, als de late regen, die het land besproeit. Xander,
  Het is misschien niet veel, maar nu het nog kan...
  Bedankt voor alle info de laatste jaren.
  Ik heb totaal geen zin om nog deel te nemen aan de eindeloze blogdiscussies.
  Maar van mijn bronnen weet ik wel dat we op weken/dagen van de eerst grote oorlog van de 21ste eeuw staan.
  Dus whatever je hebt altijd een voorloper geweest "charlie frost :)"
  Mijn dank daarvoor
  Het beste voor jou en je familie
  Dank voor uw waardering.
  Graag uw nickname vermelden.
  Mvg. Mod.
  Als Israel in Jezus Christus de Messias herkent zal het wonderen gaan regenen! Wonderen op alle gebied en op alle nivo. Want God laat Zijn Schepping niet vernietigen door de Boze. Dat zeg ik niet, dat zegt het Woord.
  Maar van mijn bronnen weet ik wel dat we op weken/dagen van de eerst grote oorlog van de 21ste eeuw staan.....wat zijn dan die bronnen? Ben reuze benieuwd vriend!
  22:13 klinkt als iemand die levensmoe is..dat is helemaal niet nodig hoor! Waar is ons GELOOF? Heeft de Here Jezus niet gezegd: 'Mij is gegeven alle macht in Hemel en op aarde? Nou dan!
  Aangepast.
  Zie aanwijzing hulpmod.
  Mod.
  @realist
  Sorry maar dat kan/mag ik niet vermelden.
  Maar er gaan er nog veel heeeel eigenaardig opkijken. Letterlijk.
  israel wacht anti christ dat woord hun mesias daar wachten ze al honderden jaaren op.
  Huh stelletje doemdenkers. Elkaar weer de put in aan et praten?Niks tegen Xander hoor (ik vindt het vaak erg interessant), maar laten we zeggen dat niet elke 'voorspelling' die hier in artikelen gepost wordt uitkomt.Ik kan me nog ergens een artikel herinneren over een man die zei dat de aliens zouden landen aan het einde van de Olympische Spelen... Nou ik weet niet wat jullie gezien hebben, maar ik heb de hele sluitingsceremonie gezien (wat een zonde van zoveel geld btw) maar ik heb geen ruimteschip of alien gezien! (niet dat ik verwachtte eigenlijk).Dus neem nou niet alles zo overdreven serieus... Die man die dat zogenaamd voorspeld ziet gewoon een goede kans om geld te verdienen door zo'n boek te schrijven en te verkopen.
  Beste Fantoonparadox,
  Mauritius, niet helemaal India maar er wonen wel veel mensen uit India. Ik probeer de hemel hier op aarde maar te creeren he :P Jij ook succes, en maar hopen dat ze niet zo dom zijn om al ons voedsel voor biobrandstof te gebruiken.
  De aanloop^naar WO3, was al begonnen in 1998, maar HET hoogtepunt van deze oorlog : de grote jihad, moet nu nog komen ...!!
  belastingtip 1:
  vraag alvast je belastingteruggave van 2012 aan...nu je er nog wat mee kan doen.
  als je wacht tot 2013 hebbe gij noppes.
  Realist , geen hoofdletters voor hele zinnen of afzonderlijke woorden, om te benadrukken kunt of vetgedrukt of schuin of onderstreept toepassen.
  Ben heel benieuwd hoe dit allemaal gaat lopen. Vooral ook hoe snel alles zal gaan. Ik ben bang dat vele ineens wakker worden en beseffen dat het te laat is............
  of de derde wereldoorlog al begonnen is weet ik niet, maar iig zijn ze hard op weg om de wereld in een ongekende chaos te storten
  Voedselprijzen rijzen de pan uit. Ben vanmiddag naar de winkel geweest.......mensen wat een prijzen zeg...........
  er is genoeg voor iedereen.we moeten met z,n allen zuiniger met onze energie voorraaden omgaan.betekent ook minder luxe,geen auto alleen als het moet,met de fiets kom je ook overal en is gezonder.enz enz....wat de werkloosheid betreft,het is niet anders en het word bnog veel erger de wereld is verzadigd,tenminste het westen.laten we die andere landen die het daar niet zo als wij het hebben een handje helpen,met behoud van je uitkering.of voor mijn part je eten en onderdak en wat geld om een ticket te betelen heen en terug.gaan we in groepen vqan 1000 man,met al de kennis van ons die ze daar nodig hebben,er is zoveel werk!!!in de wereld,wij als verwend westerlingetje moeten onze houding veranderen en andere ten dienst staan te helpen,dat doen we al weet ik maar dan die landen opbouwen die het nodig hebben.is een grote organisatie,om het te organisrene bedoel ik,nederland is toch voorlopig klaar met het opbouwen van het land na de 2e ´wereldoorlog 40-45 zo als iedereen het wilt doen een andere mentaliteit van het helpen en ook daadwerkelijk helpen!ziekenhuizen,goeie rioleringen,goede huizen,kijk in het oosten van europa als het winter is zo sneu voor die oude mensen!!ja er is veel werk op de wereld zat!!!!oneindig veel werk!! Een nuttige site om te volgen is Preppers.nl.
  Veel tips over hoe je kan overleven.
  In de VS is de Prepper mentaliteit (voorbereid op alles) al mainstream.
  Al denk ik dat Nederland te dichtbevolkt is en bij welke systeemcrisis dan ook miljoenen mensen zullen overleven.
  Als ik het geld had verhuisde ik naar een eiland ver buiten de bewoonde wereld met een kleine bevolking die zich zonder moderne (landbouw)technologieen in stand kan houden.
  Je kunt natuurlijk ook minder gaan snoepen, frisdranken gebruiken en mobiel bellen. Dan houd je meteen wat meer over voor de gezonde voedselprodukten.
  "Phil Collins "so this is the world we live in"
  Ik heb al veelgezien op deze site dat de Waarheid niet mag gezegd worden.
  Slaapwel schapen van Xander.
  Ja ik ben het eens met diegene die in zien dat het Malthusiasme een red haring is. Een valse vlag reden om de masses van kant te maken. Het klinkt allemaal maar mooi het ideaal van sustainable developmenjt .Er is volop van alles. reeds word het grootste deel van onze welvaart weg gesmeten. Onze heersers palmes alles in. We zitten allen diep in de schuld aan de Bansker Elite criminelen die oneindig waardeloos fiat geld scheppen en er niets van af staan aan de nodigen. Meeste mensen zijn in de val van slavernij te recht gekomen en weten niets anders dan wat hen voorgelegt word. Ze krijgen het zelf zo ver dat ze de massas zichzelf er van overtuigen dat zij hun eigen vijand zijn. Maar de werkelijke vijand zijn de Eliten die voor geen greintje liefde of moreel bezitten want het zijn een stelletje socio en psychopaten die elke truk gebruiken om de mensheid te bedotten en te kleineren en grotendeels uit te roeien.
  Emanuel
  Postings zonder nickname worden verwijderd.
  Mod.
  wil ik toch even iets zeggen: mensen, wees aub niet zo negatief!!! daarmee roep je alleen maar meer negativiteit de wereld in! Zo werken die universele wetten nou eenmaal: negatief trekt negatief aan, positief kan ongemerkt toch iets weten te voorkomen. het is nu het punt van de kritieke massa en als je meegaat in de negatieve propaganda spiraal, dan zal datgene verschijnen waar je voeding aan heb gegeven. Wilt u dan of kiest u voor het licht?? En mocht het wel allemaal zo ernstig uitpakken, dan nog: blijf positief en vertrouwen op de Schepper, onze Bron!
  Maar dat we in een duistere wereld leven, dat ben ik met velen hier wel eens. Ons echte leven is in G'd, niet hier, onthoudt dat goed!
  klagen ,klagen ,klagen en nog eens klagen ,eigen schuld dikke bult. types Nederlands !
  Vanmorgen op het nieuws, Nederlandse staat moet de graan oost opslaan, voorbode van de shit die er aan komt
  We hebben nog internet... dus nog niks aan het handje. Bovendien zal eerst de opname der Christenen komen, en dan wordt het weer even uitgesteld omdat het Leger des Heils wordt overspoeld met kleding en schoenen en.... protheses. Nieuwe banen komen er vrij, de huizenmarkt bloeit weer op want er zijn ineens een heleboel lege huizen. En dan komt er ook nog een rare hapsnurker die zich Jezus, Mahdi en Maitreya noemt die een wereldvrede ontketend en met hem een hele colonne UFO's die dan FO's worden. Dus de toekomst kan haar lol nog op!
  Iemand die realistisch is en in god gelooft kan onmogelijk.Aan de andere kant is HET (het mag geen naam hebben want je kunt het alles noemen) wel realistisch en betrouwbaar.Ik noem het stront. Stront is heilig.Niets zal het bezoedelen.Meer weet ik niet en hoef ik ook niet te weten.Alles willen weten maakt niet gelukkig. Gaan met dat graan....
  Stook alles op voor bio brandstof en laat de rest maar zitten.....
  Spijtig dat in dit majesteitelijk wonder kanker kan ontstaan
  Hij wil graag zijn boek verkopen.
  Niet vergeten op te merken dat deze situatie in een groot gedeelte van de wereld al aan de gang is en dat het schok effect zoals dit in bovenstaand artikel word weergegeven dus niet aan de hand is.
  Ben jij Xander's doemdenken en voorspellingen die niet uitkomen ook meer dan zat? Wil je op een goede en evenwichtige manier geinformeerd worden over de crisis? Dat kan:
  De berichtgeving zelf en eventuele gevolgen van voedsel tekorten en andere hulpbronnen kan constructiever vind ik.
  De vraag of mensen in zien wat er aan de hand is, dekt maar een gedeelte van de bewustwording. De consument heeft m.i. praktische informatie nodig om bewustwording te kunnen triggeren zelfs wanneer het een doemscenario betreft.
  ....En NLD gaat graan hamsteren. Zet je toch aan het denken. Dat wordt ook niet zo maar gedaan daar is meer bij dan alleen de crisis. (Welke crisis?)Overigens blijf ik erbij : Zorg dat je jodium tabletten in huis hebt. Zolang ze in de kast liggen eten ze nog geen brood en je weet maar nooit met die kerncentrales hier in NLD. En voor de noordelingen die het nog niet weten : direct over de grens ( ca.25 km) Groningen / Duitsland, staan ook een paar kerncentrales en die zijn in gebruik. Dus mocht er wat gebeuren, dan zijn dat ook targets. Mijn advies haal die tabletten in huis ! Ik heb gelukkig voor 2 jaar lang al jodium tabletten.
  Het is breedbeeld,bbbrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeedddd
  de natuur zal ons redden als de macht van het geld voorgoed verdwenen is...
  Teun de Smirre
  Welke idioot heeft hier breedbeeld veroorzaakt?
  @Nikolaos.
  Ja dat gedoemdenk is inderdaad en gelukkig ALTIJD loos alarm. Jouw link is echter veel gevaarlijker omdat die Jim denkt dat met bezuinigen vanuit de overheid de zaak gekeerd kan worden. Die man zouden ze dus moeten vastzetten wat een onzin verkondigt die zeg.
  Roy let ff op je taal! zie posting 11:52:26
  Groetjes van mij.
  Correct Lobke.
  Mvg. Mod.
  Realist ik maak me niet zenuwachtig hoor over dat woord maar is het normaal om iemand voor ...... uit te maken???
  Roy 11;52;26
  Denk om je taalgebruik .
  Realist 12;17;36 Namen niet verbsteren respecteer iemands naam.
  Realist nou ik ben er zeker van dat ik niet degene was die BB heeft veroorzaakt hoor!
  En ik ben dus niet de enige die Roy aansprak op zijn taalgebruik zo zie je maar weer.
  Realist ik raad u aan uw toon te matigen.
  Realist uw neerbuigende toon wordt hier niet getolereerd, pas u aan aan de algemeen geldende fatsoensnormen.Waarschuwing.
  Realist 2e waarschuwing.
  Realist:
  Uw postings verwijderd vanwege onacceptabel gedrag.
  U mag het nog eens proberen op een respectvolle manier.
  Lees de siteregels.
  U krijgt een herkansing, verspeel die niet.
  Mod.
  Realist het is u vergeven hoor! hihi
  Ik wordt hier niet bang van: het staat toch in de Bijbel: de paarden, Jezus zegt: hef je hoofd omhoog, je verlossing is nabij..
  God heeft nog steeds alles onder controle: zou Hij die alles geschapen heeft ons niet verzorgen en voorzien?
  Ja de weeen worden steeds heftiger, maar ik geloof rotsvast: Mijn Vader laat mij heus niet zitten, God zorgt, alles gaat naar Zijn plan, ook al denkt de NWO de touwtjes in handen te hebben.
  Uiteindelijk zullen ze merken dat God het voor het zeggen heeft!
  shalom: Sylvia M
  Er is genoeg voor iedereen.
  De mens moet zich zelf verlossen van heel wat tunnelvisies en de
  schaapjes onder ons zullen als vanouds straks stemmen........ want die zijn nog steeds hun weggetje kwijt.
  Veel plezier allemaal.
  De schoolmeester
  Xander overdreven of doemdenker ?Ik ben zeer kritisch en skeptisch.Met lede ogen heb ik deze maatschappij gade geslagen.Het zijn de paradoxen die mij zo opvallen.Je kunt meestal 2 kanten uit.Soms nog (veel) meer.Soms kun je maar 1 kant of helemaal geen kant meer uit of op.Daarbij is er geen ja of nee, behalve misschien kunnen er nog (veel meer) scenario's zijn.Kijk maar naar het weer. Dat is niet te voorspellen.Je kunt natuurlijk gaan denken in termen als onmogelijk en waar.Het is maar waar je zelf in gelooft.Je denken doet er niet toe.Er is een open scenario ontstaan die weinig kanten meer over laat.Je hoeft alleen maar naar de feiten te kijken. Die spreken meestal voor zich. Meestal niet altijd.Ik denk niet dat hier echt voorspellingen staan, maar de uitkomst als we zo doorgaan.Helaas heb ik moeten konstateren, ik was er zelf misschien (altijd) bij, dat de geschiedenis 1 grote herhaling is.De 2de wereld oorlog zou zijn veroorzaakt door een Nederlander.Hij was tegen buitenlanders gericht dus dat paste perfekt in de strategie.Dat het een Nederlander was was toeval.Hij leende zich op dat moment voor een goed doel en dat was Duitsland een wereldnatie maken met natuurlijk Duitsers aan het roeren.Het doel heiligt de middelen.Achteraf had hij het helemaal niet gedaan, maar ja wie tegenstribbelde of niet in het komplot zat had pech.Nu de meesten die verschrikkelijk zo'n beetje vergeten zijn is het plaats voor de volgende.Echter begon deze anders en manifesteert die zich anders.De elite heeft er van geleerd.Deze begon al op 11-9-01.De klassieke strategie. Je valt jezelf aan en geeft iemand anders de schuld.Van Osama Bin Laden had toen nog geen hond gehoord.En hij schijnt uit de kweekvijver van de CIA te zijn.Het kan bijna niet mooier.Het scenario heeft weer gewerkt.Deze koers van de Amerikanen schijnt al veel langer gekomplotteerd te zijn. Nadat wat stromannen niet werkte kwam plan B, want het doel heiligt de middelen.Ik weet het hoe duister duistere machten kunnen zijn alsof ik het zelf verzonnen heb. ;-)Alles is een komplot het is maar net welk komplot je het meeste aanstaat.De mijne is liefde ... Onvoorwaardelijke.Ik ben tegen dwang en voor absolute vrijheid.Deze 2 staan nu tegen over elkaar.Er is geen plaats voor beiden in deze wereld.En ik hou ook niet van macht.Data zijn onbelangrijk.Je hoeft je niet gek te laten maken.Dat zijn we toch al.Ik ken de plannen en het gaat ze niet lukken.Het is nog nooit iemand gelukt dus waarom nu wel ?Niks zal met dwang bereikt worden.Zelfs het tegenovergestelde.Er wordt weer een poging gedaan de absolute macht te bemachtigen.Ik lach erom. Ik lach ze uit.Ze kunnen hooguit de mensheid uitroeien, maar niet het leven.Maar ook zichzelf.En dan. Dan is het mijn feest. ;-)
  Het laat zich raden wie onderstaande tekst geschreven heeft. Kennelijk speelt hetzelfde probleem nu weer.. Het is niet te hopen dat ook de effecten hetzelfde zullen zijn........................................................................................Ook politieke partijenstreven er in principe naar, om tot alleenheerschappij te komen. Over een kleine aandrang tot wereldaanschouwing beschikken ze meestal wel. Echter alleen al de bekrompenheid van hun programma's, berooft hen van hero¯sme, waarvoor een wereldbeeld noodzakelijk is.Door hun verzoenende houding trekken ze de kleine en zwakke geesten aan met wie je de strijd niet zult kunnen winnen. En zo blijven ze meestal al snel vastzitten in hun eigen erbarmelijke kleinheid. Daarmee geven ze alleen wel de strijd voor een wereldbeeld op en proberen in de plaats daarvan, zichzelf door zogenaamde ''positieve medewerking'' zo snel mogelijk een plekje aan de voedertrog van bestaande inrichtingen toe te eigenen, om daar vervolgens zo lang mogelijk van te profiteren. Dat is waar zij naar streven. En zouden ze ooit door een ietwat brutaal aangelegde concurrerende kostganger van deze voederbak weggedrongen worden, dan is hun doen en laten enkel en alleen daarop ingesteld, zich, zij het door list of geweld, binnen de roedel van mede-hongerigen weer naar voren te dringen, om eindelijk, al ging het ten koste van hun heiligste overtuiging, zich aan de geliefde voedingsbron te kunnen laven. Roofdier van de politiekAangezien een wereldbeeld nooit bereid zal zijn met een tweede te delen, zo zal ze ook nooit bereid zijn om aan een bestaande toestand die zij veroordeelt, mee te werken, maar voelt ze de verplichting om deze toestanden en de totale tegengestelde ideenwereld met alle middelen te bestrijden, hetgeen betekent hun instorting voor te bereiden. @Sylvia M 13 02 Psalm 2 is mooi in dat opzicht.
  Geloofsdiscussies op he geloofsforum.
  Sorry Hope. Zal het proberen in de gaten te houden.
  citezensss....
  men heeft angst ,maar aan andere kant gaat het leven gewoon verder
  men eet ,men drinkt ,men slaapt ,men word geboren, men sterft
  "I won't be coming home tonight,
  My generation will put it right"
  Teun de Smirre
  ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
  Teun de Smirre
  oke niemand antwoord . oke
  WELKE ZOOL HEEFT NU WEER BREEDBEELD VEROORZAAKT????
  Ziel Jan ,niet zool; En geen hoofdletters dat is lelijk vooor de site.M.C.
  dat is toch niet erg JAN OF WEL h(C)
BBC News - Whooping cough outbreak warning
  Link to Article
  Source: BBC News - Home
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 15:01
  15 August 2012Last updated at 09:24 ET Scotland is experiencing the worst outbreak of whooping cough since the 1980s, according to health chiefs.
  GPs have reported 873 cases so far this year, compared with only 36 for the same period last year.
  Five babies have died elsewhere in the UK from the disease since the current outbreak which began at the end of last year.
  Health Protection Scotland (HPS) stressed the importance getting young babies vaccinated against the illness.
  The disease can affect people of all ages, but its symptoms are generally most serious in very young infants.
  The coughing fits associated with the disease can be so severe in babies that the supply of oxygen to the brain is cut, potentially with fatal consequences.
  Continue reading the main storyThe problem is that the immunity the inoculation brings starts to wane as you get older''
  End QuoteDr Martin DonaghyHealth Protection ScotlandNo fatal cases of the disease have been recorded in Scotland so far this year.
  Dr Martin Donaghy, health director of HPS, told BBC Radio Scotland that a rise in whooping cough cases had been expected as the disease has a three-year cycle.
  But the scale of the current outbreak - which has also been seen in many other western European countries - was greater than had been anticipated.
  He added: "It is the worst we've seen for some time. The group most at risk are infants, particularly very young infants under three months of age - that is where the disease does most damage.
  "There certainly seems to have been a tipping point whereby a large proportion of the population are not immune and the germ is now spreading, particularly through the adult and adolescent population."
  'Chronic coughing'Babies are given the whooping cough vaccination in three doses when they are two, three and four months old, with take-up of the inoculation reaching a record 98%.
  But Dr Donaghy explained: "The problem is that the immunity the inoculation brings starts to wane as you get older, and it diminishes to such an extent that it no longer provides sufficient protection."
  He said a range of options were being looked at in a bid to cut the number of cases, including vaccinating adolescents, pregnant women and healthcare workers.
  Dr Donaghy said the disease was often not diagnosed in adults.
  He said: "There are many other causes for chronic coughing in an adult which are much more common, so as is usual you go for the common things first and then eventually we'll think maybe it will be whooping cough.
  "It is really making sure that an infant gets the first dose of the vaccine at eight weeks - no wait, get it in at eight weeks and don't delay after that."
  The main symptoms of the disease are severe coughing fits which are accompanied by a "whoop" sound as children gasp for breath.
  Before routine vaccination were introduced in 1957, whooping cough outbreaks in the UK were on a huge scale. The disease could affect up to 150,000 people and kill 300 in a single year.
BBC News - Bill Gates looks to new toilets to improve world sanitation
  Link to Article
  Source: BBC News - Technology
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 15:00
  15 August 2012Last updated at 14:21 Bill Gates is, in a manner of speaking, flushing his money down the toilet.
  His charitable organisation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is looking for future loos that can improve sanitation around the world.
  At the Reinvent the Toilet fair, hosted at its Seattle campus this week, designs included a lavatory that used microwave energy to turn poo into electricity.
  Another turned excrement into charcoal, while a third used urine for flushing.
  In total 28 designs were shown off at the fair and the winner was a team from the California Institute of Technology.
  Led by Prof Michael Hoffman, the toilet they designed was solar-powered and generated hydrogen gas and electricity. They won a $100,000 prize.
  "We couldn't be happier with the response that we've gotten," Bill Gates said at the event.
  Preventable deathsThe project challenged inventors to come up with a toilet that operated without running water, electricity or a septic system. It needed to operate at a cost of no more than five cents (3p) a day and would ideally capture energy or other resources.
  Walter Gibson, from a team of scientists at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, showed off a toilet that used black soldier fly larvae to process waste and create environmentally-friendly animal feed.
  The toilet is already being field tested in South Africa.
  Traditional flush toilets waste tons of drinking water and are often impractical in many areas of the developing world.
  The UN estimates that disease caused by unsafe sanitation is responsible for half of the hospitalisations in the developing world. About 1.5 million children die each year from diarrhoeal disease.
  The Gates Foundation has committed $370m (£235m) to its future toilet initiative and hopes to field test the prototypes within three years.
Kucinich Legislation Reins in NATO, Reclaims Constitutional War Powers of Congress Set You Free News
  Link to Article
  Source: Set You Free News
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 14:58
  Dennis Kucinich | kucinich.house
  Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) is today urging Members of Congress to support legislation, H.R. 6290, to prevent future presidents from using the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to circumvent Congress' constitutional authority to declare war.
  ''NATO has become a sock puppet to conduct military operations abroad absent congressional authorization, as required by Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution. This practice undermines our Constitution and global security as it allows the president to perpetrate violence without congressional oversight. Congress must fight to regain its basic constitutional right to declare war,'' said Kucinich.
  H.R. 6290 would prohibit the deployment of a unit or individual of the U.S. Armed Forces or an element of the intelligence community in support of a NATO mission absent prior statutory authorization for such deployment from Congress, as enshrined in Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution.
  ''The North Atlantic Treaty Organization must be reined it. Its actions have moved beyond taking measures in defense of countries to offensive military operations that have threatened to destabilize Eastern Europe, the Middle East, South Asia and other regions around the world. Congress must act to ensure that NATO doesn't further erode the authority of the United States Congress to determine when and where the use of military force, or when and where the United States military or intelligence services are utilized,'' said Kucinich.
Big in Baku - The New York Times
  Link to Article
  Source: NYT &gt; Most Recent Headlines
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 14:54
  The slim corridor that some Azeris call the Belt of Happiness starts at Baku's Heydar Aliyev International airport. The new road into town is as black and shiny as the vast pools of oil that paid for it, as well as for everything else in Azerbaijan. And what oil doesn't pay to fix, it pays to hide. Sand-colored concrete walls line the highway, but through their latticed arabesques you can just make out the woeful shacks behind them.
  The Belt of Happiness widens out as it winds near the Caspian into Baku. Big luxury hotels and massive apartment high-rises, many still under construction, crowd the coastline. White 4x4's career erratically along the broad avenue. Police cars are everywhere, but their idea of traffic control is to yammer belligerently through their loudspeakers. This has virtually no effect.
  You'd be crazy to try to cross the street, and few do. A series of marble-lined subterranean walkways is the only prudent way to get across. On one side of the passageways sits a leafy esplanade that runs along Baku Bay, its kebab cafes and children's parks scattered among imported palm and olive trees. Out where the esplanade ends, an immense 23,000-square-foot Azerbaijan flag flops from a 531-foot-high flagpole; it was meant to set the world flagpole record, and it did until Tajikistan topped it by about 10 feet last year. (The affront is said to have caused the Azerbaijan president, Ilham Aliyev, to boycott a scheduled conference in Tajikistan.)
  On the other side of Neftchilar Avenue '-- it means Oil Workers' Avenue in Azeri '-- lies the heart of the happiness belt. Designer boutiques stud the grand Beaux-Arts buildings, a reminder that Baku also had the world's first oil boom, over a century ago. High fashion is in full flower, at least behind the glass vitrines. Tiffany, Gucci, Dior, Bottega Veneta, Burberry, Etro, YSL '-- the global gang's all here.
  It seemed funny to stumble across this amalgam of the Avenue Montaigne, Sloane Street and Fifth Avenue in a place where the traditional fashion statement is a huge shaggy sheepskin hat. But Baku is the fashion frontier: Azeris have seen fashion speeding across the sky, and whatever it is, they want it. Yet globalization doesn't just standardize desire from place to place; it also makes it vaguer and more diffuse. And so Neftchilar Avenue can look as if the country just got an airlift of good taste, even if no one asks what those two words '-- ''good'' and ''taste'' '-- mean. Indeed, fashion attitudes here are still as narrow as the happiness belt. As my wife and I strolled down the esplanade, we noticed groups of young Azeris '-- usually all girls or all boys '-- tittering at us. Someone finally explained it: men in shorts are homosexuals, and women smoking cigarettes in public are prostitutes.
  A store called Emporium, right next to the new Bentley dealership, sells some 250 brands, along with art books, fashion magazines and whatever music is popular in the hippest European dance clubs. It's a handsome store on three levels: clean, bright and agreeable to browse. You could easily imagine yourself in Paris's snazzy Colette shop '-- an impression underscored by the complete absence of anything remotely native to Azeri culture.
  ''We have no local fashion designers and we have no local fashion customs,'' says Aziz Balayev, the business development manager for Sinteks, the Azeri company that owns Emporium. ''We even have to hire international agencies to do our display windows. We just don't have anyone here at the taste level we need.''
  What the Azeris do have is what they've always had since the time of Zoroaster. Parts of the country almost float on oil, and you can smell it in the air around the bay.
  At the turn of the 20th century,
  Baku was pumping half the world's oil and foreign investors were piling in, Sweden's Nobel brothers the most notable.
25 Cutting Edge Companies Funded By The Central Intelligence Agency
  Link to Article
  Source: BlackListedNews.com
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 14:53
  It's no secret the Central Intelligence Agency has an investment firm that funds startups that could have a big impact for the Agency. If there is a company out there doing intelligence research, it's likely that In-Q-Tel, the CIA's personal investor, either looked them up or made a check out to them.
  It's all to ensure that the Agency remains on the forefront of tech. Not long ago, In-Q-Tel invested heavily in a company called Keyhole. Never heard of them? Maybe you know their work, a little project eventually known as Google Earth.
  So, want to know what's next for technology? Keep an eye on these 25 companies.
  Basis Technology synthesizes the foreign chatter The CIA is obviously extremely interested in what is going on in the rest of the world. They are one of the largest employers of talented linguists, but that gets very expensive. So it's no surprised they're interested in Basis Technology, which provides software for text analytics in over twenty languages.
  They work primarily in applied natural language processing, deriving meaning from the ways people actually use language. In-Q-Tel has been invested in the firm since 2004.
  DSSP makes safe rockets that are controlled by electricity Rocket engines are simple: ignite explosives, direct exhaust, liftoff. That's what happens. But there are still some issues with that. A rocket can't be un-ignited. Lighting explosives on fire remains dangerous.
  Digital Solid State Propulsion has vastly improved the control of highly energetic combustion using electrical power. Their technology is use in several sectors of missile defense and rocketry, and the CIA is very interested in the results.
  In-Q-Tel has been invested in DSSP since 2011.
  Gainspan makes WiFi sensors that can run for years on a AA battery Why would America's spy organization need to push out a WiFi signal for years with a small, compact battery?Who knows!
  But still, GainSpan is a very cool company with an even cooler product. They focus on connecting devices to the internet with ultra-low power WiFi. The company sees use for their devices in healthcare, smart energy, automation, and, yes, monitoring.
  In-Q-Tel has been invested in GainSpan since March, 2009.
  GATR technologies makes inflatable satellite antennae With an unknown number of field agents in a likewise unknown number of countries, it makes sense that the CIA might want a quick, discreet way to get a satellite connection where there isn't one in an easily deployable manner. GATR Technologies develops and manufactures inflatable satellite communications terminals. They say that they're perfect for the first wave of deployments to a country to get something ready on the go and for remote locations,
  In-Q-Tel has been invested in the company since 2008.
  Infinite Power Solutions makes flexible, thin-film batteries The CIA loves the idea of compact, discreet power systems. Infinite Power Solutions is just one of several advanced battery companies that In-Q-Tel has funded, but it's probably the coolest.IPS manufactures rechargeable, thin as film batteries that are used in advanced electronics. They can power RFID cards, medical devices, and aerospace products.
  In-Q-Tel first invested in Infinite Power Solutions in 2006
  MiserWare makes intelligent power management software Computing requires a lot of electricity. That can get taxing, especially for large organizations with growing electricity bills or groups operating in areas on the electric fringe. Basically, the CIA.
  MiserWare has developed software that makes a computer use less power. While there are many, many groups working on this problem on the hardware side '-- increasing the efficiency of circuits and such '-- MiserWare is focused on software, which is rather novel.
  If that interests you, the software is free for personal use at this point.
  In-Q-Tel first invested in MiserWare in 2010.
  MotionDSP offers "unrivaled" video enhancement tech While shows like CSI have often been mocked for the characters' ability to "enhance!" a still frame far beyond what is even conceivable, there is tech out there that aims to accomplish just that. MotionDSP '-- and their Ikena products '-- reliably improves the quality of video. This video can come from a drone, or a surveillance camera, or a web cam.
  Motion DSP's customers include, yes, some of the nation's leading forensic labs.
  In-Q-Tel has been invested in MotionDSP since 2007.
  Oculis Labs tackles the hacking liability that really matters One of the most common ways to lose control of password protections isn't a hack or a virus, it's just someone looking over your shoulder and reading private data.Oculis Labs manufactures products that protect from "over-the-shoulder" eavesdroppers. The project secures a computer screen in the space between the monitor and the user, fuzzing the screen to any onlookers.
  One of their products, Chameleon, tracks user eye movement and encrypts words that are not being read by the user.
  In-Q-Tel first invested in Oculis Labs in 2011.
  OpenSpan makes businesses more productive using analytics The CIA is very similar to a corporation in the sense that they, too want to work as efficiently as possible. That could inform the investment in OpenSpan, which makes software that enables organizations to see exactly what employees are doing on their computer: what programs they're using, what progress they're making, etc.
  OpenSpan then uses automation tools to streamline workflow.
  In-Q-Tel first invested in OpenSpan in 2010.
  Palantir is a Peter Thiel company that is changing the game of intelligence We've talked about Palantir before and the impact it is having on the Army intelligence community. What we didn't go into as much was the fact that In-Q-Tel was an early investor in the technology on behalf of the Central Intelligence Agency.
  Palantir makes software that integrates data together from a wide array of resources and databases.
  It's one of the best programs at coordinating the vast databases accumulated by the U.S. intelligence apparatus. It assembles comprehensive dossiers on objects of interest, collated from the sprawling databases of intelligence agencies.
  Perceptive Pixel makes advanced multi-touch displays, like the one on CNN You know CNN's large, interactive touch screen that premiered during the 2008 election? The one Wolf Blitzer is obsessed with?That was brought to you by Perceptive Pixel, which makes screens like that for media, energy companies, intelligence groups, defense, and medical imaging.
  The software allows users to manipulate huge data sets with intuitive interface technologies.
  In-Q-Tel initially invested in the company in 2009.
  Recorded Future is a temporal analysis program Although it is in the early stages, Recorded Future is extremely ambitious as a company. The goal is to use information pulled from the 24/7 media flow to extract time-related information. The idea is to organize the media into a temporal experience, giving the user an accurate sense of relationships over time. The point? Use the web as a predictive mechanism. Use the chatter online as a forecasting tool.
  In-Q-Tel first invested in Recorded Future in 2010.
  Seventh Sense is developing health monitoring products that interface with human skin Running health diagnostic exams takes time and personnel. Seventh Sense is designing a new generation of products that integrate directly with the human body to monitor the health situation on the inside. Seventh Sense sees their products being used in the clinic, at home, or on the move. That last one probably piques the CIA's interest the most.
  In-Q-Tel first invested in Seventh Sense in 2008.
  Sonitus Medical makes a hearing system that transmits sound imperceptibly through the mouth This product has "spy gear" written all over it. Sonitus Medical Inc. has developed the SoundBite hearing system which plays off the principle of bone conduction to transmit audial messages. A nearly invisible in-the-mouth hearing and communication platform is non invasive and connects directly to the inner ear, allowing the user to hear transmitted messages through their skull.
  This could mean that agents can drop bulky and obvious ear pieces when needing to keep in contact with home command.
  In-Q-Tel first invested in Sonitus Medical in 2009.
  Walleye makes handheld devices that can see into and through solid objects When it comes to spy gear in the popular imagination, x-ray vision is up there among the Aston Martin and the Walther PPK as de rigour gear for any respectable secret agent. While it's not exactly to that point yet, Walleye Technologies has developed handheld portable imaging systems that can see into and through solid objects. The imaging system generates high-quality pictures and the company is excited for the possibility of taking the consumer and security imaging markets by storm.
  In-Q-Tel initially invested in Walleye in March 2012.
Carlyle takes controlling interest in Getty Images for $3.3 billion | Internet & Media
  Link to Article
  Source: CNET News
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 14:51
  Global alternative asset manager The Carlyle Group has agreed to acquire Getty Images for $3.3 billion.
  According to The Carlyle Group, the acquisition will not give it 100 percent ownership in the company. Instead, the asset manager has bought out Getty Images' major owner, private equity firm Hellman & Friedman, giving it a "controlling stake" in the company.
  Getty Images co-founder and chairman Mark Getty, along with his family and co-founder and CEO Jonathan Klein, have rolled "substantially all" of their equity into the transaction, effectively making them Carlyle's partners.
  Getty Images has become a popular photograph repository. The company also offers videos and music for customers to buy.
  Carlyle doesn't say what it has planned for Getty Images, but claims that it'll do what it can to "take Getty Images to the next stage of product innovation and global growth."
Just Stop
  Link to Article
  Source: Lame Cherry
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 14:47
  Just stop this nonsense of making excuses for Joe Biden as Rudy Giuliani was over the "put us in chains" comment.
  Joe Biden is not a drunk, a doper, a mind deranged. Joe Biden is simply a lying Irish thug, a neighborhood bully with a weak persona, who needs to skunk eating shit grin move through the community to intimidate people before they figure out what a scared rabbit he is.
  That is why B. Hussein Obama chose Joe Biden. I told you that. Biden was chosen for being white weight for liberal east coast thugs and Joe Biden was chosen with the Delaware mafia to make a political prisoner of Lawrence Sinclair.
  There are no gaffs from this Obama regime. Axelrod, Jarrett and Plouffe have every last detail scripted, and Joe Biden in chains was said deliberately to incite blacks to their fears and to incite whites to rise up and put the nigger in their place.
  If you want blame in this, this is the Wall Street Insider on Ulsterman bragging about "all she is doing" in overthrowing Wisconsin and not bundling for Obama, like all the Jews.This is Obama class warfare on the New York caste and the Jewish clique. This is Obama with his pitchfork mob threats from his first year against bankers. This is deliberate and Obama would like nothing more than for some of his Niggazi Hoodies to break in numerous white folks homes, beat them, rape them, leave a few witnesses alive, so the white cops or white neighbors shoot them......all in a white bread state, so Obama can then by Holder send in his BATF federal police to murder the white folks.
  This game is nothing new. The Ashkenaz Jews put out this propaganda non stop in that holocaust, Muslim and 'Everyone hates Jews' propaganda. That is what Sharpton and Jackson do in keeping blacks in the voting block. It is that "Irish" thing in the east and that Mexican thing in the west, but with them it is the nameless hirelings who keep the mobs of all sorts in that voting block.
  So just stop as I have warned in not degrading people you can not comprehend in being "stupid", as they know exactly what they are doing. It only reveals how absolutely retarded you are in coming up with things about accusing someone of being insane as people are quite sane and quite know what they are doing all of the time, especially when it is scripted political events or blogs.
  Joe Biden has hidden behind many things in his existence. It is why he thinks he can pop off at people who challenge him. He especially can get away with it now in being a geezer and having Secret Service shooting people who tell him what an Obama rectal hole he is.
  Never underestimate an enemy, and Obama and Biden are an enemy......and for the deluded, Mitt Romney and Ryan Paul are enemies to America too, in all 4 of these thugs are George Soros Aspen Institute affiliates run by Mockingbird and Soros societal change crafting. They do indeed have you in these four wardens and the nincompoops who will be running in the Green, Constitution and Libertarian parties are a wasted vote as they would not be there if they were not like Ron Paul having played Faust long ago.
  You will be promised all, and be f*cked over again. This is a pissing contest and each of you have pissed on someone, so do not drizzle and then back off and say it is not, because a urinal deluge is the response as names are taken and payback will come whether it is God, Obama or Romney.
  Obama's cronies are not packing up and leaving, so take that as a sign about Romney at this point. The cartel wants a non super majority in Congress so all of Obama rapine will stay into law and will stay hidden from criminal investigation. What this is shaping up at this point is Darrell Issa is going to chew on Holder for Obama's second term to distract all, as things meltdown worse, and this is YOUR ROMAN CIRCUS TO KEEP YOU FROM REVOLUTION. Old trick by Nero, but it works.
  Just stop thinking you can be a brave little heart hiding behind your computer and all of this is not going to follow back to your ISP GPS as Joe Biden is no more insane than Jesus the Christ. They know what they are doing, know who you are, and they plot on what fools most of you are, as most of you prove daily what fools you are.
  Enough short explanation on this, as your minds wander and the focus today is Paul Ryan or Ryan Paul is in the same glass as DNC Debbie Schultz at the Aspen Institute, just as Romney apparently lectured there, Joe Biden spoke there and B. Hussein Obama was some kind of societal engineer there.
  There is a difference in Republicans and democrats, but there is no difference in these plotting cartel patricians who are installed to lead all of you around.
  Chains? What about the Jews in Obama's Iranian easy bake nuclear holocaust oven and the Muslims in bloody heaps from Obama Club Meddling.......
  Why no focus on the strong Conservative members of the world political movement as was in the Reagan International Coalition starting with Prime Minister Thatcher and Pope John Paul and the Sultan of Brunei?
  Let us listen to Mockingbird lies though as the talking points of the day.
  Aspen Institute.....who will ask this question in a drumbeat, that still could perhaps do something like overthrowing the Republican Convention so two Conservatives would be nominated who are Conservatives.
  Sarah Palin and Ron Paul are you listening or still selling out and hiding.
  nuff said.
  PS: Want a Google reality in spellchecker? Too bad you will get it as Google does not recognize the name Biden and highlights it as needing correction.Interesting is it not in that message the liberals never included Biden's name as thee second most important man in government.agtG 294
Romney slams Obama in tough speech
  Link to Article
  Source: Dave Winer's linkblog feed
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 14:44
  Mitt Romney used a tough new campaign speech to personally blast the Obama campaign on Tuesday, saying comments earlier in the day from Vice President Biden are "what an angry and desperate presidency looks like."
  "Mr. President, take your campaign of division and anger and hate back to Chicago," Romney said while campaigning in Ohio.
  Romney was responding to Biden's suggestion that the GOP ticket's economic policies would ''put y'all back in chains."The vice president made the remark while campaigning in Virginia, during a discussion of Wall Street regulation.
  "They've said it. Every Republican's voted for it. Look at what they value and look at their budget and what they're proposing. Romney wants to let the '-- he said in the first 100 days, he's going to let the big banks once again write their own rules '-- unchain Wall Street," Biden said. "They're going to put y'all back in chains. He's said he's going to do nothing about stopping the practice of outsourcing."
  More from The Hill:'... Team Obama confident in Biden despite 'chains' gaffe'... Deficit-warrior Ryan sees national security as a budget issue'... Appeals court okays warrantless tracking'... Panetta: Iran training local militias to fight Syrian rebels'... Obama super-PAC ad is rare backfire'... For vanquished veep possibilities, political future remains '... White House defends immigration plan as option to defer deportation opens
  Romney repeatedly and harshly criticized Team Obama for the remarks.
  "His campaign and his surrogates have made wild and reckless accusations that disgrace the office of the presidency. Another outrageous charge came a few hours ago in Virginia. And the White House sinks a little bit lower," Romney said.
  "This is an election in which we should be talking about the path ahead, but you don't hear any answers coming from President Obama's reelection campaign. That's because he's intellectually exhausted, out of ideas and out of energy. And so his campaign has resorted to diversions and distractions, to demagoguing and defaming others. This is an old game in politics; what's different this year is that the president is taking things to a new low."
  Romney's remarks echo those of his campaign spokeswoman, who earlier in the day characterized Biden's remarks as representing a "new low."
  The counter-punches mark a much tougher tone from Team Romney, who have criticized the Obama campaign before '-- particularly over a controversial ad by pro-Obama super-PAC Priorities USA Action that links Romney to a woman's death '-- though never in such blunt or harsh terms.
  The commercial aired for the first time Tuesday on a television station in Cleveland. Romney made his remarks in Chillicothe, Ohio. The Buckeye State is one of the most important in the election. No Republican has ever won the presidency without winning Ohio.
  Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt said Romney seemed "unhinged."
  ''Gov. Romney's comments tonight seemed unhinged, and particularly strange coming at a time when he's pouring tens of millions of dollars into negative ads that are demonstrably false," LaBolt said in a statement.
  Romney new tone could be due to the addition of Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) to the ticket, which was seen as energizing the GOP campaign. And it could be because the election is growing closer and polls show the race is neck and neck.
  Biden himself explained his remark later on Tuesday, saying, "I think I said instead of 'unshackled,' 'unchained.' "
  The vice president then criticized Romney's campaign for arguing his comments were outrageous.
  "If you want to know what's outrageous, it's their policies and the effects of their policies on middle-class America. That's what's outrageous," Biden said.
  Obama deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter also defended Biden's remarks, saying they "were a derivative of those remarks, describing the devastating impact letting Wall Street write its own rules again would have on middle-class families."
  Speaking on MSNBC Tuesday afternoon, she blasted the Romney response as "faux outrage."
  Asked by host Andrea Mitchell if she would say the vice president went too far, Cutter responded, "No, I'm not.
  "The bottom line is we have no problem with those comments," Cutter added.
  Romney campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul then released a second statement criticizing the Obama campaign.
  ''In case anyone was wondering just how low President Obama could go in his campaign for reelection, we now know he's willing to say that Gov. Romney wants to put people back in chains," Saul said. "Whether it's accusing Mitt Romney of being a felon, having been responsible for a woman's tragic death or now wanting to put people in chains, there's no question that because of the president's failed record he's been reduced to a desperate campaign based on division and demonization.''
  In a statement released after her appearance on MSNBC, Cutter said the Romney campaign's outrage was "hypocritical" given Romney's stump speech, which she said questioned the president's patriotism.
  '-- Amie Parnes contributed.
  Updated at 9:05 p.m.
America: Let Romney and Ryan Fix the Country
  Link to Article
  Source: Dave Winer's linkblog feed
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 14:42
  Is America ready for the truth? The GOP campaign for the presidency is likely to be about hard truths. If voters are ready for an honest assessment of where our nation finds itself, Romney/Ryan can and should win. It's just a very big if.
  Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney at a rally in Waukesha, Wis., on Sunday. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)
  The beauty of not being on anyone's payroll anymore is that I am free to say what I really think.
  On Monday, I was quoted in an article in Politico, saying of Mitt Romney's pick of Paul Ryan as his running mate: ''I think it's a very bold choice. An exciting and interesting pick. It's going to elevate the campaign into a debate over big ideas. It means Romney/Ryan can run on principles and provide some real direction and vision for the Republican Party. And probably lose. Maybe big.''
  I stand by those words. But, as always, the moral is found at the end of the story. Since I have a little more space here, allow me to explain.
  My hope is that the Romney/Ryan campaign will tell the truth.
  My fear is that Team Obama won't.
  Paul Ryan gives a campaign speech about the economy
  Sensing the sudden shift in the winds, Democrats already have unleashed the hounds of hell and are likely to drive out of control on the low road in their attacks and demagoguery against the Republican duo.
  Even if Paul Ryan tattooed the truth on his forehead'--no changes to Medicare for those 55 and above'--we will likely see an endless loop of grannies being pushed over the cliff.
  By selecting Ryan, Romney has successfully refocused the race on big issues related to the budget and the economy: the issues we should be debating. No more small ball.
  And after more than three years in office, the harsh reality cannot so easily be disguised: It takes more than words to lead a nation.
  Though we face record unemployment, nearly $16 trillion in debt, a tsunami of tax increases yet to come, plus massive unfunded liabilities for future Social Security and Medicare payouts in a nation of aging boomers, and a still broken health-care system, Congress is gridlocked with both parties unwilling to compromise, and the president appearing powerless to make the real structural reforms needed.
  If voters are ready for an honest assessment of where our nation finds itself, Romney/Ryan can and should win. It's just a very big if.
  The easy choice is to do nothing to change. Medicare will indeed end as we know it. But only if we don't do anything. As will Social Security. And we will enslave our children to a hopeless future of indebtedness.
  The right choices will be difficult and will likely require sacrifice.
  That's why I believe Romney made the right choice in Ryan. For the Republican Party, the Democratic Party, and the nation. It elevates the race. And the battle of political ideas will be good for America.
  We now have two very different competing visions of the future. And if voters are ready for the hard choices, Romney/Ryan is right for America.
  But it will take more than a few good men and a few good women to handle the truth.
  I hope America proves me wrong.
New! New! New! (not yet)
  Link to Article
  Source: Dave Winer's linkblog feed
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 14:32
  Lots of new stuff rolling out in techland now. It's good to see movement. We just haven't seen the kind of movement yet that's truly meaningful. Here's what we've seen come out in the last few days: 1. app.net's alpha. 2. Branch's public release. 3. Medium's public preview. 4. My own Tabbed River 2.0. I haven't used app.net or Branch, because I'm holding firm on my promise to only use systems that let me flow stuff in and out while maintaining originals in my own space. It's what often seems like a futile attempt to inspire others to do the same. Let's try to create something of lasting value with all this Web 2.0 "conversation" we keep having. The plea seems to fall on deaf ears. I've said that to and about both Branch and app.net, but I broke my own rule with Medium. I did it as an impulsive, intuitive thing. Here's the sequence of events, which took place last night. 1. I saw the announcement on Twitter via Joshua Benton at Nieman Lab. 2. I clicked the link, skimmed Evan William's introductory post. Was confused. Clicked on something that led to a Twitter OAuth page. Said What The Hell and clicked okay. They asked for my email address. I gave it to them. 3. I poked around on their system, still was confused, got an idea that something different was happening here, but I had no idea what. Said so on Twitter. 4. Got an email from Evan Williams saying he had whitelisted me, so I could now post. More confusion, but after a few emails I was able to post. I wrote something I was planning on putting on my own blog to get a feel for what it could do. Now I understood, I think, what it is. Started a thread to narrate the experience. 5. Thought some more, decided to try another experiment. What if I posted one of my most valued pieces on Medium, what would that look like. So I tried it. It was called a sensible evisceration by Ross Pruden. Love that term. 6. Then I started thinking -- why did I break my rule for this. And I realized it had been something I had been thinking about for a long time. And I had been putting down the dots, as in connecting-the-dots, and now I was ready to actually start connecting them. I know this is turning into a long piece and almost no one is reading by this point. So be it. It is long past time for something really new, and I know what it is, and I bet Evan who is a smart guy who has been working on blogging roughly as long as I have has already figured it out. I bet Biz Stone has too. If not, it's right at the edge of their consciousness, and maybe I can help bring it into full view. 1. Please let Medium be something more than another high-walled silo for capturing people's writing. 2. It can be a silo, for people who want that, but let it also be a lens for viewing content that's stored elsewhere. Let people viewing content through that lens see no difference in fidelity from the content that was authored on your system, and stored on your system. 3. Do the inverse as well. Provide a URL for every bit of content on your server that offers it up in "source code" -- unrendered -- so it can be viewed through lenses created by other developers. I can understand why the Branch guys don't want to do this, although I think ultimately they will have to. But Biz and Evan, you guys have made more money than you can possibly use. Do this one project without regard for capturing content. Break out of the rut that Silicon Valley has been mired in for the last ten years. We don't need the training wheels any longer. If they were to do this, not only could I use Medium, but I could encourage other people to do so too. If they don't do it, I have to come to my senses and say that they did nothing interesting here, producing yet another Web 2.0 content trapper. I have hopes they will do it -- because they've done it before -- when they were poor schnooks. Now that they're rich, there's no reason not to do something generous and opportunistic. They would probably not make many friends in Silicon Valley, maybe they would lose some, but they would be doing a mitzvah for the rest of the world. And because of it there might actually be something remaining from the boom times we live in years from now when people wonder how the intellect of the world became globalized. (It was not, as the Library of Congress seems to think, all on Twitter.) One of the dots that this connects, that I didn't even realize was on the map, was the World Is Socialist piece. Not only are snowstorms socialist, and sickness -- and love, and springtime -- but you know what -- the web is also socialist. That's the fundamental contradiction of the tech community, which has tried to make it capitalist. It's not. When you let it be itself, everything on the Internet belongs to everything else. The walls tech people try to raise, to convince investors that there's dollar value there, are fake. They don't hold anything behind them that has any lasting value. The only things that stand a chance are things that flow. And for that, the walls get in the way. I asked Fred Wilson about this -- but he reacted as if I was attacking him. Maybe Ev and Biz see it. Build something real, but don't try to get the ocean to boil inside your teapot. It doesn't fit in there. Follow @davewiner
Body scanners set for November roll-out
  Link to Article
  Source: @adamcurry - Twitter Search
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 06:32
  Body scanning equipment will be rolled out to all Australian international airports from November, despite lingering concerns about their effectiveness.
  An example image from a scanner(Credit: Department of Infrastructure and Transport)The security machines, costing AU$230,000 each, produce a generic outline of the human body and reveal metal and non-metal items under clothing, unlike the unpopular and controversial scanners in the US, which can show intimate body features. They have already been trialled in Melbourne and Sydney.
  The scanners were originally to have been put into place by July, however, laws to allow the scanners were only passed by the Federal Parliament today. Transport Minister Anthony Albanese reassured airline passengers worried about privacy issues that images won't be copied or stored.
  In the US, US Marshals from a court house saved 35,000 images on their scanner.
  Albanese also assured passengers that the level of radiation put out by the scanners is low.
  "The millimetre-wave body scanners are perfectly safe, and one body scan emits 10,000 times less frequency energy than a single mobile phone call," he said in a statement.
  But the Australian Greens warned that the machines could lead to a false sense of security.
  Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon said benign metal objects like buckles, watches, hair clips, studs and zippers could trip alarms, and that half of the travellers scanned during trials in Sydney and Melbourne had to undergo further searches.
  "It comes back to how we ensure that the safety measures being put in place for air travel actually work, and don't result in a false sense of security," Senator Rhiannon told parliament.
  "This Bill could be giving a false sense of security."
  Senator Rhiannon had moved an amendment to allow people to opt out of screening and choose a frisk search as an alternative, similar to measures in the US, but this was defeated by government and coalition senators.
  The new scanners will work alongside existing walk through metal detectors at airports, with passengers required to be screened by one or the other.
  The government has already said that people with legitimate health or other reasons, such as having pacemakers or being confined to wheelchairs, would be able to avoid the scanners, but a person who refuses to undergo a screening procedure will not be allowed to fly.
  Liberal Senator David Fawcett said that the need for scanners arose from an incident in 2009, when a terrorist evaded security to smuggle a bomb hidden in his underpants onto an aircraft travelling from Amsterdam to Detroit.
  "Because they weren't metallic, none of the existing procedures actually picked up those explosives," he told the Senate.
  The federal transport department has previously conceded that the scanning process takes longer than traditional metal detectors.
  The Aviation Transport Security Amendment (Screening) Bill 2012 mandates the use of body scanners to check airline passengers, on the grounds that it will provide optimal security with minimal impact.
  Suzanne Tindal contributed to this article.
Geen 100 procent compensatie voor World Online-beleggers
  Link to Article
  Source: FTM - Follow The Money
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 06:29
  "Beleggers die geld verloren bij de beursgang van World Online (WOL) in 2000, hebben ruim 100 procent van hun inleg op hun rekening gestort gekregen." Met deze zin werd vanochtend een bericht van persbureau ANP wereldkundig gemaakt. ANP vermelde niet uit welke bron het putte en ook niet hoeveel beleggers nu precies de compensatie op overgemaakt hadden gekregen en dat leidde tot de nodige verwarring. Vele media (o.a. Telegraaf, Algemeen Dagblad, Elsevier) namen het bericht vervolgens in diverse - vaak weinig nauwkeurige - vormen over. Even enkele feiten op een rij.
  Op 27 november 2009 maakte de Hoge Raad definitief een einde aan de rechtszaak die de Vereniging van Effectenbezitters sinds 2001 tegen de banken Goldman Sachs, ABN Amro (sinds 2007 the Royal Bank of Scotland) en World Online voerde. De Hoge Raad oordeelde dat het prospectus misleidend was. Met deze uitspraak in de hand verscheen de VEB aan de onderhandelingstafel met de banken en WOL. Op 24 november 2010 kwam de VEB met de banken en het internetbedrijf tot een schikking. Kern daarvan was dat niet alle beleggers direct aanspraak konden maken op compensatie, maar alleen de leden van de VEB. De omvang van de toegekende claim - 110 miljoen euro - viel daarom aanzienlijk lager uit dan de claimbedragen waarmee de VEB in de jaren daarvoor had geschermd (tot 1,6 miljard euro). De VEB raamde de totale schade voor de beleggers op 2.3 miljard.Alleen voor leden van de VEBHet zijn dus alleen de WOL-beleggers die lid zijn van de VEB - 12 duizend in getal - die zijn gecompenseerd. Het uitgekeerde bedrag is het maximaal uitkeerbare bedrag; 110 miljoen euro. Dit laten betrokkenen weten. Alle andere particuliere World Online-beleggers - in totaal waren het er naar schatting tussen de 100 en 150 duizend - hebben niets betaald gekregen. Rond de 10 procent van de particuliere beleggers is dus gecompenseerd.Bronnen geven aan dat het geld een maand geleden al op de rekeningen van desbetreffende VEB-leden is bijgeschreven.
  Naast de 110 miljoen voor de leden heeft de VEB zelf nog eens een bedrag van 10 miljoen opgestreken voor de kosten - met name voor advocaten - die ze in de meer dan 8 jaar durende procedure heeft gemaakt.
  Is die 110 miljoen voor de VEB-leden dan een compensatie van "ruim 100 procent", zoals het bericht van ANP stelt? Nee, ook dat is niet het geval. De compensatie van 100 procent geldt uitsluitend voor het verlies dat in de periode tussen de beursgang van 17 maart 2000 tot 3 april 2000 is ontstaan. De VEB de banken en World Online (Tiscali) zijn eerder overeengekomen dat alleen de verliezen die in die periode zijn ontstaan, compensabel zijn. De belangrijkste informatie over de tekortkomingen van het prospectus zou volgens de partijen op 3 april 2000 in de koers zijn verwerkt. World Online ging voor 43 euro per aandeel naar de beurs. Op 3 april was daar nog 19,25 euro van over (45 procent).Al het koersverlies dat na die datum is ontstaan, is dus voor rekening van de aandeelhouders.
  "Geen 100 procent"Neem het individuele geval Christine Kroonenberg. De Amsterdamse partydiva participeerde als goede vriendin en buurvrouw van oprichtster Nina Brink (Storms) via het zogenaamde Friends & Family programma. Uit het vertrouwelijke register van het F&F-programma blijkt dat ze in eerste instantie voor 900 duizend euro aandelen had willen kopen. Uiteindelijk werd Kroonenberg voor 250 euro aan World Online stukken toegekend. Desgevraagd herinnert ze zich voor 350 duizend euro te zijn ingestapt. Het liep niet goed af met haar investering. Kroonenberg zegt dat ze haar aandelen destijds aan heeft gehouden totdat ze bijna niets meer waard waren. Wel werd ze in 2000 lid van de VEB om te kunnen participeren in de rechtszaken tegen de banken en World Online.
  Haar compensatie valt uiteindelijk aanmerkelijk lager uit dan het bedrag waarvoor ze destijds haar aandelen kocht. Kroonenberg verloor - op basis van een investering van 250 duizend euro - tot en met 3 april 137 duizend euro. Dat bedrag, plus een door de VEB ingebouwde fictieve rentecomponent van 10 procent over de gehele periode, kreeg ze een maand geleden op haar rekening bijgeschreven. In totaal 151 duizend euro. Kroonenberg bevestigt een bedrag van rond de 150 duizend euro te hebben ontvangen. 60 procent van haar eerste investering. "Dat is dus geen 100 procent", voegt Kroonenberg daar aan toe. Dat zal voor veel meer WOL-beleggers, die via de actie van de VEB werden gecompenseerd, gelden. 100 Procent is in werkelijkheid dus geen 100 procent.
  Kroonenberg is niettemin uiterst tevreden met het bedrag dat alsnog aan haar is uitgekeerd. "Ik had mijn belegging al tot nul afgeschreven', klinkt het Amsterdams door de telefoon. "Ik vind het heel knap van de VEB dat ze de banken uiteindelijk zo ver hebben gekregen. Ik geef ze een grote pluim".
  Nog niet het eindeKroonenbergs complimenteuze gebaar kan de VEB echter niet publiekelijk in ontvangst nemen. De beleggersvereniging bleek dinsdag in het geheel geen mededelingen te willen doen over de inhoud van de schikking. "Dat hebben we zo met de banken afgesproken", meldt een woordvoerder.Een betrokkene zegt dat de banken deze geheimhouding hebben afgedwongen en dat ze daar een goede reden voor hebben. "Ze willen het liefst dat er zo min mogelijk reuring om de afwikkeling van de schikking ontstaat. Dit om mogelijke andere claimgerechtigden niet op bepaalde ideen te brengen."
  Twaalfenhalf jaar na de beursgang van World Online is het eindpunt van het kapitaalvernietigende internetavontuur nog niet bereikt. Een van de partijen die in de slipstream van de VEB is begonnen om een geld bij de banken en World Online op te eisen is ConsumentenclaimHet wordt niet op de website vermeld, maar Consumentenclaim is bedrijf (een B.V.) waar 50 juristen werken die namens groepen van consumenten op no cure no pay basis gevechten aangaan tegen financile instellingen. Consumentenclaim zegt dit keer namens "een kleine" 5000 gedupeerden op te treden. "Het is overigens nog maar de vraag of al die mensen over een deugdelijk dossier beschikken waarmee een claim hard gemaakt kan worden", zegt woordvoerder Pieter Lijesen. "Dat hebben we nog niet precies in kaart gebracht". Hij zegt waarschijnlijk binnen enkele weken met de banken en WOL tot een overeenkomst te komen. Het is daarbij de vraag of Consumentenclaim bij benadering een deal van de omvang van de VEB bij de banken uit het vuur weet te slepen. Vragen daarover wil Lijesen niet beantwoorden. Volgens Lijesen is het overigens niet waarschijnlijk dat Consumentenclaim - na de VEB - de enige partij is die enige partij is die bij Goldman Sachs, RBS en Tiscali heeft aangeklopt. "Je mag ervan uitgaan dat ook grote professionele beleggers zich na de uitspraak van de Hoge Raad in 2009 hebben gemeld. Maar als partijen als pensioenfonds ABP deals maken met banken, dan gebeurt dat natuurlijk in alle stilte".
No yolk: eating the whole egg as dangerous as smoking?
