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  10 18 2012 97363 1 tripartite social summit pc 16 9
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  Tripartite Social Summit - update #1
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  Gary Johnson Explains What We Didn't Hear In Last Night Debate
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  Candy Crowley Post Debate Interview
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  Radovan Karadzic Proclaims His Innocents And That He Should Be Thanked For What He's Done
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  Full Air Canada Passenger Flight Asked To Help With Search & Rescue Off Coast Of Australia
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        U.S. "Contractors" Or "Mercenaries" Caught Acting Like Out Of Control Drunk Frat Boys AGAIN!
          U.S. "Contractors" Or "Mercenaries" Caught Acting Like Out Of Control Drunk Frat Boys AGAIN!
          October 17, 2012 ABC News
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        New York Federal Reserve Building Believed To Be Sitting On World's Largest Stockpile Of Gold
          New York Federal Reserve Building Believed To Be Sitting On World's Largest Stockpile Of Gold
          October 18, 2012 BBC News
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        How Serious Is This Plot? "I Think It's Significant The NYT Put This On A23 In The News Paper"
          How Serious Is This Plot? "I Think It's Significant The NYT Put This On A23 In The News Paper"
          October 18, 2012 CNN
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        Art Thieves Steal A Picasso, A Matisse, A Gauguin & 2 Monets Potentially Worth Hundreds Of Millions
          Art Thieves Steal A Picasso, A Matisse, A Gauguin & 2 Monets Potentially Worth Hundreds Of Millions
          October 17, 2012 CBS News
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        TransCanada Engineer & Whistleblower Confirms Company Can't Be Trusted On Pipeline Production
          TransCanada Engineer & Whistleblower Confirms Company Can't Be Trusted On Pipeline Production
          October 17, 2012 CBC News
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        Mika Brzezinski & Joe Scarborough MIX IT UP Over Romney's "Binders Full of Women" Comment
          Mika Brzezinski & Joe Scarborough MIX IT UP Over Romney's "Binders Full of Women" Comment
          October 18, 2012 MSNBC News
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        "This Is An Angry President" CNBC Body Language Analysis Of The Presidential Town Hall Debate
          "This Is An Angry President" CNBC Body Language Analysis Of The Presidential Town Hall Debate
          October 17, 2012 CNBC News
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        4.0 Earthquake Hits Southern Maine
          4.0 Earthquake Hits Southern Maine
          October 17, 2012 NBC News
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        What Do Joe Biden & Paul Ryan Think About The Last Presidential Debate? Let's Find Out!
          What Do Joe Biden & Paul Ryan Think About The Last Presidential Debate? Let's Find Out!
          October 17, 2012 CBS News
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        Man That Plotted To Bomb The Federal Reserve Here On Student Visa Majoring In Cyber Security
          Man That Plotted To Bomb The Federal Reserve Here On Student Visa Majoring In Cyber Security
          October 18, 2012 CNN
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        Wanna See Inside A Google Data Center?
          Wanna See Inside A Google Data Center?
          October 17, 2012 CBS News
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        Drone Strike In Yemen Kills 8 Al Qaeda Fighters AT LEAST EIGHT!
          Drone Strike In Yemen Kills 8 Al Qaeda Fighters AT LEAST EIGHT!
          October 18, 2012 CNN
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        "9/11 Mastermind" KSM Accuses US Of Justifying Murder & Torture In The Name Of Security
          "9/11 Mastermind" KSM Accuses US Of Justifying Murder & Torture In The Name Of Security
          October 18, 2012 CNN
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        Australian Prime Minister Trips And Falls Near Gandhi Memorial In India
          Australian Prime Minister Trips And Falls Near Gandhi Memorial In India
          October 17, 2012 CBS News
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        E Coli Outbreak Linked To North Carolina Fair Petting Zoo
          E Coli Outbreak Linked To North Carolina Fair Petting Zoo
          October 18, 2012 CNN
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        Condoleezza Rice Introduces Paul Ryan To Ohio Audience
          Condoleezza Rice Introduces Paul Ryan To Ohio Audience
          October 17, 2012 C-SPAN
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        "Recognize That God Gave Us Our Rights!" Mitt Romney
          "Recognize That God Gave Us Our Rights!" Mitt Romney
          October 17, 2012 C-SPAN
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        "His Tax Plan Doesn't Add Up! His Jobs Plan Doesn't Create Jobs! His Deficit Reduction Plan..."
          "His Tax Plan Doesn't Add Up! His Jobs Plan Doesn't Create Jobs! His Deficit Reduction Plan..."
          October 17, 2012 C-SPAN
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        KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND vs WENDY LONG New York Senate Debate
          KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND vs WENDY LONG New York Senate Debate
          October 17, 2012 C-SPAN
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        Washington State I-502 Legalize Marijuana Law Makes It "ILLEGAL" To Grow Without Govt Issued Permit
          Washington State I-502 Legalize Marijuana Law Makes It "ILLEGAL" To Grow Without Govt Issued Permit
          October 17, 2012 Q13 News
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        Boy Scouts Set To Release Massive Amount Sex Abuse Files Hidden From Public For Decades
          Boy Scouts Set To Release Massive Amount Sex Abuse Files Hidden From Public For Decades
          October 17, 2012 KONG TV News
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        Drunk Passenger Attempts To Open Emergence Exit During Landing At Salt Lake City Airport
          Drunk Passenger Attempts To Open Emergence Exit During Landing At Salt Lake City Airport
          October 17, 2012 KING TV News
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        Robber Sticks Gun In Baby's Mouth And Threatens To Pull The Trigger
          Robber Sticks Gun In Baby's Mouth And Threatens To Pull The Trigger
          October 17, 2012 KONG TV News
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        Seattle Times Pays For Full Page Ad For Washington State Republican Gubernatorial Candidate
          Seattle Times Pays For Full Page Ad For Washington State Republican Gubernatorial Candidate
          October 17, 2012 KONG TV News
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        Seattle Cop Caught Purposely Destroying Evidence In Terrorism Case
          Seattle Cop Caught Purposely Destroying Evidence In Terrorism Case
          October 17, 2012 Q13 News
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    Wed, 17 Oct 2012 14:10
  Gary Johnson "Presidential Debate Commission Was Created After Perot To Prevent Another Perot..."
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  "Long Islanders Understood What Happened On 9/11" Congressman Steve Israel
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    Tue, 16 Oct 2012 15:54
  Second Amendment And Gun Laws
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    Tue, 16 Oct 2012 13:02
  Amateurs Astronomers Find Planet Orbiting TWO Suns
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    Tue, 16 Oct 2012 12:51
  Seattle Area Mosque Says FBI Not Doing Enough To Investigate Bomb Threat
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    Tue, 16 Oct 2012 12:28
  "I'm NOT Homophobic! I'm NOT Against Gay Or Lesbian People" Franklin Graham
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    Tue, 16 Oct 2012 12:27
  Hillary Clinton Is Doing The Best She Can To Play Defense For President Obama
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    Tue, 16 Oct 2012 05:52
  BREAKING! Hillary Clinton Takes Responsibility For Benghazi Attack Failure
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    Tue, 16 Oct 2012 03:06
  "Senator Graham Are You Saying This Administration Deliberately Mislead The American People?"
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    Mon, 15 Oct 2012 15:25
  CNN Anchor Battles Anti-Gay Activist, Kicks Him Off After He Trashes 'Toxic' Homosexuality
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    Source: Dave Winer's linkblog feed
    Wed, 17 Oct 2012 04:20
    video
    CNN host Carol Costello could only stand so much anti-gay rhetoric this morning. After allowing American Family Association spokesman Bryan Fischer to claim that Adolf Hitler's Nazi Stormtroopers were largely comprised of gay men and that there are documented health risks to homosexuality, Costello threw the outspoken anti-gay advocate off her program, ending the interview abruptly.
    For the first half of the discussion, Fischer criticized the Southern Poverty Law Center's new ''Mix It Up at Lunch Day'' initiative that seeks to promote tolerance in school lunchrooms and reduce bullying. Naturally, the AFA is protesting the initative, claiming that it seeks to force students ''to accept homosexuality as a normal, healthy alternative to heterosexuality.''
    He went on to call the program deceptively ''toxic'' to the ''moral health'' of students, much like ''poisoned Halloween candy'' injected with cyanide. ''The label looks fine, it looks innocuous, but once you internalize it you realize how toxic it is.''
    After some back and forth over whether his views constitute ''hate speech,'' Costello read aloud a passage from a previous radio interview Fischer had conducted, in which he said:
    ''Hitler recruited homosexuals around him to make up his Stormtroopers. They were his enforcers. He discovered he could not get straight soldiers to carry out his orders but homosexual soldiers had no limit to the savagery and brutality Hitler sent them after.''
    ''That spells agenda to me,'' remarked Costello, adding that by most people's standards this would constitute ''hate speech.''
    Fischer encouraged Costello to read a particular German history book that supposedly corroborates his claims, but Costello dismissed him, adding that ''I think most historians would take issue with that.''
    The anti-gay activist then attempted to call the Southern Poverty Law Center the real ''bullying group,'' claiming that ''they're the ones that want to silence any view that would criticize the normalization of homosexual behavior.''
    But as soon as Fischer began to spout off supposed health risks to homosexuality, Costello abruptly cut him off and ended the interview.
    ''That's just not true,'' she said. ''I'm going to end this interview now, sir, because that's not true.''
    She signed off: ''Thanks for sharing your views, I guess?''
    Watch below, via CNN:
    [h/t RWW]'' ''>> Follow Andrew Kirell (@AndrewKirell) on Twitter
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Last Night's Debate - Charles P. Pierce at the Presidential Debate
  Link to Article
  Source: Dave Winer's linkblog feed
  Thu, 18 Oct 2012 13:14
  Photographs via Getty Images
  (Clockwise from top left) Snippy Willard, Drivetime Radio Mitt, Lofty Willard, Trade-War Willard, Zany Improv Willard, the Real Willard, Ass-Kicked Willard, and Dickhead Willard, the ones we know and love.
  HEMPSTEAD, New York '-- Those of us who lived under the barely distinguishable leadership of Willard Romney in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (God save it!) know very well that the emotional membrane separating Lofty Willard from Snippy Willard is thin indeed, and that the membrane separating Snippy Willard from Dickhead Willard is well-nigh translucent. Both of those membranes were tested fully here on Tuesday night by the president, by Candy Crowley '-- who has clearly had enough of your bullshit, thank you very much '-- and by the simple fact that certain members of The Help tested the challenger's ideas and found them wanting and, my dear young man, that simply is not done. And both of those membranes failed like rotting levees in a storm.
  Before I arrived to Hofstra on Tuesday, I thought that, given the roll he's been on, Romney would be able to keep both Snippy Willard and Dickhead Willard in check. I had no doubt that, because the nature of the event required that he mingle with actual carbon-based life forms, we undoubtedly would see English-as-a-Second-Language Willard. And we did. ("Binders full of women"?) And, because at least some of the questions were likely to be wild cards, there was a better than even chance that Zany Improv Willard would put in an appearance, as he did on the very first question of the night, when he told a young man named Jeremy that, "I want to make sure we keep our Pell Grant program going," when, in fact, one of the under-appreciated consequences of the overall zombie-eyed granny-starving onto which he signed when he picked his running mate is the fact that his running mate's "budget" would utterly devastate... wait for it... Pell Grants!
  (I have to admit it: When the president let that fat, hanging curveball go by, I thought he was in for another long evening.)
  But not even I expected Romney to let his entitled, Lord-of-the-Manor freak flag fly as proudly as he did on Tuesday night. He got in the president's face. He got in Crowley's face. That moment when he was hectoring the president about the president's pension made him look like someone to whom the valet has brought the wrong Mercedes.
  "You'll get your chance in a moment. I'm still speaking."
  Wow. To me, this was a revelatory, epochal moment. It was a look at the real Willard Romney, the Bain cutthroat who could get rich ruining lives and not lose a moment's sleep. But those people are merely the anonymous Help. The guy he was speaking to on Tuesday night is a man of considerable international influence. Outside of street protestors, and that Iraqi guy who threw a shoe at George W. Bush, I have never seen a more lucid example of manifest public disrespect for a sitting president than the hair-curling contempt with which Romney invested those words. (I've certainly never seen one from another candidate.) He's lucky Barack Obama prizes cool over everything else. LBJ would have taken out his heart with a pair of salad tongs and Harry Truman would have bitten off his nose.
  And Romney bitched endlessly '-- endlessly '-- about the rules, and why this uppity fellow on the other stool was allowed to speak before he was spoken to, and why he didn't get to speak at length on whatever he wanted to speak on because, after all, he is the CEO of the stage. Jesus Christ, I'd hate to play golf with the man. He's the guy who counts to make sure you don't have too many wedges in your bag. He knows every cheap subsection of every cheap ground rule, and he'll call you on every one of them. You couldn't get a free drop out of him with thumbscrews, and forget about conceding any putt outside two inches. And then, on the 18th hole, with all the money on the line, he kicks his ball out of the rough and denies up and down to the rules committee that he did it. Then he goes into the clubhouse bar and nobody sits with him.
  At this point, it is probably futile to mention that, had the president treated the first debate the way he did the second debate, we'd all be able to take the next couple of weeks off. The president was sharp on Tuesday night. (How sharp? When Romney got a chin-music question about how he differed from George W. Bush, the president put an even more wicked spin on it by congratulating Bush for his relatively progressive positions on Planned Parenthood and immigration reform and highlighting how far to the "extreme place" to which Romney has had to move on both those issues to keep his unhinged base from roasting him on a spit. That was high-wire politics and, and the president pulled it off without a bobble.) And the president was certainly engaged, and he was all the things he wasn't remotely close to being in Denver. The whole Libya "acts of terror" byplay, with Crowley herself fact-checking Romney on the fly and getting such a look in reply is going to get most of the run but, to me, the real sharp end of that exchange came when Romney got a bit snarky about the president's attending "a political fundraiser in Las Vegas" the day after the attacks, and got this back in the chops in return:
  "The day after the attack, governor, I stood in the Rose Garden and I told the American people and the world that we are going to to find out exactly what happened. That this was an act of terror and I also said that we're going to hunt down those who committed this crime. And then a few days later, I was there greeting the caskets coming into Andrews Air Force Base and grieving with their families. And the suggestion that anyone on my team would play politics or mislead when we've lost four of our own, governor, is offensive. That's not what we do. That's not what I do as president. That's not what I do as commander-in-chief."
  Leave aside the stupid quibbling about whether calling something an "act of terror" is the same thing as calling it a "terrorist act," as if what we call something makes a damn bit of difference to the dead. That was a moment of authentic anger, the kind of thing we never have seen from this president before. It was just inches away from "Have you at long last no shame, governor?"
  "That's him when he gets mad," Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, who knows the president as well as anyone outside the immediate circle of the White House, told me here in the spin room after the debate. "That was real. Those were his people."
  Not only did Romney look like a presumptuous, malinformed jackass, but the president looked like he filled out his entire office for the first time in a couple of weeks.
  Because, when you come right down to it, asses were kicked on Tuesday night, but not decisively. The president did a good job forcing Romney to think on his feet '-- look out below! '-- especially when they were both talking about gun control and Romney got asked about the Massachusetts assault weapon ban he'd signed when he was governor, and he went off on a ramble about bipartisanship and "hunting opportunities," and the president reminded him that Romney had said quite honestly that he'd abandoned that considerable achievement in order to curry favor with the NRA. But the real conclusion as regards the actual election that may have happened is that the rising Romney momentum was blunted. The one thing nobody can ever say now is that they didn't know the exact character of Willard Romney, and exactly how he feels about The Help, including that member of The Help who currently holds the job that Romney believes should have been his by virtue of his god-kissed, golden life.
  "You'll get your chance in a moment. I'm still speaking."
  Put all those Romneys together and that's what they sound like, even when they're talking to the president of the United States. It's the voice of the bloodless job-killer, the outsourcing Moloch of the industrial midwest, and the guy who poses with his Wall Street cronies with dollar bills in his mouth. People who claim to be interested in "character" should remember that.
  --
  UPDATE (THE MORNING AFTER): Beyond Binders with Etch-A-Sketch 2.0 and the Things They Could Not Say
  STEPHEN MARCHE ON THE DEBATE: Obama Gut-Punches Romney in the Generational GapFURTHER READING: The Style Report, Actual Binders, the Romney Poll Reality, and the Debate Humanity
  Follow The Politics Blog on Twitter and RSS, and Stay Tuned for Live Coverage from the Final Debate
Is $250 000 really middle class?- MSN Money.
  Link to Article
  Source: DaDenMan news feed
  Thu, 18 Oct 2012 12:49
  This post comes from Alicia Munnell at partner site SmartMoney.
  It seems as though no one reads the Census Bureau's annual publication "Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States" for anything but the number of people in poverty. The parts I find most interesting are those pertaining to the level and distribution of income. The numbers go to the heart of conversations about the "middle class" and the "rich."
  Both President Barack Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney have adopted household income of $250,000 as a meaningful demarcation point for defining the middle class. In the case of the president, he proposes to retain the Bush tax cuts for households with less than $250,000 and eliminate the tax cuts for those above that threshold. Romney, in a recent ABC interview, offered the same definition of the middle class: "Middle income is $200,000 to $250,000 and less."
  Where does this concept of $250,000 as the appropriate cutoff come from? According to the data in the Census Bureau report shown in Table 1 below, which presents the thresholds for being in different parts of the income distribution, the median household in 2011 had an income of $50,054. A household with an income of $143,611 was at the 90th percentile point, or in the top 10th of the income distribution. A household with an income of $186,000 was at the 95th percentile, or in the top 5%. The table does not even show households with $250,000, but they must be in the top 97th or 98th percentile.
  Table 1. Household Income at Selected Percentiles, 2011
  Percentile
  Dollar limit
  10th
  $12,000
  20th
  $20,262
  50th (median)
  $50,054
  80th
  $101,582
  90th
  $143,611
  95th
  $186,000
  Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2011." Table A-2.
  The thresholds must be interpreted with caution, because households include old and young, urban and rural, coastal and midland, and small and large. But it is very hard to understand how anyone could think of $250,000 as the middle. It seems as if both candidates have a mental picture of the very rich and everyone else.
  The "very-rich-vs.-every'‹one-else" framework may come from data on the share of income earned by various households. Here the census data show that those in the top quintile -- the highest-earning 20% -- earn more than the bottom four quintiles combined (see Table 2). That is, the top 20% receives more income than the bottom 80%.
  Table 2. Shares of Household Income by Quintile, 2011
  Quintile
  Share
  Lowest quintile
  3.2
  Second quintile
  8.4
  Third quintile
  14.3
  Fourth quintile
  23.0
  Highest quintile
  51.1
  Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2011." Table A-2.
  And a recent study by economist Emmanuel Saez shows that within the top quintile the distribution is also very skewed, so that the top 1% receives about 20% of total income.
  Thus, while the $250,000 threshold makes no sense in describing the middle class, it seems like a relevant divide for defining where the money is. Nevertheless, dividing the nation's households into the "wealthy" and "the middle class" doesn't seem like a useful exercise. It pits the majority of Americans against the top 1% or 2%.
  It suggests that the majority of Americans should not be called upon to solve the nation's fiscal problems. It violates the notion that we are all in this together. Yes, the rich can contribute more, but we can all contribute something.
  More on SmartMoney/MarketWat'‹ch and MSN Money:
Pussy Riot Files Complaint Against German Paper
  Link to Article
  Source: RIA Novosti
  Thu, 18 Oct 2012 12:46
  A member of the anti-Putin punk group Pussy Riot has lodged a complaint with a German media watchdog against the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (FAS) for spreading rumors and lies about her, Tagesspiegel reported citing the epd news agency.
  The German Council for the Press confirmed that it received the complaint from Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, filed on her behalf by her lawyer, Mark Feigin.
  In an article published on August 25, FAS alleged in particular that Tolokonnikova had dropped her daughter from a computer table, suggesting that she was a bad mother, Feigin said.
  The paper also compared the art group Voina (War), of which Tolokonnikova was a member, to the Red Army Faction, a leftist terrorist organization, thus equating her with terrorists.
  Pussy Riot acts have never involved any violence, Feigin said.
  There has been no comment from FAS yet.
  The German media watchdog is to decide in early December whether to accept the complaint for consideration.
  Three female members of the Pussy Riot punk group were jailed for two years on August 17, after a court found them guilty of ''hooliganism with the aim of inciting religious hatred'' in a decision that drew sharp international criticism.
  Lawyers for the group have rejected the argument that the group's 40-second performance of a song entitled ''Holy S**t'' was anti-religion, saying it was a protest against the Orthodox Church's support for Vladimir Putin ahead of the presidential elections on March 4.
In beeld: Twitteraars herdenken Sylvia Kristel en Emmanuelle
  Link to Article
  Source: VK: Home
  Thu, 18 Oct 2012 12:39
  Door: Redactie '' 18/10/12, 12:29
  (C) anp. Sylvia Kristel in de film 'Alice ou la derni¨re fugue' uit 1977.
  De Nederlandse filmster Sylvia Kristel is gisteravond op 60-jarige leeftijd overleden. Op Twitter wordt de wereldberoemde actrice herdacht, en met name haar rol in de erotische film Emmanuelle. 'Sylvia Kristel, een van de erotische mythen, is overleden. Vaarwel Emmanuelle!' Ook de beroemde filmposter met de halfblote Kristel in een rieten stoel komt regelmatig voorbij.
Climate change fiction melts away just when it's needed
  Link to Article
  Source: Culture | guardian.co.uk
  Thu, 18 Oct 2012 12:38
  Climate change ... disintegrating iceberg near west Greenland. Photograph: Jenny E Ross/Corbis
  "Guys, the ice caps are melting now," wrote Chris Ross in the Guardian Review last year. "Where are those stories?"
  The review's subject was a collection of short stories, I'm With the Bears, all on the issue of climate change. It featured good writing '' from the likes of Margaret Atwood and Lydia Millet '' but, as Ross put it, "much of this material seems to have been lifted from the wastebasket." Why was no one writing fresh fiction about it?
  One year on, the question still stands. "In spite of the stakes," said Andrew Simms on the Guardian's environment blog the other day, "the issue has receded from the political frontline like a wave shrinking down a beach." It seems that the wave never quite reached our beach '' the beach of fiction writing '' in the first place.
  Sure, there was Solar. Ian McEwan's 2010 satire of a balding, overweight scientist with marriage problems explicitly focused on "the most pressing and complex problem of our time". That's the one everyone could probably mention. But after that? There was mainly silence (if you leave aside poetry, where much more seems to be going on, most notably, perhaps, Tom Chivers' ADRIFT project).
  There's apocalyptic fiction, of course, and you could, I suppose, connect a novel such as Margaret Atwood's The Year of the Flood to climate change. But is this type of literature really concerned with the issue, or does a vaguely related scenario merely serve as a purpose for other themes and situations? (Also, as environmentalists are increasingly keen to point out, climate change isn't really about the end of the world at all; it's about living conditions becoming harder and harder as we go along.)
  Yes, Jonathan Franzen's Freedom (2010) touched on the issue (the "greener than Greenpeace" Walter is deeply worried about it), and one could stretch things by considering books such as Joe Dunthorne's Wild Abandon (2011), which is interested in low-carbon living. A number of childrens' books are on-topic, too. In Saci Lloyd's The Carbon Diaries 2015 (2008), for example, the UK has become the first nation to introduce carbon dioxide rationing. But the kids are alright, really: many are getting climate change much better than the grown-ups do (and, naturally, they're much more worried about it).
  No, it's we adults who are failing to have this conversation. It's an unpleasant conversation to have, no doubt about it '' and maybe that's why it's not really taking place in fiction, at least not centre-stage. Many novels vaguely reference the situation; sentences such as "in a warming world" or "in these times of climate change" are common in much of what's being published at the moment. But that's about it.
  As such, the portrayal of climate change in fiction might actually be a pretty accurate reflection of what's going on in the real world. We know about it, and we know it's a pretty damn serious problem, but engage with it directly? Maybe tomorrow. Maybe the day after tomorrow. Isn't someone else looking into it? We don't want to have this conversation, it seems; and neither do most characters in most novels being published.
  It's probably also true that climate change is far too complex an issue to write a definitive novel about. But is it too complex an issue for fiction writers to make a contribution? To write not so much a definitive novel about it, but one of many complementary ones? My own attempt at this, From Here (2012), tells the story of a group of ordinary people (a supermarket cashier, an ex-banker, a hipster girl), who've come together in an unlikely alliance '' realising how this one issue touches them all to the core. It's full of the contradictions surrounding climate change, and the confusion many people (even those actively involved) feel around it. Telling people that I was working on a story that tackles the issue head-on, and with a clear stance on it, the response I often got was: are you sure? Which, more than once, probably meant: are you completely out of your mind?
  There's a school of thought that says novels shouldn't (even can't) be about a very current issue. One could reply that climate change isn't very current in that sense '' it didn't start yesterday, and it will be with us for a long, long time '' but I won't, because our response to it (or lack thereof) is as current as it gets. But ought that really to prevent us from writing about it?
  Zadie Smith beautifully described the dangers of writing fiction that's grounded in the now in a recent Guardian podcast. People tend to find their own time "uninteresting, vulgar and stupid," she said, and they will constantly accuse you of "shallowness, because there's a sense that literature must be timeless". And yet, the novels that "end up being important to people are the ones which in some way express their time" '' provided you're not simply producing a "springboard to talk about whatever is in the news."
  It's definitely a fine line, but we need to have this conversation, and I refuse to accept that I'm the only one who believes that fiction can make a massive contribution to it. Novels are about human beings, and it's one of their great strengths that they can be as open and honest as they wish '' about our errors and failures, about our confusions, but also about our deepest wishes and hopes. That's why they have the power to cut through many of the things that make our coming-to-terms with climate change so hard on a strictly factual level.
  What is our fiction, if it's shying away from "the most pressing and complex problem of our time"? What is our fiction, if all we really strive for is to make some universal statement on humankind, avoiding the messiness that's the here and now? What is our fiction if, wanting to be timeless, we forget our own times? So, I'm putting this as a question, but also as a provocation: Where are those stories?
Whose data is it anyway?
  Link to Article
  Source:
  Thu, 18 Oct 2012 12:33
  Intellectual property in a digital age has been traditionally focused on issues like copyright infringement and patents.
  One issue that has not been covered is the implications for personal data.Where previously companies would pay 'mystery shoppers' or members of the public in some way for the information about how people's retail habits, they are now able to access data generated by customers using their cards and process it into marketing data.
  Mastercard is the latest company to hit the headlines for its plans to mine customers data for insights that can be sold on.
  The curious part is the company's claim that they can use off-line data to help advertisers target you online. Arguing their system is proprietary, they don't offer any detail on how this is possible without using some degree of personal information.
  If this data has value, then it should be up to Mastercard to ask customers for permission to use their information and offer consumers something in return. Whether health records, shopping habits or geolocation data, the consumer should be in control and it is a retrograde step for privacy when companies decide that it is they, not the people who are actually generating the data, should decide what happens to it.
  Instead they are treating details of our personal behaviour like their own property to be bundled up and sold on without any regard to what customers might want.
  Have Mastercard made any effort to seek customer's consent for processing their shopping habits and selling it on? How do consumers opt out? It's exactly this kind of behaviour that leads consumers to question whether companies are more interested in their own profit than respecting people's privacy.
Maybe She Didn't Die In Vain? Bullied Teen's Suicide Has Opened The Flood Gates For Other Troubled Kids, Say Police
  Link to Article
  Source: Radar Online
  Thu, 18 Oct 2012 12:28
  Facebook
  By Debbie Emery - Radar Reporter
  The heartbreaking case of 15-year-old Amanda Todd, who was driven to suicide by cruel taunts and online sexual harassment, has sparked a torrent of teenagers to contact police over cyber-bullying, RadarOnline.com can exclusively reveal.
  "We have received many calls directly from young women and teenagers from across Canada and the U.S. who were upset about what they were seeing," Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sgt. Peter Thiessen told RadarOnline.com in an exclusive interview on Wednesday.
  "They are upset about the Amanda Todd story and continued inappropriate postings and were all quite traumatized by that," explained Sgt. Thiessen, who took many of the calls on his public cell number.
  PHOTOS: Bullied Canadian Teen Tragically Takes Her Own Life
  "They were looking for a way to help and to see if we are able to make it stop. They were very difficult discussions to have."
  As RadarOnline.com previously reported, a mysterious "angel of truth" appeared on a YouTube video on Monday under the name of Anonymous to claim that a 30-year-old man from New Westminster, British Columbia was to blame for the Vancouver area teen taking her own life on October 10.
  After the hacktivist group revealed the suspect's name, a torrent of outrage flooded social media and hate groups threatening to kill him sprouted up all over Facebook and Twitter. However, police are calling the charges "unfounded" and have criticized Anonymous for their online attack.
  PHOTOS: Celebs Who Died Young
  "It certainly didn't assist our investigation," Sgt. Thiessen told Radar. "We have been monitoring social media and there have been a lot of inappropriate comments online."
  In regards to the vigilante group outing their prime suspect, the sergeant couldn't comment on whether Anonymous had any solid evidence on him, but confirmed: "The information that was provided to us through a variety of sources was unfounded, so that can speak for itself.
  "We are not going to address the group directly and what information they may be providing publicly."
  PHOTOS: Stars Who Died In Bizarre Ways
  The unique nature of the Internet-based crime has lead to demands for a change in the law and sparked debate regarding a private members motion in the Canadian House of Commons between Members of Parliament on Monday.
  "We are working within the current legislature law and the tools that we have right now to deal with this investigation," explained the chief investigator, who added that despite the difficulties, "We are certainly persevering."
  PHOTOS: Celebrity Death Threats
  Along with the torrent of calls from troubled teens, the police have received "thousands of tips," Sgt. Thiessen told Radar, and have their full resources on the investigation.
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Lance Armstrong empire implodes under mountain of lies, intimidation, doping and betrayal
  Link to Article
  Source: News 1 Stop
  Thu, 18 Oct 2012 12:19
  Mike AdamsInfowars.comOct 18, 2012
  The fall of Lance Armstrong needs to be understood not merely as the self destruction of one man, but as a betrayal of one of the most powerful and important fables of our time. Lance Armstrong taught us that a simple man, if dedicated to hard work, high integrity and the admirable pursuit of greatness, could achieve overwhelming victories against all odds. The mythology of Armstrong taught us that greatness is earned, not merely granted, and that there are no shortcuts to achieving the things that really matter in life.
  But Lance Armstrong, we now know, was a cheat. A liar. A false prophet. He injected his body with banned, illegal substances. He intimidated and threatened teammates into silence. He bullied critics and even lied to his own sponsors (like NIKE) to keep the cash flowing into his own pockets. While presenting a public face of honesty, integrity and hard work, Lance Armstrong was cheating his way to victories he never deserved'... and then he lied about it year after year, race after race, insulting not merely his millions of fans but the reputation of the entire sport of cycling.
  Lance Armstrong, in other words, claimed to be a man of greatness and achievement but was secretly cheating his way to the finish line every single time. He betrayed the very belief system that he publicly claimed to espouse. He violated not just his own body with doping chemicals; he violated the public trust in a story of personal achievement that simply turned out to be too good to be true.
  Massive evidence is conclusive: Lance Armstrong is a liar and a cheat
  There is no question that Lance Armstrong is a confirmed liar of almost unbelievable magnitude. The evidence against him is overwhelming. Over two dozen of his former teammates testified against him, and USADA is releasing more evidence with each passing day. As USADA writes on its website:
  The evidence of the US Postal Service Pro Cycling Team-run scheme is overwhelming and is in excess of 1000 pages, and includes sworn testimony from 26 people, including 15 riders with knowledge of the US Postal Service Team (USPS Team) and its participants' doping activities. The evidence also includes direct documentary evidence including financial payments, emails, scientific data and laboratory test results that further prove the use, possession and distribution of performance enhancing drugs by Lance Armstrong and confirm the disappointing truth about the deceptive activities of the USPS Team, a team that received tens of millions of American taxpayer dollars in funding.
  Together these different categories of eyewitness, documentary, first-hand, scientific, direct and circumstantial evidence reveal conclusive and undeniable proof that brings to the light of day for the first time this systemic, sustained and highly professionalized team-run doping conspiracy.
  A d v e r t i s e m e n tIf you want to see the stunning magnitude of evidence against Lance Armstrong, take a look at this report from USADA.
  Here's a small taste of what's being published about Lance Armstrong right now across the 'net:
  Lance Armstrong is ''the greatest fraud in American sports.'' - Yahoo Sports
  ''Lance Armstrong's reputation lies in tatters after the United States Anti-Doping Agency labelled him a 'serial' cheat who led 'the most sophisticated, professionalised and successful doping programme that sport has ever seen'.'' - the BBC
  ''USADA's report on Lance Armstrong has opened the flood gates for humiliating instances for the disgraced star. Lance Armstrong was branded as a serial cheat by USADA after stripping him off his Tour de France titles. USADA report, an anthology of evidence of Armstrong's doping habits was compiled with the help of the statements from the star's former colleagues.'' -Sports Bulletin
  ''Levi Leipheimer, one of the 11 former colleagues who gave evidence against Lance Armstrong, has been sacked by his team, Omega Pharma-QuickStep. In another development on Tuesday, International Olympic Committee vice-president Thomas Bach called for Armstrong to make a full admission of his doping history.'' - The Telegraph
  ''The United States Anti-Doping agency's report, which amounted to a damning depiction of Armstrong as a main conspirator in a vast doping scheme, contended that Armstrong repeatedly lied under oath. The antidoping agency said it found Armstrong committed perjury during the SCA hearings by making false statements about his doping activities. At the time, Armstrong attacked SCA and its founder, Bob Hamman, as well as witnesses, including some members of the cycling community, who testified for the company.'' - New York Times
  ''In the months and years to come there is going to be a lot of stuff revealed. It's going to be not just a black period for doping but it's going to reflect on what others'... He's destroyed people and if you go against him, he tries to destroy you. He's been trying that for ten years with me.'' - cycling champion Greg LeMond, in CyclingNews
  ''He was not just a part of the doping culture on his team, he enforced and re-enforced it. Armstrong's use of drugs was extensive and the doping programme on his team, designed in large part to benefit Armstrong, was massive and pervasive. Armstrong and his co-conspirators sought to achieve their ambitions through a massive fraud now more fully exposed. So ends one of the most sordid chapters in sports history.'' - BBC Sports
  Armstrong continues to lie to the world
  Despite all the evidence against him, Armstrong continues to lie to the world, absurdly claiming he never doped and it's all some evil government conspiracy set out to destroy him. He apparently wants us to believe that all his teammates and former employees and assistants have all formed a grand conspiracy against him for the purpose of'... what, exactly? Creating a media circus that benefits no one and may very well destroy the credibility of the entire sport?
  No, it's now perfectly clear that Lance Armstrong is a serial liar. He lied to his fans, lied to his sponsors and lied to the world. He achieved his victories by cheating.
  All those people who adored him by wearing those silly yellow Livestrong bracelets were, predictably, worshipping a world-class deceiver who has received millions of dollars in sponsorship money from the pharmaceutical companies. And today, Lance Armstrong has stepped down as the chairman of Livestrong.
  At the same time, Nike has suddenly ended its contract with Lance Armstrong, too. Sponsorship contracts for Lance Armstrong are falling like dominoes, it seems. It's no wonder: does any corporation want the face of a world-class cheater to represent its brand?
  Big Pharma loved the guy, of course. What better spokesperson for the pharmaceutical industry than a ''serial liar'' who used banned chemicals to cheat? That sounds like the entire business model of Big Pharma, come to think of it.