  Link to Article
  Source: @adamcurry - Twitter Search
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 06:28
  Just as you were ready to tuck into a nice three-egg omelet again, comforted by the reassuring news that eggs are not so bad for you, here comes a study warning that for those over 40, the number of egg yolks consumed per week accelerates the thickening of arteries almost as severely as does cigarette smoking.
  Server, can you make that an egg-white omelet instead, please?
  The study, published Tuesday in the journal Atherosclerosis, measured the carotid wall thickness -- a key indicator of heart disease risk -- of 1,231 patients referred to a vascular prevention clinic, and asked each to detail a wide range of their health habits, from smoking and exercise to their consumption of egg yolks. Just as smoking is often tallied as "pack-years" (the number of cigarette packs smoked per day for how many years), egg-yolk consumption was tallied as "egg yolk years" (the number of egg yolks consumed per week times the number of years they were eaten).
  The study subjects were typically referred to the clinic after having suffered a clot-induced stroke or a transient ischemic attack -- a "mini-stroke" in which symptoms may disappear quickly but which often presage a more serious stroke to come.
  Smoking tobacco and eating egg yolks increased carotid wall thickness in similar fashion -- which is to say, the rate of increase accelerated with each stair-step up in cigarette smoking or yolk consumption. By contrast, for those who did not smoke, or who rarely consumed egg yolks, carotid wall thickness increased after 40, but at a slow-steady rate.
  For those whose consumption of whole eggs was in the highest 20%, the narrowing of the carotid artery was on average about two-thirds that of the study's heaviest smokers.
  "We believe our study makes it imperative to reassess the role of egg yolks, and dietary cholesterol in general, as a risk factor for coronary heart disease," the study authors write.
  In recent years, nutritionists have begun to agree with egg purveyors that chicken eggs -- cheap and packed with protein -- have gotten a bad rap as a dangerous source of cholesterol. Some studies have suggested that eggs may increase HDL, or "good cholesterol" that protects against heart disease, even as it contributes to the artery-clogging LDL cholesterol, making egg consumption something of a wash. And regular egg-eaters may form larger lipoprotein particles that help clear the blood of fat particles and are not as likely to settle in artery walls.
  Still, the National Heart Blood and Lung Institute recommends that to limit their risk of developing heart disease, Americans limit their cholesterol intake to no more than 300 mg per day (an egg yolk has just over 200 mg), and eat no more than four whole eggs weekly, including those in baked goods or processed foods. Those who already have heart disease, diabetes or high LDL-cholesterol, or who have had a stroke, should limit their cholesterol to less than 200 mg per day.
'Syrische vliegtuigen vallen ziekenhuis aan' - Buitenland
  Link to Article
  Source: VK: Home
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 06:27
  15/08/12, 07:55
  (C) reuters. Een verwoest gebouw in de Syrische stad Homs (een foto van de ziekenhuizen in Aleppo is nog niet beschikbaar), 12 augustus
  Gevechtsvliegtuigen van het Syrische leger hebben in 3 dagen tijd twee keer een ziekenhuis in een door de rebellen overheerste wijk in Aleppo aangevallen met raketten. Dat meldde de mensenrechtenorganisatie Human Rights Watch woensdag.
  Bij de eerste aanval kwamen zondag vier burgers om. Drie mensen raakten gewond. De tweede aanval werd dinsdag uitgevoerd. Die had twee gewonden tot gevolg. Het ziekenhuis liep grote schade op.
  Dat gevechtsvliegtuigen in zo'n korte tijd twee keer hetzelfde ziekenhuis aanvielen, wijst erop dat hier sprake was van opzet, concludeert de mensenrechtenorganisatie. Zij vindt dat de regering met de aanvallen op een duidelijk gemarkeerd ziekenhuis 'minachting' toont voor het leven van burgers.
  Medewerkers van Human Rights Watch brachten dinsdag een bezoek aan het Dar al Shifaa Hospital in de wijk Sha'ar, een uur na de tweede aanval. Het ziekenhuispersoneel vertelde hun dat er op het moment van de aanvallen geen rebellen waren ingezet bij het hospitaal, maar dat er wel een aantal gewapende ziekenhuisbewakers aanwezig was om voor de veiligheid te zorgen.
Another Cyber False-Flag to Lock down the Internet
  Link to Article
  Source: Dprogram.net
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 05:33
  (DailySheeple) '' First came Stuxnet, then Flame and Duqu. Now, prepare for Gauss
  The efforts to bring about full control of the free internet are about to receive another jolt, as a new cyber bug known as Gauss is fast spreading around the world collecting information from banking institutions, commercial transactions and other data.
  Gauss was discovered by Kaspersky Lab, a Moscow-based computer security firm. According to its workers, Gauss is from the same making as Stuxnet and Flame, two computers viruses launched by the US and Israel to disrupt Internet services, especially in the Middle East.
  Gauss is then a new form of cyber false-flag launched by governments that have an interest in kidnapping the web to make it of their own while curtailing access and free speech. The virus has been targeting banks, social networks and e-commerce, among others. It has been stealing login and password information as well as email and instant messaging data.
  Gauss's actions have been felt more strongly in the Middle East, in countries such as Lebanon, while in the West, the virus attacked computers at CitiGroup Inc.'s and Paypal. The specificity of the attacks already has many people buzzing about whether this virus could be used to create glitches that would cause a financial disaster, something of the kind seen in Wall Street, where financial transactions were affected by a 'malfunction' which caused great pain to investors. No need to emphasize that Wall Street is also connected to the World Wide Web, and that any strong attack on financial business could at the very least shut down the exchange.
  People at Kaspersky Lab, among other computer technology companies are still trying to determine the reach that this virus has had so far and whether it is a bug carrying out surveillance in order to later execute a massive attack, or if it will start spreading its own poison around the financial world. The only information that has now been confirmed, is that Gauss is indeed a state- sponsored cyber-espionage tool. ''Researchers from the security software manufacturerSymantec Corp, confirm Kaspersky Lab's summation that Gauss is related to previous government-created cyber warfare viruses,'' reports Occupy Corporatism.
  Previous to Gauss, Stuxnet and Flame were used to attack technological infrastructure linked to the production of nuclear energy in Iran by entering the online systems and installing surveillance and .exe programs in an effort to slow down and destroy Iranian infrastructure. ''After looking at Stuxnet, Duqu and Flame, we can say with a high degree of certainty that Gauss comes from the same 'factory' or 'factories.' All these attack toolkits represent the high end of nation-state-sponsored cyber-espionage and cyber war operations,'' said Kaspersky Lab in a communiqu(C).
  A common reason given by governments in order to justify these kind of attacks is the need to be vigilant when it comes to Middle East threats, especially movement of monies between what the US and Israel consider dangerous governments or traditional terrorist groups. Of course this is a lie, as the US government itself has, in numerous occasions authorized terrorist groups to carry out financial transactions in order to support their operations. This happened in Libya and is now happening is Syria, where the US Treasury has officially announced their support for the terrorist rebel groups who are fighting the Syrian Army.
  While the US government congratulates itself for its fight against terrorism and money laundering '-- which is in itself questionable '-- its Treasury Department is publicly enabling terrorists in Syria to fund their operations against the local government. Back in November 2011, a report on Pravda revealed how US and other global baking entities were being used to hide dirty money from the drug trade. In that specific case, banks around the world allowed the circulation of $352 billion dollars in drug cartel money. According to the same report, billions more in drug money had been injected into the economy in previous years.
  These cyber attacks are examples of double false-flags, not only because they cause disruption in transactions and commerce, but also because they have the intended purpose of being used as excuses to ramp up the corporate power-grab of the Internet. Something similar has been happening in the United States in the realm of the Second Amendment and gun rights in general, where two mass shootings have brought the calls for gun regulations back onto the main stream.
  According to Kapersky Lab, the makers of Gauss went to a great deal of trouble to hide the purpose of the virus by using sophisticated encryption codes that may take a few months to break. International organizations interested in controlling the web, such as the United Nations, has warned governments worldwide about the threat posed by Gauss. Paradoxically, there isn't anything more threatening to the Internet than the management of its infrastructure by one single entity, which is what the UN wants. The UN's cyber security coordinator, Marco Obiso, said in a statement that ''we don't know what exactly it does. We can have some ideas. We are going to emphasize this.''
  Parallel to the UN's efforts to divert attention from its intent to manage the web all by itself, the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is said to be studying any possible threat that Gauss may present to the country. ''The department's cyber security analysts are working with organizations that could potentially be affected to detect, mitigate and prevent such threats,'' said DHS' Peter Boogaard.
  The same kind of attacks now being conducted by the US and Israel against other nations' infrastructure, are the reasons why highly advanced technological states such as Russia, the United States and China have called for the adoption of harsher cybersecurity policies in order to defend their own countries. Is it because they intend to keep on causing cyber attacks in order to call for more Internet control, or is it because they know that their infrastructure will be the subject of attacks in response to their non-stop terror attacks on other nations?
  One fact is clear. The only cyber attacks the world has witnessed so far haven't come from fringe terrorist organizations, crazy individuals with the technology to send out a massive attack on sensible systems or rogue governments in the traditional sense. All of the major attacks have come from the collaboration of very advanced countries who publicly call themselves the victims of attacks, but that privately are the ones carrying out such attacks.
  Could the next attack be one that will enable governments like the US, China or Israel to justify an even more dangerous attack on inoffensive nations? Or perhaps it will be a chance to cause a major financial attack in addition to imposing significant restrains on those who access the Internet and what can be uploaded or downloaded, for example. A worldwide attack of major proportions on the financial industry would certainly be a handy tool to carry out more financial terrorism of the kind being conducted right now against developed and developing nations.
  We will have to wait and see. Meanwhile, it is clear that any attempt to curtail Internet freedom will not go unnoticed by the public because we already know the cyber terrorists' modus operandi.
  Delivered by The Daily Sheeple
  Related posts:
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Aurora Massacre: Mayor Steve Hogan ''There is Something is Very Seriously Wrong Here'' American Everyman
  Link to Article
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 05:13
  Posted on August 14, 2012 by willyloman
  by Scott Creighton (H/T Chris P)
  Common sense'... it's not just for conspiracy theorists anymore.
  The Mayor of Aurora claims there is something very seriously wrong with this story. Now I'm not sure in what context he means that, but he goes on to describe James Holmes as connected with roots in the community. He claimed the guy went drinking with buddies every Friday night, that he had friends, that by all accounts, Holmes seemed normal in every way.
  .
  .
  Perhaps what he finds ''wrong'' with the story can be summed up this way'... (list taken from an earlier article)
  that there were two gas masks taken into evidence and that one of them was 60 yards away in an area Holmes was never supposed to have been'...that Holmes was drugged up when they found him inside the car (not coming out of the theater as early reports indicated)that Holmes was so drugged they couldn't even take his mug shot booking photo for 3 daysthat Holmes was so out of it when they found him they didn't need to shoot him and they may have ordered a spine board to transport him to the police station because he couldn't walkthe explanation of the disclosure of the so-called ''stick figure drawing confession'' changed 3 times and in the end the prosecution wondered how the media claimed they knew what was in the package before investigators even opened itthe fact that according to police transcripts and early reports to the press claimed they had one suspect in custody (drugged up Holmes) and one suspect still on the loosethat on July 20th (the day of the shooting) Mayor Bloomberg's police commissioner Ray Kelly stated that Holmes claimed to be ''the Joker'' when arrested when in fact, he said nothing of the sort. Bloomberg has been using this case ever since to push for stricter gun control legislation across the country.that ABC News deliberately misrepresented the statement by Holmes' mother in order to implicate him as the shooterextreme secrecy in which the case is being handledthe fact that his parents hired a lawyer to look after their interests in this case, but leave James with a public defenderthe fact that James Holmes was not just normal, but exceptional, right up til the moment he decided to attack a bunch of people at a movie theater for no apparent reasonFiled under: Aurora Massacre, Scott Creighton
Worth Reading
  Link to Article
  Source: aangirfan
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 05:11
  Posted on August 14, 2012 by willylomanCommon sense'... it's not just for conspiracy theorists anymore...~~~piglipstick aka nolocontendre died on august 4th of heart failure.
Texas A&amp - M Gunman Wrote That Snipers Were 'Inspirational'
  Link to Article
  Source: NYT &gt; Most Recent Headlines
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 04:34
  Karen Warren/Houston Chronicle, via Associated Press
  Relatives and friends of Brian Bachmann, a county constable, arriving for a vigil at a church on Monday in College Station, Tex. Mr. Bachmann, 41, was killed while serving an eviction notice.
  COLLEGE STATION, Tex. '-- On his Facebook page, Thomas Caffall posted a list of ''inspirational people.'' One was Carlos Hathcock, one of the most famous snipers in the United States Marine Corps who recorded 93 confirmed kills during the Vietnam War. Another was Vasily Zaytsev, a Russian sniper during World War II who was known for his skills with the Mosin-Nagant rifle.
  On Monday afternoon, Mr. Caffall, 35, became a deadly sniper himself, shooting law enforcement officers and innocent bystanders in a quiet neighborhood near Texas A&M University where he rented a home.
  The authorities said Mr. Caffall killed a local constable who was serving him with an eviction notice and a 51-year-old man. Four other people were wounded, three College Station police officers and a 51-year-old woman, before Mr. Caffall was shot and killed by the police.
  Unlike other police standoffs that end with a brief burst of violence, Mr. Caffall exchanged gunfire with officers for about 30 minutes, terrorizing a residential area that is home to many students. Police officials said on Tuesday that it was too early in their investigation to determine Mr. Caffall's motive.
  A few minutes after noon on Monday, the Brazos County constable, Brian Bachmann, went to the house on Fidelity Street where Mr. Caffall lived to serve him the eviction notice, a routine part of a constable's duties. Mr. Caffall owed his landlord $1,250, two months' rent, but was not being forced out that afternoon. The eviction notice was to alert him that a hearing on his case would be held next week, the authorities said.
  Mr. Caffall shot the constable, who was armed and wearing a bulletproof vest, in the front yard of the home, the authorities said, and neighbors called 911 upon hearing gunshots.
  Mr. Caffall began shooting at others in the neighborhood and at College Station police officers arriving at the scene, officials said. The woman who was wounded, Barbara Holdsworth of Houston, was shot while inside her car several hundred yards away and was in serious condition. The other passer-by, Chris Northcliffe of College Station, had been driving in the area and stopped to ask someone on the street what was happening when he was fatally shot while outside his vehicle, the authorities said.
  Chief Jeff Capps of the College Station Police Department said the crime scene, which spanned a few blocks around the home, was still being canvassed on Tuesday. Investigators recovered several weapons that they believed were used in the attack, including rifles and a pistol, but Chief Capps declined to answer questions about how and where Mr. Caffall obtained the weapons.
  Mr. Caffall did not have an extensive criminal background besides a 2006 misdemeanor charge for driving with an invalid or suspended license.
  Thomas Alton Caffall III was known as Tres by friends. On his Facebook page, Mr. Caffall posted pictures of assault rifles. In May, he posted a picture of an antique Mosin-Nagant rifle. ''I just got a new toy!'' Mr. Caffall wrote. ''It's a Russian Mosin Nagant that looks like it might not have been fired in 80 years, but was extremely well preserved. The two big cans above it are ammo. I'll be at the gun range as much as I can. ... ''
  Mr. Caffall's relatives have told reporters that he was a disturbed young man who had mental problems and that he quit his job several months ago. ''We're just so sorry for this tragedy, and we feel for the families that are all involved,'' said Mr. Caffall's sister, Courtney Graham Clark, who also lives in College Station. ''We're still in shock.''
  Ms. Clark declined to discuss her brother's mental state. On his Facebook page, Mr. Caffall listed his relationship status as divorced and his religious views as Christian, writing: ''God loves us all. We are all capable of redemption, if we are willing to change.''
  Mr. Bachmann, 41, was a husband and father of two. A former sheriff's deputy, he was well known among county law enforcement officers, many of whom expected him to one day become the sheriff. He was serving his first four-year elected term as a constable after assuming office in January last year.
  ''This should have been a plain and easy thing,'' said Michael P. McCleary, the county justice of the peace who worked alongside Mr. Bachmann in Precinct 1 and would have presided over Mr. Caffall's eviction case. ''Our guys serve papers every day. Stuff like this, you don't want it happening anywhere, but when it happens close to home, it's tough.''
White House Role in Counterterrorism
  Link to Article
  Source: Programs Recently Aired - C-SPAN Video Library
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 04:08
  Aspen Institute
  National security officials from the George W. Bush and Obama administrations talked about the role of the White House in counterterrorism and national security issues. P Fran Townsend, Former Assistant to the President for .. Read MoreNational security officials from the George W. Bush and Obama administrations talked about the role of the White House in counterterrorism and national security issues. P Fran Townsend, Former Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and CounterterrorismJuan Zarate, Former Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Adviser forCombating TerrorismKenneth Wainstein, Former (and first) Assistant to the President for Homeland Security andCounterterrorism; Former Assistant Attorney General for National SecurityModerator: Michael Crowley, Senior Correspondent & Deputy Washington Bureau Chief, TIME Magazine
  59 minutes |
  View Event Timeline (4 Programs)
DSCA -- IMET
  Link to Article
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 04:04
  The International Military Education and Training (IMET)program is a low cost, key funding component of U.S. security assistance thatprovides training on a grant basis to students from allied and friendlynations. Authority for the IMET programis found pursuant to Chapter 5, part II, Foreign Assistance Act (FAA) 1961. Funding is appropriated from theInternational Affairs budget of the Department of State. It is a key component of U.S. securityassistance that provides U.S. training on a grant basis to students from alliedand friendly nations. The IMET programis an investment in ideas and people which has an overall positive impact onthe numerous students trained under the program. For a relatively modest investment, it presents democraticalternatives to key foreign military and civilian leaders.
  The IMET program exposes students to the U.S. professionalmilitary establishment and the American way of life, including amongst otherthings, U.S. regard for democratic values, respect for individual and humanrights and belief in the rule of law. Students are also exposed to U.S. military procedures and the manner inwhich our military functions under civilian control. They may receive as examples of types of training: ProfessionalMilitary Education (PME) aswell as Additionally, ourEIMETprogram, asignificant part of the overall IMET program, exposes students to the civiliancommunity and its important democratic institutions.
  Overall objectives of the IMET program are:
  Tofurther the goal of regional stability through effective, mutually beneficialmilitary-to-military relations which culminate in increased understanding anddefense cooperation between the United States and foreign countries; and
  Toincrease the ability of foreign national military and civilian personnel toabsorb and maintain basic democratic values and protect internationallyrecognized human rights.
  TheIMET objectives are achieved through a variety of military education andtraining activities conducted by the DoD for foreign military and civilianofficials. These include: formal instruction involving over 2,000courses taught at approximately 150 military schools and installations;on-the-job training; orientation tours for key senior military and civilianofficials; and mobile education teams which takes the curriculum to the hostcountry.
  SeeSTR Directorate
  Back to MilitaryAssistance
Daily Press Briefing - August 14, 2012
  Link to Article
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 04:00
  12:41 p.m. EDT
  MS. NULAND: All right. Happy Tuesday, everybody. I have nothing at the top. Let's go to what's on your minds.
  QUESTION: I just want to ask, I'm curious about the Treasury announcement earlier that the former Prime Minister has now been removed from sanctions. From a policy point of view, who, if they defect '' where's the cutoff, or is there no cutoff line? I mean, if Assad all of the sudden defects or gives up or leaves power, does that mean sanctions against him are off, too?
  MS. NULAND: Well, you can imagine, Matt, that I'm not going to get into hypotheticals, but just to make the point that you just made, we '' the Treasury Department announced today that former Prime Minister of Syria Hijab, who defected and who has now renounced the regime, who's now calling for a democratic future for Syria, has been removed from the U.S. sanctions list because he is no longer a member of the regime that is perpetrating this violence. He is no longer part of the crew that the sanctions were targeted against.
  QUESTION: So '' but I don't understand how that fits in with the accountability portion of this whole thing that you guys have been making such a big deal about. So he's not going to be held '' I mean, he was a member of the regime for a while when some of the bloodiest violence was going on. Is he not '' no longer '' he's free? He doesn't have to worry about accountability?
  MS. NULAND: This issue doesn't affect the question of what the Syrian people may or may not decide with regard to accountability for former regime officials. This designation, in the first place, was part of our larger sanctions policy vis-a-vis Syria, which is designed to squeeze the regime individually, collectively, and dry up the money that it uses to perpetrate its crimes. So when you have individuals who have broken with the regime, they should no longer be subject to those sanctions. That's a totally separate issue from what the Syrian people may decide on the accountability side.
  QUESTION: Well, except for the fact that now if he had a '' if there was any money, any assets that he had frozen under your sanctions, he's now free to get that money and distribute it however he wants.
  MS. NULAND: And it is based on our expectation that he has now affirmatively broken with the regime, he has broken his ties, and he is working for a better and different and more democratic Syria.
  QUESTION: All right. So in other words, if you're a very bad guy up until this point, as long as you get out, you're okay as far as the U.S. is concerned?
  MS. NULAND: This is not a judgment about his accountability, which is something for the Syrian people to decide. This is a judgment about whether he should continue to be subject to sanctions, which are designed to squeeze the regime until it stops its bloody offensive. So this guy is no longer part of that offensive, and so he should not be subject to sanctions any further.
  Anything else?
  QUESTION: Do you have any update on the formation of the working group between the U.S. and Turkey?
  MS. NULAND: Well, beyond what we said yesterday, which is that that what we are looking at is to have a group that includes, on our side, State Department, DOD, intelligence personnel, and the same composition on the Turkish side, I don't have anything specific to announce in terms of leadership or next meetings, but we'll let you know as soon as we do.
  What I would like to say, though, on Syria is, as you know, yesterday we talked in the context of the trip that we had to Istanbul about also reaching out to other close allies and partners with regard to our three-pillar approach on Syria. The Secretary had a conference call for more than an hour yesterday with U.K. Foreign Minister '' Foreign Secretary Hague, French Foreign Minister Fabius, German Foreign Minister Westerwelle, and also Turkish Foreign Minister Davutoglu to talk through many of those same elements that she and Foreign Minister Davutoglu had discussed in Turkey, specifically support for the opposition and hastening the day when the Assad regime falls, the serious and growing refugee problem, and working together to increase the support for the frontline states and for the UN agencies that are supporting the Syrians inside and outside Syria, and the third pillar of preparing for the day after and looking at it as an international community at the many needs that we expect that the Syrians will have, dividing up the labor, if you will. And the conversation very much focused on ensuring that we're all pulling in the same direction, that we're all sharing information, that we are thinking about the division of labor so we're all '' we're covering all the bases without tripping over each other.
  QUESTION: Will there be a working group with those countries, too?
  MS. NULAND: Well, again, I think we have a specific working group with Turkey, given the intensity of their involvement. The Secretary has her own diplomacy with these key countries, and so this is an effort to get all of these countries working together along the same lines.
  Please.
  QUESTION: Was any military action discussed in that call, perhaps preparations for a no-fly zone?
  MS. NULAND: Again, the conversation tracked very much with the conversation that she had with Foreign Minister Davutoglu, followed along the same lines, which she spoke about in Istanbul and which I spoke about yesterday, which is to evaluate the effectiveness of what we are all already doing to support the Syrian opposition and then looking at what more we might do without increasing the suffering and that being the litmus test.
  Jill.
  QUESTION: Could I just clarify? Then, in other words, was this kind of still at the evaluation stage; let's find out what we've done so far? Or have they gone down '' even further down the road to decide what each party should do?
  MS. NULAND: This was a conversation to get everybody looking at all three of those pillars in the same way. We'll have our staffs. We'll be following up over time. There are '' on the humanitarian side in particular, all of the countries on that call have been key donors to the UN effort. The issue there is now getting even more '' broadening the circle '' I think we have 22 donor countries now to the UN effort '' I getting more countries involved, and ensuring that as we support the UN both with money and in kind that we're not all giving the same thing, et cetera. So it's very much an effort to coordinate the planning that we're doing and the work that we're doing.
  QUESTION: And just one on Mr. Hijab.
  MS. NULAND: Yeah.
  QUESTION: He has spoken out. In fact, I'll read you one of these. ''The regime's moral, economy, and military has completely collapsed, and the regime is only in control of no more than 30 percent of Syrian lands.'' Does the State Department agree with that assessment?
  MS. NULAND: Well, we certainly agree with his analysis, and he spoke very eloquently that the Assad regime is disintegrating morally, economically, financially, and militarily. That's obvious from everything that we're seeing. As we've been saying for a number of weeks now, we do believe that the opposition is gaining control of more and more territory. I can't speak to the precise number that the former Prime Minister cited, but --
  QUESTION: But he does use the past tense. I mean, he does say, ''has collapsed.'' You're saying, ''is collapsing.'' So there's kind of difference between those two, right?
  MS. NULAND: Well, unfortunately, Assad has not let left the country and given up power, so we're '' we do see the regime collapsing, but unless and until the bloodshed ends, I don't know that we could use the past tense. But we all, as you know, are seeking to hasten that day.
  Please, Said.
  QUESTION: Victoria, increasingly the rhetoric coming out from the opposition or people associated with the opposition is belligerently sectarian. And in fact, there are some communities right outside Damascus (inaudible) where it was basically ethnically cleansed of Alawites. What measures are you taking '' aside from warning, which you have been doing admirably since the very beginning '' but what measures are taken to dissuade, ensure, or warn against such action?
  MS. NULAND: Well, first, let take a little bit of issue with the premise of the way you posed your comment and your question there, Said. From where we're sitting, it's quite a mixed picture. We have seen some of the major combatant entities, including the FSA, go out to their own fighters, calling for a code of conduct, be up on YouTube, up on their own websites, calling for justice, calling for accountability, calling for a Syria for all Syrians, urging their fighters against reprisals or any kind of vigilante justice.
  As you know, we've been sending that message in absolutely strongest terms, publicly and privately, at every level. The Secretary repeated it again in Istanbul that those fighting in the name of the Syrian people and in the name of a better day in Syria must do so in a manner that reflects the highest standards of human rights, the highest standards of accountability, and those who are beginning to set up interim governing structures in some of these liberated parts of Syria need to reflect the best democratic values of the Syria of the future. And they will be judged as well by how they administer, whether they are inclusive of all Syrians or whether they are cleansers, whether they protect the rights of individuals or whether they allow people acting in their name to commit violence or reprisal, et cetera. So the Syrian people are going to judge them and the international community are going to judge them.
  QUESTION: Are you in contact or are you making any special effort to contact, let's say, members of community leaders from the Alawite community or the Christian community, be it in Syria or outside of Syria, to actually sort of calm their fears, show them that the international community will take a very strong position against any kind of sectarian vengeful behavior by those who may ascend to power?
  MS. NULAND: Well, we are, and we have been from the beginning of this fight. As you know, we have broad and deep contacts both outside of Syria but also inside of Syria that have been getting even stronger as the country becomes more accessible, as more territory is liberated. And in all of our contacts, we are seeking to underscore the essential values that have to guide this fight going forward and by which the Syrian people, the international community, will judge the behavior of individuals and organizations collectively.
  We are also urging, as the Secretary has from the very beginning, a message of unity, of pluralism, of openness, of human rights protections for Syrians of all stripes, that that's absolutely essential if the next generation of leaders in Syria want to be truly democratic, want the support of the international community and their own people, and want to truly have a better Syria than the Syria that Assad led.
  QUESTION: You had mentioned just then that you said your contacts are getting deeper, growing '' they're growing with the opposition as more and more of the country becomes accessibly, yeah?
  MS. NULAND: Yes.
  QUESTION: Okay. That means that it's not just by phone; you've got people going into Syria, into areas that are held by the opposition, talking with these people. Is that what you're saying?
  MS. NULAND: What I'm saying is that we have a lot of Syrians coming in and out who we have contact with; our own ability to be in contact with people throughout the country is growing, whether it is in person or whether it is through other means. And we are using all of the contacts that we have to send these messages about the kind of Syria, the best Syria, that they need to reflect, even in their behavior now.
  QUESTION: Well, are you aware of State Department officials going into Syrian territory that is accessible, as you say?
  MS. NULAND: I don't have any information to share on that, no.
  QUESTION: Well, no, I'm not saying if you have any to share --
  MS. NULAND: No. We don't have State Department personnel, no.
  QUESTION: And then just the other thing. The conference call from yesterday --
  MS. NULAND: Yes.
  QUESTION: She has plans to expand this little small circle, correct?
  MS. NULAND: Yes. She'll be in touch --
  QUESTION: Who else will be --
  MS. NULAND: She is, as you know, spending the week in contact with others. So when I have more things to report I will, but I think the expectation is that she'll be in touch with other foreign ministers over the course of the week.
  QUESTION: Would you expect that she might '' that she would be in touch with Foreign Minister Lavrov?
  MS. NULAND: I don't think there's anything scheduled. My understanding is he's on holiday.
  QUESTION: Well --
  MS. NULAND: I don't think there's anything scheduled.
  Please.
  QUESTION: Yemen?
  MS. NULAND: Yes.
  QUESTION: On the surface, it looks like the former president's people are back in business, attacking President Hadi's military. Is that the understanding that you have? Is it really just that, or who are these people?
  MS. NULAND: Well, what we have seen are these clashes between Yemen's Republican Guards and the Yemeni military. We have been urging restraint on all sides, an immediate end to the violence, and respect for President Hadi and the reforms that he is putting in place and the democratic transition.
  QUESTION: That's it?
  MS. NULAND: That's '' I mean, I'm not going to speak to the motivations of some of these guys who have been violent. But obviously, it appears to be some of the dead-enders of the ancien regime trying to have their due and resist some of this democratic change that President Hadi is putting in place.
  QUESTION: Is '' what is the level of concern here in the building about that?
  MS. NULAND: Well, as I said, we are concerned. We are in touch with them and we have, again, called for the swift implementation of all of these decrees so that the '' so that Yemen can move on.
  Please.
  QUESTION: Sorry, just a quick follow-up --
  MS. NULAND: Yeah.
  QUESTION: -- on that, on Yemen. The former President heads a major party that is more and more gaining more power. Are you in contact with him, with Ali Abdullah Saleh as the head of a political party?
  MS. NULAND: Well, we have been in touch with him in the past, as you know. I can't speak to any recent contacts. But what we are doing is trying to strengthen the regime of President Hadi, trying to work with him on these transition plans that he's putting in place. We have, as you know, many contacts on the military side also in Yemen to make clear that they need to be supportive of a new day in Yemen and that those that resist that are on the wrong side of history, as my boss likes to say.
  Please.
  QUESTION: Egypt?
  MS. NULAND: Yeah.
  QUESTION: I was wondering if you might expound a bit on the remarks from yesterday regarding the appointment of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as Defense Minister of Egypt. Was he someone that the United States advocated on behalf of? And specifically would you characterize this as a positive signal from the Muslim Brotherhood government in Cairo that they have appointed somebody with ties to the United States and a history of participating in military programs here and (inaudible)?
  MS. NULAND: Well, we spoke to this extensively yesterday. I don't have --
  QUESTION: Just maybe one sentence, actually, at the very beginning of yesterday's briefing. I didn't see more than that.
  MS. NULAND: Yeah. Well, it was quite an extensive back and forth on Egypt. I think it was the whole 15 minutes of the briefing yesterday. As '' in response to your first question, did we advocate, it's not our job to pick the leaders of a foreign government. That is their job, obviously. The point we made on this particular individual is he's somebody who we do know well, who we've worked with in the past, and who has had training in the United States.
  QUESTION: So you would characterize it as a signal towards positive relations with this government, with the Morsi government?
  MS. NULAND: I'm not planning to characterize it one way or another. We look forward and hope and expect that we will have good working relations. That is what we would like to have. We would also, as I said yesterday, like to see strong continued relations between the civilian government and the military as they work through all of these transition issues that are still ahead of Egypt.
  Please.
  QUESTION: Toria, a quick follow-up on --
  QUESTION: Just on '' you mentioned training. How specific did you get yesterday? Was this IMET training, I'm presuming, or was it a combination of --
  MS. NULAND: I believe so. I believe so. I'm going to send you to the Pentagon. They had a better rundown of exactly what schools and things he had been in.
  QUESTION: I wonder if you know, as some Israeli, in fact, intelligence Israeli analysts claim, that cooperation or security cooperation between Israel and Egypt has really been quite close since the attack on the Egyptian soldiers. There are other conflicting signals. Do you have any information on that or can you share some with us? Has there been more cooperation between Egypt and Israel as the result of the attack in the Sinai?
  MS. NULAND: Well, Said, I'm going to send you to those two countries to characterize the relationship that they've had with each other over this last most recent incident. You did hear us say yesterday that we consider that as Egypt tackles the problems in the Sinai, it needs to maintain strong and continuing relationships with its neighbors, because the way it manages those issues have an impact on the neighbors and on their obligations under the treaties.
  Please.
  QUESTION: How about Under Secretary Wendy Sherman? We got a press release this morning, but can I get a little bit more information what she discussed with China about '' we got a press release that was about Syria and Iran, but can I get more detail?
  MS. NULAND: Under Secretary Sherman completed today a full day of meetings in Beijing as part of the inaugural meeting of the U.S.-China Middle East Dialogue. This is a new dialogue under our Strategic and Economic Dialogue with China that the Secretary and Secretary Geithner lead. It's something that we agreed to do to deepen our collaboration on Middle East issues. The Chinese side was led by Vice Foreign Minister Zhai Jun, and Secretary Sherman had with her representatives from our Near East Bureau, from our East Asia Bureau, and also from our Energy Bureau, and they consulted on a broad range of issues with regard to the Middle East. I'm going to guess that Iran and Syria were among those topics.
  While she was in Beijing, she also met with Foreign Minister Yang. She also met with Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai. In those meetings, they also talked about the Middle East, they talked about the P-5+1 talks, they talked about Syria. And then she also had the full range of discussions on non Middle East issues. She is planning to meet, I guess in the morning tomorrow, with her counterpart in the P-5+1 talks, Assistant Foreign Minister Ma. And then she's going on to Moscow and on to London.
  QUESTION: Can I just follow up a little bit?
  MS. NULAND: Yeah.
  QUESTION: This comes right before an envoy from Assad is in Beijing. Is there a specific message that Wendy Sherman is hoping that the Chinese would give to the Syrians, anything that they want China to do on Syria specifically?
  MS. NULAND: Well, without getting into the details of her diplomatic exchange, you can imagine that our hope is that the Chinese will do what they can and use their influence to encourage the Assad regime to end the violence and to come back into '' come into compliance with Kofi's six points, which the Chinese also signed up to, and to do what they can to get us into a place where we are implementing the Geneva transition declaration that the Chinese also supported.
  Please.
  QUESTION: And also they have a good relationship with Iran, so does she get good response from China that China are going to do something, push pressure against Iran?
  MS. NULAND: Well, as you know, they are participants in the P-5+1 conversation, so she has a very close relationship with her Chinese counterpart as the P-5+1 stays unified in its message to Iran. And the message to Iran has been that what they've put on the table so far is a nonstarter and that we need to see more effort on their part to demonstrate that they're willing to come back into compliance with their international obligations. So I'm sure they're comparing notes on how they can get that message across.
  Please.
  QUESTION: On Iran.
  MS. NULAND: Yeah.
  QUESTION: Just a last one on this one?
  MS. NULAND: Yes.
  QUESTION: Did the Chinese show any effort '' they want to extend any effort to get the Syrians back to the six-point? Or was it just an exchange of points of view?
  MS. NULAND: I think you won't be surprised if I let the Chinese characterize their own position.
  Please.
  QUESTION: Chinese newspaper suggests that South Korea, Russia, and China collaborate in open discussion with Japan regarding the disputed island Senkaku, Takeshima, and northern islands. Recent events show the rising tension in the Asia Pacific region over these disputed islands, that the U.S. still honor the San Francisco peace treaty in 1951. Does the U.S. stance on this treaty remain the same today?
  MS. NULAND: You lost me towards the end there. We talked about where we are on the islands yesterday. With regard to the Japan-Korea disputes, we do not take a position between our two allies. We encourage our allies to work this out together.
  Please.
  QUESTION: Change of subject, on Pakistan?
  MS. NULAND: Yeah.
  QUESTION: Last Friday, President signed into law the Haqqani Network Terrorist Designation Act, under which Secretary has 30 days time to say yes or no to the Haqqani Network as an FTO. Do you think it is coming up? Are you going to announce it, that Haqqani Network is a foreign terrorist organization?
  MS. NULAND: Well, first, let me say that we share the grave concern of the Congress with regard to the activities of the Haqqani Network. We have, as you know, both State and Treasury, designated a number of individuals within the network. As you said, the President has signed the piece of legislation, the Haqqani Network Terrorist Designation Act of 2012. He signed it last Friday. The act gives the Secretary 30 days to report on the Haqqani Network, so that clock has just started ticking, and we'll let you know when we have something to say. She's considering right now and reviewing the issue.
  QUESTION: Just on the '' it gives her 30 days to report?
  MS. NULAND: Under the act, she has 30 days to report on whether or not the Haqqani Network meets the criteria to be designated as a foreign terrorist organization. That's what the legislation says.
  QUESTION: Okay. And Congress can't compel an FTO designation, can it?
  MS. NULAND: That is not what this legislation does.
  QUESTION: Well, what happens if the 30 days goes by and she misses the deadline?
  MS. NULAND: Well, she has a reporting requirement to Congress, and I'm confident she won't miss a reporting requirement to Congress. She --
  QUESTION: You guys miss reporting requirements all the time.
  MS. NULAND: Well, I --
  QUESTION: On this one, no?
  MS. NULAND: Let's see. Anyway, her review is ongoing. She '' it is our --
  QUESTION: So it's 30 days from last Friday?
  MS. NULAND: Thirty days from last Friday.
  QUESTION: (Inaudible.)
  MS. NULAND: Can we finish over here and then come back?
  QUESTION: (Inaudible.) Can you tell us, give us a sense what kind of threat Haqqani Network poses to the U.S. forces inside Afghanistan?
  MS. NULAND: We've talked about this many times. I don't have anything new to add. You know that we have grave concerns about the threat that they pose inside Pakistan and the threat that they pose across the border.
  Scott.
  QUESTION: Can we just stay on the legislation for a second? I mean, this 30 days now '' I mean, there was a review already underway --
  MS. NULAND: Yes.
  QUESTION: -- or pretty much continually underway.
  MS. NULAND: Right, right.
  QUESTION: Was it going to be done within 30 days? Presuming '' the President signed it, so the Department doesn't look like it was opposed to this. Does this mean that you're going to have to speed up what was already in progress or not? I mean --
  MS. NULAND: Well, you are right that the question of whether to designate the entire Haqqani organization is something that we've been looking at for some time, and no decision has been made. This is separate and distinct. She owes Congress now, within 30 days of last Friday, a report as to whether they meet the criteria. Now you can obviously see a relationship between these two things, but the expectation is that she'll meet the deadline in making the report.
  QUESTION: Well, can she say that yes, they meet their criteria, but we're not going to designate them?
  MS. NULAND: Let's wait and see what she says.
  QUESTION: I mean, is that an option?
  MS. NULAND: Let's wait and see what she says. She has to report on whether they --
  QUESTION: Well, I know, but when she reports, if she says no, they don't meet the criteria, obviously they don't get listed. But if she says yes, does that automatically mean that they get listed?
  MS. NULAND: She has to make a separate decision about the listing.
  QUESTION: So she can go back to Congress and say yes, they do meet the criteria; however, we're not going to designate them because of other reasons? Is that what you're saying?
  MS. NULAND: We could speculate round and flat.
  QUESTION: I'm just trying to '' look, we go through this with the MEK all the time.
  MS. NULAND: Yeah, yeah. I mean --
  QUESTION: So this is not a '' you decide '' you either put them on the list in 30 days or we're going to put them on the list for you?
  MS. NULAND: Congress is expecting her to give them a report as to whether they meet the criteria. The expectation is that she will give that report. That is a separate and distinct matter from whether, either in coordination with this or separately, she makes a decision about designation and when she might do that.
  QUESTION: Toria, I wonder if you have any comment on '' the Pakistanis announced that they would go in hot pursuit after the Taliban and the Haqqani Network in Afghanistan. Would you be worried of something like this, or would you encourage something like that?
  MS. NULAND: Again, you're getting me into all kinds of hypotheticals here, Said, and also military matters. We have said for many, many, many, many months, including when the Secretary was in Afghanistan and Pakistan in the fall, that we want to see a coordinated effort on both sides of the border to squeeze the Haqqani Network, that we want to see Afghanistan and Pakistan work together with us, work together with ISAF to maximize our ability to deal with the threat that they pose. And we are continuing to work on both sides of the border on that issue.
  Please, Scott.
  QUESTION: South China Sea.
  MS. NULAND: Yeah.
  QUESTION: The other global issues that you said Wendy Sherman discussed in Beijing, was South China Sea among them?
  MS. NULAND: I have to tell you, Scott, I don't have that affirmatively, but I cannot imagine that she would have had a conversation and it wouldn't have come up in some capacity, because we've been having a continual conversation about that issue with China.
  QUESTION: There was a statement earlier this month under Patrick's name where you guys talked about the new garrison in Sansha City as running counter to collaborative diplomatic efforts to resolve the differences. On Foreign Minister Yang's just completed trip to Indonesia, Brunei, and Malaysia, he seems to have made some progress in moving more toward a bilateral discussion of South China Sea. So do you think this collaborative, diplomatic efforts are still the way to go?
  MS. NULAND: Well, obviously, we need individual bilateral conversations in order to strengthen a multilateral conversation. We don't think that this issue, as we've said for quite some time, can be resolved through a series of bilateral intersections. We think at the end of the day all of the claimants, all of the involved parties, are going to have to sit down in a room and come up with a code of conduct. If bilateral diplomacy can be supportive of an ultimate, multilateral framework, then that will be fine; but we don't think that cutting deals with these countries individually is going to work, let alone be the expedient way or the best way under international law to get this done.
  QUESTION: And finally for me on this, there's an editorial in Xinhua that says that the failure at ASEAN to reach a joint statement is the result of meddling of some Western countries who are looking to divide Asia. Is that your view of what happened at ASEAN?
  MS. NULAND: Absolutely not. Our view of what happened is that the ASEAN countries themselves appreciate what a crucial issue it is for them individually and for them collectively to handle this dispute in the South China Sea in a manner that protects their larger security interests, that they came at it from different perspectives, and rather than whitewashing that problem and having a weak communiqu(C) that didn't say much, they chose to continue to talk about it and not '' and bypass a communiqu(C) this time until such time as they can have a unified position.
  We, throughout that set of meetings, as you know, and the Secretary was quite vocal about this, continued to encourage all of the stakeholders, including China and the ASEANs, to work together on a code of conduct and for all of them to commit, as soon as they can, to do that work and ideally to do it this year.
  QUESTION: Why is it '' why is cutting individual deals not the way to go through this? I mean, if the Chinese can work something out with each one of these claimant countries, doesn't that ease tensions? Isn't that in the furtherance of international maritime freedom?
  MS. NULAND: Well, as I said, bilateral diplomacy that leads to and is supportive of an overall multilateral deal where all of the claimants are satisfied and the arrangement that emerges is supportable under international law is fine. But an effort to divide and conquer and end up with a competitive situation among the different claimants is not going to get where we need to go.
  So, again, if this bilateral diplomacy is supportive of an overall regional arrangement that results in a code of conduct everybody can live with, then that'll be a good thing. But if, in fact, it's an effort to end up in a place where people are '' where there's more tension between the stakeholders, then that's not going to work.
  QUESTION: Right. But so your suspicion is that they're trying to divide and conquer?
  MS. NULAND: I don't have a suspicion one way or the other. I'm simply saying that ''
  QUESTION: You --
  MS. NULAND: What I said from the beginning was bilateral diplomacy that is supportive of a multilateral arrangement can be a good thing. We do that all the time when we're working a large multilateral deal. We try to work with individual countries in support of that. But a divide-and-conquer strategy would not be a good thing.
  QUESTION: Right. But you are concerned. I mean, that is the entire reason why you've been pushing for a collaborative rather than a one-on-one thing, because you think the Chinese will take advantage of the smaller '' of these small countries. So more division in a divide-and-conquer way, thus increase their influence. Isn't that correct?
  MS. NULAND: Well, what we're most concerned about at the moment is that tensions are going up among the stakeholders. So we want to see a commitment to a deal that meets the needs of all. That's what we want to see.
  Please.
  QUESTION: Toria, can you comment on the North Korea leader Kim Jong-un's cousin, Vice President Jang Song Thaek, and their delegation's visit to China today?
  MS. NULAND: I had that question yesterday. I really don't have anything to say there. Thanks.
  Please.
  QUESTION: The Indian Prime Minister is going to visit Iran later this month. And Iran is also hosting Non-Aligned Movement meeting. Do you have any take on that?
  MS. NULAND: Well, with regard to the visit, we would hope, as we always do when our partners and allies are involved in any kind of intersection with Iran, that the larger points are made about the importance of Iran coming back into compliance with its international obligations, using the opportunity that the P-5+1 has offered for diplomacy to actually make real progress, and also express concerns about the other alarming trends that we've seen with regard to Iran, including its support for terror.
  QUESTION: So this is the message you're telling to Indians to convey to the Iranians?
  MS. NULAND: We talk to India bilaterally about all of our concerns with regard to Iran. As I said, in general, whenever anybody has a chance to see Iranians, we hope they make these larger points with regard to peace and security that we all are signed up to.
  QUESTION: But you're not --
  QUESTION: (Inaudible.)
  QUESTION: You're not troubled about the fact that he's going?
  MS. NULAND: This is --
  QUESTION: The Non-Aligned Movement meeting in Iran, this NAM meeting also being held in Iran, it's off late. Iran is trying '' it's holding several international meets on various issues. How do you see Iran trying to --
  MS. NULAND: Well, the last international meeting that Iran tried to hold on Syria sort of fizzled a bit, didn't it? So we'll see what happens with this.
  QUESTION: Toria, what is your view of resumption of a dialogue between North Korea and Japan?
  MS. NULAND: Well, you know that we work on the North Korea issues in general in the context of the Six-Party Talks, so all of those countries have their own bilateral relationship with North Korea that they endeavor to use to support the general principles that we share. So we don't have any issue with dialogue, and we assume that it will '' Japan will '' that its position that we see in the Six-Party Talks will be the same.
  QUESTION: But is it actually a positive sign to have Japan and North Korea resuming dialogue?
  MS. NULAND: Again, I think we have to see what'll come of it.
  Anything else? Please.
  QUESTION: I have one.
  MS. NULAND: Yeah. And then here.
  QUESTION: The Special U.S. Representative to OIC is present in Makkah today for the OIC meeting, a special meeting of the OIC countries. Do you know what he's '' what are the issues he's raising there? Syria, Burma? What are the other issues?
  MS. NULAND: My understanding is he's going as an observer for this set of summit meetings, but if I have more for you on that, we'll let you know. Okay?
  QUESTION: Thank you.
  MS. NULAND: Last one here.
  QUESTION: Do you have a comment on Radwan Daoud, the U.S. resident who was detained in Sudan after participating in anti-regime protests?
  MS. NULAND: I think I did have something here, but I'm not sure. I'm going to take that one and get back to you. Okay?
  QUESTION: Okay. Thank you.
  MS. NULAND: Thank you.
  QUESTION: Actually, do you have any update on (inaudible) Venezuela on the --
  MS. NULAND: Yeah, I have a little bit of an update on Venezuela. So the Venezuelans did confirm to us here in Washington yesterday after the briefing that they do have an American citizen under custody. They did not follow usual channels and notify our Embassy in capital, nor have they responded to our requests for consular access to him. So we are continuing to ask them first to communicate directly with our Embassy in Caracas, which is the standard diplomatic practice, and second, to grant us consular access.
  QUESTION: Do you know much about the allegations against the individual or about the '' or has State been in touch with the person's family?
  MS. NULAND: Well, again, we don't have a Privacy Act waiver because we haven't had access to him, so there's not much I can add from the podium here.
  Okay. Thanks.
  (The briefing was concluded at 1:17 p.m.)
  DPB #144
Law Enforcement and Homeland Security
  Link to Article
  Source: Programs Recently Aired - C-SPAN Video Library
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 03:57
  Aspen Institute
  Homeland security and law enforcement officials talked about recent cases and responses by intelligence agencies and law enforcement. They discussed the thwarted New York City subway bomber who drove from Denver with explosives .. Read MoreHomeland security and law enforcement officials talked about recent cases and responses by intelligence agencies and law enforcement. They discussed the thwarted New York City subway bomber who drove from Denver with explosives in his trunk, the Saudi student at Texas Tech who tried to produce a weapon of mass destruction, and the shooting at Fort Hood, Texas. Introduction: David Hiller, CEO, The Robert M. McCormick FoundationBrad Brekke, Target VP of Assets Protection;; Former DHS Undersecretary for IntelligenceSean Joyce, Deputy FBI Director Bart Johnson, Former DHS Principal Deputy Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis, JTimothy Williams, Director, Washington Bureau, INTERPOL
  59 minutes |
  View Event Timeline (4 Programs)
Racketeering Charge Against BofA and MERS | Sense on Cents
  Link to Article
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 02:46
  A little over a year ago I became aware of robo-signing within the mortgage servicing industry and broached the topic that the activity likely rose to a level of racketeering. I aggressively questioned, Did Wall Street Violate the Racketeering Act?
  Believing that the activity did likely rise to a level of racketeering, I recommended that attorneys general should pursue institutions involved in these fraudulent and abusive practices with a RICO action.
  Well, it appears that somebody is now doing just that with specific focus on activities that transpired at Bank of America and MERS (Mortgage Electronic Registration System).
  American Banker highlights this specific case and much more in writing, Will R-I-C-O Spell Relief for B Of A Mortgage Borrowers?,
  So, how might B of A qualify as a likely target? It's definitely an ''enterprise,'' one of the criteria of a RICO prosecution. According to several lawyers, there's a pattern of activities, mainly surrounding B of A's 2008 acquisition of Angelo Mozilo's Frankenstein, a/k/a Countrywide Financial, that provide potential prosecutorial fodder insofar as securities fraud and consumer protection violations are concerned.
  One crusader in this tight-knit group '' Dave Angle, a consumer attorney formerly with the Missouri Attorney General's office '' points specifically to the Federal Trade Commission's 2010 settlement with B of A, where the bank agreed to pay $108 million to settle claims that Countrywide had laid excessive servicing fees on cash-strapped homeowners.
  The upshot, according to Angle, was, essentially, an upraised B of A middle finger as the company continued servicing practices as usual, until the FTC got wise and forced another settlement in February of this year, charging the bank with ignoring the initial settlement and demanding a return to homeowners of an additional $36 million, the ill-gotten gains accumulated in the interim.
  The Inspector General at HUD also noted this blatant nose-thumbing in a report issued in March, which took B of A, along with four of its brethren, to task for ''widespread questionable foreclosure practices involving the use of foreclosure 'mills' and a practice known as 'robosigning' of sworn documents in thousands of foreclosures throughout the United States.''
  Every day seems to bring another horror story designed to fuel public rage against Bank of America, whether it's the case of Louise Davidson of Loma, Colorado (whom I wrote about in previous blogs), still sans home thanks to a B of A/Fannie Mae eviction; Los Angeles mother Dirma Rodriguez, fighting B of A to stay in her home with a severely disabled daughter; or a 74 year-old veteran, Larry Anderson, now on the verge of losing his family home to the relentless maws of the B of A foreclosure machine.
  But, Mark Malone '' a former U.S. and New Jersey prosecutor with RICO experience '' firmly believes that the statute could prove a legal trumpet that could bring down the Jericho-style battlements of B of A.
  Factually and legally, he claims, there's no impediment to using the RICO statute to prosecute current and former executives at Bank of America if a ''pattern of racketeering activities'' can be alleged, meaning people in the organization having committed two or more acts within a 10-year period that violate federal statutes prohibiting the use of the mail or the ''wires'' (defined as telephonic, and now Internet, communication) to carry out fraudulent schemes. (Malone, serving as a volunteer lawyer for South Jersey Legal Services, is fighting B of A in a client's foreclosure case.) He, Angle and others in the group believe that much of what went on during Countrywide's descent into infamy, and its acquisition by B of A, met the fraud criteria.
  Malone and Angle doubt Eric Holder's Department of Justice will wield RICO as a weapon, pointing out that Holder and the DOJ's Criminal Division head, Lanny Breuer, are both former partners of the white shoe law firm Covington and Burling. That might pose a problem for the two if a RICO investigation were to move forward with alacrity. As Reuters reported on Jan. 20, the firm's connective tissue binds it to clients that have included Bank of America, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and its lawyers wrote opinions supporting the legality of MERS' securitization activities.
  So, is the use of RICO by DOJ just wishful thinking on the part of this group of legal crusaders? For now, maybe, but there is some action on the state level. Louisiana, for one, has just filed a RICO complaint against MERS and a whole host of megabanks, B of A included. The suit alleges that the defendants used the wires and the mails in a scheme to defraud parishes out of recording fees.
  While the crowd in Washington have shown their crony capitalist fabric all too often, thankfully there are some leaders within our states who have the requisite courage to pursue meaningful justice on this front. No doubt many other states' attorneys general are watching this Louisiana case very closely. If in fact racketeering occurred, then appropriate measures of justice should be meted out accordingly.
  Despite what some in Washington may feel, the country will not only survive BUT this path of truth and justice will make us far stronger.
  Larry Doyle
  Isn't it time to subscribe to all my work via e-mail, an RSS feed, on Twitter or Facebook?
  I have no affiliation or business interest with any entity referenced in this commentary. The opinions expressed are my own. I am a proponent of real transparency within our markets so that investor confidence and investor protection can be achieved.
  '); ?-->This entry was postedon Thursday, May 10th, 2012 at 5:32 AMand is filed under financial frauds, fraud, General, Mortgage Crisis, Mortgages.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
Schneiderman MERS Suit and HUD's Donovan Remarks Confirm That Mortgage ''Settlement'' is a Stealth Bank Bailout naked capitalism
  Link to Article
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 02:40
  In case you had any doubts about what the mortgage settlement was really about and why banks that were so keenly opposed to it are now willing to go ahead, the news of the last two days should settle any doubts.
  As we had indicated earlier, one of the many leaks about the settlement showed that there had been a major shift its parameters. Of the $25 billion that has been bandied about as a settlement total for the biggest banks, comparatively little (less than $5 billion) is in cash. The rest comes in the form of credits for principal modifications of mortgages.
  Originally, that was to come only from mortgages held by banks, meaning they would bear the costs. The fact that this meant that whether a homeowner might benefit would be random (were you one of the lucky ones whose mortgage had not been securitized?) was apparently used as an excuse to morph the deal into a huge win for them: allowing the banks to get credit for modifying mortgages that they don't own.
  The first rule of finance (well, maybe second, ''fees are not negotiable'' might be number one) is always use other people's money before your own. So giving the banks permission to modify loans they don't own guarantees that that is where the overwhelming majority of mortgage modifications will take place, ex those the banks would have done anyhow on their own loans. And the design of the program, that securitized loans will be given only half the credit towards the total, versus 100% for loans the banks own, merely assures that even more damage will be done to investors to pay for the servicers' misdeeds.
  Let me stress: this is a huge bailout for the banks. The settlement amounts to a transfer from retirement accounts (pension funds, 401 (k)s) and insurers to the banks. And without this subsidy, the biggest banks would be in serious trouble
  Why? As leading mortgage analyst Laurie Goodman pointed out in a late 2010 presentation, just over half of the private label (non Fannie/Freddie) securitizations have second liens behind them (overwhelmingly home equity lines of credit). Moreover, homes with first liens only have far lower delinquency rates than homes with both first and second liens. Separately, various studies have found that defaults are also correlated with how far underwater a borrower is. If a borrower is too far in negative equity territory, it makes less sense for them to struggle to stay current, no matter how much they love their home.
  The second liens pose a huge problem to the banks. Courtesy Josh Rosner, this is data as of September 30 for Citi, Bank of America, JP Morgan, and Wells, respectively:
  Compare these totals with the book value of their equity as of the same date: $42 billion in seconds for Citi versus $177 billion in equity; BofA, $121 billion in seconds versus $230 billion in equity: JP Morgan, $97 billion in seconds versus $182 billion in equity; Well, $109 billion in seconds versus $139 billion in equity. One of my mortgage investor mavens says that BofA's seconds should bve written down by about $100 billion and JP Morgan's by $60 billion. That writeoff would exceed BofA's market cap and would make a major dent in Jamie Dimon's touted ''fortress balance sheet.'' And a similar magnitude of haircut to Wells would expose it as being grossly undercapitalized.
  Now the banks contend that the seconds are current or not all that delinquent, and hence no writeoffs are warranted. Please. Banks are doing everything in their power to preserve that fiction. First, they are engaging in far more aggressive debt collection against seconds than firsts, even though they service both. In addition, they can and do make insolvent borrowers look whole. They will reduce the minimum payment due when a borrower is close to being officially delinquent, and tell them to send a small amount and declare the loan current. Or they simply increase the credit line on the home equity line and let the borrower pay them with new funds lent to them. Neat, eh?
  Finally, they also have been modifying first liens to preserve their second liens. If you reduce the payments on the first mortgage, the borrower has more money left to pay the second lien. From the transcript of Goodman's 2010 presentation:
  Clearly there's a differential standard of managing second liens and securitizations versus second liens in bank portfolios. It's very clear banks are doing all they can to get the, to keep, to get the first lien modified in order to keep the second intact, and that is just a huge conflict of interest.
  Legally, the hierarchy of payment OUGHT to be clear: a second should be wiped out before a first lien is touched. That's how it works in a foreclosure or a bankruptcy: only after the first lien was paid in full would a second lien get anything. But that isn't what is happening now.
  An important post by Dave Dayen, ''HUD Secretary Expects ''Substantial'' Payment of Foreclosure Fraud Settlement with MBS Investor Money,'' on a small group interview of Shaun Donovan, makes it clear that the Administration is well aware of, indeed almost giddy, about the way investor oxen are about to be gored. Guess they haven't given enough to Obama to save their hides.
  Per Dayen:
  Donovan claimed that the money available in the settlement for principal reduction for underwater borrowers would actually come to $35-$40 billion, over double the $17 billion in nominal principal reduction that has been widely reported'...
  But how exactly does Donovan get to $35-$40 billion when the reports all claim $17 billion (as well as $8 billion in various penalties and checks for wrongful foreclosures, adding up to a $25 billion settlement)? He said that the topline numbers have always reflected the settlement with the five largest servicers. When you throw in the other 9 servicers who have been in discussions on the settlement, the level rises to more like $30 billion. Furthermore, ''not all write-downs are created equal'' in the settlement, Donovan said. The $17 billion on principal reduction always reflected ''credits,'' a number that the servicers would have to hit to comply with the settlement terms. Some of the credits are not dollar-for-dollar. For instance, principal reduction on loans that are over 175% LTV (loan-to-value ratio) would not get full credit because it would be a ''reduction'' on a house that will probably go into foreclosure anyway. ''If a servicer is writing down a current first-lien mortgage, that has more value than a second lien 180 days delinquent,'' Donovan gave by way of a separate example.
  When you add all this up, Donovan asserted, ''For every dollar of credit, we'll be getting on average $2 or more of principal reduction. That's how you get from $17 billion to $35-$40 billion.''
  Notice that Donovan skips over the biggest item that will lead to bigger reductions than the nominal amount: the 50% credit that we noted above and in earlier posts, per a report by Shahien Nasiripour of the Financial Times, for modifications of loans that the banks don't own.
  Donovan tried to tell the journalists that there would be no problem with banks modifying these loans. That seems like a big stretch. The Pooling and Servicing Agreements all have a provision that says that the servicer is required to service the loan in the best interest of the certificateholders, meaning the investors. Modifying first liens owned by those investors pursuant to a settlement of legal and regulatory violations would not seem to pass muster. In addition, as we have reported earlier, a ''safe harbor'' provision, which was intended to provide air cover for banks to make mods as part of HAMP, was removed during reconciliation even though it had passed both houses. Why? Some investors had said that that provision amounted to a 5th Amendment violation, since it was taking property from private investors without providing compensation (note this is arguably a taking by government because preventing losses at BofA and Wells, which would be next in line if BofA were revealed to be insolvent, has the effect of benefitting the FDIC).
  How does the Schneiderman MERS suit play into this? The consensus reaction to his Friday filing of a suit on MERS abuses seemed to be that he had at a minimum redeemed himself for taking the wind out of the dissenting AG effort by joining a Federal task force that looks likely to produce little and becoming coy on where he stood on the settlement deal. After Friday's filing, some even thought he had outplayed Obama, by getting him to commit in a very public way to investigations and then filing a suit that put robosigning and other foreclosure abuses front and center. It looked as if he had gotten to have his cake and eat it too.
  I'm skeptical of this cheery view. As readers know, I doubt that this investigation will produce much except some suits against small or at best medium fry. As Charles Ferguson of Inside Job put it, ''Let Them Eat Task Forces.'' There is a well established art form to stymieing people like Schneiderman: do the least important 60% of what they asked you to do, slowly.
  Schneiderman got to be on a not-likely-to-do-much task force. What did he get? He allegedly gets more resources, and he might get more information, but the Administration scored a huge win by dragging out the settlement talks over a year and running out the statute of limitations on some of the best legal theories. I have to admit I was snookered. I thought the ongoing joke of the Tom Miller ''we're gonna have a deal any day now'' was an embarrassing bug, but it was a feature. The AGs were being strung along as long as possible to keep them from filing suits. A few like Beau Biden, Martha Coakley, and Catherine Cortez Masto still did, but not soon enough or in enough numbers to embarrass some of the other fence-sitters into action (Lisa Madigan is an exception that proves the rule).
  So what does his MERS suit mean? I'm mainly focusing on how it relates to the bigger game of the settlement, but let me make a few observations about his filing qua filing. It is gratifying to see a long form description of the MERS horrorshow. And this suit could be used to shift focus back to an issue that everyone in the mortgage industrial complex seems to want to push aside: servicers seem unable to foreclose legally and chain of title is a mess. Settlement deals and compensation to abused homeowners could be useful, but they don't address the underlying mess (and neither do phony baloney OCC consent decrees).
  And the media keeps taking the industry line on foreclosure problems. It keeps touting how long it takes to foreclose in New York as if this is the fault of the borrowers and the courts. In fact, it is the fault of the industry. In October 2010, New York implemented a requirement that all attorneys in residential foreclosures certify that they take ''reasonable'' measures to verify the accuracy of documents submitted to the court. From a formal standpoint, all this did was reaffirm existing law, but procedurally, it makes it much easier for borrower's counsel to get attorneys who play fast and loose sanctioned.
  Look what has happened to foreclosure activity before the requirement was put in place versus this past October:
  So foreclosures had already effectively stopped because there are now real consequences to submitting bogus documentation. The Schneiderman filing ups the ante by telling servicers that they are subject to fines of $5,000 per violation (arguably, per each piece of improper paperwork submitted).
  But how does this suit move forward in practice? Even though the filing mentioned $2 billion lost recording fees, his filing does not seek any damages for that. Readers are invited to chime in, but I see that he has two big hurdles. The first is pinning liability on the banks, as opposed to MERS. MERS has fewer than 50 employees and I guarantee its only meaningful asset is its screwed-up database. It can't pay any meaningful damages or do much of anything to fix the mess it created. The banks will seek to argue that any liability sits with MERS, LPS and its ilk, and the foreclosure mills. It will probably take some doing to establish bank culpability.
  Second is establishing the number of violations per bank. In aggregate, it looks to be massive, but the AG needs to come up with some basis for arguing at least roughly how many violations took place. That probably means establishing how many foreclosures in the relevant time frame had liens recorded in the MERS system and coming up with a solid minimum number of violations per foreclosure. How do you do that? Maybe sampling 100 foreclosures with MERS assignments per bank? The only good news is the foreclosure procedures were so awful that the banks would be hard pressed to find any foreclosures that didn't have document problems.
  Let's do some rough math. The chart above shows 153 foreclosures a day for September 2010. Let's assume an average of 150 a day for 2008-2010 and half that for 2007, with 250 work days a year (the court calendar does drop to nada in late August and December). Further assume that the three big banks listed accounted for 30% of the foreclosure filings, and half of those used MERS. That's roughly 20,000 foreclosures. Assume 2 violations per foreclosure, which is $10,000, plus the $2,000 in expenses per homeowner (this was a separate claim in the filing). $12,000 X 20,000 is $240 million, or $80 million per bank. If you think I've been conservative, double that. The point is you don't get to bank-crippling numbers from this suit. And remember, this litigation will probably be settled, and settlements are for less that the full value of what the plaintiff might win (there's no reason to settle if the defendant has to pay out the full amount he's exposed to if he loses in court).
  That means it might be better for Schneiderman to use this suit to keep the negative PR about the banks coming (the reputational damage is likely to sting more than the amount they'd need to pay to make the case go away) and to press for real solutions to servicing and foreclosure practices. That has FAR more value than what he looks likely to recover.
  This is a long-winded digression. Back to the settlement jousting. Obama succeeded in getting Schneiderman on the sidelines as a leader of the dissenting AGs as the Administration mounted a final push. That destablized the opposition and fed the now widespread impression that the settlement is inevitable (remember, before the Schneiderman announcement, it looked like the Administration would have significant defections of Democratic AGs. At least one AG who had met with the dissenters, Oregon's John Kroger, has now joined the settlement).
  But does the Schneiderman MERS suit hinder or help the settlement effort? Perversely, it may help the Administration push it over the line. If the leak about the scope of the release via Mike Lux is to be believed, MERS-related liability is excluded from the waiver. Schneiderman has just demonstrated you can file what amounts to a robosigning lawsuit using the MERS exclusion. You won't get the securitizations outside of MERS where the notes weren't transferred properly, but you'll get a large proportion of the defective securitizations.
  Now why should the banks sign onto a deal to settle robosigning claims that leaves them exposed in a big way to robosiging claims? If they thought the Schneiderman suit revealed a problem in the release, you'd expect them to demand that the negotiations be reopened. It may be too soon to tell, but I've seen no sign of bank pushback, and this deal has been so heavily lawyered I am sure the banks were well aware of this issue. Similarly, as reader Pwelder pointed out, all the banks that were targeted in the suit were up on Friday markedly more than the market overall, indicating that investors do not see this suit as threatening.
  So the fact that they seem so keen to go ahead on a deal that does not very much to shield them from attorney general suits on robosigning confirms our suspicions: the banks are willing to pay several billion of hard cash among themselves to create the impression that they are Doing Something for Homeowners as cover for a bailout. Nicely played all around.
  And Donovon's cheerleading confirms the Administration's sense of priorities. He regards robo-signing, foreclosure fraud, and making a mess of title as unimportant, and applauds the this settlement as a way to get principal reductions and allow the banks to escape any meaningful liability or responsibility.
  The Obama Administration may have decided that investors have acted enough like patsies, given how they have failed to react to rampant servicer abuses, that they judge the risk of investor litigation and a related PR embarrassment to be small. But this battle is not yet over. The rumblings I am hearing from investor-land remind of the sections of the Lord of the Rings when the Ents were finally roused. It isn't yet clear that investors will act, but if they do, the Administration will be unprepared for the vehemence of their response.
MERS, the law, and the State naked capitalism
  Link to Article
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 02:38
  By lambert strether.
  The current version of Harpers '-- go buy it on the newstand! '-- has a terrific article by Christopher Ketcham on the MERS mess, which NC has done so much to bring to the attention of the public. I'm going to excerpt and contextualize two portions of the article. First, Ketcham interviews foreclosure activist Vermont Trotter of Coeur D'Arlene, Idaho on the ''clouded title'' problem. I'm a connoisseur of the worst case scenario, and this is a doozy:
  Trotter told me that the ''true horror'' of MERS [1818 Library Street, Suite 300Reston, VA 20190, 1-800-646-6377] was what it could do to homeowners who were current on their mortgage payments: The ''good'' homeowners who still had a job and weren't facing foreclosure. If there was no legal record of which bank owned their debt [see below if you haven't been following NC on MERS], and the MERS-mortgaged homeowners had been making payments, then who exactly was the homeowner paying? The checks, clearly, were going out every month, cashed by a bank that claimed to own the note. But without the legal record to certify the owner of the note, it followed that the bank could not legally issue the homeowner a clear title to the home. In effect, a homeowner with MERS on his mortgage could spend thirty years paying a lender that wasn't the owner of the note. '.... ''[Y]ou'd always be looking over your shoulder,'' said Trotter. ''Some other lender could come and say 'No, we owned that note. You paid the wrong guy.'' ''WIth MERS'', he said, ''nobody owns anything. You're only paying rent.''
  That's not a bug. It's a feature. At least for a rentier, although not necessarily for Trotter.
  Second, Ketcham offers a lucid and succinct explanation of how this MERS feature came to be implemented:
  [Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems] was created in 1995 as a privately held venture of the major mortgage-finance operators'... Its stated purpose was to manage a confidential electronic registry for tracking of the sale of mortgage loans between lenders'... No longer would the traffickers in mortgages have to document their transactions with county clerks, nor would they have to pay the many and varied courthouse fees'... This centralized database facilitated the buying and selling of mortgage debt at great speed and greatly reduced cost. '... Without the efficiencies [dread word] of MERS there probably would never have been a mortgage bubble.
  After the housing market collapsed, however, MERS found itself under attack in courts across the country. MERS had single-handedly [oh?] unraveled centuries of precedent in property titling and mortgage recordation, and judges in state appellate and Federal bankruptcy courts in more than a dozen jurisdictions '-- the primary venues where real estate cases are decided '-- determined that the company did not have the right to foreclose on the mortgages it held. '... ''There is no evidence of record that establishes that MERS either held the promissory note or was given the authority [to] assign the note,'' the Kansas court held. '... ''It appears that every MERS mortgage,'' a New York State Supreme Court judge recently told me, ''is defective, a piece of crap.''
  ''What's happened,'' said Christopher Peterson, a law professor at the University of Utah who has written extensively about MERS, ''is that, almost overnight, we've switched from democracy in real-property recording to oligarchy in real-property recording.'' The county clerks who established the ownership of land, who oversaw the records, were democratically elected stewards of those records, said Peterson. Now a corporation headquartered outside Washington, DC oversaw the records. ''There was no court case behind this, no state from Congress or the state legislatures'' , Peterson told me. ''It was accomplished in a private corporate decision. The banks just did it.''
  Let's return to that statement: ''The banks just did it,'' because it raises a number of questions (not necessarily internally consistent). I feel like this post should have been written by a political scientists with training in computer forensics, neither of which I am. And I'd be really happy if the whole post were completely off base, because while I like imagining worst case scenarios, I don't like it when they actually come to pass. Nevertheless, if the existence and possible retroactive legalization of the MERS system could raise important questions about the nature of law and the State, we'd better start hashing these questions out now. So, far fetching and blue-skying freely:
  1. Doesn't MERS look just like kleptocracy is supposed to look? Leave aside the banks' outright looting of $200 billion or so in recording fees (so far). Even if those billions would go a long way toward solving the fiscal crisis at the state and local level. Haven't the banks just appropriated for themselves the very ability to claim the title to hundreds of billions of dollars worth of housing stock? ''You own your house if we say you own it..'' Well, who owns your house, then?
  2. If MERS is what banks can ''just do,'' is government really the problem?'' Aren't we already living in a libertarian paradise just like the Somalians, except that we've got a lot more stuff and a lot more delusion about the warlords who run the country?
  3. If MERS controls the chain of title, where and what is the law? Apparently, the supreme law of the land is no longer to be found in in the ''the code'' '-- the state and local statutes, rules, regulations, interpretations, and precedents that lawyers and officials and citizens work with. No, so far as I can tell, ''the code'' is now the computer code of the MERS registration system itself, because the computer code controls the chain of title. But the MERS computer code is proprietary and opaque, so citizens can't really know what the law is anymore (and possibly not even the MERS programmers themselves, if the system is poorly documented (as it might well be, to provide executives bent on accounting control fraud with plausible deniability)).
  4. If MERS is the law, then where is the State? If the supreme law of the land is embodied in software and not controlled by the State as we know it '-- and empirically it's not, because with MERS ''the banks just did it'' '-- then where is the State to be found? And how does the State gain legitimacy? Does that even matter?
  NOTE 1 Questions 3 and 4 are not as far-fetched as they might seem. For example, election results are controlled by proprietary software that's both proprietary and known to be insecure. And yet election results using these systems are presumed to be legitimate, both by voters and the powers that be. In the FISA debacle, the Fourth Amendment was destroyed by the retroactive legalization of Bush's program of warrantless surveillance; ''the law'' was reverse engineered from an already running data mining system.
  NOTE 2 If all the title assignments performed under MERS are indeed ''crap,'' that would give an additional motive '-- besides pure greed and the lust to inflict pain on the powerless '-- for the banksters to avoid cram down, HOLC, and any other solution that would involve opening up the MERS can of worms systemically.
Same ol' same ol'? '' Tenth Amendment Center
  Link to Article
  Source: Tenth Amendment Center
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 02:30
  Posted by Mike MaharreyWell, Mitt Romney made the big announcement Saturday.
  The blogosphere, Twitter and Facebook all lit up with the news that Paul Ryan will run on the Romney ticket as the vice presidential candidate.
  The reaction was sadly predictable.
  Zealots representing the two parties divided up and began throwing rocks across the shallow ditch the media and pundits try to pass off as a great political divide.
  Take this Washington Post headline for example.
  Paul Ryan is Romney's VP pick, setting up stark choice on budget issues
  Democrats wigged out, began running in circles and cried hysterically, ''The sky is falling!'' After all, we all know Ryan wants to end Medicare, gut social security and institute a system of human sacrifice across the Fruited Plain. As Democrats tell it, Ryan wears the black robe of the Grim Reaper, wielding a razor-sharp scythe, mindlessly slashing government spending beyond its very core. It doesn't take a master's degree in political science to know that the left will spend the next three months trying to panic Americans into thinking a Romney-Ryan presidency will completely gut the federal government.
  ''The horror! The horror!''
  Conservatives spent Saturday jumping up and down gleefully proclaiming sunshine and roses, ''See! Mitt is serious about cutting government and slashing spending!'' Now the Republicans can differentiate themselves from those big-government, high-spending Democrats and their evil socialist-communist-Marxist leader Obama. Republicans will spend the next three months saying the same thing as the Democrats'' only they will use glowing terms. They will swear that a Romney-Ryan presidency will end the era of big government. They will slash all unnecessary spending! They will shrink the federal behemoth! And they will return the nation to its ''constitutional roots.''
  Then there's reality.
  On core issues, Paul Ryan is pretty much the same as Mitt Romney, who isn't a whole lot different than Barack Obama. It's all just a matter of degree, and very few degrees actually separate these men and their policies. They all believe in wielding the power of big-government. They all want to continue spending trillions of dollars that don't exist. And saddest of all '' they all ignore the Constitution on a regular basis.
  It all reminds me of a comment that Tom Woods made in a speech, pointing out that folks on each side of the political aisle run around pointing at their opponent screaming that he is the worst person in the world, and then slap a bumper sticker on their car for a guy that's maybe five percent different.
  Mitt picked Paul to snow ''conservatives'' into thinking he really cares about reining in government. Based on his own record, he obviously needs to create that impression to get the Tea-Party folks on board the Romney train. But once you clear the smoke and crack the mirrors, you find in Ryan just another big-government, big-spending, constitutionally illiterate politician playing to the crowd.
  He voted for TARP.He voted for auto bailouts. He voted for Bush's Medicare expansion.He voted for No Child Left Behind.He voted for the 2008 stimulus package.He voted for ''Real ID.''He voted for making the Patriot Act permanentHe voted against repealing NDAA indefinite detention.He voted for CISPA.His supporters (or maybe they're just Obama opponents) tell us to ignore those votes because Ryan ''knew'' he was voting the wrong way. But that begs the question, if he's already made some deliberately bad decisions for political reasons, what's to stop him from making more deliberately bad decisions for political reasons in the future?
  But at least Paul Ryan is a man of principles, right?
  Yeah, OK. He put those rock-solid principles on full display during the TARP debate.
  ''This bill offends my principles. But I'm going to vote for this bill in order to preserve my principles, in order to preserve this free enterprise system.''
  Get the New Documentary Today!
  Albert Einstein generally gets the credit for defining insanity as ''doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result.'' By that definition, the time to straightjacket the U.S. political process long ago passed. Regardless of whether Americans pick Mitt or Barack in 2012, I guarantee one year after the inauguration the federal government will be bigger, more intrusive and deeper in debt.
  The time has come to quit looking to Washington D.C. to solve America's problems.
  Washington D.C. is the problem!
  Michael Maharrey [send him email] is the Communications Director for the Tenth Amendment Center. He proudly resides in the original home of the Principles of '98 - Kentucky. See his blog archive here and his article archive here. He also maintains the blog, Tenther Gleanings.
  This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 14th, 2012 at 7:05 pm.It is filed under Featured, Tenther 101.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
DunrobinMacdhai: Be Happy With Your Cabbage and Navy Beans, Citizen http://t.co/wOqfYkvn
  Link to Article
  Source: Twitter / DunrobinMacdhai
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 00:36
  A quotation from Benjamin Franklin is being passed around by leftists these days:
  ''All the Property that is necessary to a man, for the conservation of the individual and the propagation of the species, is his natural right, which none can justly deprive him of: But all property superfluous to such purposes is the property of the publick, who, by their laws, have created it, and who may therefore by other laws dispose of it, whenever the welfare of the publick shall demand such disposition. He that does not like civil society on these terms, let him retire and live among savages.''
  This is supposed to shut me up, because it's Ben Franklin speaking. Why should it? Franklin was a mere mortal, and his arguments are only as strong as the logic behind them.
  (A brief digression: my favorite Franklin story comes from 1729, when debate arose in Pennsylvania over whether the colonial government should engage in yet another round of paper money inflation. Franklin came to the assistance of the inflationists in government by writing A Modest Inquiry into the Nature and Necessity of a Paper Currency, which helped get the inflationary policy through the Assembly. In return, guess whose print shop got the contract to print the money? Franklin noted that his ''friends'' in the Assembly, ''who conceived I had been of some service, thought fit to reward me by employing me in printing the money, a very profitable job'....'')
  There are quite a few problems with Franklin's argument '-- which is actually more assertion than argument '-- but a key issue is the distinction between property that is ''necessary to a man, for the conservation of the individual and the propagation of the species'' on the one hand, and property that is merely ''superfluous'' on the other. How does Franklin propose to make that distinction?
  Economist George Stigler noted decades ago that in order to meet the nutritional standards of the U.S. government in 1943 least expensively, a man of 154 pounds could consume, in a year, 370 pounds of wheat flour, 57 cans of evaporated milk, 111 pounds of cabbage, 23 pounds of spinach, and 285 pounds of dried navy beans.
  Is that all I'd be allowed under the Franklin scheme? Strictly speaking, all else is ''superfluous,'' right? Yet Franklin leaves no record of having been quite so abstemious himself.
  How about theater tickets? Are those ''superfluous''? If not, how many theater tickets would Ben Franklin consider essential for a satisfying life?
  You see how arbitrary and inane this becomes.
  Also, who's going to decide what part of my property is necessary (and therefore all right for me to keep) and what part is ''superfluous''? Government, of course '-- the very institution that will be able to grab the allegedly superfluous part for itself. Seems like the institution charged with making the decision about my property might '-- might, I say '-- have a vested interest in the outcome.
  This is mere assertion on Franklin's part, and it falls prey to the arguments I made in my ''When Did I Sign This Social Contract?'' video:
Tobacco plain packaging: cigarette companies lose Australian court case | Business
  Link to Article
  Source: The Guardian World News
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 02:15
  Tobacco plain packaging will be enforced in Australia after cigarette manufacturers lost a high court challenge. Photograph: Reuters
  Australia's highest court has endorsed cigarette plain-packaging laws that will force tobacco companies to remove branding from their products.
  Tobacco companies British American Tobacco, Britain's Imperial Tobacco, Philip Morris and Japan Tobacco challenged the laws in Australia's high court, claiming the rules were unconstitutional because they effectively extinguished the companies' intellectual property rights.
  The court found Australia's laws to force companies to remove all branding and sell tobacco only in generic olive green packets, which also carry graphic health warnings, were legal and did not breach trademark rights.
  The laws, the toughest in the world, are in line with World Health Organisation recommendations and are being watched closely by Britain, Norway, New Zealand, Canada and India, which are considering similar measures.
  The decision means that starting in December tobacco companies will no longer be able to display their distinctive colours, brand designs and logos on cigarette packs. The packs will instead come in a uniform shade of olive green and feature graphic health warnings and images such as cancer-riddled mouths and blinded eyeballs. The government hopes the new packs will make smoking as unglamorous as possible.
  The tobacco companies are worried the law will set a global precedent that could slash billions of dollars from the value of their brands. They argued in court that they new rules violate intellectual property rights and devalue their trademarks. The government would unfairly benefit from the law by using cigarette packs as a platform to promote its own message, without compensating the tobacco companies, they said. Australia's constitution says the government can only acquire the property of others on "just terms".
  British American Tobacco spokesman Scott McIntyre said it was disappointed with the court's decision but would comply with the law. "Although the [law] passed the constitutional test it's still a bad law that will only benefit organised crime groups which sell illegal tobacco on our streets," McIntyre said in a statement. "The illegal cigarette black market will grow further when all packs look the same and are easier to copy."
  The court has withheld its reasons for the judgment until later this year.
BBC News - Edinburgh Fringe: How much do people pay for free shows?
  Link to Article
  Source: BBC News - Home
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 01:34
  14 August 2012Last updated at 19:43 ET By Steven BrocklehurstBBC Scotland news websiteThere are 800 shows at the Edinburgh Fringe at which the audience does not buy a ticket or pay anything to enter. So, how has the "free" idea changed the Fringe and how much do people actually pay for these shows?
  "It is effectively busking. People pay what they think it is worth," says Alex Petty, who runs the Laughing Horse Free Festival.
  Performers, mainly comedians, invite in an audience to see their show for free and then ask for a contribution on the way out.
  The same performers who have just stood on the stage for an hour now wait by the door with a bucket.
  There are no lighting crews or technicians or any other support staff and the whole performance usually takes place in a room in a pub or nightclub.
  "The breakthrough I made was realising that, particularly comedians, were paying for a full specification hired theatre rig in their venue and they did not need that," says Peter Buckley Hill, or PBH as he is more often known, the driving force behind the Free Fringe.
  He says people thought he was mad when he first went free for his own shows way back in 1996, others were threatened by such a bold move.
  It was almost a decade before the idea really took off but now hundreds of shows are run on the free model.
  PBH and Petty worked together for a couple of years but now operate separate ventures.
  It could be said that PBH is a "free" evangelist whereas Petty takes a more pragmatic approach.
  Petty, who runs venues at other Fringe festivals which do not follow the free model, says for him "free is not a deep-set ideology".
  He says it just happens to offer the best deal for performers, punters, venues and, of course, it serves his own purposes as a comedy promoter.
  For Buckley Hill, free represents what people pay to go into a venue but "much more importantly" it refers to the money the artists pay to perform.
  The venues let the performers use the space for nothing and hope it will bring in extra business at the bar.
  This is in contrast to some of the Fringe's mega-venues which charge the artist in advance for appearing, a cost which can run into several thousand pounds.
  The "big four" paid-for venues, Pleasance, Assembly, Gilded Balloon and Underbelly, operate what Petty calls a "pay-to-play" policy.
  He says: "Performers are going home losing several thousand pounds each year putting on a show."
  One of Edinburgh's most high-profile acts, comedian Stewart Lee, has caused anger with his claims that the big four's "corporate cattle rustling" had made smaller venues almost invisible and had led to higher prices for performers.
  Nica Burns, who runs the Foster's Edinburgh Comedy Awards, said the free shows were not invisible and would account for 25% of the 536 shows to be judged for this year's awards.
  However, at the launch of her awards, Ms Burns said the general quality was not as good as the bigger venues but it was getting better and the free model was encouraging people to take more risks.
  She defended the "big four" Edinburgh operators, saying they set up many venues from scratch and had large overheads.
  They also had the technicians and the venues to put on shows which often could rival theatre productions.
  Both Buckley Hill and Petty admit that ticket prices at the paid-for venues have come down slightly over the past few years, and say this could be a reaction to the number of free shows.
  However, PBH insists that the paid-for model inhibits risk.
  He says: "If a performer is charging £10 or more for a ticket then the public will demand something satisfying.
  "The easiest way to satisfy the public is to give it exactly what you think it wants, much of which is extremely good. But is it really a Fringe if you do that?
  "With us the public can try things out and, if they don't like it, leave at zero cost."
  That makes the public "more open to what they get", he says.
  Comedian Robin Ince, who, among other radio and TV credits, co-hosts Radio Four's Infinite Monkey Cage with Prof Brian Cox, is one of the star performers of the Free Fringe.
  He could easily sell out much larger paid-for venues but he says the amount charged by big venues affects performers.
  He says: "When I was thinking people were paying £14 for an hour-long show, it placed me under a level of pressure which meant you did not deliver a better show.
  "You were so worried about delivering that you may do something more mediocre."
  He says that he spoke to comedian Phil Jupitus, another big star who has embraced the free model, and they agreed that it gives a level of freedom, a knowledge that the audience knows "the deal".
  But Ince says: "You are always going to try your hardest.
  "The fact that the shows are free does not make you think it does not matter."
  So if audiences understand the deal, how much do people put in the buckets at the end of a show?
  PBH insists he does not know but he says that, even during the first nine days of a Fringe which has been hit by people staying at home to watch the Olympics, his own Free Fringe show has covered the cost of his accommodation in Edinburgh, his train fare and his place in the Fringe programme.
  Buckley Hill says the amount per head is obviously much less than for a paid-for show but the performers find it much easier to get an audience.
  Petty says: "We are getting an average of about £1 to £1.50 a head per show. People I have spoken to have said a similar kind of figure.
  "It works out because you are getting 80 or 90 people to a show."
  Petty adds: "Buckets are a good barometer.
  "If you are standing there at the end of the night with a bucket that's got a few coppers and a bit of chewing gum at the bottom of it, then you'd better have a look at the script of your show."
  By that measure, Helen Arney and Rob Wells, whose Domestic Science show is on at lunchtime at the Canon's Gait, are doing pretty well.
  Rob, whose day job is as a data analyst, has been collecting data on how much people have paid.
  "We actually know how much per audience member we get on each day. We average at £2.50 per head," he says.
  Rob says it is not difficult to ask for the money.
  "If you are doing the Free Fringe then it does not become awkward, it is the same way as a street performer asks for money.
  "People do understand, they pay for what they enjoyed."
As The NYT Worships At The Altar Of Somalian Asylum Cheat And "British" Olympic Gold Medalist Mo Farah, Consider This Stunning Blurb Of Newspeak
  Link to Article
  Source: Crimes of The Times
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 01:33
  From the article: "Britain Basks in a Golden Afterglow"Greed?Wtf?
  Greed as in, the wretched selfishness of a people who give their empire and their very homeland away to a barbaric, unassimilable, retrobate and alien demographic?
  No doubt that's what Times communist Alan Cowell (who penned this puff piece) means when talking about the "greed" of the British people.
Twitter co-founders preview Medium, a new publishing tool | Internet & Media
  Link to Article
  Source: CNET News
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 01:22
  One of Medium's first collections features photos both beautiful and odd.
  Obvious, the company led by Twitter co-founders Evan Williams and Biz Stone, has been busy building a collaborative publishing tool called Medium, and today it previewed what it has been working on.
  With the launch of the new platform, the company is "re-imagining publishing in an attempt to make an evolutionary leap," Williams explained today in a company blog post.
  "Lots of services have successfully lowered the bar for sharing information, but there's been less progress toward raising the quality of what's produced," Williams wrote. "While it's great that you can be a one-person media company, it'd be even better if there were more ways you could work with others."
  That's the goal of Medium, which takes submitted content such as text and photos and organizes related items in collections that multiple people can review and add to. Instead of being listed chronologically, posts getting the highest user rating will appear at the top, Williams said in the post:
  Medium is designed to allow people to choose the level of contribution they prefer. We know that most people, most of the time, will simply read and view content, which is fine. If they choose, they can click to indicate whether they think something is good, giving feedback to the creator and increasing the likelihood others will see it.Posting on Medium (not yet open to everyone) is elegant and easy, and you can do so without the burden of becoming a blogger or worrying about developing an audience. All posts are organized into "collections," which are defined by a theme and a template. (For example, this post is in the About Medium collection with a simple article template.)
  Only a limited number of people will be able to post at the beginning, but here are some of the collections created for preview purposes:
  Another collection features items that users have made themselves.
BBC's Mark Thompson named new president of the New York Times | Media
  Link to Article
  Source: Dave Winer's linkblog feed
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 01:13
  Mark Thompson has spent his entire career at the BBC since joining as a production trainee in 1979. Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images
  Mark Thompson, outgoing director general of the BBC, has been named the new president and chief executive of the New York Times.
  The 55-year-old replaces Janet Robinson, 62, who unexpectedly announced her retirement last December.
  In a statement Arthur Sulzberger Jr, chairman of the Times Company and the newspaper's publisher, called Thompson as "a gifted and experienced executive with strong credentials whose leadership at the BBC helped it to extend its trusted brand identity into new digital products and services."
  Thompson, who has been director general of the BBC since 2004 said in March that he intended to depart the public broadcaster after the London Olympics. The Guardian revealed in June that he was in talks to join the New York Times.
  In a statement on Tuesday, Thompson said: "The New York Times is one of the world's greatest news providers and a media brand of immense future potential both in the US and around the world. It is a real privilege to be asked to join the Times Company as it embarks on the next chapter in its history."
  Sulzberger added: "Our board concluded that Mark's experience and his accomplishments at the BBC made him the ideal candidate to lead the Times company at this moment in time when we are highly focused on growing our business through digital and global expansion."
  Thompson has spent most of his career at the BBC. He joined in 1979 as a production trainee and began his career in news, working on the BBC's flagship news shows the Nine O'Clock News and Panorama. He became the BBC's director of television in 2000.
  After a two-year stint as chief executive at the commercial broadcaster Channel 4, Thompson moved back to the BBC as director general in 2004. Thompson's unexpected return came after the BBC became involved in a disastrous tussle with the government over a poorly-framed story about the Iraq war, which led to the resignation of his predecessor.
  He took over BBC at a time of deep crisis, and faced a difficult task getting the organisation back on an even keel. He concentrated hard on preserving its editorial integrity and its independence from government '' a tough job for a body established by royal charter and whose level of funding, through a compulsory licence fee, is determined by ministers.
  Thompson's leadership at the BBC has been not without controversy. Thompson once said the BBC had previously had a "massive leftwing bias", although he believed it no longer existed. He has also faced criticism over his pay package that once topped £800,000, though the sum looks small compared to the $24m payoff Robinson received when she left the job he is now taking.
  Under Thompson's leadership the BBC has focused on digital and international expansion. He has also overseen a staff reduction plan, announcing plans to cut 2,000 jobs over five years and aiming to reduce costs by £700m a year.
  While the Times is one of the biggest names in online news it has struggled, along with its competitors, as digital ads have failed to make up for profits lost from declining print sales.
  Earlier this month the company announced it had made a net loss of $88.1m in the second quarter, as gains from paying subscribers and a small increase in revenues were wiped out by losses on About.com, a resource guide the company had bought to boost its online business.
  The BBC announced in March that Thompson would step down after the Olympics, leaving enough time to find and appoint a successor make his own plans for life after the corporation.
  Thompson held several discussions with New York Times executives in London, from the middle of May to the end of June, about joining the company.
  Sources close to the talks said the New York Times appeared to have had a coordinated plan to get Thompson into the job, and that those conversations developed as far as making practical arrangements. Others said Thompson was also considering several other jobs at the time.
  Negotiations with the New York Times accelerated in July after the appointment of George Entwistle as Thompson's successor. That left Thompson free to formalise the terms of his appointment in New York and for Entwistle to steer the BBC through its coverage of the London 2012 Olympics.
The world is socialist '-- I.M.H.O. '-- Medium
  Link to Article
  Source: Dave Winer's linkblog feed
  Wed, 15 Aug 2012 01:08
  I was thinking a big news site should publish this post from 2011 about Ayn Rand, but let's put it here instead.
  When I was 17, I read Atlas Shrugged and it "changed my life." For about a year. In that book I heard that I was great and there were a few others like me, and most of the rest of the people were bullshitters. Grifters, looters, politicos, people who asked for us, the great ones, to work for them, because we could and they couldn't. And all the time they put down the great people, said they were ungrateful, bad people etc etc. The great ones got tired of working for everyone and not being appreciated, so they all went and hid in their rooms until the world fell apart without them, and the people begged them to come back, saying they were sorry and they didn't realize how cool they were. The great ones came back, straightened everything out, lived forever, never got sick, never got hit by a car, or had their house invaded by burglars, or burned down by fire. Etc etc.
  It's a beautful story for a person caught between childhood and adulthood. You're not yet aware of how the world actually works, in any real sense, and you remember all the issues of being a child (you still are a child at 17, despite how your body looks). Over the horizon is adulthood, which is beginning to come into view. You're trying to imagine yourself as an adult. It's understandable that the child, looking out to the future, wants to create something that looks a lot like the past. But it doesn't work that way.
  In New York this week we had a massive snow storm. It's hard to know for sure if it could have been handled smoothly like so much in NY is. In normal times, NY is an amazing place. A busy street can be transformed into a street fair in a few hours, then switch back to being a busy street just in time for Monday morning. But throw a huge curveball at the city, like last week's storm, and all bets are off.
  So in the Ayn Rand view, who's supposed to plow the streets when a Snowpocalypse happens? That's a detail she never seemed to have gotten to.
  Here's why she doesn't have an answer -- snow storms are socialist. They hit everyone the same. We have a collective interest in getting the streets cleared asap, so we can get to work, so the ambulances can get in to take people who have strokes and heart attacks to the hospital, etc etc. We got a tiny peek, in NYC, what an Ayn Rand paradise would be like. Because we'd still be under a couple of feet of snow, a week later. Snow doesn't care how much Reardon Metal you have or if Dagny Taggart thinks you're hot. :-)
  Another thing that's socialist is sickness. Like snow, it's universal. Everyone gets sick, sooner or later. But it could happen sooner. That isn't a function of how good you are, or how hard you work, and sometimes even being rich doesn't help. It could just be random. You might require hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to keep alive, and you might not (probably don't) have it. Now you might say you deserve to die, but that's not what I'm talking about. The disease itself is socialist. It cuts across the population in a way similar to the snowstorm. It hits everyone of us. But how or when, or how much, that's an unknown. So somehow you have to deal with it. One way is to accept fate and die young if you don't have the money to get the treatment. Or you could buy health insurance. It's not clear whether Ayn Rand liked health insurance or not. It's both capitalist and socialist at the same time. Or you could get so rich that you could self-insure against any disease that could hit you or your family or anyone you would miss. Nice plan, but sad to say, most people don't get there.
  Ayn Rand's philosophy might have worked in an agrarian society when people lived far apart, and couldn't pool their resources. When there wasn't much technology, so there wasn't much point in trying to fight disease or keep the trains running, because there was no medicine or trains. But with almost seven billion people on the planet, and a complex financial system that no one understands and therefore can be manipulated by looters who look like captains of industry, how do you find the Great Ones, and if you do, what exactly can they do to differentiate themselves from the rest of us poor slobs?
  And I don't really think there are any of those great people, btw. I've traveled in some pretty high circles, I've met Bill Gates and a couple of Nobel laureates. I've been to Davos, and been part of an IPO. I'm on John Brockman's Edge list. Big fucking deal. All these people who are so great aren't really that much greater than the average schmuck on the subway. There really isn't that much range in the smartness or fitness of human beings. We all have about the same lifespan, have the same experiences, birth, childhood, puberty, etc. To think there are some people that are so much better than the rest of us, well, I wouldn't trust that so much.
  The truth is we're way out on a limb. If you want to go back to the point where we decided to be socialist and try to undo it, you're going to have to kill most of the people on the planet who depend on the current system for sustenance. And like it or not, that probably includes you. It certainly includes most of the idiots running around preaching Ayn Rand these days.
  This is good6.8
Turning a keyboard into a computer with a Raspberry Pi
  Link to Article
  Source: What Jamie Flarity is reading.
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 22:43
  posted Aug 14th 2012 3:01pm by Brian Benchofffiled under: Rasberry pi
  Only 80s kids will get this: remember when computers had built-in keyboards, like the Apple II line, or the Commodore 64? That's a form factor duplicated by case modders many times over the years, but [preamp]'s project is the first time its been done using a Raspi (German, Google translation).
  For his build, [preamp] used what he considers the best keyboard in the world, the Cherry G80-3000. Except for the HDMI port, just about every plug was moved to the back side of the keyboard with the help of an Ethernet jack, a USB hub, and RCA jack. Audio is missing, but for an extremely portable system [preamp]'s RaspCherry Pi is at the top of its class.
  We were wondering when someone would shove a Raspi into a keyboard, and we couldn't be happier that [preamp] chose a Cherry keyboard for his build; they're wonderful input devices second only to the 8 pound behemeoth used to write this post.
Welcome to Medium '-- About Medium '-- Medium
  Link to Article
  Source: Dave Winer's linkblog feed
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 22:42
  We're rethinking publishing and building a new platform from scratch. This is a preview.
  Compared to 1999, the Internet has a come a long way. It has gone from theoretically to actually central to how many of us live and work (even outside the Internet industry). We carry it around in our pockets'--on computers with more horsepower and pixels than we had on our desks at that time. And we have innumerable options for sharing our cat photos, with or without a retro filter.
  1999 was the year we launched Blogger. Ideas that seemed radical at the time'--that anyone, anywhere could and should publish their thoughts to the global Internet audience (for free)'--are now taken for granted.
  Still, some things haven't evolved as much as we would have expected. Lots of services have successfully lowered the bar for sharing information, but there's been less progress toward raising the quality of what's produced. While it's great that you can be a one-person media company, it'd be even better if there were more ways you could work with others. And in many ways, the web is still mimicking print concepts, while not even catching up to it in terms of layout, design, and clarity of experience.
  When you consider we've been publishing on paper for over 500 years and on the Internet for only a couple decades, it's no surprise we haven't figured it all out. It's still early days.
  Why Medium? Why now?The Obvious Corporation decided to take on the project of building a new publishing platform from scratch, not just because it's in our wheelhouse, but because we believe publishing'--and media, more broadly'--is important. It's easy to forget this given how much pointless and destructive media is in the world. But there's also more great stuff than ever before'--and we haven't even scratched the surface of what our smart devices and our networks that connect most of the planet might enable.
  Media is still the ''connective tissue of society,'' as Clay Shirky eloquently put it. And we think it can be better. Better for creators. Better for consumers. Better for the world.
  So, we're re-imagining publishing in an attempt to make an evolutionary leap, based on everything we've learned in the last 13 years and the needs of today's world.
  That sounds pretty grandiose, so let's not get ahead of ourselves. Truth be told, we're just starting the journey of figuring out what all that means'--and what we're releasing today is just a sliver of what we've figured out.
  How it WorksMedium is designed to allow people to choose the level of contribution they prefer. We know that most people, most of the time, will simply read and view content, which is fine. If they choose, they can click to indicate whether they think something is good, giving feedback to the creator and increasing the likelihood others will see it.
  Posting on Medium (not yet open to everyone) is elegant and easy, and you can do so without the burden of becoming a blogger or worrying about developing an audience. All posts are organized into ''collections,'' which are defined by a theme and a template. (For example, this post is in the About Medium collection with a simple article template.)
  We believe that good design supports the purpose (not just the appeal) of content, so Medium is diverse in look and feel'--ranging from different types of articles to images to, eventually, much more.
  Collections are sometimes closed (like this one) but optionally open to contributions. For example, here's an open collection of crazy stories. Here's one of nostalgic photos.
  Collections give people context and structure to publish their own stories, photos, and ideas. By default, the highest-rated posts show up at the top, helping people get the most out of their time in this world of infinite information.
  Together, the contributions of many add up to create compelling and useful experiences. You may be inspired to post one time or several times a day'--either way is okay. If you're more ambitious, you might create a collection of your own.
  Rolling OutWe haven't tied everything in Medium together yet, partly because we expect our ideas to evolve rapidly as we experiment and learn from usage.
  Our philosophy is that quality begets quality, so we will grow Medium smartly, ensuring that our platform is valuable to everyone in this increasingly mobile, connected, and noisy world.
  As of today, everyone (with a Twitter account) can read and give feedback on Medium. Posting is limited to a small invited list of friends and family, which we'll be expanding rapidly'--soon, to those who have registered, so if you are interested please do so.
  ExploreMeanwhile, here are a few more collections you can check out:
  Been There. Loved That.
  Look What I Made
  The Writer's Room
  The Obvious Collection
  Follow @medium on Twitter for more updates and reply there with your feedback.
  This is good8.1
Paul Ryan didn't build that!
  Link to Article
  Source: Dave Winer's linkblog feed
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 22:41
  When Paul Ryan took to the stage in Mooresville, North Carolina, as Mitt Romney's running mate, he attacked President Obama's ''you didn't build that'' remark about the role of government in supporting private innovation. But while Republicans have been clamoring to make this election a false dichotomy between the private sector and the public sector, Paul Ryan '-- heir to a private fortune made by building public highways '-- is a gaping pothole in that plan. Paul Ryan is a living, breathing GOP example of how public infrastructure and private entrepreneurship work hand-in-hand.
  Paul Ryan's great-grandfather started a construction company to build railroads and, eventually, highways. According to the Web site of Ryan Incorporated Central, the company was ''founded in 1884 with a single team of mules building railroad embankments in Southern Wisconsin.'' And in the 1800s, railroad construction was subsidized by the federal government. Mid-century, President Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act into law, providing taxpayer dollars to fund the construction of a transcontinental railway. All railroads thereafter connected to, and benefited from, that public investment.
  At the turn of the century, Ryan Inc. turned to road building. A subsidiary family corporation, Ryan Incorporated Southern, states on its Web site, ''The Ryan workload from 1910 until the rural interstate Highway System was completed 60 years later [and] was mostly Highway construction.'' The $119 billion spent by the federal government on the Interstate Highway System was, by one account, ''the largest public works program since the Pyramids.''
  And, according to the Ryan Inc. Web site, the company completed ''some of the original work at what would become O'Hare Airport'' in Chicago. Originally, O'Hare Airport was a manufacturing base for World War II transport planes. In other words, it's likely that construction project, too, was paid for by tax dollars. A current search of Defense Department contracts suggests that ''Ryan Incorporated Central'' has had at least 22 defense contracts with the federal government since 1996 , including one from 1996 worth $5.6 million.
  When President Obama said that we succeed in America ''because of our individual initiative but also because we do things together,'' he was actually speaking in more general terms '-- about manufacturing companies that ship their goods on our railways and highways and thus indirectly benefit from that public infrastructure. With a net worth of up to $3.2 million and ranking as the 124th richest member of Congress, Paul Ryan very directly and very significantly benefited from the federal spending he now rails against.
  Or does he? What's funny is that Mr. Anti-Spending secured millions in earmarks for his home state of Wisconsin, including, among other things, $3.3 million for highway projects. And Ryan voted to preserve $40 billion in special subsidies for big oil, an industry in which, it so happens, Ryan and his wife hold ownership stakes. Yet Ryan wants to gut financial aid for college students, food stamps for hungry families, Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security '-- the very things that have, historically, helped poor families climb the ladder of opportunity in America.
  And this is precisely the problem with the Romney-Ryan vision for America: It takes the ladder of opportunity and public infrastructure that helped the previous generation and yanks it up for the next generation. Your grandfather went to college on the GI Bill? We're not even going to give you measly Pell Grants! Your grandmother lived independently thanks to Social Security? We're giving yours to Wall Street to crash with the rest of our economy! Your great-grandfather got rich building public railways and roads? We're going to cut taxes for the rich to historic lows and raise taxes on the struggling middle class to barely cover the cost of plugging potholes!
  It's ''I Got Mine, Now Screw You!'' economics. This kind of hard-heartedness may appeal to the extreme fringe base of Republican voters, but it is as repulsive to mainstream voters as it is corrosive to the American dream. The Romney-Ryan budget focuses 62 percent of its cuts on programs that help the poor '-- in order to pay for more tax breaks for the already-rich and, incidentally, raise the deficit.
  ''Of course we believe in government,'' Ryan said to the New Yorker's Ryan Lizza. ''We think government should do what it does really well, but that it has limits, and obviously within those limits are things like infrastructure, interstate highways, and airports.'' In other words, the government spending that helped Ryan's family get ahead falls within the proper role of government. The government spending that helps other families get ahead '...? Fortunately, Ryan Inc. also builds landfills, so we'll have somewhere to bury all that wasteful spending on the poor and middle class.
  Continue ReadingClose
Olympics 2012 - Imgur
  Link to Article
  Source: @CrisisClub
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 21:52
  Olympics 2012 - ImgurImgur is used to share photos with social networks and onlinecommunities, and has the funniest pictures from all over the Internet.
  Montage to Aurora Colorado shooting.. London 2012 Closing CeremonyMontage to James Holmes.... London 2012 Olympic Closing CeremonyMontage to Sikh temple shooting in Wisconsin...at London 2012 Olympic Closing Ceremony
New York Times Sidesteps TrapWire, Dismisses WikiLeaks | NYTimes eXaminer
  Link to Article
  Source: NYTimes eXaminer
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 21:51
  August 14, 2012 · 0 Comments
  Source: NYTX
  By Chris Spannos:
  Tuesday August 14, New York Times journalist Scott Shane reported that news of TrapWire '-- a counterterrorism software which collects images from surveillance cameras and cross references it with other data to preemptively identify terrorist attacks '-- has ''set off a flurry of concern and speculation around the world.'' But a comparison of Shane's article to other media coverage reveal that he fails to report the story by downplaying important questions about TrapWire and by dismissing WikiLeaks.
  The Times titled Shane's article ''WikiLeaks Stirs Global Fears on Antiterrorist Software.'' However other major media headlined their stories with titles indicating less bias against WikiLeaks and more focus on the story. The Guardian title told readers ''Trapwire surveillance system exposed in document leak.'' NBC's headline asked ''Is TrapWire surveillance really spying on Americans?'' And an RT headline claimed ''TrapWire investigation links transit systems and Anonymizer in global surveillance network.''
  Media whose specialty is to report on Information Technology (IT) also presented headlines suggesting more inquisitive coverage than the Times. PC Magazine's title notified readers that ''Wikileaks Dump Tips US 'TrapWire' Surveillance Efforts.'' ZDNet's article, ''Ludlam: do we use TrapWire to spy on Aussies?,'' gave indication of how Australian Greens Senator Scott Ludlam will ask the Senate ''to force the Australian Government to come clean on what it knows about the controversial video-surveillance system TrapWire and its use locally.'' And TechNewsWorld headlines informed us that ''TrapWire Spooks Dangled Their Wares in Front of Google, Salesforce.''
  Shane's opening sentence is irresponsible by leading readers to believe that WikiLeaks may have stolen the e-mails revealing TrapWire, ''A new release of stolen corporate e-mails by WikiLeaks'....'' His bias is the latest in a pattern of Times abuse directed at WikiLeaks who publishes leaked information anonymously submitted to them.
  The Guardian's technology editor Charles Arthur was more responsible writing that ''Papers released by WikiLeaks show'...'' RT explained that ''WikiLeaks published their latest addition to [the] trove of the so-called Global Intelligence Files '-- emails uncovered from Texas-based Strategic Forecasting (Stratfor) by Anonymous late last year'...''
  Shane immediately dismisses TrapWire by referencing a Daily Mail article that uses a Bourne Identity image and movie reference as his articles leading source. He reports that ''TrapWire is discussed in dozens of e-mails from Stratfor Global Intelligence,'' but he never quotes or links to WikiLeaks' source material that is readily available on-line.
  Instead, Shane seeks quotes from TrapWire Inc. who ''would not comment on Monday'' and the New York Police Department's chief spokesman Paul J. Browne. Shane also quotes ''TrapWire's marketing materials'' and finally, his fig-leaf of ''balance,'' Jay Stanley from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
  Most of Shane's sources are gathered to support his claim that many reports about TrapWire ''appear to be wildly exaggerated.'' But there are others from American Civil Liberties Union Massachusetts (ACLU Mass) who, although agree that there has been some hype about TrapWire, take the story seriously enough to see what the real problems are.
  Last Saturday ACLU Mass wrote ''we don't even have to look to pre-crime, globally networked spook software like Trapwire to be concerned about where we stand vis a vis privacy rights and government powers.'' (''Trapwire and data mining: What we know,'' August 11, 2012, ACLU Mass)
  ACLU Mass took the Stratfor e-mails and TrapWire story seriously because ''It gives us a troubling taste of how these private security companies view their role as intermediary between the government and the people.''
  ACLU Mass did what Shane should have done by citing WikiLeaks' source material, an e-mail from a Stratfor analyst to Vice President of Intelligence Fred Burton, explaining, ''they need something like Trapwire more for threats from activists than from terror threats.''
  Shane failed to report on other problems to. The Guardian reported how ''Documents from the US department of homeland security show that it paid $832,000 to deploy Trapwire in Washington DC and Seattle.'' RT explained that ''San Diego-based Cubic Corporation acquired Abraxas in 2010 for only $124 million in cash.'' And TechNewsWorld reported that Stratfor was following up with their TrapWire pitch to Google.
  There may be more to report. But you won't find it in the Times because Shane's article is part of pattern revealing the Times opportunism by reporting leaks that pander to the powerful and ignoring leaks that harm the weak.
  The paper held off for more than a year before reporting in December 2005 that President Bush had ''secretly authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans and others inside the United States to search for evidence of terrorist activity without the court-approved warrants.''
  Now WikiLeaks reveals that a private corporation is selling software that spies on its citizens for the same type of counterterrorist purposes and the Times response is to denigrate and dismiss it.
  Chris Spannos is Editor of NYT eXaminer (NYTX).
  [Note of disclosure: WikiLeaks' Editor Julian Assange is also an NYTX Advisory Council Member]
  By admin
Forgive me my non-libertarian friends, but this is a great piece of history. Ayn Rand talks with Johnny Carson
  Link to Article
  Source: Twitter / DunrobinMacdhai
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 20:17
  Libertarian or no, there is much to be learned from this great interview of Ayn Rand by Johnny Carson. Can you imagine something like this on commercial television now?
  For the record I disagree with Rand's style and a couple of her major points (which I won't go into here), but she is I think the most important female thinker of the 20th Century.
  If you have never heard a word spoken or read a word written by this much vilified figure you owe it to yourself to watch at least some of this interview.
BBC News - Steve Jobs' Palo Alto house burgled
  Link to Article
  Source: BBC News - Technology
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 21:47
  14 August 2012Last updated at 16:18 ET Several computers and items worth $60,000 (£38,000) were stolen from the home of the late Steve Jobs during a recent break-in, it has emerged.
  Kariem McFarlin, 35, was arrested on 2 August for burglary and selling stolen property.
  Officials said he probably did not at first realise the Palo Alto, California home once belonged to the Apple founder, who died last October aged 56.
  Palo Alto police have reported a rise in burglaries in 2012.
  Santa Clara County deputy district attorney Scott Tsui said: "I'd imagine the suspect eventually realised whose house he was in, but outside, it was just another house in Palo Alto."
  Officials say they suspect the house was targeted on 17 July because it was being renovated and appeared less secure.
  Mr Tsui said they were not aware that anything special was taken, adding "the computers, I'd imagine since he's Mr Jobs, are Apple products".
  The accused faces up to eight years in prison if convicted.
National Weather Service buying hollow point bullets?
  Link to Article
  Source: Twitter / DunrobinMacdhai
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 20:25
  UPDATE: Via Business Insider, my posit that this was a typo is confirmed. See below.
  At first I didn't believe this, but there it is on the Federal bids page, screencap and link below. See the screencaps for an explantion. '' Anthony
  Via Drudge and Infowars:
  National Weather Service Follows DHS In Huge Ammo Purchase
  Hollow point bullets designed to cause maximum organ damage
  Paul Joseph Watson
  Infowars.comTuesday, August 14, 2012
  Why would the National Weather Service need to purchase large quantities of powerful ammo? That's the question many are asking after the federal agency followed in the footsteps of the Department of Homeland Security in putting out a solicitation for 46,000 rounds of hollow point bullets.
  A solicitation which appears on the FedBizOpps website asks for 16,000 rounds of .40 S&W jacketed hollow point (JHP) bullets, noted for their strength, to be delivered to locations in Ellsworth, Maine, and New Bedford, Mass.
  A further 6,000 rounds of S&W JHP will be sent to Wall, New Jersey, with another 24,000 rounds of the same bullets heading to the weather station in St. Petersburg, Florida.
  The solicitation also asks for 500 paper targets to be delivered to the same locations in Maine, Massachusetts and New Jersey.
  The National Weather Service is is one of six scientific agencies that make up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
  The solicitation requires a response by August 21.
  =================================================================
  At first I thought maybe this was for bear/elk protection of technicians when they go to service some of those remote weather stations in the Maine woods. The bid solicitation has the Marine Fisheries Service listed as the buyer. NOAA does have game wardens for commercial ocean fishing and game fishing, but why would they route it through the National Weather Service, which has no such programs? This is either a typo, or one of those convoluted government tree structures.
  ===============================================================
  UPDATE: Business Insider, who reported on the issue last night, has the story (h/t to WUWT reader Timothy Ray Erney). As I noted above, it was a typo.
  We talked to Scott Smullen, the Deputy Director of NOAA Communications & External Affairs who says the announcement is a mistake and is apparently being corrected at the time of this writing.
  From Scott's email:
  Due to a clerical error in the federal business vendor process, a solicitation for ammunition and targets for the NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement mistakenly identified NOAA's National Weather Service as the requesting office. The error is being fixed and will soon appear correctly in the electronic federal bidding system. The ammunition is standard issue for many law enforcement agencies and it will be used by 63 NOAA enforcement personnel in their firearms qualifications and training.
Mariah Carey Is Captain Save-A-Hoe!
  Link to Article
  Source: Jacky Jasper's Diary of a Hollywood Street King
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 21:44
  by Jacky Jasper
  From MiMi To RiRi'...It seems that RiRi's party habits and her recent decision to reunite with Chris Brown, has struck a nerve with Mariah Carey, 42 '' who's now lending the 24-year-old singer a helping hand to try to save the Barbadian recording artist from making the same mistakes she once did. But, Rhianna's not trying to hear it!
  You may remember back in 1997, a then 28-year-old Mariah Carey lived a very public divorce from her ''controlling husband'' of five-years, Tommy Mottola '' which led Mariah to suffer a public meltdown.
  Now, MiMi says she's upset by RiRi's choice to reconnect with Chris Brown, given the young couple's history of clashes. Mariah is also speaking out against Rhianna's partying, saying RiRi should chill out before she too, self-distructs.
  Here's what a source had to say about it:
  ''Mariah sees a lot of herself in Rihanna and wants to protect her. She's going so far as to suggest RiRi move in with her and that they do a few songs together.
  Rihanna says she's thankful for the concern, but it's going to take a lot more to tame her!''
  Is Mariah Carey using her American Idol gavel to follow in the footsteps of Dolly Parton's ''Best Little Whorehouse In Texas'' character? Of course. Know why? Because she's trying to control the renegade prostitute Rihanna. Don't believe me.. Ask L.A. Reid
Libyan Terrorists Are Invading Syria
  Link to Article
  Source: Land Destroyer
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 21:44
  US, British, NATO, and GCC are arming and funding the foreign invasion of Syria - Western media providing increasingly tenuous "revolutionary" cover. by Tony CartalucciAugust 14, 2012 - Reuters today provides us with a spectacularly contradictory headline in their report, "Libyan fighters join Syrian revolt." Obviously foreign fighters from Libya, raiding cities, attacking government and civilian targets, and attempting to subvert and overthrow the sovereign government of Syria is not a "revolt." It is an invasion.
  Image: Libyan Mahdi al-Harati of the US State Department, United Nations, and the UK Home Office (page 5, .pdf)-listed terrorist organization, the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), addressing fellow terrorists in Syria. Harati is now commanding a Libyan brigade operating inside of Syria attempting to destroy the Syrian government and subjugate the Syrian population. Traditionally, this is known as "foreign invasion." Reuters reported, that Mahdi al-Harati, "a powerful militia chief from Libya's western mountains," who is actually a militant of the US, British, and UN listed terrorist organization Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), "now leads a unit in Syria, made up mainly of Syrians but also including some foreign fighters, including 20 senior members of his own Libyan rebel unit." Reuters would go on to explain, "the Libyans aiding the Syrian rebels include specialists in communications, logistics, humanitarian issues and heavy weapons," and that they "operate training bases, teaching fitness and battlefield tactics."Reuters concedes that the ongoing battle has nothing to do with democracy, but instead is purely a sectarian campaign aimed at "pushing out" Syria's minorities, perceived to be "oppressing" "Sunni Muslims."
  Reuters' propaganda piece is rounded off with a Libyan terrorist allegedly threatening that "the militancy would spread across the region as long as the West does not do more to hasten the downfall of Assad," a talking point plucked straight from the halls of America's corporate-financier funded think-tanks. In fact, just such a think-tank, the Foreign Policy Initiative, recently published a statement signed by Bush-era Neo-Conservatives stating:
  "America's national security interests are intertwined withthe fate of the Syrian people and the wider region. Indeed, Syria's escalating conflict nowthreatens to directly affect the country's neighbors, including Turkey,Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Israel, and could provide an opening for terroristgroups like al Qaeda to exploit." Inspiring indeed that these two implacable enemies, Al Qaeda's LIFG and America's Neo-Con establishment, are now operating in such seamless harmony. It should be remembered that those who signed this statement, including Elliott Abrams, Max Boot, Ellen Bork, William Kristol, Paul Bremer, Paula Dobriansk, Douglas Feith, Robert Kagan, Clifford D. May, Stephen Rademaker, Michael Weiss, Radwan Ziadeh, were among the very engineers of the fraudulent "War on Terror." Radwan Ziadeh, last on the list, is in fact a "Syrian National Council" member - one of several proxies the US State Department is hoping to slip into power in Syria. Syria Is Suffering a Foreign Invasion, not a Revolution.
  To reach Syria, Libyan fighters must cross the Mediterranean Sea and enter via Turkey, or cross Egypt, Israel, and enter via Jordan. The government of Syria has threatened Libya in no conceivable manner, making Libya's campaign an intolerable act of military aggression. Worst of all, the NATO-installed government in Tripoli has officially approved of supporting military operations in distant Syria.
  Image: Libya is separated by sea and several nations from Syria. For hundreds, possibly thousands of Libyan fighters to now be turning up in Syria indicates a military operation requiring multinational support, and more specifically, NATO-backing. In November 2011, the Telegraph in their article, "Leading Libyan Islamist met Free Syrian Army opposition group," would report: Abdulhakim Belhadj, head of the Tripoli Military Council and the former leader of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, "met with Free Syrian Army leaders in Istanbul and on the border with Turkey," said a military official working with Mr Belhadj. "Mustafa Abdul Jalil (the interim Libyan president) sent him there." Another Telegraph article, "Libya's new rulers offer weapons to Syrian rebels," would admitSyrian rebels held secret talks with Libya's new authorities on Friday, aiming to secure weapons and money for their insurgency against President Bashar al-Assad's regime, The Daily Telegraph has learned.At the meeting, which was held in Istanbul and included Turkish officials, the Syrians requested "assistance" from the Libyan representatives and were offered arms, and potentially volunteers. "There is something being planned to send weapons and even Libyan fighters to Syria," said a Libyan source, speaking on condition of anonymity. "There is a military intervention on the way. Within a few weeks you will see." Later that month, some 600 Libyan terrorists would be reported to have entered Syria to begin combat operations and as recently as last month, CNN, whose Ivan Watson accompanied terrorists over the Turkish-Syrian border and into Aleppo, revealed that indeed foreign fighters were amongst the militants, particularly Libyans. It was admitted that:Meanwhile, residents of the village where the Syrian Falcons were headquartered said there were fighters of several North African nationalities also serving with the brigade's ranks. A volunteer Libyan fighter has also told CNN he intends to travel from Turkey to Syria within days to add a "platoon" of Libyan fighters to armed movement. CNN also added:On Wednesday, CNN's crew met a Libyan fighter who had crossed into Syria from Turkey with four other Libyans. The fighter wore full camouflage and was carrying a Kalashnikov rifle. He said more Libyan fighters were on the way.The foreign fighters, some of them are clearly drawn because they see this as '... a jihad. So this is a magnet for jihadists who see this as a fight for Sunni Muslims.
  CNN's reports provide bookends to 2011's admissions that large numbers of Libyan terrorists flush with NATO cash and weapons had headed to Syria, with notorious terrorist LIFG commanders making the arrangements.In essence, Syria has been under invasion for nearly a year by Libyan terrorists - and as we will see, the Libyans are by no means an imperial force, but rather a terroristic foreign legion employed by far more nefarious players.
  The West is Invading Syria by Proxy
  NATO-member Turkey is directly complicit in facilitating Libya's extraterritorial aggression by hosting Libyan fighters within its borders, while coordinating their funding, arming, and logistics as they cross the Turkish-Syrian border. Along Turkey's borders also facilitating Libya's invasion of Syria, is America's CIA.
  The New York Times admitted in June 2012 in their article, "C.I.A. Said to Aid in Steering Arms to Syrian Opposition," that "CIA officers are operating secretly in southern Turkey," and directing weapons including, "automatic rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, ammunition and some antitank weapons." The NYT implicates Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar as the primary underwriters for the weapons while the CIA coordinates the logistics.