  ''On a different but still relevant note, the Lance Armstrong Foundation was recently exposed for funding a Big Pharma-backed study that promotes an increase in the prescription of opiates and other pain reliever drugs, despite their growing and widespread abuse. The so-called PAINS Initiative study was also backed by the group Rx Action Alliance and drug giant Purdue Pharmaceuticals, the latter of which was fined more than half a billion dollars for misleading the public about the addictive nature of OxyContin (oxycodone).'' - NaturalNews.com
  Armstrong was a bully to anyone who questioned him
  But Armstrong wasn't merely a cheater, a liar, and a doper. He's also a really nasty, mean person, according to people who have had dealings with him. He viciously attacked anyone who threatened his ''empire.'' Just ask Mike Anderson, a former friend of Armstrong who says he was betrayed by Armstrong.
  ''Armstrong's aggressive attempts to ruin me, and their effectiveness, left me with a deepening sense of disappointment in the U.S. justice system, where the well-heeled often get away with things that ordinary citizens simply can't,'' writes Anderson, adding that Armstrong was never a victim, but often a victimizer of others. (http://www.naturalnews.com/037193_Lance_Armstrong_doping_insiders.htm'...)
  See the original story on Mike Anderson at OutsideOnline.com
  Lance Armstrong, of course, can easily afford highly-paid lawyers, and those lawyers were regularly dispatched to attack anyone who accused Armstrong of doping. In the case of Mike Anderson, Armstrong's attorney responded with a scathing letter accusing Anderson of being a liar and calling him ''AnderSatan!'' We now know this legal response to be full of lies itself, but if you want to read it, here's the text published in August of this year.
  One of the subheads from that attack piece written by Lance Armstrong's lawyer reads, ''Mr. Anderson Falsely Accuses Lance Armstrong of Avoiding Taking a Drug Test.'' It's almost laughable now, isn't it? Now the whole world knows Lance Armstrong was running a massive doping conspiracy while viciously attacking the people around him who tried to blow the whistle on his behavior!
  Even Piers Morgan saw the truth about Armstrong, saying, ''Nice guy that Lance Armstrong '-- a nasty, vengeful bully as well as the world's biggest sporting cheat.'' - Hollywood Reporter.
  The Guardian writes, ''Lance Armstrong case: The dope cheat, the bully and the cancer fighter '' On the one hand he could be utterly charming, the inspiring cancer hero, on the other he would bully anyone who dared speak against him.''
  The Herald Sun declares, ''Lance Armstrong branded a liar, a cheat and a bully by his former teammates.'' That story goes on to declare that Lance Armstrong:
  SURROUNDED himself with drug runners and doping doctors;
  BULLIED teammates into using his methods;
  INTIMIDATED witnesses;
  REPEATEDLY lied to investigators;
  PULLED out of a race to avoid a test.
  NIKE / Armstrong ad lies to the world '' ''I'm on my bike. What are you on?''
  As part of the gross deception carried out by Lance Armstrong, NIKE funded a video ad that you can see on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxnqHvEbGnc
  The ad shows Armstrong undergoing a blood draw, implying that he was ''clean'' from any doping. During the deceptive ad funded by NIKE, Armstrong narrates:
  ''This is my body. And I can do whatever I want to it.''
  ''Everybody wants to know what I'm on. What am I on? I'm on my bike, bustin' my ass six hours a day. What are you on?''
  Followed by ''Just do it'' and the NIKE swoosh.
  But of course we now know exactly what he was on: Illegal doping substances. Which means Lance Armstrong was, and still is, full of complete sh#t. And NIKE helped pay for the ads that attempted to cover it all up.
  Comments to the YouTube video lay it out with raw truth:
  What am I on? EPO, steroids, human growth hormone, transfused blood'... The question is, what aren't I on?
  This is my body, I can do whatever I want to it. I can dope it, inject it, fill it with some extra blood I have saved in Tyler's freezer. What am I on? F#$k man, I'm on all kinds of mad sh%#!
  With the release of the Usada report, Lance has been crushed under a mountain of evidence. He has been shown to be a cheat, a liar, a hypocrite, and a bully. I wish I could have back all those hours I spent rooting for him in the Tour. Once upon a time, I was a fan and I believed the guy. I loved this commercial, and I figured the Frenchies were just pissed off at Lance because he kept winning their Big Race. Of course, now I know better. I was a sucker.
  Lance Armstrong is a symbol of everything that's wrong with our modern world
  At the end of the day, Lance Armstrong was more than just a serial liar, cheater, doper and ringleader of a massive international conspiracy. He was more than just a receiver of millions of dollars from big corporate sponsors like NIKE. He was the guy who told the world the way to rise to the top was to be honest and work hard. His victory was made out of pure dedication, integrity and a ''just do it'' attitude. That was his formula, he told us. And if we worked hard, followed the rules, and had the same kind of dedication that Armstrong did, we could achieve great things too, we were promised.
  And yet, it was all a cruel lie. Armstrong didn't get to the top through hard work and high integrity. He got there with a needle in his arm, a bully lawyer behind his back, and a network of wealthy corporate sponsors who winked and nodded and kept the cash flowing.
  He won his victories by cheating, lying and intimidating others. He's the mafia boss of cycling; the Satan of sport. He's the guy who charmed everybody into a state of trust and even celebrity worship, while in the back room he was smacking a vein to find a ready injection point for another needle full of illegal chemicals.
  Lance Armstrong, it turns out, is the anti-hero'... and a despicable human being, to boot. He not only lied to the world, he has now crushed the hopes and dreams in the minds of millions of people who literally worshipped the guy. He has betrayed not merely his teammates, his fans and his sport, he has betrayed the very thing that gives us hope in a troubled world: the idea that a regular guy can achieve something great if he just dedicates himself to a goal and pursues it with honesty and effort.
  And yet, Armstrong's fakery isn't unique. Much of the world around us is living in a dream state, believing countless other fictions like ''the national debt doesn't matter'' or ''vaccines are safe even though they still contain mercury, formaldehyde and MSG.'' Or even the NIKE fiction of, ''You'll be cool and popular if you wear these tennis shoes made by low-wage workers sweating it out somewhere in Asia.''
  Much of the world we see is a fiction'... pure fakery and marketing hype. And so Lance Armstrong, being a man of hype and deception, may actually still be the perfect spokesperson for the corporations that dominate our world. The fact that he was lying to the world only makes him even more aligned with the corporations, it turns out. Maybe NIKE should change its slogan to, ''Just Lie'' and put Lance Armstrong back on contract.
  Just Lie like Lance Armstrong, and you too can win Olympic medals and world sporting events. Just Lie and you too can receive millions of dollars in sponsorship contracts. Just Lie and you can be worshipped as a hero by millions, even as you are betraying them all with despicable dishonesty.
  Just Lie'... and you can follow in the footsteps of Lance Armstrong, a scammer and a cheat who fooled the world for more than a decade but ultimately destroyed himself out of sheer greed, arrogance and denial.
  Tags: domestic news, health
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Armstrong houdt vrijdag speech in Austin
  Link to Article
  Source: VK: Home
  Thu, 18 Oct 2012 12:18
  18/10/12, 13:22 '' bron: ANP
  (C) ap. Lance Armstrong.
  De ontmaskerde wielerkoning Lance Armstrong zal vrijdag, als alles volgens plan verloopt, een toespraak houden in zijn woonplaats Austin in Texas. Het is de bedoeling dat de 41-jarige Amerikaan een zaal vol supporters van zijn stichting Livestrong toespreekt ter gelegenheid van het 15-jarige bestaan van de organisatie die strijdt tegen kanker.
  Het wordt zijn eerste publieke optreden sinds de publicatie van het onderzoeksrapport van het antidopingbureau Usada. Daarin kwam Armstrong vorige week naar voren als het brein achter een professioneel dopingnetwerk.
  Sindsdien is de voormalige tourwinnaar, die levenslang is geschorst, al vele sponsors kwijt geraakt. Ook moest hij het voorzitterschap van zijn stichting neerleggen. Hij blijft voorlopig nog wel aan als bestuurslid.
Athens Full Day Strike Turns Violent: Tears Gas, Petrol Bombs Exchanged
  Link to Article
  Source: Zero Hedge
  Thu, 18 Oct 2012 12:16
  Same old, same old from the country whose future is supposedly being decided at today's latest (we have now lost count) Eurosummit. Spoiler alert: nothing will be decided until after the US election. From AP: 'Violence has broken out at an anti-austerity demonstration in Athens during a 24-hour general strike, with youths pelting riot police with petrol bombs and rocks. Riot police responded with tear gas to disperse the troublemakers during the clashes Thursday in the capital's central Syntagma Square, as thousands of people marched through the streets. Greek workers are holding their second general strike in a month, protesting new austerity measures the government is negotiating with the debt-ridden country's international creditors." Too bad "rioter" is not a Full Time Equivalent employment position according to the Greek BLS. Or at least not yet.
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Cass Sunstein Tries to Explain that the Equal Protection Clause doesn't Actually Mean what it Says
  Link to Article
  Source: BlackListedNews.com
  Thu, 18 Oct 2012 12:15
  All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. (Section 1 of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution)
  Mr. Sunstein recently stepped down as chief information and regulation officer for the White House. Now he spends his time in the ''green pastures of Harvard University.'' Recently he had enough time to pen the attached apology for nonsensical interpretations of the US Constitution.
  The article concerns the 14th Amendmentand specifically how it applies to affirmative action at the University of Texas. (Didn't we do this 10 years ago?) But affirmative action is not the chief issue in his op-ed. More important is Sunstein's convoluted argument about what ''orginalist'' thinking is and is not. Very quickly in the essay we head down the lawyerly rabbit hole. Rabbit holes with lawyers are the worst kind.
  Sunstein holds that Justices Scalia and Thomas are not really ''originalist'' in their interpretations of the Constitution and especially in the recent UT case.
  He explains that in his opinion Scalia and Thomas were real ''orginalists'' they would have to take into account the various nuances which surround the14th Amendment, the institution of the Freedmen's Bureaufor instance. ''Originalists'' would surely have to take into account this tangential legislation (and its intent) which occurred in the wake of the Civil War.
  But just because a piece of legislation was enacted at the same time as the Amendment was instituted, or because the general vibe of government was radiating this way or that does not matter. Orginalist interpretation centers on what the Constitution actually says. What does the Equal Protection Clause acually say?
  Now this is where the linguists, the political correctness police, and the lawyers come together. I mean just because ''up'' may mean ''up'' to you mister bourgeois middle class guy, does not in fact mean that ''up'' is ''up'' to me or someone with a different ''worldview.'' ''Up'' may in fact mean ''down'' to some, or even sideways. This mister bourgeois middle class guy is why we have lawyers who can decipher the meaning of ''up'' for everyone, and what the 14th Amendment actually says for that matter.
  People like Mr. Sunstein understand that if people in positions of power call the sky red when it is blue long enough everyday folks will begin to agree that the sky is in fact red. In fact over enough time people will even forget what the color blue is (if this is what the redskyers desire.)
  The Constitution says what it says. But to accept this is to accept that much of the government superstructure we have erected over the last 100 years is illegitimate. Mr Sunstein and his fellow travelers will never accept that.
  Click here for Mr. Sunstein's op-ed.
  >>
John Horgan helps New Yorkers understand basic equation '' No Nukes + No Gas = More Coal
  Link to Article
  Source: Atomic Insights
  Thu, 18 Oct 2012 12:03
  John Horgan, a science writer who lives just a few miles north of the Indian Point Nuclear Power station, has published a pointed commentary in Scientific American titled No Nukes + No Fracking = More Coal? Indian Point Debate Highlights Green Quandary.
  As a converted former opponent of the Indian Point facility, Horgan has done the math and researched the actions of Germany and other countries that have claimed they were shutting down nuclear plants and replacing them with unreliables and doing without (aka renewables and energy conservation). What he has found is that the real power that replaces the reliable, emission free output from nuclear energy plants comes from coal and natural gas.
  Sure, there have been well-publicized sunny, mild Saturday afternoons when unreliables provided more than half of the electricity that Germans were using. What the reports did not mention was that the occasion probably happened at a time when a fair portion of population had turned off their industrial equipment, televisions and cooking appliances to enjoy a sunny spring weekend outside.
  Horgan has recognized that such events are the exception, not the rule.
  After Fukushima, German announced that it would close its nuclear power plants by 2022. But to meet its energy needs, Germany has had to build new fossil-fuel plants, including one of the biggest coal facilities in the world. As The Washington Post reported, ''Germany's dilemma shows how difficult it is to balance competing environmental priorities, even with vast resources and popular support for the efforts.''
  I must admit I was just a tiny bit disappointed in Horgan's piece. Not only did he imply that natural gas would be an adequate substitute for Indian Point, he neglected to credit one of the major reasons that he changed his mind about nuclear energy.
  Though he mentioned the influence of my good friend, Gwyneth Cravens, in the evolution of his thinking about energy, he did not say that I was the guy who introduced him to Gwyneth. He didn't provide any links to the initial Blogginheads conversation that we had about nuclear energy in general or the one that we had on March 16, 2012 about nuclear energy in the aftermath of Fukushima. I'm hurt. (grin) Perhaps it is time for us to get together again.
  On another topic, I am looking forward to a gathering tonight of the Virginia chapter of the American Nuclear Society. We are meeting after work at Charley's to socialize and to listen to a talk titled SC-HTGR '' a Generation IV helium cooled reactor for cogeneration of process heat and electricity. (Note: SC-HTGR '' Steam Cycle '' High Temperature Gas Reactor)
  This talk will provide an update on a technology that has fascinated me since 1991 '' high temperature gas reactors with fuel that is so well protected by its coatings that it will not be damaged until it reaches a temperature of about 1600 C.
  Additional linksJohn Horgan, a Nuclear Energy Skeptic, Interviews Rod Adams for Blogginghead.tv
  Guest Blog at Scientific American '' The Influence of Information on an Open, Inquiring Mind
  John Horgan '' Converting to pro-nuclear nut after reading Power to Save the World and touring Indian Point
  John Horgan and Rod Adams talk about nuclear energy in the context of an enormous natural disaster
Savile's inheritance. BBC grooms children for sex on Cbeebies.
  Link to Article
  Source: the tap
  Thu, 18 Oct 2012 10:40
  Hi Tap,I spotted this video on YouTube a while ago (a bit before this pedo/Jimmy Savile/BBC, et al fiasco) and feel it's relevant now:
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrNlHYV0dmg
  The whole of the BBC programming in general is geared towards social engineering as they are closely linked to the Tavistock institute. If the government wants to push an agenda, for instance, then it's highly effective through TV (and radio) programming.
  Peoples' brains go into 'Alpha' state and are highly suggestible (Alan Watt touches on this a lot in his broadcasts). Just looking at the above video for example of the banana. A lot of people wouldn't twig to what's going (as they are in a 'trance'/Alpha state watching TV) on as if you told them then they would go ''don't be stupid, it's on TV, they wouldn't dare do that''. If you did this in real life however then people would be more observant... the power of TV.
  Cbeebies is a Masonic paedophile ring using subliminal suggestion to familiarise children with sex, subconsciously preparing them for abuse.
  Don't put your daughter on the stage, Mrs Worthington -
  This mother realised the TV has an agenda - to corrupt and pervert young people.
US ambassador: Internet fee proposal gaining momentum
  Link to Article
  Source: ZapLog - externe links
  Thu, 18 Oct 2012 10:27
  U.S. Ambassador Terry Kramer warned on Friday that a proposal to give a United Nations agency more control over the Internet is gaining momentum in other countries.
  Proposals to expand the U.N.'s International Telecommunications Union's (ITU) authority over the Internet could come up at a treaty conference in Dubai in December. European telecommunications companies are pushing a plan that would create new rules that would allow them to charge more to carry international traffic.
  The proposal by the European Telecommunications Network Operators' Association could force websites like Google, Facebook and Netflix to pay fees to network operators around the world.Kramer said the idea of an international Internet fee is "gaining more interest in the African states and also in the Arab states."
  He said the United States delegation to the conference will have to redouble its efforts to convince other countries that the proposal would only stifle innovation and economic growth.
  More from The Hill:' Timeline of Libya attack reveals administration contradictions' Obama camp paints Romney defense strategy as path to war' Romney's plan to dump Bernanke sparks anxiety on Wall Street' High gas prices roil House races' Reid vows fresh effort to pass cybersecurity bill' Abortion groups target swing-state voters' Rep. Issa: Libya a 'mission accomplished' moment for Obama' Obama faces dilemma on gas prices as election day nears
  "We support efforts to grow broadband markets'--not just divvying a static pie of revenue between operators and governments," Kramer said in a speech in Washington hosted by the Telecommunications Industry Association.
  Democrats and Republicans in the United States are united against proposals to increase international control of the Internet. Congress passed a non-binding resolution earlier this year urging the United States delegation to "promote a global Internet free from government control and preserve and advance the successful multistakeholder model that governs the Internet today."
  But Kramer warned that the United States is gaining a reputation of stubbornly opposing any changes to the ITU treaty. He said the United States will have to engage in negotiations with other countries to address their concerns.
  He acknowledged that many countries are struggling to secure their networks from hackers and cybercriminals. He said the United States opposes international cybersecurity regulation but supports efforts to help poorer countries expand their ability to combat cyberthreats.
  "The U.S. is open to dialogue in ways to make such cooperation more comprehensive, building on work by existing institutions," he said.
  Kramer explained that the United States will not have to sign on to any treaty that it objects to, but he warned that if a majority of countries at the Dubai conference adopt an overly regulatory treaty, it could reshape the open, international nature of the Internet.
Enough of Foster Freiss Frauds
  Link to Article
  Source: Lame Cherry
  Thu, 18 Oct 2012 10:11
  This blog detests these conservative dandies who either have never fired a gun in their life killing anything or buy their hunting done for them.
  In saying that, this is about Mike Gallagher being invited to South Dakota, the other Um Dakota according to Rush Limbaugh and for Mark Levin, that would be the other South Dakota that Minnesotan's can hear broadcasts out of..........in MG was invited for a freebie hunt by Foster Freiss the billionaire.......
  You know about Festus, he is the rich Wyoming squatter who would not even bother replying to his blog, as he is too liberal Aspen Institute in buying Romney and Ryan......likes that Dickhead D'Souza too with his 2016 plagiarizing movie for bloggers and who was saying America was responsible for 9 11.
  Anyway, back at the ranch and I'm pissed about this, as Gomer Gallagher gets invited and this bird does not even hunt. He whines about poor pheasants and has this head up his ass not knowing anything about life.So Mike gets told to go out to South Dakota, which he explains is the last place on earth, which really will endear him to those people out there.
  Next they tell him to get waterproof boots and pants.....and Gallagher thinks then that pheasants are water birds and not upland birds. For a clue to Mike Gallagher, the reason one wears waterproof boots and pants IS IT RAINS and not that Chinese ringneck pheasants are ducks.
  I do have concerns about this going Dick Cheney, as Dick actually did hunt this location as it is where the big shots all hunt.......unlike good friend Bo Jackson of the NFL who hunts down at the lodge at Winner, another remote place, but really nice stone fireplace.
  Anyway I digress........
  So this dolt Gallagher starts calling the South Dakota down, GettEEEZZburg which is like Pennsylvania, but in South Dakota the native cowpies say it different in it is Get TESSburg. It is a short E S and not the long E Z which Gallagher would not know as he is like all these conservatives in not knowing a thing about America.
  I will educate Mike Gallagher on one other thing and that is the capital is PEER pronunciation of the French Pierre.........do not be the Professor on Gilligans Island or the locals will be sure to be thinking you are a dumb ass there Mike.
  Now for the reality so Mike does not blow Foster Freiss' head off, even if Freiss does deserve to get shot in the ass for not replying to me, that big A HOLE of Aspen liberal Institute buying Romney and Ryan.
  Mike Gallagher does need an NRA hunter safety course for a license, but if the hunt is canned as this is pheasants raised in pens for the Nimrod's to blast, that might be a non issue. Point is hunters like myself sneer at this kind of shooting of birds the dudes like billionaire Freiss pay for.
  A real hunter would be armed with a pump shotgun, with a plug in the magazine for 3 shots like for waterfowl. I shoot either handloads of an ounce and eighth 2 shot loaded fast. There is not recoil nor blast with this and it kills pheasants quite lovely at range, as I only shoot wild birds honed by coyotes, coon and fox...........that is raccoon for the racists.
  Damned horned owls too and Cooper's hawks..........honed by them.
  Any way, Gallagher though should just get a single shot, loaded with Super X and 5 shot with a modified choke as that is about all he will be good for. That way he can only blow his own head off or shoot Foster Freiss in the ass, and nothing much will happen to the bystanders.
  I would get a nice pair of Rocky Mountain Boots as they are light. A pair of blue jeans, over chaps for wet, and baseball type cap and a canvas coat, and he will need some orange so Ralph Reed doesn't abort him with a 20 gauge.
  Oh Mike, you probably should shoot a 12 as it is a hunter's gauge, but knowing you, you will probably wuss out for the 20.........I like 2 3/4 loads in my pheasant hunting.....preference Winchester, Remington and then Federal.......Feds run hotter usually.
  As far as dogs......leave them alone Mike in their business. You will probably wince in them slobbering and things, so do not grab the birds from them and ruin the dog in the fetching. You will probably get spurred by a cock pheasant too, and that would hurt your hand, so just let the professionals touch the dogs and handle the birds. It would be better if you just stayed in the lodge, along with Foster, and the rest of the girls, and let real hunters do the job, but then you lillies will of course all pretend you are hunters.
  You will run into preachers lice, niggers lice, cockleburrs and burdocks......all plants that stick you and the burn weeds have things to get into your eyes. You will probably have some shooting glasses on like a puss, so that should not be a problem.
  Shooting skeet is not like shooting with a coat on......so you will catch the butt of the shotgun on things.....and you will probably have your finger on the trigger with the safety off too as you are an idiot..........Foster should have donated to my blog before you kill him with an ass shot of lead 5's.
  South Dakota has hell for wind. Your weekend should be relatively calm though for that state.
  Am thinking.......oh Mike, do not take passing shots of right to left........you will miss of course. Just wait for the pheasants which explode under your feet and fly straight away and then shoot them in the ass.Most pheasants fly at a 30 degree angle, so just pull out about a foot in front of their head and pull the trigger. Should kill most of what you are dealing with.
  Be careful eating the birds others eat, as lead shot busts teeth. This ain't chickens we are dealing with from Tyson.
  I really would like to be there in showing you children how to kill pheasants. Is not much sport in it, and is why I do not hunt them often any more, as I do not get terrified of them exploding up under my feet any more. Is just a matter of killing them and the treat is watching the dogs work as hunting dogs are the happiest creatures of the canine world in being fulfilled.
  I do detest Mike Gallagher though in his poor pheasants and his whining about things. It is hard enough to keep gun rights without that A HOLE saying things like that in public. It is an ordeal if he knew cock pheasants root hen pheasants out of roosts in cold snowy weather so they die and the cocks live.It is a fact that it requires only one cock to fertilize 50 hen pheasants, and cropping them helps the flocks.
  ........and for goodness sakes Gallagher do not shoot the hens even if it is a canned hunt.
  I hope Foster Freiss and Gallagher get arrested and throne into Indian prison. Be good for them to teach them the finer things of South Dakota.
  To waste birds and hunting on Mike Gallagher.........Foster Freiss is what is wrong with America.
  The Foster Freiss Frauds of Conservatism.
  agtG
Candygate
  Link to Article
  Source: Lame Cherry
  Thu, 18 Oct 2012 09:57
  This blog was first to expose the reality of Candy Crowley had coordinated with the Obama 2012 election campaign in the second debate over the ANALGATE issue in which she had deliberately prompted Mr. Obama several times in literally lying for Mr. Obama in cutting off Mitt Romney.
  There is though a reality in this which is much deeper than this and will be first reported in matter and anti matter exclusive here.
  What Candy Crowley was making up for was the Andersen Cooper outing of Obama in the anal dairies of Chris Stevens when CNN was in the US embassy and the FBI was holed up in Tripoli waiting for the Obama cleaners to get rid of all the evidence in the hostage taking episode he had staged against Ambassador Stevens and three others for a grand Obama rescue.
  The drunken press at the Obama debate only foreshadowed their boisterous cheering and jeering of Obama asking Mitt Romney about his finances and taxes. The reality is thee entire press corp at the debate had been spying on Romney and feeding David Axelrod intelligence, ever since team Romney had fed false debate information to Obama spies which set up the first Obama implosion.
  Barack Obama KNEW what the questions were going to be, because team Obama had so loaded the occupants of that debate with their hand puppets, that thee exact questions were known and Candy Crowley by her performance in giving Obama 9 minutes more time and cutting off Mitt Romney, sealed the bias which should have her, and thee entire press corp fired over this.Obama was able to fight this to a draw only, only because he had been given all the answers.
  The Ambassador Stevens question was a set up. Crowley KNEW of the Obama admission of knowing this was a terror event at the Rose Garden, but you will notice NO ONE IN THE PRESS reported one iota of this, but let it sit knowing Mitt Romney would make an issue of it, and sucker punch Mr. Romney with it.
  Obama's Freudian slip in the "terrorist" event quote was not aimed at Benghazi but all terror events, but as in all things Obama his left brain right brain can never help blurting things out, including he is a Filipino national when speaking to the President of the Philippines.
  Obama was in direct contact with these "terror donors" as this was the same group who donated to him in 2008 illegally. Obama has been handing over Muslim nations to these communists and Syria is the lastest 30,000 dead step in this process of paying back that 300 million dollar bribe, you got stuck bailing out in TARP.Obama's Libyan terrorists were supposed to just take hostages and be surprised when Obama sent the SEALS in to murder them. Trouble was the same connected groups which murdered TEAM SIX arrived and decided to pay back Obama a bit more, and that is the chatter which intelligence picked up, and is why CIA and DOD have been absent on this.
  Obama did his worst to intimidate Christians with this ANALGATE over that Muslim video, for 2 weeks. This is ANALGATE, and now in CANDYGATE, which this blog exclusively exposed first, Candy Crowley with thee entire press corp at that event has been spying on Mitt Romney and assisting Mr. Obama in this set up of Mitt Romney.
  This is not just unethical, it is criminal, because 4 Americans were assaulted and murdered in Libya, and Candy Crowley and her press corp literally not only covered up information in this in not turning it over to FBI, but have assisted in subverting an American election in setting up Mitt Romney on these questions.
  People go to prison over these types of stolen data from campaigns as Richard Nixon's people did in the past. This is a matter then not of just people who should be fired, but literally Candy Crowley should be looking at felonies along with this cheering jeering press mob, AND THE OBAMA PLANTS IN THAT AUDIENCE WHO NUMBERED IN THE HUNDREDS, are coup plotters and should be indicted in high crimes against these United States with sentences of 20 years to life.
  This is not some small thing which was engaged in, in Debate 2. This was a violation of the RICO Act in an organized criminal conspiracy and Candy Crowley and Barack Obama led it.
  It is obvious to all now that Mr. Obama was fed questions and was waiting for the traps to be sprung. It was all staged and the worst of it, is Obama could only work out a draw even while cheating and having thee entire press corp spying for him.
  What literally has taken place is a mass murder orchestrated by B. Hussein Obama in the cover up of ANALGATE, and now in the press subversion with Mr. Obama of Debate 2, one has a criminal cover up in what is CANDYGATE.
  This can not be condoned in America and it is beyond shameful the powerful and rich gay groups are not defending Chris Stevens and joining in this cover up of mass murder in what is a new criminal charge of CANDYGATE.
  That entire cheering press corp was in on this set up of Mitt Romney. They knew Obama was going to make that line, just like the plants in the audience were not paying attention to Obama until the lines they knew were coming for them to cheer and laugh at were delivered.
  This was Obama Theater and it was criminal in the regime and their puppy press. This is CANDYGATE and is another by God's Inspiration matter anti matter exclusive only found here.
  If Mike Gallagher's producer can spot it 12 hours after this blog broke it first at 10:10 pm, October 16th, then you know it is reality my children.
  agtG 233
  PS: Some might say that Mitt Romney is trying to defuse this as he does not want it known his campaign fed both Jeb Bush and B. Hussein a decoy set of talking points they both bit on. Romney desires for people to think he won the first debate on his ability alone.
  another Lame Cherry Inspired exclusive in matter anti matter afterthought.
  agtG 219
New Revelation At '47%' Dinner '' Romney Was Hoping For Something Like Iran Hostage (VIDEO)
  Link to Article
  Thu, 18 Oct 2012 05:05
  Mitt Romney smirking as he leaves press conference on Libya
  Mitt Romney's now-infamous fundraising dinner has yielded another gem. This is the event during which he was caught saying that,
  ''There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it '-- that that's an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what. '... These are people who pay no income tax. '... [M]y job is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.''
  Of course, those people consist of senior citizens, disabled people, veterans, students and the poor. The elitism of Romney's statement resonated with many people, enough so that it seemed to sway the election for a few weeks, at least until the first debate.
  It seems that for Romney, the ''truths'' told during that particular fundraiser are like any ghost worth his reputation, the haunting is relentless and this latest portion could be the most damaging of all. In the video, Romney is caught hoping for an Iran hostage type situation to help propel him into the White House. Is it any surprise that he has tried to make political hay out of the Benghazi terror attacks?
  As you watch the video, notice the man (is that a British accent?) asking Romney how he can ''duplicate'' an Iran hostage type scenario. Instead of dismissing the question as going against American interests, Romney agrees that the strategy would be beneficial. The entire video is worth a listen but at the end, Romney says, ''if something of that nature presents itself, I will work to take advantage of the opportunity.''
  Here's the video:
  Mitt Romney will stop at nothing '-- including the detriment of his country and the possible deaths of American citizens '-- to achieve his political goals.
  Follow me on my new Facebook page or on Twitter, @wendygittleson
  Related posts:Arizona Bill Bans Abortion After 18 Weeks, Forces Women To Undergo Transvaginal Ultrasounds
  Mississippi Rep. Says He Has No Problem With Women Dying From Coat Hanger Abortions (VIDEO)
  Suburban Denver Bake Shop Refuses To Sell Cake To Gay Couple (VIDEO)
  Tags:47%, 47% dinner, Benghazi, Iran hostage situation, Libya, Mitt Romney, terror attacks
Someone Check on Grandpa: Mass Murder Via Pacemaker Hack Is Now Possible
  Link to Article
  Thu, 18 Oct 2012 04:02
  If you're an maniacal villain, please stop reading now. Apparently pacemaker transmitters can be reverse-engineered to deliver deadly shocks.
  A researcher named Barnaby Jack (that has to be a fake name) recently demonstrated this dubious capability with a video at a security conference in Australia. Basically, he showed there's a secret function inside of the terminals that communicate with these electronic tickers that can be used to activate all pacemakers and implanted defibrillators in a 30-foot radius. The pacemakers will then turn over their serial and model numbers, so it's possible to upload firmware that can be spread among several implants. Once that's installed, Jack could use his laptop to send a series of 830-volt shocks to the pacemakers. Then boom! Death. Worst case scenario? This could be used to commit mass murder on the elderly:
  "The worst case scenario that I can think of, which is 100 percent possible with these devices, would be to load a compromised firmware update onto a programmer and '... the compromised programmer would then infect the next pacemaker or ICD and then each would subsequently infect all others in range," Jack said.
  Jack, meanwhile, won't release the video publicly because he doesn't want psychopaths getting any ideas. And while he gave no evidence as to whether or not he escaped from a mental institution, knows Russian, or has a background in Jiu-Jitsu, he has to be a spy. Has to. [SC Magazine via PopSci]
  Image by: khuruzero/Shutterstock
A MUSLIM FREAK TRIED TO BLOW UP THE NEW YORK FED!
  Link to Article
  Source: VENITISM
  Thu, 18 Oct 2012 04:01
  The FBI on Wednesday arrested Quazi Nafis, a Bangladeshi Muslim freak, oncharges he attempted to blow up the New York Federal Reserve Bank with a1,000-pound (450-kg) bomb. Attempting to destroy a landmark building and kill ormaim untold numbers of innocent bystanders is about as serious as theimagination can conjure. Nafis faces appropriately severe consequences. Eggheadssay terrorism originates in the clash of cultures and foreign meddling. Einvolk, ein ummah, ein Muhammad! Promised with 72 virgins in heaven, martyrs havebecome the worst victims of Islam.International networks are used by terrorist groups to finance terroristactivity worldwide. Terrorists are supported by kleptocrats, rich Muslims,various charities, banks, drug trafficking networks, money-laundering schemesand bribed officials. The involvement of Hezbollah and al Qaeda in the drugtrade is well known. It was bin Laden who managed the drug profits for theTaliban and arranged money-laundering operations with Russian mafias, such asBratva and Brigada. Countries that fund or foster terrorism, include SaudiArabia, Iran, Syria, Sudan, Indonesia, Libya, North Korea, and Malaysia. Manyinternational aid organizations inadvertently support terror.
  Nafis traveled to the United States in January 2012. Once in New York, he was incontact with al Qaeda members. Nafis considered several targets for his attack,including the New York Stock Exchange, and Obama. In the end Nafis decided tofocus on the Federal Reserve Bank in lower Manhattan.
  Geert Wilders declares Islam is primarily a dangerous ideology rather than areligion. Islam fails four major tests that religions should fulfill: Adherenceto a religion must be a personal choice; no religion should demand that thosewho leave it be killed; a religion must never mandate the subjugation of thosewho do not belong to it; a religion must be in accord with basic human rights.
  Nafis began to seek out recruits, eventually bringing an undercover FBI agent.The two met on Wednesday morning and traveled by van to a New York warehouse,where Nafis assembled what he thought was a 1,000 pound bomb, before driving tothe Federal Reserve Bank.
  After parking near the bank, Nafis walked to a nearby hotel and recorded a videostatement in which he said We will not stop until we attain victory ormartyrdom. Nafis was arrested in the hotel as he repeatedly attempted todetonate the inert bomb.
  Franklin Roosevelt observed that wherever the Muslims have had a complete sway,wherever citizens have been unable to resist them by the sword, civility hasultimately disappeared. Roosevelt rejected as naive the notion that allreligions are the same. Some religions give a higher value to each human life,and some religions and belief systems give a lower value. Our social values,including equality before the law, exist only because the Christians of Europedid what the Christians of Asia and Africa had failed to do '' that is, to beatback the Moslem invader.
  John Quincy Adams pointed out that Muhammad poisoned the sources of humanfelicity at the fountain, by degrading the condition of the female sex, and theallowance of polygamy; and he declared undistinguishing and exterminating war aspart of his religion, against all the rest of mankind. The essence of Muhammad'sdoctrine was violence and lust; to exalt the brutal over the spiritual part ofhuman nature.
  In 2004, on a street in Amsterdam, Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh was brutallymurdered by a Muslim of Moroccan descent. Van Gogh had collaborated with aSomali emigrant, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, to produce the film Submission, about theabuse of women in Islam. Van Gogh's killer had impaled on his victim's chest anopen letter threatening death to Geert Wilders and Ali, whose politics had putthem on extremists' kill-lists. Two days after the murder, both were whiskedinto hiding by police because of imminent threats of assassination.
  Wilders draws effectively on the history of Islam to illuminate current events.Thus, he recounts the hijra or migration, of Muhammad and his followers toYathrib in the year 622. Taking advantage of its welcome and tolerance, Muhammadproceeded to overthrow the city from within. What was Yathrib became Medina, andthere Islam's first mosque was Muhammad's propaganda center, the headquarters ofhis state and the barracks of his jihad.
  Yathrib is the model for the offensive via immigration that Islam has undertakenagainst the West almost 1,400 years later. Wilders also points to Medina's firstmosque as the prototype for mosques throughout the West, primarily a politicalinstitution, not a place of worship.
  Wilders produced Fitna to illustrate that the Koran, a book of satanic verses,advocates violence. He was prosecuted under Dutch hate-speech laws for groupinsult and incitement of hatred and discrimination. Although he was acquittedultimately, Wilders' tale on this topic is sobering, for it shows how lawfarecan be used to chill unwelcome speech.
  In large part because of the courage of Wilders, the Netherlands has begun toconfront the damage wrought by Muslim migration and the politics of appeasementthat for so long have characterized the West's reaction to the claims of allegedvictims of all stripes. The Islamic tide is strong, but the West has repulsed itbefore, and we can do it again. You may not be interested in Islam, but Islam isinterested in you. So pay attention.
  Christoph Luxenberg has proven the Koran, a book of satanic verses, was firstwritten in Aramaic, not in Arabic. There is also a difference between thetolerant verses of the early period, when Muhammad was still powerless and underthreat, and the hostile verses of the later period. The Koran was made up byMuhammad as it suited his opportunistic goals for power, money, and sex.
  Islam appeared one century after Muhammad's death. The first century of theArab conquest shows the conquerors holding not to Islam but to Hagarism.Hagarenes claimed descent from Abraham through his slave wife Hagar, similarlyto the Jews who claimed descent from Abraham through Sarah. The Muhammad ofIslamic tradition did not exist!
  It was only in the eighth century, when the rulers of a now-vast Arabian empirefelt the need for a unifying political theology, that they cobbled together theIslamic religion. The key figure in this enterprise was the brutal governor ofIraq, Hajjaj ibn Yusuf. That's why Islam is such a profoundly politicalreligion with uniquely prominent incivil qualities.
  Smart words are more effective than smart bombs! Mighty words of a charismatickeynote speaker can transform your people to a new dimension of organizationalclimate, efficiency, self-actualization, enthusiasm, belonging, and motivation.I would like very much to speak at your conference in order to explain criticalpoints much further. venitis@gmail.com
Are You on the Feds 'Red List'?
  Link to Article
  Source: LewRockwell.com
  Thu, 18 Oct 2012 03:56
  by Mac SlavoSHTF Plan
  Recently by Mac Slavo:Caught On Tape: Obama Campaign Staffers Say It's 'Okay' To Vote Twice
  Up until recently the existence of a national ''red list'' of domestic dissidents and potential terrorists existed only within the realm of conspiracy theory and Hollywood story lines.
  But what if such a red list did exist?
  What if all of those tracking and monitoring mechanisms being put into place by the Department of Homeland Security, the National Security Administration and the Central Intelligence Agency are now being utilized to identify and take action against American citizens who may pose a perceived threat to the security and stability of the United States government?
  Yes, it sounds like something out of a science fiction novel, but you'd better believe that it's happening, and it's happening right here and now.
  When 34-year-old U.S. citizen and Mississippi resident Wade Hicks boarded a military flight to visit his wife, a Navy lieutenant stationed in Okinawa, Japan, he did not think it would be a one-way trip. Stopping off in Hawaii to refuel, upon reboarding the plane, Hicks was quickly escorted back off again by armed guards. He was then taken to a secure interrogation room where Hicks was informed he would not be flying anywhere because he turned up on the no-fly list.
  Hicks has since been stranded on the island state without a way home.
  '...
  After being asked to get off the plane, ''It started out like something fairly routine,'' Hicks said in his interview with Infowars. ''About 15-20 minutes later, two heavily armed Air Force security forces guys showed up.''
  It was then Hicks was told he would not be flying anywhere. There is no indication as to why Hicks was able to first fly from San Francisco to Hawaii without being notified he was supposedly on the list.
  Seemingly the only ''crime'' Hicks has committed that would end in revocation of his ability to fly is his affiliation with the Mississippi Preparedness Project, a prepper organization. Although prepping is not illegal, the FBI has been cracking down on preppers for awhile now, with everything from spying on people who visit prepper websitesto straight up stripping preppers of their Second Amendment rights.
  Hicks revealed to Infowars that a supposed disabled veteran claiming to be a Navy Seal had joined his prepper group earlier in the year, but Hicks felt the man's story seemed suspicious. Through a Freedom of Information Act request, Hicks learned the man had never been in the military even though he possessed an authentic military ID. Sometime later while out driving, Hicks saw the man's car and ended up tailing him to a Mississippi Department of Homeland Security branch office where the man parked his car.
  When asked if he thought his affiliation with a prepper group caused him to get detained, Hicks responded, ''If it does, that's a pretty sad situation.''
  Via Infowars
  Watch the disturbing Infowars report and interview with Wade Hicks and Doug Hagman of the Northeast Intelligence Network:
  Wade Hicks is a law abiding citizen; this has been confirmed by a background check performed by the Northeast Intelligence Network which was authorized by Hicks.
  His only ''crime,'' it seems, is that he is associated with the preparedness movement and that he has a preference for limited government.
  Last year Senator Rand Paul warned us about scenarios much like this one. To the apathetic and indifferent ears of the American public Paul said ''that some day there could be a government in power that is shipping its citizens off for disagreements.''
  That day has come and Rand Paul's prescient warnings are becoming a frightening reality.
  There are laws on the books now that characterize who might be a terrorist.
  Someone missing fingers on their hands is a suspect according to the Department of Justice. Someone who has guns, someone who has ammunition that is weatherproofed, someone who has more than seven days of food in their house can be considered a potential terrorist.
  If you are suspected by these activities do you want the government to have the ability to send you to Guantanamo Bay for indefinite detention?
  Wade Hicks may not have been sent to Guantanamo, but he was detained against his will and restricted from travel by his own government '' and for no reason at all. In fact, Hicks may never learn why he was added to the no-fly list because of national security secrecy laws made possible through the Patriot Act.
  He has been found guilty without ever having been charged, with no evidence having been presented, and without being tried in a court of law as is mandated by the Constitution of the United States '' the supposed fundamental law of the land.
  The bottom line is that Wade Hicks is considered a potential terrorist and enemy of the United States.
  He's on the red list.
  And there's a strong possibility that if you store emergency food, or visit alternative web sites, or put a Gadsden bumper sticker on your car, or like to collect guns, or associate with certain groups on social networks, you are already on the red list, or soon will be.
  We once facetiously noted that the rate at which people are being added to government no-fly lists, no-work lists and the DHS master list, indicates the list itself will exceed the population of the entire country by 2019. Maybe that notion wasn't so far off.
  This is America, and everyone is guilty until proven innocent.
  Reprinted from SHTF Plan.
  October 18, 2012
  Mac Slavo [send him mail] is a small business owner and independent investor.
  Copyright (C) 2012 Mac Slavo
  The Best of Mac Slavo
Greece braces for general strike
  Link to Article
  Source: BBC News - Europe
  Thu, 18 Oct 2012 02:59
  17 October 2012Last updated at21:01 ETGreece is braced for a general strike in protest against the next round of spending cuts, required in return for another bailout instalment.
  It will be the country's 20th national stoppage since the debt crisis erupted two years ago and comes as EU leaders meet in Brussels.
  Taxi drivers, ferry workers, doctors, teachers and air traffic controllers are among those taking part.
  Protests, which often turn violent, are also planned across the country.
  Greece is currently preparing an 11.5bn euro (£9.3bn; $15bn) austerity package to satisfy the "troika" of IMF, European Commission and European Central Bank lenders in return for its next 31.5bn euro tranche of aid.
  The country is due to run out of money next month.
  However, trade union leaders says they hope to show EU leaders that a new wave of wage and pension cuts will only worsen the plight of the Greek people.
  Greece is in its fifth consecutive year of recession and more than a quarter of its workforce is unemployed.
  "Just once, the government ought to reject the troika's absurd demands," said Yannis Panagopoulos, head of the GSEE private sector union.
  "Agreeing to catastrophic measures means driving society to despair, and the consequences as well as the protests will then be indefinite," he added.
  The BBC's Mark Lowen in Athens says cracks are already appearing within the coalition government as party leaders disagree over job losses and other austerity measures.
  Anger has led to a loss of faith in the state, he says, with Greeks increasingly turning to political extremes such as the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party.
  Although the Greek government has vowed to stay the course, social unrest could yet prove explosive, our correspondent adds.
The CIA Mormon Mafia and the Benghazi Killings
  Link to Article
  Source: TARPLEY.net
  Thu, 18 Oct 2012 02:39
  Webster G. Tarpley on Guns and ButterGuns and ButterOctober 17, 2012
  Guns and Butter '' October 17, 2012 at 1:00pmClick to listen (or download)use player below as backup if above fails to load
  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.
Martin Sheen and Woody Harrelson set for 9/11 'truther' film September Morn | Film | guardian.co.uk
  Link to Article
  Thu, 18 Oct 2012 02:36
  Manhattan in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. Photograph: Reuters
  Hollywood is to court controversy with a film that will challenge the official version of the events of 9/11, a previously taboo topic for the industry mainstream. Martin Sheen, Woody Harrelson and Ed Asner, who have all supported conspiracy theories about the terrorist attacks, have signed up to the movie, which is entitled September Morn.
  Styling itself as a drama in the tradition of Twelve Angry Men, the film's advance publicity note hints at a cover-up, saying: "We the people demand that the government revisit and initiates a thorough and independent investigation to the tragic events of 911."
  Details of the film, which is to be directed by BJ Davis and written by Howard Cohen, are expected to be revealed at an American Film Market conference in Los Angeles next week, Deadline.com reported.
  The production has been set up by Fleur de Lis Film Studios, which has also made the documentary A Noble Lie, about the Oklahoma City bombing, and Operation: Dark Heart, a feature based on an intelligence agent's memoirs.
  Until now Hollywood has steered clear of claims that the Bush administration, or other elements in the government, may have been behind the 9/11 attacks, in which hijacked passenger planes crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennslyvania. The fourth plane was apparently en route to the Capitol.
  Oliver Stone, who has challenged official history in JFK and other films, steered clear of conspiracy theories in his 2006 film World Trade Center, which focused on the heroism of police and rescuers.
  September Morn has assembled a cast linked to the so-called truther movement, which alleges official inconsistencies, complicity and cover-up.
  Sheen, who starred in Apocalypse Now and television's The West Wing, has long questioned whether Islamist hijackers single-handedly brought down the Twin Towers, killing 2,605 people.
  "I did not want to believe that my government could possibly be involved in such a thing, I could not live in a country that I thought could do that '' that would be the ultimate betrayal," he told an interviewer in 2007.
  Sheen grew suspicious after his son Charlie, also an actor, alerted him to apparent contradictions, such as how a structure known as "Building 7" fell.
  He said: "However, there have been so many revelations that now I have my doubts, and chief among them is Building 7 '' how did they rig that building so that it came down on the evening of the day?"
  Asner, who has won seven Emmys, has several times urged a new investigation into 9/11. In 2010, he told an interviewer: "This country '' which is the greatest, strongest country that ever existed in the world, in terms of power '' supposedly had a defence that could not be penetrated all these years. But all of that was eradicated by 19 Saudi Arabians, supposedly. Some of whom didn't even know how to fly."
  Harrelson, who starred recently in The Hunger Games, has also supported the self-styled 9/11 truth movement.
  September Morn is also the name of a Neil Diamond album and a painting by the French artist Paul ‰mile Chabas which hangs in New York's Metropolitan Musuem of Art.
BBC News - EU summit: Broken banks put eurozone in federal mood
  Link to Article
  Thu, 18 Oct 2012 02:34
  17 October 2012Last updated at17:21 ETBy Laurence PeterBBC NewsGermany has often been accused of excessive caution in the eurozone crisis, so on Thursday its EU partners will be looking for a German commitment to deploying the European Central Bank's firepower.
  The two-day Brussels summit will focus on plans for a eurozone banking union, seen as a key element in restoring confidence in the euro. The aim is to reach agreement on joint banking supervision first, with the ECB playing the lead role.
  Bank failures were at the heart of the devastating 2007-2008 financial crisis. So the idea behind the new structure is to tighten up risk management and regulation across the EU.
  The ECB President, Mario Draghi, says Europe's fragmented banking operations are contributing to the current imbalances in the 17-nation eurozone.
  Cross-border lending has declined, hampering investment and growth. And there has been capital flight from the troubled "periphery" countries, such as Greece and Spain, to "safe havens" in northern Europe.
  The UK, Greece, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Cyprus are all in recession. And now Germany, the EU's economic powerhouse, has cut its growth forecast for next year from 1.6% to 1%.
  The scenes of fighting in central Athens between anti-austerity protesters and police during German Chancellor Angela Merkel's visit are still fresh in the memory.
  Political turmoil is creating a volatile mix in Europe. In Catalonia there is mounting pressure for separation from Spain and in several countries nationalists are polling well.
  Collective scrutinyWith Europe in crisis how could a banking union help?
  Under the European Commission's plan, a single supervisory mechanism (SSM) would come first, followed by a joint resolution scheme - that is, an agreed method for winding down failing banks - and finally a joint deposit guarantee scheme.
  Continue reading the main storyAustria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, SpainSetting up the SSM alone is expected to take about a year. But the Commission and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy want to have the legal basis for a banking union in place by January.
  There is already disagreement about that timetable and the mechanism itself.
  Germany is unhappy about the SSM supervising all 6,000 banks in the eurozone. It says the SSM should just look after the big transnational, "systemic" banks.
  But the Commission points out that smaller banks have also created big headaches for the EU - banks like Northern Rock, the German Landesbanken and weak Spanish regional banks called "cajas".
  UK concernsMeanwhile, the UK - the main financial centre in the EU - wants legal safeguards to protect the powers of the Bank of England, in relation to the ECB's new role.
  The UK government is also anxious not to be outvoted in a new supervisory structure that could potentially favour the eurozone countries.
  A Commission official said it would "not be legally possible for the UK to have a veto".
  But he added: "the Commission wants to ensure equal treatment as far as legally possible".
  Poland and Sweden - like the UK, among the 10 outside the euro - have made it clear they will scrutinise the voting arrangements, to guard against the emergence of a "two-tier" Europe.
  The draft summit conclusions appear to reflect those concerns.
  They speak of "equitable treatment and representation of both euro and non-euro area member states participating in the SSM".
  Further down the road, there are likely to be tensions over the bank resolution scheme and joint deposit guarantee scheme.
  Jointly protecting depositors' cash involves a mutualisation of risk. The idea is to prevent any run on the banks in one country spreading to other eurozone countries.
  But Germany, the biggest contributor to eurozone bailouts, has warned that pooling eurozone debt through "eurobonds" - another form of mutualising risk - could be illegal. The Maastricht Treaty bans direct state-to-state transfers.
  Chancellor Merkel faces an election next year and bailing out weaker eurozone partners is politically toxic. Many German taxpayers are unhappy about the bailouts.
  Weak 'periphery' countriesAnxiety about struggling Spain - the eurozone's fourth largest economy - and the continuing agony of debt-laden Greece mean that EU leaders will strive for a show of unity to reassure the markets.
  But the interest charged on Spanish sovereign debt has dropped below the danger level, easing fears that Madrid will need a bailout imminently.
  There have been other encouraging signs for the markets.
  The ECB says it is ready to buy the sovereign bonds of struggling eurozone countries to help bring their borrowing costs down - and has set no limit on those purchases. But those countries must first request the help and commit to strict budget discipline.
  And the eurozone's permanent rescue fund, the European Stability Mechanism, has been launched. By 2014 it should have a lending capacity of 500bn euros (£403bn; $648bn).
  No major decision on Greece is expected at this summit, as EU leaders are awaiting a key report from the troika - the EU Commission, ECB and International Monetary Fund (IMF).
  Without another loan instalment from the troika next month Greece will face bankruptcy, and it may eventually have to leave the euro. Its debts total 325bn euros. The IMF says Greece needs extra time to meet the reform targets it has signed up to.
  A report proposing deeper eurozone integration will be discussed at the summit, including the possibility of a separate eurozone budget (called "fiscal capacity"), a eurozone finance ministry and limited pooling of short-term sovereign bonds.
  The report, masterminded by Mr Van Rompuy, is likely to be turned into a detailed roadmap in December.
  It is a drive for joined-up economic thinking, but controversially implies a more federal eurozone. Many voters might view that with suspicion.
Terrorist attempts to blow up Federal Reserve Bank - NYPOST.com
  Link to Article
  Thu, 18 Oct 2012 02:11
  Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis.
  A Bangladeshi terrorist tried to blow up the Federal Reserve Bank in Lower Manhattan this morning using a 1,000-pound bomb, according to a criminal complaint.
  Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis, 21, of Jamaica, Queens, parked a van filled with the fake explosives '-- which were provided by an undercover FBI agent '-- outside of the Liberty Street building, authorities said, then tried to set them off using a cell phone detonator.
  During a recorded meeting in Central Park with the agent, Nafis said his goal was Muslim global domination.
  ''I don't want something that's like small. I just want something big,'' he said. ''Something very big. Very very very very big, that will shake the whole country, that will make America, not one step ahead, change of policy, and make one step ahead, for the Muslims ... that will make us one step closer to run the whole world.''
  Nafis, who is here on a student visa, came to the US to carry out a terror attack, authorities said, and claimed to have connections to al-Qaeda overseas.
  He tried to recruit more terrorists to carry out an attack '-- in the process, he unwittingly enlisted the help of the undercover FBI agent.
  The agent made contact with the jihadist in July, when the terrorist tried to recruit him for an attack, documents say.
  Over a series of recorded meetings and phone calls, Nafis laid out his plans and said he had contacts with al-Qaeda who could help plan an attack.
  Chad Rachman
  The Federal Reserve today following a terrorist's attempt to blow up the bank.
  Nafis first said that he wanted to attack a US official, and listed the New York Stock Exchange and a Baltimore military base among possible targets before settling on the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, according to court documents.
  Nafis was considering an attack against President Obama, sources told The Post.
  In an article he penned ahead of the attack, Nafis said he wanted to ''destroy America'' by targeting its economy.
  ''... All I had in mind are how to destroy America ... I came up to this conclusion that targeting America's economy is most efficient way to draw the path of obliteration of America. ...''
  He quoted ''our beloved Sheikh Osama bin Laden,'' to justify the fact that he expected to kill women and children, documents said,
  This morning, after he and the agent loaded up the van with the fake explosives, which were placed in trash cans and covered with a tarp, before driving to the bank.
  He parked the van, then he went to the Millennium Hilton near the World Trade Center, where he called the cell phone in the van.
  It did not explode, and he was arrested by federal agents.
  He faces charges of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to provide material support to al-Qaeda at his arraignment this afternoon in Brooklyn Federal court.
  Complaint Against Terror Suspect Nafis
NYC Terror Attack Foiled, US Says
  Link to Article
  Source: RIA Novosti
  Thu, 18 Oct 2012 02:09
  Preventing what could have been a major terror attack on American soil, US authorities on Wednesday arrested a man they said attempted to detonate what he believed was a 1,000-pound (454 kilogram) bomb at the Federal Reserve Bank in New York's financial district.
  The 21-year-old Bangladeshi man, Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis, faces charges of trying to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to provide material support to al Qaeda, according to a statement from the US Justice Department.
  ''The defendant came to this country intent on conducting a terrorist attack on US soil and worked with single-minded determination to carry out his plan,'' said US Attorney Loretta Lynch.
  Officials said Nafis' arrest was the culmination of an undercover operation during which he was being monitored by the FBI and New York Police Department.
  Authorities said at Nafis' request, an undercover agent supplied him with 20 bags of purported explosives and Nafis purchased components for the bomb's detonator.
  On Wednesday morning, Nafis allegedly met the undercover agent in Long Island, outside of New York City, and then assembled what he believed to be a working bomb inside a van. Officials said they then drove to the Federal Reserve Bank and during the trip Nafis attached the explosives and armed the device.
  Authorities said they parked next to the bank, where Nafis walked to a nearby hotel and recorded a video statement directed at the American people.
  In it, he allegedly said, ''We will not stop until we attain victory or martyrdom.''
  Later, Nafis is accused of attempting to detonate the bomb with a cellphone before he was arrested.
  Law enforcement officials said that Nafis was being monitored throughout the sting operation and stressed that the public was never in any danger and that the explosives in the van were inactive.
  According to a criminal complaint, Nafis traveled to the United States in January 2012 for the purpose of conducting a terrorist assault.
  The complaint alleges that Nafis had proposed multiple targets for his attack, including a high-ranking U.S. official and the New York Stock Exchange before deciding on the Federal Reserve Bank.
  The bank is located just blocks from the World Trade Center site, and has the most gold bullion in the world.
  Nafis allegedly wrote that he wanted to ''destroy America'' and he believed the most efficient way to do this was to target the US economy. In this statement, Nafis also included quotations from ''our beloved Sheikh Osama bin Laden,'' the Justice Department said.
  ''Al Qaeda operatives and those they have inspired have tried time and time again to make New York City their killing field,'' New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. ''We are up to 15 plots and counting since 9/11.''
****ALERT**** WHITE HOUSE INSIDER '' '' BIN LADEN VERSION 2 ''
  Link to Article
  Source: The Ulsterman Report
  Thu, 18 Oct 2012 02:08
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Racist Wingnuts Believe Their Own Paranoid Fraud Fantasies
  Link to Article
  Source: Crooks and Liars
  Thu, 18 Oct 2012 02:07
  This really is laughable. Apparently some of these racist wingnuts believe their own lies and think there are thousands of fraudulent voters lurking in minority neighborhoods? Oh well, better that they're spending their money on this crap than getting out the vote:
  COLUMBUS, Ohio --The sign says "voter fraud is a felony," which it is. The problem is that many of the billboards are in minority neighborhoods.
  Civil rights and labor groups have denounced the billboards as an attempt to intimidate minority voters.
  "Intimidating billboards that point out voter fraud are appearing in predominantly African American communities in Ohio, despite little to no evidence that voter fraud exists," said Ohio AFL-CIO Secretary Treasurer Pierrette ''Petee'' Talley in a statement.
  Clear Channel vice president of marketing, Jim Cullinan said, "the signs are accurate and are not an attack ads and that is why the signs will remain."
  NBC4: The name on the bottom of the ad says, "Private Family Foundation" who are they?
  "The advertiser asked to remain anonymous," said Cullinan.
  NBC4: Is that a common practice?
  "No, someone in sales made a mistake, but we have signed a contract and cannot remove the ad," he said.
  In other words, someone waved a wad of cash under their noses and oops, forgot to get a name!
The Obama Sway
  Link to Article
  Source: Lame Cherry
  Thu, 18 Oct 2012 01:50
  My children I warned of the danger to Mitt Romney if he started exploiting the popular vote gap at 25 points. It has reached that point as much as the double entry ledger in Obama will have hisself scuffed to appeal to white female sympathy by activating a BATF Mormon white guy, who is probably who will be blamed for "shattering" that Denver window before the last debate.
  *Note as the police blackout in this is widespread in the cover up, it means literally that this was a government agent employed by Obama in being a professional to set this stage or this was literally a black person who went postal, and this too was what this blog warned of exclusively months ago in the Obama regime was very leery of blacks who might go postal at some Obama event, as blacks have been hit hardest by Obama policies than any other group.
  Threats to Assassinate Republican Explode on TWITTER After Debate...
  It is nothing but an engineered event as Trayvon Martin in the Niggazi Hoodie in these "Twitteracs" who Obama has been gauging for a mentally unbalanced attack on Mitt Romney to solve his election theft problems. This blog alone has been warning of the jeopardy Mano Romney is facing as Jeb Bush in Rule 9 can still be installed at the last moment to replace a tits up Romney, as much as Obama would relish running against a room temperature Romney stand in.
  The reality is if Gallup is showing a 6 point surge now for Romney in these trends, that Obama's bully performance in the Debate 2 has shifted thee entire female middle ground voters to Romney and there is a pealing away of black voters.No one has addressed this, but the Mexican vote is not in the bag for Obama. It is splitting as Mexicans are furious over being taken for granted by Obama.
  6 points is factored as much as 20 points at this time, a factors of Obama apathy start to apply.
  The next period is highly dangerous to Mitt Romney The unbalanced Obama voters have been factored in and if you noticed after debate 2, Romney's security was back too far to stop any attack, and one of the agents guarding Mitt Romney in the inner circle is black.
  That exclusive needs to be noted and discussed in 98% of blacks are stating they will vote for B. Hussein.
  It will be a white christian, who hates Mormons if it holds to forensic protocols.
  Another Lame Cherry exclusive in matter anti matter..
  agtG 219, 269
President Obama Speaks on the Attack on Benghazi - YouTube
  Link to Article
  Thu, 18 Oct 2012 01:08
Crowley Refuses to Backtrack as Romney Surrogate Says Fact Check 'Not Your Place'
  Link to Article
  Source: Crooks and Liars
  Thu, 18 Oct 2012 00:22
  CNN host Candy Crowley on Wednesday stood her ground and refused to backtrack as a surrogate for Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney insisted that she had been "wrong" to fact check the GOP hopeful's claim that President Barack Obama had not referred to the attacks in Libya as "acts of terror."
  While moderating Tuesday night's second 2012 presidential debate, Crowley had briefly stunned Romney when she undermined his claim that Obama had not taken the Benghazi attacks seriously.
  ''He did call it an act of terror,'' she had told the former Massachusetts governor. ''It did as well take two weeks or so for the whole idea of there being a riot out there about this tape to come out.''
  By the next morning, conservatives were insisting that Crowley had backtracked because she later explained that Romney was "right in the main" but "picked the wrong word" by saying that Obama had not called the attacks terrorism.
  "This morning, Paul Ryan, who has been making the rounds on the morning shows, says, 'Well, she's already backtracked,'" CNN host Soledad O'Brien pointed out to Crowley on Wednesday morning. "Are you backtracking on what you said in that fact check last night?"
  "Goodness, I hope they get back to one another," Crowley replied, adding that her comments following the debate were "exactly the same" as the original fact check. "He did say 'acts of terror,' call it an act of terror, but, Gov. Romney, you are perfectly right that it took weeks for them to get past the tape."
  "Not a backtrack?" O'Brien wondered.
  "No!" Crowley said. "Now, did the president say, 'This was an act of terror'? The president did not say [that], he said, these 'acts of terror.' But he was in the Rose Garden to talk about Benghazi so I don't think that's a leap."
  Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), who was appearing on Wednesday morning's CNN panel as a Romney surrogate, told Crowley that "it wasn't necessarily your place to try to be fact checker right there. I happen to think that your assessment of that was wrong. ... It's not the role of the moderator to say, 'Mr's President, you're right.'"
  "Nonsense," CNN liberal contributor Roland Martin quipped. "The congressman is dead wrong. If you stand there and say something that is wrong, you should be corrected on the spot. Look, I have no problem even having a table of fact checkers there. We shouldn't wait until the debate is over and then have different people saying, this was right, this was wrong. More people are watching that singular debate than they're watching anyone's particular coverage."
  "And so if you say something and it's wrong, you check them right then," he added.
Who Won "Last Night's" Debate?
  Link to Article
  Wed, 17 Oct 2012 23:04
Daily Press Briefing - October 17, 2012
  Link to Article
  Wed, 17 Oct 2012 22:57
  1:00 p.m. EDT
  MS. NULAND: Happy Wednesday, everybody. I have one little thing at the top, then we'll go to what's on your minds. This is with regard to our Human Rights Dialogue in Burma. Our first Human Rights Dialogue with the Government of Burma concluded earlier today in Nay Pyi Taw. Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, Michael Posner, led a 22-member interagency delegation from the U.S. to discuss the full range of human rights issues affecting the country. The delegation included senior representatives from the White House National Security staff, the Office of the Vice President, the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the Department of Defense.
  The talks reflected our whole-of-government approach for engagement with Burma to address outstanding concerns of the international community in the area of human rights. The results of the dialogue were assessed to be very positive and we look forward to continuing these discussions with Burmese authorities.
  Let's go to what's on your minds.
  QUESTION: Sorry, I don't really have anything. But on that, when you say the results of the talk were assessed to be very positive --
  MS. NULAND: By the participants.
  QUESTION: Yeah.
  MS. NULAND: I knew you were going to say that.
  QUESTION: What does that mean?
  MS. NULAND: That the tone was very good, that we were able to talk about a broad cross-section of human rights issues. You saw that the delegation reflected experts in different aspects of how our government addresses human rights, and we weren't sure whether the Burmese would be open to addressing all of those issues, and they were.
  QUESTION: And they did.
  MS. NULAND: Yes.
  QUESTION: So you're pretty confident that there's not going to be a human rights problem in Burma in the coming days, weeks, months?
  MS. NULAND: We are confident that we have now an open channel with the Government of Burma to discuss human rights and to continue to work on bringing them where they want to be in terms of human rights standards for their government.
  QUESTION: Did the U.S. team get a '' sort of a count from them on the number of political prisoners that still remain, and any sense of how that is progressing?
  MS. NULAND: I didn't get a chance to talk to Assistant Secretary Posner. I'm sure those issues came up, but let me get a little more for you when he comes home.
  QUESTION: Also, we'd be interested in what they said on Rakhine.
  MS. NULAND: Yes.
  QUESTION: New topic?
  MS. NULAND: New topic. Yeah, let's go to Elise.
  QUESTION: On Syria?
  MS. NULAND: Everybody's in black today, is there something I'm --
  QUESTION: This is navy.
  MS. NULAND: Oh, it's navy. All right, it's navy. (Laughter.)
  QUESTION: I'd like to follow up on your discussion yesterday on Syria and on arming the opposition. I understand that you've decided to focus your aid on kind of nonlethal, but do you think that the U.S. decision not to provide weapons to the Syrian opposition makes it more difficult to find out and ensure where these weapons are going, and that they're not going into the hands of extremists, but more secular people that you want to have them?
  MS. NULAND: Well, as you know, we have talked quite extensively here about the fact that our own decision is to provide only nonlethal assistance to the opposition; other countries are making other choices. And we do have very close coordination in looking at all of the needs of the opposition and also looking at who's who within the opposition. This is a very, very important issue now as we see an increasing trend of extremists trying to take advantage of the violence and the lack of government authority, et cetera, all of over Syria, to try to make inroads, to try to hijack what the Syrian people want and deserve, which is a more democratic Syria and an opportunity to have a real transition.
  So we are working very closely with lots of other countries. You saw that the Secretary had a meeting when we were in New York with some of the key countries we work with to try to compare notes not only on how we increase the pressure on the regime through sanctions and other measures, not only on how we support the UN's humanitarian needs and the Syrian people's humanitarian needs, but also very much on who the emerging leaders are in Syria, what we can do to ensure that we are supporting those who want a democratic Syria, and we are doing what we can to encourage them as they begin to take more control in parts of Syria where the regime has seeded the field, that they are leading in a manner that reflects the kind of Syria we all want to have, one that's pluralistic, one that's inclusive, et cetera.
  QUESTION: But specifically on the weapons. Are you saying that you're working with '' closely with other countries to make sure that the weapons are going '' who are making those choices to make sure that the weapons are going to the right type of people?
  MS. NULAND: I think I'm not going to get too deeply into the details of the conversations that we are having, but I would say that we are very, very conscious and we are very active in working with our partners to assess the situation and to encourage that all support going to the opposition, whether it's to the nonlethal that we're providing or other support, that there be good vetting of who it's going to and that we compare notes on what we are seeing. Because it's not just a matter of individual leaders, it's also a matter of ensuring that the groups that are working there are not becoming infiltrated.
  QUESTION: But just admittedly though, you not doing it yourself does make it less '' a little bit more difficult for you to control that, would you say?
  MS. NULAND: We have very good and close coordination with the countries that you saw meet with the Secretary in New York when we were there a couple of weeks ago. This is very much a focus to ensure that we are doing what we can to strengthen those in the opposition who support a democratic Syria and to help them resist the efforts of the extremists to hijack their efforts.
  QUESTION: Toria, seeing that three close allies, namely Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar are the major providers of these weapons, do you caution them against dumping weapons like they did in Libya, for instance? I mean, we have been down that road before.
  MS. NULAND: Again, I'm not going to go any further than I just went in response to Elise's question, but we are very much working to ensure that the groups that any of us is are supporting are focused on the right kind of the Syria and discouraging extremism, et cetera.
  QUESTION: Just following on that, and I apologize if you touched on this yesterday, but there are reports now that the various elements of the opposition are trying to yet again forge a new leadership structure that would include the FSA. Has that '' are you aware of this? Is Ambassador Ford in touch with them? Do you think this is a sort of viable vehicle now?
  MS. NULAND: Ambassador Ford is very much in touch on a daily basis, on an hourly basis, with opposition groups, both inside Syria, those who've recently left, and some of the longtime external opposition figures. We are, as the Secretary said in New York and as we've said since, working very hard to support them in their effort to unify. We are encouraged by some of these efforts at unity that we're seeing, particularly inside Syria.
  We talk about providing communications gear as part of our nonlethal support. This not only is designed to help the opposition resist the regime's aggression; it's also designed to help them to communicate with each other and to work on things like a real transitional strategy that will be broadly supported within Syria, that'll protect the rights of all Syrians.
  So we're encouraged, but there is more work to do, quite a bit more work to do. There's a conference that is getting underway now in Doha. They're doing some preliminary work this week. We expect that effort will accelerate, that Ambassador Ford will eventually join that group when they get to the right level, but this is part and parcel of trying to encourage more unity and to try to encourage a leadership group to emerge that is committed to democratic principles and can really engage on a transition strategy going forward --
  QUESTION: So do you think that '' it sounds as though you don't think this new grouping, however it sort of ends up being constituted, is going to be ready to make its debut in Doha, that it's going to take more time than that? Or is that where you're expecting to sort of see the lineup?
  QUESTION: Or is that the plan of the conference?
  MS. NULAND: My understanding is '' I assume you're talking about this group of fighters --
  QUESTION: Yeah.
  MS. NULAND: -- that have announced some '' well, obviously, there's that group, but as you know, most of our efforts are focused on the political opposition, whether it's in the individual towns or whether it's the emerging effort to form a unified national political opposition, ensuring that they are connected to others within Syria. But it's early days, I would say.
  QUESTION: Victoria, on the issue of the ceasefire that has been called for for Eid al-Adha, which is a week from tomorrow '' if you have any comment on that. Also, I don't know if you read or heard statements made by the Syrian Government that they are actually flexible on this issue and they will consider it. Do you take them seriously? And do you feel that the onus is on the regime to stop the violence on its part before the opposition groups do?
  MS. NULAND: Well, we've talked about this over the last week or so here, Said. I will say again that we support any efforts to end the bloodshed in Syria. However, as Joint Special Envoy Brahimi himself has said, it's up to the government to take the first step. I'm not sure what press reporting you're reading on what the regime is saying, but what I have is that even today the regime rejected the Brahimi proposal and called a ceasefire, quote, ''pointless,'' unquote.
  Please, Michel.
  QUESTION: Toria, you've said that we are ready to look at the needs of the opposition. Did you mean that you are ready to look at their needs for specific type of arms, too?
  MS. NULAND: Michel, our position with regard to nonlethal hasn't changed. We are supporting nonlethal assistance to the regime.
  QUESTION: Is it --
  MS. NULAND: To the opposition. Goodness.
  QUESTION: A follow-up: Do you agree on all the types of arms that the Arab states are providing to the opposition?
  MS. NULAND: Again, I'm not going to go any further than I did in response to Elise's question with regard to our specific conversations with our allies and partners who are supporting the opposition, but we are very conscious of concerns about extremist infiltration and we're very focused on it.
  QUESTION: I'm sorry if you went over this yesterday, but have you discussed reports by Human Rights Watch that the Syrians are using cluster munitions against the people?
  MS. NULAND: We are very concerned about these kinds of reports. The security situation on the ground in general is continuing to deteriorate as the conflict escalates, not only in Aleppo and Damascus but also in Idlib, in Al Raqqa, in Homs. We've seen horrific reports of barrel bombs, of cluster munitions used against civilians, and we, as you know, have consistently condemned targeting of civilians by any group. We're not in a position ourselves to confirm the use of clusters, but there are quite broad spread '' widespread reports now from the ground to that effect.
  QUESTION: But I mean, if these reports are true '' and obviously, you're very concerned about them '' doesn't this take this conflict to another level? I mean, cluster munitions? You've said from this podium that this is mostly a ground '' when we've talked about a no-fly zone, for instance, that this is mostly a kind of ground game and that even a no-fly zone, even if you were to consider it, wouldn't necessarily be the most prudent thing. But now that the regime is largely now using an air campaign, doesn't this heighten the necessity for some kind of no-fly zone or something?