  Image: The "Friends of Syria" represent many of the co-conspirators described in Seymour Hersh's extensive 9 page report "The Redirection." Syria's violence is not the result of an indigenous uprising carrying "political aspirations," but rather the conspiring and machinations of the global elite, who long-ago premeditated the destruction of Syria for their own, larger, overarching geopolitical agenda. To understand this particular arrangement, and why the US has forfeited the plausible deniability it seems it is so painstakingly trying to maintain, we must examine admissions by US policy makers stretching as far back as 2007 admitting that they planned to overthrow the government of Syria with foreign-sectarian extremists, using nations like Saudi Arabia to channel funds and weapons through, specifically to maintain the illusion that they were somehow not involved.Seymour Hersh's lengthy 9 page report, "The Redirection" published in the New Yorker in 2007 exposes US plans to use clandestine means to overthrow the government of Syria in a wider effort to undermine and destroy Iran. "A by-product of these activities," writes Hersh, "has been the bolstering of Sunni extremist groups that espouse a militant vision of Islam and are hostile to America and sympathetic to Al Qaeda."
  To say that Libya's LIFG is "sympathetic to Al Qaeda" would, however, be misleading. It is Al Qaeda.
  LIFG merged with the US-Saudi created terror organization in 2007, according to the US Army's West Point Combating Terrorism Center report, "Al-Qa'ida's Foreign Fighters in Iraq:"
  The apparent surge in Libyan recruits traveling to Iraq may be linked the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group's (LIFG) increasingly cooperative relationship with al'�Qa'ida, which culminated in the LIFG officially joining al'�Qa'ida on November 3, 2007. (page 9, .pdf) Hersh's report would continue by stating, "the Saudi government, with Washington's approval, would provide funds and logistical aid to weaken the government of President Bashir Assad, of Syria." This included billions to pro-Saudi factions in Lebanon who were propping up militant groups linked to Al Qaeda. These militant groups are now crossing over the Lebanese-Syrian border to join their Libyan counterparts. Clearly the conspiracy being pieced together and executed in 2007, described by Seymour Hersh citing a myriad of US, Saudi, and Lebanese sources, is unfolding before our eyes. It was a conspiracy hatched of mutual US-Israeli-Saudi interests, not based on humanitarian concerns or "democracy," but rather on toppling sovereign nations seen as a threat to their collective extraterritorial influence throughout the region.
  Selling A Terrorist Invasion
  The US is executing a strategy where a series of specialized proxies are being used to carry out its geopolitical agenda across the Arab World. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates are channeling funding and leading diplomatic efforts to ensure the West's agenda is presented with an "Arab face," while factions within nations like Lebanon, Turkey, and Libya handle varying degrees of logistical support and covert military intervention.
  Syria is being invaded by proxy, by the US, NATO, Israel, and the Gulf Cooperative Council (GCC). Of this there is no doubt. The corporate-financier interests driving this agenda have ensured a propaganda campaign will accompany this effort. This propaganda campaign is as ceaseless as it is shameless.
  For example, in yet another CNN article covering Libyan fighters killing in Syria titled, "Libya rebels move onto Syrian battlefield," we are told that NATO-armed terrorists "tasted the beauty of Jihad" in Libya - "beauty" Libya is now exporting to Syria.
  Video: Wiped out. Tawarga, once home to 10,000 (this video claims up to 35,000) people, many part of Libya's black community who had resided in the country for generations, had its inhabitants either exiled, imprisoned or exterminated. NATO-backed militants told the Telegraph in 2011, " every single one of them has left, and we will never allow them to come back." These sorts of atrocities are what the corporate-financier driven media sold in Libya, and what they are trying to sell again in Syria, ironically couched in "humanitarian concern." CNN's "beauty" involved a conflict that saw NATO proxy forces empty out entire cities of black Libyans before systematically driving them beyond Libya's borders either killing or imprisoning those who didn't or couldn't flee. This was after cities were blockaded by militants on the ground while NATO ceaselessly bombarded population centers from the air, with the specific goal of starving people into submission. And for the families of the 3,000 Americans who died on September 11, 2001 who were told Al Qaeda was not just an enemy of America, but an enemy of mankind, or the tens of thousands in America's Armed Forces who were killed, maimed, and otherwise affected by the decade of war that would follow in the so-called "War on Terror," the "contradictory aspects" of America's current foreign policy remain unexplained.
  To the victims on both sides of a decade of global war, to see Al Qaeda's terror campaigns, genocide, and other atrocities now underwritten by NATO and both spun and praised throughout the Western media must seem surreal. And such injustice, hypocrisy and misery will continue until we collectively find the resolve to identify, boycott, and entirely replace the corporate-financier interests driving this surreal paradigm.
Mars Curiosity under hacker attack? Set You Free News
  Link to Article
  Source: Set You Free News
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 21:42
  RT
  Either hackers are considering making Mars their own or else the FBI is engaged in perhaps their most far-fetched entrapment operation yet. A request has reportedly been made over the Web for help in hacking NASA's Curiosity rover.
  According to a report first published in PCMag, an Internet Relay Chat user entered a room frequented by operatives of the Anonymous hacktivism collective and asked for assistance in getting unauthorized access to Curiosity, the $2.5-billion rover currently collecting tests on the surface of the Earth's elusive red neighbor.
  A chat log obtained by PCMag from a conversation within the AnonOps IRC channel allegedly includes communiqu(C) from a user corresponding under the online identity ''MarsCuriosity.'' In what is being considered a possible plea for an interstellar hacking operation, though, ''curiosity'' could be considered a vast understatement.
  ''Anyone in Madrid, Spain or Canbarra who can help isolate the huge control signal used for the Mars Odyssey / Curiosity system please? The cypher and hopping is a standard mode, just need base frequency and recordings/feed of the huge signal going out. (yes we can spoof it both directions!),'' the user writes. The request made over Internet Relay Chat comes only days after PCMag's Damon Poetry wrote an in-depth article called 'How to Hack NASA's Curiosity Rover.'
  ''We don't recommend anybody actually try this,'' Poeter cautions in the initial piece. ''Let science do its thing, people!''''As we found out after talking to several hackers, crackers, and security pros, the resources required to pull this off are prohibitive'--the folks with the actual resources required to compromise Curiosity (*cough* China *cough*) don't need our cobbled-together advice on how to do it,'' Poeter adds.
  ''In other words, a state-backed actor could maybe take over NASA's planetary crawler, but the script kiddies are pretty much SOL here.''
  Never mind the obstacles involved in hacking into a remote-controlled rover more than 350 million miles away though: someone who could be a clever Anon or even an undercover agent provocateur has posted a message looking for help. PCMag has been quick to call out the attempt, noting that the user in question could be a jokester or else a genuine hacker hell-bent on having their own collection of Mars dust.
  The plea was first discovered by Flashpoint Partners, a consulting service company that has kept a close eye on Anonymous for several months, if not longer. According to PCMag, Flashpoint's employees have ''deep experience inside hacker communities '... developed through years of passive monitoring and active engagement within hacker circles.''
  According to PCMag's report, Flashpoint co-founder Josh Lefkowitz has suggested that the ''MarsCuriosity'' alias was likely a one-off user account created specifically for the attempted hack. ''There's even the possibility that the poster is an anti-Anonymous actor or member of law enforcement seeking to draw out actual members of the collective.'' Given the FBI infiltration of LulzSec last year and the highly publicized scandal involving the suspected ringleader-turned-snitch Sabu though, entrapping Anons into an out-of-this-world op isn't completely out of the question.
  Examiner.com reports that Flashpoint sent a warning to its clients that an attempt to hack the rover may actually be in the works, although doubtful. Flashpoint has in the past taken Anonymous' work quite seriously, though; Roger W. Cressey, an advisory board member of Flashpoint, has publically addressed other operations linked to Anonymous in the past, telling the New York Times earlier this year that those actions should serve as ''a wake-up call'' to the defense and intelligence community, and that ''Any company that is patting themselves on the back and saying that they're not a target or not susceptible to attack is in complete and utter denial.'' Cressey is senior vice president of Booz Allen Hamilton and is reported to have ties with the National Security Council.
Doctors target gun violence as a social disease | Sandusky Register
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 21:40
  Is a gun like a virus, a car, tobacco or alcohol? Yes say public health experts, who in the wake of recent mass shootings are calling for a fresh look at gun violence as a social disease.
  What we need, they say, is a public health approach to the problem, like the highway safety measures, product changes and driving laws that slashed deaths from car crashes decades ago, even as the number of vehicles on the road rose.
  One example: Guardrails are now curved to the ground instead of having sharp metal ends that stick out and pose a hazard in a crash.
  ''People used to spear themselves and we blamed the drivers for that,'' said Dr. Garen Wintemute, an emergency medicine professor who directs the Violence Prevention Research Program at the University of California, Davis.
  It wasn't enough back then to curb deaths just by trying to make people better drivers, and it isn't enough now to tackle gun violence by focusing solely on the people doing the shooting, he and other doctors say.
  They want a science-based, pragmatic approach based on the reality of a society saturated with guns and seek better ways of preventing harm from them.
  The need for a new approach crystallized last Sunday for one of the nation's leading gun violence experts, Dr. Stephen Hargarten. He found himself treating victims of the Sikh temple shootings at the emergency department he heads in Milwaukee. Seven people were killed, including the gunman, and three were seriously injured.
  It happened two weeks after the shooting that killed 12 people and injured 58 at a movie theater in Colorado, and two days before a man pleaded guilty to killing six people and wounding 13, including then-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, in Tucson, Ariz., last year.
  ''What I'm struggling with is, is this the new social norm? This is what we're going to have to live with if we have more personal access to firearms,'' said Hargarten, emergency medicine chief at Froedtert Hospital and director of the Injury Research Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin. ''We have a public health issue to discuss. Do we wait for the next outbreak or is there something we can do to prevent it?''
  About 260 million to 300 million firearms are owned by civilians in the United States; about one-third of American homes have one. Guns are used in two-thirds of homicides, according to the FBI. About 9 percent of all violent crimes involve a gun -- roughly 338,000 cases each year.
  Mass shootings don't seem to be on the rise, but not all police agencies report details like the number of victims per shooting and reporting lags by more than a year, so recent trends are not known.
  ''The greater toll is not from these clusters but from endemic violence, the stuff that occurs every day and doesn't make the headlines,'' said Wintemute, the California researcher.
  More than 73,000 emergency room visits in 2010 were for firearm-related injuries, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates.
  At the same time, violent crime has been falling and the murder rate is less than half what it was two decades ago. And Gallup polls have shown support for stricter gun laws has been falling since 1990. Last year 55 percent of Americans said gun laws should remain the same or become more lenient.
  Dr. David Satcher tried to make gun violence a public health issue when he became CDC director in 1993. Four years later, laws that allow the carrying of concealed weapons drew attention when two women were shot at an Indianapolis restaurant after a patron's gun fell out of his pocket and accidentally fired. Ironically, the victims were health educators in town for an American Public Health Association convention.
  That same year, Hargarten won a federal grant to establish the nation's first Firearm Injury Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin.
  ''Unlike almost all other consumer products, there is no national product safety oversight of firearms,'' he wrote in the Wisconsin Medical Journal.
  That's just one aspect of a public health approach. Other elements:
  ' ''Host'' factors: What makes someone more likely to shoot, or someone more likely to be a victim. One recent study found firearm owners were more likely than those with no firearms at home to binge drink or to drink and drive, and other research has tied alcohol and gun violence. That suggests that people with driving under the influence convictions should be barred from buying a gun, Wintemute said.
  ' Product features: Which firearms are most dangerous and why. Manufacturers could be pressured to fix design defects that let guns go off accidentally, and to add technology that allows only the owner of the gun to fire it (many police officers and others are shot with their own weapons). Bans on assault weapons and multiple magazines that allow rapid and repeat firing are other possible steps.
  ' ''Environmental'' risk factors: What conditions allow or contribute to shootings. Gun shops must do background checks and refuse to sell firearms to people convicted of felonies or domestic violence misdemeanors, but those convicted of other violent misdemeanors can buy whatever they want. The rules also don't apply to private sales, which one study estimates as 40 percent of the market.
  ' Disease patterns, observing how a problem spreads. Gun ownership -- a precursor to gun violence -- can spread ''much like an infectious disease circulates,'' said Daniel Webster, a health policy expert and co-director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research in Baltimore.
  ''There's sort of a contagion phenomenon'' after a shooting, where people feel they need to have a gun for protection or retaliation, he said.
  That's already evident in the wake of the Colorado movie-theater shootings. Last week, reports popped up around the nation of people bringing guns to ''Batman'' movies. Some of them said they did so for protection.
Mainstream Doctors Say Supporting the 2nd Amendment is a Mental Disorder Set You Free News
  Link to Article
  Source: Set You Free News
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 21:38
  Susanne Posel | Occupy Corporatism
  The medical industry in conjunction with Big Pharma want to classify the right to keep and bear arms as a mental disorder in another power grab to circumvent and eventually destroy our Constitutional 2nd Amendment.
  More and more doctors are forcing the idea that we need a national healthcare approach to the problem that the recent shootings provide. While tobacco and alcohol is regulated, why not include the right to bear arms?
  Dr. Garen Wintemute, professor of emergency medicine at the Prevention Research Program speaking about the installing of public guardrails, said : ''People used to spear themselves and we blamed the drivers for that.''
  The staged shootings in Colorado and Wisconsin are being used by some scientists to declare gun violence be treated like any other mental disease '' and perhaps by popping a pill, American citizens would forget to fight for their 2nd Amendment rights.
  Dr. Stephen Hargarten of the Research Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin claims : ''What I'm struggling with is: Is this the new social norm? This is what we're going to have to live with if we have more personal access to firearms. We have a public health issue to discuss. Do we wait for the next outbreak or is there something we can do to prevent it.''
  Hargarten supports the limiting of access to all firearms in his advocacy with the Firearms Injury Center at the Medical College in Wisconsin which is funded by a US government grant to lobby taxpayers into believing that removing the 2nd Amendment will stop gun violence.
  An estimated 260 to 300 million firearms are owned by American civilians which equals 1/3 of US households. While gun-related deaths are not raising according to police records, the fear-mongering continues as a supposed trend with no justification.
  Propaganda studies into gun ownership claim that alcohol abuse causes the likelihood of gun-related violence to rise, according to Wintemute. Banning assault weapons would control the amount of rounds a person could shoot, while the police officers would still be allowed to tout automatic pistols. By restricting gun sales to include minor misdemeanors as well as convicted felons, 40% of gun sales would be curbed. And with the classification of gun support as a mental disorder, more control could be placed on who ultimately can own a gun.
  By devising tactics to reduce shootings, experts are trying to legitimize profiling so that they can identify who would be most likely to commit such a crime. Combining the psychiatric industry with pre-crime seems to be a relationship conceived by the global Elite.
  More mainstream support for mixing gun control with pharmaceuticals come from Paul Barrett who has authored a book that coincidentally claims that current gun laws are ineffective and need to be stricter to prevent more deaths. Barrett says: ''Criminologists have studied it, and the consensus is that those laws simply did not have a statistically meaningful effect on crime rates.'' He also feels that the mainstream media focus on the shootings themselves ignore the actual problem which is actually a ''social problem'' which is subverted by ''the overall gun homicide rate.''
  Daniel Webster, co-director of the anti-firearm John Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research, asserts that ''gun ownership'--a precursor to gun violence'--can spread 'much like an infectious disease'' and wants healthcare professionals to have influence over whether or not American citizens are legally allowed to possess firearms. Webster would like to see Obamacare have ultimate control of the classification of mental states with regard to purchasing and obtaining FBI clearance for a gun.
  As Obama has done in the past, an executive order could be signed to force the issue through compliance with Obamacare restrictions on those deemed mentally defective and unable to own firearms. As with the mandate through EO on religious institutions to provide birth control, Obama's executive power can again be abused to ensure his bidding is done '' like any good Fascist Dictator would do.
  The blurring of the line between Liberal Democrats and covert Socialists is confusing the perception of the 2nd Amendment in the social meme being purveyed by the mainstream media. By aligning Constitutional authority with the convoluted power grabs of the Obama administration, our Republic for the people and by the people is quickly descending into a control grid of which there is no escape.
  The link between gun control and health care is a coercive way to equate fear brought on my recent shootings and removal of Constitutional rights that stand in the way of the US government's tyrannical declarations.
Advance warning system for solar flares hinges on surprising hypotheses Set You Free News
  Link to Article
  Source: Set You Free News
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 21:37
  By James Holloway | Gizmag
  Scientists may have hit upon a new means of predicting solar flares more than a day in advance, which hinges on a hypothesis dating back to 2006 that solar activity affects the rate of decay of radioactive materials on Earth.
  Study of the phenomenon could lead to a new system which monitors changes in gamma radiation emitted from radioactive materials, and if the underlying hypothesis proves correct, this could lead to solar flare advance warning systems that would assist in the protection of satellites, power systems and astronauts.
  In 2006, nuclear engineer Jere Jenkins of Purdue University noticed a change in the decay rate of a radioactive sample 39 hours before a solar flare. Since joined by a Purdue University professor of Physics named Ephraim Fischbach, Jenkins' subsequent research has reinforced the discovery, using two samples of the same isotope, chlorine 36, in two separate experiments in two different labs.
  It isn't just solar flares that seem to induce changes in radioactive decay rate. Changes in solar rotation and activity, and the Earth's position on its orbital path around the Sun also appear to have an effect, and it's the latter variable which seems to have been decisive in the research. Between July 2005 and June 2011, continued monitoring has apparently shown consistent annual variation in the decay rate of chlorine 36, peaking in January and February, and ebbing in July and August.
  An 11-year solar cycle is set to peak in 2013, and the researchers claim a solar storm as strong as the Carrington Event of 1859 would be devastating to the technology of today.
  ''There was so much energy from this solar storm that the telegraph wires were seen glowing and the aurora borealis appeared as far south as Cuba,'' said Fischbach. ''Because we now have a sophisticated infrastructure of satellites, power grids and all sort of electronic systems, a storm of this magnitude today would be catastrophic. Having a day and a half warning could be really helpful in averting the worst damage.''
  Read Full Article
Press Gaggle by Press Secretary Jay Carney en route Oskaloosa, IA, 8/14/2012
  Link to Article
  Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 21:35
  The White House
  Office of the Press Secretary
  For Immediate Release
  August 14, 2012
  Aboard Press BusEn Route Oskaloosa, Iowa
  10:52 A.M. CDT
  MR. CARNEY: Welcome aboard Press Force One here, the press vehicle as part of the President's motorcade, as we make our way through Iowa on this glorious day -- day two of our trip. As you know, the President is going to talk about the importance today of renewable wind energy to our economy. And as a matter of policy, I think you know that the President has made clear that clean, renewable wind energy is a critical part of an all-of-the-above energy strategy that aims to develop more secure domestic energy sources while strengthening American manufacturing and supporting American jobs. The Obama administration has made the largest investment in clean energy in history, and the United States has doubled renewable energy since 2008. Today, the Department of Energy released -- will release a report that underscores the dramatic expansion of wind energy and the U.S. manufacturing that is supporting this surge. In 2011, the United States was one of the world's largest and fastest-growing wind markets in the world, with wind power representing 32 percent of all new electric capacity added in the United States last year, second only -- Q I'm sorry, what was that? MR. CARNEY: Thirty-two percent of all new electric capacity added in the United States last year, second only to natural gas. As a result, $14 billion was invested in the United States, diversifying our energy economy, expanding American manufacturing, and supporting American jobs. Industry numbers show that this industry now supports 75,000 jobs across the country, including thousands of jobs here in Iowa. Not only did wind energy surge in 2011, the percent of wind equipment made in the United States has expanded dramatically. I think that some of you have seen, along the highways here in Iowa, trucks carrying large wind turbine blades. MS. PSAKI: There was a wind turbine at the State Fair last night. MR. CARNEY: Or the wind turbine at the State Fair -- just all across the landscape here. Nearly 70 percent of the equipment installed at U.S. wind farms last year -- including wind turbines and components like towers, blades, gears, and generators -- was made here in the United States, up from just 35 percent in 2005. At the end of 2011, the states with the most installed wind capacity included Texas, Iowa, California, Illinois, Minnesota, Washington, Oregon, Oklahoma, Colorado, and North Dakota. These states account for almost 75 percent of U.S. wind capacity, or more than 34 gigawatts -- that's a lot of gigawatts. Despite the recent growth in wind installations and manufacturing, the DOE 2011 Wind Technologies Market Report, which is an annual report, finds that 2013 may see a dramatic slowing of domestic wind energy deployment due in part -- let me just repeat that -- may see a dramatic slowing of domestic wind energy deployment due in part to the possible expiration of federal renewable energy tax incentives. The production tax credit, also known as the wind energy tax credit, which provides an important credit to wind producers in the United States, has helped drive the industry's growth and it is set to expire at the end of the year. The wind industry projects that 37,000 jobs could be lost if the production tax credit is allowed to expire. As you know, support for this tax credit is bipartisan. Senators and governors of both parties, Republicans in states like Iowa, support the extension of this tax credit. Unfortunately, thus far, the obstacles have been Republicans in Washington, especially in the House of Representatives. MS. PSAKI: And if I could just add a couple more points about the remarks today. So the President will also talk about a plant in Newton, Iowa that used to be a Maytag plant that shut down and now is making wind turbines. It's been able to revitalize the community there, and it's really a story about how investing in clean energy, investing in the kind of innovative technologies, like wind turbines, is really helping communities grow and thrive in places like Iowa. We were in -- some of you were with us last week when we were in Pueblo, Colorado. There was a story in the local paper in Colorado today announcing that they had to lay off 100 -- 20 percent -- of their workers as a result of the wind tax credit being not extended. So that's a story from another state. And, finally, just to echo what Jay say about it being bipartisan -- Republicans in Iowa, including Governor Terry Branstad, including Congressman Steve King, are in utter disbelief that Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, his running mate, have opposed the tax credit. Not only have they opposed it, Mitt Romney called the benefits of wind energy ''imaginary.'' And Paul Ryan called this a ''fad.'' So you'll hear the President talk about that in his remarks today. And it shows, again, their complete misunderstanding of what's driving the growth of the economy in Iowa and the industries that are helping communities like Newton, like Oskaloosa thrive and grow. One other thing I just wanted to make sure you saw this morning -- the campaign put out another -- a web video in response to the second ad that the Romney campaign did, that is a bold-faced lie, about the President's record on welfare. So that's something just to look out for. And I will say this is an issue where President Clinton, countless economists, countless fact-checkers have said this is a mischaracterization of the President's record. And they continue to put millions of dollars behind ads across the state. This is a central argument, which, again, is false, about their record. I'm sorry, I'm getting a little animated here. With that, we'll take your questions. Q Jay, on Syria -- the former prime minister defected. He said he was joining the rebels. And he said today that the regime appears to be close to collapse. Does the administration have any sense of whether some sort of collapse could happen within days? And are there any steps that the administration is considering -- additional aid, perhaps additional sanctions -- to sort of push it in that direction? MR. CARNEY: There is no question, Ken, that we have seen a series of high-level defections from the Assad regime, both its government and its military leadership. We've also seen defections at middle and lower levels, and we expect this to continue. It demonstrates the fact that Assad no longer has control over his country, and reinforces the fact that Syria's future cannot and will not include Assad. The sooner that Assad steps aside, the sooner the Syrian people will be able to complete a political transition in that country that will give them a better chance at a future that includes prosperity and a government that represents the interest of the people and responds to the aspirations of the Syrian people. We have said that we believe Assad's days are numbered, but I would not hazard a guess at how many days are left in his tenure. We are doing everything we can with our allies to tighten the noose, if you will, around Assad through diplomatic and financial means, through sanctions and international pressure. We recently announced new sanctions out of the Treasury Department. And you can expect that we'll continue to look for ways to increase the pressure on Assad and deprive Assad of the funds that he depends on to wage war against his own people. Q Jay, while President Obama is here talking about wind energy, we expect Mitt Romney to be in another part of the country talking about energy of a different kind. And I'm just wondering, is that a contrast that the President will speak to directly? And also, are you concerned that some swing voters may not be prepared to abandon traditional energy sources and will see this as that choice? MR. CARNEY: Let me start, as a matter of policy, that, as I mentioned before, the President has pursued an all-of-the-above energy strategy that has resulted in an increase of domestic oil and gas production; has resulted in a decrease in imports of foreign oil; has resulted in, because of the investments this administration has made, a doubling of renewable energy production in this country. And that all-of-the-above strategy is the best and only way to achieve the energy independence that this country needs for economic, environmental, and national security reasons. You have to be a member of the Flat Earth Society to not recognize that we need to exploit all means of domestic energy production. And that's what the President has done. MS. PSAKI: And let me just add one thing to Margaret. And I couldn't hear you quite -- were you asking about Romney's Ohio -- Q Just contrasting the -- it's obviously energy day on the campaign trail today, and I'm just -- so I guess my question is, what do you make out of that, the fact that they're answering your energy message with their own energy message? And do you have some concerns that swing voters may be -- may think that their choice is wind energy versus traditional energy? MS. PSAKI: So just to add to what Jay said, actions speak louder than words. And the American people are smart, and people in states like Iowa and Ohio study the candidates' records, they study what they stand for and what their policies are. In addition to what we've already talked about, about wind energy and what Jay mentioned about the President's all-above energy plan -- on coal, which I understand is what Mitt Romney plans to attack the President on today, let's not forget that Mitt Romney has been a longtime critic; he once said that coal-fired plants kill people in Massachusetts. And the President's record on this has been one where he's invested in clean coal energy technology. The coal industry employment is at a 15-year high. So again, the record speaks for itself, and we're happy to stand by ours. And if you look at -- just because you say something, it doesn't mean that your record is backing it up. And their claim that they are for an all-above energy strategy just isn't backed up by the policies that they're out there talking about. Q Can I ask, to both of you, Iowa was sort of the -- was the state that kind of galvanized then-senator Obama's campaign for the presidency. In this three-day bus trip, does he feel like he's rekindling any of that old magic? How is he feeling? How are you guys feeling about it? MS. PSAKI: I will say he's in -- I think he's having a great time meeting people, seeing familiar faces, seeing new faces. He's met countless people who have said, I was with you in '08, I'm with you again; people who haven't been voters before who are getting engaged in the process. This is, as you touched on, this is where the journey began for him, and where it began for the First Lady, and Iowa will always have a special place in their hearts. And they know the people in Iowa expect they're going to lift the hood -- be able to lift the hood and kick the tires, ask tough questions, hear about specific policy answers. And spending three days allows us to go from one side of the state to the other, to meet people who are farmers, people who are working on wind turbines, people who are working in cities. And it gives him a taste and flavor of what everybody is going through in the state. So that's one of the reasons we're spending the time we are here. MR. CARNEY: Just in terms of the President -- and you've seen it at the events and, most recently, this morning at Coffee Connection in Knoxville -- a terrific enterprise where I enjoyed an egg-and-ham sandwich as well as a large coffee and I bought a T-shirt -- he's in a great mood. He loves being out on the road. He loves being in Iowa. On the bus, you can just feel his energy, and it's real fun to be out here with him. Q What does the T-shirt say? MR. CARNEY: It says "Coffee Connection" on the front, and "Life is too short to drink cheap coffee" on the back. Q What's up with the Republican owner of the Coffee Connection? I mean, did you guys know he was Republican? MS. PSAKI: The way that we pick places like that, we come up with a couple of options that people locally go and spend time -- because when the President is coming, we're not giving them an hour notice. So Coffee Connection is a coffee place in Knoxville where people are usually there at 10:00 in the morning, and we knew the President could pop in. It was a great place. We don't party-I.D. people when we go to local establishments. So we loved the small business owner. We loved his story and we loved his coffee. Q On Medicare -- why should people 55 years old or older be concerned about the Paul Ryan Medicare plan? MS. PSAKI: All right, I'm glad you asked. (Laughter.) One, just on the top line, there is a clear difference between what President Obama is talking about on Medicare, what his plan is and what the Romney/Ryan plan is. Mitt Romney said yesterday that they're very close on issues, that there is no space between them on issues. That's not an exact quote but a paraphrase. So I think we can all safely assume that they're on the same place. So for today's seniors, with the Romney/Ryan plan, prescription drugs would go up, out-of-pocket expenses would go up, benefits would go down, Medicare would become insolvent in four years. After the Ryan plan kicks in, Medicare would be completely destabilized once it kicks in. Younger, healthier seniors would purchase low-cost vouchers. What we know, bottom line, is that President Obama's plan strengthens and extends the life of the program. Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan's plan leaves the cost on the back of seniors. This is one of the reasons why, if you look at -- I'm sure all of you are very busy, you're not flipping through the Florida clips every day -- but typically, when a vice presidential nominee is announced, there is a huge bump, everybody is happy, excited, there's energy around it. This has been a stumbling-out-of-the-starting block situation for them, where, in Florida, there were -- people in Florida were woken up every day to this -- since he was announced -- to headlines like, Miami Herald: "Ryan Could Be A Drag On Romney In Florida"; St. Petersburg Blog: "Ryan Won't Be With Romney In Florida Tomorrow; Is He Medi-Scared?" -- quite a play on words -- Tampa Tribune: "Romney's VP Choice Could Be Risky In Swing State Of Florida." That's not typically what you get, and we know it's because their radical budget could have a devastating impact on not just seniors -- but that is one area where it certainly could -- but college students. And this is an area where we know we'll continue to be having a debate. Q Is that something that the President will start addressing as well today, or otherwise on the trail -- specifically Medicare in general and Congressman Ryan? MS. PSAKI: Mitt Romney is our opponent, as you know. And to the degree Paul Ryan is -- Paul Ryan of course is his running mate, as you also know. And it really -- him picking Paul Ryan further solidifies his beliefs, his embrace of the radical budget, his embrace of these ''let's go back to the 1950s'' approaches to women's issues. The President is going to be talking about wind today, and the difference between his vision and the Romney/Ryan vision. So that's what you'll hear from him today. But it's clear there's a contrast on their budgets -- I mean, I'm sorry, on their approaches to the economy, including their approach to the budget. And we know that will continue to be part of the debate. Q Why doesn't he just address it, then? Why doesn't he talk about Medicare if that's what everybody is concerned about? MS. PSAKI: We have almost 90 days left. You never know. I'm not going to get ahead of where we are today. Today we're talking about wind, but in Florida they're talking about Medicare. In other states, they're talking about the drastic impact on women's issues. In other states, they're talking about how this will impact student aid. We know this is an important part of the debate. Mitt Romney's position is Paul Ryan's position. They're running on the same ticket, and their approach to Medicare and their approach to health care would be devastating for people across this country. Q Can you give us some examples, as far as like the women's issues that you guys are concerned about, what are some of these things that Romney and Ryan have in mind that are bad? MS. PSAKI: Well, how long do you have? (Laughter.) Look, I think they've been very clear that they want to go back to a time when women could not make choices about their own health care; where contraception is not a part of what employers are providing. They've made this an issue that has taken us back in time, and that's something that women across the country are concerned about. You heard Sandra Fluke introduce the President last week. And also, I'll add in equal pay, ensuring women have equal pay. That's not a priority for the Republican ticket, and I think it raises a lot of red flags for women across the country. Q Jay, on the production tax credit, if Congress fails to act, is there anything that the administration can do on its own administratively or with an executive order? And if so, is that on the table? MR. CARNEY: Well, I would say broadly that when it comes to taking measures to help our economy grow and help sectors of our economy like wind energy production, the President is always evaluating every option, including administrative options. However, Congress has the responsibility and the authority to act on renewal of the production tax credit, and it's in Congress's court to take this action. The President strongly supports it; there is bipartisan support. You've heard Republican officials, both in Iowa and elsewhere, say how surprised they are by the opposition in Washington from leaders in the House and Senate, including, for example, Paul Ryan, who don't support renewal of this important wind energy tax credit. And I think what is shocking about it -- because it goes to the all-of-the-above energy strategy that the President has put in place -- is that they don't support an energy tax credit that has bipartisan support out in the country that helps an industry that is growing in the 21st century and will be an increasingly important part of our energy portfolio in the 21st century, but they refuse to forego or support the elimination of loopholes and tax benefits, and subsidies for oil and gas companies, which, of course, as you know, over the past several years have enjoyed historically high profits. I think that says a lot about their backward-looking view when it comes to our energy future. Q Does that credit go back to '05? Is that why that date -- you gave a stat of how much more production there has been since '05. Is that when the -- MR. CARNEY: I'd have to check. I'm not sure how old the tax credit is, but it has enjoyed bipartisan support in the past. Q Will we hear the President say anything about ethanol while he's in Iowa? MS. PSAKI: He spoke about it yesterday when he was meeting with some rural reporters. Q What did he say? MS. PSAKI: Let me look up and see if I can get you something from that. Ethanol is -- he has been a strong supporter of ethanol and cellulosic ethanol. He absolutely believes in it, he thinks it's a driver of the economy here and a key component of renewable energy. I'll check and see if there's any plans to include it in remarks otherwise and see if I can get you something more specific. Q Were the local reporters asking him, specifically in the drought conditions, about like livestock feed cost and stuff? Or -- MS. PSAKI: No, just about access -- just about renewable energy, given it's such an important issue here in Iowa, and all the ways that they can grow those industries in Iowa. One thing just to add on your health care question, or women's question -- and this is a fairly obvious one, I can't believe I forgot to mention -- the fact that Mitt Romney wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act would have a devastating impact on women, not just on cost but on the elimination -- right now, women can get pre-screenings for mammograms, Pap smears. They also want to defund Planned Parenthood. The list goes on and on -- but those are two key ones I would also add. Q When you listed off the ways that the Ryan budget would affect seniors who are now over 55, those first things were things that fell in the category of repealing the Affordable Care Act, right? MS. PSAKI: Yes. MR. CARNEY: That's very much part of the Ryan budget. And I think an elemental fact that has to be reckoned with here is that the Romney/Ryan approach, the Republican approach to Medicare is one that ends it as we know it over time, not to make investments in energy or education or innovation, but to provide substantial new tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans. The savings that are found, that are withdrawn from Medicare in the Republican plan come from cost-shifting, as opposed to the savings that have been put forward by the President through the Affordable Care Act and through his own budget proposals. The end result, as the Congressional Budget Office has said, is an extra $6,200 per year per senior for their health care costs. And seniors across the country simply, by and large, cannot afford that. And what happens when you voucherize the program, as a matter of policy, is that, as Jen mentioned, younger, healthier seniors take advantage of private plans, which drive up -- and private plans don't want older, less healthy seniors, and they remain in traditional Medicare creating a situation where traditional Medicare is not financially stable, and it creates what's called in the business a "death spiral" for Medicare. That is not a happy message, I think, to take to America's seniors. Q -- today in his remarks in terms of defending his posture on -- MS. PSAKI: The remarks focus on the wind tax credit, but I'm happy to get you or anybody specifics on his record versus Mitt Romney's record so let me know. Q Anything on the White House beer since we're -- the tape is rolling? Q Yes, explain that. Q He surprised all of us -- what's the deal? MR. CARNEY: What do you mean, what's the deal? It's been written about and talked about before that the White -- that there is a home brew, if you will, at the White House. Q Does he regularly travel with it? Q Does he drink it? Q -- moving this at interstate commerce. Does the Treasury Department know about this? (Laughter.) MR. CARNEY: I have to take those questions. Q Have you tasted it, Jay? What does it taste like? MR. CARNEY: It is superb. It is quite good. Q Who's the beer master? Q Is it light beer? Heavy? MR. CARNEY: I think the President said there are two types -- there's a light and a dark. I think I've only tried the light, and it's quite refreshing. Q Does the President drink it sometimes? MR. CARNEY: I have seen him, yes, have a -- Q During the beer summit, the White House beer was not observed. MS. PSAKI: I think that may have been pre -- MR. CARNEY: I think that may have been before they had White House beer. Q Any other distilleries in the White House we don't know about? (Laughter.) MR. CARNEY: There's a lot going on behind the trees on the South Lawn. MS. PSAKI: Qui±oa for healthy living. Q Who's the beer master? MR. CARNEY: I'll have to -- I have exhausted my knowledge about this subject. (Laughter.) Usually, when somebody hands me a beer I don't ask how it was made. I just drink it. MS. PSAKI: I will add, since some of you asked, last night at the fair, a combination of David Axelrod, David Plouffe, myself, Jon Favreau, Alyssa Mastromonaco, and Eugene Kang probably ate half a dozen turkey legs, a dozen fried Oreos, four fried Snickers, fried Twinkies, fried ho-hos -- we really did it up at the fair. We're all still functioning today. The fried Oreos, I think, is a group favorite so if you have the chance to go out -- MR. CARNEY: Jen left out that they had a few beers, too. MS. PSAKI: We did. (Laughter.) We're all above 21.
  END11:17 A.M. CDT
'Shell krijgt Zwarte Zee-contract' - Economie
  Link to Article
  Source: VK: Home
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 21:32
  14/08/12, 22:10 '' bron: ANP
  (C) ANP.
  Oliemaatschappij Shell krijgt samen met het Amerikaanse ExxonMobil toestemming om naar olie en gas te gaan boren in de Zwarte Zee. De regering van Oekra¯ne verkiest daarmee de twee westerse bedrijven boven het Russische Lukoil dat eveneens naar het contract had gedongen.
  Dat meldde dinsdag de krant Financial Times op basis van verscheidene bronnen.
  Door het ontsluiten van de energiereserves in de Zware Zee wil Oekra¯ne minder afhankelijk worden van de Russische leveranties van olie en gas. Shell en Exxon willen de exploratie van het Skifska-veld samen met het Roemeense OMV Petrom en het Oekra¯ense Nadra ter hand nemen. Het contract zal officieel op woensdag bekend worden gemaakt, aldus de bronnen.
  Het consortium zou in de eerste fase van het project circa 400 miljoen dollar willen investeren. Daarnaast betalen zij ruim 300 miljoen dollar aan de Oekra¯nse regering voor het recht om later een contract te tekenen voor het delen van de productieopbrengsten.
LightSquared investigation deadline extended| Reuters
  Link to Article
  Source: Reuters: Technology News
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 21:26
  By Billy Cheung
  NEW YORK | Tue Aug 14, 2012 4:44pm EDT
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Shelley C. Chapman this afternoon extended a critical document discovery deadline in the LightSquared MOSAV.UL bankruptcy proceedings.
  The deadline was extended to September 28 from September 11 in U.S. bankruptcy court, effectively allowing the parties involved more time.
  A group of lenders holding over $1.08 billion of secured debt at LightSquared LP, the company's main operating subsidiary, seeks to investigate the propriety of a $279 million loan extended to the holding company for LightSquared last July.
  At the heart of the issue is whether this loan constitutes an "insider transaction" that can be challenged, which could result in redistributing economics to other lenders. Harbinger was the key provider of this loan.
  Harbinger Capital Partners owns about 96 percent of this holding company, otherwise known as LightSquared Inc, and controls four of six board of director seats.
  According to court documents, the LightSquared Inc loan was initially unsecured, but then granted liens in late August for allegedly no additional compensation. Since Harbinger supposedly continued to own the entire loan through August, the opposition lender group believes the transaction was not conducted at "arm's length" and could constitute a preference transfer.
  Under bankruptcy law, preference transfers can be invalidated for uneconomic deals benefitting insiders occurring within a year of a company's insolvency.
  The loan further carried a 15 percent payable-in-kind coupon. The opposition lenders argue that neither the non-cash coupon nor the high coupon in a low interest rate environment represent market terms.
  If these circumstances are true, the LightSquared LP lenders would like to treat the LightSquared Inc loan as equity, potentially shifting economics away from the LightSquared Inc lenders in favor of other creditors.
  The opposition lenders had initially asked for a broad range of documents that Harbinger has repeatedly characterized as a "fishing expedition." The document discovery was also supposed to cover mainly non-Harbinger lenders, but since Harbinger was intimately involved in the transaction, the firm is affected.
  Harbinger disputes a number of these charges, as it was disclosed in court that $80 million of the loan came from third-party UBS, the agent bank. Harbinger further argues that liens were given in exchange for an additional $15 million of LightSquared Inc term loans needed to make spectrum lease payments at the holding company.
  Within the first month of completing the loan, Harbinger also contends that parts of the loan were subsequently sold to Fortress Investment Group and Mast Capital Management.
  While Harbinger has claimed that a number of loan documents have been provided to the lenders to put together an event timeline, Judge Chapman did observe that such materials may be insufficient to determine the larger purpose and strategy behind the transaction. In other words, Harbinger may have made the loan to better position itself in a bankruptcy.
  Harbinger ultimately believes that LightSquared will produce a restructuring plan that fully repays creditors, rendering a costly investigation unnecessary.
  In February, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) indefinitely suspended LightSquared's attempts to build the land-based portion of the company's wireless network. The FCC ruled that LightSquared's network transmissions were strong enough to significantly disrupt global positioning systems used by a wide range of commercial industries and the military. Confirming a successful exit from bankruptcy would most likely require a favorable FCC outcome.
  (Editing By Jon Methven)
London 2012: an Olympics without controversy '... almost
  Link to Article
  Source: The Conversation
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 21:25
  The Olympics are at their best they bring people together. EPA/Denis SabanganAnd so the London Olympics are over and we can all sit back and reflect on the past few weeks with some kind of clarity.
  Compared with the events of previous Games '' such as the Munich Massacre of 1972, the Centennial Olympic Park bombing of 1996, or the use of performance-enhancing drugs in 1988 and 2000 that resulted in athletes being stripped of gold medals '' London has been a mostly controversy-free Olympics.
  Mostly.
  Perhaps the most controversial incident in the Games was the disqualification of four women's pairs badminton teams on the basis they were trying to lose their final pool matches, to save energy and get a more favourable draw in their quarter finals.
  Thomas Lund, secretary general for the Badminton World Federation, explained the decision to suspend the players in the following way:
  ''The rules say you have to win every match, and that doesn't mean you throw some matches and win other matches.''
  This was a horrible decision by the Badminton World Federation. The disqualified badminton teams used a strategic awareness of the competition structure to produce the most effective and efficient means available to ensure they, and their country, would win a medal.
  This is now, fortunately or unfortunately, the Olympic spirit and one that is embodied in many Olympic sports. It's evident in the willingness of domestiques in road cycling to sacrifice their own chances of medalling for the sake of a team leader; in resting the best performers from heats in relay swimming and running; and in the resting or conservative use of star players in pool games in basketball, soccer and water polo.
  Yu Yang (right) and Wang Xiaoli (left) of China, two of the eight players disqualified for match fixing at the London Olympics. EPA/Bagus Indahono
  In the case of the offending badminton players, there seems no doubt they were deliberately playing badly in order to lose a game. But all teams had not played badly in their earlier games. They had already done their jobs to the degree that was necessary to get to the next round.
  The response by the badminton federation appeared to be a knee-jerk reaction to unrest from the fans and media, coupled with unfounded suggestions that such actions by badminton teams could interfere with the integrity of Olympic gambling.
  Anyone that gambles on pool matches in badminton, where there is a strong possibility that teams who had already qualified for the quarter-finals would not play their hardest prior to the game starting, is a person that should not gamble on sport.
  The issue of the men's pole vault provides an interesting contrast with the badminton.
  In the heats, vaulters from different countries '' including Australia's Steve Hooker '' apparently colluded by not attempting to win the heat, ensuring all of them made it to the final. In contrast with the badminton, there was no suggestion that these pole vaulters should be disqualified.
  But it's perhaps the fans that lose the most when athletes don't give their all in the opening rounds of competition. Spare a thought for the fans that paid good money to watch Team USA play Nigeria in the men's basketball, only to see superstars Lebron James and Kobe Bryant play for just over ten minutes of the match.
  Ye Shiwen raised eyebrows with her impressive performance, but fellow athletes supported the Chinese swimmer. EPA/Barbara Walton
  The second major controversy of the Games was an allegation of doping against Chinese swimmer Ye Shiwen, courtesy of some impressive improvements in her 200m and 400m individual medley times.
  As further substance to this claim, the Chinese swimmer had swum the final 50m of the freestyle leg of the 400m medley faster than the winner of the men's race, American Ryan Lochte.
  Reports from a small segment of the media, supported by some coaches, suggested that, given the history of drug use by many members of the Chinese swimming teams in the 1990s and the use of EPO by a teammate of Ye's recently, Ye's swimming performance should be viewed with suspicion.
  This allegation was a beat-up and should have been ignored by the media. The only uplifting aspect of this story was that other reporters were not just quick to refute it, but also to question the underlying racism and sexism that informed it.
  We in the Western media would not question the current American track and field sprinters on the basis of the many athletes of previous eras that were found guilty of drug use before and during the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO) trials of the early 2000s.
  Furthermore, it was explained by some reporters that the Chinese government, and Chinese sporting organisations, embarrassed by that legacy of swimming in the 1990s, had implemented a rigorous drug testing and control program that was at least the equal of any other in the world.
  Many of Ye's competitors, and many former swimmers, explained that the improvement in the swimmer's freestyle leg was expected, and celebrated her achievement as a positive for women's swimming.
  Britain's Victoria Pendleton (right) grabs the hand of Australian gold medal winner Anna Meares after the women's sprint final. EPA/Christophe Karaba
  While there were other controversies throughout the Olympics, including a couple of positive drug tests (most recently to women's shot put gold medallist Nadzeya Ostapchuk), and some off the field regarding ticket prices, ticket allocations, economic benefits for London, and future allocation of funding to Olympic programs, the ethical legacy of these Games is overwhelmingly positive.
  These Games should be viewed as an example of the ways friendships can occur between individuals of different nations who forget self-interest and unrestrained patriotism.
  The competitors who finished second and third in the 100m hurdles race won by Sally Pearson appeared genuinely happy for the person who had just defeated them in a photo-finish. And as mentioned previously, female medley swimmers celebrated the performance of Ye Shiwen in the face of criticism.
  Even the great cycling rivals, Australia's Anna Meares and Britain's Victoria Pendleton, appeared to finally understand the friendship that often results from intense and close competition, after facing off in the women's sprint final.
  It is images such as the above that should remain as ethical beacons for future Olympics because they support the vision of International Olympic Committee founder Pierre de Coubertin's of using sport to promote international peace and understanding.
  Did these positive images sell as many newspapers and pay-TV subscriptions as the wildly ethnocentric celebrations of moving upwards on the Olympic medal tally?
  Well, we'll know this eventually, too.
  Post a Comment TagsLondon Olympics
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Cable News Ratings for Monday, August 13, 2012 - Ratings
  Link to Article
  Source: TVbytheNumbers
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 21:23
  Live + Same Day Cable News Daily Ratings for August 13, 2012
  P2+ (000s)25-54 (000s)35-64 (000s)Total DayFNC 1,252 296 557CNN 322 92 119MSNBC 542 161 224CNBC 166 51 86FBN 62 14 26HLN 229 87 136PrimetimeP2+ (000s)25-54 (000s)35-64 (000s)FNC 2,414 444 935CNN 493 138 201MSNBC 1,188 339 510CNBC 273 156 156FBN 80 31 44HLN 318 87 173NetMorning programs (6-9 AM)P2+ (000s)25-54 (000s)35-64 (000s)FNCFOX & Friends 981 279 533CNNEarly Start/Starting Point 176 63 70MSNBCMorning Joe 419 150 201CNBCSquawk Box 127 35 79HLNMorning Express w/ Meade 249 138 183Net5PMP2+ (000s)25-54 (000s)35-64 (000s)FNCFIVE, THE 1,987 415 851CNNSituation Room 521 134 184MSNBCHardball WITH C. MATTHEWS 844 171 314CNBCFAST MONEY 181 28 85HLNEVENING EXPRESS 125 35 58Net6PMP2+ (000s)25-54 (000s)35-64 (000s)FNCSPECIAL RPT W/BRET BAIER 2,036 349 749CNNSituation Room 391 121 149MSNBCPOLITICS NATION 871 216 346CNBCMad Money 169 42 89HLNEVENING EXPRESS 107 48 66Net7PMP2+ (000s)25-54 (000s)35-64 (000s)FNCThe Fox Report W/S.SMITH 1,919 407 794CNNERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT 402 100 141MSNBCHardball WITH C. MATTHEWS 823 202 312CNBCKudlow Report 208 44 105HLNJANE VELEZ-MITCHELL 200 79 123Net8PMP2+ (000s)25-54 (000s)35-64 (000s)FNCTHE OREILLY FACTOR 3,034 521 1,115CNNAnderson Cooper 360 439 115 179MSNBCEd Show 1,011 250 407CNBCPIXAR STORY 259 138 163HLNNancy Grace 343 70 160Net9PMP2+ (000s)25-54 (000s)35-64 (000s)FNCHannity 2,211 446 922CNNPiers Morgan Tonight 546 164 230MSNBCRachel Maddow Show 1,396 442 614CNBCPIXAR STORY 345 189 194HLNDr. Drew 266 81 143Net10PMP2+ (000s)25-54 (000s)35-64 (000s)FNCON THE RECORD W/GRETA 1,994 365 767CNNAnderson Cooper 360 494 133 194MSNBCLast Word W/ L. ODONNELL 1,149 324 502CNBC20 UNDER 20 TRNSFMG TMRW 214 139 111HLNNancy Grace 344 109 215Net11PMP2+ (000s)25-54 (000s)35-64 (000s)FNCTHE OREILLY FACTOR 1,323 443 698CNNERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT 286 63 100MSNBCEd Show 711 182 300CNBCMad Money 88 56 55HLNSHOWBIZ TONIGHT 234 96 156-
  For other days cable news ratings click here.
  P2+ = viewers over the age of 2
  (25-54) = Adults 25-54 viewing
  (35-64) = Adults 35-64 viewing
  Prime Time = 8-11pm
  LIVE+SD: The number that watched a program either while it was broadcast OR watched via DVR on the same day [through 3AM the next day] the program was broadcast. For more information see Numbers 101.
  Scratch = when a show's audience fails to meet minimum Nielsen reporting levels. For more information go here.
  Nielsen Cable Network Coverage Estimates (as of July, 2011)
  CNN/HLN: 101.12 million HHs
  CNBC: 98.62 million HHs
  FNC: 99.15 million HHs
  MSNBC: 95.72 million HHs
  Fox Business: 58.15 million HHs
  Nielsen TV Ratings Data: (C)2012 The Nielsen Company. All Rights Reserved.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/chinese-companies-pull-us-stock-095649722.html
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 21:15
  BEIJING (AP) -- Just a few years after Chinese companies lined up to sell shares on Wall Street, a growing number are reversing course and pulling out of U.S. exchanges.
  This week, Focus Media Holding Ltd., announced its chairman and private equity firms want to buy back its U.S.-traded shares and take the Shanghai-based advertising company private. The deal would value Focus Media at $3.5 billion, according to financial information firm Dealogic.
  Smaller companies also are withdrawing from U.S. exchanges. In a sign of official encouragement, a Chinese business magazine said a state bank has provided $1 billion in loans to help companies with listings abroad move them to domestic exchanges.
  The withdrawals follow accusations of improper accounting by some companies and a deadlock between Beijing and Washington over whether U.S. regulators can oversee their China-based auditors.
  Some Chinese companies say they are pulling out of U.S. markets because a low share price fails to reflect the strength of their business. Withdrawing also eliminates the cost of complying with American financial reporting rules.
  Focus Media "has been seriously undervalued on U.S. stock markets" and being taken private will help to promote its "long-term strategic development," said a company spokeswoman, Lu Jing.
  The company, formed in 2003, operates electronic advertising displays in elevators, grocery stores and other locations.
  "We haven't considered whether to list the company on Chinese markets but that possibility has not been excluded," Lu said.
  U.S.-traded Chinese companies faced scrutiny after auditors for several quit and others were accused of accounting irregularities. Concerns about company finances have caused share prices to tumble, costing investors several billion dollars.
  "Probably all these companies have some questionable accounting, so they may prefer to move out of the U.S., not to come under too much scrutiny," said Marc Faber, managing director of Hong Kong fund management company Marc Faber Ltd.
  A financial firm, Muddy Waters Research, accused Focus Media last year of overstating the number of its display panels and questioned acquisitions reported by the company. Focus Media denied the allegations and said independent auditors confirmed the size of its network.
  This week, Muddy Waters founder Carson Block said in a statement: "The markets are far better off if a few deep pocketed investors own Focus Media instead of mutual funds and other public shareholders."
  The group proposing to take the company private includes its chairman, Jason Nanchun Jiang, and private equity firms Carlyle Group, CITIC Capital Partners, CDH Investments and China Everbright Ltd.
  The status of Chinese companies in the United States could be complicated by a dispute between U.S. and Chinese regulators over whether American inspectors will be allowed to examine the work of their China-based audit firms.
  Washington wants auditors to hand over documentation on companies that are under investigation but Chinese authorities have barred the release of some information. If a settlement is not reached, the SEC could reject audits by China-based firms, forcing companies to find new auditors.
  In May, Beijing took steps to tighten control of local affiliates of major accounting firms by issuing a requirement for Chinese citizens to head those offices.
  Dozens of Chinese companies issued shares on Wall Street over the past decade, raising billions of dollars from investors who wanted a stake in the country's booming economy.
  Many were private companies that could not raise money on Chinese exchanges that were created to finance state industry or wanted the higher public profile.
  Chinese regulators encouraged the move as a way for entrepreneurs to raise money and speed the development of China's economy. But in recent years Beijing has encouraged private companies to issue shares in China to help develop its markets and give Chinese households better investment options.
  Regulators have made it easier for private companies to join China's two exchanges in Shanghai and the southern city of Shenzhen, though most listings still are for state enterprises. The Shenzhen exchange created a second board for small companies, imitating the U.S.-based Nasdaq market.
  Major state companies such as oil giant PetroChina Ltd. and China Mobile Ltd., the world's biggest phone company by subscribers, also have issued shares abroad. None has indicated it plans to withdraw from foreign stock exchanges.
  The economics also are shifting in China's favor.
  U.S.-traded companies saw share prices plunge following the 2008 global crisis, while economic growth at home, even after a recent decline, is still forecast at about 8 percent this year. Rising Chinese incomes are creating a bigger pool of money for investment.
  "Generally speaking, a company's shares are sold at a higher premium in initial public offerings on Chinese stock markets than on U.S. markets," said Mao Sheng, a market strategist for Huaxi Securities in the western city of Chengdu.
  Also, he said, "If the company's business is mainly in China, it will be good for its brand promotion."
  Another U.S.-traded company, Fushi Copperweld Inc., announced plans in June by its chairman, Li Fu, and a Hong Kong firm, Abax Global Capital, to take the maker of metallic conductors private.
  Muddy Waters cited Fushi Copperweld in April as one of several companies it said dealt with an investment bank that helped enterprises seeking U.S. stock market listings to conceal problems and misrepresent financial information.
  Fushi Copperweld denied Muddy Waters' "vague and nonspecific" claims.
  The company said its privatization will be financed with loans from the China Development Bank.
  Created to support construction of highways and other public works in China, CDB plays a growing role in its corporate expansion abroad. The bank provides credit to buyers of Chinese telecoms gear and other big-ticket goods and has financed building projects in Africa, Latin America and Asia.
  CDB has lent $1 billion "to help Chinese public companies leave the U.S. stock market to return to domestic markets," the business magazine Caixin said last month.
  Employees who answered the phone at Fushi Copperweld said no one was available to comment.
  Also in June, China TransInfo Technology Corp., a provider of traffic management technology, announced privatization plans to be financed by CDB's Hong Kong branch. A company spokeswoman said she could not comment because the plan is not finalized.
  In October, Harbin Pacific Electric Co. withdrew from Nasdaq in a share buyback financed by $400 million in loans from the CDB.
  ___
  Associated Press researchers Fu Ting in Shanghai and Yu Bing in Beijing contributed to this report.
It has started
  Link to Article
  Source: Lame Cherry
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 21:08
  Do not expect some grande vision in the sky, Sybil oracles or signs, because none of you has paid attention to the omens which have been piling about about the precursor to the anti Christ in B. Hussein Obama. It was only revealed here that Mr. Obama was installed as an energy spike to initiate those Biblical things foretold, and for Judgment to come upon America for taking on blasphemous foreign leader.Mark Levin has no idea in what he did along with his other Mockingbird cronies, but in time all will know the full effects of what is the tribulation to come.The first signs have begun though in this and everything in me is excited and has no fear, for I was born to this brier patch and it is of the purpose in my destiny of why I came.The Chicoms pulling out of US markets means they know a collapse is coming, and they are not going to be Dotcom raped in it.......SOMEONE has warned them from the inside, while not warning any of you of the jeopardy involved.Chinese companies pull out of US stock markets...
  The Russians becoming more radiocative predatory is a sign from the middle European oracles. Vladamir Putin has a destiny foretold and it is glorious with ignoble death. He is Pharoah in this tale and only he could unleash the strike of maleness to the anti Christ's feminine strikes.He must play his role and it will be comforting for a time to have such adults making the decisions to start the Great Eurasian War.
  Russian nuclear attack sub patrolled Gulf of Mexico undetected...
  I warned all not to trust the last European bailout. All that was designed to do was deposit money directly to the cartel and to turn up energy prices on Americans in order to really set things in motion in these United States.Europe must break to be fused into the mire and iron of the Neo Roman Empire.Robert Morton, are you not sad you shut the door to the future by protecting those who are murdering the Jewish people in the Israeli state. Rhetorical
  Obama and the Chicago Mercantile have again manipulated illegally commodity futures prices, as the American harvest is a drought disaster. In first hand examination, I have seen corn being chopped for silage, but there are not enough cattle to eat this fodder.No corn, means no ethanol, which means gas prices spiking........yes now let us hear Rush Limbaugh and Mark Levin chirp about bio fuels as fuel prices soar without that stop gap ethanol to suppress the Muslim oil Brentwood pricing.It is all connected my children and brats. Your soybeans you do not care if it rained or was dry, mean the Chinese communists will not have meal for their hogs and chickens, and without feed, the Chicoms will look for something to eat.......as in invading others lands to stop a revolution from within.Watch Brazil if they have a bad soy harvest in 2013, then you will know that it has been farmers who have kept you safe, and without their crops, all of this sets things in motion at even a greater pace.I have watched Warren Buffett's BNSF railroad rape America with George Soros under Obama and Holder's protection. Buffett is not moving as much crude oil out of North Dakota as in 2012, but he has a new summer feature and that gem is grain cars.For Mark Levin, that is not corn nor soybeans which are being moved, but that is wheat.The wheat harvest was good by God's Grace, but the farmers to pay bills have sold their crops in part, and the Soros, Archers Daniels and Cargill grain cartels have this investment they are now holding and moving. Just consider wheat today at 8 dollars a bushel, corn at 7, soybeans at 15. Prices deliberately suppressed by the regime and money Wall Street Insiders.Now as in previous years, they buy low and then spike the markets in inflation and crop shortage. Wheat should be at 20 dollars per bushel and corn should be rising daily in the 25 dollar area with soybeans wandering in the 20 dollar range as the next weeks will tell the story in early frosts and rain not falling.Make no mistake, the US crop reserves are in a shambles, but do not trust in making a kill in this, as the Soros Buffett horders are going to manipulate this to their advantage.....and do not forget they can not have revolution brewing in people not affording food or shelves empty.These Obama bastards are the reason sugar spiked, as sugar is evil to them, and the companies making sugar got one hell of a price spike in making them rich......in North Dakota they basically destroyed the unions under Obama's sweet watch.What I warn you of is no sky is falling, but the sky is shattered and has already begun to come down in pieces.What Obama is engineering is what I have warned you of.....or what Wall Street in the cartels is engineering and Obama is just the ringmaster in the funny ears. They are trying their best now to keep this from going scorched earth before the November elections. They need to make this thing last that long, so they can put into play their Romney or Obama post Biden regime into play to continue this feudal state operation.The Americans sheep will accept "elections" as their guilt and behave like good children as they believe they are in power and made the mess. This is all factored in, but the reality this phase of the cycle has finally started and I'm quite delighted.There must be a war in the autumn in the Middle East for a false peace treaty to be signed out of Europe, led by that Neo Roman leader, the anti Christ for the final 7 year cycle to begin. There will be 3 1/2 years of a pseudo peace for the dividing up lands and cementing of power, before that offering to satan on Temple Mount engages "the end" as Christ plainly states in the abomination which makes desolate.Those are the realities, but what is in the headlines are the fringe oracles of cause and effect in signs. If the Chinese are going home, then something in America is dangerous for them. If Putin is pointing fire sticks at America, there is reason he is being more overt to Obama in pissing on him. If Europe is being shattered, then someone in the cartel is deliberately doing this to make a new Europe they can rule from better.Obvious things, but enjoy your Paul Ryan fantasy as Romney sucks on his youth for vigor and Joe Biden is ya'll starting Obama's white race war.Yeah that is the Lame Cherry Exclusive the White House Insider missed in Obama would stoke up his Nigger Hoodies, but he is counting on the white rednecks to Page them into the voting camps he wants. Ya'll is a southern white word, and chains is black verbiage........Biden is stoking both camps now just like a good Rothschild emissary would in making conflict.Obama desires white Reagan Blue America States to act out, so he can crack down on the white folks to scare them good just as Eric Holder did for Bill Clinton in OKC, Ruby Ridge and Waco.All is silent on the conservative front, save here.......no Alex Jones or Jeff Rense to point out the sins of Obama and his cartel as they did for George W. Bush.Europe will be as has been explained here, as will Russia, as will China and as will America. You were told Utter Ruin from Day One here exclusively. The cartel has this on a timetable and are moving it as they choose according to that time. For those who think they are smart enough to jump into bed with this crowd and gain your victory.......you have no idea the game and you have no idea your victory has been projected out to initiate the same outcome if Obama is there or not.Funny thing about being smug in lecturing Lame Cherry about money is that when things crash, all the rich folks not sharing their money are going to be as poor as the mice in the Church. Yes all are peasants and livestock of the fields as there can only be a few feudal lords.You chose money instead of Inspiration......no Prophet's Reward in that, and it is all on God's Records to never be removed.Pretty whores in Babylon in scarlet cloth of frayRide upon beasts of field upon the world they preyI wish I may I wish I might wish a spell come truePretty whores in Babylon need your attentions too So who do you want to save you, Obama or Romney.......tick tock tick tock....or perhaps you will save yourself spanky as you have done such a bung hole job of it buggering it up so far.And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.Prophecy of an entire days wages for approximately a quart of wheat or flour. Bread is 6 cups of flour per loaf, so 8 cups of flour for a days wage. At 9 dollar minimum wage, 32 quarts per bushel of grain, that would factor out to........drum roll please.......72 dollar wage per day, times 32 quarts or a bushel of wheat at.........2304 dollars.Yes so glad you kept your gold and money to save you tick tock tick tock.
The Unfortunate Culture of Awesome
  Link to Article
  Source: Dave Winer's linkblog feed
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 21:04
  I remember distinctly when the word ''awesome'' reentered my stream of consciousness. It had been dormant since the mid-to-late-'80s, but in a bar downtown about 8 or 9 years ago, I was telling a story that had more ''schaden'' than ''freude'' to it. My friend Baly looked up at me and said, ''AWESOME.'' It was the perfect punctuation mark.
  Since then, ''awesome'' has bizarrely rolled through a cultural reentry like a tornado in Western Massachusetts. While there are some applications of the word that work'' I'm specifically thinking of the Awesome Foundation, whose very engaging Awesummit (!) I attended a few weeks ago'' I have come to generally cringe at what this word represents for our current zeitgeist, and especially social technologies' role in creating it.
  I'm going to risk sounding like a finger-wagging old lady here, but in the early days of online social networks, especially with the arrival of sharing status updates and mood swings, people shared a huge variety of experiences from their daily lives. This led quickly to the cliched retort to avoiding social media: ''I don't care what you had for breakfast!'' For those not used to seeing social updates as a steady flow of information rather than individual nuggets needing processing, it can be overwhelming to see all the little bits.
  But the little bits are what ultimately make humans interesting. Each one of those minor updates start to paint a picture of what one person's life looks like. Technology writer Clive Thompson described them as points in a pointillist painting: each update on its own is not that interesting, but together they create a rich portrait of a life. Maybe it's not critical to my existence that I know you like Chobani yogurt, but together with lots of other pieces of information, I can see what kind of person you are. And that's critical for developing relationships with one another, digitally or otherwise.
  Of course, the sharing of minutaie hasn't disappeared on social media. But what I have noticed is a shift in my networks away from sharing the ordinary pieces of life fabric to focusing on the bigger, flashier, grander (or more grandiose) moments. Teh Awesome. Social media is a performance, Baratunde Thurston told me recently. Every day, that perfomance may be becoming more about creating the public versions of ourselves that we want to be, and less about sharing portraits of life. We are creating wittier, snappier, sometimes angrier, humblebraggier avatars. Everything is awesome.
  Blogging went through this schism over the course of its evolution. My first blogs were one that was an update of my personal website, and a secret diary, complete with pseudonyms and disguised locations, of my adventures in early-2000s Manhattan. Once political and professional blogging went mainstream, Livejournal and other diarist-oriented sites took a backseat to the sites and services that hawked ''ideas.'' Now I have a blog on my website for my work, but a separate Tumblr for more personal observations. I remember telling proto-blogger Dave Winer about that split a couple years ago, and he jokingly nudged me, ''Oh yeah, of course, no one would want to read your professional and personal thoughts in the same place.'' Schism complete.
  Now that social media has made it more accessible for millions to share whatever their thoughts may be, a similar schism seems to be cracking open. The awesome (both good and bad) are favored over the ordinary. And we are missing out on the fabric of our daily lives when we omit the ordinary. Last fall, I had an opportunity to explore what it means to be ordinary in a culture so obsessed with awesome. In the book Mastery by George Leonard, he notes that only a very minute percentage of our lives are milestones. The rest are the plateaus in between.
  As much as we encourage each other to be passionate about the things we do with ourselves, being passionate doesn't mean ''everything must feel awesome always.''
  We end up deeply disappointed when it doesn't, when it just feels average. One of my favorite books is The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Kundera explains the title when he points out that sometimes we long to be oppressed emotionally, pulled into the earth, so that we can feel like we're alive. If we're livin' easy, we float away, and our lives and feelings become distant and half-real. It reminds me of this mistaken passion for work. We want to be in the thick of it all the time, and as it turns out, we're missing a lot of good opportunities there on the plateaus of ordinary.
  When I ran this bit by [my mentor] Ruth Ann, she also pointed out that we have to spend sometime considering'--and likely changing'-- what we think is awesome. In the big picture, we didn't wake up dead (gotta give my pop credit for that phrase), so we've already started out ahead. Sometimes that doesn't feel like much, or it feels like a platitude. But that's exactly the point Ruth Ann is getting at, I think. Every day actually is awesome. (She says every moment is awesome, and every moment gives us a chance to make another choice about which thoughts to entertain and which thoughts to dismiss. Every moment gives us another choice about what action to take or what action to cease.) And it might be, on the surface, exactly the same as the last moment, the last hour, the last day. In that sameness, in the ordinary, in the equanimity of average, we are given the opportunity to explore. Up to us to answer the call.
  I'm hoping that the schism between ordinary and awesome doesn't take hold in social media, that this might just be a passing phase as we navigate the terms for using new tools. Now, if you'll excuse me, time for me to go have my awesome morning Chobani.
Scripting News: Everything's an inkblot
  Link to Article
  Source: Dave Winer's linkblog feed
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 21:02
  A great piece by Alex Hillman this morning about app.net, ostensibly, but it's really about everything. He says, accurately, that everyone who put up $50 to fund app.net had their own idea of what it is. They can't all be right,because at least some of what they want is impossible and some is contradictory (both x and not x can't be true in the same universe). Something is coming into view, for all of them, and they can project it on app.net. $50 is a way to express their vision. They "get" it too. What it is, exactly, they still have to work out. Hillman says it's an inkblot. I love it when people quote movies in blog posts. "The Rorschach on the wall isn't an image of a bat; it's nothing more than an ink blot, and that people see what they want to see." Meanwhile Jay Rosen tweets, quoting Nate Silver that the "pick of Mr Ryan [by Romney] seems to have been more of a gut-feel decision than a data-driven one." I agree. When Romney looked at Ryan he felt he was looking in the mirror at a young version of himself. Ryan is like that, very easy to project on. As Anthony Hopkins says in the Oliver Stone movie Nixon, "They look at you and see what they want to be. They look at me they see what they are." I don't know who came up with that line, but it's brilliant. Do you doubt that Nixon dreamt of being loved like Kennedy? And I imagine that Romney felt he could be Ryan, if he had a Ryan. Patricians and plutocrats think like that, I imagine. Back to tech, when I look at the fascinating app.net inkblot, I see a lot of people who want something new and exciting. They know it's not Twitter, because the new stuff in Twitter is now six years old, and they're removing capabilities, not adding them. And the ones they're removing are the most exciting ones, the ones that got us interested in the first place. What I'm looking for is a core of doable stuff, that, like previous tech explosions is simple and loosely-coupled. Geeky and fun with enormous potential. There have been lots of them. Things like C, PCs, memory-mapped video, Unix, email, the web. And there are so many interesting new things out there now. Bootstrap Toolkit is certainly one of them. Where there's something highly leveraged that people adopt easily, there's potential for technological combustion. What seems very unlikely to me is that the new thing will fall neatly in place on one company's servers, or even with one company's servers at the center. It's never been that way. Going back to the previous examples, C and Unix shipped in source and were widely adopted. After a short period every system had a C implementation, with a lot of interop. There were huge numbers of PC clone makers that all ran each others' software. ANyone could start a web server. And yesterday Mark Otto, the guy who worked on Bootstrap at Twitter, said he was pleased to see it being used in app.net. That tells you, right there, that Bootstrap has the potential to be one of these platforms that raises the level of everything. A final note. Twitter and Facebook have been trying to trap the power of news syndication on their servers. That's not their job. Basically I'm probably not going to be talked out of my belief that if you want an open Twitter or Facebook it pretty much has to be based on RSS or something exactly like it. Follow @davewiner
Joe Biden Screams, ''We Can Win North Carolina!'' While Speaking In'...VIRGINIA
  Link to Article
  Source: The Ulsterman Report
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 21:01
  Let's talk about the CHAINS Obama and his CzARS have put on the USA'...'....where it's no longer'...A FREE F**KING COUNTRY!!!!
  When Dimon is yelling that'....then perhaps others will gain their courage and come out of the shadows to defeat the man who calls himself Obama'...that F
  http://www.theblaze.com/stories/jpmorgan-ceo-hits-breaking-point-on-govt-regs-its-a-free-fking-country/
  JPMorgan Chase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon testifies during a US House Financial Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, June 19, 2012, about JPMorgan Chase's trading loss. Credit: AFP/Getty ImagesJPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon during a recent interview with New York magazine decried overbearing government regulations, at one point practically shouting, ''It's a free. F**king. Country!''
  Dimon also made the case for deregulation (or at least a general ''loosening up'') because, he says, fear of retribution has many small bank owners terrified to make a move.
  ''The whole world has become crazy. Businesses get attacked every time they do something,'' he said. ''Everyone is afraid of retaliation.''
  ''We recently had an event with a hundred small bankers here, and 85 percent of them said they can't challenge the regulation because of the potential retribution. That's a terrible thing, okay? This is not the Soviet Union '-- this is the United States of America. That's what I remember. Guess what?'' he asked with a raised voice, ''It's a free. F**king. Country.''
Curiosity rover: Martian solar day 2
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 20:58
  NASA's MSL Curiosity missionSource Images: NASA/JPL-Caltech
  With its rover named Curiosity, Mars Science Laboratory mission is part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the red planet. Curiosity was designed to assess whether Mars ever had an environment able to support small life forms called microbes. In other words, its mission is to determine the planet's "habitability."
  B: Spirit Roverby Clay Morehead, less than 10 meters awayJust another interactive panorama produced from Caltech and JPL images of Spirit Rover on Mars.The ma...
  C: Vallecitos New Mexico USAby Irmin Wehmeier, 16.6 km awayThis is a residence in Vallecitos, Tijeras New Mexico USA. Located in the east mountains, twenty mile...
  D: Vallecitos New Mexico Usaby Irmin Wehmeier, 16.6 km awayThis is a residence in Vallecitos, Tijeras New Mexico USA. Located in the east mountains, twenty mile...
  E: Embudo Canyon, Albuquerque, NMby Ryan Helinski, 16.7 km awayThis area in the foothills is very popular for walking dogs, running, and mountain biking. The only d...
  F: Embudo Canyon, Albuquerque, NMby Ryan Helinski, 16.9 km awayThis area in the foothills is very popular for walking dogs, running, and mountain biking. The only d...
  G: Sandia Peakby Willy Kaemena, 24.4 km awayThe making of a pole panorama on the Sandia Peak in Albuquerque.
  H: IVRPA & IAPP Groupby Willy Kaemena, 24.5 km awaySandia Peak 10000ft ( 3000m) high above Albuquerque with the participants of IAPP and IVRPA joint co...
  I: Sandia Peakby Willy Kaemena, 24.5 km awayWikipedia: "The Sandia Peak Tramway, located adjacent to Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, is the world's...
  J: Sandia Peak Tramwayby Willy Kaemena, 24.5 km awayWikipedia: "With a total diagonal distance of 14,657 feet (4,467 m) the Sandia Peak Tram is the longe...
  This panorama was taken in New MexicoThis is an overview of New MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. Inhabited by Native American populations for many centuries, it has also been part of the Imperial Spanish viceroyalty of New Spain, part of Mexico, and a U.S. territory. Among U.S. states, New Mexico has the highest percentage of Hispanics at 45% (2008 estimate), being descendants of Spanish colonists and recent immigrants from Latin America. It also has the third-highest percentage of Native Americans after Alaska and Oklahoma, and the fifth-highest total number of Native Americans after California, Oklahoma, Arizona, and Texas. The tribes represented in the state consist of mostly Navajo and Pueblo peoples. As a result, the demographics and culture of the state are unique for their strong Spanish, Mexican, and Native American cultural influences. At a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth most sparsely inhabited U.S. state.
  [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_mexico]
http://www.juancole.com/2012/08/top-ten-differences-between-white-terrorists-and-others.html
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 16:29
  1. White terrorists are called ''gunmen.'' What does that even mean? A person with a gun? Wouldn't that be, like, everyone in the US? Other terrorists are called, like, ''terrorists.''
  2. White terrorists are ''troubled loners.'' Other terrorists are always suspected of being part of a global plot, even when they are obviously troubled loners.
  3. Doing a study on the danger of white terrorists at the Department of Homeland Security will get you sidelined by angry white Congressmen. Doing studies on other kinds of terrorists is a guaranteed promotion.
  4. The family of a white terrorist is interviewed, weeping as they wonder where he went wrong. The families of other terrorists are almost never interviewed.
  5. White terrorists are part of a ''fringe.'' Other terrorists are apparently mainstream.
  6. White terrorists are random events, like tornadoes. Other terrorists are long-running conspiracies.
  7. White terrorists are never called ''white.'' But other terrorists are given ethnic affiliations.
  8. Nobody thinks white terrorists are typical of white people. But other terrorists are considered paragons of their societies.
  9. White terrorists are alcoholics, addicts or mentally ill. Other terrorists are apparently clean-living and perfectly sane.
  10. There is nothing you can do about white terrorists. Gun control won't stop them. No policy you could make, no government program, could possibly have an impact on them. But hundreds of billions of dollars must be spent on police and on the Department of Defense, and on TSA, which must virtually strip search 60 million people a year, to deal with other terrorists.
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Elon Musk: Next Six Months Crucial to Tesla's future
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 15:58
  Elon Musk is considered one of today's most audacious technology entrepreneurs. But even he recognizes that Tesla Motors is entering a challenging period for the electric vehicle company.
  Musk, who founded Tesla and space exploration company SpaceX, spoke last week at the Clean Energy Summit where he sounded a cautionary note with regards to Tesla's near future.
  "The challenge Tesla faces over the next several months, which is a very difficult one, is to scale up production and achieve enough of a gross margin on the product that we get to a situation where we're cash flow positive. If we aren't able to do that we will join the graveyard of all the other car company startups of the last 90 years," he said according to an article at AOL Energy.
  Telsa began shipping its Model S electric sedan earlier in June, a car targeted at consumers looking for an alternative to more established luxury models. The base price is just under $50,000 after factoring in a $7,500 tax credit. But models with a large enough battery to allow for a 300 mile range will be priced at $87,900 after the tax credit.
  At an event where Tesla delivered its first Model S, Musk boldly predicted electric vehicles would represent half of new car sales in 2020, far exceeding the low percentage most auto analysts forecast for all-electric vehicles.
  The company expects to meet its target of selling 5,000 cars this year. How Tesla fares in attracting buyers beyond those who already reserved their Model S's will determine whether Tesla will survive and in what form. It projects selling 20,000 cars next year, which is a relatively high number among luxury brands. Tesla also needs to make a profit on those shipments. If it can become cash-flow positive, Telsa can pursue its long-term plan to make a more affordable electric vehicle, Musk said.
  At the same time, competition for plug-ins is heating up. The major automakers, including Ford, General Motors, Nissan, and Toyota, have all released plug-in vehicles which, although more expensive than comparable gasoline cars, have a lower price than the Model S. Tesla is also meeting competition from hybrids and EVs in the luxury category as well.
  Musk last week said the company can't afford to make many mistakes over the next six months.
  "We can show that it's technologically possible to other manufacturers. If Tesla doesn't make it I hope we have nonetheless served that purpose. I don't want to sound dour but it's definitely going to be a tough six months," he said, according to AOL Energy.
  If sales of the Model S and Tesla's Model X SUV don't materialize as hoped, Tesla does have other sources of revenue. It currently supplies electric powertrains to other automakers, including Toyota for its RAV4 Electric. It is also working with SolarCity, another company Musk has invested in, to supply batteries to back up WalMart's solar panels at 90 stories. Tesla could also become an electric brand within a larger automaker. (See, Can Tesla Survive?)
  But for Tesla to live up to its lofty ambitions, it will need to convince thousands more people on the benefits of electric vehicles and once again prove the naysayers wrong.
DJ Khaled Faces Eviction - $66K Behind In Rent
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 15:54
  by Jacky Jasper Back Rent Blues?DJ Khaled has no place to call home '' from a legal standpoint, that is. But that doesn't mean the world's most famous turncoat DJ is packing up and moving any time soon.
  Miami court documents reveal the New Orleans native '' whose real name is Khaled bin Abdul Khaled '' was recently served with a three day notice to vacate his rented Miami home. Sources say it's a notice which the 36-year-old music man trashed before disregarding it's order. Don't believe me.. Ask Rick Ross.
  Here's the drop:
  ''Khaled rented an apartment last September from Misci LLC and agreed to make two bulk payments of $66,000 for rent. Khaled made the first payment, but he failed to make the second one after re-working the deal to pay $11,000 upfront and the remaining $55,000 a month later.
  Two weeks later, Misci gave Khaled three days notice to vacate the property, but he refused. Misci then filed a lawsuit to get their money back in addition to attorney fees and have Khaled removed from the apartment.
  The case is still ongoing.''
  Is DJ Khaled driving around in a Bentley, fronting while telling others to kiss his ring while he doesn't pay his monthly rent? Of course he is. Don't believe me.. Ask the Canadian boy toy Drake.
Jeri Ryan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 15:50
  Jeri Lynn Zimmermann Ryan (born February 22, 1968)[1][2] is an Americanactress best known for her roles as the liberated ("de-assimilated") Borg, Seven of Nine, on Star Trek: Voyager (1997''2001) and Veronica "Ronnie" Cooke on Boston Public (2001''04). She was a regular on the science fiction series Dark Skies (1997) and the legal drama series Shark (2006''08), Since 2011, she has starred as Dr. Kate Murphy in the ABC drama series Body of Proof and since 2009 she has played occasional guest star Tara Cole on Leverage.[3]
  [edit]Early lifeRyan was born Jeri Lynn Zimmermann in Munich, West Germany, the daughter of Gerhard Florian "Jerry" Zimmermann, a Master Sergeant in the United States Army, and his wife Sharon, a social worker.[4] She has one older brother, Mark. As a "military brat", Ryan grew up on Army posts in Kansas, Maryland, Hawaii, Georgia, and Texas.[5] When she was eleven, her father retired from the Army, and the family settled in Paducah, Kentucky. She graduated from Lone Oak High School in 1986 (as a National Merit Scholar),[6] and then attended Northwestern University, where she was a member of the Alpha Phisorority.
  In 1989, Ryan was chosen Miss Illinois. She was the third runner-up in the 1990 Miss America Pageant, winning the preliminary swimsuit competition. She graduated from Northwestern in 1990 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre.
  [edit]CareerAfter college, she pursued acting full-time in Los Angeles. She made her acting debut in Who's the Boss? and followed that with guest-starring roles in television series like Melrose Place, Matlock and The Sentinel as well as such television movies as Co-Ed Call Girl.
  Her big break came when she won a regular role as the extraterrestrial investigator Juliet Stuart on the television series Dark Skies. The series was cancelled after one season, but the role had drawn the attention of the science-fiction community.
  In 1997, Ryan was chosen for a role on the science fiction series Star Trek: Voyager as Seven of Nine, a Borg drone who had been "de-assimilated", or freed, from the Borg's collective consciousness. When she joined the cast in Season 4, wearing her now-iconic silver formfitting catsuit uniform, ratings increased 60%.[6] She appeared in Wes Craven's Dracula 2000.[7] After Voyager ended in 2001, Ryan joined the cast of Boston Public in the role of Veronica Cooke, nicknamed "Ronnie", a frustrated lawyer who quits the bar to become a high-school teacher. The series' producer, David E. Kelley, wrote the role specifically for her. The series ended in 2004.
  Ryan appeared in the romantic comedy film Down with Love[8] and as Lydia in the independent film Men Cry Bullets.[9] Ryan's first film lead was in the indie comedyThe Last Man, as the last woman left on Earth.[10] The film was released by Lions Gate Entertainment.
  In 2005, she had a role in a pilot called Commuters, a suburban big city version of Desperate Housewives.[11] She also had a recurring role as Charlotte Morgan on The O.C. in 2005;[12] and she guest-starred as Courtney Reece on David E. Kelley's Boston Legal in 2006. Ryan then co-starred in the CBS legal drama Shark as Los Angeles County District Attorney Jessica Devlin alongside series lead James Woods[13][14], but she did not return for episodes aired after the 2007''2008 Writers Guild of America strike although she was credited in all four episodes.[15] The series did not air between January 27 and April 29, 2008. CBS cancelled the broadcast of the series after its Season 2 finale, May 20, 2008.[16]
  She guest starred as defense attorney Patrice La Rue on the April 7, 2009, episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, her first role since giving birth to her daughter Gisele.[17] Ryan next won a 7-episode role on the TNT drama Leverage in Season 2 as a grifter named Tara Cole, to fill in while series regular Gina Bellman (Sophie) was on maternity leave.[18]
  She was in the Kevin Tancharoen-directed short film Mortal Kombat: Rebirth as Sonya Blade.[19] Although originally a film, it marketed as a web series, with Episode 1 previews scheduled to appear online in June 2010.[20] The web series, Mortal Kombat: Legacy, officially launched in March 2011.[21][22][23][24] She will reprise the role in the 2013 film.
  Ryan is a regular in the medical drama series Body of Proof, which premiered on March 29, 2011.[25]
  Ryan has also continued to appear in guest roles on genre television series, most recently on the Syfy series Warehouse 13 as United States Marine Major Amanda Lattimer, ex-wife of the series' male lead character Peter Lattimer, in the episode "Queen for a Day", aired August 1, 2011.
  [edit]Personal lifeIn 1990, while dealing blackjack at a charity event, the actress met investment banker and future Republican political candidate Jack Ryan. The couple married on June 15, 1991, and had a son, Alex, on August 15, 1994. Throughout the marriage, they took turns commuting between Los Angeles and Chicago for their careers but divorced on August 27, 1999. Although Ryan mentioned in an interview for Star Trek that the frequent separations had been difficult for the marriage, the reasons for the divorce were kept sealed at their mutual request.
  Ryan had at one point dated Star Trek: Voyager producer Brannon Braga. Between February and November 2000, they were stalked by Marlon Estacio Pagtakhan, who was convicted for harassment and threats in May 2001.[26][27][28] According to Crime Stories, aired on the UK Crime channel on 05/07/2009,[when?] the stalker had letters stating that he was going to sexually assault Ryan and torture Braga.
  When Jack Ryan's campaign for an open United States Senate seat in Illinois began in 2003, the Chicago Tribune newspaper and WLS-TV, the local ABC affiliate, sought to have his records released. Both Jeri and Jack agreed to make their divorce, but not custody, records public, saying their release could be harmful to their son.[29]
  On June 18, 2004, Los Angeles Superior CourtJudge Robert Schnider agreed to release the custody files.[30] The decision generated much controversy because it went against both parents' direct request and because it generally reversed the early decision to seal the papers in the best interest of the child. It was revealed that six years previously, Jeri had accused Jack Ryan of asking her to perform sexual acts with him in public,[31] and in sex clubs in New York, New Orleans, and Paris.[29][32] Jeri Ryan described one as "a bizarre club with cages, whips and other apparatus hanging from the ceiling."[33] Jack Ryan denied these allegations. Although Jeri Ryan only made a brief statement,[34] and she refused to comment on the matter during the campaign, the document disclosure led Jack Ryan to withdraw his candidacy;[35][36] his main opponent, Barack Obama, then won the 2004 United States Senate election in Illinois.
  Ryan's avocation, according to statements she has made in interviews, is gourmet cooking. While starring in Boston Public, she moonlighted on weekends in the kitchen of the Los Angeles restaurant The House.[37] In 2003, Ryan met French chef Christophe ‰m(C) at a chef's charity event. The two eventually began a relationship, and ‰m(C) moved in with Ryan and her son Alex in their San Fernando Valley home.[38] In February 2005, Ryan, a "lifelong Francophile",[38] opened'--in partnership with ‰m(C)'--the restaurant Ortolan.[39] Located on Third Street in Los Angeles, California, the restaurant served French food with a modern interpretation. The two have appeared on Iron Chef America, where ‰m(C) and one sous-chef challenged Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto and his two sous-chefs. The restaurant is seen in season two, episode twenty-six of Boston Legal as Denny Crane (William Shatner) and Alan Shore (James Spader) are discussing the arrival of Courtney Reece (Jeri Ryan) at "her favorite restaurant." Despite its success, the restaurant closed in December 2010.
  Ryan and ‰m(C) married in the Loire Valley, France, on June 16, 2007.[40] On September 7, 2007, Ryan announced that she and ‰m(C) were expecting their first child together, a daughter, in March 2008.[38][41] On March 2, 2008, Ryan gave birth to daughter Gisele ‰m(C) in Los Angeles, California.[42]
  [edit]FilmographyComputer games[edit]Notable awards and nominations1998 Nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Genre TV Actress for her role in Star Trek: Voyager1999 Nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Genre TV Actress for her role in Star Trek: Voyager1999 Won Golden Satellite Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series'--Drama for her role in Star Trek: Voyager2000 Nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Genre TV Supporting Actress for her role in Star Trek: Voyager2001 Won Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television for her role in Star Trek: Voyager[edit]References^"Jeri Ryan '-- Yahoo! TV". tv.yahoo.com. 1968-02-22. http://tv.yahoo.com/jeri-ryan/contributor/33493. Retrieved 2010-07-31. ^"Jeri Ryan News, Jeri Ryan Bio and Photos". TVGuide.com^"Jeri Ryan". IMDB.^"Jeri Ryan Biography (1968'')". Filmreference.com. http://www.filmreference.com/film/73/Jeri-Ryan.html. Retrieved 2010-07-31. ^Star Trek Communicator magazine[volume & issue needed]^ abHanania, Joseph (1999-02-07). "Signoff Intergalactic Generation Gap". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1999/02/07/tv/signoff-intergalactic-generation-gap.html. Retrieved 2011-04-06. ^Holden, Stephen (2000-12-23). "Film Review; Those Wacky, Drooling, Foaming, Biting Undead". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/23/movies/film-review-those-wacky-drooling-foaming-biting-undead.html. Retrieved 2011-04-06. ^Wilmington, Michael (2003-05-14). "Movie review: 'Down With Love'". Chicago Tribune. http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/movies/mmx-030514-moviesreviewmwdownwithlove,0,5496317.story. Retrieved 2011-04-17. ^Gates, Anita (1999-10-22). "Film Review; He Puts On His Dress One Leg At a Time". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/22/movies/film-review-he-puts-on-his-dress-one-leg-at-a-time.html. Retrieved 2011-04-06. ^Scott, A. O. (2002-02-15). "Film Review; 'The Last Man'". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/15/movies/film-in-review-the-last-man.html. Retrieved 2011-04-06. ^Aurthur, Kate (2005-04-10). "Desperate Hours". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/10/arts/television/10kate.html. Retrieved 2011-04-06. ^Ryan, Maureen (2005-09-30). "Chicago as a 'Grey' area?". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/chi-tribtv,0,7971749.htmlstory. Retrieved 2011-04-17. ^Shattuck, Kathryn (2006-09-21). "What's On Tonight". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9504EEDF1131F932A1575AC0A9609C8B63. Retrieved 2011-04-17. ^Stanley, Alessandra (2006-09-21). "Shark: When a Legal Superstar Changes Sides". The New York Times. http://tv.nytimes.com/2006/09/21/arts/television/21stan.html. Retrieved 2011-04-17. ^"Filmography by TV series for Jeri Ryan". IMDb.com. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005394/filmoseries#tt0805666. Retrieved 2011-04-17. ^Fernandez, Maria Elena (2008-05-13). "Upfronts: James Woods says goodbye to TV". Los Angeles Times. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2008/05/upfronts-james.html. Retrieved 2011-04-17. ^Keck, William (March 30, 2009). "Ryan's Law". TV Guide: p. 18. ^Andreeva, Nellie (June 26, 2009). "Jeri Ryan gains "Leverage" at TNT". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE55P18920090626. ^"New Mortal Kombat Promotional Featurette Delivers the Goods". Dreadcentral.com. http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/37909/new-mortal-kombat-promotional-featurette-delivers-goods. Retrieved 2010-07-31. ^Itzkoff, Dave (2010-06-15). "'Mortal Kombat' Reloaded: A Director's Quest to Remake a Game-to-Movie Franchise". The New York Times. http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/15/mortal-kombat-reloaded-a-directors-quest-to-remake-a-game-to-movie-franchise/. Retrieved 2011-04-06. ^Davis, Christian (2011-03-16). "First Look at Baraka in New Mortal Kombat Series (with video)". Device. http://www.devicemag.com/2011/03/16/first-look-at-baraka-in-new-mortal-kombat-series/. Retrieved 2011-04-06. ^Patta, Gig (2011-03-16). "Twitter News: Girl Fight Image from 'Mortal Kombat' Web Series". Latino Review. http://www.latinoreview.com/news/twitter-news-girl-fight-image-from-mortal-kombat-web-series-12939. Retrieved 2011-04-06. ^Johnson, Stephen (2011-03-17). "Jeri Ryan As Sonya Blade In Mortal Kombat Web Series -- First Video!". The Feed. http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/711117/jeri-ryan-as-sonya-blade-in-mortal-kombat-web-series-first-video/. Retrieved 2011-04-06. ^Lyon, Carl (2011-03-21). "Jeri Ryan Talks 'Mortal Kombat: Rebirth'". Fear.net. http://www.fearnet.com/news/b22100_jeri_ryan_talks_mortal_kombat_rebirth.html. Retrieved 2011-04-06. ^Stelter, Brian (2011-03-18). "Among the Dead, a Character Finds Life". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/20/arts/television/dana-delany-works-on-her-body-of-proof-character.html. Retrieved 2011-04-06. ^Manekin, Michael (August 24, 2007). "'Star Trek' stalker may not be fit to stand trial". Oakland Tribune. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4176/is_20070824/ai_n19491784/?lstpn=article_results&lstpc=search&lstpr=external&lstprs=other&lstwid=1&lstwn=search_results&lstwp=body_middle. ^"Cyberstalking garnering more serious response". USA Today. Associated Press. June 29, 2001. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2001-06-29-cyberstalking.htm. ^"Trek Beauty Terrified". Fox News. January 19, 2001. http://groups.google.com/group/alt.startrek/browse_frm/thread/b68383ab92ea9f14/3b6f0182b07fd25e?hl=en&q=%22Marlon+Pagtakhan%22#. ^ abChase, John and Liam Ford (2004-06-22). "Ryan file a bombshell: Ex-wife alleges GOP candidate took her to sex clubs". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/chi-0406220247jun22,0,6980059.story. Retrieved 2011-10-20. ^Martinez, Michael and Rick Pearson (2004-06-18). "Court sets release of Ryan's divorce file: Judge admits son will be harmed". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/chi-0406180364jun18,0,193188.story. Retrieved 2011-04-06. ^Zernike, Kate (2005-11-13). "What Some Politicians Fear Most: The Ex-Wife". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/13/weekinreview/13zern.html. Retrieved 2011-04-06. ^Kinzer, Stephen (2004-06-23). "Illinois Senate Campaign Thrown Into Prurient Turmoil". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/23/us/illinois-senate-campaign-thrown-into-prurient-turmoil.html. Retrieved 2011-04-06. ^"Senate Race Sex Scandal". The Smoking Gun. June 22, 2004. http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0622041ryans1.html. ^"Statement of Jeri Ryan". Los Angeles Times. 2004-06-22. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/chi-040622ryan-statement,0,5305364.story. Retrieved 2011-04-10. ^Napolitano, Jo (2004-07-30). "National Briefing". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/30/us/national-briefing-midwest-illinois-candidate-officially-drops-out.html. Retrieved 2011-04-06. ^Kinzer, Stephen (2004-06-26). "Candidate, Under Pressure, Quits Senate Race in Illinois". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/26/us/candidate-under-pressure-quits-senate-race-in-illinois.html. Retrieved 2011-04-10. ^Horchow, Sally (2003-03-23). "Good Company; When 'Doing Lunch' Lasts 2 Days". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/23/style/good-company-when-doing-lunch-lasts-2-days.html. Retrieved 2011-04-17. ^ abcBardin, Brantley (January 15, 2008). "Jeri Ryan Trades Power Suits for Maternity Wear". TV Guide. http://www.tvguide.com/news/jeri-ryan-shark/080115-01. ^Virbila, S. Irene (2008-06-04). "Restaurant Review: Beso -- ready for its close-up? Beso in Hollywood has the sexy allure of its owner, Eva Longoria Parker. Diners watch and wait for a star sighting.". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/features/la-fo-review4-2008jun04,0,6286770.story. Retrieved 2011-04-17. ^"Actress Jeri Ryan Marries French Chef". People. June 18, 2007. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20042871,00.html. ^"Jeri Ryan Expecting a Baby '--Pregnancy, Jeri Ryan". People.com. September 7, 2007. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20055401,00.html. ^Wihlborg, Ulrica (March 3, 2008). "Jeri Ryan Welcomes a Girl". People. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20181657,00.html. ^Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force at the Internet Movie Database[edit]External links
Will Anyone Pay for an Ad-free Twitter-style Social Network?
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 15:29
  A social network that charges its users $50 a year would have been almost unimaginable just a few weeks ago, but is now a reality. A challenger to Twitter called App.net exceeded its crowdsourced funding target of $500,000 over the weekend, and will bid to make a profitable social network free of ads.
  I previously wrote about App.net and its creators goals (see "A Social Network Free of Ads"). Now the project has received the money needed to go ahead, the real work begins, and the public scrutiny is already ramping up. As you might expect, many are expressing skepticism about the venture, for example tweeting that few Web users will want to pay when so many alternatives are free. Even users of App.net itself asking that it become significantly cheaper, or even offer a free tier (others vehemently oppose that idea).
  With more than 11,000 people that have invested at least $50 in the project, App.net will probably have few problems in the short term. The ''alpha'' version of the network is already buzzing with conversation, albeit mostly about the project itself--its existing bugs and possible future features. Some third-party clients are already available, including Web services and iPhone apps at an early stage of development.
  But, as of yesterday, only 3,500 people had actually begun using the service, mostly from the tech industry. Things will get busier when the rest of the 11,000 become active, and some people with high profiles on Twitter and other social media have already signed up. British actor Stephen Fry, who boasts 4.7 million Twitter followers, is one of them:
  ''Looking forward to watching this service develop, grow and offer an open alternative to the increasingly commercial and controlled big guns''
  Messages like that from figures with large followings could tempt more people to give App.net a chance.
  A more serious challenge for the nascent network may be criticism within the tech community that App.net's approach is not different enough from Twitter's. Both are private companies building social networks to make money, the argument goes, and App.net just does it in a slightly different way with some strong policy promises bolted on.
  People taking that line say that the Web''and wider world''would benefit more from an effort to create decentralized social networks, as well as technology that allows communication between networks owned by different companies. That's the position of Dave Winer, recognized by some as the inventor of the blog, as well as venture capitalist Albert Wenger, who puts it like this:
  It would a huge benefit to society if we can get with social networking to where we are with email today: it is fundamentally decentralized with nobody controlling who can email whom about what, anyone can use email essentially for free, there are open source and commercial implementations available and third parties are offering value added services.
How many of your Twitter followers are fake? | Internet & Media
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 15:26
  Twitter users who want to know how many spammy or "fake" accounts are following them can check out a new service called Fake Follower Check.
  Designed by a group named StatusPeople, the service looks at your Twitter account to scan a certain number of followers. In return, it tells how many of your followers are good, inactive, or fake. In my instance, it informed me that 77 percent of the accounts were good, 19 percent inactive, and 4 percent fake.
  You can also get results for other Twitter accounts. Just plug in the name of the account, and the Fake Follower Check displays its percentages.
  Based on my actual number of Twitter followers, I determined that around 175 accounts are considered fake. But short of scouring through all my Twitter followers, I obviously can't confirm if that number is accurate.
  Okay, so how do the people behind StatusPeople arrive at their results?
  The group says it looks at a sample of your followers, up to 500 accounts, depending on how popular you are. It then determines which ones may be spam accounts based on certain criteria. Accounts that have few or no followers and few or no tweets are suspect. Spammers also tend to follow a huge number of other accounts.
  How accurate is the Fake Follower Check? It's difficult to know without comparing its results against those of a comparable service. And I don't know of any comparable services offhand.
  StatusPeople claims that Twitter users with 10,000 or fewer followers will get a "very accurate insight" into how many inactive and fake followers they have.
  Unfortunately, the service doesn't name names, at least not at this point. You may discover the percentage of phony followers, but you can't find out which specific accounts are phony.
  StatusPeople says it's working to enhance the accuracy of the service and plans to offer a spam removal tool, which presumbly would help you track down and remove any accounts that you discover are fake.
There's a war on for your mind!
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 15:24
  Hollow point bullets designed to cause maximum organ damage
  Paul Joseph WatsonInfowars.comTuesday, August 14, 2012
  Why would the National Weather Service need to purchase large quantities of powerful ammo? That's the question many are asking after the federal agency followed in the footsteps of the Department of Homeland Security in putting out a solicitation for 46,000 rounds of hollow point bullets.
  A solicitation which appears on the FedBizOpps website asks for 16,000 rounds of .40 S&W jacketed hollow point (JHP) bullets, noted for their strength, to be delivered to locations in Ellsworth, Maine, and New Bedford, Mass.
  A further 6,000 rounds of S&W JHP will be sent to Wall, New Jersey, with another 24,000 rounds of the same bullets heading to the weather station in St. Petersburg, Florida.
  The solicitation also asks for 500 paper targets to be delivered to the same locations in Maine, Massachusetts and New Jersey.
  The National Weather Service is is one of six scientific agencies that make up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
  The solicitation requires a response by August 21.
  A d v e r t i s e m e n tThe NWS is following its federal counterpart the DHS in securing large quantities of ammo. Back in March,Homeland Security purchased 450 million rounds of .40-caliber hollow point bullets that are designed to expand upon entry and cause maximum organ damage, prompting questions as to why the DHS needed such a large amount of powerful bullets merely for training purposes.
  As the Business Insider notes, hollow point bullets have been ''illegal in international warfare since 1899.''
  The DHS is also planning to purchase a further 750 million rounds of different types of ammo in a separate solicitation that also expires on August 20, including 357 mag rounds that are able to penetrate walls.
  The DHS recently put out an order for riot gear in preparation for the upcoming DNC, RNC and presidential inauguration. The U.S. Army is also busy buying similar equipment.
  The DHS also recently purchased a number of bullet-proof checkpoint booths that include 'stop and go' lights.
  The federal government is clearly gearing up for the likelihood of civil unrest on a scale that could outstrip what we've already seen in countries across Europe.
  While the establishment demonizes the second amendment in light of recent mass shootings and legislation is prepared to ban the sale of large quantities of ammunition online, the federal government is acquiring ammunition at levels necessary to fight a full scale domestic war.
  *********************
  Paul Joseph Watson is the editor and writer for Prison Planet.com. He is the author of Order Out Of Chaos. Watson is also a regular fill-in host for The Alex Jones Show and Infowars Nightly News.
  Tags: Domestic News, Police state
  Share this article:
BBC News - Diabetes prescriptions rise to 40m
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 15:18
  14 August 2012Last updated at 10:43 ET By Michelle RobertsHealth editor, BBC News onlineThe number of prescriptions for treating diabetes in England has topped 40 million, figures show.
  This is a 50% rise in six years and a 6.1% (2.3m) rise on the number of items prescribed in 2010-11, data from the Health and Social Care Information Centre reveals.
  In England, 2.5m people have been diagnosed with diabetes and the number is expected to reach 4.2m by 2025.
  Health officials are warning of the financial impact on the NHS.
  This growth in diabetes drug prescription numbers is faster and greater than for prescriptions overall, where items have increased by 33%.
  Continue reading the main story People with Type 1 diabetes need daily insulin injections People with Type 2 diabetes may be able to manage their condition with lifestyle changes alone, but many will require oral drugs and some may also need insulin injections The net cost of diabetes drugs, including treatments for Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, also rose by just under 50% in the six years between 2005-06 and 2011-12.
  Barbara Young, chief executive of Diabetes UK, said it was a wake-up call to all concerned.
  "We face the real possibility of diabetes bankrupting the NHS within a generation.
  "This is why we need to grasp the nettle on preventing Type 2 diabetes, which accounts for around 90% of diabetes cases.
  "We need a government-funded awareness-raising campaign on the risk factors and symptoms of Type 2 diabetes and we need to get much better at identifying people at high risk so they can be given the support they need to prevent the condition."
  HSCIC chief executive Tim Straughan said: "Our figures show diabetes is having a growing impact on prescribing in a very obvious way - from the amount of prescriptions dispensed to patients in primary care to the annual drugs bill costs to the NHS.
  "Other reports we produce, such as our National Diabetes Audit and the Quality and Outcomes Framework, also demonstrate the impact of diabetes is widespread in all areas of the health service, from pharmacy to hospital care.
  "When all this information is considered together, it presents a full and somewhat concerning picture of the increasing impact of this condition."
Black Swan interns to sue Twentieth Century Fox | Film
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 15:15
  Alex Footman and Eric Glatt sued Fox Searchlight over unpaid work on the Oscar-winning film Black Swan. Photograph: Fox Searchlight/Sportsphoto Ltd/Allstar
  Two interns who last year sued Fox Searchlight over unpaid work on the Oscar-winning film Black Swan are now expanding their legal action to include all internships at parent company Twentieth Century Fox, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
  Alex Footman and Eric Glatt's latest suit could have a major impact on working practices in Hollywood, where unpaid internships have risen in recent years. Fox itself says it changed its guidelines in July 2010 to ensure that all interns are paid at least $8 an hour. But the plaintiffs remain angry, claiming that they were made to undertake menial work with little or no educational value that ought to have been carried out by paid employees. The financial success of Black Swan, filmed in New York in 2009 prior to Fox's rule change, has also caused anger. Darren Aronofsky's intense psychological thriller earned more than $300m (£191m) at the global box office and won the best actress Oscar for its star Natalie Portman.
  The interns' motion, which will be considered next week at a federal court in Manhattan, asks a judge to "broaden the scope of the case to include all interns who participated in Fox Entertainment Group's internship program", citing evidence that "the same hiring, personnel and company policies that applied to Searchlight interns applied to all interns who participated in FEG's internship program". They seek compensation in the form of back payment for work done and a legal ruling that similar internships should not be offered in future.
  The motion also seeks to expand the suit to cover production interns, who worked on films that Fox Searchlight co-produced, as well as more than 100 "corporate interns", who worked through Fox's intern program. Two new plaintiffs, Eden Antalik and Kanene Gratts, are hoping to add their names to the legal action. The former worked through the intern programme and the latter worked on 2009's (500) Days of Summer, which was co-produced by Fox Searchlight.
  US law makes it clear that unpaid interns must gain educational benefit from their work experience and cannot be used to replace regular paid employees. Speaking to the New York Times in September, Footman said he spent his time on the Black Swan set making coffee, handling lunch orders, taking out rubbish and cleaning the production office. "The only thing I learned on this internship was to be more picky in choosing employment opportunities," he complained. "Black Swan had more than $300m in revenues. If they paid us, it wouldn't make a big difference to them, but it would make a huge difference to us."
  Glatt says he was employed as an unpaid accounting intern, which involved creating documents for purchase orders and petty cash, going to the set for signatures and making spreadsheets to track missing information in personnel files. "When I started looking for opportunities in the industry, I saw that most people accept an ugly trade-off," he said. "If you want to get your foot in the door on a studio picture, you have to suck it up and do an unpaid internship."
  Twentieth Century Fox has so far made no public comment on the new motion. In September the studio argued that interns were working for Aronofsky's production company, rather than directly for the studio '' a point which the new legal motion seems designed to bypass. "These are completely meritless claims aimed solely at getting press coverage for the litigants and their attorneys," said a spokesperson at the time of the original legal action.
BBC News - No sung jingles for Radio 1 breakfast show
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 15:14
  14 August 2012Last updated at 07:53 ET Radio 1 is to scrap sung jingles on its breakfast show when Nick Grimshaw takes over from Chris Moyles next month.
  In a document sent to music firms, the station said it was looking to commission a new theme different to previous shows.
  It said the theme must "sound slickly produced and original" and feature "live instrumentation and an identifying motif (logo)".
  The Radio 1 breakfast show with Nick Grimshaw begins on 24 September.
  "The new breakfast show will sound young, exciting, big and confident," the document goes on.
  "It needs to stand out and not sound like any previous BBC Radio 1 breakfast shows. Please steer clear of sung jingles and variants of breakfast themes and identities past and present."
  Outgoing presenter Chris Moyles has based his show around sung jingles over the past eight years.
  The jingles - which are written by Moyles together with jingle specialist Music 4 - sparked controversy after it emerged in 2006 the DJ was paid royalties every time he played them.
  The pitching document states the newly commissioned theme would be purchased on an "all rights" basis.
  This would allow BBC Radio 1 to fully own the package "in perpetuity and exclusively", with the creator retaining his or her composer rights.
Covert Plan to "Break Syria into Pieces"
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 15:08
  As battles in Syria rage, there appears to be talk of breaking the country into pieces as a way to end conflict. But the question arises over whose interests would be served by cutting up the Arab nation?
  ''The partitioning of Syria is the Israeli solution'--their overarching goal is to weaken every Arab state by bringing religion and ethnicity into the equation,'' James Paul, executive director of Global Policy Forum, told The Final Call. ''We do not want to live in a world like that,'' he said.
  Discussions concerning the possible partitioning of Syria became a hot-button issue in the corridors of the UN after a blogger reported that an unnamed diplomat revealed the plan to partition Syria into three new states'--Alawite, Sunni and Kurdish.
  Dr. Stephen Zunes, professor of politics and international studies at the University of San Francisco, explained why he disagrees with those who say Syria may be partitioned: ''The religious and ethnic divisions in Syria are not so tightly geographically demarcated as to make any kind of partition realistically possible.''
  But, Stratfor.com, a provider of geopolitical analysis tended to agree with Mr. Paul saying Syria ''could collapse into a Lebanon situation in which it disintegrates into regions held by various factions with no effective central government.''
  ''Regime change and balkanization in Syria is very closely tied to the objective of dismantling the 'resistance bloc' formed by Iran, Syria, Hezbollah, the Palestinians, and various Iraqi groups opposed to the U.S. and Israel,'' said Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya, a Canadian-based sociologist, scholar and research associate at the Center for Global Research.
  Mr. Nazemroaya continued: ''The road to Tehran is being paved through Damascus and the Syrian government was constantly warned for several years to de-link itself from its Iranian ally and the Arab resistance groups.'' Israel and the White House want to see the region in sectarian upheaval where the Arabs are killing one another, he added.
  Some observers say more and more the U.S. role in destabilizing the Syrian regime becomes clear, as media headlines Aug. 2 reported a ''secret order'' signed by President Obama authorizing the Central Intelligence Agency and other U.S. agencies to support rebels fighting to depose Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. News reports also said there is no way of knowing when the president signed the order.
  The New York Times on June 21 revealed that the CIA was operating secretly in Southern Turkey helping with the arming of Syrian opposition fighters.
  The White House had declined to comment at Final Call press time.
  On Aug. 1, a spokesman for the U.S. State Dept. informed the press that the Obama administration had a $25 million budget for ''nonlethal assistance'' to the Syrian opposition, and had spent approximately $10 million so far. The White House announced Aug. 2 it was providing an additional $12 million in U.S. humanitarian assistance and another $76 million in assistance for food, water, medical supplies, clothing and hygiene kits.
  The UN refugee agency said thousands of frightened residents fleeing the violence in Aleppo, Syria's largest city, are seeking shelter in schools, mosques and public buildings. The Syrian Arab Red Cross said they are registering about 300 displaced families a day.
  Well over 70,000 people have sought formal protection in Turkey, while the Jordanian government estimates some 150,000 Syrian refugees have entered since March of 2011. In Lebanon, 34,096 where displaced Syrians are receiving protection and assistance, according to the UN.
  ''This balkanization process is very dangerous, because it essentially means segregating people. It is the 'clash of civilizations' that the neo-cons and their Likud cousins in Israel want,'' said Mr. Nazemroaya.
  The Christians of Syria like their brethren in Iraq are being forced to flee their ancestral homes, he said.
  Bill Fletcher, executive editor of Black Commentator, doesn't buy into the theory of the West deliberately re-drawing the maps of Arab nations. ''When you look at Syria it is much like Libya, a legitimate rising up of people against tyranny,'' Mr. Fletcher argued. Forces in the West do not see Syria as a possible threat to Israel, but Syria's relationship with Iran is seen as the threat, he said.
  ''I want to emphasize that we are not only dealing with a strategy to only divide and destabilize the Arab countries. This is a strategy that targets Africa, Iran, Russia, and Russia's former Soviet sister-republics, Pakistan and China,'' argued Mr. Nazemroaya.
Texting may have contributed to fatal B.C. plane crash - British Columbia - CBC News
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 15:06
  Texting on a cellphone may have been a factor in a fatal plane crash in northern British Columbia last year, according to the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.
  Fort St. John, B.C.The Cessna 185-E went down about 20 kilometres from the Fort St. John airport last November, killing the pilot, who was the plane's sole occupant.
  In its report, the TSB said pilot distraction appears to have been prevalent throughout the flight, and the plane experienced several altitude changes while the pilot was using his phone.
  The Cessna was on what would have been a 65-minute flight from Peace River, Alta., to Fort St. John when it crashed.
  The TSB said the pilot was on his cellphone for a total of 28 minutes during the flight and sent two text messages, the second of which was sent 11 minutes before the crash.
  But the report also points out the pilot appears to have lost his bearings just before the Cessna went down, saying he was flying at night and the darkness may have affected his depth perception.
  The plane was operated by Trek Aerial Surveys, which has since implemented safety training and now prohibits pilots from flying after sunset. The company also prohibits pilots from using their cellphones during flights unless it's an emergency.
BBC News - Basque Country experiencing 'milder recession'
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 15:03
  Recent economic news from Spain has not been good, the country is deep in recession and nearly 1 in 4 is unemployed.
  However, it is not all doom and gloom in the Basque Country. It is experiencing a milder recession than the rest of the country.
  One of the reasons is that there is plenty of industry as well as companies working in research and new technologies.
  Inaki Legarda of the Mondragon Assembly which supplies solar panels explained that "we have work for everybody and we are recruiting people".
  Dr Manuel Escudero, Director of the Deusto Business School puts the success down to "a deep culture of egalitarianism".
  The BBC's Tom Burridge reports.
Syrian Humanitarian Crisis '' As Food, Fuel Prices Soar al-Assad Desperately Attempts To Get Gold
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 15:02
  Via Goldcore,
  Today's AM fix was USD 1,614.50, EUR 1,305.60, and GBP 1,028.34 per ounce.Yesterday's AM fix was USD 1,622.25, EUR 1,317.30 and GBP 1,035.33 per ounce.
  Silver is trading at $27.91/oz, '‚¬22.70/oz and £17.86/oz. Platinum is trading at $1,408.75/oz, palladium at $575.60/oz and rhodium at $1,060/oz.
  Gold fell $12.10 or 0.75% in yesterday in New York and closed at $1,608.30/oz. Silver fell to a low of $27.73 and finished with a loss of 1.28%.
  Gold Prices/Rates/Fixes /Volumes '' (Bloomberg)
  Gold began to recover losses from yesterday and is being supported by concerns of another global economic downturn, potentially a sharp one. Central banks in the US, Europe and China look set to unleash further ultra loose monetary policies in order to prevent recessions or a Depression.
  Germany and France both came out with very weak but slightly better than expected economic growth data which helped alleviate concerns about the eurozone debt crisis - temporarily.
  We covered the Bloomberg report yesterday from SANA, Syrian state TV, that Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad announced measures facilitating imports of gold bullion coins and bars.
  On Sunday, al-Assad issued Legislative Decree No. 53 "on exempting crude gold imports from the importation fees and the domestic costs according to the Law No. 35 for the year 2007".
  All custom duties and storage, insurance and administrative costs levied on gold imports will be replaced by a single fee of $100 per one kilogram, SANA said citing the presidential decree.
  Gold bullion imports no longer require a special permit and travellers are allowed to bring gold bullion coins and bars with them into the country, the decree said.
  The move is a sign of desperation due to the immense economic difficulties facing Syria as its economy is being suffocated through economic sanctions and the civil war.
  The western economic and currency war has crippled Syria and the move is a desperate one by the regime to try to get much needed hard currency into Syria.
  ''Syria's currency and foreign reserves have collapsed,'' U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in July, urging a further tightening of the financial vice. ''Sanctions on oil alone have deprived Assad of billions of dollars in lost revenues, and his ability to finance his war grows more difficult by the day.''
  The European Union began imposing sanctions in May 2011 on top of U.S. restrictions that date to 2004.
  The Syrian pound has indeed fallen sharply in recent months from below 48 to the US dollar to 65.4 today or a loss of over 36% in the last 12 months (see chart).
  Syrian Pound versus the US Dollar (2 Years) - Bloomberg
  As is being seen in Iran, the banking sector in Syria has largely been cut off from the global financial system by western sanctions.
  Like Syria's economy as a whole, its banking industry is severely damaged and some parts of it are close to stopping functioning.
  Now that rebels have carried Syria's civil war from remote villages to the capital and the commercial hub, a banking system that survived nearly 18 months of unrest faces its biggest test.
  In most of the country, banks have barely managed to stay open but the spread of major fighting to Damascus last month, and now to Aleppo, Syria's biggest city and top commercial centre, marks a new, more destructive period for the economy, putting banks under fresh pressure.
  As was seen in Iraq, it is the people who suffer most from sanctions and economic and civil war and the Syrian people are indeed facing increasing hardships.
  Hunger is a problem that is growing more acute by the day. As the prices of what little food is available soar, there are increasing signs of desperation among parents seeking to feed families.
  Prices of fuel and medicine have also soared amid shortages compounding the misery of Syrians and leading to another humanitarian crisis.
  Professor Nouriel Roubini and other financial experts have pointed out that ''you cannot eat gold.''
  However, people in nations suffering from currency and economic wars can testify as to how they can use gold in order to buy food, fuel and medicine for their families in difficult times.
  Gold is, as it has done throughout history, protecting them and their families from the ravages of currency devaluation and economic collapse.
  For breaking news and commentary on financial markets and gold, follow us on Twitter.
  Cross Currency Table '' (Bloomberg)
  NEWSWIRE(Bloomberg) -- UBS Says Silver Will Average $31.60 an Ounce This YearSilver will average $31.60 an ounce this year, platinum will average $1,565 an ounce and palladium will average $670 an ounce, UBS AG said in a report e-mailed today.
  The bank had revised forecasts last month, it said.
  (Bloomberg) -- UBS Says Commodity Favorites Are Gold, Corn, SoybeansUBS AG said its favored commodities are gold and those affected by supply disruptions, such as corn and soybeans because of drought.
  It also prefers raw materials that are least exposed to China's ''underperforming fixed capital formation,'' such as fertilizers, UBS said in a report dated today. Those that face deteriorating demand and few prospects of production cuts include nickel and aluminum, it said.
  (Bloomberg) -- UBS Sees Central Bank Gold Purchases at 350 Tons This YearCentral bank gold purchases will total 350 metric tons this year, UBS AG wrote in a report e- mailed today.
  The metal will average $1,680 an ounce this year, it said. Gold traded at $1,615.95 by 8:32 a.m. in London today.
  (Bloomberg) -- Omega Advisors Sells Entire Stake in SPDR Gold in Second QuarterOmega Advisors Inc. sold its entire stake in SPDR Gold Trust during the second quarter, a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission showed.
  Omega held 519,100 shares as of March 31, the filing showed. SPDR is the biggest exchange-traded product backed by gold.
  Johannesburg (AP) -- URGENT: Violence At South Africa Mine Kills 9Officials say ongoing violence at a platinum mine in South Africa has killed at least nine people. The violence is happening at a Lonmin PLC mine near Marikana, a town about 70 kilometers (40 miles) northwest of Johannesburg. In a statement Monday, Lonmin said at least four of the mine's workers have been killed in ongoing attacks. That includes two security guards who died Sunday when their car was set ablaze by angry miners.
  Police Brig. Lindela Mashigo said two officers and three others were killed in more violent protests Monday.
  Lonmin said the violence started when workers walked off the job Friday over pay, and it has escalated between two rival mining unions.
  Lonmin is the world's third largest platinum producer. South Africa is one of the world's coal, platinum and gold- producing giants.
  (Bloomberg) -- Lonmin Says Policemen Killed in Clashes, Raising Death Toll to 7Lonmin Plc said two policemen and a suspect were killed in a violent clash at its Karee mine hostel in South Africa today, raising to seven the number of people killed in suspected union rivalry.
  Barnard Mokwena, Johannesburg-based Lonmin's executive vice president of human capital, commented by mobile phone today.
  NEWSGold Advances On Speculation Central Banks May Add To Stimulus - Bloomberg
  Gold ekes out gains before U.S., euro zone data - Reuters
  Silver Hoard Near Record as Hedge-Fund Bulls Recoil - Bloomberg
  Greece Needs To Leave The Euro Before It Gets An Exit Order - Think Tank - eFX News
  COMMENTARYA squeeze for bullion '' and especially silver '' is brewing '' Max Keiser
  Ron Paul looking to legalise gold, silver-backed competing currencies - Mineweb
  Euro Revolt Spreads To Austria: ''Europe Can Only Function If Every Country Has Its Own Currency'' '' Testosterone Pit
  Investors Prepare for Euro Collapse '' Zero Hedge
  Average: Your rating: NoneAverage: 5(3 votes)
Colbert Has His Celebration of Ryan 2012 Cut Short
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 15:01
  Poor Stephen Colbert. He was temporarily very excited over the prospect of Paul Ryan as our next President of the United States, only to have his hopes dashed by Mittens. After realizing he was going to have to live with Ryan only having the second spot on the ticket, Colbert went on to talk about how jazzed everyone's going to be with their plans to lower Romney's tax rate to 0.82 percent, gutting all non-defense spending, turning Medicare into a voucher program and ending Social Security.
  Colbert also took a shot at Romney for having his son break the news to Portman and Pawlenty that they weren't going to be his running mate. Which as he noted was better than how he treated Chris Christie, who (according to Colbert) got the news from Rafalca the Romney's dressage horse, or Bobby Jindal, who Stephen claimed got the news from watching this very show.
BBC News - WaveRider hypersonic jet targets Mach 6
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 14:59
  14 August 2012Last updated at 14:53 Hypersonic jet WaveRider is to undergo another test flight above the Pacific Ocean aiming to reach Mach 6.
  At this speed - more than 4,300 mph - it could travel from London to New York in about an hour.
  WaveRider is one of several projects currently under way to create an aeroplane able to reach much higher speeds than today's jets, after Concorde was decommissioned in 2003.
  During a test in June 2011, WaveRider failed to reach the target speed.
  A B-52 bomber will lift the wingless unmanned jet from US Edwards Air Force Base in California to 50,000 feet (15,250m).
  The craft will then be dropped, and after a free fall of about four seconds, its engine is supposed to ignite.
  X-51A WaveRider should then climb to 70,000ft (21,300m) and eventually reach Mach 6.
  Continue reading the main storyThe idea of going from Tokyo to Paris in two-and-a-half hours is very attractive for the business and political community''
  End QuotePeter RobbieEADSThe Mach number is the ratio of the speed of an object to the speed of sound. Mach 1 is the speed of sound - approximately 768mph (1,236km/h), depending on various factors including temperature and altitude.
  So Mach 6 is six times the speed of sound. Concorde's cruising speed was was Mach 2 - it flew from London to New York in just over three hours.
  The WaveRider test flight is expected to last for about five minutes. At the end of it, the aircraft will break into pieces and fall into the Pacific.
  The test is essentially a repeat of last summer's attempt, when the hypersonic aircraft reached Mach 5, but the engine failed to attain full power.
  Concorde's legacy?European aerospace and defence giant EADS believes that hypersonic passenger flights are likely to appear in the near future. In 2011, EADS presented its own concept of a commercial high-speed aircraft designed to fly at Mach 4.
  "The business community who wanted to be in New York in three hours made Concorde highly viable, and now there's interest on both sides of the Atlantic to jump a generation and go from supersonic flight to hypersonic flight," EADS' vice-president of business development, Peter Robbie, told the BBC.