  MS. NULAND: Well, we have said consistently that we see regime forces ratcheting up the brutality of their tactics '' I mean, horrific enough to use fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters to strafe your own cities. We are seeing an escalating pattern of regime forces targeting civilians who are not at all involved in the conflict, so this is obviously extremely concerning as we go forward.
  You know that we '' as the Secretary has said on a number of occasions, we continue to look at all of the ideas out there for trying to end the violence. She has said very clearly that we continue to talk to partners about how, what, why, exactly the elements that might go into some of these things that people have proposed, including no-fly zone, but we haven't made any decisions at this stage.
  QUESTION: Is there a redline for the type of weapons they start using that you've drawn?
  MS. NULAND: It's not '' I don't want to put things in those terms that you've put them, Justin. We are continuing to look at the ground situation. We are, at the same time, continuing to do everything we can to squeeze this regime. I would note that not only have we continued to expand the number of countries that are sanctioning the Syrian regime, but also the kinds of things that they are sanctioning so that the effect is now being felt quite strongly on the streets of Syria, including in terms of the inflation of the currency, other kinds of things. So we're going to continue to look at all of these options and work with our partners.
  QUESTION: Toria, a couple things. One, the President said that the use of chemical weapons would be a redline. Are you saying '' are you walking that back?
  MS. NULAND: Well, obviously '' no. Obviously not. Obviously not.
  QUESTION: Okay. Is it still your understanding based on what you've heard from the Turks that that plane that was coming from Russia to '' Moscow to Damascus '' was carrying military equipment '' I think you said ''very military'' --
  MS. NULAND: Yes, yes.
  QUESTION: It is?
  MS. NULAND: Yes.
  QUESTION: So you are convinced that the Russians are continuing to supply the regime with military equipment and materiel to carry '' so that they can continue their repression of the people. Is that correct?
  MS. NULAND: We don't have any question, based on what we've heard from our Turkish allies, that there was dangerous military cargo on that aircraft, which obviously speaks to what you're talking about.
  QUESTION: Right. Okay, but even aside from just this one aircraft, you are certain that the Russians are continuing to supply weaponry?
  MS. NULAND: The Russians '' the Russian Government has itself said that it is not concluding any new contracts, but it is fulfilling old contracts. I don't have anything particular to brief other than with regard to this instance.
  QUESTION: Okay, but I mean does this ship '' okay, so if that is in fact the case, and if it is in fact the case that the Russians are supplying this stuff, and if it is in fact the case, as you're alluding to or you're saying, that some countries have decided that arming the opposition is a good way to go and that they're doing that, is this now a proxy war between the Russians and the Iranians '' the supporters of the regime, and your friends in Gulf, particularly in Turkey, who are supplying weapons to the other side?
  MS. NULAND: We've made no secret of our concerns that the longer this goes on, the more there is a prospect of the thing devolving not only into a civil war, but into a proxy war, and into a larger war that spills beyond borders. Those concerns remain. The Iranians --
  QUESTION: Doesn't it already meet the definition of a proxy war?
  MS. NULAND: I'm not going to be giving new definitions right here from this podium, but our concerns remain, and we've been clear with the Russians. But it's '' if you want to look for who's doing the most to prop up the Assad regime, you should address your concerns primarily to Tehran, which is not only aiding them rhetorically, aiding them financially, but is sending fighters, is advising them on tactics and technique, and also providing materiel, as we've said --
  QUESTION: But why, but --
  QUESTION: Okay, but you're '' just because it's not --
  MS. NULAND: Guys? Can you guys decide which one of you is going to yell at me? (Laughter.) Go ahead.
  QUESTION: I'm not '' I'm trying not to yell.
  MS. NULAND: Good. (Laughter.)
  QUESTION: The '' but I '' you're an intelligent woman. Just because it's --
  MS. NULAND: Thank you, Matt. I return the compliment to you.
  QUESTION: Just because it's not in the guidance in front of you --
  MS. NULAND: My father will be pleased to hear it.
  QUESTION: Just because it's not in the guidance in front of you doesn't mean you can't call it like '' call it what it is. If you have the Russians and the Iranians '' okay, the Iranians for the most part '' on one side supplying the regime with weaponry, enabling it to stay in power longer and enabling it to kill more of its people, and you have on the other side your good friends and allies in the Gulf, and a NATO ally included in that, supplying the opposition with weaponry that you yourself just said you're helping to vet who gets it, how does this not meet the definition of a proxy war?
  MS. NULAND: Again, I'm not going to go beyond what I've said, which is that our concerns remain about where this is going, which is why we all have to work together to hasten the day that the violence ends. And I would also remind that it is the regime that has it in its hands to end this any day that it chooses to, and they are the ones who bear the brunt of the burden of the violence that's going on.
  QUESTION: Can I '' but why are you making a moral distinction between what the Iranians are doing and what the Russians are doing?
  MS. NULAND: I'm not making any moral distinctions.
  QUESTION: I mean, you're placing more of an onus and a burden on the Iranians when the Russians actually have more influence because they're the ones holding up a UN Security Council resolution, they're the ones feasibly presenting '' preventing the international community from doing anything, and they're arming the Syrians. So why is --
  MS. NULAND: I think we've been very clear about our concerns about the Russian posture vis-a-vis Syria. I myself was quite clear last week from this podium.
  Go ahead.
  QUESTION: Yeah --
  MS. NULAND: Poor Jo has been trying to get a word in edgewise all morning '' all afternoon.
  Go ahead, Jo.
  QUESTION: Yes. Going back to Iran's influence and whether or not this is a proxy war, how concerned is the United States about the numbers of Hezbollah fighters inside Syria? And do you have any kind of figures on whether these are growing, and how '' yeah? I mean, Hezbollah's obviously backed by Iran.
  MS. NULAND: Yeah.
  QUESTION: You mentioned just now they're sending in new fighters. Are we talking about Hezbollah? Are we talking about Iranian people?
  MS. NULAND: Well, we're certainly very concerned about growing Hezbollah influence. We're very concerned about Iran's use of Hezbollah to achieve its ends in supporting up '' supporting the Assad regime. I don't think we've made any bones about that. And back to where Elise was, in our conversations with the Russians, we have said very clearly and repeatedly at all levels that if Moscow is concerned about these kinds of things '' they have expressed concern about what could come after Assad, and our point is, what is coming now with Assad still in power '' increasing efforts by extremists of all kinds and by Iran to make trouble that could spread even beyond borders.
  Please.
  QUESTION: So you dismiss Nasrallah's claim last '' three days ago that there are no Hezbollah fighters whatsoever in Syria?
  MS. NULAND: Yes. We would reject that completely. We are quite confident of nefarious activity by Hezbollah.
  QUESTION: Do you have a notion of how many Hezbollah fighters are inside country?
  MS. NULAND: I'm not going to get into our intelligence assessments, but it's a matter of quite serious concern.
  QUESTION: Going back to Burma?
  QUESTION: One more on --
  MS. NULAND: Let's stay on Syria until we're '' yeah.
  QUESTION: The shelling into Turkey has continued today.
  MS. NULAND: Yeah.
  QUESTION: Do you expect an escalation in tension between the two countries?
  MS. NULAND: Well, I'm obviously not going to be predictive here, but the Turks have been very consistent that they are striking back strongly and proportionally every time they take an attack across border. This is extremely dangerous and goes to the point that we've been making about the danger of this conflict spilling beyond borders.
  Please.
  QUESTION: Sorry. How concerned are you about whether it's '' whether perceived or truthful '' of growing resentment from Syrians on the ground that blame the United States for not doing enough, for not providing weapons, for not providing a no-fly zone, and whether that would fuel some of '' sympathy with some of the extremists?
  MS. NULAND: Well, we're working very hard through Ambassador Ford's contacts, through all of our contacts with the Syrian opposition, not only to advertise and reach out through the programs that we have on the nonlethal side. I think I mentioned that in addition to the 1,200-plus sets of communications gear that we've handed out, we've now trained hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of Syrian oppositionists in all kinds of things from human rights training to civil administration training to supporting the rights of women and students, et cetera.
  So '' but not everybody in Syria understands those programs or has been touched by them, so we are trying to make it better known what the opportunities are to work with us. We are trying to ensure that those who have benefitted from our training go back into Syria and become trainers themselves so that we can deepen and spread the impact and the effect of these programs. But we have made a policy decision that we are not going to '' that our support will be nonlethal. But we do think it is having an impact, and we think that the alumni of our programs are beginning to spread that word inside Syria as well.
  Please.
  QUESTION: There are news stories saying that the U.S. has agreed or has allowed Libya to provide the opposition with stinger missiles. Can you confirm that?
  MS. NULAND: Has allowed Libya to provide the Syrian --
  QUESTION: The Syrian opposition with stingers.
  MS. NULAND: I don't have any comment on that one way or the other. As you know, the Libyan Government is working hard on its own business now. They've just formed a government. They are working on dealing with the internal security problems inside Libya, and that's the focus of our conversation with them.
  QUESTION: Can we revisit --
  MS. NULAND: Please.
  QUESTION: Toria '' hi, sorry '' do you have any information on the attack in Afghanistan over the weekend that killed a female soldier and a CIA operative? Do you know anything more about this attack? Was it targeting U.S. intelligence assets, to your knowledge?
  MS. NULAND: Obviously, I'm not going to talk about intelligence of any kind. I think you're talking about the attack in Kandahar Province --
  QUESTION: Yes.
  MS. NULAND: -- which killed a U.S. soldier and another U.S. official. Our understanding of that '' and I will refer you to ISAF because I think they've already spoken to this '' is that this was, in fact, a green-on-green attack where some of our folk got caught in the middle.
  QUESTION: So you're not '' does it fall under insider attack?
  MS. NULAND: Again, I think I'm just going to send you back to ISAF because they spoke on this quite extensively at the time.
  QUESTION: Okay. Also on Afghanistan, where are we on the post-2014 negotiations for keeping a U.S. presence in Afghanistan? Have those talks begun? Are they progressing?
  MS. NULAND: I think we announced when we saw the '' when the Secretary saw President Karzai in New York, that we had named our negotiating teams for the Bilateral Security Agreement, but I don't think we've announced a start date yet for those talks.
  Please.
  QUESTION: Afghanistan?
  QUESTION: Yes.
  MS. NULAND: Yeah.
  QUESTION: Afghanistan?
  MS. NULAND: Afghanistan; go ahead.
  QUESTION: Is Ambassador Grossman traveling to Afghanistan for this trip?
  MS. NULAND: I don't have anything to announce. I know he was planning some travel, but let me get the details. I don't have the details in front of me --
  QUESTION: And there was another --
  MS. NULAND: -- and I don't think he's left yet.
  QUESTION: There was another suicide attack in Afghanistan today and in the last few months there have been increase in number of attacks inside Afghanistan. When the withdrawal of troops was announced, was it '' it is '' it will be conditions-based. The conditions hasn't improved yet, so do you think that that policy needs to be reviewed?
  MS. NULAND: You're talking about the attack in Paktia? Is that the one that you're talking about?
  QUESTION: Yeah.
  MS. NULAND: Yeah. ISAF has also spoken today to this one, so I'm going to send you to them for any more details.
  Said.
  QUESTION: Israel?
  QUESTION: The --
  MS. NULAND: Sorry, still Afghanistan?
  QUESTION: Still Afghanistan, please.
  MS. NULAND: Yeah.
  QUESTION: There was a young woman who was killed in Herat Province. She was beheaded because she refused to become a prostitute for her in-law family. I just wondered generally if you had a reaction to that, if you knew about the case, and then more generally if '' what measures are being put in place that, post-2014, the rights of women can be ensured in Afghanistan once the international '' the eyes of the international community are somewhat away from the country?
  MS. NULAND: Yeah. We are looking into this incident. We don't have any independent information besides what we've seen in the news reports. Obviously, we condemn violence against women wherever it happens, including in Afghanistan, and we reiterate our own deep commitment to the rights of Afghan women.
  I think you know that for the past decade, we and the international community have worked intensively with the Government of Afghanistan to advance women and girls' rights not only in the constitution, but in our education programs, in all of the support that we give to the Afghans' own National Action Plan for the Women of Afghanistan, which does things like establishing shelters, referral centers, transit houses for women under threat, for women who've suffered abuse.
  We are continuing to work on that. We also think that these shelters play a vital role in the implementation of Afghanistan's own 2009 law to eliminate violence against women when they face women in their own '' violence in their own families. But again, we have extensive programs. I can give you a separate brief or put you in touch with all of our people who work on this. We are training prosecutors who specialize in violence against women. We are working to help women who are incarcerated, perhaps falsely or on charges brought under inappropriate circumstances. We're working with refugees and IDPs and all of those kinds of things.
  So all of our international efforts are designed to create the structures and institutions of the Afghan state to help protect these rights going forward. It's something that we are all committed to, that the Afghan Government and President Karzai is committed to. But it's a long road, and we're going to have to keep working on it. And as we've said, even as we wind down the combat mission, our civilian programs are going to continue in Afghanistan.
  QUESTION: Thank you.
  MS. NULAND: Please.
  QUESTION: One more?
  MS. NULAND: Still on Afghanistan?
  QUESTION: Afghanistan.
  MS. NULAND: Yeah.
  QUESTION: According to the reports, of course, many trainings are going on and Afghanistan is maybe ready by next year to take over their own security. You think U.S. is planning to withdraw earlier than, I mean, next year, earlier than 2014?
  MS. NULAND: I think we have all confirmed from the President on down that we are committed to the Lisbon timetable which speaks about full transfer at the end of 2014. Please.
  QUESTION: Rwanda?
  MS. NULAND: Mm-hmm.
  QUESTION: There's a report out of the UN panel of experts which, again, is very clear in saying that the Rwandan Government, specifically the Rwandan Defense Minister, is sort of operationally in control of M23 in Congo and also says the Ugandans have a heavier hand than we've heard about before. I'm just wondering if you have any reaction to this report and what the current status is of your talks with the Rwandans on trying to get them to back off on the M23.
  MS. NULAND: Well, first of all, I think you're talking about the group of experts report for the DRC sanctions?
  QUESTION: Yeah.
  MS. NULAND: Yeah. That report has not yet been officially released. I think you're working off a leak, so I'm not going to comment on it until it's been formally released. I think you know that we've obviously been engaged at the high levels with the Government of Rwanda. The Secretary, as you know, when we were in New York hosted a meeting with both Kabila and Kagame to try to encourage them to work together on these problems, and we're going to remain very much engaged.
  Please, Justin.
  QUESTION: On Benghazi, one question on Benghazi. There's been sort of an almost constant criticism coming mainly from conservatives that the State Department was wrong when it initially linked the attack to the anti-Muslim video. Now, obviously you all have walked back the idea that it was premeditated, but has the State Department ruled out that the attackers may have been motivated in some way by that video?
  MS. NULAND: Justin, I don't have anything to add to what the Secretary said when she was standing next to Italian Foreign Minister Terzi last Friday. She was asked a version of this question. This is exactly why we have an Accountability Review Board, why we have an FBI investigation, and we really are not going to have any more details on these things or be able to give a final or definitive account until it's done.
  QUESTION: I'm not asking for detail or final or definitive --
  MS. NULAND: Yeah.
  QUESTION: I'm just asking to '' for you to '' I'm giving you the opportunity to sort of address some of this constant criticism that it is totally wrong to associate this with the anti-Muslim video. And I'm giving you the opportunity to say maybe that constant criticism is too much and is not accurate.
  MS. NULAND: While I very much appreciate any opportunities that you're giving me here, Justin; I just really don't have any further information to share. As the Secretary said, we just don't have a full picture, even now.
  QUESTION: Is that because the '' you're '' you've been given the opportunity to '' you have already been given the opportunity to present incomplete and perhaps part '' only partial information, and it's come back to haunt you?
  MS. NULAND: I think the Secretary spoke for all of us, spoke for this building not only on Friday but also in Peru yesterday. I just don't have anything further on Benghazi here.
  QUESTION: Toria, do you have a timetable --
  QUESTION: Could we go to Israel?
  QUESTION: -- for when you will have the information, when this will be done, or an update at least?
  MS. NULAND: Well, I think the Secretary said herself that '' the day that she announced the ARB, that when she impaneled them and they began working, that she very much hoped that they'd be able to wrap up their work in 60 days. Those were the instructions that she gave them. I think they've been at work now for a calendar week maybe, something like that. So '' but traditionally, these kinds of reports have taken 60- 65 days, so we just have to see.
  QUESTION: Do you think the President was clear in asserting that this was a terrorist attack on September '' what was it, the day after?
  MS. NULAND: I'm not going to try to improve on anything the President has said here. I'm sorry.
  Please.
  QUESTION: Yes. Victoria, according to Israeli radio, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is getting ready to enact a recommendation report by Edmond Levy, or parts thereof, declaring the West Bank not occupied and legalizing outposts. Are you aware of the report and do you have any comment on it?
  MS. NULAND: I haven't seen any of that, but I, in any case, wouldn't comment on something prospectively that another government might do.
  QUESTION: Okay. But you do have a position on the status of the West Bank and on the status of these outposts as being illegal, correct?
  MS. NULAND: Our position on settlements has not changed at all.
  QUESTION: And you consider the West Bank to be under Israeli military occupation, correct?
  MS. NULAND: Said, as I said, our position on settlements, on any of these things, hasn't changed.
  Scott. Can we go to --
  QUESTION: Can we stay on --
  MS. NULAND: Scott's been patient. You want to stay on this part of the world?
  QUESTION: Yeah. Well, it's not Israel. It's the Palestinians. Is that all right?
  MS. NULAND: Yes, it is all right.
  QUESTION: I have your blessing?
  MS. NULAND: Scott's blessing you.
  QUESTION: Do you know '' this is a very strange story about a Palestinian --
  MS. NULAND: What a day. Compliments from Matt, blessings between Scott and Matt. I think we send him to Peru more often. (Laughter.)
  QUESTION: Do you know anything about this situation with Palestinian students being unable to take SATs, Palestinian students in the West Bank, because of some problem with the SAT booklets being held up in Israeli customs?
  MS. NULAND: I do, and I'm happy to say that we have learned that this issue has now been resolved and more than a hundred '' or about a hundred West Bank students will be blessed to get to take the SAT this coming Saturday. So they should sharpen their number two pencils.
  QUESTION: Well, I'm not sure they're blessed.
  MS. NULAND: I was just trying to pick up the theme here.
  QUESTION: But blessed? What was the issue? What was the problem?
  MS. NULAND: My understanding is there was some issue having to do with customs procedures. I would refer you to the Israelis.
  QUESTION: But do you know if the U.S. Government got involved with the Israelis to help fix this, or is it just something that it was --
  MS. NULAND: My understanding is that we were engaged to try to ensure that the West Bank students could sit their SATs.
  QUESTION: Okay. And then also on the Palestinians '' there's a report that the Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations has said '' this is regarding seeking recognition, unilaterally seeking recognition from the Security Council '' the Palestinian Ambassador to the UN says that the only two countries that have come out and said '' really expressed firm opposition to this are Israel and Canada, and that the United States, along with Colombia and Guatemala, who are your traditional allies, I think, along with Palau and all the --
  QUESTION: Micronesia. (Laughter.)
  QUESTION: -- South Pacific islands, have not said firmly that they are opposed to that, and that --
  MS. NULAND: Opposed to what, exactly?
  QUESTION: To the seeking recognition, to the '' asking the General Assembly to recognize them as a non member state. So they say that they have not heard firm opposition from the United States on this or any warning that that kind of a move might draw some penalties from the U.S., whether it's from the Administration or whether it's from Congress; is that correct, to your knowledge?
  MS. NULAND: I haven't seen his comments. If in fact it is correct, it's easy to rectify. Let me start right now by saying we have consistently opposed a Palestinian attempt to upgrade their status at the UN outside the framework of a negotiated settlement, and we will continue to do so.
  QUESTION: Okay. And does that mean that you have also told them that, ''Hey, if you go ahead and do this, there are certain '' we have their laws in the United States that would require action against you,'' correct?
  MS. NULAND: As you know, the Secretary has met regularly with President Abbas. He should be in no doubt about our position on this --
  QUESTION: Okay.
  MS. NULAND: -- and concerns about the potential ramifications.
  QUESTION: Okay, and then just --
  QUESTION: Can we go to Benghazi?
  QUESTION: Hold on. And then just on that, so you're telling me right now that you have gone to the Palestinians and told them that they shouldn't do something. And yet when you're asked about Israel, you say ''We wouldn't comment prospectively on what another government might do.''
  Can you square that for me?
  MS. NULAND: Well, I was being --
  QUESTION: Is this not a prospective thing that the Palestinian Government might do, and you're telling them not to do it?
  MS. NULAND: I was being '' Matt?
  QUESTION: And yet, if it's an Israeli prospective thing, you're not going to tell them one way or the other?
  MS. NULAND: I was being asked about something that I hadn't seen, that purportedly the Israelis are going to do internally. It wasn't even clear to me what they were going to do. This goes to a position that the Palestinians may take in the UN where we sit, where obviously we are Security Council members and we are going to talk to them about our concerns about it.
  QUESTION: Yes, but ''may'' take being the operative word. So you're perfectly willing to tell the Palestinians what they can and can't do --
  MS. NULAND: Well we've had '' we had measures --
  QUESTION: -- but the Israelis don't get that same treatment?
  MS. NULAND: Matt, we had measures taken last year and we are continuing that conversation.
  QUESTION: Well, but can I just follow up? I mean, obviously you're opposed to the attempt for them to get recognition unilaterally at the UN, but can you really expect them to just wait indefinitely to '' through '' there is no chance of negotiations restarting anytime soon. And, I mean, are they supposed to wait like another 30 years to see if negotiations go through? I mean, is there any other remedy to help them get some kind of recognition, some kind of middle ground or something?
  MS. NULAND: Elise, you know where we are on this very well, which is --
  QUESTION: Nowhere.
  MS. NULAND: -- that all of our efforts are focused on trying to get the two parties to talk to each other, to communicate with each other, to set the conditions so that they can have direct negotiations. That's the only way we're going to get through this, and we're not going to give up on that and we're going to keep working on it.
  Scott, who has been patient.
  QUESTION: Colombia --
  MS. NULAND: Yes.
  QUESTION: -- opening talks with FARC. It seems that the Venezuelans are playing a more productive role than they have in the past. Any thoughts about that?
  MS. NULAND: I frankly don't have anything on a role that the Venezuelans may or may not be playing. We are obviously focused on the process that President Santos has set in place and we are supportive of it and we'll be watching closely.
  QUESTION: Can you take that question, though? I think that '' I mean, you don't have anything on what the Venezuelans '' maybe not in your guidance book, but you don't have anything on what the Venezuelans are doing as far as these '' as the FARC --
  MS. NULAND: I'm happy to look into whether our folks --
  QUESTION: Could you? Thank you.
  MS. NULAND: -- have any issues that they are interested in with regard to a Venezuelan role.
  Goyal.
  QUESTION: And what about '' how you are supporting the Colombia FARC talks?
  MS. NULAND: Well, this is '' these are direct talks. We're obviously not involved, we're not in the middle of it. But we are being briefed regularly by the Colombians, and we're very '' we're supportive of their effort to get to the peace that they deserve.
  QUESTION: Just staying in that region, you spoke yesterday about the Cuban exit visa thing, correct?
  MS. NULAND: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
  QUESTION: Yeah. Never mind, then.
  MS. NULAND: I did, yeah, quite extensively, in fact, making clear that while this may look like a good move on paper, there are other restrictions in place that will allow the Cuban Government to continue to have controls.
  QUESTION: Going back to Burma?
  MS. NULAND: Yes.
  QUESTION: This '' as far as this multi-talented organization --
  MS. NULAND: Multi-talented, yeah.
  QUESTION: -- navigation to Burma is concerned, are they '' one, are they meeting with the '' Aung San Suu Kyi? And two, are they talking about only human rights or also as far as opening, I mean, investment? And also, finally, the release of political prisoners and also end of emergency rules and regulation imposed by the military rule for 20 years?
  MS. NULAND: Well, this was a human rights delegation, the first of what we hope will be many. As you know, we have human rights dialogues with many countries around the world, so this was focused on those issues. Andy asked the political prisoners question. I'm sure that issue came up, but I don't have any details. When Assistant Secretary Posner gets back, we'll do what we can to get you some more details on that issue.
  QUESTION: How long you think Burmese will wait for '' this change will come out?
  MS. NULAND: Will wait for what change?
  QUESTION: As far as political prisoners and other emergency rules and regulations to be uplifted.
  MS. NULAND: Well, again, I'm not going to predict the patience of the Burmese people, but we have all spoken out about the need to get to zero in terms of political prisoners, and we're continuing to work with the Government of Burma on that.
  QUESTION: Can we go back to Libya, please --
  MS. NULAND: Yep.
  QUESTION: -- and human rights as well? I don't know if you had the opportunity to see yesterday a report from Human Rights Watch on '' actually, it came out this morning, sorry '' about the executions that they've catalogued that happened in the days surrounding the death of Muammar Qadhafi. I just wondered what the United States's comment was on the fact there seems to have been a lot of summary executions and that these people weren't brought to trial as perhaps the international community would've liked.
  MS. NULAND: Well, first, with regard to the findings outlined in Human Rights Watch report, which allege that war crimes took place last year in Libya, we are urging the Government of Libya to genuinely investigate all these claims and to prosecute any perpetrators in a manner consistent with Libya's international obligations.
  Similarly, with regard to Qadhafi's death, we have regularly urged the Government of Libya to continue to investigate the circumstances, and it's very important to hold those responsible to account. This is part of the '' not only the judicial maturation of Libya, but also part of the ground that they need to plow for national reconciliation.
  QUESTION: But are you confident they're doing that? I mean, it would seem a year on, Human Rights Watch has been out to come out with something which they say they believe to be true. Have you heard back from the Libyan Government on your requests for further investigation?
  MS. NULAND: We have an extensive dialogue with the Libyans on all aspects of their justice system moving forward. I would note that, as the Secretary said in her speech last Friday, one of the things that we've been doing with the Government of Libya is training lawyers, judges, civil society to strengthen the underpinnings. Remember that they not too long ago were a authoritarian regime. But it's no secret that this is a fragile and very new democracy. They've only just elected a new Libyan Prime Minister. So they were operating within a transitional governing structure for a very long time, and we need to now support them as they take the next steps on all of these issues.
  QUESTION: And I wondered, on Benghazi, if you're aware of reporting that the authorities have apparently singled out a leader of Ansa al-Sharia, Ahmed Abu Khattala, as the commander of the attack on Benghazi on September 11, if you had any information about that.
  MS. NULAND: I am not, from this podium, going to get into any of these details of arrests or prosecutions or any of it. We're going to leave all of that to the FBI as they work with the Libyans to both investigate and '' but obviously, we are committed to ensuring that those who did this are going to come to justice.
  QUESTION: Thank you.
  MS. NULAND: Thank you.
  QUESTION: (Inaudible.)
  MS. NULAND: Oh. Sorry. We got Lalit in the back.
  QUESTION: Yeah. India and Australia today announced that they would be starting negotiations on a civilian nuclear pact. You know U.S. are the first country to have similar agreement with India, a couple of years ago. How do you see this development, the announcement by the two governments?
  MS. NULAND: I hadn't seen that Australia and India are moving forward but, as you know, we work very closely on these issues with Australia around the world. So I'm sure that we were '' we'll be in touch as we go forward.
  Thank you very much.
  QUESTION: Thank you.
  (The briefing was concluded at 1:45 p.m.)
  DPB #178
Latest Jackson Jr. probe clouds political, legal future - chicagotribune.com
  Link to Article
  Wed, 17 Oct 2012 18:56
  Out of sight for months and seeking re-election in weeks, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.'s return to Congress by voters may be virtually assured, but a new federal investigation of the South Side Democrat has made his political and legal future even more tenuous.
  The probe by federal prosecutors in Washington into whether Jackson misused campaign funds is but the latest example of how the once-bright future of a 17-year congressman with big political aspirations greatly dimmed after his involvement with imprisoned former Gov. Rod Blagojevich four years ago.
  A source close to Jackson, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the congressman's situation, said Tuesday that there was no change in Jackson's status as a candidate for re-election but cautioned that matters surrounding the latest federal investigation were "all in the lawyers' hands now."
  The look at Jackson's finances is an "ongoing inquiry," according to a federal source familiar with the probe. Another source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the investigation into campaign finances has been ongoing "for months" and that vendors to Jackson's campaign are among those being questioned in the case.
  On Tuesday, a woman who identified herself as a co-owner of a suburban office furniture company told the Tribune that federal authorities contacted the business within the past month or so to tell the operators they would be receiving a federal subpoena for records connected to a purchase of furniture by Jackson's campaign committee.
  Campaign finance records show that Jackson's campaign committee purchased office furniture from the company for $8,000 in September 2010.
  Jackson's last real power lies in remaining a member of Congress. Though he potentially faces prosecution, his title as congressman could provide him with a bargaining chip to trade with authorities in exchange for avoiding a contentious prosecution or stiffer penalty.
  Many top Democrats acknowledge there are no last-minute preparations to replace Jackson on the Nov. 6 ballot because they don't believe he'll drop out and is all but a shoo-in to win in a 2nd Congressional District drawn to heavily favor Democrats, and the congressman in particular.
  Under state election law, Democratic leaders have only until Monday '-- 15 days before the election '-- to pick a replacement candidate should Jackson opt to remove his name from consideration. After that, Jackson's name would appear on the ballot. Should he decide later to resign, a special election would be held several months down the road.
  Top Chicago Democrats also said privately that they believe Jackson's tenure in Congress may be short-lived, due to the new federal investigation but also in light of his drama-filled summer. Jackson's camp offered few details about his June medical leave from the House that finally led to the revelation in August that he was being treated for bipolar disorder.
  Jackson has not campaigned publicly, and spotting him has become fodder for gossip websites. The Daily reported that it found Jackson outside his DuPont Circle home in Washington smoking a cigar Monday. Jackson told the site he's "not well" and visits a doctor twice a day at a nearby hospital. The Daily also said it confirmed that Jackson had shown up twice last week at a D.C. bar with a group of people that included men and women.
  In 2008, Jackson faced federal scrutiny over his involvement in trying to secure President Barack Obama's former U.S. Senate seat from Blagojevich. Jackson's political stock rapidly declined amid allegations that a wealthy supporter and longtime friend, Raghuveer Nayak, offered Blagojevich up to $6 million to appoint the congressman to fill Obama's Senate vacancy.
  Nayak, who was arrested on unrelated federal fraud charges in June, had told federal investigators that Jackson asked him to raise campaign money for Blagojevich in hopes the then-governor would appoint the congressman to the seat, sources familiar with the investigation have told the Tribune.
  Jackson has denied any knowledge of fundraising in exchange for the appointment, but the allegations over the Senate seat prompted an ongoing investigation by the House Ethics Committee. Jackson has said he expects to be vindicated by the ethics panel.
  Under House rules, a violation of a law involving a House member "that may have been disclosed in a committee investigation" can be reported to federal or state authorities by a vote of two-thirds of the ethics panel's members.
  Federal law prohibits candidates and officeholders from using campaign dollars for personal obligations such as a home mortgage, rent, utility payments, a noncampaign automobile expense or a country club membership, to name some examples.
  Jackson had $113,055 in his campaign treasury Sept. 30, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. From January 2011 through September, he had $983,096 in contributions and about $1 million in expenses, the reports showed.
  Jackson's campaign treasurer in Chicago, Vickie Pasley, and his lawyer in Washington, Reid Weingarten, did not return phone calls for comment Tuesday. The U.S. Justice Department, the U.S. attorney's office for the District of Columbia and the FBI's Washington field office had no comment Tuesday about Jackson.
  Tribune reporters Richard A. Serrano, Hal Dardick, John Chase, Jeff Coen and Annie Sweeney contributed.
  rap30@aol.com
  kskiba@tribune.com
  Twitter @rap30
Mysterious boom in Louisiana caused by military explosion, not meteorite
  Link to Article
  Source: WT news feed
  Wed, 17 Oct 2012 14:33
  Minden Press HeraldThe blast broke widows and left some wondering whether a meteorite had struck the area.
  A bunker at a northern Louisiana military compound exploded late Monday, briefly prompting speculation that the loud boom and shaking ground had been caused by meteorite .
  Webster Parish officials confirmed Tuesday that the mysterious incident was a ''contained'' explosion at Camp Minden, a north Louisiana National Guard training site.
  ''The bunker did exactly what it was designed to do," said Webster Parish Sheriff's Chief Deputy Bobby Igo, Jr. "There were no injuries - nobody hurt. We don't know the cause at this point,'' he told the Minden Press-Herald.
  Residents had been scrambling to figure out what caused the massive boom, which broke windows and rattled homes and businesses around 11:30 pm CST. The blast shook a five mile area from Minden to Dixie Inn, about 30 miles from Shreveport.
  Witnesses also reported seeing a flash of light.
  The U.S. Geological Survey had no reports of earthquakes in the area and natural gas plants in the region said they had not suffered any explosions.
  Some local officials guessed the incident could have been caused by a meteorite, noting that the Earth is currently being peppered by a meteor shower spawned by the famous Halley's Comet.
  But a NASA official told the Daily News the space agency was doubtful a meteorite caused the damage and did not expect to investigate.
  ''They hit everywhere, all the time,'' NASA spokesman Steve Cole said of meteorites.
  Finally, by Tuesday morning, Camp Minden confirmed they had been the source of the blast, which is still under investigation. The bunker belongs to a company called Explo, officials said.
  vcavaliere@nydailynews.com
Obama Analgate: The Rose Suppository
  Link to Article
  Source: Lame Cherry
  Wed, 17 Oct 2012 14:13
  My children, the reality is Lame Cherry is the Bob Woodward of the 21st century in breaking stories for years, and for the uncovering of ANALGATE, the hostage gone anal rape and murder election fiasco of the Obama 2012 campaign.
  You have lived weeks in the future with this blog, now live months in telling you what took place, as now even CO Jones of Western Journalism has heard the rumors coming directly from inside the White House.
  This operation was focused on many things and the chief of them deals with the disarming of American Soldiers in Afnamistan when Leon Panetta visited there. As this blog exposed there were numbers of ops who were furious over what the murder of bin Laden's corpse unleashed in the retaliation mass assassination of the Obama SEALS in Team Six.
  The regime was operating in fear, and it is why Muchelle was exposed in that bizarre reach out to dead Soldiers families in pretending the regime actually cared for the Soldiers. They were afraid people in this group were going to go postal.That is what was part of this Chris Stevens hostage set up, as Obama has a number of ghosts he exercises in wanting to replace every President in his living history.Teddy Kennedy got the John Kennedy mantel. The Obamacare was LBJ. Nixon is the machinations of the regime in covering up his crimes. Carter is this Iranian hostage scenario. Reagan is disarmament. Clinton is black President and Bush41 and 43 is the realignment of the Middle East with Obama's people and not Bush people.
  Analgate had many facets to it in planning as it was replacing bin Laden's bounce, but it was more in the Muslim Brotherhood was contracting for greater payments. The associates who set this drama up were the same negotiating team who wet up the drug train for al Qaeda out of Obama's narco communists in South America and al Qaeda running it in Africa and Asia out of Afghanistan.
  This operation tails back into Lebanon and Egypt as staging points, and it was in this mix that the same Islamocommunists staged the murder and rape as they knew Obama was going to be blackmail material. This is about Iran and their safeguarding and you can find not far in this old KGB contractors who provided intelligence support, as they are furious yet over Khadaffi and what is taking place in Syria with Assad.They see their former billionaire partners being picked off and it akin to what the KGB did in neutralizing Clinton policy in selling nukes to Iraq and Iran.
  In layers, this was like Obama's birther documents as much as the 300 million he took in to his 2008 campaign which was laundered off of credit cards. The same contractors who assisted Obama have been the same contractors starting all of these revolutions, and the same corp group who Obama contracted with in trusting them.
  It really pissed these people off in what Obama did on that God and Jew plank on the DNC convention, as this was Palestine's moment and it started the hot head campaign which did not take a great deal of fanning the flames to "teach Obama a lesson", so he would come through with the nation for Palestinians the next time.
  It was compartmentalized and handed to Obama. For effect, he was not told the specifics, but only hostages would be taken and rescued.Hillary Clinton knows a great deal more in her intelligence end.
  I have mentioned that Panetta and Patraeus know a great deal more, in the digitals coming out of the chatter there, spilled the greater portion of this tale.
  This is now the story which is leaking out in torrents confirming what this blog has broken as Egypt, Libya and Lebanon blackmail Obama. Iran is not far behind in the machinations.
  Hillary Clinton is running scared on this part of it and is why she is eating the blame. The large players know and they know the Clintons took the security away for this Obama hostage taking, and they know Hillary told Obama it was in exchange for a new position.If Obama won, Hillary was looking at the Supreme Court in what the payment was to be she knew she would never collect on, as it had to do with the reality of this was about Romney getting elected as the hostage crisis was not to end until January 2013.
  There are still in the ledger Obama has, a layout of hostages in the Rose Garden as that location was most important to Obama dealing with Jimmy Carter held hostage there in his Rose Garden Strategy.
  Mr Obama has been making a great deal of enemies in the old Muslim order. This had Palestinian catalyst, but what took place in Benghazi had players who took down the Team Six helo.
  All of this is starting to spill out. Was first here as always.
  agtG 221yy
  October 15, 2012 By C.O. JonesI received a phone call from an old friend that has been in Washington D.C. for years and is fairly well-connected politically. What she told me was ugly and sinister, yet very compelling. She said she had received information from someone high up in White House circles, and wanted my thoughts. No, there is no leaked email, no concrete proof, and this article is based on ''hearsay.'' I'm not one that usually engages in or repeats hearsay, but if this is true, it could be the biggest story in 50 years.According to her, Barack Obama, wanting an ''October Surprise,'' had secretly arranged with the Muslim Brotherhood for a kidnapping of our ambassador. Then sometime in October before the election Obama was to orchestrate some great military action to rescue Ambassador Stevens, causing all of America to cheer Obama's strong foreign policy and bravery and making him look like a hero. After all, his supposed killing of Osama Bin Laden bounce had long since faded. Thus, sweeping him to victory in November. Imagine the headlines and talking points. The election would be a lock. The Muslim Brotherhood has every reason to want Obama re-elected in November and have an American President sympathetic to their causes. Not to mention an administration filled with Muslim appeasers. Therefore, they agreed to aid in these theatrics. Unfortunately for Ambassador Stevens and three others, the Brotherhood could not control the hired thugs that were to perform the kidnapping and things escalated and four American lives were lost. Panic set in at the White House and with little time to place blame as far away from Obama as they could, they settled on a ridiculous fairy tale about an irrelevant video posted four months prior on YouTube and ran with it. Barack Obama even ran with it after evidence showed he knew better and ran with it all the way to his speech at the U.N.So now, they are admitting it was a terrorist attack. They are admitting that the State Department had denied requests for more security from Washington, but nobody told them. Blame anyone but Barack Obama. I'm betting the White House is smirking and perfectly happy to be accused of having a breakdown in communication as opposed to the alternative. This scenario, if true, more than satisfies my common sense gland.
That Dead Baby Flavor
  Link to Article
  Source: Lame Cherry
  Wed, 17 Oct 2012 14:10
  My children, it is time to lay the law down on a subject and that is cannibalizing humans is criminal.
  That might sound as something everyone should be aware of, like sawing off your neighbor's ass for an ass steak for the grill would be something to end you up in prison, but the reality is in this world of evil being called good and good being called evil, things and situations must be defined as the human exterminators who are the elite have been busy for a generation in defining heinous acts as lawful, just to keep the mobs from overbreeding and taking back all that was stolen from them by the cartels.
  The subject in this is about ABORTICIDE. There is no such things as legal abortion, as abortion in nature is natural. Abortion is when a deer doe during hard winters absorbs a fawn back into her system so it does not develop. Abortion is miscarriage in human women when the womb recognizes a cell structure forming a baby is not going to survive or endanger the mother.Aborticide is the act of a global elite in eugenics or class extermination, setting out propaganda that a baby is tissue and that a mother should end that life by artificial means for whatever conditioning the elite have put out in propaganda from birth control to the planet is over populated.
  I will not delve into the Spiritual, psychological and physical harm this billion dollar industry has done to women worldwide by this indoctrination due to increased cancers to women being tormented for years in dealing with this, because I have spoken of this before. The matter though is now before all of us, that American companies are producing new lines of products for you to consume which are utilizing the DNA structure of a dead infant, murdered by this cartel in an aborticide in the Netherlands in 1972.
  I'm going to name this child, Dan, as the Israelite Danites are from this region, and calling this HEK 293 just is far too removed, even if HEK Stands for Human Embryonic Kidney tissue.
  What no one has ever spoken of and is exclusive to this blog is the reality of that number 293.
  That number was not just chosen out of Dutch thin air, but it means that as you are lied to in this being just the tissue of one dead baby from the Netherlands.....DAN, as he will be called here, the reality is as you know, that for there to be a 293, there had to be 292 OTHER SAMPLES cannibalized by science.
  Now back track in this a bit in you know about trimesters and how little babies are. You also know that they did not just stop at 293, but there were probably 1293 other samples at least.As you are pondering that disgusting chopping up of body parts, you know that a fetus kidney probably did not have 200 pieces to be chopped up, so the logical conclusion is, this was a quite developed baby, or in fact, this "one sample" now storming the world for food testing, was in fact part of hundreds of babies murdered by the cartel, and these ghouls on government grants were cannibalizing thousands of dead children in laboratories in Europe all for exploiting those body parts.
  Yes, they will state this was legal, but I would state that Germans experimenting on Jews was legal in 1940 as were Japanese experimenting on Koreans, so if that is the case of legalities for research, why not just dig up all those holocaust Jews and Koreans and let's all make some real profits out of this, as this is all moral and legal.
  The process for Dan's kidney was to mix it's cells in the 293 phase with a calcium solution which turned it into.........this whiz bang cell structure which all these major companies for years have been using for testing and making a fortune off of this dead child.
  This all changed recently in a company called Senomyx found a way to rig Dan's kidney cells to make it respond as a tongue, yes the correct term is a taste receptor in order to "taste" sugar, salt and other goodies which companiese like Pepsi and Hershey are contracting for.
  Yes why employ humans to taste test food products when one can have a dead baby's kidney chopped up, doused with lab experiments to turn it into a tongue that tastes everything you are going to be eating in the year ahead.
  As a behaviorist expert in animal and plant genre, it fascinates me completely that Dan is going to be taste testing all of your sodas, chips, chocolates and only corporate America knows what for billions of people.This puzzles me as you can taste for example apples as I can. Some of you might like a McIntosh, some a Golden Delicious, some a Braeburn, some a Honeycrisp and some a Wealthy, and in all of those flavors each person will taste sour, sweet, tart and apple essence in which they will produce a preference.Just like you might take acetaminophen for a headache and it will work, but ibuprofen might work better in my chemistry.
  Dan is who the industry has chosen, and it is Dan's receptors which are reacting and it is Dan who will be deciding what he likes in 1 out of 8 billion people sipping on Pepsi, the choice of a new generation and an aborticided generation.
  The industry on this reality alone should be paying me a brain fee for pointing this out, in what if a Netherlands boy's kidney cells turned into a tongue tastes different from yours which they do.Now of course they are going to say this is not some porno tongue slathering around in a petrie dish, but as you do not taste with your ears, but with your tongue, this is a tongue of a dead baby from Europe being engineered to lap at Pepsi products.
  What I would like to know is just how many thousands of these cells are housed in these multi billion dollar companies of dead babies in some type of cemetery slide for obscene profits?
  Senomyx has 70 patents using Dan's kidney cells.
  In this age of Muchelle Obama hating fat children and Michael Bloomberg warring on sugar, I ask what the hell is wrong with sugar as everyone likes it, including plants and animals, that Pepsi has to find "new derived ingredients" for beverages?
  What in the hell, literally from holocaust camps is something "derived" that is called a "sweetener" that replaces sugar?Is it more of that aspartame poison?
  The reason I want to know is as an exclusive here, I can tell you that Americans were lied to in nutrasweet as I did the first taste tests and you honestly thought it was sugar. That was BECAUSE IT WAS SUGAR. It was not until the first batches had cleared and conned Americans into thinking nutrasweet tasted better than sacharyn, that the companies started dumping the real product and poisoning people, and people like trusting idiots knew this tasted like crap, but still kept on drinking it.....DUE TO PRECONCEIVED PROGRAMMING NOTIONS THAT WHAT ORIGINALLY TASTED SWEET MUST BE NOW SWEET AND THEY COULD NOT BE WRONG NOW.
  That is one hell of a lawsuit if that fact ever got out, and the John Edwards lawyers owe me a big finders fee in pointing that out.
  Meanwhile back at human cannibalism, as that is what this is for profit.
  If "derived" things are so poisonous in testing that they require Dan's tongue, then they should not be around later to put on your tongue. There are no excuses for this in a world of sugar so plentiful that Brazil turns it into ethanol for fuel, that sugar should not be flowing from all venues as sugar is a very good product.In India it is a flavoring. In medicine it literally is a disinfectant for wounds. I have noted here how it will in an inflamed eye actually cure it as it has for my livestock often.
  The point being, sugar is natural as plants produce it, but it is not natural to be testing whatever "derived" things are, for the simple reason some damn company which makes chemicals is looking for a way to unload on the public some poison, to cut rural farmers out of the profits they receive by growing things which produce sugar.
  It is past time literally that all of this Human testing from baby tissue is not only shut down, but given a proper burial. There are human and animal cell structures which can be utilized for this in consenting people and animals which can be harvested humanely while maintaining their lives. If not in animals, the meat industry produces millions of pounds of kidney tissue these ghouls can play with which is not repulsive nor immoral.
  The greatest cause of death in America is aborticide each year. That is a fact. America is sinful enough without the reality that the greatest cause for 10 out of 10 Pepsi drinkers to choose Pepsi is a dead baby's kidney Frankenstein turned into a tongue for taste tests.
  These things just do not happen my children. Someone in the cartel dreamed this up. Someone figured out that chemical poisons could poison people while cutting out the farmers from growing sugar in taking money they would use to empower other people in purchases or just might donate to Conservative candidates for government.
  Everyone of these steps in this has been plotted out and backed by the same cartel which installed foreign bred Obama into 1600 Penn Avenue. It always sounds insane, but there is always method to the madness and it is always about how have the few rule the many while the masses are exterminated.
  A dead baby murdered and used to create some new poison to murder billiions. Sounds like something out of the Nazi and Tojo biological weapons arsenal, and yet it is all through world industry and being made excuses for.
  Morally this all needs to be outlawed and farming must return to producing wholesome products like sugar to feed people.
  The good part in this is, that even on Google in searching for aborted fetus pictures as the search protocol brings up Soylent Pepsi and other issues focusing on this, so the message is getting out.
  Do you really want to be drinking and eating products which were verified by a dead baby's kidney mutated into a tongue?
  agtG 265
  Food World Order
  Senomyx
Syria: An Energy-Based Proxy War in the Making? - Casey Research
  Link to Article
  Wed, 17 Oct 2012 04:28
  By Marin Katusa, Chief Energy Investment Strategist
  The Vietnam war wasn't really about Vietnam. Spaniards may have fought in the Spanish Civil War, but the real opponents were elsewhere. US and Soviet machinations in Afghanistan in the late 1970s had little to do with liberating a repressed population.
  They were all proxy wars, struggles between superpowers that chose to fight their battles in faraway lands and inflict their collateral damage on other peoples instead of their own.
  Each war had a cover. Each time the superpowers of the world got involved '' overtly or covertly '' to right an arguable wrong. Really though, they were there to fight each other. To weaken each other. To claim moral superiority and political preeminence. And to win the right to use the proxy nation's resources and location to their advantage.
  It would be lovely to think such wars are a thing of the past... but another proxy war is rapidly developing.
  This one pits the world's biggest oil producer against one of its largest customers. It positions a nation with a stranglehold on European gas supplies against one with newfound gas wealth and dreams of future exports. It involves pipelines and terrorism and sovereignty and religion and contrasting concepts of human rights and political progress.
  It is Syria.
  In its simplest description, the war in Syria is a civil war, a revolt against a tyrannical dictator who would rather slaughter his own people than relinquish his power.
  Of course, it is more than that. Syria is a complicated place and an important player in Middle Eastern and global relations.
  First and foremost, Syria is the third arm of the anti-Israel and anti-West Iran-Hezbollah-Syria alliance, a Shia threesome that opposes the set of Sunni-led powers in the Middle East. (Syria's population is dominated by Sunni Muslims, but the country is controlled by the Assad family, who are Shias.)
  In addition, Syria buys some $150-million worth of arms from Russia every year and hosts a Russian naval port on its Mediterranean Sea coast. It has been lorded over by the ruthless Assad family for more than 40 years, democracy a forbidden notion. And it is situated at a continental crossroads, between the energy riches of Eurasia and the Middle East and the energy-hungry markets of Europe.
  To turn Syria toward the West '' even just slightly '' would be a huge victory for the West and a major loss for Russia, Iran, Hezbollah, and even China.
  This much has been clear since Syrians started rising up against Assad 19 months ago. Less clear has been where Syria's revolt would lead. With the Western public weary of war, economic heavyweights China and Russia vehemently opposed to foreign intervention in Syria, and a US presidential election looming, no one has even proposed the idea of direct action in Syria.
  No one has proposed much at all, in fact, because it seemed there was no workable answer.
  Then, last week, Turkey started sending shells across the border into Syria. The attack was supposedly in response to Syrian shells that strayed across the border, but Turkey's mortar offensive lasted five days. A few days prior, Turkish politicians approved legislation that allows their forces to conduct military operations in Syria.
  Soon after the shelling stopped, Turkish jets intercepted a civilian flight en route from Moscow to Damascus, forcing it to land in Turkey on the pretext that it was carrying Russian military equipment in violation of international law.
  Suddenly, after 19 months of speculation, it became clear. Syria will not be a Libya, let alone an Iraq. There will be no direct interventions, no united international action.
  But it will be a proxy war.
  And the key instigator? Not Iran, nor Israel. The country amping up covert involvement in Syria is none other than the United States. And the reason is energy.
  The United States is supporting Syria's freedom fighters and green-lighting Turkey's cross-border clashes with Bashar's fighters because America is increasingly fearful of Russia's growing stranglehold on worldwide energy resources.
  At least, that's how I see it. Here's why.
  Russia's Energy StrangleholdVladimir Putin loves being in control of other countries' energy supplies. Thankfully for him, he found himself the perfect job.
  As Russian president, Putin controls roughly 8.5% of the world's oil production and 19% of global natural-gas output. His country is also home to 40% of the world's uranium enrichment capacity and a fair chunk of global uranium resources.
  Those are big numbers, and Putin knows it. Since starting his first term as president in 1999, he has worked tirelessly to increase Russian heft in the global energy arena. He invested in Russia's oil fields to reverse production declines and position Russia as one of the world's top producers. He encouraged gas exploration in a push that delineated 1,600 trillion cubic feet (TCF), a full quarter of the world's known resources. And he built new oil and gas pipelines that bypass troublesome countries and access new markets.
  (We dedicated an entire issue of the Casey Energy Report to Putin's quest for resource power, a phenomenon we call "Putinization," and it led us to an investment recommendation.)
  The announcement last week that Russia will not sign an extension of the Megatons to Megawatts deal (which sees Russian facilities downblend highly enriched uranium from old warheads to generate half of the fuel that feeds US nuclear reactors) is just the latest Putin maneuver aimed at gaining power through resource control. (I will write more about this '' and the huge impacts it will have on US and global uranium markets '' in a coming Dispatch.)
  The United States is finally figuring it out: Putin is basing Russia's foreign relations first and foremost on energy. Why else would Putin be befriending Israel? (The answer is natural gas, as I explained in this August Dispatch.)
  Putin's plan is working. With every new gas supply deal, every Arctic oil discovery, every meter of new pipeline laid, Russia gains international leverage in a world starved for energy resources.
  Global heft is like the total energy of a contained system '' it cannot be created nor destroyed, but can only change form. Russia's growing global influence is sapping significance from other superpowers'...including the United States.
  Of course, America is now doing what it can to stem this changing tide. Syria is front and center of that effort.
  Rippling Ramifications of Regime Change in SyriaWhy would a regime change in Syria impact relations between Russia and the world? For many reasons, some very general and others very specific.
  The generality is that Russia has supported Bashar al-Assad long and loud. The fact is that an Assad-led Syria serves Russian interests.
  As long as Assad is in charge in Syria, the Iran-Syria-Hezbollah alliance will persist. It is this alliance of Shia strongholds that keeps the US-oriented Sunni side of the Middle East in check, a delicate balance that could erupt into riots and wars if disturbed.
  Within that balance, the US relies on Sunni Saudi Arabia and Qatar to maintain its profile in the Middle East. However, Saudi is no longer the stalwart of stability it once was (read about Saudi's troubles), and US-Saudi relations have been on a downward slide for several years (in large part because of the demise of the petrodollar).
  So that's the generality: A reformed Syria '' one that ousted its dictator with Western support and one where the Sunni majority might finally be in control '' would give the US an opportunity to create a new Middle Eastern foothold. That is something Putin is dead set against.
  As for the specifics: the longer that war rages in Syria, the bigger Putin's head start will be in building yet another pipeline to deepen Europe's reliance on Russian natural gas.
  Russia is already working on the South Stream, a gas pipeline from Russia to Italy via the Black Sea, Romania, and Greece that would complement the Nord Stream in locking Europe into reliance on Russian gas. The main competitor to South Stream is the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP), which would run across Turkey to connect Europe to Azerbaijan's massive Shah Deniz gas field.
  As long as war is raging in Syria and shells are straying across the border into Turkey, TANAP won't see much progress'... and Putin will move closer to beating out Azerbaijan in supplying southern Europe with gas.
  The US wants Assad to go just as much as Putin wants him to stay. Weakening the Shia threesome of Iran, Syria, and Hezbollah has long been a key American goal. To not just weaken that alliance but to turn one of its members into a Western ally would be as good as seeing Cuba renounce communism.
  To justify its Syrian ends, the West has worked hard to portray Russia as a villain, to portray Putin as a dictator siding with the butcher Assad. To do this, the ends are clearly more important than the means.
  Take Russia's arms deals with Syria. These contracts go back years and are completely legal. No matter. From the moment Syria's uprising turned into a war, the US has been demonizing Russia for these weapons shipments. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton went so far as to accuse the Russian government of instigating civil war in Syria, by simply delivering weapons that had been contracted a year prior.
  But shady arms deals aren't enough '' the US needs to add fuel to the fire of American anger over Syria. Enter Turkey's latest moves.
  You see, there is no way that Turkey would have shelled Syria without direct (albeit discreet) approval from the United States.
  For another, Turkey intercepted that Damascus-bound plane on the same day that US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta confirmed that a 150-strong US task force had been dispatched to the Jordan-Syrian border to ensure regional security and to "'... determine how best to respond to any concerns in that area."
  The task force will establish a humanitarian buffer zone within Syrian territory, patrolled by US-backed forces from Jordan. Such a zone has long been considered a means to supply rebel groups in Syria and thereby help push Assad out.
  The airline interception and the arrival of US troops in Jordan are precisely the kinds of moves that can stoke tensions and justify aggression. Anytime you put troops in a region, it creates the possibility that some kind of incident could lead to a shooting match and then a full-out war.
  The stage is set. To the US public, the poor Syrian rebels are being slaughtered by a tyrannical dictator getting direct support from deep, dark Russia. That means the US government can start directly supporting the rebels '' even if the real reason is to secure a new Middle Eastern ally and to weaken Russia on the way.
  The war in Syria is a tragedy, with both sides committing terrible atrocities. Unfortunately, Syria's pivotal role in the world's most important energy region means the tragedy is about to get worse. Russia and Iran are deeply invested in Assad; the United States and its Middle Eastern allies would love to see Assad ousted. Regardless of the result, there are a few certainties.
  One is that more civilians will undoubtedly die in yet another proxy war between global superpowers.
  Another is that control over energy resources is fundamental to national success, which means that oil and gas will continue to drive nations to war. And those wars will drive prices ever higher, as the world grows increasingly desperate to quench its hydrocarbon thirst.
  A sad state for Syria, therefore, is yet another reason why oil prices will continue to climb... and properly positioned investors will profit.
  Will Iraq's Energy Boom Postpone Peak Oil Yet Again? (Telegraph)
  Iran is aiming to more than double its oil output by the end of the decade, boosting production from 2.6 million to 6 million barrels per day (bpd). By 2035, the country hopes to be pumping 8 million bpd, an achievement that would push the nation past Russia to become the world's second-biggest oil exporter in the world. The push will require $530 billion of new investment, and Iraq would have to overcome a host of major obstacles; but if it succeeds, this flowing faucet of new supply could well postpone peak oil.
  US Poised for Boom in Crude Oil Exports (Globe and Mail)
  Royal Dutch Shell, BP, and Vitol( the world's largest independent oil-trading house) are among a number of companies that have applied to the US government for export license, marking the onset of a transition that could reshape global energy markets. With production climbing rapidly, the US could soon be exporting substantial volumes of oil for the first time in decades.
  US Suspects Iran Was Behind a Wave of Cyberattacks (New York Times)
  American intelligence officers are increasingly convinced that Iran was the origin of a serious wave of network attacks that crippled computers across the Saudi oil industry and breached financial institutions in the United States. Closest scrutiny shows that the attack hit Saudi Aramco '' the world's largest oil company '' in August. US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta described it as "probably the most destructive attack that the private sector has seen to date."
  Used Adult Diapers '' The Fuel of Tomorrow, Today! (InventorSpot)
  A rapidly aging population is leaving Japan awash with a smelly problem: piles of dirty diapers. With 28 million citizens aged 65 or older, Japan is going through more than 5 billion adult diapers annually. One company, SuperFaiths, is finding a new life for all those nappies '' its SFD Recycle System dries, crushes, and sterilizes used diapers before turning the material into pellets for use in stoves and biomass boilers.
Obama's Syrian 'Fast and Furious' | AEIdeas
  Link to Article
  Wed, 17 Oct 2012 04:24
  Image credit: Biden_Obama (Wikimedia Commons)
  Imagine if the Obama administration participated in the creation of an arms pipeline to al Qaeda in Syria '' a ''Fast and Furious'' program running Saudi and Qatari weapons to our terrorist enemies in the Middle East. Then imagine that Vice President Joe Biden looked the American people in the eye during the vice presidential debate last week, and lied about it.
  It would make Susan Rice's blaming the Benghazi attack on a YouTube video pale by comparison.
  Yet that is precisely what has happened. The New York Times reported on its front page Monday:
  Most of the arms shipped at the behest of Saudi Arabia and Qatar to supply Syrian rebel groups fighting the government of Bashar al-Assad are going to hard-line Islamic jihadists, and not the more secular opposition groups that the West wants to bolster, according to American officials and Middle Eastern diplomats.
  That conclusion, of which President Obama and other senior officials are aware from classified assessments of the Syrian conflict that has now claimed more than 25,000 lives, casts into doubt whether the White House's strategy of minimal and indirect intervention in the Syrian conflict is accomplishing its intended purpose of helping a democratic-minded opposition topple an oppressive government, or is instead sowing the seeds of future insurgencies hostile to the United States.
  ''The opposition groups that are receiving the most of the lethal aid are exactly the ones we don't want to have it,'' said one American official familiar with the outlines of those findings, commenting on an operation that in American eyes has increasingly gone awry. (Emphasis added).
  It is scandal enough that a gun-running program, in which American officials are helping to vet the recipients, is sending weapons to al Qaeda-linked terrorists. But the Times story completely ignores the deeper scandal here: In last week's vice presidential debate, Joe Biden lied about it '-- twice!
  In response to a question about Syria, Biden declared that the United States was working to isolate al Qaeda in Syria by ensuring that aid was directed to moderate elements of the Syrian opposition:
  We are working hand and glove with the Turks, with the Jordanians, with the Saudis, and with all the people in the region attempting to identify the people who deserve the help so that when Assad goes '-- and he will go '-- there will be a legitimate government that follows on, not an al-Qaeda-sponsored government that follows on.
  When Paul Ryan challenged Biden's claim, saying that the administration's inaction has allowed al Qaeda to get a foothold in Syria, Biden doubled down, declaring:
  We are in the process now '-- and have been for months '-- in making sure that help, humanitarian aid, as well as other aid and training is getting to those forces that we believe, the Turks believe, the Jordanians believe, the Saudis believe are the free forces inside of Syria. That is underway.
  Both of his statements were untrue. And if the Times story is to be believed, Biden knew his words were untrue when he uttered them.
  According to the Times, ''President Obama and other senior officials are aware [of the arms diversions to jihadists] from classified assessments of the Syrian conflict.'' Yet Biden said exactly the opposite. He plainly asserted aid was going to ''people who deserve the help'' and ''free forces inside Syria'' and not jihadists.
  Questions Biden needs to be asked immediately include:
  ' When were you first briefed on the intelligence findings that most of the arms intended for the ''free forces inside Syria'' are in fact going to ''hard-line Islamic jihadists?''
  ' If the U.S. has know about these diversions for some time, why did you assure Americans during the vice presidential debate that they were not happening and that we had an effective program in place to make sure weapons got to ''people who deserve help.''
  ' Who, if anyone, vetted your briefing book for the debate with the points asserting that the arms diversions to jihadists were not happening? Or did you make this up on your own?
  This should be HUGE news, particularly in light of the Libya cover-up. Yet it has gotten precious little attention. It's time for the media to start demanding answers from the White House.
  What did Joe Biden know, and when did he know it?
Greece Embraces for General Strike against Austerity Measures
  Link to Article
  Source: RIA Novosti
  Wed, 17 Oct 2012 04:21
  Greek doctors, lawyers, engineers, journalists and workers of other sectors will go on a strike on Wednesday one day prior to the all-nation protests against the government's austerity measures.
  Various Greek trade unions plan to stage a march of protest with the final destination at the building of the Finance Ministry in Athens.
  Protests against the austerity measures involving tens of thousands people resumed in Greece last month after country's coalition government took office in July.
  September rally participants threw stones at police and Molotov cocktails at the parliament building in a central square, while police responded with tear gas.
  The Greek government announced that it would cut government spending by about 12 billion euros, while coalition leaders in parliament claim the debate over austerity is still in progress.
Obama in Debate Admits Foreknowledge of Libyan Terror Event
  Link to Article
  Source: Lame Cherry
  Wed, 17 Oct 2012 04:16
  Who gave Obama the questions in the Crowley campaign commercial for him?
  The staged questioners of course who were seeded into the audience.
  The reality is Barack Obama has a bobble head look which is annoying, from bug eyes, bouncing head and big ears, as he had that annoying cadence about him.
  The problem is the staged event afterwards which Obama had the crowds standing about him for effect as this was scripted.
  I did find it amusing the woman who stated she was undecided looked very Romney voting after the debate and the black man who was not impressed with Obama, looked off in the distance.
  The reality is Candy Crowley and this mob majority was pro Obama from the cheering which was allowed to the Dom attempts by Crowley.
  For the reality, Obama trying to look the thug, did not give the impression, as Obama retreated and that was telling as Romney ordered him around.
  Obama was helped by Crowley on the terror issue of Benghazi in Obama coordinated with CNN on the issue in he at the Rose Garden called it a terror issue while his team was blaming the Christian movie about Islam for it.Problem is no one seems have asked, :"Why is it Mr. Obama knew these were terrorists and the UN Secretary and Hillary Clinton did not?"
  Yes there is the rub in this like Mr. Obama knowing bin Laden's DNA was bin Laden's hours and days before it could have possibly been tested, now has the problem of how did he know these were terrorists unless he was in direct contact coordinating with them to take Chris Stevens hostage.
  The debate was not that memorable, but that coordination with Crowley and CNN which kept this secret from the public and the Romney camp, to set up this "gotcha" has now captured Mr. B. Hussein Obama in, how did he know these were terrorists as Panetta, Clinton, Patraeus, Mueller and Rice said absolutely nothing about it, and were feeding a different talking point.
  Yes Mr. Obama just admitted in this debate with CNN covering that he knew these were terrorists, and Joe Biden was not even in this loop.
  Barack Obama admitted before the world information no one else had, that Libya was a terror operation, and the only way he could know this was from direct contact with the hostage takers who he employed and they informed him, new terrorists elements Mr. Obama did not employ had infiltrated the operation and murdered these 4 Americans.
  Once again, another Lame Cherry matter anti matter exclusive.
  That is the story of the debate that it will require time to filter through. You know it first here.
  agtG 261 Y
  PS: Just as a note in this, when this article was posted it took over 5 minutes to load the blog to check it was posted.When I disconnected from the internet, the Windows put up the connect window, but the monitors were still flashing I was hooked up.
  As an interesting "proof" this is a screen grab of the Paypal log in page which is only in basic HTML, which I do get a great deal of when I have a great deal of company.
  Someone was grabbing the live feed off the blog and reading it, as in multiple sources on this exclusive, and they were bumping into each other wondering what I was doing about the shop.
  The story is not the spin in a rancorous debate, and the people who monitor the spiders with the plasma's knew immediately what this blog was posting was a NET QUAKE if the Romney camp, their backers and the internet group figure out what this blog uncoveredThe story is not Romney being corrected on Obama terror speak, but how Obama knew they were all terrorists.
  Barack Obama was caught with CNN in this question feed set up by that idiot Crowley chiming in on the defense, but the trap for Romney caught Obama in the "prior knowledge" in how he knew when only this blog was breaking the story from Source.
  Obama in trying to save his teabagger ass just got caught like Jimmy Carter in 1980 blurting out about Stealth technology when Reagan rattled him. Obama was not rattled. This was planned, and B. Hussein and his dolts have no idea what they just admitted to in hostage taking confirmation.
  The people who are the elite became very interested in what was posted here as they know it was Obama outing hisself in an even which got 4 Americans murdered and a clean up crew sanctioning the witnesses days later.
  agtG 262 in sequence
Romney Stunned by Debate Moderator's Fact Check on Libya Attacks
  Link to Article
  Source: Crooks and Liars
  Wed, 17 Oct 2012 04:12
  GOP hopeful Mitt Romney found himself backtracking during the second presidential debate after moderator Candy Crowley challenged his assertion that President Barack Obama had not referred to recent attacks on Americans in Libya as terrorism.
  "The day after the attack, governor, I stood in the Rose Garden and I told the American people and the world we are going to find out exactly what happened, that this was an act of terror and I also said that we're going to hunt down those who committed this crime," Obama explained following Romney's suggestion that the president had been more concerned with fundraising than national security after the death of U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens.
  "I think it's interesting that the president just said something, which is on the day after the attack he went in the Rose Garden and said that this was an act of terror," Romney replied. "Is that what you're saying? I want to make sure we get that for the record because it took the president 14 days before he called the attack in Benghazi an act of terror."
  "Get the transcript," Obama insisted.
  "He did, in fact, sir," Crowley pointed out to Romney.
  "Can you say that a little louder, Candy?" the president asked Crowley as the audience applauded.
  "He did call it an act of terror," the moderator agreed. "It did as well take two weeks or so for the whole idea of there being a riot out there about this tape to come out."
  "The administration indicated that this was a reaction to a video," Romney said, rephrasing his attack with a slight stutter. "It took them a long time to say this was a terrorist act by a terrorist group. And -- and to suggest -- am I correct in that regard?"
  "I want to move you on," Crowley told the candidates. "People can go to the transcripts."
iPhone 5 and Galaxy S III head to head... in a blender
  Link to Article
  Source: CNET News
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 23:08
  Which super smartphone holds up longer against high speed blades, and which makes the best milkshake?
  Apples are an ingredient in many smoothies, after all...
  (Credit: Screenshot by Eric Mack/CNET )Just when I thought the iPhone 5 versus Samsung Galaxy S3 torture head-to-head trend couldn't go any further, Blendtec has upped the ante again.
  The company has been reducing various gadgets and more to little more than silicon and carbon dust for years now in its "Will it Blend" series on YouTube.
  While we've seen the iPhone hold up a little better than the GS3 in drop tests and other sadistic face-offs of late, it seems to hold out against Blendtec's high speed blades a bit longer. But in the end both phones wind up as what looks like a heap of ash.
  Check out the video below. Now that we've seen iDevices dropped from planes, melted in hot lava and turned into a smoothie, please let us know if there's any other torture tests left that you'd like to see. Perhaps a perfectly good phone dropped in acid? Tarred and feathered? Stomped on by a Gangnam Style flash mob?
  Via Mashable
  Read the full CNET ReviewApple iPhone 5The bottom line: The iPhone 5 completely rebuilds the iPhone on a framework of new features and design, addressing its major previous shortcomings. It's absolutely the best iPhone to date, and it easily secures its place in the top tier of the smartphone universe. Read Full Review
Propaganda 101: Pentagon To Debut Most Expensive Weapons Program Ever In New Superman Film
  Link to Article
  Source: Set You Free News
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 23:05
  By Steve Watson | Infowars
  DoD continues long relationship with Hollywood as new stealth jets will be seen on silver screen before they are seen in combat
  The pentagon has reportedly ''chosen'' the Hollywood re-boot of Superman to introduce the world to the most expensive weapons program in human history, the new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jet plane.
  The new stealth jet will appear in Man of Steel, the latest regurgi'... ahem excuse me, ''re-imagined'' Superman adaptation starring Russell Crowe and directed by Zach Snyder.
  ''It was a target of opportunity,'' Phil Strub, the Pentagon's Hollywood liaison, tells Danger Room. ''They liked the idea of having the most modern, the newest fighter aircraft in the background,''
  While Strub denies that the fighters have anything to do with the plot, IMDB lists two actors as ''F-35 pilots'' in the film.
  The F-35 is a single engine jet with stealth capability, built by Lockheed Martin. It is mainly being funded by the Pentagon with some aid from other NATO countries. The program has been somewhat dogged by safety and performance concerns, as well as the fact that it has been estimated that it will cost $1.5 trillion.
  Last year the defense contractor released a video with a slick rock band playing in front of footage of the jet.
  As Danger Room points out, The Pentagon has injected advanced military hardware into practically every recent big hollywood action movie. F-22 raptors were prominently featured in Iron Man and Transformers 2. The first Transformers film received record amounts of funding from the Pentagon, as well as active duty troops, tanks, and twelve different kinds of aircraft. Scenes were filmed on military bases and even inside the Pentagon.
  Of course, the object of placing the latest weapons as well as active duty troops next to fictional super heroes who ''save the day'' is a no-brainer '' it's propaganda 101, and it's been going on for decades.
  It is common knowledge that after the release of Top Gun in 1986, in which the Pentagon played a major role, recruitment figures increased by a massive 500 percent.
  The movie was seen as so influential that the Pentagon started to create recruitment ads that just looked like Top Gun:
  Most recently, the Pentagon fully sponsored X-Men First Class, combining scenes from the film into recruitment ads and offering exclusive footage to visitors of the army's recruitment website:
  Earlier this year, the Pentagon went one further, as the Navy's Special Warfare Command actually commissioned a movie to be made. Act Of Valor, was intended wholly as recruiting propaganda dressed up as a Hollywood movie.
  The relationship between the military and Hollywood is a cozy one. Filmmakers get access to high-tech, tax-payer funded hardware, and the Pentagon gets to literally re-write the scripts, editing out anything they perceive as portraying the military negatively.