  "Such an aircraft will be very expensive, of course, because of the enormous amounts of energy that is required to get to such speeds.
  "But the idea of going from Tokyo to Paris in two-and-a-half hours is very attractive for the business and political community - and I think that by about 2050, there may be a viable commercial aircraft."
  In August 2011, US military scientists attempted to get another unmanned hypersonic experimental aircraft to reach Mach 20 - 20 times the speed of sound.
  However, they lost contact with the Falcon Hypersonic Test Vehicle 2 (HTV-2) after it had separated from its rocket.
White Horse Prophecy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 14:53
  The White Horse Prophecy is a statement purported to have been made in 1843 by Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, regarding the future of the Latter Day Saints (Mormons) and the United States of America. The Latter Day Saints, according to the prophecy, would "go to the Rocky Mountains and ... be a great and mighty people", identified figuratively with the White Horse described in the Revelation of John. The prophecy further predicts that the United States Constitution will one day "hang like a thread" and will be saved "by the efforts of the White Horse".[1]
  Some have speculated, on the basis of the White Horse Prophecy, that Mormons expect the United States to eventually become a theocracy dominated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).[2][3] The authenticity of the prophecy as a whole, which was not made public until long after Smith's death, is debated, and the leadership of the LDS Church has stated that "the so-called 'White Horse Prophecy' ... is not embraced as Church doctrine."[4] However, the belief that members of the LDS Church will one day need to take action to save the imperiled US Constitution has been attributed to Smith in several sources and has been discussed in an approving fashion by Brigham Young and other LDS leaders.
  Several famous Mormons have made statements related to the White Horse Prophecy. For instance, US presidential candidate Mitt Romney has said he considers the White Horse Prophecy to be a matter of "speculation and discussion by [LDS] church members" and "not official [LDS] church doctrine."[5]
  [edit]OriginsLatter Day Saint movement founder Joseph Smith went to Washington D.C. in November 1839 in an unsuccessful attempt to obtain help for his persecuted followers.[6]Pat Bagley of the Salt Lake Tribune writes that from then on, Smith and his followers "considered themselves the last Real Americans" and "the legitimate heirs of the pilgrims and Founding Fathers", who would be called upon one day to save the US Constitution.[7] Smith is believed to have then said, in 1840, that when the Constitution hung by a thread, Latter Day Saint elders would step in on the proverbial white horse to save the country.[7]
  According to a diary entry made by John Roberts of Paradise, Utah in 1902, Joseph Smith gave the White Horse Prophecy in early May 1843, during the period in which the Latter Day Saints were headquartered in Nauvoo, Illinois. Smith is recorded as saying that the Mormons "will go to the Rocky Mountains and will be a great and mighty people established there, which I will call the White Horse of peace and safety." Adding that "I shall never go there" and predicting continued persecution by enemies of the church, Smith reportedly said that "You will see the Constitution of the United States almost destroyed. It will hang like a thread as fine as a silk fiber.... I love the Constitution; it was made by the inspiration of God; and it will be preserved and saved by the efforts of the White Horse, and by the Red Horse[8] who will combine in its defense." Smith additionally said, according to the diary, that the Mormons would send missionaries to "gather the honest in heart from among the Pale Horse, or people of the United States, to stand by the Constitution of the United States as it was given by the inspiration of God." Roberts' account quotes Smith as predicting numerous wars involving Great Britain, France, Russia, China, and other countries, and saying that the European nobility "knows that [Mormonism] is true, but it has not pomp enough, and grandeur and influence for them to yet embrace it." He is also reported to have said that a temple which the Latter Day Saints had planned to build in Jackson County, Missouri "will be built in this generation."[1][9]
  In 1844, Joseph Smith rejected the platforms of the major candidates for President of the United States and decided to conduct his own third-party campaign for the Presidency[3][10]'--an effort which was cut short by his death on June 27 of that year. Following a succession crisis in which Brigham Young was accepted as Smith's successor by the majority of the Latter Day Saints, the Mormon migration to the Intermountain West began under Young's direction in February 1846.[11]
  [edit]AuthenticityThe authenticity of the White Horse Prophecy is debated. It was never made public during Smith's lifetime, but was recorded many years after his death by one of his associates, Edwin Rushton.[1] Although some elements of the statement were confirmed by contemporary LDS Church leaders as having been taught by Smith, the prophecy as a whole has never been officially acknowledged or accepted, and it has been repudiated by the LDS Church since 1918.[12] The prophecy's authenticity, on the other hand, has been defended by LDS scholar Duane Crowther,[13]Mormon fundamentalist Ogden Kraut,[14] and anti-Mormon writer Sandra Tanner.[15]
  In his 1966 book Mormon Doctrine, LDS theologian (and, later, apostle) Bruce R. McConkie wrote that "From time to time, accounts of various supposed visions, revelations, and prophecies are spread forth by and among the Latter-day Saints, who should know better than to believe or spread such false information. One of these false and deceptive documents that has cropped up again and again for over a century is the so-called White Horse Prophecy."[16]
  In early 2010, the LDS Church issued a statement saying that "the so-called 'White Horse Prophecy' is based on accounts that have not been substantiated by historical research and is not embraced as Church doctrine."[4] Also in 2010, LDS historian Don L. Penrod examined significant differences in two early handwritten accounts of the prophecy, noted some words and phrases which were not characteristic of Joseph Smith's speaking style or current in his time, and speculated that Rushton had "in his elderly years recorded some things that [Smith] actually said, mixing in words of his own creation"'--commenting additionally that "memories of words and events, especially many years later, are often faulty."[12]
  [edit]United States ConstitutionThough there are doubts about the authenticity of the White Horse Prophecy as a whole, several sources attribute to Smith the idea that the United States Constitution would one day hang by the thread, and LDS Church leaders have issued similar warnings with regard to the Constitution.[7][17]
  In 1855, Brigham Young reportedly wrote that "when the Constitution of the United States hangs, as it were, upon a single thread, they will have to call for the 'Mormon' Elders to save it from utter destruction; and they will step forth and do it."[7][18]
  In 1858, Orson Hyde (another contemporary of Smith) wrote that Smith believed "the time would come when the Constitution and the country would be in danger of an overthrow; and ... if the Constitution be saved at all, it will be by the elders of [the LDS] Church".[7][19]
  In 1922, the LDS Church's fifth presiding bishop, Charles W. Nibley, stated that "the day would come when there would be so much of disorder, of secret combinations taking the law into their own hands, tramping [sic] upon Constitutional rights and the liberties of the people, that the Constitution would hang as by a thread. Yes, but it will still hang, and there will be enough of good people, many who may not belong to our Church at all, people who have respect for law and for order, and for Constitutional rights, who will rally around with us and save the Constitution."[15][20]
  In 1928, the LDS apostleMelvin J. Ballard remarked that "the prophet Joseph Smith said the time will come when, through secret organizations taking the law into their own hands ... the Constitution of the United States would be so torn and rent asunder, and life and property and peace and security would be held of so little value, that the Constitution would, as it were, hang by a thread. This Constitution will be preserved, but it will be preserved very largely in consequence of what the Lord has revealed and what [the Mormons], through listening to the Lord and being obedient, will help to bring about, to stabilize and give permanency and effect to the Constitution itself. That also is our mission."[20]
  [edit]InterpretationQuestions regarding LDS attitudes towards the United States government'--whether considered on their own or as component parts of the White Horse Prophecy'--have arisen from time to time as prominent members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have become involved in American politics. The White Horse Prophecy has been characterized as "effectively plac[ing] believers on perpetual Red Alert for the Constitution's possible demise"[21] and as admonishing Mormons to "come to the rescue and restore the true Constitution by any means necessary".[22]
  Writers such as Richard Abanes and Elaine Wolff have speculated, on the basis of the prophecy, that Mormons expect the US to eventually become a "Mormon-ruled theocracy divinely ordained to 'not only direct the political affairs of the Mormon community, but eventually those of the United States and ultimately the world'",[2] and that "a Mormon, if he were elected president, would take his orders from Salt Lake City."[3] In addition to many LDS members of the Republican Party, some LDS Democrats have also been inspired to run for office by the White Horse Prophecy.[17]
  [edit]George RomneyIn 1967, US presidential candidate George W. Romney said the following regarding the White Horse Prophecy: "I have always felt that they meant that sometime the question of whether we are going to proceed on the basis of the Constitution would arise and at this point government leaders who were Mormons would be involved in answering that question."[5]
  [edit]Mitt RomneyIn 2007, US presidential candidate Mitt Romney told the Salt Lake Tribune that "I haven't heard my name associated with [the White Horse Prophecy] or anything of that nature. That's not official church doctrine.... I don't put that at the heart of my religious belief."[5][23]
  [edit]Glenn BeckConservative personality Glenn Beck (who joined the LDS Church in 1999) has alleged that President Barack Obama "is going to bring us to the verge of shredding the Constitution, of massive socialism."[7] On November 14, 2008'--following Obama's election'--Beck appeared on Bill O'Reilly's show The O'Reilly Factor and said that "we are at the place where the Constitution hangs in the balance, I feel the Constitution is hanging in the balance right now, hanging by a thread unless the good Americans wake up."[7] Earlier in November, while interviewing US Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah (also a Mormon), Beck remarked: "I heard Barack Obama talk about the Constitution and I thought, we are at the point or we are very near the point where our Constitution is hanging by a thread."[7][24][25] Hatch appeared on Beck's Fox News show in January 2009, and Beck prompted him by declaring "I believe our Constitution hangs by a thread."[7]
  LDS blogger and religious commentator Joanna Brooks has said that "it is likely that Beck owes his brand of Founding Father''worship to Mormonism.... Many Mormons also believe that Joseph Smith prophesied in 1843 that the US Constitution would one day 'hang by a thread' and be saved by faithful Mormons".[26]Washington Post journalist Dana Milbank has described Beck's views as essentially "White Horse Prophecy meets horsemen of the apocalypse"[7]'--though Milbank has also observed that the White Horse Prophecy is "actually a fairly benign prophecy. They're talking about restoring law and order and peace and tranquility. It doesn't sound like a violent thing."[27]
  [edit]Rex RammellIn 2009, Idaho gubernatorial candidate Rex Rammell announced plans to hold a series of meetings with believing Mormon men, which were to include discussion of the White Horse Prophecy.[28][29] In response, LDS Church officials issued a statement saying the church is "politically neutral" and hoping that "the campaign practices of political candidates would not suggest that their candidacy is supported by or connected to the church."[30][31] Rammell later retracted his original plan to limit his meetings only to LDS men, apologizing to "all those citizens who are not members of the LDS faith, who have expressed a sincere interest in attending my meetings and discussing this prophecy and how we can step forward and save the United States Constitution".[32]
  [edit]See also[edit]References^ abc"The White Horse Prophecy", George Cobabe, Foundation for Apologetic Information & Research (2004). Retrieved August 25, 2011.^ abOne Nation Under Gods: A History of the Mormon Church,Richard Abanes, Basic Books (2003), p. xvii.^ abcWolff, Elaine (October 17, 2007). "An American president". San Antonio Current: p. 8. ^ ab"Church Statement on 'White Horse Prophecy' and Political Neutrality", Public Affairs Department, LDS Church, January 6, 2010. Retrieved August 25, 2011.^ abc"Romney candidacy has resurrected last days prophecy of Mormon saving the Constitution". Salt Lake Tribune. June 4, 2007. http://www.sltrib.com/lds/ci_6055090. Retrieved August 27, 2011. ^Bushman, Richard L. (2005). Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling. New York: Knopf. pp. 392''394. ISBN 1-4000-4270-4. ^ abcdefghijMormon Prophecy Behind Glenn Beck's Message by Dana Milbank, The Huffington Post, October 5, 2010. Retrieved August 25, 2011.^The identity of the "Red Horse" is not stated in the prophecy.^Anderson, Wing (1946). Prophetic Years 1947''1953. Kessinger Publishing. pp. 33''37. ISBN 978-1-4286-3588-3. ^Smith, Joseph, Jr. (1844). "General Smith's Views on the Powers and Policy of the Government of the United States". http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/u?/NCMP1820-1846,2597. Retrieved August 25, 2011. ^Bennett, Richard E. (1997). We'll Find the Place: The Mormon Exodus, 1846''1848. Deseret Book Company. p. 3. ISBN 978-0-8061-3838-1. ^ abDon L. Penrod (2010). "Edwin Rushton as the Source of the White Horse Prophecy". BYU Studies49 (3): 75''131. http://byustudies.byu.edu/showTitle.aspx?title=8625. Retrieved November 2, 2010. ^Crowther, Duane S. (1962). Prophecy, Key to the Future. Horizon Publishers. pp. 301''322. ISBN 0-88290-781-6. ^Kraut, Ogden (1993). The White Horse Prophecy. Pioneer Publishing. http://ogdenkraut.com/White%20Horse%20times%20new%20roman.htm. Retrieved October 1, 2011. ^ abTanner, Sandra. "Joseph Smith's 'White Horse' Prophecy". Utah Lighthouse Ministry. http://www.utlm.org/onlineresources/whitehorseprophecy.htm. Retrieved August 27, 2011. ^McConkie, Bruce R. (1966). Mormon Doctrine (2nd ed.). Bookcraft. p. 835. ^ abSheffield, Carrie (November 3, 2006). "Houses of Worship: White Horse in the White House". Wall Street Journal: p. 13. "Still, the prophecy continues to inspire Mormons to run for office, on both sides of the aisle." ^A discourse by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, February 18, 1855. Journal of Discourses, vol. 2, p. 182.^A sermon by Elder Orson Hyde, delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, January 3, 1858. Journal of Discourses, vol. 6, p. 152.^ abMilbank, Dana (2010). Tears of a Clown: Glenn Beck and the Tea Bagging of America. Doubleday. p. 48. ISBN 978-0-385-53388-1. ^Reilly, Adam (October 14, 2009). "Latterday Taint". Boise Weekly. ^Wurth, Michael (January 19, 2011). "Teabooking 101: Tears of a Clown: Glenn Beck and the Tea Bagging of America". San Antonio Current: p. 11. ^"Is Glenn Beck Attempting to Fulfill the Mormon 'White Horse Prophecy'?". AOL News. October 5, 2010. http://www.aolnews.com/2010/10/05/is-glenn-beck-attempting-to-fulfill-the-mormon-white-horse-prop/. Retrieved August 27, 2011. ^Reilly, Adam (December 3, 2009). "Latter-Day Taint". Salt Lake City Weekly: pp. 20''22. ^Glenn Beck with Sen. Hatch: 'Constitution is hanging by a thread', GlennBeck.com, November 4, 2008. Retrieved August 25, 2011.^Brooks, Joanna (October 7, 2009). "How Mormonism Built Glenn Beck". Religion Dispatches. http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/politics/1885/. Retrieved August 25, 2011. ^"Glenn Beck: Reading between the Coded Lines". National Public Radio. October 10, 2010. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130470858. Retrieved October 2, 2011. ^"Rammell unapologetic about meeting with LDS elders". Rexburg Standard Journal (Rexburg, Idaho). December 23, 2009. http://www.rexburgstandardjournal.com/news/rammell-unapologetic-about-meeting-with-lds-elders/article_720058ba-227b-556a-9fbf-51d192ec1186.html. Retrieved December 3, 2011. ^"Idaho candidate Rammell holding LDS meetings". Deseret News. December 22, 2009. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705353413/Idaho-candidate-Rammell-holding-LDS-meetings.html. Retrieved August 27, 2011. ^"LDS Church responds to Idaho candidate's 'elders only' meetings". Deseret News. December 26, 2009. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705379759/LDS-Church-responds-to-Idaho-candidates-elders-only-meetings.html. Retrieved August 27, 2011. ^"LDS Church issues statement on Rex Rammell". Rexburg Standard Journal. December 24, 2009. http://www.rexburgstandardjournal.com/news/lds-church-issues-statement-on-rex-rammell/article_ad0674be-53ce-55e4-aad6-c070e10ab848.html. Retrieved December 4, 2011. ^"Rammell apologizes for LDS elders only meetings". Rexburg Standard Journal. January 9, 2010. http://www.rexburgstandardjournal.com/news/rammell-apologizes-for-lds-elders-only-meetings/article_8c7e05cf-4430-59c8-bdd4-f35158a23cdd.html. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
Defense Department Role in Domestic Disasters
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 14:49
  Heritage Foundation
  Panelists talked about the Defense Department role in assisting civilian authorities and law enforcement deal with hurricanes, wildfires, and other domestic disasters. Panel:James Jay Carafano Deputy Director, The Kathryn .. Read MorePanelists talked about the Defense Department role in assisting civilian authorities and law enforcement deal with hurricanes, wildfires, and other domestic disasters. Panel:James Jay Carafano Deputy Director, The Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies and Director, Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies, The Heritage FoundationPaul N. Stockton Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Americas Security Affairs, U.S. Department of DefenseVice Adm. Harvey E. Johnson , Jr. (USCG, Ret.) Vice President, BAE Systems; Former Deputy Administrator, Federal Emergency Management AgencyHost: Steven P. Bucci Senior Research Fellow, Defense and Homeland Security, Heritage Foundation
  59 minutes |
  View Program Timeline
John Lucas: Why teens riot | Children's books
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 14:48
  A masked rioter in Hackney during the London riots last year. Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images
  There was a period of time in 2008/9 when stories about knife crime, gang crime, and extreme violence amongst teenagers dominated the media. But I felt like there was something missing in the way a lot of these kids were being portrayed, both in fiction and in the press. It either seemed to be voyeurism or demonisation, without much of an attempt at a deeper understanding in between. Neither did it fit with my own experiences of growing up in Hackney, where a lot of the kids I hung out with at school and on the estates were wittier, more articulate and more intelligent than they were being given credit for. The problem wasn't them so much as the world around them, the situation they were caught up in.
  We all want to feel like we belong, especially when we're young, and there's no greater sense of belonging than being in a gang. We all want to live a life of meaning too - but if you're not being offered the chance of really achieving something, of following your dreams, of making your mark, then you've got to find your own meaning, create something that matters out of what you've got. So you end up with people fighting, even dying, over their own made-up rules, their post codes, their turf.
  When I was at school my careers advice stretched to "If you get a job when you leave school, any job, then you're lucky." That's not an inspiring thing to hear when you've got your whole life ahead of you; when you've got a brain, a heart, some spirit in need of an outlet. There was no sense of abundance, no sense that life, the world, was there for the taking. We just had to make the most of the scraps that fell from the table.
  That disparity, that unfairness, and the lack of opportunity that goes along with it, builds pressure. Disillusioned and disenfranchised youth in the innner-city have to deal with that pressure, the kids in TURF are dealing with that pressure, and what we saw in the riots last year was an explosion of that pressure.
  At the time, the rioters were called "feral" and "scum" - which is understandable if you were on the receiving end during those few days, but dismissing them as a mindless criminal minority doesn't help address the issue. Why did it happen? Why was it allowed to happen? How can we accept a society that has a swath of people who have so little invested in it, that feel so disconnected from it, that they want to destroy it?
  I wrote TURF before the riots took place, but there were a number of parallels between them and the events in the book. A lot of the book deals with the importance of personal choice - and of course we're all fundamentally responsible for own actions, but equally, if we want people to make the right choice then we need to provide them with the opportunity to do so.
The Science and Politics of Mind-Altering Drugs
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 14:47
  Source: Disinfo
  British psychiatrist David Nutt specializes in neuropsychopharmacology, the research of drugs that affect the brain. In his recent interview with The Guardian's Science Weekly Podcast, he discusses the science and politics of mind-altering substances. The neuroscience blog MindHacks refers to it as ''essential listening'' and ''possibly one of the most sensible discussions of drugs and drug harms you are likely to hear in a long time.''
  Prof. Nutt is quite well-known in the UK '' largely due to being fired by the Government from their drugs advisory panel for pointing out in a scientific paper that the health risks of taking ecstasy are about equivalent to going horse riding.
  Rather than doing the usual dishonest apology required of government advisors where they ask forgiveness for 'unintentionally misleading the public' away from a convenient collective illusion, he decided to take the government to task about their disingenuous drug policy.
  He is now a straight-talking, evidence-based, pain-in-the-arse to the government who doggedly stick to the 'war on drugs' rhetoric that not even they believe any more.
  In the interview the discussion ranges from how psychedelic affect the brain to the scientific basis (or lack thereof) of drug policy.
  He also claims that ecstasy and LSD are less dangerous than alcohol, proposes research into the potential use of MDMA to treat post-traumatic stress disorder, and founded the Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs. Give it a listen if you've got an hour free (or'... uh'... something that can help you alter your perception of time).
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Watch: why gay rights activists are a model for the left
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 14:44
  >> Chaise Guevara posted on Diversity and multi-culturalism: will the Olympics have a lasting impact?>> Chaise Guevara posted on Diversity and multi-culturalism: will the Olympics have a lasting impact?
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Marines take lead on unmanned cargo
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 14:43
  The Marine haven't waited for the Army or Air Force to take the lead on unmanned aerial drones or unmanned trucks when it comes to delivering cargo.
  The Corps announced the completion of their first test of multiple unmanned trucks simulating a cargo convoy using Oshkosh trucks. The test took place at Fort Pickett, Va., from July 24 to Aug. 5. Marine Corps leaders said the next step is an operational test in Afghanistan.
  Marines and Lockheed Martin contractors are already flying an unmanned cargo helicopter in Afghanistan where it has exceeded expectations. The K-MAX has flown over 4,500 pounds of cargo and at least 500 sorties since the Marines deployed the cargo helicopter in December 2011. Marine leaders recently chose to extend the K-MAX's deployment for the third time out to March 2013.
  Seven Marines spent three days training on the Oshkosh trucks outfitted with unmanned ground vehicle technology before the test. Oshkosh lauded the short training period as proof of the ease of use Marine Corps leaders are seeking.
  Oshkosh's unmanned ground kit can be installed into new and old vehicles, even models other than Oshkosh's. Pentagon officials have not set a timeline for deployment of the unmanned trucks to Afghanistan.
  Ground commanders have long sought the ability to send ground convoys without human crews as some of the highest casualty rates during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan came from Army and Marine convoys getting hit by improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Soldiers and Marines have often questioned why the military couldn't build unmanned trucks when it was flooding Iraq and Afghanistan with unmanned aerial vehicles.
  Much like with the K-MAX, the Army has chosen to sit on the sidelines and wait to see what the Marines can produce with their unmanned trucks. Similarly, the Air Force has focused primarily on strike and intelligence, surveillance and surveillance drones rather than ones that can carry cargo.
  August 14th, 2012 | Ground, Robots | 1 Comment
Onstuitbaar? De afgang van Hyves en de opmars van Facebook
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 14:32
  Het kan snel gaan in de wereld van social media. Neem Hyves. Ooit in Nederland op afstand de populairste site voor jongeren. De koning in de wereld van social media. Tot de opmars van Facebook begon. Een jaar geleden haalde Facebook concurrent Hyves in. De voorsprong van Facebook is sindsdien snel gegroeid.
  Marktingfacts.nl zet de ontwikkeling in een overzichtelijke grafiek:
  Twitter lag eind 2010 nog straatlengtes op Hyves achter maar is bezig met een inhaalslag. Als het nog even zo doorgaat zakt Hyves binnenkort naar de derde plek achter Facebook en Twitter.
  Niet alleen het aantal bezoekers is van belang. Ook de tijd die mensen op een site doorbrengen. Dan is dit het beeld:
Michael Tomasky on How the GOP Plans to Block the Black Vote
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 14:18
  I can't identify too many threads that connect every single election I've ever covered. But one feature has been a constant through every election I've seen up close, from New York City Council elections to mayor to governor to senator to president: efforts to suppress the black vote, and, often enough, the Latino vote. I've seen the fliers, heard the robocalls, been at the polling places with the mysterious malfunctioning machines. No one ever knows exactly who does these things, and yet everyone generally knows. Republicans. And now we may be getting some proof. Former Florida GOP chairman Jim Greer said for the first time on national television Thursday'--to Al Sharpton, no less!'--that his party is up to its neck in denying citizens the right to vote.
  New York residents cast their vote in the US mid-term elections at a polling station at a school in Harlem in New York, November 2, 2010. (Emmanuel Dunand / AFP-Getty Images)
  Greer'--and I should say up front he's under indictment; more on that later'--was deposed by lawyers for the state GOP in late May for a civil case that will likely be heard after his criminal trial. He was specific. At a December 2009 meeting, ''the political consultants and staff were talking about voter suppression and keeping blacks from voting.'' They also discussed'--and this is lovely'--how ''minority-outreach programs were not fit for the Republican Party.'' But with Sharpton, he really cut loose: ''There's no doubt that what the Republican-led legislature in Florida and Governor Scott are trying to do is make sure the Republican Party has an advantage in this upcoming election by reducing early voting and putting roadblocks up for potential voters, Latinos, African-Americans to register and then to exercise their right to vote. There's no doubt. I was in the room. It's part of the strategy.''
  Mitt Romney is booed during his speech at the NAACP
  He also shot down the rationale for the new Florida law, this ginned-up ''voter fraud'' business: ''In three and a half years as chairman in Florida, I never had one meeting where voter fraud was discussed as a real issue effecting elections. Never one time...It's a marketing tool. That's clearly what it is. There's no validity to it. We never had issues with it. The main purpose behind it is to make sure that what happened in 2008 never happens again.''
  The party's current leaders, whom for good measure he called ''whack-a-doo, right-wing crazies,'' say he's lying, and naturally they note that his credibility is open to question. He's accused of funneling party money to himself, about $125,000. He'll stand trial sometime this fall. Obviously, we don't know whether he's guilty of that. But we do know that in every single election in this country where the black vote matters, these mysterious things happen in African-American neighborhoods in the run-up to the election and on Election Day itself. We never know exactly who does it, but it's pretty self-evident that it isn't Democrats.
  Conservative pundits like to whine from time to time about how blacks ''reflexively'' or ''unthinkingly'' pull the Democratic lever. Well, what exactly do they expect? Yes, yes, some Republicans in Congress supported the civil-rights and voting-rights acts. Fine. But those Republicans don't exist anymore. The racists left the Democrats and joined the GOP, and that's when'--in the late 1960s'--these voter-suppression efforts began.
  I can't understand how anyone can be anything other than ashamed to be associated with a political party so thuggish as to try to rig elections to disenfranchise minorities.
  The more you wrap your mind around it, the more astonishing the moral deficiency becomes. Think about it. Every election come the warnings that if you haven't paid your telephone bill yet or what have you, you won't be permitted to vote. Something that like, which I saw all the time in New York City, can be pulled off by a handful of ne'er-do-wells, and the party leaders themselves can maintain plausible deniability.
  But what's going on around the country this year requires the assent of officialdom. This is a conspiracy of thousands of people, Republican Party operatives in every state in the country (except those where the black vote is small enough not to matter), all of them agreeing that denying the most fundamental civic right to a group of citizens because they vote the wrong way is a good idea'--and knowing that they can get away with it because, after all, it's ''just'' ''those people.'' Imagine that Democrats had decided to proceed along these lines in America's rural precincts. Something tells me that the country's great law-enforcement agencies and media institutions would have managed to get to the bottom of it then'--and that the Democratic Party would have ended up all but destroyed.
  Just lately, John Fund and Hans von Spakovsky have been promoting their new book claiming to document vast treachery at the polls. The meme has developed on the right in the last few days that felons elected Al Franken to the Senate. Hennepin County (Minneapolis) Attorney Mike Freeman rebutted their charges this week. I can't swear that Freeman is correct, but look'--that was the most contested and pored-over election recount in the modern history of this country. It took nine months to determine the winner. Does it really seem likely that if massive fraud existed, state election officials (representing both major parties, by the way) weren't able to ferret it out in nine months?
  It's a sick and sickening situation, and it delegitimizes everything else about the Republican Party. I can understand how someone believes in limited government or low taxes. I can understand how someone could oppose affirmative action. I cannot understand how any individual can be anything other than abjectly ashamed to be associated with a political party so thuggish as to try to rig elections like this and then at its conventions have the gall to invoke Abraham Lincoln and hire lots of black people to sing and dance and smile, to make up for their absence among the attendees. A black mark indeed.
The money is a red herring by Alex Hillman
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 14:14
  I agree with Ilya that people are afraid of money, and it's a paralyzing epidemic.
  He had a good point he was making, and then he went ahead and mucked it up with App.net as an example of an alternative, and that's when I realized that even he missed his own point.
  This whole arguement is a red herring for real problems and, not shockingly, the solution is a misdirection just the same.
  App.net ''customers'' bought a pledge, a promise, a dream of what ''could be''. Not something that relieves pain. Not something that will make them their $50 back or more. And definitely not $4.16/month worth of either.
  Watching arguments about what App.net is or isn't, what it represents and if it's going to succeed or fail reminds me of the scene in Batman Forever when Chase Meridian tells Bruce Wayne that the Rorschach blot on her wall isn't an image of a bat; she explains that it's nothing more than an ink blot, and that people see what they want to see.
  ''Do you have a thing for bats, Mr Wayne?''
  People assume that whatever they see in the ink blot is what the artist intended when in fact'...it's just a blot, and their mind tricks them into thinking their perceptions are accurate.
  App.net is a fascinatingly similar Rorschach test on the community surrounding it. It's a mirror, it reflects back to them what they want and care about. And people are spending $50, $100, & $1000 at a time based on what they believe the creator intends to do. Dalton has stated his intentions, to a point, but most of the 3rd party discussion has turned to speculation.
  My hunch is that some customers will end up getting their $50 worth in the fact that they got to be a part of the story - which is the closest thing to real value being sold. The rest won't, and year 2 of revenue ends up being'...well'...not quite so shiny.
  This fairy-tale carriage has a pumpkin-like future.
  Dalton certainly marketed something to the pains that people think they have, but I'm dubious of the reality of those pains. It's sympathy pains - the vast majority of the App.net backers have never been screwed by Twitter but they fear being screwed.
  I don't think Dalton has learned much from his mistakes of the past, except the pain of riding a media frenzy. And maybe worse, ''startup mania'' is just as much of a distraction from its own well being than its ever been.
  By the way, I put my $50 in out of pure morbid curiosity of what's under the hood. In retrospect, I should've donated to a charity.
  '...Kudos
Four Teenagers Injured in Brooklyn Shooting
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 06:16
  Four teenagers were wounded on Monday in a shooting at a playground in Brooklyn, the police said, the latest in a spate of gun violence involving young people.
  It was unclear what prompted the shooting, which occurred on Fulton Street near Thomas S. Boyland Street about 6:30 p.m. The police said a 16-year-old boy was shot in the left arm. In addition, a 13-year-old girl, a 16-year-old boy and an 18-year-old man were grazed by bullets. All were expected to recover.
  The police said the shooter fled on a bicycle and had not been apprehended as of late Monday evening.
  There have been several similar shootings in recent weeks. Last month, six people, including two children, were shot on a single night in Brownsville; all survived. Also last month, a 4-year-old boy was killed in a shooting at a basketball tournament in the Bronx held in honor of a woman who was stabbed to death in 2010.
After Bullets Fly in Texas, a Soldier's Wartime Training Is Needed at Home
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 06:15
  Rigo CisnerosA neighbor in College Station, Tex., took video showing the police as they approached a gunman's home. ''If you move, you are dead,'' an officer yelled. When a gun battle between police and a man armed with an assault rifle broke out on a street close to the Texas A&M campus on Monday, most nearby residents took cover. Rigo Cisneros reached for his smartphone.
  As bullets whizzed and officers fell with gunshot wounds, Mr. Cisneros, an Army medic with one tour of duty in Afghanistan, crept from his home across the street toward the firefight, snapping pictures and taking video.
  And then, when the shooting stopped and the police moved in on the home of the gunman, Mr. Cisneros, 40, called out to the officers:
  ''You got an ambulance here yet?'' he asked. ''I'm a medic.''He asked for permission to approach and assist, and received it. It was an opportunity to put his military training to use in the war zone that briefly erupted on his own block.
  He first attended to Brian Bachmann, 41, a Brazos County constable. Mr. Bachmann was gravely wounded with a gunshot to the chest.
  ''I heard gurgling sounds,'' Mr. Cisneros said when reached by telephone later. ''He was on the ground for 10 minutes, and there was no motion at all.''
  Mr. Cisneros said he could feel no pulse. He performed CPR.
  When medics arrived, Mr. Cisneros turned his attention to the shooter, whom police identified as Thomas Caffall, 35. He had been shot multiple times and was handcuffed, pale and bleeding on his front lawn. But he was conscious and aware enough to comprehend what he had done.
  ''Could you please tell the person I shot I'm sorry,'' Mr. Cisneros said Mr. Caffall had told him.
  Mr. Caffall later succumbed to his wounds, as did Mr. Bachmann, the constable. A passerby, Chris Northcliff, 43, also died of his gunshot wounds, the police said. Three other police officers and a 55-year-old woman were injured.
  According to local news agencies, Mr. Bachmann became constable in January 2011 after winning an election the previous November. In Texas, constables are elected officials who serve as bailiffs in the local Justice of the Peace Court system. They also perform duties similar to those of sheriff's deputies and police officers.
  The Eagle, a local newspaper, said in a November 2010 article about the election that Mr. Bachmann was married with two children. Before becoming constable, he served 17 years with the Brazos County Sheriff's Office, joining it as a patrol officer, the paper said.
  Police said that Mr. Bachmann and other police officers had gone to the residence on Monday with an eviction notice, but provided few other details about the shooting or Mr. Caffall.
  When reached by telephone on Monday, several of Mr. Caffall's relatives declined to comment. A local NBC affiliate reported that Mr. Caffall's stepfather, Richard Weaver, when reached by telephone, had described him as ''crazy as hell.''
  ''At one point, we were afraid that he was going to come up here and do something to his mother and me,'' he was quoted as saying, adding that Mr. Caffall had quit his job nine months ago.
  On his Facebook page, Mr. Caffall described himself as divorced and Christian.
  ''I am pulling a cross between Forrest Gump and Jack Kerouac (without the drugs),'' he wrote. ''I'm on the road, permanently.''
  He had photos of several weapons on the page, including an assault rifle pictured in its box with two banana-shaped ammunition clips and an instruction manual for a Czech-made SA Vz.58 rifle that he wrote had cost $799. Also pictured was what he described as a Mosin Nagant rifle, a weapon once made in the Soviet Union, complete with bayonet and two boxes of ammunition.
  ''I'll be at the gun range as much as I can,'' he said in the caption to one photo.
  He also included a photo of his dog, Lucy.
Blazes Kill Firefighter in Idaho and Injure Another in Oregon
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 06:14
  A firefighter in Idaho was killed and a firefighter in Oregon was injured as wildfires continued raging across the West. Anne Veseth, 20, died on Sunday after being struck by a falling tree while working on a fire near Orofino in northern Idaho, United States Forest Service officials said. Ms. Veseth, of Moscow, Idaho, was in her second season as a firefighter. There are 12 active blazes in the state. In the episode in southeastern Oregon, the firefighter was forced to deploy an emergency shelter and crawl into it when swirling winds filled with fire overran the area. She was treated at a hospital in Nevada on Sunday for smoke inhalation and minor burns to a leg and a forearm.
Huma Abedin and The Saudi King's Manifesto
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 06:11
  Frontpage Interview's today's guest Walid Shoebat, a former PLO terrorist and Muslim Brotherhood activist who is the author of For God or For Tyranny.
  FP: Walid Shoebat, welcome back to Frontpage. The interview we did last year, The Dark Muslim Brotherhood World of Huma Abedin, has become extremely relevant and I would like to discuss your new highly disturbing findings with you.
  Shoebat: Thanks for having me again Jamie.
  FP: Last Friday, President Obama voiced strong support for Huma Abedin during the Iftar dinner, saying the top aide to Secretary of State Hillary has been ''nothing less than extraordinary in representing our country and the democratic values that we hold dear.''
  Yet you have presented a 37-page dossier and WTC 1993 prosecutor Andrew McCarthy has linked the Abedins [here] and [here] to two terror supporting supervisors: al-Qaeda financier Abdullah Naseef and the spiritual head of the Muslim Brotherhood Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradwi. Moreover, you have now made a discovery that links the Abedins' Institute for Muslim Minority Affairs enterprise to a sinister Wahhabist Saudi agenda called Muslim Minority Affairs. Kindly share your new discovery with us.
  Shoebat: President Obama needs to refute the facts and provide answers that are void of rhetoric. He can't and he won't. My findings all started as I was researching Huma's father ''Sayed Zaynul Abedin'' in Arabic looking for further clues and suddenly there it was, an unbelievable document commissioned by the late King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz which can be downloaded [here] and [here]. I couldn't believe my eyes. It had a long grandiose and fanciful title: The Efforts of the Servant of the Two Holy Places to Support The Muslim Minorities. It included Huma's father and his work Muslim Minorities in the West published in 1998 as part of 29 works to construct this conspiratorial manifesto. (#11. P. 134) It explained the Muslim Minority Affairs (hereafter MMA) not simply as a title or as a religious or social entity but as a Saudi foreign policy of the Ministry of Religious Affairs.
  It is an entire management system using MMA as the vehicle to catapult MMA to gain specific goals:
  1'--Recruit individual Muslims that live in non-Muslim lands and transform them as a collective unit by establishing centers, educational programs, mosques and organizations like ISNA and MSA in order to stop Muslim assimilation in non-Muslim host nations.
  2'--These then can influence the non-Muslim host nations by shifting the demographic scale due to their population growth in favor of the Saudi agend.
  3'--A gradual implementation of Sharia will ensue by becoming a major revolutionary powerhouse.
  4'--This will tilt the host nation in favor of Muslims due to their increase as a population.
  5'--By this, a transformation then ensues in the host nation to gradually begin to implement a Wahhabi style Sharia.
  6'--The host state then will join the Muslim commonwealth.
  Amazed, I began to research the Abedins' Institute for Muslim Minority Affairs (hereafter IMMA) from historical accounts and testimonies. The two connected perfectly and what emerged was extremely troubling from a national security perspective: the Abedins for decades were actually serving a foreign entity, the government of Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Islamic Affairs and not American Democracy as President Obama stated. The Abedins' IMMA is a Saudi-based branch implemented, commissioned and stationed through the same entity that produced this policy to serve Saudi Arabia's and not American interests.
  FP: Ok, but how exactly can you connect the Abedins' IMMA to the Saudi MMA?
  Shoebat: Easily, we have:
  [1] Testimonies.
  [2] The hierarchical construct of the Abedins' IMMA fits the Saudi manifesto MMA chain of command.
  and
  [3] We have historical references showing IMMA was officially under these authorized organizations that were set up by Saudi Arabia.
  These make an ironclad case. Here is an example; the manifesto states that:
  ''It [MMA] will work under the umbrella of the Muslim World League (MWL) and International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO) and World Association of Muslim Youth (WAMY) and others'' (P. 6, also see P. 23)
  The Arabic Dictionary on Media Icons by Zarkali confirms the above plan fits IMMA:
  ''Sayed Z. Abedin is a specialist on Muslim Minority Affairs issues'... In the early 1970'²s, Sayed Z. Abedin went to Saudi Arabia for one year as a visiting professor. He was welcomed by King Abdulaziz University, which provided him the means to create a scholarly program regarding Muslim Minorities. Dr. Abdullah Omar Naseef, the Dean of King Abdulaziz University then envisioned the creation of an academic entity called the Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs (IMMA), under the management of Ahmad Bahafzallah, who was the General Trustee for the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY). Professor Sayed Z. Abedin was encouraged to supervise the Muslim Minority Affairs and served as IMMA's chief editor.'' (Al-I'lam by Zarkali, is an encyclopedia on major figures in the Arabic-Muslim Media, P.p. 218)
  Abdullah Ghazi, a graduate of Harvard University in Comparative Religion, provides additional testimony as he reminisces about how he met the Abedins:
  ''Later we shifted to Gary in Indiana State, 40 kms from Chicago. In 1976, I met Rabita (MWL) chief Dr. Abdullah Omar Naseef and Dr. Zainul Abedin of Institute for Muslim Minority Affairs. They encouraged me to take up this venture. The first book to come out was Our Prophet, an assignment from King Abdul Aziz University, Jeddah at Dr. Naseef's behest'...''
  The history of the Abedins' IMMA and of the Saudi manifesto's hierarchy for MMA perfectly match. As we see, it was the Muslim World League (MWL) with Abdullah Omar Naseef, a Wahhabist who created IMMA under Ahmad Bahafzallah of World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY) to supervise the Abedins.
  FP: What proof can you provide from the manifesto itself regarding the goals you mentioned?
  Shoebat: We provided several snapshots from the manifesto itself:
  This snapshot in English says:
  ''The Muslim societies in all continents of the world exist as either 'Muslim Nation' or 'Muslim Minorities'. The assessment to determine what constitutes 'state' from a 'minority state' is done based on a number of measures. First the numbers scale, which is, if a nation has Muslims exceed half the population and its Constitution states that Islam is its official religion or that Islamic Sharia is its source of law, this state is then considered an Islamic state.'' (p.29) ''Since the number of Muslims has risen greatly in the last years where they became 1.3 billion Muslims. From these we have (900) million already in Muslim nations. The 400 million live as communities and as Muslim Minority'' (p. 31) '''... In Africa resides (250) million Muslims and in Europe resides (60) million Muslims and in North America and South America resides (10) million Muslims. So, according to these statistics it is expected that the number of Muslims will reach 2.6 billion six hundred thousand within a short span of time. The Muslims then will become a mighty and effective power in the world, of course, due to the increase in their numbers'--then these will shift the demographic balance in their favor.'' (p. 32).
  It actually maps out with statistics and demographic analysis every nation where Muslim minorities exist. Remember, Huma's mother is an expert on demography and world populations and contributed greatly to that effect in the JMMA journal. Regardless how small the numbers, these are expected to advance Wahhabist ideology.
  FP: Ok, what about this ''Wahhabist'' link? Can you provide proof?
  Shoebat: The document pulls no punches. It mentions ''puritan Islam'' as directed by ''Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab,'' the father of Wahhabism:
  ''Allah destined this region [Saudi Arabia] for a historic role. So He commissioned the two Imams'--Muhammad bin Saud and Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab, may Allah have mercy upon them. But the times have passed on Imam Muhammad bin Saud by the emergence of the reformer'--Muhammad bin AbdulWahhab. So the two Imams cooperated together to judge by what Allah brought forth, to fight against heresy and to bring Muslims back to puritan Islam.'' (p.
  FP: Is the United States mentioned in the plan?
  Shoebat: Indeed, all over it, it discusses accomplishments in ISNA, MSA, banking, centers and even names the mosques designated to fulfill the plan in the United States, except there are obstacles. The United States is the home of the main obstacle that hinders their agenda'--the Jews. There the manifesto shifts, sounding more like an Arab version of Mein Kampf. Here I include the original snapshot from the document itself and translated it to English:
  ''The greatest challenge that faces Muslims in the United States and Canada are the Jews who take advantage of their material ability and their media to distort the image of Islam and Muslims there by spreading their lies and distortions in the minds of the people in these countries. The Jews employ their efforts and direct their material wealth and their high positions to serve Zionist interests in the Arab region. They [the Jews] take advantage of situations to distort the image of Arabs and Muslims. The Zionist organizations spend enormous efforts to obstruct the spread of Islam in these areas.'' (P. 79-80)
  FP: This is scary stuff, and our media and government are completely silent and blind.
  Let's continue: how can we know that the MMA is not some isolated issue or something simply on paper?
  Shoebat: McCarthy's The Grand Jihad perhaps can provide a better analysis as to the billions spent by Saudi Arabia in the U.S. to advance their agendas. I am here to provide missing links, the proclamations from the Arabic texts that westerners don't review, things considered taboos to discuss and translate, an insight from a defector who switched sides. That's what I do.
  As to the MMA concept, it is not isolated to the Abedins or even the Saudis. Salafists and the Muslim Brotherhood support the same concept, they even link to each other with the same title: ''the Jurisprudence of Muslim Minority Affairs.''
  In other words, the IMMA is not simply a name of an outfit; it represents a definition, a jurisprudence rooted in a sinister doctrine with short and long-term goals. Qaradawi has a similar manifesto for the Brotherhood. MMA scholars across the board have an obsession using this jurisprudence steering Muslims into this theocratic collective revolution.
  FP: Give us some examples.
  Shoebat: No problem. Take Europe's Abdul-Majid al-Najjar, Assistant Secretary-General of the European Council for Fatwa and Research. While working on supposed building relations with the West, he adheres, in Arabic, to the same collectivist concept. In his ''Creating a Fundamentalist Jurisprudence of the Muslim Minorities in the West,'' he states:
  ''Islamic Sharia ruling is for every circumstance, time and place and in all circumstances'... It was ordained that Islam was assigned the mission to inherit the globe. It is a mission possible through only the collective religious performance and mission impossible through individual religiosity.''
  Let's take Taha Jaber al-Alwani who is an ardent anti-Semite who, by the way, runs the United States Department of Defense program (out of all places) for training Muslim military chaplains in the U.S. military. This is the first time we translated this:
  '''... it [MMA] is a Jurisprudence for a group confined to its special circumstances which is allowed what others are not. Its exercise needs an understanding of social sciences, especially sociology, economics, political science and international relations'... for the fundamentals of success for the Muslim Minority Jurisprudence it must adhere to the collective earth concept.'' [here]
  Alwani, a man commissioned by our government, even calls for a soon-to-be military conquest and provides an official fatwa permitting and preparing for the use of force:
  ''Commitment to the Quranic concept of Geography: The land belongs to Allah, his religion is Islam, and every country is already in the House of Islam'--now in the present time'--since they will be in the House of Islam by force in the near future. The whole of humanity is a Muslim Nation: it is either 'the religion of the nation' which has embraced this religion [Islam], or a 'proselyte nation' we are obliged to conquer.'' (Alwani, The Jurisprudence of Muslim Minority Affairs. No. 7)
The Muslim Brotherhood's Palace Coup
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 06:11
  In less than a week, the Muslim Brotherhood has made great strides towards consolidating its power in Egypt. Last Wednesday, newly elected president Mohammed Morsi fired his intelligence chief and other top security officials, using the killing of 16 soldiers in the Sinai Peninsula as his rationale. On Sunday Morsi took his purge one step further, dismissing the entire military leadership in a move that shocked the nation. Whether the military ultimately accepts that decision remains to be seen. The dramatic political implications from the move, however, are not in question.
  Defense Minister Hussein Tantawi, Military Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Sami Anan, along with three generals, Air Force Chief Rezza Abd al-Megid, Navy Commander Mahab Muhamed Mamish and Air Defense Chief Abd Al-Aziz Muhamed Seif were all sacked by Morsi. Tantawi and Anan will be retained as advisors, said Yasser Ali, Mr. Morsi's spokesman. The Wall Street Journal speculated that the arrangement suggests both men were consulted in advance and willingly ceded power. Morsi awarded both men ''Order of the Nile'' medals, Egypt's highest state honor. Morsi also appointed Mahmoud Mekki as his vice president. Mekki is a former judge who earned notoriety for challenging the power of the Hosni Mubarak regime.
  Morsi also nullified a constitutional declaration issued by the military junta that severely limited his presidential authority, replacing it with one that gives him sweeping executive and legislative powers. The Journal contends that this new arrangement gives him more power than Hosni Mubarak enjoyed, while the New York Times speculates that such power could give Morsi a decisive role in the drafting of Egypt's as yet unfinished new constitution.
  If this move remains unchallenged, Morsi becomes the supreme commander of the Egyptian Armed Forces, president of the National Defense Council, and Egypt's president.
  The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) was slow to officially weigh in on the apparent coup, but Egypt's official news agency quoted an unnamed military official late Sunday as saying there has been no ''negative reaction'' from within the military. Tantawi and Anan's successors, Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, an ex-head of military intelligence, and Lt. Gen. Sidki Sayed Ahmed, respectively, were sworn in during a brief and somber ceremony broadcast live on state TV Sunday. Little is known about either man, but Lt. Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi angered activists last year when he reportedly admitted to Amnesty International that Egypt's military was using ''virginity tests'' to supposedly protect military personnel from rape accusations.
  Sunday was also the first time the Egyptian public was made aware of what was going on. In his speech at the event, Morsi contended the move was not made to ''embarrass'' the military or its leadership, but to act in the ''best interests of the nation.'' ''Today, this nation returns''this people return''with its blessed revolution,'' he said. ''Support me strongly, so we can move to a better future.''
  Egypt expert Michael Wahid Hanna, a fellow at New York's Century Foundation described the event as a ''civilian-led putsch. It's extralegal,'' he told the Journal. ''It requires for the Supreme Constitutional Court to cease to be a binding force. I don't think there's any other way around it.''
  Perhaps they already are. Morsi's new declaration of powers effectively guts the ruling made by that body declaring that the military's constitutional declaration limiting the powers of the presidency was legal. That ruling stemmed from the fact that some of the judges on the court share the military's distrust of the Muslim Brotherhood, which had remained suppressed for decades under Mubarak.
  Senior members of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party were apparently preparing for a backlash. They used Twitter and Facebook to rally public support for the move, and by Sunday night, hundreds of supporters had gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square with banners to declare their allegiance to the president.
  As the appointments were being made, the Egyptians moved American-made M-60 tanks up to the Israeli border, which is an ostensible violation of the 1979 treaty between the two nations. It is not clear whether Israel was caught off guard by the move, or gave permission for it to occur. Yet Debka is reporting that as recently as last week, Morsi said that treaty clauses ''not deemed beneficial to Egyptian interests'' would have to be eliminated. Debka is also speculating that the terrorist attacks in the Sinai last week were being exploited by the Brotherhood to remove military men such as Tantawi and Anan '-- because they were seen as the last major impediments to the Muslim Brotherhood's complete takeover of Egypt.
Je organen zijn van de staat, tenzij'...??! http://t.co/cqQnkqbM #via
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 06:09
  Je organen zijn van de staat, tenzij'...??! http://t.co/cqQnkqbM #via | Een andere kijk op nieuws @ infomag.nl
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Belgie legt centrales stil: Nederlandse overheden wachten af
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 06:08
  Bij de kerncentrale in Doel werden afgelopen weken tijdens onderhoud haarscheurtjes geconstateerd in een van de reactoren. Het is maar de vraag of de centrale ooit nog in gebruik zal worden genomen. Een tweede centrale van hetzelfde type wordt in september voor onderhoud stilgelegd en zal dan onderzocht worden op hetzelfde euvel.
Deep magnitude 7.5 quake off Russia, north of Japan| Reuters
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 06:08
  SYDNEY | Mon Aug 13, 2012 11:19pm EDT
  SYDNEY (Reuters) - A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 7.5 struck off the eastern Russian coast to the north of Japan, the U.S. Geological Survey said on Tuesday, but no tsunami warning was issued by Japanese authorities.
  The quake was measured very deep at around 580 km (360 miles) below the earth's surface. Japanese television said the quake was measured at 7.3.
  (Reporting by Paul Tait; Editing by Ed Davies)
WOR-AM, Prominent New York Station, Is Sold to Clear Channel
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 06:07
  WOR-AM, the talk radio station that is the oldest operating broadcaster in New York City, has been sold to Clear Channel Communications, giving the company its sixth station in New York and its first AM signal in the area.
  It was sold for an undisclosed amount by the Buckley Broadcasting Corporation, which has owned it since 1989, the companies announced on Monday morning. The deal is pending approval from the Federal Communications Commission.
  WOR, broadcasting at 710 AM, was founded in 1922 and has played important roles in radio history. It was one of the first to use a directional antenna and was the first AM station in New York to use HD radio technology. It also has a wide-reaching 50,000-watt signal.
  The station has a current lineup of conservative talk programs, with Michael Savage and John R. Gambling and also a show featuring David Paterson, the former New York governor. It also carries a show with Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, that is distributed by one of Clear Channel's biggest rivals, Cumulus Media.
  ''WOR is an iconic New York City brand with a rich history and an exciting future,'' John Hogan, the chief executive of Clear Channel's radio and media division, said in a statement. ''We believe WOR makes our already incredible platform even more interesting for listeners, advertisers, and strategic partners and we look forward to the tremendous potential WOR adds to Clear Channel Media and Entertainment New York.''
  ''By passing the baton to Clear Channel Media and Entertainment, WOR listeners, advertisers and employees will gain access to the unparalleled resources of a worldwide, multidimensional media and entertainment company,'' added Joseph Bilotta, president of Buckley Radio. ''We have had a great run with WOR and could not be more confident that it is poised for another great run as part of the Clear Channel Media and Entertainment team.''
  Rick Buckley, the president of the station and the Buckley company, died last year.
  Clear Channel is the largest radio broadcaster in the country, with more than 850 stations. It already has five FM stations in New York, including the two top-rated ones: WLTW, at 106.7, known as Lite FM; and WHTZ, at 100.3, known as Z100, the area's dominant Top 40 brand.
  In the July rankings from Arbitron, the standard radio-ratings service, WOR ranked 19th with a total audience of 626,000.
  Ben Sisario writes about the music industry. Follow @sisario on Twitter.
NBC's war for fun and profit
  Link to Article
  Mon, 13 Aug 2012 19:13
  A new military-themed reality show from NBC, entitled ''Stars Earn Stripes,'' debuts tonight. The show ''enthusiastically melds warfare and fame,'' as a Washington Post review today put it. It features eight celebrities (using the loosest definition of that term) '-- such as husband-of-Sarah Todd Palin, former Superman Dean Cain, and former boy band member Nick Lachey '-- paired up with ''military and law enforcement veterans, including a Green Beret, a SWAT officer, two Marine sergeants, a retired member of the Delta Force and two Navy SEALs'', whom NBC hails as the ''Bad Ass Operatives.'' They're all under the ''command'' of Gen. Wesley Clark, who once actually thought he should be President, as he co-hosts this reality show with former Dancing with the Stars host Samantha Harris (subjecting oneself to the two preview videos below, one wonders how much NBC had to pay to purchase Gen. Clark's dignity in full: probably more than the Terror group MEK paid him to become its loyal shill).
  Together, says the LA Times, the ''stars'' and the Bad Ass Operatives will participate in ''missions reminiscent of counterinsurgencies that have taken place all over the world,'' with ''real bullets'' and ''real danger.'' Just in the first episode, says the Post, ''they have to leap out of a helicopter into a lake while weighted down with automatic weapons and full gear; swim to a motorized raft; wade ashore under enemy fire; destroy a lookout tower with a grenade; shoot at paper 'enemy' targets with live rounds; wade through mud to seize the enemy's ammo cache and then, finally, blow it all to kingdom come.'' In this maiden episode, one of the Bad Ass Operatives marvels at Todd Palin's skill in performing one of these tasks, and exclaims: ''[He] is an animal! Good God! . . . . He's just straight-up Rambo!'' The Bad Ass then adds: ''Next time I go to war, I want Todd Palin on my side.'' Another Bad Ass Operative vows to take ''Nick Lachey, guy in the boy band, and turn him into Nick Lachey, bad boy guy with a gun.''
  Needless to say, this is all being done To Honor The Troops. The winner will receive $100,000 to donate to a military-related charity of their choice. Referring to NBC's claims about the purpose of the show, the Post says it is all done ''to raise awareness about how hard our fighting forces work, how much they sacrifice, and so on and so on, until it begins to sound like nebulous praise.'' Reflecting broader cultural realities, the show's Bad Ass Operatives are treated like deities (one of them ''starts to feel self-conscious when Cain, his teammate, won't stop fawning over him''). I wonder how actual troops who face real danger to their lives feel about having NBC exploit The Troops and convert their combat burdens into a fun reality show with feigned ''danger.'' And, of course, the substantial profit NBC hopes to make from selling commercials won't be donated to veterans groups at all but will be tallied up as corporate profits '-- but that's all just totally incidental to the Honor The Troops goal motivating all of this.
  The ways in which this is all so sleazy, repulsive and propagandistic are too self-evident to require much discussion. There is, though, a real value: here we have a major television network finally being relatively candid about the fact that they view war and militarism, first and foremost, as a source of entertainment and profit. Recall the incredible April, 2003, speech given by then-MSNBC-star-war-correspondent Ashleigh Banfield regarding how NBC and MSNBC, then owned by military supplier GE, benefited from propaganstic war coverage in Iraq, a speech that (as she clearly anticipated when she delivered it) caused her subsequent demotion and then disappearance from MSNBC and cable news:
  I suppose you watch enough television to know that the big TV show is over and that the war is now over essentially '-- the major combat operations are over anyway, according to the Pentagon and defense officials '-- but there is so much that is left behind. . . .
  That said, what didn't you see? You didn't see where those bullets landed. You didn't see what happened when the mortar landed. A puff of smoke is not what a mortar looks like when it explodes, believe me. There are horrors that were completely left out of this war. So was this journalism or was this coverage?
  There is a grand difference between journalism and coverage, and getting access does not mean you're getting the story, it just means you're getting one more arm or leg of the story. And that's what we got, and it was a glorious, wonderful picture that had a lot of people watching and a lot of advertisers excited about cable news.
  But it wasn't journalism, because I'm not so sure that we in America are hesitant to do this again, to fight another war, because it looked like a glorious and courageous and so successful terrific endeavor, and we got rid of a horrible leader: We got rid of a dictator, we got rid of a monster, but we didn't see what it took to do that.
  When I said the war was over I kind of mean that in the sense that cards are being pulled from this famous deck now of the 55 most wanted, and they're sort of falling out of the deck as quickly as the numbers are falling off the rating chart for the cable news stations. We have plummeted into the basement in the last week. We went from millions of viewers to just a few hundred thousand in the course of a couple of days. . . .
  I think there were a lot of dissenting voices before this war about the horrors of war, but I'm very concerned about this three-week TV show and how it may have changed people's opinions. It was very sanitized. . . .
  This TV show that we just gave you was extraordinarily entertaining, and I really hope that the legacy that it leaves behind is not one that shows war as glorious, because there's nothing more dangerous than a democracy that thinks this is a glorious thing to do.
  War is ugly and it's dangerous, and in this world the way we are discussed on the Arab street, it feeds and fuels their hatred and their desire to kill themselves to take out Americans. It's a dangerous thing to propagate. . . .
  I'm hoping that I will have a future in news in cable, but not the way some cable news operators wrap themselves in the American flag and patriotism and go after a certain target demographic, which is very lucrative. You can already see the effects, you can already see the big hires on other networks, right wing hires to chase after this effect, and you can already see that flag waving in the corners of those cable news stations where they have exciting American music to go along with their war coverage.
  What this NBC sleazefest really reveals is the way in which reverence for all things military has become America's national religion, seamlessly embedded into virtually every cultural event. I recall this email I received from a friend in South Florida last September after he attended an NFL football game in Miami:
  Let me describe the patriotic display at last night's NFL opener. Men with machine guns at all entrances, to scare off the terrorists. Pat down on the way in, to make sure [my wife] and I weren't carrying plastic explosives. A moving national anthem with troops out on the field spelling out U.S.A. A moving tribute to the thousands who perished in 9/11 and to our nation's brave response to that atrocity (which was, of course, the worst thing that ever happened in the history of the world). A U.S.A., U.S.A. chant. Then a Stealth B2 Bomber flew over the stadium, followed by fireworks. At half time, a US Army paratrooper squad jumped out of a plane and landed on the field. Maybe next week they'll shoot some missiles from unmanned drones.
  Venerating the military is such a common American cultural ritual that one barely notices when it happens any longer. This morning, ABC News' Jake Tapper pointed to a fun, playful video of his ABC News colleague, Pentagon correspondent Luis Martinez, jumping out of a military airplane with the Golden Knights, the U.S. Army team that regularly parachutes into football stadiums during halftime as the adoring crowd cheers. In the four-minute video, Martinez plays the role of the hapless clown, acting goofy and nervous with his manly, stoic military guide, Sgt. 1st Class Aaron Figel, over whom Martinez openly slobbers and to whom he is symbolically tied as he jumps.
  That worshipful, tongue-wagging fun and games with the U.S. military might not be the most appropriate activity for someone who is supposedly an adversarial reporter covering the Pentagon would never occur to any of them, because, like NBC, they're just practicing America's national religion '-- military worship '-- and who would ever object to that? Martinez was the reporter who gave anonymity to military officials to smear Michael Hastings over his Rolling Stone article that ended the career of Gen. Stanley McChrystal, allowing the anonymous officer to claim '-- falsely '-- that the quotes used by Hastings were off the record. Martinez did the same when he gave anonymity to a military officer to falsely attack a story by Jeremy Scahill exposing the network of secret prisons in Somalia which the U.S. effectively operates. Nobody practices this religion of military worship like the Pentagon Watchdogs who work at the nation's major television networks.
  Experiencing great fun and pulsating entertainment from sending one's military off to war is hardly unique to our time. Adam Smith lamented this warped dynamic back in 1776 in his Wealth of Nations:
  In great empires the people who live in the capital, and in the provinces remote from the scene of action, feel, many of them, scarce any inconveniency from the war; but enjoy, at their ease, the amusement of reading in the newspapers the exploits of their own fleets and armies. To them this amusement compensates the small difference between the taxes which they pay on account of the war, and those which they had been accustomed to pay in time of peace. They are commonly dissatisfied with the return of peace, which puts an end to their amusement, and to a thousand visionary hopes of conquest and national glory from a longer continuance of the war.