  However, the Pentagon routinely refuses to cooperate in the making of films such as Apocalypse Now, Platoon and Forrest Gump, because they portray the harrowing reality of war. Ironically it is these films that have gone on to become cinematic classics. In 100 years will anyone still remember mindless X-Men and Transformers movies?
  The Pentagon was fully on board with the recent Avengers movie, but pulled the plug on it because it found the portrayal of military hierarchy as ''unrealistic''.
  Former Hollywood Reporter and pulitzer nominee, David L. Robb, has further exposed the unconstitutional processes involved in the relationship the Pentagon has with Hollywood:
  '--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'---
  Steve Watson is the London based writer and editor for Alex Jones' Infowars.com, and Prisonplanet.com. He has a Masters Degree in International Relations from the School of Politics at The University of Nottingham in England.
State Department Paints Obama and Biden as Liars, Uninformed '' or BOTH
  Link to Article
  Source: The Ulsterman Report
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 23:03
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Daily Press Briefing - October 16, 2012
  Link to Article
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 23:01
  12:56p.m. EDT
  MS. NULAND: All right, everybody. Happy Tuesday. The Secretary is just finishing her program in Latin America and will be returning later this afternoon. I have '' or later this evening '' I have nothing for you at the top.
  QUESTION: Can I ask you about the series of interviews she gave on this trip? We didn't have one, so we didn't get a chance to ask her directly. But she said she took responsibility related to the Benghazi attack. I just wanted to be clear on what she's taking responsibility for.
  MS. NULAND: Well, if you have a chance to get up on our website, you will see transcripts of five TV interviews that the Secretary gave yesterday, as she always does when she's traveling and she has TV crews with her or TV correspondents with her. I think she was extremely clear what she's taking responsibility for. She is the head of this Department. She takes responsibility for this Department fully. She's never made any secret of that. That's been her position all the way through this.
  QUESTION: What is she taking responsibility for, though? She just said, ''I take responsibility,'' full stop.
  MS. NULAND: Brad, you can go back and reread that interview. The question was clear.
  QUESTION: I have reread it.
  MS. NULAND: The answer was clear. I'm not going to try to improve on it here.
  QUESTION: Why won't you?
  MS. NULAND: Because she was ''
  QUESTION: She doesn't finish the thought.
  MS. NULAND: She was extremely clear what she takes responsibility for, which is the operation of this Department, all of the men and women here, and certainly she is personally, as she has said again and again and again since September 11th, committed to getting to the bottom of who did this and learning the lessons that we need to learn from it.
  QUESTION: So you said she takes responsibility for the operation of this Department and the people who work here. So she wouldn't be taking responsibility for things like intelligence assessments, per se, because that is something that might not be done by this building; is that correct?
  MS. NULAND: Brad, I am not going to stand here and parse the Secretary's words. She was very clear in her interviews.
  QUESTION: Well, if she was so clear, why can't you answer a question like that?
  MS. NULAND: I want you to go back and read the interviews.
  QUESTION: I have read all of them.
  MS. NULAND: Yeah. I think she was very clear.
  Go ahead.
  QUESTION: A quick follow-up on matters of security.
  MS. NULAND: Yeah.
  QUESTION: Does she, at the end of the day, determine the '' I know she shares with the intelligence people, those who are experts at security. But she takes the final decision in terms of what kind of security you should have on your diplomatic missions?
  MS. NULAND: She speaks specifically about how security is done in this building in those interviews, as our team that testified, spoke to, but she made very clear that she takes responsibility for this Department.
  QUESTION: And a very quick follow-up. If, let's say, there is a couple of proposed security agencies, whether private or government, does she say we will go with this one or with that one?
  MS. NULAND: That is not the way this works in this building. We've talked about the way these things work extensively. I don't have anything to add here.
  Please.
  QUESTION: Tom Lewis, BBC News.
  MS. NULAND: Yes.
  QUESTION: Could you give your reaction to the British Home Secretary's decision to block the extradition of Gary McKinnon, the British man accused of hacking into U.S. Government computer systems?
  MS. NULAND: Welcome. We miss Kim, but welcome. I guess she's on the road. The United States is disappointed by the decision to deny Gary McKinnon's extradition to face long overdue justice in the United States. We are examining the details of the decision.
  Please.
  QUESTION: A quick follow-up. How will you --
  MS. NULAND: You're so polite. (Laughter.) You raised your hand.
  QUESTION: I'm British.
  MS. NULAND: He pauses. It's the British way.
  QUESTION: Are you saying that we here are less '' (laughter ) ''
  MS. NULAND: I made no comparative assessment. I just positively complimented our British guest.
  QUESTION: How will the U.S. proceed, therefore, in --
  MS. NULAND: I don't have anything particular to share with you today. As I said, we're examining the decision.
  QUESTION: Was it a bad day for the U.S.-UK relations, especially with '' in the light of the extradition treaty?
  MS. NULAND: I think you know that we have an incredible alliance, and that will obviously continue in all of its forms.
  Please.
  QUESTION: Change topic?
  MS. NULAND: Yeah.
  QUESTION: Yes. The Palestinian issue?
  MS. NULAND: Mm-hmm.
  QUESTION: First of all, could you confirm if there was a meeting between the Palestinian President and the King of Jordan and Ehud Barak in Amman last Saturday?
  MS. NULAND: You're asking me about a meeting between ''
  QUESTION: Are you aware of it?
  MS. NULAND: -- three folks in the Middle East, none of whom was American.
  QUESTION: But you did not ''
  MS. NULAND: I'm going to send you to their spokespeople.
  QUESTION: Okay. Fair enough, but '' so you are not aware that the meeting took place?
  MS. NULAND: As I said, I'm going to send you to their spokespeople to confirm a meeting among them. We speak to what we're up to, obviously.
  QUESTION: Okay. Well, Abbas on his part in the Gulf once again spoke about the effort at the United Nations, and he said that this is not in contradiction with our commitment to the two-state solution or to direct negotiation. Can you --
  MS. NULAND: That what is not, Said? You didn't give me a noun to start that sentence.
  QUESTION: Their effort at the United Nation was not in contradiction with negotiation. Do you agree that any effort at the UN on the part of the Palestinians is not in contradiction with the proposed negotiations?
  MS. NULAND: Well, I haven't seen his exact quote, and with all due respect, you mungled it a little bit. So I'm not quite sure what he said. However, our position on all of these issues has not changed. We think the way this needs to be settled is through direct negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians. That is the route to a lasting peace between them, not the UN route.
  QUESTION: Let me try to untangle what I said.
  MS. NULAND: Please.
  QUESTION: He said the following: that their effort at the United Nations would continue, because it is not in contradictions of any negotiations that might be entered to anytime in the future.
  MS. NULAND: Our view on this has not changed '' that the UN route is unproductive, counterproductive, that what we really need is for these parties to be focused on sitting down at the table with each other.
  Please.
  QUESTION: Yes. I will try to be polite as well. (Laughter.)
  MS. NULAND: What a day. (Laughter.)
  QUESTION: Regarding Tibet, Ambassador Gary Locke was spotted paying a visit to Aba Tibetan Autonomous area this September. There was a photo tweeted on Twitter. My '' Aba area is the area where more than 30 self-immolation cases since last year, so I wonder if you could please confirm that, and also if State Department have more information on that. Thank you.
  MS. NULAND: Sure. This stop that he made, that Ambassador Locke made in Aba Prefecture, was part of a broader trip that he made to Chongqing and Sichuan Province in September. While on that trip, he met with government officials, and he participated in events that were designed to advance U.S.-China trade, and he visited the Stilwell Museum. When he was in Aba, he met with a number of local residents, including ethnic Tibetans. You saw the quite poignant photo. Some of them work in the travel industry. He also visited villages and monasteries to learn more about how ethnic Tibetan people live and work and to have a chance to talk to them.
  I think you know that we have been very clear and very transparent with regard to our views on Tibet and our advocacy for better dialogue between the Chinese Government and the Tibetan people on issues of concern and our grave concern about the rising number of self-immolations.
  QUESTION: How many days was he there, and what is his impression of the area? Because it's heightened '' the security is heightened.
  MS. NULAND: I can't speak to his personal views at the end of that trip. I'll send you to his spokesman at our Embassy in Beijing. I think the trip was three or four days long '' I'm not sure '' between the stops in Chongqing and the stops in Sichuan. But again, our Embassy in Beijing can give you more information.
  QUESTION: Is he in the States right now? And then does he plan to share it with '' his experience with the congressional leaders or the Tibetan communities in the United States?
  MS. NULAND: Well, whenever we have members of Congress visiting China, they always are briefed by Ambassador Locke. The various human rights issues in Tibet always come up, and he shares his impression and they talk together about how to raise these issues with the Chinese Government. He's not shy about that. If the Congress is interested in his trip, I'm sure that he will address any questions that they have.
  QUESTION: So he's indeed here in the States?
  MS. NULAND: Frankly, I '' my impression was he was '' he's in Beijing this week. I don't have any information that he is back in Washington this week. But frankly, I didn't check on his status, his physical status, when I came down.
  QUESTION: One final question.
  MS. NULAND: Yeah.
  QUESTION: Could you please specify and clarify more about U.S. position regarding self-immolation?
  MS. NULAND: We have done this many times. We have grave concerns about self-immolations in Tibet and about the underlying grievances that the Tibetan people have. And we have consistently urged dialogue between the Chinese Government and the Tibetan people with regard to those grievances.
  Please. Anything else? No? We're done?
  QUESTION: Cuba.
  MS. NULAND: No, okay.
  QUESTION: No, please.
  MS. NULAND: Oh well.
  QUESTION: I wonder if you have a reaction '' well, I hope you would have a reaction to the announcement today from Cuban officials on the exit bans and the exit visas.
  MS. NULAND: What Brad is referring to is that the Cuban Government today announced changes to their exit permit requirements to allow Cuban citizens to depart the country without explicitly having exit permits. This is consistent with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which provides that everybody ought to have the right to leave any country, including their own, and/or to return to their own country, to come in and out.
  We obviously welcome any reforms that will allow Cubans to depart from and return to their country freely. We remain committed to the migration accords under which our two countries support and promote safe, legal, and orderly migration. Our own visa requirement remains unchanged. Our understanding is that this exit permit regime is going to take effect on January 14th, so we are analyzing, obviously, all of the details and any implications it may have for our processing, et cetera.
  QUESTION: So just two things with that. Firstly, this was something that the United States had long called for; that's correct?
  MS. NULAND: Yes.
  QUESTION: Secondly, what --
  MS. NULAND: Very few countries, as you know, have exit permit requirements. I mean, if you want to leave the United States, if you want to leave most countries around the world, if you have a passport, you can go.
  QUESTION: And what implication '' you mentioned implications. Just could you spell out what this might mean for certain asylum laws in the United States? And correct me if I'm wrong, there's certain congressional legislation on people who enter the United States from Cuba. Would this change any of that?
  MS. NULAND: I don't think it changes any U.S. laws on the books. I think the question becomes whether more Cubans desire to travel and are applying for visas and all those kinds of things. So obviously, we need to see how it affects the flow of travel. We obviously always urge Cuban families to use legal family reunification and other immigration mechanisms that are already in place.
  With regard to acts on the books, I think you're '' I assume you're talking about the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966 which --
  QUESTION: I didn't know the year. Sorry.
  MS. NULAND: Yeah. There you go. Before you were born, I think, Brad. Which provides an avenue for Cuban '' most of you, actually '' provides an avenue for Cuban nationals to apply for adjustment of status and become lawful permanent residents of the United States. The Department of Homeland Security is the lead agency on the implementation of that, because it applies to folks who are already in the United States. So I would refer you to them for any specific questions.
  QUESTION: And then just lastly on this, this was a '' I mean, in your view, this was a human rights violation, in a sense, because under the Universal Declaration they should have had this right, freedom of movement to leave their own country. Will the United States be offering any carrot to '' I don't know '' incentivize further reforms from the Cuban Government at this point?
  MS. NULAND: Well, as you know, we've been very outspoken. We are not shy in all of our public and private comments on Cuba that we want to see the human rights of the Cuban people respected. This is certainly a step, but I would advise that even with regard to this step, we await further information, because as I said, it's not being implemented until January 14th. We need to see how it is implemented. For example, we understand that current Cuban passport holders who don't already have an exit permit are going to be required to revalidate their passports before they're allowed to travel. And we would note that the Cuban Government has not lifted the measures it has in place to preserve what it calls the human capital created by the revolution. So the question is going to be whether those other requirements are going to continue to restrict the ability of the Cuban people to take advantage of this change.
  QUESTION: So you'd be worried that maybe this new right that's being granted wouldn't be extended to people of certain political convictions, maybe human rights defenders, that have been targeted in the past?
  MS. NULAND: I think the point I'm trying to make is that the Cuban Government has kept for itself a couple of other checks on the ability of people to leave freely, including this issue of revalidating passports, this issue of claiming that they can preserve the human capital of the revolution in the country. So we just need to all see how it's implemented.
  QUESTION: Victoria?
  MS. NULAND: Yeah.
  QUESTION: Has there been any change in your position since yesterday regarding the potential for a truce or a ceasefire during the Eid al-Adha holiday?
  MS. NULAND: I don't have anything further to what I had to say yesterday, Said. I mean, we haven't seen any indications that the Assad regime is serious about stopping the violence.
  QUESTION: But this seems to be an idea that is at least gaining some steam, and a lot of people are talking about it. Would you support such a notion?
  MS. NULAND: Again, we have said repeatedly that we would support any end of the violence in Syria. But we have not seen any indications that Assad is on that program.
  QUESTION: And just to follow up on yesterday, now you have supported the observer force in the past. It was small. But now they are talking about a larger force, 3,000.
  MS. NULAND: Who's the ''they,'' Said?
  QUESTION: Well, Brahimi. Brahimi is talking about perhaps an observer force of like 3,000 people that are '' that come, let's say, from North African countries, African countries, perhaps Latin America. Would you support such a proposition?
  MS. NULAND: Again, I think we said yesterday that we're not going to comment on putative pieces of a prospective future Brahimi plan until Mr. Brahimi has had a chance to complete his rounds and formally present something to us and to other members of the Security Council. You know our concerns about the way the observer mission worked in the past - that they weren't allowed to actually observe and they weren't allowed to actually move around, and it became a sort of a situation where they were observers in name only. So obviously, any new plan needs to be analyzed in terms of whether the conditions in Syria allow it to be implemented properly.
  Please.
  QUESTION: I've got one on Syria.
  MS. NULAND Yeah, okay.
  QUESTION: And I apologize if this already came up. I came in late and I've been a little bit under the weather the last few days. Did anyone in this --
  MS. NULAND: We're dropping like flies. You've been my fourth one sick today. Go ahead.
  QUESTION: Did anyone in this building know that Prime Minister Erdogan of Turkey was going to meet with President Ahmadinejad from Iran yesterday? And is it still the position of this Department that including Iranians in such meetings is a bad idea?
  MS. NULAND: Including Iranians in multilateral meetings on Syria; is that what you're talking about?
  QUESTION: Yeah.
  MS. NULAND: For example, the Friends of the Syrian People or whatever?
  QUESTION: Mm-hmm.
  MS. NULAND: Yeah. We continue to believe that the Iranians are a malign force in this, that they are actively aiding and abetting the Syrian regime and its war machine. So they can halt that activity before we would see them as productive in any multilateral efforts.
  With regard to the meeting, I frankly don't have any particular information that we had advance notice. We, as you know, coordinate extremely closely with the Government of Turkey on issues having to do with Syria. And our full expectation, based on what we know of Prime Minister Erdogan's position, is that he was, no doubt, extremely frank with Ahmadinejad about the Turkish concerns.
  QUESTION: Did you respond yesterday '' and if you did, please move right past, but did you respond to questions about the New York Times story that quoted unnamed officials citing concerns that the U.S.-Saudi-Qatari weapons to Syrian rebels triangle is inefficient, and it's resulting in weapons going more to Islamist factions than secular factions?
  MS. NULAND: I did, Guy.
  QUESTION: You did. All right, I'm sorry. Thank you.
  MS. NULAND: Yep. Anything else? All right. Thank you all.
  (The briefing was concluded at 1:15 p.m.)
Debate Nightmare
  Link to Article
  Source: Lame Cherry
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 19:17
  You know if Jim Lehrer would have pulled out a gun and shot Mitt Romney, the liberals would have just gushed about Lehrer the way they did about little state Martha Raditz or whatever that shrews name is, as Obama voters just loved Joe Biden's attempted homosexual rape of Paul Ryan.
  See that is what you children missed in this. This was not Wall Street Journal drunken Joe at the end of the bar bullying people or Andy Bean going on about Biden being brain exploded. What Joe Biden was reinacting was the old fag butt raper always after a new piece of ass.
  'I'm not a fly on the wall'...
  The real issue in this is, is this blog advocates a change in debates. Women who are ugly on the inside should not be allowed to moderate, as like in Martha Raditz's case everyone knew she was not going to get her cobweb covered snatch violated by Joe Biden but the reason Paul Ryan was drinking so much water was he was trying to deal with olde Joe rubbing on his leg under the table.This Candy Crowley for example. As a shemale she is perfectly safe from Barack Obama as he has that at home. Mitt Romney of course might end up being torn in two by Candy and Barack as they fight over him.
  Originally I had hoped this was Monica Crowley that blonde thing conservative's sister, but Candy is........well of a different branch of the missing link than Monica, even if Candy dyed her hair blonde.
  I know that for debates America should just put this all on the venue of women who are attractive. I have nothing against geezers like Jim Lehrer as he is quite pretty, but should not we have on stage a woman who everyone would say, lesbian, sodomite, normal and bestial that they would tap that if she would assume the position?
  I mean Candy Crowley would be fine at a Catholic boys school threatening those little perverts to fright they would never get an erection again. She would work at a girls college making certain the whores turned back into virgins, but at debates one needs some enticement as one's mind wanders to keep the audiences attentions.
  Why is not Keiran Chetry asked to moderate or some other snatch showing talking head? Debates would rival football games then as everyone would be waiting to see when she shifted her legs and we could see who the real man was in the debate as they shifted their johnsons after getting a view of beaver country.
  Perhaps if Candy Cutie was her name and not a sinister croaking bird, Candy might have turned out looking like someone showing their legs off on FOX news, but right now she is just scarier than Joe Biden and name change will not help.
  So it would be a good thing to only have hot looking women as moderators as no one would care what they would say like Candy, but at least people would enjoy watching.
  To help viewers this blog advocates printing up some photo of a Lame Cherry model and holding it over Monica to help their attention spans, and so they do not ghetto green vomit upchuck.
  People should not be subjected to things like this and as voters have their votes flipped by Scytl, should not we have our moderators flipped for a more numbing effect on the psyche. Everyone can not be gay. There have to be a few breeders who are into sex for normal reasons and not to be gay parades.
  No viewer should have to be distracted in wondering about too many X and Y genes and have nightmares wondering what got up her privates. Debates should not be fag in Obama being fag or Biden being dirty old fag, with geezer Lehrer shocked by the fag and Martha wondering why all the men in her life turned fag.
  I say from now on that we only have moderators who gay people would turn straight for. It would make everyone happy and Candy Crowley could.........well be employed as the Russian communist bikini woman spokesmodel. Russians like this look in a woman. I do not know why but Candy would be a treat in Russia. We all win and will feel better about American election theft.
  Thank you and have a nice time.
  agtG
Hillary's sinking ship
  Link to Article
  Source: ZapLog - externe links
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 18:27
  Two and a half weeks ago I wrote a column for Fox News Opinion calling on Hillary Clinton to quit as Secretary of State. As more information comes out about what really led to ambassador Chris Stevens's death on September 11, we're hearing growing murmurs demanding the same thing. It's not a full-throated chorus yet. But yesterday's hearings in front of the House Government Oversight Committee are encouraging others to join in.
  They certainly confirm three damning facts about our Secretary of State.
  First, she and her Washington minions ignored repeated direct calls for help with security in Benghazi, including from the ambassador himself, and warnings about a possible attack on the anniversary of 9/11. According to the State Department's security chief Andrew Wood, getting ''security in Benghazi was a struggle'' without end.
  Twice the man in charge of security for our diplomats in Libya, Greg Nordstrom, begged the State Department for more security in Benghazi after no less than 48 security ''incidents'' there, including two bombings.
  Washington, however, said no. Hillary Clinton wanted to preserve the illusion that all was fine in Libya, especially on the eve of the November election. She had her minion Charlene Lamb, deputy assistant secretary for international programs, tell Nordstrom that State wanted ''to normalize operations'' in Libya and to ''reduce security resources.''
  In the end Ambassador Stevens had to trust his life to hired local security''who, we now know, led the killers to Stevens's hiding place where they could torture, and murder him.
  Second, by blaming the Stevens murder on a video instead of Al Qaeda terrorists, she and the president deliberately deceived the American people and the world.
  Hillary paraded this falsehood in two very public speeches on September 12th after the attack, and again on the 14th''even though the word was out within 24 hours that the killings in Libya were the result of a terrorist attack.
  Her own State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research dubbed the murders acts of terror from the start, and never considered the online video a factor. ''That was never our conclusion,'' officials now say.
  It was not until September 21st''more than a week after the truth was known''that Hillary abruptly changed her story to ''what happened in Benghazi was a terrorist attack.'' By then the video story was so transparently false that when she trotted it out one last time at a Congressional briefing on September 20, the reaction was one of disbelief and disgust. ''They're trying to cover their behinds,'' Congressman Ted Flores of Texas seethed, and he was right.
  Third and finally''and most tellingly--the professionals at State are starting to abandon the Hillary ship. Wood and Nordstrom have provided a version of events that explicitly contradicts the Hillary version of what happened. That wouldn't happen unless they and others weren't fed up with taking the fall for their boss, and being associated with a dangerous and epic lie.
  So don't expect the administration's latest story that the video story was the result of an ''intelligence failure,'' to help save Hillary. That'll only arouse more ire inside the CIA and other intelligence agencies, along with State.
  The only possible conclusion is that, in order to preserve the fiction that the Obama policy in Libya was working, Hillary Clinton was willing to put the life of our ambassador at mortal risk, and afterwards deliberately misdirected our attention away from a genuine lethal threat to our security, Al Qaeda, toward a fake one, an online video.
  After this sustained deception no other Secretary of State in our history could keep his or her job.
  This one shouldn't, either.
  Historian Arthur Herman is the author of the just released "Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II" (Random House May 2012) and the Pulitzer Prize finalist book "Gandhi and Churchill: The Epic Rivalry That Destroyed an Empire and Forged Our Age" (Bantam, 2008).
World's richest man doubles down on gold
  Link to Article
  Source: BlackListedNews.com
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 18:06
  Source: Wealth WireThe world's richest man, valued around $69 billion, just put $750 million into several gold mining projects in Mexico through his Minera Frisco SAB company.
  Slim swooped in as a company named AuRico fell on tough times. As a result of production drops and labor issues, AuRico was in desperate need of a restructuring effort.
  AuRico will sell properties including the Ocampo mine and Venus and Los Jarros projects in northern Chihuahua and a 50% stake in the Orion project in Nayarit.
  According Bloomberg, the proposed sale would be the largest gold deal involving a Mexican company, Globally, there have been 19 gold-mining deals bigger than $100 million announced this year, valued at $6.49 billion.
  The move marks a capital-intensive shift by the world's richest man into the world's best currency and inflation hedge. Slim is clearly banking on continuously rising gold prices as the global economy struggles to grow.
  With increased gold buying from central banks, the new classification of gold as a top-tier asset next to cash and treasury bonds for banks and unlimited quantitative easing, the deal is another highlight in a full-fledged push into precious metals by the world's richest investors and institutions.
  Read More...
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Finance Minister pushes for EU fiscal union
  Link to Article
  Source: The Local - Germany's news in English
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 18:05
  Published: 16 Oct 12 17:59 CETOnline: http://www.thelocal.de/national/20121016-45595.html
  The German government is willing to compromise when it comes to solving Greece's debt woes, but in exchange for that cooperation Berlin is demanding more fiscal integration through EU treaty reform, a report said on Tuesday.
  According to the Handelsblatt newspaper, Chancellor Angela Merkel and Finance Minister Wolfgang Sch¤uble want their European partners to embrace the idea of a "fiscal union."On his return from a five-day trip to Asia, Sch¤uble said it was time to take "bigger steps" in that direction - which would also entail "changing European treaties in one place or another."
  The finance minister's call comes just ahead of a key EU summit set to start on Thursday.
  During his visit to Singapore, Sch¤uble dismissed speculation of a Greek exit from the eurozone, saying he did not believe Athens would go bankrupt.
  Yet preliminary estimates by the "troika" of Greece's international creditors - the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund - point to a grim picture.
  Last month, news magazine Der Spiegel said troika experts estimated that Athens was facing a budget shortfall of about '‚¬20 billion.
  Handelsblatt said Berlin was prepared to work toward a solution on the Greek issue - but EU treaty reform would be the price Germany demanded for those efforts.
  More than anything, the German finance minister is looking to give a European currency commissioner the power to reject budget plans that conceivably violate the EU fiscal pact - and force those countries to go back to the drawing board.
  Under current rules, the EU Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs, Olli Rehn, can only recommend that a country rework its budget with other EU commissioners' backing. Sch¤uble wants the bloc's money chief to have more authority - though a country's legislature would decide whether to address the budget shortfall through tax hikes or savings.
  But a spokeswoman for European Commission President Jos(C) Manuel Barroso said Tuesday that Rehn already plays an important role and enjoys "much respect."
  The Local/DPA/arp
U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice - The Washington Post
  Link to Article
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 18:00
  By Anne Gearan and Colum Lynch,A month after the assault on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, a fateful series of television appearances by Susan E. Rice, the American ambassador to the United Nations, is haunting the Obama administration in the face of allegations that it deliberately attempted to play down suspicions of terrorist involvement.
  Rice made the rounds of the Sunday morning talk shows on Sept. 16, five days after the attack in the Libyan city, and in each one she said the fatal assault appeared to have stemmed from a spontaneous protest over an anti-Islam video.
  The appearances were part of a gradual increase in the public profile of an administration insider, one eyed as a potential successor to Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state. Today, Rice's profile has been raised, but hardly in the way that she or her White House supporters would have liked.
  The administration's characterization only days after Rice's TV appearances that the assault in Libya was a terrorist attack has raised questions about why she attributed the incident to a protest that officials now say did not take place. Republicans have pressed for answers on whether she simply went too far in her assessment or was reading from an administration script that was designed to protect President Obama's record on national security in an election year.
  In an interview Monday with The Washington Post, Rice said she relied on daily updates from intelligence agencies in the days before her television appearances and on a set of talking points prepared for senior members of the administration by intelligence officials. She said there was no attempt to pick and choose among possible explanations for the attack.
  ''Absolutely not,'' Rice said. ''It was purely a function of what was provided to us'' and had been given to Congress the day before.
  Administration officials have risen to her defense. On Monday, Clinton said she wanted to ''avoid some kind of political gotcha.''
  ''I take responsibility'' for what happened on Sept. 11, Clinton told CNN in an interview shortly after arriving in Lima, the capital of Peru, for a visit.
  Republicans have dismissed suggestions that they are playing politics. And Rice's explanation of her remarks, which echoes that of other administration officials, including Vice President Biden, has not blunted the criticism.
  ''The facts are there was never a riot,'' Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) said Sunday on ''Face the Nation.''
  ''My belief is that that was known by the administration within 24 hours and, quite frankly, Susan Rice, on your show on September 16th, the president on the 18th and the 25th, kept talking about an attack inspired by a video.''
  Furor over comments
  The White House has said that it turned to Rice to make the administration's case on the Benghazi attack because it made sense to have a top diplomat speak to the loss of the U.S. ambassador to Libya, J. Christopher Stevens.
  Rice has previously said little about the controversy generated by her TV appearances. Aides have said that her comments have been taken out of context and that she stressed at the time that the FBI was still investigating the attack.
  ''Ambassador Rice's comments were prefaced at every turn with a clear statement that an investigation was underway that would provide the definitive accounting of the events that took place in Benghazi,'' said Erin Pelton, spokeswoman for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations.
  The White House has supported that explanation but has not specified the intelligence that underlined Rice's statements. Instead, officials have deemed as preposterous allegations that Rice or anyone else cherry-picked intelligence and have argued that it would make no sense for the administration to knowingly put out a false narrative that could so easily be disproved.
  In the interview, Rice said intelligence agencies were doing their best to understand what had happened in complicated circumstances and should not be blamed. ''What you get Day 1, Day 2, Day 14 isn't the whole story,'' she said.
  Intelligence agencies collected ''multiple threads'' of information that day and night, and the assessment of those threads changed over time, Undersecretary of State Patrick F. Kennedy said last week before a congressional committee.
  ''If any administration official, including any career official, were on television on Sunday, Sept. 16th, they would have said what Ambassador Rice said,'' Kennedy said.
  In addition to her comments on CBS, Rice told NBC's ''Meet the Press'': ''Our current assessment is what happened in Benghazi was, in fact, initially a spontaneous reaction to what had just transpired hours before in Cairo, almost a copycat of the demonstrations against our facility in Cairo, prompted by the video.''
  During an interview on Fox News Channel the same day, she attributed the Benghazi attack to a protest gone wrong.
  Uncertain political fate
  Republican criticism of Rice's handling of the crisis comes at a time when the administration appeared to be grooming her for a more visible diplomatic position.
  In recent months, she has represented the United States at a state funeral for a close U.S. ally, Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia, and mixed family sightseeing at the Taj Mahal with high-level talks with India's top foreign policy officials.
  ''The president has enormous confidence in Ambassador Rice and is extremely grateful for all the important work she does at the U.N. every day,'' said National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor.
  The spokesman said he would not ''speculate on future personnel decisions.''
  Micah Zenko of the Center for Preventive Action at the Council on Foreign Relations said Rice's political fate largely rests on whether investigations by a State Department panel and by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee ''find compelling evidence she had intelligence that didn't match'' the account she presented to the public.
  ''I think it would be very difficult for the administration to put her forward [for secretary of state] if she willfully mischaracterized the intelligence,'' Zenko said.
  He said he would ''find it hard to believe'' that Republicans could muster sufficient opposition to block her nomination if the evidence indicates that her account matched the intelligence assessments.
  Lynch reported from the United Nations.
MILITARY INSIDER: Ambassador Rice Just Confirmed Obama White House Lie - The Ulsterman Report
  Link to Article
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 17:57
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Obama Is Missing in Action: So Here's A Libyan Transition Strategy
  Link to Article
  Source: AOL Defense
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 17:28
  Libya has become the Obama administration's Iraq.Enthusiasm for intervention without clarity of strategy after intervention is common to both the Bush and Obama administrations. What is different is that George W. Bush took ownership of the Iraq crisis; Barack Obama has not.
  In the Libyan case, the dynamics are occurring in the background of an explosive Middle East. No matter how stovepiped our policy processes, there is significant interaction among the various locations of change in the Middle East.
  The difficulty with politicians and the media is that they have one issue fixation. The Western and Eastern Mediterranean are seeing significant upheaval, but each event is looked at only in and of itself.
  It is striking how isolated the coverage and the policies have been towards each element re-shaping the Middle Eastern puzzle.
  The Libyan case has several key elements which put the credibility of the United States and Europe on the line.
  First, the Libyan intervention was a "lead from behind" exercise for the Obama administration. For Europe it was a military intervention with EU humanitarian aid in the rear drill. After "leading from behind" and toppling the Libyan dictator, the administration failed to put together a transition strategy. And Europe has largely gone missing in action from shaping a credible support effort to ensure transition. The EU may have won the Nobel Peace Prize but now needs to earn it in Libya.
  Second, a transition strategy is tough and nasty. It means recognizing that Libya is neither stable nor settled. It is a territory where terrorists will operate, and factions will struggle with one another for dominance.
  These difficulties are covered over by providing support for "rebels." When politicians starting supporting "rebels" I get concerned. I am old enough to remember such great democratic "rebels" as Fidel Castro. That turned well, didn't it?
  Third, the misplaced notions of the dominance of soft power need to go. If we are to have a transition in Libya we need security to allow for stability and growth. Security requires outside military and security forces protecting Western interests and shaping stability in the country.
  And, yes, Western interests need to be on the table. Insertion of force, toppling regimes without a discussion of interest almost always guarantees outcomes, which are not. Look at the victory lap on Iraq withdrawal, which avoids rather nasty realities such as whose oil companies and arms suppliers are now the friends of Iraq. It's hard to find Americans very high on that list. And of course the Iraq government is supporting Assad against those "rebels."
  Fourth, the catastrophic failure to secure shoulder-fired surface to-air missiles (called MANPADS by the military) present in Libya is creating a potential new global reality. By not putting troops on the ground in Libya to find, destroy or move those missiles, the West may have met UN requirements and fed political instincts at home, but it made no strategic sense whatsoever.
  Those loose MANPADS can not only kill Western forces, but can have significant global economic impact as well if they were used to shoot down a civilian airliner or destroy it on the runway.
  "Of course, the MANPADS threat '' accelerated by Libyan developments '' poses the stark possibility of repeating what we saw after 9/11. A sharp downturn in the commercial airplane business, and 10-year growth plans was thrown into the wastebasket after the terrorist crashed into the World Trade Center," a senior European industrialist pointed out on my last trip to Europe. "A MANPADS incident could be the functional equivalent; and could shut down the commercial airplane business. It would recover, but the demand to deal with this threat would then have to be dealt with, rather than ignored."
  Running from the problem is no solution. Inventing protests that did not happen, or not being informed by the State Department of this or that does not shape a strategy. As my colleague Ed Timperlake wrote last year, Hope is Not a Strategy.
  So we need a strategy, and not some statement of hope about the Arab Spring, Summer or whatever it is.
  The way ahead is difficult and challenging. And the way ahead can only be a transition to a true national Libyan government, which may not be democratic and may not be our best friend. It is not necessarily a step in the proliferating Arab Spring, but perhaps a step AWAY from an Arab Winter.
  The first element is to get realistic about what can be done. Destroying the old is relatively easy; building something new is not.
  The second element is to recognize that hard and soft power are not alternate ends of the spectrum but must be blended together into an effective strategy. We need to help rebuild infrastructure and a functioning economy, but this requires an external border security system and continued Western presence in Libya.
  Presence requires the ability to defend Western citizens. Acts of violence such as what has happened to the US ambassador and the other embassy workers require a greater response than simply waiting for a Libyan legal system to sort itself out. We need to be like Israel in this situation: whichever group of villains did this need to be punished, even if they are not currently in Libya. Respect in the international arena is not given; it is earned.
  Europe and the US do not have the resources to spend or simply will not spend them to rebuild Libya. But aid is needed now and civilian experts are needed now to rebuild the country. A Libyan aid agency can be formed whereby aid is repaid from future oil earnings. The money could be paid back to the EU and the US and whomever else through these future oil earnings.
  Perimeter security needs to be set up by the US and Europe with core Arab ally support. The system can be paid for by the Libyan Aid Agency funds. If you do not have security you can not have development, especially given the fragility of Libya's oil infrastructure and transportation systems.
  Finally, here's a message to both political camps in the United States. Assuming that joyous citizens await you when you whack a dictator is not realistic. Crafting a policy on such nonsense on stilts, to quote John Stuart Mill, guarantees that we will always have a realistic strategy gap. Syria comes to mind as the next instance of a place where we need to get realistic.
  Robbin Laird, a member of the AOL Defense Board of Contributors, is an international defense consultant and owner of the Second LIne of Defense website.
America the Beautiful
  Link to Article
  Source: Lame Cherry
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 17:27
  Harvests
  America is a nation where thereare the Obama haves and the majorty of the have nots.
  In a sea of all this ugliness sometimes a refreshing course of beauty is necessary to delve into.
  Perhaps the people in business, the retirees, the investors the workers who are slowing having all the things of this world siphoned off from them are really in preparation for Christ's Kingdom and God's Heaven.
  It bothers me immensely in touching the land of America. As I have walked the rock strewn ground my grandparents hometeaded on and know the effort with shovel and horses it took to clear that land, to pour concrete for foundations and now it is all gone.
  There is not a road I travel on that I do not think of the horses with fresnos who laid those beds so people had gravel roads to travel on easier.
  Bridges..........hospitals.........schools........Churches.........homes, all from hand labor, square nails, real boards two inches by four inches.......that is what took generations for America to build and it is now gone.
  I ponder about my mistakes in life in doing the right thing in trusting in God's Provision, working myself to sicknes in that service of others, beign lied to, robbed, soul raped, plagiarized and sold as a slave as the elitists all think they have affinity with the poor who are nothing more than ad revenue for their massive whore paychecks.
  That is why some beauty in what is America in artists who create something unknown and allow others to share in their delights.
  I watched America disappear before my eyesI watched the blues for rain tear skiesThere was no rainbow in hopes to sendThere was just mysts in this endI was there when this land breathedFrom natal blood in birthers wombNo I stand next to her graveThe silent cry beside the tomb.
  There was a time when it was said, "We either all hang together or they will hang us separate".Something new has arrived now in we will all hang together in hanging together or separate.
  agtG
Ontwerpfout zalmschaal oorzaak salmonellabesmetting
  Link to Article
  Source: VK: Home
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 16:37
  Door: Redactie '' 16/10/12, 16:52 '' bron: ANP
  (C) ap. Zalmhalpjes.
  Verontreiniging op een van de productielijnen in Griekenland is de oorzaak van de salmonellabesmetting van de gerookte zalmproducten van de firma Foppen. De besmetting kon optreden door een ontwerpfout van de zogeheten zalmschalen. Die bleken kwetsbaar voor het opnemen en vasthouden van een bacterile verontreiniging. Dat liet Foppen dinsdag weten.
  Zalmschalen worden gebruikt in het mechanische productieproces en werden sinds 6 maanden gebruikt. De schalen met de zalm gaan over de lopende band bij de verwerking van de vis.
  Voortaan gebruikt Foppen zalmschalen voor eenmalig gebruik. De Nederlandse Voedsel- en Warenautoriteit (NVWA) heeft zijn vertrouwen uitgesproken in de maatregelen die door Foppen zijn genomen om herhaling zijn voorkomen.
  Foppen heeft inmiddels de productie van gerookte zalm weer hervat. Klanten krijgen weer geleverd.
  De Salmonella Thompson-bacterie heeft mogelijk een derde dodelijke slachtoffer geist. Dat meldde dinsdag een woordvoerder van het Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu (RIVM). Het zou gaan om een 76-jarige man die een paar weken geleden is gestorven nadat hij zalm van het bedrijf Foppen had gegeten. Eerder werd al bekend dat twee ouderen waren overleden.Tot nu toe zijn in Nederland zeker 550 mensen ziek geworden door de besmette zalm.
DutchNews.nl - Police should have more powers to hack into computers: minister.
  Link to Article
  Source: DaDenMan news feed
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 16:27
  Police should have more powers to hack into computers: ministerTuesday 16 October 2012
  The police should be given greater powers to hack into private computers in their efforts to combat cyber crime, according to a concept briefing for parliament by justice minister Ivo Opstelten.
  In the briefing, obtained by website nu.nl, Opstelten writes that computer-based crime is increasing and 'the expertise, capacity and experience within the criminal justice system has not improved accordingly'.
  In addition, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find out where digital information is being stored because of the rise of cloud computing, mobile phones and tablets, he said.
  Opstelten wants to give police the right to hack into computers to install software which can be used, for example, to unscramble information. He also says it should be possible for the police to break into computers to wipe information or make it inaccessible.
  This is already the case in child pornography investigations, nu.nl says.
  Eavesdropping
  Last year, Opstelten confirmed eavesdropping software that can be installed from a distance on the computers of suspects has been used in criminal investigations in the Netherlands.
  Eavesdropping is only allowed when very serious crimes have been committed where suspects are in temporary custody, the public prosecution department said at the time.
  The Netherlands sanctions more phone taps per head of population than any other country in the world.
  Is this the way forward to combat cyber crime? Have your say using the comment box below.
  (C) DutchNews.nl
  Readers' comments
  Leave a comment
Report: Iran Plotting to Spill Oil in Strait of Hormuz
  Link to Article
  Source: EconomicPolicyJournal.com
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 16:23
  According to Der Spiegel, Iran is secretly planning to spill oil into the Strait of Hormuz as revenge for Western sanctions.The magazine claims to have spoken to Western intelligence sources who say they have obtained Iran's classified report on the operation.
  Code-named "Murky Water," the plan allegedly involves steering an Iranian supertanker, capable of carrying hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil, onto a rock.
  According to Der Spiegel:
  The goal of the plan seems to be that of contaminating the strait so as to temporarily close the important shipping route for international oil tankers, thereby 'punishing' the Arab countries that are hostile to Iran and forcing the West to join Iran in a large-scale clean-up operation '-- one that might require the temporary suspension of sanctions against Tehran.
  The proposal was drawn up by the heads of the Revolutionary Guards and the Iranian Navy, according to the magazine, but it is up to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei whether to implement it.Not sure what to make of this. Truth or Western propaganda? You get to decide. I note it appears just as the EU is considering stronger sanctions against Iran.
Blame Obama for the Libya consulate attack. But don't blame Bush for 9/11.
  Link to Article
  Source: Dave Winer's linkblog feed
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 16:23
  Dick Cheney discussing his memoir, October 2011.
  Photo by Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images
  The president was warned of an impending threat of terrorism. He failed to act. The attack came, Americans died, and now the administration is covering up the truth.
  That's what Republicans are arguing in 2012. Which is pretty funny, if you don't count the dead Americans, because it's the opposite of what the GOP said 10 years ago. Back then, the conspiracy theories and the 20/20 hindsight were about the original 9/11 attacks. And the Republican Party line was that anyone who accused the president of neglect or deceit was unpatriotic.
  Yesterday the Republican National Committee posted a 4,500-word indictment of Obama's role, or lack thereof, in the recent assault on the Libyan consulate. ''Less than two months before the Benghazi attack,'' said the RNC, ''the State Department determined that 'the risk of U.S. mission personnel, private U.S. citizens and businesspersons encountering an isolating event as a result of militia or political violence Is HIGH.' '' Meanwhile, ''U.S. security officials repeatedly warned the State Department that more U.S. security personnel were needed in Libya.'' Instead, security was cut back.
  The RNC mocked Joe Biden for asserting in last week's vice-presidential debate, ''We weren't told they wanted more security.'' It said Biden's remarks ''raised questions about what had been included in the president's briefing on the U.S. security posture the day before the 9/11 anniversary.'' And it skewered White House press secretary Jay Carney for telling reporters ''there was no actionable intelligence that suggested there would be an attack at the Benghazi facility.'' The larger question, the RNC maintained, was whether Obama, in his security briefing, had been told of previous plots and security concerns more broadly.
  Dick Cheney, the former vice president, has been pressing this issue against Obama. On Oct. 2, Cheney said, ''The latest thing I've heard now is that '... they had denied the additional security resources that had been requested by the Benghazi consulate '... it looks like the administration's been involved in a cover-up.'' Cheney's daughter, Liz, elaborated on the evidence: ''There was a DOD assessment, there was a CIA assessment. You had the chairman of the Joint Chiefs today say there's been this thread of intelligence that, in fact, al-Qaida is resurgent in Libya, resurgent particularly in Benghazi. There may well have been information out there that the president should have been aware of, that the State Department should have been aware of.''
  Donald Rumsfeld, the former defense secretary, makes the same point. ''It's clear that they misjudged the security situation,'' he told Fox News on Oct. 1. A day later, Rumsfeld paraphrased reports that U.S. officials had failed ''to respond promptly to a threat report and to concerns that were being expressed by the people in Libya.'' Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor, was more emphatic. ''This is a cover-up,'' he charged. ''And it's the worst kind of cover-up, a cover-up that involves our national security, a cover-up that involves the slaughter of four Americans.'' On Oct. 9, Giuliani concluded: ''We should never have been attacked in Libya. The warnings were manifold. Instead of increasing security, we decreased security. It is quite possible that the ambassador and the other three Americans didn't have to die if there [had been] a competent reaction.''
  Maybe so. Maybe, if Obama and his underlings had heeded the danger signs, those four Americans would be alive today. But it's pretty rich to hear this complaint about ''the events of September 11, 2012'' from the people who presided over the original events of Sept. 11. You know, the ones in which nearly 3,000 Americans died.
  The 9/11 commission report, issued in July 2004, documented numerous warning signs of that attack, all of which went unheeded. One was a July 2001 memo from the Phoenix FBI office to FBI headquarters, flagging the "possibility of a coordinated effort by Usama Bin Ladin" to train terrorists as pilots in U.S. flight schools. Another was the August 2001 arrest of one of the 9/11 plotters, Zacarias Moussaoui, for suspicious conduct at a flight school, which ''was briefed to '... top CIA officials.'' But the most embarrassing document was the Aug. 6, 2001, Presidential Daily Brief, which carried the title, "Bin Ladin Determined to Strike in US.''
  When the Aug. 6 document came to light in May 2002, Cheney brushed it off. ''It didn't give us any actionable intelligence,'' he insisted in a Fox News interview. ''It didn't really give us anything new or anything precise or specific.'' As to the rest of the warning signs, Cheney argued,
  There wasn't anything out there that would have allowed us to predict what was going to happen. We found out since Sept. 11 that the FBI had Moussaoui in custody in Minnesota. We didn't know that before the 11th. That didn't trickle up to the presidential level. We've since heard about the so-called Phoenix memo that dates back to sometime in July, but again that didn't come up. '... In terms of getting down into the nitty gritty, into the weeds of this kind of intelligence reporting, you know, we're not in the habit of reading the raw intelligence reports from the FBI. There are 56 bureaus around the country, and that stuff'--there aren't enough hours in the day for us to do all of that, so you need a system that deals with it.
null
  Link to Article
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 16:21
  October 15, 2012Washington, D.C.­'' U.S. Senators John McCain (R-AZ), Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) today released the following statement on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's comments this evening regarding the terrorist attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi on September 11, 2012:
  ''We have just learned that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has claimed full responsibility for any failure to secure our people and our Consulate in Benghazi prior to the attack of September 11, 2012. This is a laudable gesture, especially when the White House is trying to avoid any responsibility whatsoever.
  ''However, we must remember that the events of September 11 were preceded by an escalating pattern of attacks this year in Benghazi, including a bomb that was thrown into our Consulate in April, another explosive device that was detonated outside of our Consulate in June, and an assassination attempt on the British Ambassador. If the President was truly not aware of this rising threat level in Benghazi, then we have lost confidence in his national security team, whose responsibility it is to keep the President informed. But if the President was aware of these earlier attacks in Benghazi prior to the events of September 11, 2012, then he bears full responsibility for any security failures that occurred. The security of Americans serving our nation everywhere in the world is ultimately the job of the Commander-in-Chief. The buck stops there.
  ''Furthermore, there is the separate issue of the insistence by members of the Administration, including the President himself, that the attack in Benghazi was the result of a spontaneous demonstration triggered by a hateful video, long after it had become clear that the real cause was a terrorist attack. The President also bears responsibility for this portrayal of the attack, and we continue to believe that the American people deserve to know why the Administration acted as it did.''
  ###
Executive Order from the President regarding Authorizing the Implementation of Certain Sanctions Set Forth in the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 and Additional Sanctions with respect to Iran | The White House
  Link to Article
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 16:12
  The White House
  Office of the Press Secretary
  For Immediate Release
  October 09, 2012
  EXECUTIVE ORDER
  - - - - - - -
  AUTHORIZING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF CERTAIN SANCTIONS SET FORTH IN THE IRAN THREAT REDUCTION AND SYRIA HUMAN RIGHTS ACT OF 2012 AND ADDITIONAL SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO IRAN
  By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-172) (50 U.S.C. 1701 note), as amended (ISA), the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-195) (22 U.S.C. 8501 et seq.), as amended (CISADA), the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (Public Law 112-158) (ITRSHRA), section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, as amended (8 U.S.C. 1182(f)), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, and in order to take additional steps with respect to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 12957 of March 15, 1995,
  I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, hereby order:
  Section 1. (a) When the President, or the Secretary of State or the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to authority delegated by the President and in accordance with the terms of such delegation, has determined that sanctions shall be imposed on a person pursuant to ISA, CISADA, or ITRSHRA and has, in accordance with those authorities, selected one or more of the sanctions set forth in section 6 of ISA to impose on that person, the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall take the following actions with respect to the sanctions selected and maintained by the President, the Secretary of State, or the Secretary of the Treasury:
  (i) with respect to section 6(a)(3) of ISA, prohibit any United States financial institution from making loans or providing credits to the sanctioned person consistent with that section;
  (ii) with respect to section 6(a)(6) of ISA, prohibit any transactions in foreign exchange that are subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and in which the sanctioned person has any interest;
  (iii) with respect to section 6(a)(7) of ISA, prohibit any transfers of credit or payments between financial institutions or by, through, or to any financial institution, to the extent that such transfers or payments are subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and involve any interest of the sanctioned person;
  (iv) with respect to section 6(a)(8) of ISA, block all property and interests in property that are in the United States, that come within the United States, or that are or come within the possession or control of any United States person, including any foreign branch, of the sanctioned person, and provide that such property and interests in property may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in;
  (v) with respect to section 6(a)(9) of ISA, prohibit any United States person from investing in or purchasing significant amounts of equity or debt instruments of a sanctioned person;
  (vi) with respect to section 6(a)(11) of ISA, impose on the principal executive officer or officers, or persons performing similar functions and with similar authorities, of a sanctioned person the sanctions described in sections 6(a)(3), 6(a)(6), (6)(a)(7), 6(a)(8), 6(a)(9), or 6(a)(12) of ISA, as selected by the President, Secretary of State, or Secretary of the Treasury, as appropriate; or
  (vii) with respect to section 6(a)(12) of ISA, restrict or prohibit imports of goods, technology, or services, directly or indirectly, into the United States from the sanctioned person.
  (b) The prohibitions in subsection (a) of this section apply except to the extent provided by statutes, or in regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued pursuant to this order, and notwithstanding any contract entered into or any license or permit granted prior to the date of this order.
  Sec. 2. (a) All property and interests in property that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of any United States person, including any foreign branch, of the following persons are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in: any person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with or at the recommendation of the Secretary of State:
  (i) to have knowingly, on or after August 10, 2012, transferred, or facilitated the transfer of, goods or technologies to Iran, any entity organized under the laws of Iran or otherwise subject to the jurisdiction of the Government of Iran, or any national of Iran, for use in or with respect to Iran, that are likely to be used by the Government of Iran or any of its agencies or instrumentalities, or by any other person on behalf of the Government of Iran or any of such agencies or instrumentalities, to commit serious human rights abuses against the people of Iran;
  (ii) to have knowingly, on or after August 10, 2012, provided services, including services relating to hardware, software, or specialized information or professional consulting, engineering, or support services, with respect to goods or technologies that have been transferred to Iran and that are likely to be used by the Government of Iran or any of its agencies or instrumentalities, or by any other person on behalf of the Government of Iran or any of such agencies or instrumentalities, to commit serious human rights abuses against the people of Iran;
  (iii) to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, the activities described in subsection (a)(i) or (a)(ii) of this section or any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this section; or
  (iv) to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this section.
  (b) The prohibitions in subsection (a) of this section apply except to the extent provided by statutes, or in regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued pursuant to this order, and notwithstanding any contract entered into or any license or permit granted prior to the date of this order.
  Sec. 3. (a) All property and interests in property that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of any United States person, including any foreign branch, of the following persons are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in: any person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with or at the recommendation of the Secretary of State:
  (i) to have engaged in censorship or other activities with respect to Iran on or after June 12, 2009, that prohibit, limit, or penalize the exercise of freedom of expression or assembly by citizens of Iran, or that limit access to print or broadcast media, including the facilitation or support of intentional frequency manipulation by the Government of Iran or an entity owned or controlled by the Government of Iran that would jam or restrict an international signal;
  (ii) to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, the activities described in subsection (a)(i) of this section or any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this section; or
  (iii) to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this section.
  (b) The prohibitions in subsection (a) of this section apply except to the extent provided by statutes, or in regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued pursuant to this order, and notwithstanding any contract entered into or any license or permit granted prior to the date of this order.
  Sec. 4. (a) No entity owned or controlled by a United States person and established or maintained outside the United States may knowingly engage in any transaction, directly or indirectly, with the Government of Iran or any person subject to the jurisdiction of the Government of Iran, if that transaction would be prohibited by Executive Order 12957, Executive Order 12959 of May 6, 1995, Executive Order 13059 of August 19, 1997, Executive Order 13599 of February 5, 2012, section 5 of Executive Order 13622 of July 30, 2012, or section 12 of this order, or any regulation issued pursuant to the foregoing, if the transaction were engaged in by a United States person or in the United States.
  (b) Penalties assessed for violations of the prohibition in subsection (a) of this section, and any related violations of section 12 of this order, may be assessed against the United States person that owns or controls the entity that engaged in the prohibited transaction.
  (c) Penalties for violations of the prohibition in subsection (a) of this section shall not apply if the United States person that owns or controls the entity divests or terminates its business with the entity not later than February 6, 2013.
  (d) The prohibitions in subsection (a) of this section apply except to the extent provided by statutes, or in regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued pursuant to this order, and notwithstanding any contract entered into or any license or permit granted prior to the date of this order.
  Sec. 5. The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Commerce, and the United States Trade Representative, and with the President of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and other agencies and officials as appropriate, is hereby authorized to impose on a person any of the sanctions described in section 6 or 7 of this order upon determining that the person:
  (a) knowingly, between July 1, 2010, and August 10, 2012, sold, leased, or provided to Iran goods, services, technology, information, or support with a fair market value of $1,000,000 or more, or with an aggregate fair market value of $5,000,000 or more during a 12-month period, and that could directly and significantly facilitate the maintenance or expansion of Iran's domestic production of refined petroleum products, including any direct and significant assistance with respect to the construction, modernization, or repair of petroleum refineries;
  (b) knowingly, between July 1, 2010, and August 10, 2012, sold or provided to Iran refined petroleum products with a fair market value of $1,000,000 or more, or with an aggregate fair market value of $5,000,000 or more during a 12-month period;
  (c) knowingly, between July 1, 2010, and August 10, 2012, sold, leased, or provided to Iran goods, services, technology, information, or support with a fair market value of $1,000,000 or more, or with an aggregate fair market value of $5,000,000 or more during a 12-month period, and that could directly and significantly contribute to the enhancement of Iran's ability to import refined petroleum products;
  (d) is a successor entity to a person determined by the Secretary of State in accordance with this section to meet the criteria in subsection (a), (b), or (c) of this section;
  (e) owns or controls a person determined by the Secretary of State in accordance with this section to meet the criteria in subsection (a), (b), or (c) of this section, and had knowledge that the person engaged in the activities referred to in that subsection; or
  (f) is owned or controlled by, or under common ownership or control with, a person determined by the Secretary of State in accordance with this section to meet the criteria in subsection (a), (b), or (c) of this section, and knowingly participated in the activities referred to in that subsection.
  Sec. 6. (a) When the Secretary of State, in accordance with the terms of section 5 of this order, has determined that a person meets any of the criteria described in section 5 and has selected any of the sanctions set forth below to impose on that person, the heads of relevant agencies, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall take the following actions where necessary to implement the sanctions imposed by the Secretary of State:
  (i) the Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank shall deny approval of the issuance of any guarantee, insurance, extension of credit, or participation in an extension of credit in connection with the export of any goods or services to the sanctioned person;
  (ii) agencies shall not issue any specific license or grant any other specific permission or authority under any statute that requires the prior review and approval of the United States Government as a condition for the export or reexport of goods or technology to the sanctioned person;
  (iii) with respect to a sanctioned person that is a financial institution:
  (1) the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York shall take such actions as they deem appropriate, including denying designation, or terminating the continuation of any prior designation of, the sanctioned person as a primary dealer in United States Government debt instruments; or
  (2) agencies shall prevent the sanctioned person from serving as an agent of the United States Government or serving as a repository for United States Government funds; or
  (iv) agencies shall not procure, or enter into a contract for the procurement of, any goods or services from the sanctioned person.
  (b) The prohibitions in subsections (a)(i)''(a)(iv) of this section apply except to the extent provided by statutes, or in regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued pursuant to this order, and notwithstanding any contract entered into or any license or permit granted prior to the date of this order.
  Sec. 7. (a) When the Secretary of State, in accordance with the terms of section 5 of this order, has determined that a person meets any of the criteria described in section 5 and has selected any of the sanctions set forth below to impose on that person, the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall take the following actions where necessary to implement the sanctions imposed by the Secretary of State:
  (i) prohibit any United States financial institution from making loans or providing credits to the sanctioned person totaling more than $10,000,000 in any 12-month period, unless such person is engaged in activities to relieve human suffering and the loans or credits are provided for such activities;
  (ii) prohibit any transactions in foreign exchange that are subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and in which the sanctioned person has any interest;
  (iii) prohibit any transfers of credit or payments between financial institutions or by, through, or to any financial institution, to the extent that such transfers or payments are subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and involve any interest of the sanctioned person;
  (iv) block all property and interests in property that are in the United States, that come within the United States, or that are or come within the possession or control of any United States person, including any foreign branch, of the sanctioned person, and provide that such property and interests in property may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in; or
  (v) restrict or prohibit imports of goods, technology, or services, directly or indirectly, into the United States from the sanctioned person.
  (b) The prohibitions in subsections (a)(i)''(a)(v) of this section apply except to the extent provided by statutes, or in regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued pursuant to this order, and notwithstanding any contract entered into or any license or permit granted prior to the date of this order.
  Sec. 8. I hereby determine that, to the extent that section 203(b)(2) of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1702(b)(2)) may apply, the making of donations of the types of articles specified in such section by, to, or for the benefit of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order would seriously impair my ability to deal with the national emergency declared in Executive Order 12957, and I hereby prohibit such donations as provided by subsections 1(a)(iv), 2(a), 3(a), and 7(a)(iv) of this order.
  Sec. 9. The prohibitions in subsections 1(a)(iv), 2(a), 3(a), and 7(a)(iv) of this order include but are not limited to:
  (a) the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order; and
  (b) the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person.
  Sec. 10. I hereby find that the unrestricted immigrant and nonimmigrant entry into the United States of aliens who meet one or more of the criteria in subsections 2(a) and 3(a) of this order would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, and I hereby suspend the entry into the United States, as immigrants or nonimmigrants, of such persons. Such persons shall be treated as persons covered by section 1 of Proclamation 8693 of July 24, 2011 (Suspension of Entry of Aliens Subject to United Nations Security Council Travel Bans and International Emergency Economic Powers Act Sanctions).
  Sec. 11. The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, is hereby authorized to take such actions, including the promulgation of rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to the President by IEEPA and sections 6(a)(6), 6(a)(7), 6(a)(8), 6(a)(9), 6(a)(11), and 6(a)(12) of ISA, and to employ all powers granted to the United States Government by section 6(a)(3) of ISA, as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this order. The Secretary of the Treasury may redelegate any of these functions to other officers and agencies of the United States Government consistent with applicable law.
  Sec. 12. (a) Any transaction that evades or avoids, has the purpose of evading or avoiding, causes a violation of, or attempts to violate any of the prohibitions set forth in this order or in Executive Order 12957, Executive Order 12959, Executive Order 13059, or Executive Order 13599 is prohibited.
  (b) Any conspiracy formed to violate any of the prohibitions set forth in this order or in Executive Order 12957, Executive Order 12959, Executive Order 13059, or Executive Order 13599 is prohibited.
  Sec. 13. For the purposes of this order:
  (a) the term "entity" means a partnership, association, trust, joint venture, corporation, group, subgroup, or other organization;
  (b) the term "Government of Iran" includes the Government of Iran, any political subdivision, agency, or instrumentality thereof, including the Central Bank of Iran, and any person owned or controlled by, or acting for or on behalf of, the Government of Iran;
  (c) the term "Iran" means the Government of Iran and the territory of Iran and any other territory or marine area, including the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, over which the Government of Iran claims sovereignty, sovereign rights, or jurisdiction, provided that the Government of Iran exercises partial or total de facto control over the area or derives a benefit from economic activity in the area pursuant to international arrangements;
  (d) the terms "knowledge" and "knowingly," with respect to conduct, a circumstance, or a result, mean that a person has actual knowledge, or should have known, of the conduct, the circumstance, or the result;
  (e) the term "person" means an individual or entity;
  (f) the term "sanctioned person" means a person that the President, or the Secretary of State or the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to authority delegated by the President and in accordance with the terms of such delegation, has determined is a person on whom sanctions shall be imposed pursuant to IEEPA, ISA, CISADA, or ITRSHRA, and on whom the President, the Secretary of State, or the Secretary of the Treasury has imposed any of the sanctions in section 6 of ISA;
  (g) for the purposes of section 4 of this order, the term "subject to the jurisdiction of the Government of Iran" means a person organized under the laws of Iran or any jurisdiction within Iran, ordinarily resident in Iran, or in Iran, or owned or controlled by any of the foregoing;
  (h) the term "United States financial institution" means a financial institution (including its foreign branches) organized under the laws of the United States or any jurisdiction within the United States or located in the United States; and
  (i) the term "United States person" means any United States citizen, permanent resident alien, entity organized under the laws of the United States or any jurisdiction within the United States (including foreign branches), or any person in the United States.
  Sec. 14. For those persons whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order who might have a constitutional presence in the United States, I find that because of the ability to transfer funds or other assets instantaneously, prior notice to such persons of measures to be taken pursuant to this order would render those measures ineffectual. I therefore determine that for these measures to be effective in addressing the national emergency declared in Executive Order 12957, there need be no prior notice of an action taken pursuant to subsections 1(a)(iv), 2(a), 3(a), and 7(a)(iv) of this order.
  Sec. 15. Executive Order 13622 is hereby amended as follows:
  (a) Subsection (1)(c)(ii) is amended by deleting the words "with respect to the country with primary jurisdiction over the foreign financial institution."
  (b) Subsection (2)(b)(ii) is amended by deleting the words "with respect to the country with primary jurisdiction over the person."
  (c) Subsection 1(d) is amended by inserting the words "agricultural commodities," after the words "sale of."
  Sec. 16. The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, is hereby authorized to take such actions, including the promulgation of rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to the President by IEEPA, as may be necessary to carry out section 104A of CISADA (22 U.S.C. 8514). The Secretary of the Treasury may redelegate any of these functions to other officers and agencies of the United States Government consistent with applicable law.
  Sec. 17. All agencies of the United States Government are hereby directed to take all appropriate measures within their authority to carry out the provisions of this order.
  Sec. 18. This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
  Sec. 19. The measures taken pursuant to this order are in response to actions of the Government of Iran occurring after the conclusion of the 1981 Algiers Accords, and are intended solely as a response to those later actions.
  BARACK OBAMA
  THE WHITE HOUSE,October 9, 2012.
Another Obama Executive Order Allows Seizure of Americans' Bank Accounts
  Link to Article
  Source: Vilewoman
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 16:12
Sandra Bullock uit de kleren
  Link to Article
  Source: Telegraaf.nl - prive
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 16:06
  di 16 okt 2012, 15:27
  van onze redactieAMSTERDAM - FOTO - Sandra Bullock is uit de kleren gegaan in de talkshow Chelsea Lately van Chelsea Handler.
  Sandra Bullock en Chelsea Handler openden de show met een video waarin ze naakt tegenover elkaar in de douche staan.
  Sandra schreeuwt naar de talkshowhost dat ze de verantwoordelijkheid heeft om een respectvolle talkshow neer te zetten. Ze slaat Chelsea en beschuldigt haar ervan met haar gasten naar bed te gaan. De 37-jarige Chelsea, die ooit een romance had met rapper 50 Cent, antwoordt: "Ik duik niet meer met mijn gasten de koffer in, met uitzondering van een rapper." Sandra loopt uiteindelijk de set af met de woorden: "Dit alles is te ziek voor woorden."
  De 48-jarige actrice is uit de kleren is gegaan om de nieuwe studio van het programma te promoten.
  Zie hier een aantal foto's.
  Proefabonnement,10 weken '‚¬ 30,-!(C) 1996-2012 Telegraaf Media Nederland | Landelijke Media B.V., Amsterdam.Alle rechten voorbehouden.e-mail: redactie-i@telegraaf.nlPrivacy | Cookies | Disclaimer
Study Links Autism To High-Fructose Corn Syrup
  Link to Article
  Source: Conscious Life News
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 16:05
  Posted by clnews_Featured_, Food, ToxicityTuesday, October 16th, 2012Food products with High-Fructose Corn Syrup
  (Anna Hunt / Waking Times)
  A recent study published in the journal Clinical Epigenetics reveals that high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), which is a highly-processed chemical sweetener used in many processed foods and beverages, has been identified as a major factor in the rise of autism in the United States.
  The rise of autism spectrum disorders in the United States has been staggering.
  ''The number of children ages 6 to 21 in the United States receiving special education services under the autism disability category increased 91% between 2005 to 2010 while the number of children receiving special education services overall declined by 5%.'' '' Dufault et al. Clinical Epigenetics, 2012
  The ingestion of heavy metals, such as mercury (Hg), into the body is having a profound effect on the neurodevelopment of children. HFCS is not only exposing children's bodies to mercury, but it is also responsible for inhibiting the elimination of toxins and heavy metals due to how it depletes the body of the natural mineral zinc.
  '''...the HFCS characteristics most likely contributing to autism include the zinc depleting effect that comes from consuming HFCS and certain food colors found in processed foods, and the additional Hg exposure that may occur from the low Hg concentrations sometimes found in HFCS as a result of the manufacturing process [4,17].'' '' Dufault et al. Clinical Epigenetics, 2012
  Read the rest of the article'...
  No related posts.
Rebecca: The Musical '' Broadway financier charged with fraud
  Link to Article
  Source: Culture | guardian.co.uk
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 16:00
  Can we ever return to Manderley? '... a cancellation sign in the window of the Broadhurst theatre, New York. Photograph: Keith Bedford/REUTERS
  The businessman at the centre of the cancelled Broadway production of Rebecca: The Musical was charged with fraud on Monday, after being arrested at his home in New York.
  Mark Hotton, a 46-year-old stockbroker, is accused of inventing fictional investors to con the musical's producers, for whom he promised to secure $4.5m. Investigators claim that he received $60,000 in commission and fees, including $18,210.88 for an African safari with one of the funders and his eldest son.
  In a statement, Manhattan US attorney Preet Bharara described the scheme as "stranger than fiction".
  He continued: "Hotton concocted a cast of characters to invest in a major musical '' investors who turned out to be deep-pocketed phantoms. To carry out the alleged fraud, Hotton faked lives, faked companies and even staged a fake death, pretending that one imaginary investor had suddenly died from malaria."
  It is alleged that after "killing off" fake investor Paul Abrams in August, Hotton implemented a second scheme that involved helping to secure a $1.1m loan. The production folded on the day rehearsals were due to begin, leaving lead producers Ben Sprecher and Louise Forlenza financially liable if it does not eventually take place.
  Sprecher's lawyer Ronald G Russo said: "This fraud did enormous damage to Broadway and Ben Sprecher remains totally committed to bringing Rebecca to New York."
  Hotton was arrested at his Long Island home and charged with two counts of wire-fraud, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years' imprisonment. His legal representatives pleaded not guilty on his behalf, and magistrate Arlene R Lindsay ordered that Hotton be held without bail.
  "In his alleged scheme to defraud investors, Mark Hotton wrote, directed and starred in the work of fiction he took to Broadway," said FBI acting assistant director Mary E Galligan in a statement. "A convincing portrayal on stage can earn you a Tony. A convincing act that fleeces a production's backers can earn you a prison term."
Clinton: I'm responsible for diplomats' security - CNN.com
  Link to Article
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 15:59
  STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  "What I want to avoid is some kind of political gotcha or blame game," Clinton says"I take this very personally," she saysDiplomats need security but "can't hang out behind walls," she addsRead a version of this in Arabic
  Lima, Peru (CNN) -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday tried to douse a political firestorm over the deadly assault on a U.S. diplomatic mission in Libya, saying she's responsible for the security of American diplomatic outposts.
  "I take responsibility," Clinton told CNN in an interview while on a visit to Peru. "I'm in charge of the State Department's 60,000-plus people all over the world, 275 posts. The president and the vice president wouldn't be knowledgeable about specific decisions that are made by security professionals. They're the ones who weigh all of the threats and the risks and the needs and make a considered decision."
  But she said an investigation now under way will ultimately determine what happened at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, where Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed on September 11.
  "I take this very personally," Clinton said. "So we're going to get to the bottom of it, and then we're going to do everything we can to work to prevent it from happening again, and then we're going to work to bring whoever did this to us to justice."
  VP debate left unanswered national security questions
  Attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya
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  HIDE CAPTION
  The attack took place in the eastern Libyan city that was the cradle of that country's 2011 revolution. Obama administration officials initially blamed a mob inflamed by a U.S.-produced movie that mocked Islam and its Prophet Mohammed, but later said the storming of the consulate appears to have been a terrorist attack.
  With criticism growing, Vice President Joe Biden said during last week's vice presidential debate that the White House did not know of requests to enhance security at Benghazi, contradicting testimony by State Department employees that requests had been made and rejected. After the debate, the White House said the vice president did not know of the requests because they were handled, as is the practice, by the State Department.
  Fact Check: Benghazi security
  "In the wake of an attack like this, in the fog of war, there's always going to be confusion," Clinton said. "And I think it is absolutely fair to say that everyone had the same intelligence. Everyone who spoke tried to give the information that they had. As time has gone on, that information has changed. We've gotten more detail, but that's not surprising. That always happens."
  She added, "What I want to avoid is some kind of political gotcha or blame game."
  "I know that we're very close to an election," Clinton said. "I want to just take a step back here and say from my own experience, we are at our best as Americans when we pull together. I've done that with Democratic presidents and Republican presidents."
  Her remarks drew a quick response from three Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee, including ranking member John McCain.
  Clinton's statement of responsibility was "a laudable gesture, especially when the White House is trying to avoid any responsibility whatsoever," the Arizona senator said in a joint broadside with Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire. However, they added, "The security of Americans serving our nation everywhere in the world is ultimately the job of the commander-in-chief. The buck stops there."
  Stevens, State Department computer expert Sean Smith and security contractors Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods died in the Benghazi assault, which State Department officials now say was the work of dozens of armed men.
  Clinton also described a desperate scene in the State Department during the hours of the attack, as staff tried to find out what had happened.
  "This was a many-hour ordeal that we were all involved in, and I was deeply concerned as you would obviously assume, to hear about an attack," she said. Not only was the picture coming out of Libya murky, but also, "Then we couldn't find Ambassador Stevens, and we were trying desperately to figure out what happened to him and to Sean Smith and to the others who were there."
  Actress sues filmmaker
  Clinton said her mission now is to make sure such an attack will never happen again, and also to ensure the work of American diplomats won't be stopped even in dangerous areas like Benghazi.
  "We can't retreat. We have to continue to lead. We have to be engaged," she said. "We can't hang out behind walls." She said Stevens, who came to Benghazi on a cargo ship to start building ties with rebel leaders during last year's revolt, "knew that more than anybody."
  Special forces assessed security at Benghazi
  Two ex-SEALs died protecting others
  U.S. beefs up diplomatic security
The spreading wave of Walmart strikes.
  Link to Article
  Source: Dave Winer's linkblog feed
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 15:46
  Thousands of protesters march in the country's largest anti-Walmart rally in Chinatown on June 30, 2012 in Los AngelesPhotograph by Joe Klamar/AFP/GettyImages.