  It's actually necessary that America have a network reality show that pairs big, muscular soldiers with adoring D-list celebrities '-- hosted by a former Army General along with someone who used to be on Dancing with the Stars '' as they play sanitized war games for the amusement of viewers, all in between commercials from the nation's largest corporations. That's way too perfect of a symbol of American culture and politics for us not to have.
  * * * * *
  This weekend, on MSNBC's Up With Chris Hayes, Rachel Maddow denounced the Romney campaign for using an out-of-commission battleship as a prop for its Vice Presidential announcement, condemning such efforts to exploit the military for political ends as ''offensive,'' especially given that Romney and Paul Ryan have no military service. Moments later, literally, MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry gushed about all of the Obama aggressive military policies that give him such a hard-core political advantage; he has such ''an impressive record on foreign policy for hawks,'' she explained, including ''continuing to prosecute wars, the drone attacks, the death of Osama bin Laden.'' Wars, drones, and the killing of an an unarmed accused Terrorist and the dumping of his corpse into the ocean: behold what is now praised on MSNBC as impressive political assets, all in the midst of condemning the exploitation of the military for political advantage by someone who has never served.
Obama Auto Bailout To Cost Taxpayers $25 BILLION
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 06:05
  The Obama administration is fond of touting the ''success'' of the auto Big Labor Union bailout. Only in the Age of Obama is a $25 BILLION dollar loss somehow deemed a success'...
  EXCERPT:
  Treasury: U.S. to lose $25 billion on auto bailout
  The Treasury Department says in a new report the government expects to lose more than $25 billion on the $85 billion auto bailout. That's 15 percent higher than its previous forecast.
  '...The Treasury also has put on hold an initial public offering initially planned for last year in Ally Financial Inc. because of market weakness. The government holds a 74 percent majority stake in the Detroit auto finance company as part of its $17.2 billion bailout and has recovered $5.7 billion.
  GM CEO Dan Akerson told employees at a town hall meeting Thursday that the company was working to take actions to boost the automaker's sagging price. LINK
  _____________________
  READER '' PLEASE NOTE THAT LAST LINE.
  GM's stock value continues to decline - falling 41% in the second quarter alone. 41 PERCENT!!!
  And guess who is primarily responsible for the increase in GM cars sold this past year '' THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION. That's right, the Obama government has increased purchases of GM autos by 79%!!!!
  Barack Obama used YOUR tax dollars to bail out General Motors, Chrysler, etc., handed over controlling shares of those companies to the labor unions, and then turned around and began using MORE of your tax dollars to order vehicles for the government (that the government does not need) in order to say to you the auto bailout was a success. That reality of that ''success'' is now being realized though '' GM stock has plummeted due to international sales declining sharply. Big Labor continues to demand too high salaries and benefits (they also are exempted from Obamacare '' let that one sink in too while you grit your teeth)
  The auto bailouts have proven a near-total failure. Just as Obama's Green Energy fraud has cost U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars, so too are the auto bailouts. With that in mind it is quite fair to state that Barack Obama has NO economic accomplishment on which to run for re-election. NONE. He has done nothing but further harm an already frail American economy.
  Does that kind of record deserve four more years?
  How many more BILLIONS and TRILLIONS of taxpayer dollars will Obama purposely waste over the course of a second term? How much more will he add to the national debt until we are ALL finally pushed over the fiscal cliff?
  Perhaps that has been his true intention all along.
  Remember '' it was Barack Obama who so recently said he wishes to do for ALL companies what he did to General Motors.
  Once again, let that one sink in reader'...
WALL STREET INSIDER: It Is Barack Obama Who IntendsTo Destroy Medicare
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 06:00
  A brief written message from a longtime Wall Street insider gives their views on Mitt Romney's choice of Paul Ryan as a running mate, and points to Barack Obama as the one truly responsible for the ongoing destruction of the American economy via his refusal to show any leadership on the nation's looming entitlement disaster.
  Friend,
  I apologize for my delay in responding to your questions. I must be brief here, but hope my opinion on these matters provides you some measure of enlightenment and understanding '' at least regarding my own personal views.
  As to Mr. Romney's choice of the incredibly bright and energetic Paul Ryan I gladly admit to being very very pleased. Congressman Ryan has time and again proven himself truly capable of both content and messaging, a talent few of his contemporaries share, including the Man Calling Himself Obama. It was a sound choice which once again speaks to the measured, thoughtful character that has been the hallmark of Mr. Romney's successful life. I am told the two men genuinely appreciate and respect one another, something which apparently does not exist between the current President and Vice President.
  I have spent some time pouring over the media reports and made note of the Democratic Party operatives attempting to play the ''Mediscare'' card against both Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan. To that I am quite certain the pro-Romney PACs are well prepared. In fact, I will proceed to inform you they are indeed quite prepared for this attempt by the Obama campaign to spin what is an outright lie and indefensible insult to the intelligence of the American voter.
  It is the Man Call Himself Obama who has of course stolen from Medicare in order to fund his disastrous Obamacare. That fact, which remains shockingly unknown to far too many, will be placed front and center of the national discussion within the coming days and weeks. That is to say, if certain parties wish to continue to enjoy the significant financial support of those of us who have made the defeat of this pathetic boy emperor with no clothes the most pressing concern of our near-term existence.
  What the Obama White House did was the most shockingly large scale theft of taxpayer dollars in the history of the nation. Over $700 billion dollars taken from the Medicare fund for Obamacare. It is Barack Obama who intends to destroy Medicare. This same Obama White House is certain the ignorance of the public, most notably the older generations, will ensure this fact remains largely ignored. I have far more faith in the American voter at this critical time in what is by far the most important election in a generation, that that. The truth will become more widely known, and it is that truth that will be the undoing and eventual defeat of this Obama madness.
  Ah, but not only has the Man Calling Himself Obama stolen $700 billion from the Medicare fund, a fund paid for by taxpayers on the promise they would receive benefits when old enough to qualify, we must not forget how this Obama also took from both Social Security and Medicare when he initiated his temporary payroll tax reductions. So in whole, the Obama administration has taken roughly 1 trillion dollars from Medicare and Social Security. A trillion dollars! I can think of no other time in American history when an American president has stolen so much from so many and received so little justified rebuke for having done so.
  I have reviewed much of the Ryan economic plan. While imperfect, it is largely based upon sound principle and a clearly honest attempt at saving the United States from its current and ongoing state of fiscal disaster. And, unlike Obama, the Ryan Plan intends to save the promise of Medicare and Social Security for those currently and about to receive those benefits, while providing much needed alternative choices for those younger Americans who are now facing the very real possibility of having paid into a system that will not longer exist for them when they reach the age of qualified benefits '' and that is a situation that has been created purposely by the Man Calling Himself Obama. These young people need to understand they are being forced to pay into a system that the Obama administration is clearly destroying.
  This false president has already stolen trillions from the American people. He has and continues, to engage in the kind of fiscal policy warfare that cannot be anything less than the planned and purposeful destruction of our free market economy and the enslavement of millions under the yoke of Big Government tyranny. Our mutual friend is quite correct when they indicate Barack Obama is neither Democrat nor Republican, but something far different, far more destructive, and most certainly, far more dangerous.
  So to this administration, and those who unwisely support its destructive endeavors, I now relate both a simple and clear message from one who ignored that danger for far too long:
  You will not win this war.
  -WSI
Texas gunman dies after police officer and civilian bystander are shot dead | World news
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 05:58
  Officer Brian Bachmann and a bystander were killed after Bachmann reportedly tried to serve an eviction notice. Photograph: Aaron M Sprecher/EPA
  A police officer and a bystander were killed and others injured Monday during a shoot-out with a gunman near a college campus in Texas.
  The officer received a fatal wound after reportedly trying to serve an eviction notice at a home close to A&M University. The gunfire prompted college officials to issue a "maroon alert" to any students still on campus during the summer break, warning them to stay indoors.
  A man at the address was also killed in the exchange of fire, while at least three others '' including two law enforcement officers '' were injured. The gunman was shot and later died, police officials said.
  Assistant police chief Scott McCollum named the dead officer as 41-year-old Brian Bachmann. He described as a constable in the local force, and was killed after confronting the gunman at an address in College Station, around 90 miles north-west of Houston.
  Local news reports suggest he was attempting to serve an eviction at the time of the shooting.
  McCollum said that backup arrived at the home, by which time "there was a constable down on the front yard". An exchange of fire took place, during which two other officers were also wounded by the gunman. The suspect was shot and later pronounced dead.
  The shooting led to officials at A&M University posting a message on its website shortly before 12.30pm local time, warning students and staff of an active shooter at an intersection close to campus. "Please avoid the area. Residents in the immediate area need to remain in their residence," it stated.
  At 12.44pm another message was posted confirming that the gunman had been taken into custody.
  Of the two other injured police officers, it is thought one was shot in the leg. Neither are thought to be in a life-threatening condition. It is not immediately clear if the two others shot in the incident were hit by the gunman's bullets or by police returning fire.
  A female bystander was taken to hospital and was undergoing surgery on Monday afternoon.
Watch President Valerie Jarrett In All Her Arrogant Glory'...
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 05:54
  Sooo Satan wears a dress???
  We will pay for the Unions pensions'...with a theft of our own pensions'...We will loose are medical care '....with the theft of our medical care'...as the gluttonous big government devours everything'.....The man who calls himself Obama stole 700 Billion from our seniors Medicare'...that guy is the only one throwing Grandma off the cliff'.....Unless the communist thug Obama and his evil army of communist thugs are stopped '....this country is destroyed'...AXELROD, Holder, Jarrett'...like Obama are LIARS'....EVIL LIARS
  http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/313785/return-mediscare-editors
  On CNN yesterday, Obama strategist David Axelrod claimed that ''most of the experts who have looked at this'' have said that Paul Ryan's plan to reform Medicare would put the program ''in a death spiral'' and ''would raise costs on seniors by thousands of dollars.'' A day earlier '-- as Representative Ryan was preparing to accept Mitt Romney's offer to join his ticket '-- Obama campaign manager Jim Messina had said the plan involved ''shifting thousands of dollars in health-care costs to seniors.''
  None of this is true. Any expert who looks at Ryan's plan '-- any intelligent and fair-minded person, really '-- can tell you the actual worst-case scenario for how much more it could make beneficiaries pay: $0.
  The claim Axelrod and Messina are making is based on a hostile interpretation of an earlier version of Ryan's proposal. Ryan has changed the proposal over the last year, however, and Romney has endorsed the new version. The Democratic criticism, applied to the new plan, is indisputably false.
  The Romney-Ryan proposal '-- which has the support of liberal Democratic senator Ron Wyden of Oregon '-- would let senior citizens choose a coverage plan provided either by the federal government or by a private company. The government would defray the cost of purchasing the plan selected. The providers would submit bids showing the premiums they would charge to cover the benefits Medicare has traditionally offered. The second-lowest bid would set the amount the government would provide for each beneficiary.
  Seniors who picked the second-cheapest provider would have their entire premium paid by the government, and seniors who picked the cheapest would get a check for the difference. Seniors who picked a more expensive plan would have to pay the difference out of pocket.We have reason to be confident that this arrangement would restrain the growth of costs. A study has just shown that applying the second-cheapest-bidder approach to even the much less robust form of competition in Medicare Advantage would have resulted in a 9 percent reduction in Medicare costs in one year alone. The savings from years of real competition could be enormous.
  If, however, competition does not restrain costs, the growth of government spending per beneficiary will be capped at a level a bit above the growth rate of the economy plus inflation. That is the exact level that the Obama administration envisions as well. The administration, however, hopes to reach the target by setting low prices for medical providers and otherwise micromanaging medical markets. There have been many past efforts along these lines, and they have always failed.
  Under a worst-case scenario, then, the Romney-Ryan plan costs senior citizens no more than current law. It offers the hope of doing considerably better: of reining in the costs of Medicare, the principal cause of long-term debt disaster, without sacrificing patient choice, the quality of health care, or medical innovation.
  Republicans should explain that they have found a promising strategy to stave off national bankruptcy while improving senior citizens' health care, and explain also the alternative of bureaucratic rationing Obama has in store for them. If Obama and his aides persist in claiming that the Romney-Ryan plan will increase costs for senior citizens or shift risks to them, Republicans and fair-minded observers should not hesitate to call these charges what they are: lies.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2187801/Were-watching-The-camera-recognise-Facebook-picture-time-walk-shop.html
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 05:38
  Could be used by shops to offer discounts to customersSystem already being trialled in Nashville shops and barsUsers must sign up to take part and 'teach' system what they look like By Mark Prigg
  PUBLISHED:10:46 EST, 13 August 2012| UPDATED:11:46 EST, 13 August 2012
  Shoppers could soon be automatically recognised when they walk into a shop using a controversial new camera.
  Called Facedeals, the camera uses photos uploaded to Facebook to recognise people as they walk in.
  Shoppers who agree to use the system, which has not been developed with Facebook, will be offered special deals.
  Scroll down for video
  Facedeals - a new camera that can recognise shoppers from their Facebook pictures as they enter a shop, and then offer them discounts
  A promotional video created to promote the concept shows drinkers entering a bar, and then being offerend cheap drinks as they are recognised.
  'Facebook check-ins are a powerful mechanism for businesses to deliver discounts to loyal customers, yet few businesses'--and fewer customers'--have realized it,' said Nashville-based advertising agency Redpepper.
  They are already trialling the scheme in firms close to their office.
  'A search for businesses with active deals in our area turned up a measly six offers.
  'The odds we'll ever be at one of those six spots are low (a strip club and photography studio among them), and the incentives for a check-in are not nearly enticing enough for us to take the time.
  'So we set out to evolve the check-in and sweeten the deal, making both irresistible.
  'We call it Facedeals.'
  The Facedeal camera can identify faces when people walk in by comparing Facebook pictures of people who have signed up to the service
  Facebook recently hit the headlines when it bought face.com, an Israeli firm that pioneered the use of face recognition technology online.
  The social networking giant uses the software to recognise people in uploaded pictures, allowing it to accurately spot friends.
  The software uses a complex algorithm to find the correct person from their Facebook pictures
  The Facebook camera requires people to have authorised the Facedeals app through their Facebook account.
  This verifies your most recent photo tags and maps the biometric data of your face.
  The system then learns what a user looks like as more pictures are approved.
  This data is then used to identify you in the real world.
  In a demonstration video, the firm behind the camera showed it being used to offer free drinks to customers if they signed up to the system.
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/do-you-know-what-a-pansexual-is-a-tx-state-rep-just-came-out-as-one/
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 05:36
  (Photo: Vote Mary Gonzalez)
  Democrat Mary Gonzalez was the first lesbian to openly serve in the Texas House of Representatives, and now she's becoming the first ''pansexual,'' too.
  ''During the campaign if I had identified as pansexual, I would have overwhelmed everyone'...Now that I'm out of the campaign, I'm completely much more able to define it,'' she explained.
  So what, exactly, is a ''pansexual''? And how is it different from ''bisexual''?
  The Huffington Post summarizes:
  Though many might describe Gonzalez's orientation as bisexual, pansexuals don't believe in a ''gender binary,'' and hence can be attracted to all gender identities.
  Gonzalez specified to the Voice that she doesn't believe in a gender binary because ''gender identity isn't the defining part of my attraction,'' and that she never fully embraced the term ''lesbian.'' Although she came out as bisexual at age 21, Gonzalez said she has also dated transgender and ''gender-queer'' people, in addition to women.
  [...]
  Gonzalez'... continued: ''As I started to recognize the gender spectrum and dated along the gender spectrum, I was searching for words that connected to that reality, for words that embraced the spectrum. At the time I didn't feel as if the term bisexual was encompassing of a gender spectrum that I was dating and attracted to.'' [Emphasis added]
  As Gonzalez defines it, apparently a ''pansexual'' is attracted to men, women, men who identify as women, women who identify as men, and everything in between, because they don't recognize ''gender binaries.''
  ''This is a big victory for Mary, for El Paso and for Texas,'' said Chuck Wolfe, president and CEO of the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund reportedly said. ''The people of El Paso will be represented by a talented and committed fighter who knows how to get things done in Austin. And LGBT Texans will be represented by an authentic voice in the Capitol, standing up and speaking out for fairness and freedom for all.''
  Denis Dison, a spokesperson for the Victory Fund, added that there are several bisexual U.S. Representatives and they should ''inform the media and others about the term they prefer.''
  ''That sort of education is a good thing,'' he said.
http://www.examiner.com/article/son-honors-father-killed-sikh-temple-shooting
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 05:30
  The son of one of the victims of the Sikh temple shooting in Wisconsin is an Emmy award-winning filmmaker, who has called for calm and better understanding of this nation's different cultures.
  "We're a melting pot of cultures," Amardeep Kaleka told Matt Lauer of the Today Show on NBC. "There's a real cultural misconception. We need to know the nuances because we live together."
  The 36-year-old Kaleka, who lives in California, won an Emmy for his documentaries in collaboration with Dr. Steven Greer. Their work, Serius:The Next Step in Disclosure, has been hailed as pioneering in the scientific investigation of UFOs, aliens, and extraterrestrial phenomena.
  With his brother, 34-year-old Milwaukee teacher, Pardeep, Kaleka organized a memorial service Friday, and attended by hundreds at the Oak Creek High School gymnasium in Oak Creek, Wisc.
  Asian-Americans across the country have organized vigils in solidarity with the Sikh community, who the Census consider Asian-Americans, and lent their voices against hate crimes.
  The Asian American Legal Defense Fund (AALDEF), a non-profit that advocates for Asian-American civil rights, called the shooting an "act of terrorism."
  "AALDEF will seek to work with other social justice organizations in making policy recommendations in hopes that such tragedies can be prevented in the future," the group said in a statement from its Washington, D.C. headquarters.
  In the Sikh Temple shooting, the Kalekas' father, Satwat Singh Kaleka, was one of seven people killed, including the gunman, during the shooting rampage in Oak Creek on Sunday.
  The alleged shooter, 40-year-old Army veteran Wade Michael Page used a 9 mm pistol in an ambush at the temple, according to the Associated Press.
  Killed were five men, one woman and three other people, including a police officer, were wounded. Page took his own life after exchanging gunfire with officers, including one he shot nine times, the AP reported.
  In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Amardeep Kaleka said his father had always believed strongly that America was going to be a place of new opportunities for him, his wife and his two boys when he arrived from India's Punjab region and settled in northern Milwaukee in the early 1980s.
  "He started working a third shift for an uncle and worked his butt off, 16, 18 hours a day. Then he went on to rent one, and then to own one, and at the end, he owned something like eight gas stations.'... All with hard work. No tricks. Hard work," he told the Times.
  He said his father chastised his sons when they complained about discrimination or ill treatment.
  "He put the largest American flag right on the front lawn, and if you go there, you'll see the flag there. It looks like it was stolen from an elementary school standing there, it's so big," he said.
  Kaleka said his father used much of his earnings from the gas stations to help build the new Sikh temple, which opened in July 2007, not only with the help of his savings, but the pledges of 24 other community members who put up their houses as collateral for the loan on the property. The elder Kaleka became the president of the temple.
  On the day of the attacks, Kaleka said, his father went to the temple much earlier than usual. Law enforcement agents told him a trail of blood led toward the kitchen from where the temple president confronted the gunman, suggesting Kaleka's knife may have wounded the attacker.
  "During the battle he took two wounds, but he was able to hold him off," the son said. "He was doing his best to keep that guy away and get them to security."
  At the memorial service, portions of which were shown live in network television, Kaleka thanked those who came.
  "As I look around, I don't just see Punjabis or Hindus or Christians or Jews ... I see everybody, we are all one here today," he said.
  The Huffington Post reported that hundreds of somber, tearful mourners, most wearing scarves on their heads in the Sikh tradition, greeted victims' family members. Six open caskets were arranged inside the gymnasium with individual flowers on the bodies and a bouquet on the floor.
  A large video screen flashed photos of those killed and injured.
  After they filed past the wooden caskets, mourners took their seats as Sikh singers sang hymns in Punjabi, an Indian dialect. One of the singers paused to translate some lyrics into English.
  Among those in attendance were U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who represented President Obama.
  Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who was also on hand, told the crowd, the Sikh community has shown others that the best way to respond to hate is with love.
  ''Today we mourn with you, we pray with you, we support you,'' Walker said, HuffPost reported.
  Follow Bert Eljera on Twitter @vegaspinoy60 and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BertEljera or subscribe to get email updates when a new article is published.
http://m.thestar.com/news/world/article/1241282--if-nasa-probe-finds-martians-please-let-me-know-says-obama
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 05:29
  Hailing NASA's ''mind-boggling'' Mars landing of the Curiosity rover, U.S. President Barack Obama urged the scientists operating the craft on Monday to phone home immediately if they find any extra-terrestrials.
  Curiosity lands on Mars
  ''If in fact you do make contact with Martians, please let me know right away,'' Obama told controllers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. ''I've got a lot of other things on my plate, but I suspect that that will go to the top of the list. Even if they're just microbes, it will be pretty exciting.''
  Obama spoke by phone from Air Force One as he flew to a campaign stop in the state of Iowa eight days after the car-sized rover landed on the Martian surface. The touchdown followed a complex series of manoeuvrs involving intricately timed rocket firings, a huge parachute and cables lowering the craft to the Mars surface.
  The two-year, $2.5 billion Curiosity mission includes looking for environmental conditions that might have given rise to life. However, as high-tech as it is, the nuclear-powered rover doesn't have the tools needed to detect living or fossil microorganisms. Instead, the rover will hunt for life's chemical building blocks.
  ''Curiosity stuck her landing and captured the attention and the imagination of millions of people not just across our country but people all around the world,'' Obama told the controllers, many of whom remained at their consoles. ''It's really mind-boggling what you've been able to accomplish.''
  About to begin a three-day bus tour in Iowa, Obama couldn't resist a political point '-- vowing to resist efforts to cut spending on basic science. ''I'm going to give you guys a personal commitment to protect these critical investments,'' he said.
  He also couldn't resist teasing Bobak Ferdowski, the flight director for JPL's Mars Science Laboratory, whose cool demeanour and Mohawk hairstyle made him an overnight Internet sensation after Curiosity's landing.
  ''I've in the past thought about getting a Mohawk myself. My team keeps discouraging me,'' Obama said to laughter from the JPL team. ''It does sound like NASA's come a long way from the white shirts, dark-rimmed glasses and pocket protectors.''
Candy Crowley to be the first female moderator of a presidential debate in 20 years - Daily News
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 05:21
  Edward M. Pio Roda/CNN; ABC News/APCandy Crowley, left, and Martha Raddatz.
  Three New Jersey girls won a major campaign victory Monday as the first woman in 20 years was named to host a presidential debate.
  The Montclair High School teens, who led a petition drive to lock in a woman moderator, were thrilled Monday when the Commission on Presidential Debates named CNN's Candy Crowley to run the Oct. 16 square-off at Hofstra University.
  ''More than ever, I really believe in the American value that anyone can get something done,'' said Emma Axelrod, one of the three students.
  ''We are just three 16-year-old girls and the fact that we actually got the Commission on Presidential Debates to do this this just makes me so proud to be an American.''
  Fellow student Elena Tsemberis said the decision is key because the nation will get to watch a woman ''being powerful.''
  ''A woman will be up there on the stage moderating a debate and the nation will be able to see her in this position - being powerful,'' Tsemberis said. ''That's what we wanted.''
  Crowley, CNN's chief political correspondent and host of its Sunday morning program "State of the Union," will moderate the second of the three scheduled debates. It's set to be a town-hall style meeting, according to a press release from the commission.
  ''As someone who is in awe and grateful every day to be in a country where freedom of the press, free speech and free elections are a way of life, I am wowed, amazed and excited by the opportunity to moderate a 2012 presidential debate," Crowley said in a statement released through CNN.
  Jim Lehrer of PBS' "Newshour" will moderate the first debate on Oct. 3 in Denver, which will focus on domestic policy. CBS News' Bob Schieffer will host the final debate between President Obama and GOP contender Mitt Romney on Oct. 22 in Boca Raton, Fla., which will focus on foreign policy.
  Additionally, Martha Raddatz of ABC News will moderate a vice presidential debate on Oct. 11 in Kentucky.
  ''These journalists bring extensive experience to the job of moderating, and understand the importance of using the expanded time periods to maximum benefit,'' said Frank Fahrenkopf Jr. and Michael McCurry, co-chairmen of the non-partisan Commission on Presidential Debates.
  ''We are grateful for their willingness to moderate, and confident that the public will learn more about the candidates and the issues as a result.''
  The commission did not immediately respond to requests for further information. But an official downplayed the teens' role in the selection of moderators, noting the process has been in the works for nearly two years.
  Axelrod, Tsemberis and classmate Sammi Siegel launched their petition drive on Change.org in May after learning about the lack of female moderators in their civics class. They eventually collected more than 180,000 signatures.
  They also attracted powerful allies, including the National Organization for Women, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.
  ''Sen. Gillibrand couldn't be more proud of these three young women for engaging in the political process and making their voices heard,'' said Gillibrand spokeswoman Bethany Lesser.
  ''Women's voices will always improve the debate and this is another example of the importance of women engaging in the issues they are passionate about,'' Lesser said.
  Axelrod and Tsemberis said they learned about the commission's announcement after a morning practice with their cross country track team.
  ''It was a great way to end a strenuous day of practice,'' Axelrod said.
  With Kristen A. Lee
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2012/08/14/us/3-including-gunman-are-killed-in-shooting-near-texas-am.xml
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 02:29
  COLLEGE STATION, Tex. - A gunman opened fire on police officers near the Texas A&M University campus shortly after noon on Monday, killing at least two people, including a local constable, and wounding four others, the police said. The gunman, who was shot by officers, died after he was taken into custody.
  The police identified the constable as Brian Bachmann and said he was shot after approaching the gunman's house on Fidelity Street about two blocks from campus. A 43-year-old man, Chris Northcliff, who was outside at the time, was also killed.
  The gunman, who was identified as Thomas Caffall, 35, opened fire with what a witness said was an assault rifle and was then shot by the police and taken into custody. An unidentified 55-year-old woman was wounded and was in serious condition after surgery. Three College Station police officers were also wounded: Officer Justin Oehlke was shot in the calf and was in stable condition, and Officers Brad Smith and Phil Dorsett were treated at a hospital and released.
  The police said that Mr. Bachmann, 41, had gone to the house to serve an eviction notice. It was unclear whether Mr. Caffall took aim at the victims or whether they were killed in the exchange of fire with officers.
  Rigo Cisneros, 40, an Army medic who served a tour in Afghanistan, saw the shooting from his home across the street.
  "After the fourth or fifth shot, I stuck my head out the door and could hear actual gunfire," he said by telephone. "I took cover and observed that there was an officer down."
  In a video taken by Mr. Cisneros and provided to The New York Times, police officers with weapons drawn are seen moving in on a white one-story home. "Do not move, do not move!" an officer shouts at one point. "If you move, you are dead!"
Write-in candidate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  Link to Article
  Tue, 14 Aug 2012 00:02
  A write-in candidate is a candidate in an election whose name does not appear on the ballot, but for whom voters may vote nonetheless by writing in the person's name. Some states and local jurisdictions allow a voter to affix a sticker with a write-in candidate's name on it to the ballot in lieu of actually writing in the candidate's name. Write-in candidacies are sometimes a result of a candidate being legally or procedurally ineligible to run under his or her own name or party. In some cases, write-in campaigns have been organized to support a candidate who is not personally involved in running; this may be a form of draft campaign.
  Write-in candidates rarely win, and votes are often cast for ineligible people or fictional characters. Some jurisdictions require write-in candidates be registered as official candidates before the election.[1] This is standard in elections with a large pool of potential candidates, as there may be multiple candidates with the same name that could be written in.
  Many states and municipalities allow for write-in votes in a partisan primary where no candidate is listed on the ballot to have the same functional effect as nominating petitions: for example, if there are no Reform Party members on the ballot for state general assembly and a candidate receives more than 200 write-in votes when the primary election is held (or the other number of signatures that were required for ballot access), the candidate will be placed on the ballot on that ballot line for the general election. In most places, this provision is in place for non-partisan elections as well.
  [edit]United StatesTypically, write-in candidates have a very small chance of winning, but there have been some notable write-in candidates in the past.
  [edit]Presidential primariesIn 1928, Herbert Hoover won the Republican Massachusetts presidential primary on write-ins, polling 100,279.In 1944, Thomas Dewey won the Republican Pennsylvania presidential primary with 146,706 write-ins. He also won the Oregon Republican presidential primary with 50,001 write-ins.In 1948, Harold Stassen won the Republican Pennsylvania presidential primary with 81,242 write-ins.In 1952, Robert Taft won the Republican Nebraska presidential primary with 79,357 write-ins.Also in 1952, Estes Kefauver won the Democratic Pennsylvania presidential primary with 93,160 write-ins.Also in 1952, Dwight Eisenhower won the Republican Massachusetts presidential primary with 254,898 write-ins.In 1956, Dwight Eisenhower won the Republican Massachusetts presidential primary with 51,951 write-ins.In 1960, Richard Nixon won the Republican Massachusetts presidential primary with 53,164 write-ins.Also in 1960, John F. Kennedy won the Democratic Pennsylvania presidential primary with 183,073 write-ins, and he won the Democratic Massachusetts presidential primary with 91,607 write-ins.In 1968 in the Democratic presidential primary in New Hampshire, incumbent President Lyndon Johnson did not file, but received write-ins totaling 50% of all Democratic votes cast. Senator Eugene McCarthy, who campaigned actively against Johnson's Vietnam war policies, was on the ballot. He received an impressive 41% of the vote and gained more delegates than the President. Johnson was so stunned that he did not run for reelection.[2][edit]SenateRepublican William Knowland was elected in 1946 to the U.S. Senate from California, for a two-month term. The special election for the two-month term featured a November ballot with no names printed on it, and all candidates in that special election were write-in candidates.[3]Democrat Strom Thurmond was elected in 1954 to the United States Senate in South Carolina as a write-in candidate, after state Democratic leaders had blocked him from receiving the party's nomination.[3]In 2010 incumbent Alaska SenatorLisa Murkowski lost the Republican primary to Joe Miller.[4] Following her defeat she ran in the general election as a write in candidate. Murkowski had filed, and won, a lawsuit requiring election officials to have the list of names of write in candidates distributed at the polls [5] and subsequently won the election with a wide enough margin over both Miller, and Democratic Party candidate Scott T. McAdams, to make moot the write-in ballots that had been challenged by Miller.[6][edit]House of RepresentativesIn 1918, Peter F. Tague was elected to the U.S. House as a write-in independent Democrat, defeating the Democratic nominee, John F. Fitzgerald.In 1930 Republican Charles F. Curry, Jr. was elected to the House as a write-in from Sacramento, California. His father, CongressmanCharles F. Curry Sr., was to appear on the ballot, but due to his untimely death his name was removed and no candidate's name appeared on the ballot.Democrat Dale Alford was elected as a write-in candidate to the United States House of Representatives in Arkansas in 1958. As member of the Little Rock school board, Alford launched his write-in campaign a week before the election because the incumbent, Brooks Hays, was involved in the incident in which president Eisenhower sent federal troops to enforce racial integration at Little Rock Central High School. Racial integration was unpopular at the time, and Alford won by approximately 1,200 votes, a 2% margin.[7]Republican Joe Skeen was elected as a write-in candidate to Congress in New Mexico in November 1980 after the incumbent Democrat, Harold Runnels, died in August of that year. No Republican filed to run against Runnels before the close of filing, and after the death, the New Mexico Secretary of State ruled that the Democrats could have a special primary to pick a replacement candidate, but the Republicans could not have a special election, since they had nobody to replace. Runnels' widow lost the special primary, and launched her own write-in candidacy, which split the Democratic vote and allowed Skeen to win with a 38% plurality.[7]Ron Packard of California finished in second place in the 18 candidate Republican primary to replace the retiring Clair Burgener. Packard lost the primary by 92 votes in 1982, and then mounted a write-in campaign as an independent. He won the election with a 37% plurality against both a Republican and a Democratic candidate. Following the elections, he re-aligned himself as a Republican.[7]Democrat Charlie Wilson was the endorsed candidate of the Democratic Party for Ohio's 6th congressional district in Ohio to replace Ted Strickland in 2006. Strickland was running for Governor and had to give up his congressional seat. Wilson, though, did not qualify for the ballot because only 46 of the 96 signatures on his candidacy petition were deemed valid, while 50 valid signatures were required for ballot placement. The Democratic Party continued to support Wilson, and an expensive primary campaign ensued - over $1 million was spent by both parties. Wilson overwhelmingly won the Democratic primary as a write-in candidate on May 2, 2006 against two Democratic candidates whose names were on the ballot, with Wilson collecting 44,367 votes, 67% of the Democratic votes cast.[8] Wilson faced Republican Chuck Blasdel in the general election on November 7, 2006, and won, receiving 61% of the votes.Democrat Dave Loebsack entered the 2006 Democratic primary in Iowa's second congressional district as a write-in candidate after failing to get the required number of signatures. He won the primary and in the general election he defeated 15 term incumbent Jim Leach by a 51% to 49% margin.Jerry McNerney ran as a write-in candidate in the March 2004 Democratic Primary in California's 11th congressional district. He received 1,667 votes (3% of the votes cast), and, having no opposition (no candidates were listed on the Democratic primary ballot), won the primary.[9] Although he lost the November 2004 general election to Republican Richard Pombo, McNerney ran again in 2006 (as a candidate listed on the ballot) and won the Democratic Primary in June, and then the rematch against Pombo in November.Shelley Sekula-Gibbs failed as a write-in candidate in the November 7, 2006 election to represent the 22nd Texas congressional district in the 110th Congress (for the full term commencing January 3, 2007). The seat had been vacant since June 9, 2006, due to the resignation of the then representative Tom DeLay. Therefore, on the same ballot, there were two races: one for the 110th Congress, as well as a race for the unexpired portion of the term during the 109th Congress (until January 3, 2007). Sekula-Gibbs won the race for the unexpired portion of the term during the 109th Congress as a candidate listed on the ballot. She could not be listed on the ballot for the full term because Texas law did not allow a replacement candidate to be listed on the ballot after the winner of the primary (Tom DeLay) has resigned.Peter Welch, a Democrat representing Vermont's sole congressional district, became both the Democratic and Republican nominee for the House when he ran for re-election in 2008. Because the Republicans did not field any candidate on the primary ballot, Welch won enough write-in votes to win the Republican nomination.[10][edit]State legislaturesCharlotte Burks won as a Democratic write-in candidate for the Tennessee State Senate seat left vacant when the incumbent, her husband Tommy, was assassinated by his opponent, Byron Looper, two weeks before the elections of November 2, 1998. The assassin was the only name on the ballot, so Charlotte ran as a write in candidate.Carl Hawkinson of Galesburg, Illinois won the Republican primary for State Senator from Illinois's 47th District in 1986 as a write-in candidate. He went on to be elected in the general election and served until 2003. Hawkinson defeated another write-in, David Leitch, in the primary. Incumbent State Senator Prescott Bloom died in a home fire after the filing date for the primary had passed.Several members of the Alaska House of Representatives were elected as write-in candidates during the 1960s and 1970s, particularly from rural districts in the northern and western portions of the state. Factors in play at the time include the newness of Alaska as a state and the previous absence of electoral politics in many of the rural communities, creating an environment which made it hard to attract candidates to file for office during the official filing period. Most of the areas in question were largely populated by Alaska natives, who held little political power in Alaska at the time. This only began to change following the formation of the Alaska Federation of Natives and the passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. Known examples of successful write-in candidates include Kenneth A. Garrison and FatherSegundo Llorente (1960), Frank R. Ferguson (1972), James H. "Jimmy" Huntington (1974) and Nels A. Anderson, Jr. (1976). The incumbent in Llorente's election, Axel C. Johnson, ran for re-election as a write-in candidate after failing to formally file his candidacy paperwork. Johnson and Llorente, as write-in candidates, both outpolled the one candidate who did appear on the ballot. Ferguson and Anderson were both incumbents who launched their write-in campaigns after being defeated in the primary election. Anderson's main opponent, Joseph McGill, had himself won election to the House in 1970 against a write-in candidate by only 5 votes.After failing to receive the Republican Party's 1990 Wilson Pakula nomination, incumbent and registered Conservative New York State Senator Serphin Maltese won the party's nomination as a write-in candidate.[11][edit]Local governmentJulia Allen of Readington, New Jersey won a write-in campaign in the November 2005 elections for the Township Committee,[12] after a candidate accused of corruption had won the primary.[13]Tom Ammiano, President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, entered the race for Mayor of San Francisco, California as a write-in candidate two weeks before the 1999 general election. He received 25% of the vote, coming in second place and forcing incumbent Mayor Willie Brown into a runoff election, which Brown won by margin of 59% to 40%. In 2001, the campaign was immortalized in the award-winning documentary filmSee How They Run.John R. Brinkley ran as a write-in candidate for governor of Kansas in 1930. He was motivated at least in part by the state's revocation of his medical license and attempts to shut down his clinic, where he performed alternative medical procedures including transplantation of goat glands into humans. He won 29.5% of the vote in a three-way race. Brinkley's medical and political career are documented in Pope Brock's book Charlatan.Donna Frye ran as a write-in candidate for Mayor of San Diego, California in 2004. A controversy erupted when several thousand votes for her were not counted because the voters had failed to fill in the bubble next to the write-in line. Had those votes been counted, she would have won the election.[citation needed]Michael Jarjura was re-elected Mayor of Waterbury, Connecticut in 2005 as a write-in candidate after losing the Democratic party primary to Karen Mulcahy, who used to serve as Waterbury's tax collector before Jarjura fired her in 2004 "for what he claimed was her rude and abusive conduct toward citizens".[14] After spending $100,000 on a general elections write-in campaign,[15] Jarjura received 7,907 votes, enough for a plurality of 39%.[16]James Maher won the mayorship of Baxter Estates, New York on March 15, 2005 as a write-in candidate with 29 votes. Being the only one on the ballot, the incumbent mayor, James Neville, did not campaign, as he did not realize that there was a write-in campaign going on. Neville received only 13 votes.[17]Beverly O'Neil won a third term as Mayor of Long Beach, California as a write-in candidate in 2002. The Long Beach City City Charter has a term limit amendment that says a candidate cannot be on the ballot after two full terms, but does not prevent the person from running as a write-in candidate.[18] She finished first in a seven-candidate primary, but did not receive more than 50% of the vote, forcing a runoff contest. In the runoff, still restricted from the ballot, she got roughly 47% of the vote in a three-way election that included a second write-in candidate.[19]Michael Sessions, an 18-year-old high school senior, won as a write-in candidate for Mayor of Hillsdale, Michigan in 2005. He was too young to qualify for the ballot.Anthony A. Williams, then incumbent Mayor of Washington, D.C. was forced to run as a write-in candidate in the 2002 Democratic primary, because he had too many invalid signatures for his petition. He won the Democratic primary, and went on to win re-election.In the November 8, 2011, election for Commonwealth's Attorney of Richmond County, Virginia, 16-year incumbent Wayne Emery has been certified the winner as a write-in candidate over challenger James Monroe by a margin of 53 votes (2.4%) out of 2,230 votes cast, after his petitions were challenged and his name was removed from the ballot.[20]In the 1997 election for Mayor of Talkeetna, Alaska, Stubbs the Cat won over the two human candidates. He has been re-elected every mayoral election since, and as of July 18, 2012, celebrates 15 years in office. [21][edit]OthersAaron Schock was elected to the District 150 School Board in Peoria, Illinois in 2001 by a write-in vote, after his petitions were challenged and his name was removed from the ballot. He defeated the incumbent by over 2,000 votes, approximately 6,400 to 4,300 votes.[22] He went on to serve in the Illinois House of Representatives, and was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 2008.John Adams became an Orange County, California judge in November 2002 after running along with 10 other write-in candidates in the primaries on March 5, 2002 against incumbent Judge Ronald Kline.[23] After the filing deadline in which no candidate filed to run against Kline, a computer hacker discovered that Judge Kline had child pornography on his home computer. Kline got less than 50% of the vote in the primaries, requiring a runoff between him and write-in candidate John Adams (who actually received more votes than Kline).[24] After some legal maneuvers, Kline's name was removed from the general elections, leaving the general election a runoff between Adams and Gay Sandoval, who was the second highest write-in vote getter.[25] Charges against Kline were eventually thrown out.[26]On September 15, 2009, four write-in candidates in the Independence Party primaries for various offices in Putnam County, New York defeated their on-ballot opponents.[27]In a May 2011 school board election for the Bentley School Board in Michigan, Lisa Osborn ran as a write-in candidate and needed just one vote to win a seat. However, she did not receive any votes, even from herself. She explained herself by saying that she was at her son's baseball game and did not have time to go to the polls.[28][edit]Other countriesWith a few exceptions, the practice of recognizing write-in candidates is typically viewed internationally as an American tradition.[29][30]
  One of the most famous examples was the 1826 County Clare By-Elections in Ireland. Daniel O'Connell had won by way of a write-in due to the illegality of an Irish Catholic running as a political candidate at that time.[citation needed]Several cases of elected write-in candidates took place in the 2006 Swedish municipal elections. Due to Swedish electoral law, free ballots are provided for any party that received more than 1 percent of the votes in one of the two latest parliamentary elections, irrespective of whether the party actually stood any candidates in the municipality. In some municipalities, voters cast a sufficient number of ballots for the nationalist Sweden Democrats to allow them to get a seat on the municipal council. (Municipal councils in Sweden are relatively large, with even the smallest municipalities, numbering just a few thousand inhabitants, required to have a council of at least 31 members.) In case the party did not field any eligible candidates, people whose names were written in were elected, though many subsequently resigned their seats. In places where no candidates were written in, the seats were left empty.[31]A bizarre incident involving a fictitious write-in candidacy occurred in the small town of Picoaz, Ecuador in 1967. A company ran a series of campaign-themed advertisements for a foot powder called Pulvapies. Some of the slogans used included "Vote for any candidate, but if you want well-being and hygiene, vote for Pulvapies", and "For Mayor: Honorable Pulvapies." The foot powder Pulvapies ended up receiving the most votes in the election.[32][33][34]In Brazil, until the introduction of electronic voting in 1994, the ballot had no names written for legislative candidates, so many voters would protest by voting on fictional characters or religious figures. However, those votes were not considered because Brazilian law stipulates that a candidate must be affiliated to a political party to take office.[citation needed][edit]Pop cultureMad Magazine has satirically called to vote for Alfred E. Neuman as a write-in candidate for every U.S. presidential election from 1960 to 1980 with slogans like "You could do worse-and you already have" and "There are Bigger Idiots running for office!".In the 1980 U.S. Presidential election, rock star Joe Walsh ran a mock write-in campaign, promising to make his song "Life's Been Good" the new national anthem if he won, and running on a platform of "Free Gas for Everyone." Though Walsh (then aged 33) was not old enough to actually assume the office, he wanted to raise public awareness of the election. (In 1992, Walsh purportedly ran for vice-president, in his song "Vote For Me", a track on his album Songs for a Dying Planet, which was released that year.)[edit]References^See, for example, Section 1-4-1101, Colorado Revised Statutes (2008)^[1]^ abWashington Post, "Murkowski appears to make history in Alaska", Debbi Wilgoren, 3 November 2010 (accessed 3 November 2010)^Official election results for the 2010 primaries by the Alaska Department of Elections^Joling, Dan (October 28, 2010). "Lisa Murkowski Can Appear On List Of Write-In Candidates, State Supreme Court Rules". Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/28/lisa-murkowski-can-appear_n_775221.html. ^Bohrer, Becky (November 18, 2010). "Murkowski becomes 1st write-in senator since '54". Associated Press. Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/news/politics/articles/2010/11/18/murkowski_becomes_1st_write_in_senator_since_54/. ^ abcKen Rudin (2006-08-23). "What Happens If Lieberman Wins". National Public Radio. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5698889. Retrieved 2006-09-03. ^Johnson, Alan (2006-05-03). "Wilson wins primary as write-in candidate". The Columbus Dispatch. http://www.columbusdispatch.com/news-story.php?story=183395. Retrieved 2006-06-30. ^"Election Results for the March 2004 Primary" (PDF). California Secretary of State. http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/sov/2004_primary/congress.pdf. ^"Write-ins give Welch GOP nomination". The Barre Montpelier Times Agnus. September 18, 2008. http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080918/NEWS02/809180364. ^[2]^"2005 General Election results for Hunterdon County". http://www.co.hunterdon.nj.us/election/2005general/readington.htm#committee. ^Reprint from The Huntington County News^"Waterbury mayor to wage write-in campaign". http://www.wtnh.com/Global/story.asp?S=3947552&nav=3YeX. ^The Waterbury Observer - The Write Stuff^News Channel 8 / 2005 Vote Election Results^Kazanjian O'Brien, Dolores (2005-04-01). "Baxter Estates Mayor James Neville "Stunned" by Write-in Defeat". Port Washington News. http://www.antonnews.com/portwashingtonnews/2005/04/01/news/elections.html. Retrieved 2006-06-30. ^[3]^[4]^http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2011/nov/10/tdmet03-richmond-county-write-in-campaign-workedma-ar-1448412^http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/07/17/cat-marks-15-years-as-mayor-of-alaska-town/^School Board Write-in Campaign^"'Fight' seen in California's governor's race". CNN. 2002-03-06. http://archives.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/03/06/california.primary/index.html. Retrieved 2006-03-30. ^Orange County Registrar of Voters Election Results for March 5, 2002^Orange County Registrar of Voters Election Results for November 5, 2002^Srisavasdi, Rachanee (2003-10-30). "Case against ex-judge Kline gutted". Irvine World News. http://www.irvineworldnews.com/Astories/oct30/kline.htm. Retrieved 2006-06-30. ^Dougherty, Michael Brendan (October 1, 2009). "A Reversal of Fortune for Interim Independence Party". The Putnam County Courier. http://www.putnamcountycourier.com/news/2009-10-01/Front_Page/A_Reversal_of_Fortune_for_Interim_Independence_Par.html. Retrieved November 27, 2009. ^Acosta, Roberto. "School board candidate loses election because she didn't vote for herself; calls not voting a 'dumb move'". Mlive.com. http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2011/05/bentley_school_board_candidate.html. Retrieved 2 November 2011. ^ABC News: Donald Duck's a Big Bird in Politics^"Livingstone threatens write-in campaign". BBC News. November 11, 1998. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/212163.stm. ^Sk¤mtet gjorde Jonas till sd-politiker - GT.se - Expressen.se - Sveriges b¤sta nyhetssajt!^"Foot Powder Produces Headaches in Ecuador." The New York Times. July 18, 1967. Page 39. Retrieved on December 19, 2009.^Snopes report on the election result^"Foot Powder Wins Election Hands Down." The Washington Post. 18 July 1967 (p. A13).
Let the Domestic Drone Age Begin
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  Mon, 13 Aug 2012 17:56
  Hold on to your tin hats and pocket Constitutions because a little remarked-upon court decision may bring the domestic drone age one flight closer to your doorstep.
  Draganflyer-x6 surveillance drone
  Only one American has been busted so far with the aid of a predator surveillance drone since domestic law enforcement began using the weapons of war-turned-spy machines in the last few years. Thanks to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) documents obtained by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) this spring, we know there are 60 entities (including the military, various federal agencies, local police and universities) in 20 states permitted to use drones. But the case of Rodney Brossart of Lakota, North Dakota, represents the first time a drone has been unleashed by police (in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security) to help sniff a suspect out of his own property. Once police knew where he was and that he wasn't armed, a SWAT team swooped in and grabbed Brossart and his family members. This final action and his subsequent arrest occurred after a heated cattle dispute led to ''sovereignist'' Brossart & family allegedly chasing police off their 3,000 acre farm with guns and engaging in a 16-hour standoff. Read more about Rodney Brossart here and here.
  Sounds like the Old West range war meets Minority Report (remember, those creepy robotic spider spies?), but this weekend it became a much bigger and very real story, as Brossart's motion for dismissal based on what he believed to be the unconstitutional use of drone surveillance by the government was rejected by the court and the charges against him upheld. According to U.S News & World Report's Jason Koebler, who has been following Brossart's travails:
  Brossart's lawyer argued that law enforcement's ''warrantless use of [an] unmanned military-like surveillance aircraft'' and ''outrageous governmental conduct'' warranted dismissal of the case, according to court documents obtained by U.S. News. District Judge Joel Medd wrote that ''there was no improper use of an unmanned aerial vehicle'' and that the drone ''appears to have had no bearing on these charges being contested here,'' according to the documents.
  Rodney Brossart
  Experts suggested that Brossart's case was thin from the outset as the Supreme Court had already upheld the use of helicopter surveillance of private property in the 1986 case California v. Ciraolo. In that case, the highest court said the police did not violate the Fourth Amendment rights of Dante Carlo Ciraolo, who was growing marijuana in his backyard. The police helicopter's warrantless ''hover and stare'' at his uncovered cultivation from 1,000 feet was well outside Ciraolo's reasonable expectation of privacy. SCOTUS then reaffirmed this precedent three years later when it sided with the government in upholding a conviction against a man who was busted for growing pot in his 5-acre backyard. In Florida v. Riley, the court said it was perfectly constitutional for police to gather evidence, without warrant, by hovering 400 feet in a helicopter above the man's property, peeking into two broken windows of his private greenhouse where the illegal weed was growing.
  This does not bode well for folks hoping to draw a line in the sand against the dragonfly stealthiness of drone surveillance in America. And that's the key. Unlike the damnable noise made by your standard helicopter, drones, which can get lower, are quiet and often undetectable. Brossart said he didn't even know about the drone on his property until the case was presented to him in court. Drones are intrusive, and we know from experience that if the government, not to mention private corporations once they get the green light, will presume sweeping authority until the courts tell them to knock it off.
  Right now, those 60 aforementioned entities have taken out some 750 authorizations from the FAA to use drone technology on U.S soil since 2006. No one knows how many of these mechanical insects are being deployed (here is a map of what we do know). But expect to see much more of their use in law enforcement surveillance operations '-- now that they've been given the blessing to use them, sans warrant.
Autumn movie preview: how this year's Oscar contenders warn of America's fall | Film
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  Mon, 13 Aug 2012 17:56
  The Great Gatsby ends at night, on the beach. The hero has been shot and the party is over. So narrator Nick Carraway sits down on the sand and mourns not only his friend but America as a whole '' a New World grown somehow old and corroded. He thinks about the green light at the end of Daisy's dock and about how Gatsby ran at it, stumbled and lost, not realising that his dream was already behind him. "Gatsby believed in that green light," he writes. "The orgiastic future that year-by-year recedes before us."
  I'm now wondering whether the film version of The Great Gatsby may not be a little like Daisy's green light itself, winking in the distance, barely out of reach. Until this week we had Baz Luhrmann's 3D spectacular filed as the main event in Hollywood's autumn collection; a hedonistic revel that turns into a wake. It now transpires that the release date has been delayed, batted forward into summer 2013. In a way that's oddly fitting. The ultimate film about American loss is the one that recedes forever before us.
  The ghost of Gatsby sends back a chill, setting the tone for the cold months ahead. If last year's Oscar frontrunners (The Artist, Hugo, even The Help) rode a wave of warm nostalgia ("borne back ceaselessly into the past", as Fitzgerald would have it), many of the current early contenders seem cut from an altogether different cloth. They are stark, self-critical, thrumming with unease. This year has already thrown up a brace of surprisingly dystopian blockbusters in The Hunger Games (in which impoverished underlings fight for their lives on primetime TV) and The Dark Knight Rises (in which the villain foments a people's uprising in Gotham City). Now these themes of loss, ruin and class envy look set to roll right through the autumn season. In America they call it the fall.
  If you're looking for the emblematic documentary of 2012, for instance, check out The Queen of Versailles (released on 7 September ), a twisted cousin to Gatsby in the way it charts the rise and fall of the super-rich. Lauren Greenfield's Sundance prize-winner spins the tale of David Siegel, a Florida time-share mogul who brazenly boasts about pulling the strings that helped George Bush win the 2000 presidential election. Siegel, alongside his trophy wife Jacqueline, dreams of building America's biggest house. He winds up shredded by the financial crash and shopping at K-Mart, his golden future already behind him. "I guess you could call this a riches-to-rags story," he says and for once he's right.
  Alternatively, there's Killing Them Softly (21 September) '' a sinewy Brad Pitt hit-man thriller, described by the Hollywood Reporter as "a metaphor for the ills of American capitalism". Andrew Dominick's film plays out against a backdrop of the 2008 presidential election, where the economy is in free-fall and pristine election billboards stand proud in vacant lots. "America's not a country, it's just a business," snaps Pitt's character at one stage. But in this case the business is failing and everyone '' even the criminal '' is feeling the pinch. Speaking in Cannes, where the film had its premiere, Pitt referred to it as "a story that says something about our time and who we are".
  Ben Mendelsohn in Killing Them SoftlyPitt's comment prompts obvious follow-up questions. Because if films such as Killing Them Softly and The Queen of Versailles are a portrait of America, then they are also a mirror '' reflecting contemporary anxieties back at their audience. And by and large, the picture's not pretty.
  Over at New York magazine, US critic Frank Rich identifies what he regards as mass hysteria in the land at large. "If there's one battle cry that unites our divided populace, it's that the country has gone to hell and that almost any other modern era, with the possible exception of the Great Depression, is superior in civic grace, selfless patriotism, and can-do capitalistic spunk to our present nadir," he writes. "For nearly four years now '' since the crash of 08 and the accompanying ascent of Barack Obama '' America has been in full-on decline panic."
  Central to this panic is the suspicion that the US is tanking and that its golden moment may have passed. Certainly this is a concern within the domestic film industry. North American box office shrunk by 4% in 2011, while Chinese attendance swelled by 40%, forcing the major studios to rely more and more on the overseas market. Outside the Hollywood bubble the issue is still more pressing. The economy continues to stutter, allowing China to creep inexorably to the front of the stage. Meanwhile public panic finds its voice in Republican accusations (particularly clamorous in this, another election year) that Obama is somehow a defeatist, unpatriotic commander- in-chief, gently presiding over his nation's decline. All of which adds to the abiding tremor of angst, woe and disquiet '' a mood that Rich (subverting an old Reagan campaign slogan) refers to as "mourning in America".
  Many of the films scheduled for this autumn are still under wraps, so it remains to be seen how far the rot extends. It seems unlikely, for instance, that the likes of Frankenweenie, the final Twilight or the first Hobbit movie will contain damning critiques of modern American society '' though obviously time will tell. In the meantime I have high hopes for Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln, directed by Steven Spielberg and The Master (9 November), which plays at Venice next month. It's the tale of Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a would-be demagogue reputedly based on L Ron Hubbard, who concocts a cult called "the Cause" and promises to liberate the faithful from the pains of the past.
  Philip Seymour Hoffman in The MasterJudged on face value, The Master looks like a natural extension of director Paul Thomas Anderson's previous work. The Oscar-winning There Will Be Blood concerned itself with a raw-boned, ascendant US, a nation building itself up on the twin pillars of oil and church. This one, by contrast, comes mired in sophistry and doubt. It suggests that a new religion can be run-up out of nothing - an ersatz belief-system cast out onto the continent. And yet Dodd is surely more about snake-oil than salvation. In the words of one non-believer: "He's making all this up as he goes along."
  Slide south far enough and long enough and you eventually fetch up in the delta wetlands of Louisiana, a landscape still reeling from the aftermath of hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill. This is the backdrop for Beasts of the Southern Wild (19 October), possibly the most warmly received film on the 2012 festival circuit. Directed by Benh Zeitlin and produced by Court 13, a "grassroots film-making army" from New Orleans, this is a vibrant, unclassifiable mongrel of a movie '' a post-apocalyptic fantasy that feels naggingly relevant.
  Beasts of the Southern WildBeasts of the Southern Wild plays out in a fantastical bayou called "the Bathtub", where raggle-taggle outcasts forage through garbage and eat cat food from the tin. They are the scattered and shattered, adrift in a land that has been flooded, polluted and left to die. Naturally the prognosis is bleak. Early reviews have rushed to position Beasts as a film from the frontline, perched on the edge of 21st-century America and beckoning the rest of us forward.
  All of which sounds fair enough, although it arguably paints a partial picture '' conveniently ignoring the often buoyant tone of Zeitlin's picture: the exuberance and festivities and the familial bonds that sustain its characters in times of trouble. These qualities are borne out by the director's own view of Beasts of the Southern Wild. For him, "the film is about how to survive and combat the loss of a place, the loss of a culture and don't let those things crush you". And amid all the gloom '' the half-built mansions and made-up religions, the vacant lots and cat-food suppers '' it's hard not to draw comfort from that. Even in the ruins, it seems, there is still a place for fun, fireworks and the hint of a happy ending.
  Subtext alert! Hidden messages in the autumn's big moviesFrankenweenie (17 October)
  Tim Burton's monochrome cartoon spins the story of little Sparky, a nice dog who grows old, dies and is later re-animated '' like Frankenstein's monster '' by an intrepid boy scientist. Quite clearly the dog is the US economy, jump-started from its deathbed by quantitative easing. At one stage (rather ominously) the dog's tail falls off.
  (19 October)
  The cuddly creatures (lion, zebra, giraffe et al) pine for America and decide to travel back from Africa. Big mistake: their old zoo is now a derelict shell and the beasts duly find themselves targeted and tranquilised. We're torn between viewing this one as DreamWorks' version of Animal Farm or a pitch-black twist on The Wizard of Oz. Ho, ho, ho, there's no place like home.
  (26 October)
  Daniel Craig in SkyfallJames Bond is missing, believed dead, and the identities of every MI6 operative have just been spread, like wildfire, clean across the internet. It's a 007 adventure for the WikiLeaks era, with nothing secret, nothing sacred and a bunch of Cold War skeletons rattling merrily in the closet. The special relationship is under strain.
  The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn '' Part 2 (16 November)
  Edward and Bella are now a happily married vampire couple '' cold-blooded and elegant, striding purposely across America as though they owned the whole damned place. Indisputably they are meant to represent Barack and Michelle Obama, undead regents of a nation on the slide.
  Rise of the Guardians (30 November)
  Meet Jack Frost, a happy, feckless, carefree kid who brings the winter wonderland wherever he goes. Now meet the Boogeyman, an evil interloper who wants to pitch the entire world into eternal darkness. For Frost, read Uncle Sam (or possible Santa Claus?). For the Boogeyman: the financial crash. Christmas, we're guessing, is about to be cancelled.
  The Hobbit: an Unexpected Journey(14 December)
  Martin Freeman in The HobbitBilbo Baggins is a little fellow from a western nation who journeys east, through great danger, on a mission to steal a dragon's treasure. Just how obvious can this be? The Shire is America and the dragon is China. Go plunder that treasure and bring it back west.
Google's new plan to fight piracy draws skepticism | Internet & Media
  Link to Article
  Mon, 13 Aug 2012 17:55
  Kent Walker, Google's general counsel, testified last year before Congress about the company's antipiracy efforts. The search company has been under pressure for years to do more piracy fighting.
  (Credit:Greg Sandoval/CNET)Some among those who advocate for Internet users see within Google's plan to downgrade accused pirate sites in the company's search results the potential for abuse. Google announced on the company's blog today that sites that generate too many take-down notices will find themselves pushed down in the search rankings. Takedown notices are the documents that owners of copyrighted material file in order to request the deletion of unauthorized copies of their work from Web sites.
  Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Web site owners must remove unauthorized files once they've received a legitimate takedown notice. Wendy Seltzer is dedicated to helping site operators from being wrongly accused of piracy. She created an organization called the Chilling Effects clearinghouse, a collaborative archive designed to protect lawful activity from legal threats.
  Seltzer said that the impacts of Google's plan could be felt far and wide. People who post material hoping for the largest audience must consider whether the site is one that might someday be rendered invisible in Google's search rankings.
  "It's a reminder, I think, that search is not just an objective view of what's out there on the Internet but a particularized sorting of that information," Seltzer said. "Google has chosen to include another signal in that sorting.... It's a concern when it changes the impact of the takedown notice."
  How is the takedown notice changing? It could now be used with greater effectiveness as a weapon, says Public Knowledge, a public interest group with an interest in copyright law.
  Wendy Seltzer, founder of the Chilling Effects. She says: 'Search is not just an objective view of what's out there on the Internet."
  (Credit:Wendyseltzer.org)"Sites may not know about, or have the ability to easily challenge, notices sent to Google," John Bergmayer, a senior staff attorney with Public Knowledge, said in a statement. "And Google has set up a system that may be abused by bad faith actors who want to suppress their rivals and competitors. Sites that host a lot of content, or are very popular, may receive a disproportionate number of notices (which are mere accusations of infringement) without being disproportionately infringing. And user-generated content sites could be harmed by this change, even though the DMCA was structured to protect them."
  Not everybody is unhappy.
  Some at the Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America, the respective trade groups for the major film studios and music labels, seem pleased.
  "We will be watching this development closely -- the devil is always in the details," the MPAA said in a statement. "[We] look forward to Google taking further steps to ensure that its services favor legitimate businesses and creators, not thieves."
  Seltzer had some advice for site operators who are wrongly accused. They have to file counter takedown notices if they're receiving improper takedown notices. Naturally, they can obtain the right documents from Chillingeffects.org.
Blink! U.S. Debt Just Grew by $11 Trillion
  Link to Article
  Mon, 13 Aug 2012 17:54
  By Laurence Kotlikoff and Scott Burns 2012-08-08T22:30:26Z
  Republicans and Democrats spent lastsummer battling how best to save $2.1 trillion over the nextdecade. They are spending this summer battling how best to notsave $2.1 trillion over the next decade.
  In the course of that year, the U.S. government's fiscalgap -- the true measure of the nation's indebtedness -- rose by$11 trillion.
  The fiscal gap is the present value difference betweenprojected future spending and revenue. It captures allgovernment liabilities, whether they are official obligations toservice Treasury bonds or unofficial commitments, such as payingfor food stamps or buying drones.
  Some question whether ''official'' and ''unofficial'' spendingcommitments can be added together. But calling particularobligations ''official'' doesn't make them economically moreimportant. Indeed, the government would sooner renege on Chineseholding U.S. Treasuries than on Americans collecting SocialSecurity, especially because the U.S. can print money andservice its bonds with watered-down dollars.
  For its part, economic theory sees through labels and viewsa country's official debt for what it is -- a linguisticconstruct devoid of real economic content. In contrast, thefiscal gap is theoretically well-defined and invariant to thechoice of labels. Each labeling choice changes the mix ofobligations between official and unofficial, but leaves thetotal unchanged.
  The U.S. fiscal gap, calculated (by us) using theCongressional Budget Office's realistic long-term budgetforecast -- the Alternative Fiscal Scenario -- is now $222trillion. Last year, it was $211 trillion. The $11 trilliondifference -- this year's true federal deficit -- is 10 timeslarger than the official deficit and roughly as large as theentire stock of official debt in public hands.
  This fantastic and dangerous growth in the fiscal gap isnot new. In 2003 and 2004, the economists Alan Auerbach andWilliam Gale extended the CBO's short-term forecast and measuredfiscal gaps of $60 trillion and $86 trillion, respectively. In2007, the first year the CBO produced the Alternative FiscalScenario, the gap, by our reckoning, stood at $175 trillion. By2009, when the CBO began reporting the AFS annually, the gap was$184 trillion. In 2010, it was $202 trillion, followed by $211trillion in 2011 and $222 trillion in 2012.
  Part of the fiscal gap's growth reflects changes in policy,such as the Bush and Obama tax cuts, the introduction ofMedicare Part D, and the expansion of defense spending. Partreflects ''natural'' growth of existing programs, including growthin Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement rates. And part reflectsthe demographic time bomb U.S. politicians are blithelyignoring.
  When fully retired, 78 million baby boomers will collect,on average, more than 85 percent of per-capita gross domesticproduct ($40,000 in today's dollars) in Social Security,Medicare and Medicaid benefits. Each passing year brings theseoutlays one year closer, which raises their present value.
  Governments, like households, can't indefinitely spendbeyond their means. They have to satisfy what economists calltheir ''intertemporal budget constraint.'' The fiscal gap simplymeasures the extent to which this constraint is violated andtells us what is needed to balance the government'sintertemporal budget.
  The answer for the U.S. isn't pretty. Closing the gapusing taxes requires an immediate and permanent 64 percentincrease in all federal taxes. Alternatively, the U.S. needs tocut, immediately and permanently, all federal purchases andtransfer payments, including Social Security and Medicarebenefits, by 40 percent. Or it can mix these terrible fiscalmedicines with honey, namely radical fiscal reforms that makethe economy much fairer and far stronger. What the governmentcan't do is pay its bills by spending more and taxing less.America's children, whose futures are being rapidly destroyed,are smart enough to tell us this.
  (Laurence Kotlikoff, an economist at Boston University, andScott Burns, a syndicated columnist, are co-authors of ''TheClash of Generations.'' The opinions expressed are their own.)
  To contact the writers of this article:Laurence Kotlikoff at kotlikoff@gmail.com.
  To contact the editor responsible for this article:Katy Roberts at kroberts29@bloomberg.net.
7 Crazy Things Pesticides Are Doing to Your Body
  Link to Article
  Mon, 13 Aug 2012 17:54
  Pesticides are designed to kill, although the mode of action they use to put the stranglehold on pests varies. Whether it's nerve gas''like neurological disruption, the unbalancing of key hormones, or the stunting of a plant's ability to absorb life-sustaining trace minerals from the soil, none of the chemical interventions seems all that appetizing, especially considering that chemical residues routinely wind up on and even inside of the food we eat everyday. Pesticides are also blamed for diminishing mineral levels in foods.
  Agrochemical supporters tend to fall back on a "the dose makes the poison" theory, meaning tiny exposures aren't really that harmful. Increasingly, though, independent scientists are debunking that belief, even proving that incredibly tiny doses could set a person up for health problems that might not crop up until decades down the line. Luckily, eating organic, less processed foods can cut back on your pesticide exposure.
  Here are 7 health problems associated with pesticide-based agrochemicals.
  DiabetesScientists have been noticing a link between pesticides and diabetes for years. The latest evidence comes out of the Endocrine Society's 94th Annual Meeting, where Robert Sargis, MD, PhD, released the results of a study that suggest tolyfluanid, a fungicide used on farm crops, creates insulin resistance in fat cells. A 2011 study published in Diabetes Care found that overweight people with higher levels of organochlorine pesticides in their bodies also faced a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
  Prevent it: To save money on organic fare raised without pesticides, cook with organic dried beans. In the home, avoid using chemical air fresheners and artificially scented products'--these things are also blamed for inducing type 2 diabetes.
  Read more: 11 Surprising Diabetes Triggers
  CancerMore than 260 studies link pesticides to various cancers, including lymphoma, leukemia, soft tissue sarcoma, and brain, breast, prostate, bone, bladder, thyroid, colon, liver, and lung cancers, among others.
  Prevent it: The President's Cancer Panel suggests eating organic and avoiding plastic to lower your risk of environmentally triggered cancers.
  Autism & Other Developmental DiseasesHow do you get autism? The world's leading autism researchers believe the condition develops from a mix of genes and the pollutants encountered in the mother's womb and early in life. Many insecticides effectively kill bugs by throwing off normal neurological functioning. That same thing appears to be happening in some children. A 2010 Harvard study found that children with organophosphate pesticide breakdown materials in their urine were far more likely to live with ADHD than kids without the trace pesticide residues.
  Prevent it: Switching to an organic diet rapidly eliminates pesticide residues in the body.
  ObesitySome agrochemical pesticides act as hormone disruptors, meaning they act like a fake version of a naturally occurring hormone in your body, they block important hormone communication pathways in the body, or they interfere with your body's ability to regulate the healthy release of hormones. More than 50 pesticides are classified as hormone disruptors, and some of them promote metabolic syndrome and obesity as they accumulate in your cells, according to 2012 study appearing in Environmental Health Perspectives.
  Parkinson's DiseaseMore than 60 studies show a connection between pesticides and the neurological disease Parkinson's, a condition characterized by uncontrolled trembling. The association is strongest for weed- and bug-killing chemical exposures over a long period of time, meaning it's important to keep these toxic compounds out of your household routine.
  Prevent it: Don't turn to chemical interventions to kill bugs in your home or garden. Instead, use natural pest control measures.
  InfertilityPesticides spell trouble in the baby-making department, thanks to their bad habit of not staying put. For instance, atrazine, a common chemical weed killer used heavily in the Midwest, on Southern sugar cane farms, and on golf courses, has been detected in tap water. Doctors and scientists point to published evidence tying atrazine to increased miscarriage and infertility rates. Other pesticides cause a plunge in male testosterone levels. A 2006 study found chlorpyrifos, a chemical used in nonorganic apple and sweet pepper farming, and carbaryl, a go-to pesticide in strawberry fields and peach orchards, caused abnormally low testosterone levels.
  Prevent it: Avoid the worst summer fruit, the kinds most likely to be laced with toxic pesticides. Instead, choose organic grapes, strawberries, and imported plums.
  Birth DefectsBabies conceived during the spring and summer months'--a time of year when pesticide use is in full swing'--face the highest risk of birth defects. During these months, higher pesticide levels turn up in surface waters, increasing a mother's risk of exposure. Spina bifida, cleft lip, clubfoot, and Down syndrome rates are higher when moms become pregnant during high season for pesticides.
  Prevent it: To protect yourself, use a water filter that is certified by NSF International to meet American National Standards Institute Standard 53 for VOC (volatile organic compound) reduction. This will significantly reduce levels of atrazine and other pesticides in your tap water.
BBC News - Pope's ex-butler Paolo Gabriele to stand trial for theft
  Link to Article
  Mon, 13 Aug 2012 17:53
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U.S. to Vet Hypersonic Global Strike Aircraft | Global Security Newswire
  Link to Article
  Mon, 13 Aug 2012 17:52
  The U.S. Air Force is scheduled on Tuesday to test a developmental hypersonic drone aircraft as part of an effort to develop technology capable of delivering a non-nuclear strike on any location in the world within one hour, the Los Angeles Times reported (see GSN, March 24, 2011).
  A B-52 strategic bomber is expected to fly from Edwards Air Force Base in California and deploy the wing-mounted X-51A WaveRider off the state's southern coast at an altitude of 50,000 feet.
  The remotely piloted device would drop for roughly four seconds before its initial propulsion equipment activates, bringing it to a speed exceeding 3,400 mph. That component would drop away after half a minute and a secondary propellant system would enter operation, bringing the craft to a maximum speed of more than 4,500 mph during a planned ascent to almost 70,000 feet.
  The WaveRider is slated to fracture into pieces above the Pacific Ocean following a period of roughly 300 seconds, more than double its present record flying time. It reached 3,500 mph during its initial, 143-second trial in 2010, but in a test last year ended operations earlier than planned following a mechanical glitch.
  The system is one of six large-scale hypersonic development projects the Defense Department said have absorbed up to $2 billion in funding over the last decade. The global strike initiatives are intended to offer an alternative to using long-range nuclear-tipped missiles to eliminate major imminent threats.
  Globalsecurity.org has calculated the WaveRider project's expense to be $140 million (W.J. Hennigan, Los Angeles Times, Aug. 13).
Spiegel: Investors Prepare For Euro Collapse
  Link to Article
  Mon, 13 Aug 2012 17:49
  Two years in and they are only starting now? What took them so long. Also, absolutely nothing new here, but merely the latest attempt to shift public opinion and EUR viability perceptions ever so slightly by one of Germany's most respect magazines. Those whose agenda it is to spook Germany with images of fire, brimstone, and 3-page mutual assured destruction termsheets if the Euro implodes, are now free to take the podium. One wonders: if it wasn't for the inevitable collapse of the EUR.... the inevitable collapse of the EUR.... the inevitable collapse of the EUR.... the inevitable collapse of the EUR, and of course Paul Ryan, would there be absolutely no news today?
  From Spiegel:
  Investors Prepare for Euro Collapse
  Banks, investors and companies are bracing themselves for the possibility that the euro will break up -- and are thus increasing the likelihood that precisely this will happen.
  There is increasing anxiety, particularly because politicians have not managed to solve the problems. Despite all their efforts, the situation in Greece appears hopeless. Spain is in trouble and, to make matters worse, Germany's Constitutional Court will decide in September whether the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) is even compatible with the German constitution.
  There's a growing sense of resentment in both lending and borrowing countries -- and in the nations that could soon join their ranks. German politicians such as Bavarian Finance Minister Markus S¶der of the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU) are openly calling for Greece to be thrown out of the euro zone. Meanwhile the the leader of Germany's opposition center-left Social Democrats (SPD), Sigmar Gabriel, is urging the euro countries to share liability for the debts.
  On the financial markets, the political wrangling over the right way to resolve the crisis has accomplished primarily one thing: it has fueled fears of a collapse of the euro.
  . . .
  Banks are particularly worried. "Banks and companies are starting to finance their operations locally," says Thomas Mayer who until recently was the chief economist at Deutsche Bank, which, along with other financial institutions, has been reducing its risks in crisis-ridden countries for months now. The flow of money across borders has dried up because the banks are afraid of suffering losses.
  According to the ECB, cross-border lending among euro-zone banks is steadily declining, especially since the summer of 2011. In June, these interbank transactions reached their lowest level since the outbreak of the financial crisis in 2007.
  In addition to scaling back their loans to companies and financial institutions in other European countries, banks are even severing connections to their own subsidiaries abroad. Germany's Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank apparently prefer to see their branches in Spain and Italy tap into ECB funds, rather than finance them themselves. At the same time, these banks are parking excess capital reserves at the central bank. They are preparing themselves for the eventuality that southern European countries will reintroduce their national currencies and drastically devalue them.
  "Even the watchdogs don't like to see banks take cross-border risks, although in an absurd way this runs contrary to the concept of the monetary union," says Mayer.
  * * *
  Unicredit is an ideal example of how banks are turning back the clocks in Europe: The bank, which always prided itself as a truly pan-European institution, now grants many liberties to its regional subsidiaries, while benefiting less from the actual advantages of a European bank. High-ranking bank managers admit that, if push came to shove, this would make it possible to quickly sell off individual parts of the financial group.
  In effect, the bankers are sketching predetermined breaking points on the European map. "Since private capital is no longer flowing, the central bankers are stepping into the breach," explains Mayer. The economist goes on to explain that the risk of a breakup has been transferred to taxpayers. "Over the long term, the monetary union can't be maintained without private investors," he argues, "because it would only be artificially kept alive."
  The fear of a collapse is not limited to banks. Early last week, Shell startled the markets. "There's been a shift in our willingness to take credit risk in Europe," said CFO Simon Henry.
  * * *
  One person who has long expected the euro to break up is Philipp Vorndran, 50, chief strategist at Flossbach von Storch, a company that deals in asset management. Vorndran's signature mustache may be somewhat out of step with the times, but his views aren't. "On the financial markets, the euro experiment is increasingly viewed as a failure," says the investment strategist, who once studied under euro architect Issing and now shares his skepticism. For the past three years, Vorndran has been preparing his clients for major changes in the composition of the monetary union.
  They are now primarily investing their money in tangible assets such as real estate. The stock market rally of the past weeks can also be explained by this flight of capital into real assets. After a long decline in the number of private investors, the German Equities Institute (DAI) has registered a significant rise in the number of shareholders in Germany.
  Particularly large amounts of money have recently flowed into German sovereign bonds, although with short maturity periods they now generate no interest whatsoever. "The low interest rates for German government bonds reflect the fear that the euro will break apart," says interest-rate expert Burkert. Investors are searching for a safe haven. "At the same time, they are speculating that these bonds would gain value if the euro were actually to break apart."
  The most radical option to protect oneself against a collapse of the euro is to completely withdraw from the monetary zone. The current trend doesn't yet amount to a large-scale capital flight from the euro zone. In May, (the ECB does not publish more current figures) more direct investments and securities investments actually flowed into Europe than out again. Nonetheless, this fell far short of balancing out the capital outflows during the troubled winter quarters, which amounted to over '‚¬140 billion.
  "We notice that it's becoming increasingly difficult to sell Asians and Americans on investments in Europe," says asset manager Vorndran, although the US, Japan and the UK have massive debt problems and "are all lying in the same hospital ward," as he puts it. "But it's still better to invest in a weak currency than in one whose structure is jeopardized."
  * * *
  investors are increasingly speculating directly against the euro. The amount of open financial betting against the common currency -- known as short positioning -- has rapidly risen over the past 12 months. When ECB President Mario Draghi said three weeks ago that there was no point in wagering against the euro, anti-euro warriors grew a bit more anxious.
  One of these warriors is John Paulson. The hedge fund manager once made billions by betting on a collapse of the American real estate market. Not surprisingly, the financial world sat up and took notice when Paulson, who is now widely despised in America as a crisis profiteer, announced in the spring that he would bet on a collapse of the euro.
  Paulson is not the only one. Investor legend George Soros, who no longer personally manages his Quantum Funds, said in an interview in April that -- if he were still active -- he would bet against the euro if Europe's politicians failed to adopt a new course. The investor war against the common currency is particularly delicate because it's additionally fueled by major investors from the euro zone. German insurers and managers of large family fortunes have reportedly invested with Paulson and other hedge funds. "They're sawing at the limb that they're sitting on," says an insider.So far, the wager by the hedge funds has not paid off, and Paulson recently suffered major losses.
  * * *
  And so on - more here
  What is ironic is that the worse Europe gets, and the greater the threat of redenomination risk which has yet to be address properly by the ECB, the higher the S&P will go regardless of any macro, micro data, or even broad liquidity injection expectations, simply because as equity capital flows out of Europe, since it seeks equity-like returns, it will merely end up in US equities, not bonds or gold, where it will merely marinate until another Europe emigrating "greater fool" is found.
  Average: Your rating: NoneAverage: 4.3(3 votes)
Would President Mitt Romney be Bound by the Mormon Oath of Vengeance Against the United States? Would He Try to Fulfill Joseph Smith's Theocratic White Horse Prophecy?
  Link to Article
  Mon, 13 Aug 2012 17:36
  Webster G. Tarpley Ph.D.TARPLEY.net '' World Crisis RadioAugust 11, 2012
  Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
  [download audio]
The Dangers of Being a Product Instead of a Customer
  Link to Article
  Mon, 13 Aug 2012 17:25
  Gmail is almost certainly the most important web service I use. It has become the master key for many other tools and services. The scary part is that Google could close my account any given day, and I'd have no recourse because I'm not a paying customer.
  Twitter is a service that I use perhaps too much. I have a relatively small but stable audience accumulated over the years. I broadcast a question or a thought whenever I feel like it, and it has become one of the main channels I use to exercise free speech. Again, Twitter could close my account on a whim because they owe me nothing.
  Facebook would also fall into this category if I cared, it just happens that I don't.
  If you follow this blog you may notice that I've migrated it from Posterous to my self-hosted installation of WordPress. I loved Posterous; I thought it was simple, pretty and convenient. However, the quality of the service had degraded noticeably after the Twitter acquisition (e.g. I couldn't even reply to comments on my posts the last few times I tried). Still, it wasn't that bad. I could have kept using it while waiting for an easy way to migrate my posts. Twitter promised that ''over the coming weeks we'll provide you with specific instructions for exporting your content to other services.'' And it's only been 21 weeks'...
  Interestingly, what prompted me to move was a terse email from Twitter asking me to remove a small dataset of public data that I'd shared. There was nothing wrong with the email itself, all it did was point out their terms of service. However, if I had written that email I could have made it much more friendly, as I understand the value of PR (especially with developers and bloggers). It gave me a bad feeling about the inner workings of Twitter as a company. I wondered if one day Twitter might kill my Posterous blog just because, and I figured that I could easily host it myself. Unfortunately there is no alternative to the Twitter service itself (I've backed app.net but I don't expect it to be even remotely equivalent).
  My next step will be to associate my other services with an email address at my own domain instead of gmail.com. I may still use Gmail behind the scenes, but I can always take my domain somewhere else. That is, assuming I don't use *that* email address as the key to my registrar
  For similar reasons I don't contribute to Quora very often. The 15'² that I may spend on a question gives them much more value than I receive in return. As an aside, who knows how long they'll be around for, or if they'll ever come up with a business model. There is even a topic on Quora itself about this. How meta'...
  I'd much rather be a customer of web services than a product. I would pay a reasonable amount of money for a few things, especially if this removed undesired ads (I don't care that much about that, because like most people I've learned to ignore the vast majority of them).
  The problem is that there are not enough people like me. Most people don't care enough about these issues to pay for the cost of the services they use (as opposed to being ''product'' and having no rights). There is also a perverse incentive: a service with hundreds of millions of free users is rewarded by the stock market or private investors because in theory they could find a way to sell something to all those ''people.'' For example, Facebook's valuation is not justified by its current business model based on display ads. Even at today's stock price, their price-to-earnings ratio is much higher than that of comparable companies with similar growth rates (see GOOG, YHOO).
  Finally, one subtle point that bothers me about the current state of affairs is not that we are just product. That was already the case in the age of TV. Things have gone one step further; we now generate the very content that digital entertainment companies sell to advertisers and feed back to us. In other words, we are Digital Soylent Green.
Scripting News: Another use for $50
  Link to Article
  Mon, 13 Aug 2012 17:13
  I haven't criticized app.net here because I want to give them a chance to get their act together, and see what they come up with. But I also haven't "joined" because I place a very high value on my independence. I hope that they will accept my invitation to use RSS as a means of importing and exporting messages. That way our systems can interoperate. That's the right level of involvement for me. It would mean I could follow people who use their service in my own river-based aggregator. And they could read what I publish in my linkblog feed. BTW, in case you use Chrome, here's a link that will actually enable you to view my feed. They broke RSS again. But app.net is still based on a centralized model, and I happen to believe that a decentralized approach is the only one that works long-term. It's the only way to preserve freedom of speech, and to allocate costs fairly to the people who use the most resources. And to provide a variety of tools and environments to satisfy a wide variety of use-cases. So I'd like to put an alternate idea out there. A microblogging server that's a simple install on EC2 or Rackspace or any other easy cloud-based server. Clubs and corporations can operate servers for their members. Computer communities used to have user groups, and they were a very good idea. I would operate a server for my family (I already kind of do that, I bet a lot of the people who read this blog do it too). The Hillside Club in Berkeley could operate one. The NYU Journalism Department. Stuyvesant High School. Berkman Center. You get the idea. It wouldn't be a huge groundswell at first, but a measured boot-up process. From these seeds mighty mega-servers will boot up, like the ones that have sprouted around WordPress. Automattic could run a big server, for example. If it starts a process of users gaining their independence from tech companies then app.net has done a good thing. That's why I think in these terms. Making it easy for people to set up their own servers, and hoping that they will do this for their friends, work colleagues and family members. Amazon has an incredible proposition. They offer a free Linux or Windows server for one year. It's enough of a server to run a great linkblogging system. I know because I'm doing it, and also sharing my server with a few friends. We're not ready yet to support a lot of people doing this, but we're getting there. I'd love it if Rackspace made a similar offer, and Google and Microsoft, and lots of others. And wouldn't it be wonderful if some major tech companies, instead of throwing boulders in our path, would actually put some energy behind this. It's been really awful the way some companies have behaved. Especially Google. Shameful. I often argued with Microsoft, in the 90s, that they would get 70 percent of all the growth that came from the web, so why don't they stop fighting it. Same message to Google. Your employees are making you act crazy. Take a long-term view of this stuff, and relax. This stuff isn't a threat. It's an opportunity to build something, the kind of thing users develop, not employees. Kick back and stop insisting on being the inventor of everything. Follow @davewiner
The coming age of ARM chips for the hobbyist
  Link to Article
  Mon, 13 Aug 2012 17:12
  posted Aug 13th 2012 5:01am by Brian Benchofffiled under: Microcontrollers
  The days of the 8 bit Arduino may be quickly coming to a close. Sure, there will always be a place for AVRs in blinking LEDs and turning on relays, but for doing anything cool '' playing MP3s, driving LCD displays, or running a CNC machine '' you need the power of a 32 bit chip. [Brian Carrigan] put up a great tutorial on getting started with these bigger, more powerful micros and moving beyond what is possible with an 8 bit PIC or AVR.
  These new 32 bit chips are much more powerful, but aren't exactly hobbyist friendly. Most of the ARM chips we've found are stuffed into very fine pitch QFN or QFP packages that require a reflow oven to solder to a board. In fact, we can only find one through-hole Cortex M0 chip that is suited for breadboard development. This doesn't make it easy to whip up a circuit in a few hours, so builders needing a very powerful microcontroller will be more dependent on dev boards.
  Already there are a good number of ARM-based 32 bit dev boards available including the offerings from Leaf Labs, the extremely inexpensive STM Discovery board, Kinetis KL25Z Freedom Board, the outrageously powerful BeagleBone, and the perpetually delayed Arduino (over) Due.
  None of these boards are particularly new developments; they've all been around the block once or twice. However, there are many more options for 32 bit development than the current 8 bit PIC and AVR holy war. We're going to turn the comments over to Hackaday readers with the following questions: what supersized dev board are you rolling with? What's good for a beginner, and what should they watch out for?
Congress Files Federal Lawsuit Against Obama Department of Justice
  Link to Article
  Mon, 13 Aug 2012 17:07
  The news of this spread quickly yesterday '' and today the real fireworks over this action will begin. Very few times in history has a presidential administration been so unwilling to reveal documents related to an ongoing Congressional investigation. Watergate was one such case '' and now Barack Obama is directly involved in another'...
  EXCERPT:
  CBS News has learned that the House Oversight Committee expects to file a civil contempt suit against Attorney General Eric Holder Monday. The lawsuit is to try to force Holder to release documents from the Fast and Furious gunwalking operation.
  The Republican-led House of Representative voted to hold Holder in contempt on June 28 for failing to turn over thousands of pages of subpoenaed documents. The Justice Department has said it is withholding documents under White House executive privilege.
  '...The contempt vote had two possible tracks for enforcement: criminal and civil. But shortly after the House vote, the Department of Justice announced it would not pursue a criminal case against its own Attorney General and did not believe any crime had been committed. The civil lawsuit expected to be filed Monday would ask a federal judge to order the Justice Department to turn over the documents. LINK
  _______________
  To date the American public knows this regarding the failed and deadly Fast and Furious operation:
  -Thousands of guns were intentionally placed into the hands of known criminals.
  -Up to two federal agents were killed with Fast and Furious weapons. The parents of slain Border Agent Brian Terry are demanding answers '' answers the Obama administration has refused to provide them.
  -Congressional testimony from within the DEA, and the Obama Justice Department indicates a vast cover-up underway surrounding Fast and Furious that may reach to the White House itself.
  -By asserting Executive Privilege, President Barack Obama has openly implicated himself in the Fast and Furious scandal '' and he is willing to wage legal warfare with Congress to continue hiding what he knew and when he knew it.
U.S. Government secretly spying on everyone using civilian security cameras, say Wikileaks | Mail Online
  Link to Article
  Mon, 13 Aug 2012 17:05
  Cameras use facial recognition to log people's activityDetails released by Wikileaks which has now been hacked in cyber attackDisturbing echoes of CIA officials in hit film The Bourne Identity By Rick Dewsbury
  PUBLISHED:04:13 EST, 13 August 2012| UPDATED:08:22 EST, 13 August 2012
  Spy network: CCTV cameras are linked to TrapWire, a U.S. system designed to catch terrorists
  Anyone who takes a photograph at high-risk locations is logged as a suspected terrorist on a vast network of secret spy cameras linked to the U.S. Government, according to leaked emails.
  People pointing cameras in New York are regarded as suspicious and the facial recognition images of them from the civilian CCTV are fed into a data centre run by U.S. firm Abraxas.
  The system then connects with hundreds of other cameras in a bid to pinpoint potential terrorist activity, it is claimed.
  Details of the system emerged from emails released by whistle-blowing website Wikileaks. The issue has caused outrage among privacy campaigners amid fears that it could be abused.
  It has disturbing echoes of the film, The Bourne Identity starring Matt Damon, in which CIA officials use a network of spy cameras to track around the world someone they though they had assassinated.
  According to the email released by Wikileaks, pictures of people's faces are encrypted and sent to a fortified data centre at a secret location.
  The TrapWire system is run by Abraxas and is linked to civilian CCTV cameras. The firm, owned by the Cubic Corporation, is apparently staffed by large numbers of former CIA employees.
  The cameras in its TrapWire system are one of the methods it uses to do this.
  TrapWire is used by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in a bid to deter terrorist attacks - or catch those responsible once an incident has happened.
  According to the company's own documents from 2007, TrapWire is 'a unique, predictive software system designed to detect patterns of per-attack surveillance.' This includes 'photographing, measuring and signaling'.
  More than 500 cameras using the technology have been installed on the New York subway. There are estimated to be thousands more around various U.S. cities and in London at potential terrorist targets such as Downing Street.
  Disturbing: Matt Damon in The Bourne Identity. CIA officials use a network of spy cameras to track his movements, just like TrapWire devices are said to be doing with suspected terrorists
  The firm also operates in several other U.S. states, in Canada and in London. It is said to have cameras also placed at high rick targets in the UK, including Downing Street.
  Anemail from an employee at Strator - a Texas-based intelligence firm linked to Trapwire - in 2010 said the cameras were focused on 'per-operational terrorist surveillance'.
  Itstated: 'This week, 500 surveillance cameras were activated on the NYC subway system to focus on per-operational terrorist surveillance. The surveillance technology is also operational on high-value targets (HVTs)in DC, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and London and is called TrapWire.
  Surveillance: Five hundreds of the TrapWire cameras have been installed in the New York subway, according to an email from the firm released by Wikileaks
  Terrorist target: TrapWire cameras are also in use at Ten Downing Street, home of the British Prime Minister, according to another email from the firm behind them (file picture)
  'TrapWire is one of the most innovative tools developed since 9-11 to help mitigate terrorist threats. From a protective intelligence perspective, TrapWire does have the ability to share information on suspicious events or suspects between cities.'
  WHAT IS TRAPWIRE AND WHO OWNS THE SECRETIVE SYSTEM?Trapwire is a security system that uses CCTV cameras to relay encrypted images of people to a data centre. These are then compared with images from various other cameras to track suspicious activity.
  The system was developed by security intelligence firm Abraxas, which is owned by the Cubic Corporation - another defence company.
  The system is linked to a separate company Stratfor, which sent emails between staff discussing the system. When these emails became public through Wikileaks, they revealed details of the Trapwire spy network.
  The people behind Trapwire are understood to be former high-ranking CIA and intelligence officials.
  The Trapwire website describes it as a 'unique, predictive software system designed to detect patterns indicative of terrorist attacks or criminal operations'.
  In another email, Stratfor president Don Kuykendall wrote: 'Their clients include Scotland Yard, #10 Downing,the White House and many [business].
  'Our consideration is introducing them to companies like Walmart, Dell and others.'
  Ina separate email, vice president Fred Burton wrote: 'Salesforce HQs in San Fran is interested in TrapWire after I briefed them on their wonderful capabilities'.
  The emails have caused uproar among activists who believe that the use of the cameras is an infringement on people's freedom.
  After the emails were released, WikiLeaks said it has been the victim of a sustained denial-of-service attack which has left its website sluggish or inaccessible for more than a week.
  In a statement released late Saturday the group said the assault intensified around the beginning of August and has since expanded to include attacks against affiliated sites.
  Denial-of-service attacks work by overwhelming websites with requests for information. WikiLeaks has said it's been flooded with 10 gigabits per second of bogus traffic from thousands of different Internet addresses.
  Josh Corman, with online content delivery company Akamai, characterized that as 'a bit larger' than attacks commonly seen in the past few years.
  WikiLeaks, which has angered officials in Washington with its spectacular releases of classified U.S. documents, remained inaccessible Sunday.
Clinton Sponsor Takes Care of Weiners
  Link to Article
  Mon, 13 Aug 2012 14:48
  Anthony Weiner. who quit as a US congressman from New York after a sexting scandal, is living in style, thanks most likely to a Bill and Hillary Clinton donor.NyPo has the story:
  Anthony Weiner's wife not only took him back, she took him back in style '-- moving with the shamed pol into a luxurious, $3.3 million Manhattan pad owned by a deep-pocketed Democratic donor... Weiner and beautiful, brainy spouse Huma Abedin, a top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, landed in the sprawling, 12th-floor Park Avenue trophy residence owned by Rosen Partners LLC, which is headed by close Clinton pal Jack Rosen, records show...
  Rosen '-- who oversees the American Jewish Congress '-- is an influential international political force. He's been a guest at the White House, flies the Clintons in his private plane, and has poured money into both Bill and Hillary Clinton's election campaigns over the years, according to campaign-finance records.
  He has also contributed several thousand dollars to Weiner's coffers, and is a top Obama bundler, donating more than $500,000 to the president's re-election efforts.The market-rate rent on Weiner and Abedin's 2,120-square-foot, four-bedroom, 3.5-bathroom apartment '-- where the disgraced pol has said he spends his days doing laundry and changing baby son Jordan's diapers '-- is at least $12,000 to $14,000 a month, real-estate sources said....
  Some Weiner-watchers are stunned that the pol, who gave up his $174,000 salary when he resigned, and Huma, who makes around $155,000 annually, can afford the posh pad at 254 Park Ave. South at East 20th Street.''It's a ridiculously expensive place,'' said a top Democratic fund-raising source with deep ties to the Clintons.
  ''Everyone assumes they live there for free, thanks to a donor, a friend of Bill and Hillary, or even just someone with an empty place who is connected,'' the source said....
  But Hillary Clinton spokesman Philippe Reines insisted that Weiner and Abedin pay ''market rate'' for the pad....
  Weiner hasn't landed steady work since leaving office, according to sources. But some friends of the onetime rising star said he has consulting work and will have no problem exceeding his congressional salary.
Character encoding issues
  Link to Article
  Mon, 13 Aug 2012 14:15
  Top > August 2012 > 8/12/12 by DWBackgroundI know it's very late in the game to be doing this, but I think I've got part of the character encoding problem nailed for all the software in the OPML Server suite. I'm going to try to devise some tests to see if this is true.PlanWhen a character whose numeric code is between 128 and 255 appears in an OPML document, translate it to the numerical encoding for the character.Here's a screen shot of the table we're going to use so you can get a visual idea of what this means. It's the visualization that's been making this problem so hard to understand. We already had a replaceTable, but we were using it in the old saveWorkspace routine, but were not using it in the newer routine that saves an archived outline. It only had three elements in it -- curly double-quotes and a curly single-quote, which were converted to straight versions. All three characters are provided for in the new 128-element replacetable. So I didn't create a new object, we're just upgrading the already-existing one.TestIf it worked, when you look at this page, the equivalences should be true.Here's a screen shot showing what that looks like when I'm editing it in the OPML Editor.How I built the replacetableAll this takes place in workspace.userlandSamples.buildReplacetables.buildTheTables. First it adds the characters 128 to 255, and maps them to etc. Then I took the table at this page, and put it into workspace.userlandSamples.buildReplacetables.w3ctext. Then I added code that compiles the table to a structure. I walk the structure, adding elements to the replacetable.At the end there are 251 elements in the replacetable.Finally I generate the inverted table from the first table.Except!There's a problem building the inverted table. Apparently the names are case-sensitive. For example, they have both &gamma; and &Gamma; in the Greek letters section. Cute. Except our language is not case-sensitive, so the inverted table has only 221 elements in it. Sooo, we'll have two inverted replacetables. One of them will be for the overflow. We'll have to do two replacements. And point to these notes from the scripts so people won't think it's a bug. Also the calls to string.multiplereplaceall must be case-sensitive.Back out of that cornerWhen I saved using the new replacetable, I could see there were mistakes in some of the encodings. It was replacing things that should not be replaced. So I backed out of using the second group for now. We're at least translating the characters between 128 and 255 now. That's major progress. Let's burn this in, and see if everything still works, and take another look at this soon. :-)PartsopmlEditor.worldOutline.saveArchivedOutlineopmlEditor.data.worldOutline.replacetableopmlEditor.data.worldOutline.replaceTableInvertedopmlEditor.website.openRootxml.entityDecodeworkspace.userlandSamples.buildReplacetablesPosted on Sunday, August 12, 2012 at 12:46 PM by Dave Winer.
Sipping Apple-flavored Kool-Aid: Best Buy founder proposes $10B plan to compete with Amazon
  Link to Article
  Sun, 12 Aug 2012 22:34
  Some years ago, you could blow a Saturday (and your paycheck) by hopping around town visiting sprawling electronic chains like Circuit City, CompUSA, Best Buy, and Good Guys. Not anymore. Without getting deep acquisitions, bankruptcy filings, store closures, re-openings, and re-brandings, suffice to say you're lucky to have one good electronics store within driving distance, and more often than not, that store is Best Buy. Unfortunately (or fortunately, if you're not a fan of the franchise), Best Buy may not be long for this world. The sad fact is that big box retailers are a dying breed, and nearly everyone knows it. Everyone, that is, except for Richard Schulze, the billionaire founder of Best Buy.
  You don't typically amass billions of dollars by being foolhardy, but even a man of vision can sometimes be blinded by the light. That appears to be the case with Mr. Schulze who has a grand idea of buying out the company he founded with what amounts to a $10 billion proposal, and then proceeding to slash prices in order to compete with the likes of Amazon and other online e-tailers, The Wall Street Journal reports. Oh, and while he's at it, Schulze wants to transform Best Buy into offering Apple-style customer service.
  Can it be done?There are several challenges that stand in the way of what Schulze wants to do, some more obvious than others. One of the biggest is convincing private equity firms that he's not off his meds (if he takes any) and that this could actually work. Schulze doesn't have $10 billion of his own money to see this thing through, and though it's reported he plans to pony up $1 billion of his personal fortune, that still leaves a balance of $9 billion.
  Assuming he's able to come up with the money, and that Best Buy's board is willing to approve the deal, Schulze then has to figure out how exactly he can cut costs to compete with online prices while still being able to pay the electric bills, leases, maintenance costs, wages, and everything else associated with running brick-and-mortar stores.
  Best Buy is in the process of shutting stores and reducing floor space in others.
  What Schulze wants to do is almost the exact opposite of what Best Buy is already in the process of doing. The electronics chain has put in motion an ambitious cost cutting plan that involves shutting dozens of superstores, shrinking several others, and reducing its overall workforce in an attempt to stop the bleeding (Best Buy posted a $1.2 billion loss during its last fiscal year).
  ''There is no question that now is the moment of truth for Best Buy and that immediate and substantial changes are needed for the company to return to its market-leading ways,'' Schulze wrote in an unsolicited letter to Best Buy's board. ''After assessing all of my options, it is my strong belief that Best Buy's best chance for renewed success is to implement with urgency the necessary changes as a private company.''
  Damned if you do, damned if you don'tSchulze shouldn't be mocked for being ambitious, but his plan can (and certainly will) be criticized, scrutinized, and maybe even euthanized if the board rejects his proposal. Plain and simple, it's cheaper to run a website and a spattering of warehouses than it is to stock and supply a brick-and-mortar chain with products and workers. Even if Amazon starts charging sales tax in all 50 states, it will still have a cost advantage over Best Buy.
  This is where the Apple store experience comes into play. Forget any negative connotations you might have towards Geek Squad or Best Buy employees in general, because Schulze's plan calls for a premium shopping experience at rock bottom prices. It's Wal-mart meets Macy's meets Willy Wonka on a foundation of razor thin profits (and several initial years of losses).
  It's hard to imagine Schulze's grand vision playing out the way he sees it, and over time, those dwindling profits will likely serve as the wrench in his miraculous machine. On the flip side, Schulze is probably right that Best Buy's current cost cutting measures mark the beginning of the end. Unfortunately, there just doesn't appear to be an alternate destination for big box retailers, just different paths to the same point.
World over-using underground water reserves for agriculture| Reuters
  Link to Article
  Sun, 12 Aug 2012 20:30
  By Chris Wickham
  LONDON | Wed Aug 8, 2012 6:12pm BST
  LONDON (Reuters) - The world is depleting underground water reserves faster than they can be replenished due to over-exploitation, according to scientists in Canada and the Netherlands.
  The researchers, from McGill University in Montreal and Utrecht University in the Netherlands, combined groundwater usage data from around the globe with computer models of underground water resources to come up with a measure of water usage relative to supply.
  That measure shows the groundwater footprint - the area above ground that relies on water from underground sources - is about 3.5 times bigger than the aquifers themselves.
  The research suggests about 1.7 billion people, mostly in Asia, are living in areas where underground water reserves and the ecosystems that rely on them are under threat, they said.
  Tom Gleeson from McGill, who led the study, said the results are "sobering", showing that people are over-using groundwater in a number of regions in Asia and North America.
  Over 99 percent of the world's fresh and unfrozen water sits underground, and he suggests this huge reservoir that could be crucial for the world's growing population, if managed properly.
  The study, published in the journal Nature, found that 80 percent of the world's aquifers are being used sustainably but this is offset by heavy over-exploitation in a few key areas.
  Those areas included western Mexico, the High Plains and California's Central Valley in the United States, Saudi Arabia, Iran, northern India and parts of northern China.
  "CRITICAL TO AGRICULTURE"
  "The relatively few aquifers that are being heavily exploited are unfortunately critical to agriculture in a number of different countries," Gleeson told Reuters. "So even though the number is relatively small, these are critical resources that need better management."
  Previous research has shown that it takes about 140 liters of water to grow the beans that go into one cup of coffee, whether they are cultivated in arid Ethiopia or the Colombian rain forest.
  "The effect of this water use on the supply of available water will be very different," the researchers wrote. "Until now, there has been no way of quantifying the impact of such agricultural groundwater use in any consistent, global way."
  Gleeson said limits on water extraction, more efficient irrigation and the promotion of different diets, with less or no meat, could make these water resources more sustainable.
  Water sitting in underground aquifers was the subject of research by British researchers published in April that mapped huge reserves sitting under large parts of Africa that could provide a buffer against the effects of climate change, if used sustainably.
  A team from the British Geological Survey and University College London estimated that reserves of groundwater across Africa are about 100 times the amount found on the continent's surface.
  Some of the largest reserves are under the driest North African countries like Libya, Algeria, Egypt and Sudan, but some schemes to exploit them are not sustainable.
  The biggest is Libya's $25 billion Great Manmade River project, built by the regime of slain dictator Muammar Gaddafi to supply cities including Tripoli, Benghazi and Sirte with an estimated 6.5 million cubic meters of water a day.
  The network of pipes and boreholes is sucking water out of the ground that was deposited in the rocks under the Sahara an estimated 40,000 years ago, but is not being replenished.
  It is unclear how long this water source will last, with estimates ranging between 60 and 100 years.
  (Editing by Mark Heinrich)
THE REAL PAUL RYAN?
  Link to Article
  Sun, 12 Aug 2012 20:26
  Romney's running mate, Paul Ryan.Paul Ryan admires a certain atheist Jewess, Alisa Rosenbaum, also known as Ayn Rand. In 2005, Ryan said that "The reason I got involved in public service, by and large, if I had to credit one thinker, one person, it would be Ayn Rand"[28]
  "I grew up reading Ayn Rand and it taught me quite a bit about who I am and what my value systems are, and what my beliefs are. It's inspired me so much that it's required reading in my office for all my interns and my staff."[29]
  Paul Ryan - Wikipedia
  Ayn RandAyn Rand rejected all forms of faith and religion. Ayn Rand - Wikipedia
  She said the individual should "exist for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to others nor sacrificing others to himself."[98]She supported Israel in the Arab-Israeli War of 1973, describing the israelis as "civilized men fighting savages".[74]
  She said that the European colonists had the right to take land from American Indians.[75]Edward Rothstein, writing for The New York Times, referred to her fictional writing as quaint utopian "retro fantasy."
  Mother Jones remarked that "Rand's particular genius has always been her ability to turn upside down traditional hierarchies and recast the wealthy, the talented, and the powerful as the oppressed".[167]
  "Ryan seems to have no interest in reducing the U.S. military's role as the world's policeman."A Presidential Election About the Economy.
  "Paul Ryan seeks a high level of defense spending.
  "If he increases defense funding ... over the next ten years... the rest of government would largely have to disappear."
  Millionaire "Paul Ryan was born into a well-to-do Janesville, Wisc. family, part of the so-called ''Irish mafia''"Paul Ryan: Randian poseur - Salon.com
  Ryan's father, grandfather and great-grandfather all died of heart attacks in their 50sRomney's running mate, Paul Ryan.
US-NATO Meddling in Syria Faces International Condemnation
  Link to Article
  Sun, 12 Aug 2012 20:24
  30 Nations Meet in Tehran for Alternative to Hillary Clinton's Attack on Syria. Webster G. Tarpley, Ph.D. PressTV - Tarpley.net August 12, 2012
The Latest from Jesse Benton Attempts to Mainstream the Ron Paul Movement
  Link to Article
  Sun, 12 Aug 2012 20:23
  Tamap Bay Online has a pretty decent backgrounder on what Jesse has been up to.TBO tells us:
  The RNC's announcement that Rand Paul will speak in Tampa, but with no mention of Ron Paul, hints at a deal between the Paul and Romney forces that neither side will confirm '-- a speaking slot for Rand Paul in return for convention peace...Paul campaign chairman Jesse Benton wouldn't discuss negotiations between the two camps or the timing of Paul's speech, but said, "We have been told that it will be a very prominent time."As for Ron, Jesse tells TBO that, well yeah, something will have to be done:Benton said by email that Ron Paul is not expected to speak, but that Romney representatives "are working with us (on) other ways to recognize and honor Ron at the convention."As for Ron Paul delegates at the convention actually attempting to challenge Romney, Benton made clear THAT is not going to happen, if he has any say about it:"Dr. Paul will not seek to be nominated from the floor," he added.
Scripting News: The world is socialist
  Link to Article
  Sun, 12 Aug 2012 20:22
  When I was 17, I read Atlas Shrugged and it "changed my life." For about a year. In that book I heard that I was great and there were a few others like me, and most of the rest of the people were bullshitters. Grifters, looters, politicos, people who asked for us, the great ones, to work for them, because we could and they couldn't. And all the time they put down the great people, said they were ungrateful, bad people etc etc. The great ones got tired of working for everyone and not being appreciated, so they all went and hid in their rooms until the world fell apart without them, and the people begged them to come back, saying they were sorry and they didn't realize how cool they were. The great ones came back, straightened everything out, lived forever, never got sick, never got hit by a car, or had their house invaded by burglars, or burned down by fire. Etc etc.
  It's a beautful story for a person caught between childhood and adulthood. You're not yet aware of how the world actually works, in any real sense, and you remember all the issues of being a child (you still are a child at 17, despite how your body looks). Over the horizon is adulthood, which is beginning to come into view. You're trying to imagine yourself as an adult. It's understandable that the child, looking out to the future, wants to create something that looks a lot like the past. But it doesn't work that way.
  In New York this week we had a massive snow storm. It's hard to know for sure if it could have been handled smoothly like so much in NY is. In normal times, NY is an amazing place. A busy street can be transformed into a street fair in a few hours, then switch back to being a busy street just in time for Monday morning. But throw a huge curveball at the city, like last week's storm, and all bets are off.
  So in the Ayn Rand view, who's supposed to plow the streets when a Snowpocalypse happens? That's a detail she never seemed to have gotten to.
  Here's why she doesn't have an answer -- snow storms are socialist. They hit everyone the same. We have a collective interest in getting the streets cleared asap, so we can get to work, so the ambulances can get in to take people who have strokes and heart attacks to the hospital, etc etc. We got a tiny peek, in NYC, what an Ayn Rand paradise would be like. Because we'd still be under a couple of feet of snow, a week later. Snow doesn't care how much Reardon Metal you have or if Dagny Taggart thinks you're hot.
  Another thing that's socialist is sickness. Like snow, it's universal. Everyone gets sick, sooner or later. But it could happen sooner. That isn't a function of how good you are, or how hard you work, and sometimes even being rich doesn't help. It could just be random. You might require hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to keep alive, and you might not (probably don't) have it. Now you might say you deserve to die, but that's not what I'm talking about. The disease itself is socialist. It cuts across the population in a way similar to the snowstorm. It hits everyone of us. But how or when, or how much, that's an unknown. So somehow you have to deal with it. One way is to accept fate and die young if you don't have the money to get the treatment. Or you could buy health insurance. It's not clear whether Ayn Rand liked health insurance or not. It's both capitalist and socialist at the same time. Or you could get so rich that you could self-insure against any disease that could hit you or your family or anyone you would miss. Nice plan, but sad to say, most people don't get there.
  Here's the truth, and no matter how hard you argue, I'm not likely to sway in my belief of this. Ayn Rand's philosophy might have worked in an agrarian society when people lived far apart, and couldn't pool their resources. When there wasn't much technology, so there wasn't much point in trying to fight disease or keep the trains running, because there was no medicine or trains. But with almost seven billion people on the planet, and a complex financial system that no one understands and therefore can be manipulated by looters who look like captains of industry, how do you find the Great Ones, and if you do, what exactly can they do to differentiate themselves from the rest of us poor slobs?
  And I don't really think there are any of those great people, btw. I've traveled in some pretty high circles, I've met Bill Gates and a couple of Nobel laureates. I've been to Davos, and been part of an IPO. I'm on John Brockman's Edge list. Big fucking deal. All these people who are so great aren't really that much greater than the average schmuck on the subway. There really isn't that much range in the smartness or fitness of human beings. We all have about the same lifespan, have the same experiences, birth, childhood, puberty, etc. To think there are some people that are so much better than the rest of us, well, I wouldn't trust that so much.
  The truth is we're way out on a limb. If you want to go back to the point where we decided to be socialist and try to undo it, you're going to have to kill most of the people on the planet who depend on the current system for sustenance. And like it or not, that probably includes you. It certainly includes most of the idiots running around preaching Ayn Rand these days.
  PS: Most of the people commenting didn't understand the piece. That's why I closed the comments. Save the energy for something more important. If you feel a need to vent, try using the Ycombinator thread.
  View the forum thread.
The Photos That Now Keep Obama '' Biden Up At Night'...
  Link to Article
  Sun, 12 Aug 2012 20:22
  Sent to us from readers over at Legal Insurrection '' some great shots of masses of people waiting to get inside a Romney-Ryan rally today. There is a conservative giant that has been awakened in America '' and it is calmly and respectfully preparing to make Barack Obama a ONE and DONE president'...
  And some comments from some who attended the rally in South Carolina:
  _______
  You know what is really amazing?
  Support for Ryan's budget proposals is actually strong among seniors.
  It is almost like people used to learn simple math in school.
  ________
  Yep. I'm one. I long ago determined that one legacy I could leave my kids and grandchildren is to do all I could to fix the mess created by nearly a hundred years of flirting with Collectivism.
  For me, the day will not come when I take any benefit under the Medic-whatevers or Social Insecurity.
  _________
  Loving the ''holy-moly'' description! Wishing I could be there. A beautiful day in America. Hope is being restored for so many of us.
  _________
  Obama, meet sleeping giant.
  _________
  LINK
Russia, China, India, Iran, Pakistan, Indonesia, Venezuela, Algeria, Iraq, Cuba, Belarus '-- 30 Nations Meet in Tehran for Alternative to Hillary Clinton's Attack on Syria
  Link to Article
  Sun, 12 Aug 2012 20:20
  Webster G. Tarpley, Ph.D.PressTVAugust 11, 2012
  PressTV has conducted an interview with Dr. Webster Griffin Tarpley, author and historian, to further discuss the issue. The following is a rough transcription of the interview.
  Press TV: France is the first country to officially commit its military to the Syria situation. Is this a parallel to the role France played in Libya?
  Tarpley:President Hollande has been a target of a very vigorous campaign by the reactionaries and colonialists in France, people around Sarkozy and including Sarkozy himself, demanding that Hollande take the lead as the aggressor in Syria. I think it's a kind of a desperation tactic to keep something going when it's not going.
  Today we've had Hillary Clinton visiting Turkey. In her meeting with Foreign Minister Davutoglu, they talked about a no-fly zone that the United States and Turkey, perhaps with other countries, would somehow try to impose a no-fly zone over Syria which, of course, would mean a war.
  Brennan, the anti-terror Czar of the Obama White House had talked about a no-fly zone earlier this week at a meeting of the Council on Foreign Relations. It's not clear whether that's just talk, whether that's bluffing. Given the track record of these people, we would have to take it very serious, indeed.
  Press TV: On another front, the US secretary of State Hillary Clinton has come out saying Washington and Ankara are working on a detailed military and intelligence operation hopefully to bring a regime change in Syria. Do you think it's going to work?
  Tarpley: No, I think this is a somewhat desperate plan now.
  I think the big turning point actually occurred yesterday. The Tehran consultative conference on Syria, it seems to me, is a landmark event in our times. 30 countries coming together on the basis, I would say, of national dependence and national dignity.
  Not much more than that but that's already a lot in today's world, and certainly organized by the Iranian foreign ministry with the presence of Russia, China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Venezuela, Sudan, a very important selection of countries across the world.
  It obviously shows that Syria is not isolated in a way that Hillary Clinton says. This is really the first time that we've had a kind of task-oriented, anti-imperialist conference.
  It's very interesting here in the United States, the media has not a word about this. It's a complete blackout. I've looked at the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, the television stations, there's nothing about this conference.
  I think the US State Department is freaked out because this is a huge defeat for Hillary Clinton. What is Hillary Clinton's diplomacy worth if 30 countries including about half the world when you get down to it, can come together on a pro-Syrian, pro-independence platform?
  It seems to me that the imperialists are probably getting desperate. This is of course the classic time when they resort either to some kind of Gulf of Tonkin incidence, something military, or the classic false flag that we've seen them play so many times.
  Press TV: Of course, Libya did not have this support in the situation at the time. However, how can one explain the US double standards on Syria compared with its role in Bahrain and Yemen? Why is the Western public opinion silent on the atrocities committed against the civilians by the so-called Free Syrian Army, in your opinion?
  Tarpley: I don't think there's total silence here in the West. I think there's an awareness and it's a growing awareness. Obviously, the first part of your question, this is hypocrisy.
  What I think we're getting towards now is a situation where you have to frankly admit there are two blocks of states. There's an imperialist block with the US, the British, NATO, the Israelis and so forth; but then there's an anti-imperialist block which is very large and quite formidable when you've got Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Indonesia. That's already a great deal.
  Let me also focus on the Pakistani Foreign Minister, Mrs. Khar, who I think made a landmark statement of her own: it's time now to reject, very categorically, any idea of foreign intervention into Syria.
  This leaves the US in a terrible predicament. We have to see how they're going to get out and it might be some ugly surprises.
Extreme Weather and Drought Are Here to Stay
  Link to Article
  Sun, 12 Aug 2012 20:19
  BY many measurements, this summer's drought is one for the record books. But so was last year's drought in the South Central states. And it has been only a decade since an extreme five-year drought hit the American West. Widespread annual droughts, once a rare calamity, have become more frequent and are set to become the ''new normal.''
  Until recently, many scientists spoke of climate change mainly as a ''threat,'' sometime in the future. But it is increasingly clear that we already live in the era of human-induced climate change, with a growing frequency of weather and climate extremes like heat waves, droughts, floods and fires.
  Future precipitation trends, based on climate model projections for the coming fifth assessment from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, indicate that droughts of this length and severity will be commonplace through the end of the century unless human-induced carbon emissions are significantly reduced. Indeed, assuming business as usual, each of the next 80 years in the American West is expected to see less rainfall than the average of the five years of the drought that hit the region from 2000 to 2004.
  That extreme drought (which we have analyzed in a new study in the journal Nature-Geoscience) had profound consequences for carbon sequestration, agricultural productivity and water resources: plants, for example, took in only half the carbon dioxide they do normally, thanks to a drought-induced drop in photosynthesis.
  In the drought's worst year, Western crop yields were down by 13 percent, with many local cases of complete crop failure. Major river basins showed 5 percent to 50 percent reductions in flow. These reductions persisted up to three years after the drought ended, because the lakes and reservoirs that feed them needed several years of average rainfall to return to predrought levels.
  In terms of severity and geographic extent, the 2000-4 drought in the West exceeded such legendary events as the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. While that drought saw intervening years of normal rainfall, the years of the turn-of-the-century drought were consecutive. More seriously still, long-term climate records from tree-ring chronologies show that this drought was the most severe event of its kind in the western United States in the past 800 years. Though there have been many extreme droughts over the last 1,200 years, only three other events have been of similar magnitude, all during periods of ''megadroughts.''
  Most frightening is that this extreme event could become the new normal: climate models point to a warmer planet, largely because of greenhouse gas emissions. Planetary warming, in turn, is expected to create drier conditions across western North America, because of the way global-wind and atmospheric-pressure patterns shift in response.
  Indeed, scientists see signs of the relationship between warming and drought in western North America by analyzing trends over the last 100 years; evidence suggests that the more frequent drought and low precipitation events observed for the West during the 20th century are associated with increasing temperatures across the Northern Hemisphere.
  These climate-model projections suggest that what we consider today to be an episode of severe drought might even be classified as a period of abnormal wetness by the end of the century and that a coming megadrought '-- a prolonged, multidecade period of significantly below-average precipitation '-- is possible and likely in the American West.
  The current drought plaguing the country is worryingly consistent with these expectations. Although we do not attribute any single event to global warming, the severity of both the turn-of-the-century drought and the current one is consistent with simulations accounting for warming from increased greenhouse gases. The Northern Hemisphere has just recorded its 327th consecutive month in which the temperature exceeded the 20th-century average. This year had the fourth-warmest winter on record, with record-shattering high temperatures in March. And 2012 has already seen huge wildfires in Colorado and other Western states. More than 3,200 heat records were broken in June alone.
  And yet that may be only the beginning, a fact that should force us to confront the likelihood of new and painful challenges. A megadrought would present a major risk to water resources in the American West, which are distributed through a complex series of local, state and regional water-sharing agreements and laws. Virtually every drop of water flowing in the American West is legally claimed, sometimes by several users, and the demand is expected to increase as the population grows.
  Many Western cities will have to fundamentally change how they acquire and use water. The sort of temporary emergency steps that we grudgingly adopt during periods of low rainfall '-- fewer showers, lawn-watering bans '-- will become permanent. Some regions will become impossible to farm because of lack of irrigation water. Thermoelectric energy production will compete for limited water resources.
  There is still time to prevent the worst; the risk of a multidecade megadrought in the American West can be reduced if we reduce fossil-fuel emissions. But there can be little doubt that what was once thought to be a future threat is suddenly, catastrophically upon us.
  Christopher R. Schwalm is a research assistant professor of earth sciences at Northern Arizona University. Christopher A. Williams is an assistant professor of geography at Clark University. Kevin Schaefer is a research scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center.
We did it. by Dalton Caldwell
  Link to Article
  Sun, 12 Aug 2012 19:55
  As I write this, join.app.net just met our 500K goal, with 38 hours left.
  Data ExportWhen you are logged into the App.net alpha, we provide a button which will email you a .zip file of all of your content in a structured format. If you are an alpha tester, go ahead and try it out. It works.
  Impartial 3rd-party verification of resultsWe are using Stripe to host/power the billing aspects of join.app.net. In the very near future I will ask an impartial 3rd party take a look at our data (while preserving all privacy of our backers) and publicly verify that the join.app.net was operated in an honest manner. There has been zero manipulation of numbers, or ''stuffing of the ballot box'' by App.net.
  Third party app developmentWe are excited to see quite a few 3rd-party apps already under development. If you are interested in taking a look, here is a crowdsourced directory of 3rd-party apps that are active or under development. This is especially exciting for us given that the API has only been live since Tuesday evening.
  This is just an alpha testPlease understand that we built a functional web application and working API to demonstrate that App.net is not ''vaporware''. We have a great deal of work to do. One of the most important things we need to do is put together a Terms of Service for the operating site. I will spending a great deal of time in the coming days creating a draft of our ToS, and our forward plan is to host it on github. This way, folks can see it, offer feedback (even pull requests), and will be kept abreast of any future changes. Along these lines, there are still a great many questions that need to be answered before App.net should be thought of as an operating service, rather than just an alpha prototype.
  Account claimingPlease note that once the backing period is over, users will no longer be able to ''claim'' their Twitter usernames. From that moment forward usernames will be awarded on a first-come first-served basis. We implemented ''claiming'' as a fringe benefit for our backers, not as a go-forward plan. I want to make sure that latecomers are not surprised and disappointed to see that they can no longer get their preferred username. To repeat: if you want to ''claim'' your Twitter username, and haven't already backed us, you have 38 hours left to do so.
  To our early backersThank you for believing.
  I know in my heart that what made join.app.net succeed was your willingness and openness to give App.net the benefit of the doubt, to read our github documentation, to ask to participate in the alpha, to write blogposts in our support. Thank you.
  We couldn't have done it without you.
  '...Kudos
Sergey Aleynikov, Goldman Programmer Accused Of Code Theft, Faces New Charges
  Link to Article
  Sun, 12 Aug 2012 13:35
  NEW YORK, Aug 9 (Reuters) - A former Goldman Sachs Group Inc computer programmer who was cleared of federal charges in February faces new charges of illegally using and copying the firm's high-frequency trading code, according to an arrest warrant filed in Manhattan criminal court. The charges, brought by the office of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, are a new twist in a case first brought by U.S. federal prosecutors in July 2009. The programmer, Sergey Aleynikov, was found guilty at trial in December 2010 of theft of trade secrets. A U.S. appeals court reversed his conviction and he was released from prison in February after serving nearly one year of an eight-year sentence. The felony arrest warrant, dated last week and signed by an FBI agent, charges Aleynikov with "unlawful use of secret scientific material" and "unlawful duplication of computer related material." Aleynikov's lawyer, Kevin Marino, told Reuters on Thursday that "we look forward to vigorously defending Mr. Aleynikov against these false charges." (Reporting By Grant McCool; Editing by Martha Graybow; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick)
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