  Walmart, the world's largest private employer, is facing what looks to be a growing wave of strikes. What's most interesting here is that Walmart is'--quite famously'--not a unionized company. The current state of American labor law makes unionizing worksites at a company like Walmart extraordinarily difficult, and the political outlook for major revision to the relevant laws is extremely poor. So the question of whether it's possible for workers to effectively organize themselves and engage in industrial action outside the context of the formal legal framework that governs collective bargaining in the United States is a very important one. Legislative change has often been seen as the key to a revival of labor activism in the United States, but obviously unions didn't become influential in the first place because of a friendly political climate'--like any new social movement they became powerful despite the hostile political climate and then thanks to their growing power were temporarily able to create a friendly climate.
  Walmart's in a fairly low-margin industry but with net income before tax of a bit over $10,000 per employee there really is substantial economic surplus that workers could, in theory, capture.
  Bryce Covert in The Nation emphasizes that this is important because there's been so much employment growth in the low-wage retail sector. I think I'd read the causality the other way around'--one reason there's been so much employment growth at places like Walmart is because they've found a way to hire adequate workers for very low wages. If they end up needing to pay more, the business model will shift. I shop regularly at two different supermarkets, one unionized and one nonunion. I don't think it's a coincidence that the nonunion supermarket has more employees and the unionized one has more frequently-malfunctioning self-checkout machines. To the extent that wages in the retail sector start to rise across the board, you'll see more emphasis on perfecting and installing that kind of technology. Amazon is investing in warehouse robots for a reason and there are some broader economic trends away from big box retail and toward Internet-based commerce that might let you get buy with fewer, higher-paid workers.
  Which I think would be progress. I was struck the last time I was in France by the fact that the McDonalds' outlets in crowded parts of Paris (I wanted a soda with lots of ice in it, sue me) seem more technologically sophisticated than their US peers. Our fast food sector lags in this regard presumably because it's easier here to substitute cheap labor for advanced technology.
Thread: The new River tab on Scripting.
  Link to Article
  Source: Dave Winer
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 14:33
  Today there is a new tab on the Scripting News home page. Screen shot.
  I've felt for a long time that every serious news organization and blog should have a river associated with their publication. The river would include the news sources that the publication "reads" -- to give their readers a sense of the community they both belong to and the community they define.
  For example, a blog about a town would include a river of all the bloggers who are active in that town. This is a vital resource for the editorial people who write for the pub, but it also gives access to everyone. The readers get to read all the news sources, and the news sources get to read each other. Very quickly, probably instantaneously, all these different boxes, sources, readers, reporters merge into one, because truthfully it's more like that every day. The imaginary line that separates a columnist from a voter from a mayor is more or less non-existent, in a day when mayors have blogs, and citizens become mayors.
  This is the world envisioned by at least some of the founders of the United States. That the people would form the government, and that the press would cover everything, without regard to status. The tendency of cliques and ladders to form would be counteracted by new entrants in all the fields, and lower barriers to entry. This is what democratization of media looks like. It's why I put my collection of rivers on a site called Media Hackers. Because that's what all this is doing, hacking media, and turning it into something new, given the new realities of the technology we now use to publish and to read.
  Rivers are revolutionary because they are flat. The ideal level playing field. I read NakedJen and Doc Searls along with the New York Times and whitehouse.gov. And Jon Chait, David Frum, Felix Salmon and Matt Taibbi. I love them all because they send me fresh ideas that get me thinking. And I love that I can share all that with you, the lovely people who read my humble blog.
  The river on Scripting News home page is a collection of feeds that I read to be inspired and to keep informed. They reflect my interests, which is appropriate because it is my blog. It helps you know who influences me, and I'm always open to adding more feeds to my river.
  My feeling is that if you read my blog you should also read my river.
  I think the more innovative sites should get on board right away. I have pitched FastCompany and Wired on doing this. Technology Review at MIT has written glowingly of the idea of rivers of news, how about putting one together for your community? BerkeleySide, why not put a river of Berkeley bloggers on your site?
  I am available to help any serious publication get started. We have the software, and the interest. And the community of users gathered around my site, ever-more-active, are zealots when it comes to spreading the gospel! :-)
  PS: Thanks to Dody Gunawinata, a developer in Cairo, for helping get the flash out of my rivers. I'm still very much a Javascript newbie, and need help getting stuff like this to work smoothly.
Say No to Homophobia TV Ads (Australia) [video]
  Link to Article
  Source: no corn syrup's feed
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 13:20
Need noise? Print a pair of headphones
  Link to Article
  Source: CNET News
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 13:17
  The spoils of owning a 3D printer get even sweeter now that you can create a pair of working headphones.
  John Mabry's 13:30 headphones in action.
  (Credit: John Mabry/Teague )Design firm Teague knows a thing or two about making things. After all, the company's design portfolio includes (among many other creations) the Polaroid camera, the Xbox, and even the UPS truck.
  John Mabry, a senior industrial designer at Teague, believes we're entering an age where we can print out working consumer electronics instead of buying them from major corporations. Built around the concept that we live a "life in beta," Mabry freely offers plans for a working pair of headphones that anyone can print with a MakerBot Replicator 3D printer.
  "This project started as a thought piece around printed consumer electronics and the idea that they could be as easy to turn into working product as they are to print," Mabry says in a description about the headphones. "Meaning that once off the print bed, such an object could be assembled without any tools, and be made functional by readily attainable components."
  Aside from the obvious requisites of a 3D printer and material to print with, creating the 13:30 headphones only requires less than a $20 worth of components (speakers, cables, etc.) to assemble.
  The unusual name 13:30 derives from how many hours and minutes it took Mabry to print out the first pair with a Dimension 1200ES 3D printer. To further complement the aforementioned beta concept, Teague posted the design on Thingiverse and hosts the 13:30 headphone CAD files, meaning that anyone can take this design and make it their own.
  After printing, many of the components merely snap together in place.
  (Credit: John Mabry/Teague )
Hillsborough disaster: courts to be asked to quash inquest verdicts
  Link to Article
  Source: The Guardian World News
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 13:16
  The attorney general, Dominic Grieve QC, told parliament it would make sense for all 96 Hillsborough inquest verdicts to be quashed. Photograph: PA
  The attorney general has confirmed that he will apply to the courts to quash the original verdicts of "accidental death" from the inquest into the deaths of 96 Liverpool fans in the Hillsborough disaster.
  Dominic Grieve QC told parliament he would apply to the high court to have the original verdicts overturned in the wake of new evidence revealed by the Hillsborough independent panel's (HIP) report published last month.
  "My consideration of the evidence is far from complete but, given the anxiety further delay may cause the families affected by the Hillsborough disaster, I have decided to take an exceptional course and state at this stage that, on the basis of what I have already seen, I have determined that I must make an application to the court," he said on Tuesday.
  Because the deaths arose from a "common chain of events", he said, it would make sense to apply for all 96 verdicts to be quashed but he would take representations from the victims' families on the matter.
  "Having announced my decision, I will need further time to prepare the application so the strongest case can be made to the court. I need to complete my consideration of the evidence and consider any representations. I will move as quickly as I can."
  Trevor Hicks, chair of the Hillsborough Family Support Group, welcomed the move and said the families would meet the attorney general soon to discuss the next steps.
  "We are very pleased with the pace things are going at," said Hicks, who lost two daughters in the disaster on 15 April 1989.
  "We have waited 23 years. Due process will have to take place. We are pleased he has pointed out it will be 96 fresh inquests. We didn't want any differentiation between those who might have been saved and those who would not."
  Ninety-six people died and more than 760 were injured in a human crush during the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough in Sheffield.
  The HIP report, which ran to 395 pages and was based on consideration of 450,000 pages of evidence, confirmed the disaster was caused by an unsafe stadium, chaotic emergency response and police failings, and laid bare the extent of the coverup that followed as police attempted to blame the fans.
  It also revealed that up to 41 of the 96 victims had the "potential to survive" beyond the 3.15pm cut-off time imposed by the original coroner, prompting new questions over how many could have been saved had the emergency response been better.
  Some families of the victims have said that having the original inquest verdict quashed is their No 1 priority.
  "The inquests and any potential prosecutions are important not only for the families of the victims but the whole of society. The agencies of the state let us down and that has to be put right," Hicks said.
  Grieve said it was not for him to direct where any new inquest should be held but the families will demand that it takes place in Liverpool rather than Sheffield.
  If a new coroner is appointed, he or she is expected to liaise with the families over whether the inquest should proceed before any criminal or disciplinary charges that may arise.
  On Friday, the Independent Police Complaints Commission announced it would launch the largest ever review of police conduct in light of the evidence revealed by the panel.
  Simultaneously, the director of public prosecutions, Keir Starmer, said he would undertake a review of all the evidence to see if new charges of manslaughter could be brought against corporations or individuals.
  Grieve said the DPP's parallel considerations would not impact on the timing of his application to quash the 96 existing verdicts, but any new criminal proceedings "could undoubtedly impact on when an inquest could take place".
  Hicks said that at a meeting between Starmer and the families earlier this week they had been given a reassurance that any new inquest would not be delayed by criminal proceedings.
  Representatives of the Hillsborough Family Support Group and the Hillsborough Justice Campaign will give evidence to the home affairs select committee on Tuesday afternoon, as will the South Yorkshire police chief constable, David Crompton.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: ARE YOU READY?
  Link to Article
  Source: Scott Shannon's TRUE OLDIES CHANNEL's Facebook Wall
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 13:16
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Apple's Maps fiasco and the mobile arms race
  Link to Article
  Source: Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 13:08
  A sense of vindication has most likely spread throughout the headquarters of Google in Mountain View, Calif., after reports surfaced that Apple's new Maps app contained glaring imperfections, such as removing the Statue of Liberty from its perch in New York harbor. Apple's decision to boot Google Maps from the list of pre-installed apps on the newest version of its mobile operating system, iOS6, replacing it with the company's own error-prone version, no doubt only added to Google's joy. Apple also kicked out another popular Google app, YouTube, in the same software update.
  Here is the context for those who have not been following the Maps flap: Apple rolled out the new Maps-containing iOS6 on September 19 for installation on its devices. The operating system comes pre-installed in the latest smartphone, the iPhone 5, and is an update on older devices. By most reports, the iPhone 5 is the best-selling iPhone yet: more than five million in the three days after the device's September 21 launch, or about one million more than the iPhone 4S in the comparable period a year ago. All of those customers will get Apple Maps as the default app. However, the app's errors are almost comically glaring: Las Vegas is depicted as a melting city, train stations are placed underwater and some bridges show up crooked. A Tumblr page is dedicated to the program's mishaps, andWired.com calls it a "mapocalypse."
  Mapping programs are among the most popular apps accessed on mobile devices and a key point of competition in the mobile arms race. According to Opus Research, mobile ads that appear on maps and location apps account for a quarter of about $2.5 billion spent on ads on wireless devices this year. That's up from 10% in 2010, the research firm said. Among iPhone owners, Google Maps was the second most popular app used in March, after Apple's iTunes store, online measurement firm comScore reported. With Android smartphone users, Google Maps was the third most popular, after the Android marketplace and Google Search apps.
  Apple has good reason to resist ceding such a popular feature to Google, particularly since Android has overtaken iOS as the leading mobile platform. Today, Android is the top mobile operating system, claiming 51% of the smartphone market, according to an October 2 survey by comScore. Apple is second with 31.9%. Technology news site AllThingsD reported that Apple jettisoned Google Maps in part because the two companies could not come to an agreement over providing voice-guided turn-by-turn driving directions for iOS'--a feature that is available to Google Maps users on the Android platform. Sources familiar with the negotiations told AllThingsD that Apple leadership was unhappy that Google was trying to call the shots on such a key application, while Google was leery of providing voice-navigation without getting more control and greater visibility on the app'--something Apple was unwilling to provide.
  The acrimony between Apple and Google is well known. In the biography of late Apple founder and CEO Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson, Jobs accused Google of stealing the idea behind Apple's operating system and coming up with Android. "I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple's $40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong. I'm going to destroy Android because it's a stolen product. I'm willing to go to thermonuclear war on this," Jobs said in 2010. At the time, Apple had just sued phone maker and Android user HTC for alleged infringement of its patents on multi-touch features. The lawsuit was one of many that the Cupertino, Calif.-based firm has lobbed at companies with phones that run on Android, and it is widely believed that Google is the true target of such moves. In August, Apple won a patent infringement lawsuit against Samsung, whose Android smartphones are outselling iPhones worldwide, and was awarded damages of $1 billion.
  For Apple, "it's a good strategy to develop their own mapping service," says Wharton operations and information management professor Shawndra Hill. "It's a key component on everyone's smartphone." Although Apple Maps appears to be a deficit right now, it's likely to become an asset as time goes on and the company is able to work out the glitches, notes Wharton marketing professor Peter Fader, who is also co-director of the Wharton Customer Analytics Initiative. "This is such a non-issue. Google Maps isn't perfect. If people scoured Google Maps as carefully as they scoured Apple's Maps, they would find things that are not quite right," Fader points out. "For the vast majority [of iPhone users], it's fine. They know it's early in the game and it gets better. If people want Google Maps, they can access it. It's not that [Apple] blocked Google Maps; it just doesn't come pre-installed. People will forget about this. This is nothing compared to 'antenna-gate.' Even that is entirely forgotten."
  Fader is referring to a 2010 incident in which a faulty antenna design in the iPhone 4 caused degraded reception. Apple had wrapped the antenna around the device to minimize size, but users gripping the phone encountered signal interference. The tech company ultimately gave away plastic bands that go around the iPhone and sent out a software fix. In many cases, early adopters of new tech devices are more forgiving of glitches because "they expect the brand-new model to be kind of buggy," Fader says, noting that the same cannot be said of other consumer products, such as movies or books, that have to do well at launch because sales can quickly tank.
  When Jobs apologized for the faulty antenna, he was criticized for pointing out in his comeuppance that rival smartphones had similar issues. In a statement addressing the problems with the Maps application, current CEO Tim Cook advised iPhone owners to seek out other mapping programs, suggesting downloads of MapQuest, Microsoft's Bing and yes, Google Maps, until Apple's mapping program improved.
  Who Wins'--and Who Loses
  In the flap over Maps, both Apple and Google are winners'--and losers, Wharton experts say. In the short run, Google'--where developers hope to finish a maps application for iOS devices by the end of the year'--is losing direct access to millions of iPhone users. Meanwhile, the iPhone 5 continues to enjoy robust sales despite the bad press for Apple Maps.
  Google Maps will no longer be as easily accessible on iOS devices, including the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. When users search for directions within another app that involves maps'--Yelp, for example'--it will link to Apple Maps. To get to Google Maps, one has to separately access it through a search engine and retype the address being sought. If users decline to take those extra steps, Google stands to lose any benefit associated with tracking their whereabouts. Thus far, around 100 million people have downloaded iOS6, according to Apple.
  The good news for Google, however, is that Apple's latest moves could cast a permanent stain upon its corporate character. "The one silver lining is that Google looks like a victim here, and Apple looks like a bully," Fader says. "From a public relations standpoint, Apple [appears] evil and greedy" for kicking out Google Maps, a popular app beloved by users. "I do think Apple made a mistake. It was dumb for them to walk away from Google just for more or less political reasons. I don't think it was for a good business reason. A lot of it was posturing on their part, trying to send signals to Google and to the consumer that we [Apple] are self-sufficient."
  Whether Apple booted Google for personal or business reasons, or both, it took a risk by rolling out a flawed product. But its saving grace is that maps, though important, is only one of many features of iOS6. According to Eric Clemons, a Wharton professor of operations and information management, a company can usually get away with rolling out an inferior product if it is bundled with other applications and if it takes effort for consumers to switch to an alternative. When Microsoft introduced its Excel spreadsheet program, for example, it was widely considered to be inferior to Lotus 123. But the software got a boost by being bundled into a suite of other programs, Clemons notes. In the same way, most iPhone users will likely put up with Apple Maps because they like many of the phone's other features. "No one is going to abandon an iPhone for Android just for that reason," Clemons says.
  The Value of Maps
  Apple may have stumbled out of the gate, but it is a fallacy to think that Google Maps cannot be overtaken, Clemons suggests. "Do you remember when no one was expected to be able to catch MapQuest? Google can be caught." To be sure, Google has a good lead: Its StreetView cars mounted with cameras already have driven five million miles recording streets and landmarks to be incorporated into Google Maps, according to a September 6 article in The Atlantic. In a statement addressing the loss of the application from iOS, the search giant described Google Maps as "the most comprehensive, accurate and easy-to-use maps in the world. Our goal is to make Google Maps available to everyone who wants to use it, regardless of device, browser or operating system."
  So why did Apple dump Google Maps? David Pogue, The New York Times personal tech columnist, wrote in a September 26 article: "Every time you use Google's maps, you're sending data from your phone to Google. That information'--how you're using maps, where you're going, which roads actually exist'--is extremely valuable; it can be used to improve both the maps and Google's ability to deliver location-based offers and advertising." Pogue noted that Google was not supplying the iPhone with some of the most important features in its maps that it was giving to Android phones, such as spoken navigation. That is why, when their contract renewal came up, Apple simply said "no," Pogue wrote.
  Meanwhile, consumers voiced their displeasure quite loudly online. "There is a big outcry for a variety of reasons. Google is popular. Google also, I suspect, has an army of semi-official groupies who raise an outcry any time Google is disadvantaged by anything," Clemons says. For its part, Apple has stated that as more people use its maps, accuracy will greatly improve given that location searches are tracked. "There are a few things they could do that would make it better, involving small changes to the interface to make it consume less bandwidth at the start and to make it easier to specify that you wanted to navigate from your current location to someplace," he suggests. "Apple Maps does not need to be much better [than Google Maps]. It just needs to be as good and properly integrated."
  Apple is accomplishing two things by kicking Google out, Clemons notes: "It is protecting the privacy of its users, which could be a source of competitive advantage, and it could be denying Google detailed information on the activities, location and interests of its users, which could be another source of competitive advantage." Maps, while a popularly used feature on smartphones, are "not a killer app for users, but a Trojan horse for data parasites like Google," Clemons says.
  If Apple pledges not to track users, it could lure many more people from Google Maps, even if its maps are not perfect, according to Clemons. "Apple can say, 'Our map respects your privacy.'" Google makes most of its revenue on advertisements so it is critical for them to track users, he adds, but the company has been taken to task for privacy violations. "Google sends ads based not just on searches, but on everything you do online." In contrast, Apple derives the bulk of its business from sales of Mac computers as well as iPhone, iPad, iPod and iPod Touch devices. Thus, the company is in a financial position to forgo ad revenue opportunities and possibly gain some consumer goodwill in the process, Clemons notes.
  Indeed, while people's attention was focused on maps, what may have been overlooked are the enhanced privacy features in iOS6, according to an October 1 article by the Center for Democracy and Technology. "When iOS6 was released last week, the 'big news' was Apple's decision to drop Google Maps. In the uproar that followed, iOS6's privacy features received little fanfare, despite undergoing a major overhaul," the group said. "Many changes [that the center] has advocated for'--including giving users more control over tracking and increasing the visibility of options in the privacy settings'--have been adopted in the new version."
  But ultimately, the total ecosystem is what corrals people to a particular smartphone, experts say, whether it is iOS, Android, Windows Phone or others. An owner of several Apple devices would be hard-pressed, for example, to switch to Android because many of his or her devices use iTunes and operate on iOS. "The biggest key to mobile supremacy? It has less to do with the particular apps within an ecosystem, and more to do with the size of the installed base using it," Fader says. "Google/Android has an obvious advantage here because they work with so many manufacturers. Apple is unlikely to be able to match their footprint in the long run. That's the key. The size of the footprint drives the apps, not the other way around." In the end, he adds, "that's where the battle will be won or lost."
  Provided byUniversity of Pennsylvania
Neelie Kroes niet in nieuwe kabinet
  Link to Article
  Source: VK: Home
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 13:07
  Door: Redactie '' 16/10/12, 14:32 '' bron: ANP
  (C) anp. Eurocommissaris Neelie Kroes komt aan om de delegatie Tweede Kamerleden die een bezoek aan Brussel brengen te begroeten.
  Eurocommissaris Neelie Kroes sluit uit dat ze plaatsneemt in het nieuwe kabinet dat momenteel gevormd wordt door de PvdA en de VVD. 'Er is heel veel te doen in Brussel en ik heb heel veel beloofd. Dat wil ik graag zelf afmaken', zei ze vandaag tegen het ANP.
  De termijn van de commissaris voor de Digitale Agenda loopt over twee jaar af. 'Ik zeg niet dat ik nooit meer terug wil naar de Nederlandse politiek, want dat klinkt alsof je er iets tegen hebt.' Ze merkte op dat premier Mark Rutte 'natuurlijk wel voor de helft vrouwen' moet nemen in het kabinet.
  Kroes merkte op dat ze in Brussel een interessante portefeuille had (Mededinging), maar dat haar huidige (Digitale Agenda) 'nog fascinerender en creatiever en dichter bij de burgers' is. 'Het is natuurlijk ook interessant om in het hele proces waarin Europa zich bevindt mee aan tafel te zitten.'
How the Clintons Might Have Saved Obama's Campaign -- New York Magazine
  Link to Article
  Source: Dave Winer's linkblog feed
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 13:02
  (Photo: Christopher Anderson)
  Four years ago, on September 11, Barack Obama made the pilgrimage to Harlem to have lunch with Bill Clinton. The meal was the first tªte- -tªte between the soon-to-be president and the former one since the unpleasantness of the ­Democratic nomination contest, and feelings on both sides were still raw and fraught with suspicion. Clinton's staff had wanted to include a Harlem stroll and ­photo op as part of the visit, but Obama's people demurred'--a standoff that led each camp to ascribe race-related motives to the other. Eager to avoid awkwardness, Obama kept the conversation focused on governance, not politics. But at the end, Clinton offered to hit the campaign trail for, or with, the nominee. Obama, fighting a stomach bug, said okay and then beat a hasty exit to avoid upchucking on Clinton's shoes.
  In truth, neither side was delighted at the prospect of Clinton stumping for Obama. The latter's team believed that he wouldn't move many votes, and were only interested in having the two men appear onstage together to stop the press from harping on the fact that they had not. Clinton, meanwhile, was still simmering over his treatment during the primaries'--in particular over Obama's assertion, before the Nevada caucuses, that ''Ronald Reagan changed the trajectory of America in a way that '... Bill Clinton did not.'' On countless conference calls with his wife's campaign, Clinton had returned obsessively to the slight, which he saw not as a gambit to get inside his head (which it was) but as Obama's genuine opinion. ''He would have been less angry if he thought it was tactical,'' a former Clinton aide remembers. ''But he thought Obama actually believed he was a shitty president.''
  Dutifully, halfheartedly, Clinton headlined a handful of solo events for Obama that October. And then, on the Wednesday before Election Day, the pair enacted their one joint appearance, in Kissimmee, Florida. Clinton's speech on that frosty night was emphatic, at times hyperactive. ''Folks, we can't fool with this!'' he declared. ''Our country is hanging in the balance; this man should be our president!'' But his talk was all of thirteen minutes long and entirely formulaic, festooned with not a single warm personal anecdote or insight.
  Seated on a stool next to Clinton, Obama wore an impassive expression, as if he were being endorsed by a Kissimmee town councilman'--or a former president whose vaunted rhetorical gifts were inferior to his own. ''He thought it was fine,'' recalls a senior Obama adviser. ''We were all watching on TV, and we thought it was fine, too. But by then, nobody cared that much. We were all just so far past the Clintons.''
  Four years later, two words leap to mind: As if. Today, Hillary Clinton is the most popular member of Obama's Cabinet, and her husband is not only his greatest but most tireless political ally. This past September 11, the Y-chromosome Clinton was in Miami, ripping Mitt Romney a new one over Medicare. Since then, Clinton has campaigned for Obama in New Hampshire and Nevada, raised money for him in Boston and with him in Los Angeles'--and there is more to come. A TV ad with Clinton making the case for Obama's reelection has run 16,000 times in swing states across the country. Another, featuring a clip of Clinton's address at the Democratic convention, almost gives the impression that he is Obama's running mate. Then there is that speech itself, which another top Obama adviser tells me flatly is ''the most important moment of the campaign so far.''
  The Barack-and-Bill double act on display this fall marks a new and intriguing phase in a psychological entanglement so rich that if Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung were alive, they would surely be squabbling over it instead of Sabina Spielrein's hysteria. No one close to Obama or Clinton even bothers with the pretense that there is any real affection between them. But most concur with the assessment of a Democratic operative with tentacles deep in both worlds: that ''the relationship today is totally transactional'--and highly functional.''
  What Obama stands to gain from the transaction is plain enough to see. The support of the political figure with the highest approval rating, 69 percent, of any in America. The suasive services of a surrogate who can talk the owls down from the trees. The imprimatur of a former president associated with a period of broad and deep prosperity, imbued with unparalleled credibility on matters economic, and possessing special traction with the white working- and ­middle-class voters whom Obama has always had a hard time reaching. What Obama stands to gain, in other words, is a healthy boost in his quest for reelection'--one all the more invaluable in the wake of his dismal performance in the first debate.
Hundreds of Terrorists Killed in Recent Months - Putin
  Link to Article
  Source: RIA Novosti
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 12:53
  Russian police and interior troops have killed more than 300 militants, including 43 warlords, in the North Caucasus over the past few months, President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday.
  ''In the past several months, 479 militants were detained, and 313 terrorists, who refused to surrender, were killed, including 43 leaders,'' Putin told a meeting on ways to fight terrorism in Russia.
  ''Our security agencies have started to work more effectively,'' Putin said. ''At the same time we pay a high price for every mistake, therefore we must work relentlessly and decisively, a step ahead [of terrorists], and, when necessary, even boldly.''
Rats Scrambling Off The Titanic: Citigroup CEO, COO Both Step Down
  Link to Article
  Source: Zero Hedge
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 12:51
  Remember when we said the Citi numbers were a miserable joke? Apparently at least two people (not Jim Cramer who absolutely loved Citi's "hairless" result) were aware of this:
  CITIGROUP NAMES MICHAEL CORBAT AS CEO VIKRAM PANDIT STEPS DOWNCITIGROUP PRESIDENT-COO JOHN P. HAVENS ALSO RESIGNSCITIGROUP NAMES MICHAEL CORBAT AS CEO VIKRAM PANDIT STEPS DOWNCITIGROUP BOARD UNANIMOUSLY ELECTED CORBAT TO CEOCITIGROUP SAYS HAVENS HAD BEEN PLANNING TO RETIRE AT YEAR ENDAnd so the rat procession out of the Titanic begins.
  Full statement:
  The Board of Directors of Citigroup today announced that Vikram Pandit has stepped down as the Company's Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Board, effective immediately. The Board also announced it has unanimously elected Michael Corbat CEO and a director of the Board. Mr. Corbat previously served as Citigroup's CEO of Europe, Middle East and Africa.
  Mr. Pandit said: ''Thanks to the dedication and sacrifice of people across Citigroup, we have emerged from the financial crisis as a strong institution.
  Citigroup is well-positioned for continued profitability and growth, having refocused the franchise on the basics of banking. Given the progress we have made in the last few years, I have concluded that now is the right time for someone else to take the helm at Citigroup. I could not be leaving the Company in better hands. Mike is the right person to tackle the difficult challenges ahead, with a 29-year record of achievement and leadership at this Company. I will truly miss the wonderful people throughout this organization. But I know that together with Mike they will continue to build on the progress we have made.''
  Michael E. O'Neill, Chairman of the Citigroup Board of Directors, said: ''We respect Vikram's decision. Since his appointment at the start of the financial crisis until the present time, Vikram has restructured and recapitalized the Company, strengthened our global franchise and re-focused the business. The Board and I are grateful to Vikram for his leadership, integrity and resilience in guiding Citi through the crisis and positioning it well for the future. We wish him all the best with the next stage in his career.
  ''Mike Corbat has demonstrated outstanding leadership qualities and the ability to sharpen our focus on achieving strong, sustained operating performance,''Mr. O'Neill continued. ''From his nearly three decades at the Company he brings deep and varied operating experience across a broad spectrum of the financial services industry. He has managed numerous institutional businesses, including sales and trading, capital markets, corporate and commercial banking, and such consumer businesses as wealth management, mortgages and credit cards. During the financial crisis, he successfully led the divestiture of more than 40 businesses, helping to strengthen the Company's balance sheet substantially.
  In this role, he also restructured and rebuilt a number of the Company's consumer-facing businesses, including the mortgage and credit card businesses.
  ''Mike is a proven, hands-on leader who is known for his focus on enhancing productivity, holding people accountable and practicing sound risk management.
  He has consistently delivered impressive bottom-line results at many of our major global business units and has forged a strong track record of improving efficiency and mitigating risk while also optimizing the allocation of the Company's capital,'' Mr. O'Neill concluded.
  Mr. Corbat said: ''Given the considerable progress we have made in recent years, Citigroup possesses unique strengths to take on exciting opportunities around the world. With unprecedented economic, regulatory and political change, my top priority is to keep us focused on what our clients need, both today and tomorrow. The Board and I firmly believe in Citigroup's future, and together are committed to delivering sustained profitability and shareholder returns.
  ''The fundamentals we have in place today are solid, and we are on the right path. In this dynamic market environment, however, we must efficiently allocate our resources and offer the products with the highest potential in the most productive markets. Citi's businesses, footprint and talent are unmatched, and we will be relentless in our drive toward operating excellence and risk management. I look forward to working with our talented management team and dedicated employees to chart that future course.''
  Mr. Corbat added: ''I also wish to extend my personal appreciation to Vikram for all he has achieved. Without his leadership, Citigroup would not be so well positioned globally to tackle the challenges and opportunities ahead of us.''
  A short biography of Mr. Corbat is attached to this release.
  President and COO John P. Havens also Resigns from Company
  The Company further announced that President and Chief Operating Officer, John P. Havens, who also served as CEO of Citi's Institutional Clients Group, has resigned. Mr. Havens said that he had already been planning retirement from Citi at year-end but decided, in light of Mr. Pandit's resignation, to leave the Company at this time.
  ''Since joining Citigroup five years ago, John has served as a trusted partner to our institutional clients, helping some of the largest corporations and governments in the world navigate through one of the most challenging financial markets in history. In the last two years he has successfully taken on the additional role of overseeing Citigroup's operations, where he drove significant improvement and streamlining. We wish him the best in the future,''Mr. O'Neill said.
  Citi, the leading global bank, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management.
  Average:Your rating: NoneAverage: 5(1 vote)
Verizon Wireless draws fire for monitoring customers' app usage, Web browsing habits
  Link to Article
  Source: CNET News - Politics and Law
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 12:47
  "We're able to view just everything," Verizon Wireless manager boasts. Privacy groups say plan--including linking databases showing whether customers own pets--may violate wiretap law.
  Verizon Wireless has begun selling information about its customers' geographical locations, app usage, and Web browsing activities, a move that raises privacy questions and could brush up against federal wiretapping law.
  The company this month began offering reports to marketers showing what Verizon subscribers are doing on their phones and other mobile devices, including what iOS and Android apps are in use in which locations. It says it may link those data to third-party databases with information about customers' gender, age, and even details such as "sports enthusiast, frequent diner or pet owner."
  "We're able to view just everything that they do," Bill Diggins, U.S. chief for the Verizon Wireless marketing initiative, told an industry conference earlier this year. "And that's really where data is going today. Data is the new oil."
  Verizon Wireless says that its initiative, called Precision Market Insights, is legal because the data are aggregated and don't reveal customers' identities. Also, the company says, its customers can opt out at any time.
  But hyper-detailed monitoring of customers' activity looks a lot like the deep packet inspection techniques that landed NebuAd in hot water -- including a congressional investigation -- four years ago. NebuAd's chief executive, Robert Dykes, claimed he had created "anonymous profiles that cannot be hacked or reverse-engineered," but the controversy led to the company's demise.
  Hanni Fakhoury, a staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco, said a wireless carrier that discloses information about which URLs a customer visits could run afoul of the Wiretap Act. In general, the Act says, carriers may not "divulge the contents of any communication."
  "I don't see any substantive difference between collecting content from one person and turning it over to someone, and collecting it from multiple people, aggregating that information and then turning the aggregated data over to someone else," Fakhoury says. "In the end, there is still a capturing of content from the user at some point -- and that's what the potential (Wiretap Act) problem is."
  Paul Ohm, a professor at the University of Colorado Law School currently working at the Federal Trade Commission, concluded in a law review article that federal privacy law "likely forbids many invasive forms of ISP monitoring."
  At the industry event sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers in Los Angeles, Verizon's Diggins touted the carrier's extensive monitoring abilities: "We're able to analyze what people are viewing on their handsets. If you're at an MLB game, we can tell if you're viewing ESPN, we can tell if you're viewing MLB, we can tell what social networking sites you're activating, if you're sending out mobile usage content that's user-generated on video."
  Verizon Wireless declined to answer questions that CNET posed last week about how its technology works, but it did provide this statement:
  Verizon is committed to customer privacy and takes the issue seriously. The Precision program complies with the law and protects the privacy of our customers. The reports available through the program will not disclose the content of specific customer communications because each report will contain aggregate data from a large number of customers to protect privacy. Customers who do not want their data used as part of the program can opt-out at any time.
  "Deep" vs. "shallow" packet inspection
  It's true, of course, that any company selling Internet connectivity needs to know the destination of packets so it can route them properly, a practice sometimes referred to as shallow packet inspection.
  But monitoring which mobile apps customers are using and which URLs are visited typically means engaging in deep packet inspection, which is controversial because it's more intrusive.
  Verizon Wireless' marketing literature acknowledges that it sells "mobile-usage data that offers insights on the mobile-device habits of an audience, including URL visits, app downloads and usage." (Not all carriers do: Google guarantees that its proof-of-concept Google Fiber project "will not engage in deep packet inspection" except when necessary to fend off network attacks.)
  Ryan Radia, associate director of technology studies at the Competitive Enterprise Institute think tank, agrees with the EFF's Fakhoury that disclosing aggregated URLs visited can be legally risky. "If Verizon Wireless discloses the URLs you've accessed without your consent, it has violated (the Wiretap Act) -- even if Verizon Wireless doesn't disclose any other identifying information," he Radia.
  But, Radia argues, Verizon has obtained consent for its Precision Market Insights program by updating its privacy policy and allowing customers to opt-out. That's sufficient to satisfy the Wiretap Act by putting the company's subscribers on notice, he says, and notes that a lawsuit that arose out of NebuAd's monitoring was dismissed last year (PDF).
  The 2003 In Re Pharmatrak decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit offers a glimpse of how judges view whether customers truly consented. The court ruled in a case involving Web tracking "that it makes more sense to place the burden of showing consent on the party seeking the benefit of the exception." The judges approvingly cited a second case, which said "consent can only be implied when the surrounding circumstances convincingly show that the party knew about and consented to the interception."
  In addition, a Florida appeals court has ruled that a state law closely resembling the Wiretap Act is violated when information about "websites visited by the user" is intercepted without consent. Wiretap Act violations can be punished by damages of $100 per victim per day or $10,000 per victim, whichever is greater.
  Verizon's Diggins said the carrier had created "a very sophisticated system" so advanced it can predict what customers will want: "We're able to identify what that customer likes not by filling out a form, but by analyzing what they do on a day-to-day basis. We're able to serve them products that we know they like because we've seen that they've gone through and downloaded products like it." One potential customer for the Precision program, he said, is a sports arena that wants to know more about who's attending a game.
  There is an irony here: as the online advertising market is shifting toward behavioral targeting, sometimes called interest-based ads, companies like Facebook, Yahoo, Google, and Microsoft are able to compile detailed profiles on their users. But because of legal twists -- and, perhaps, an old-fashioned cultural norm skeptical of the telephone company listening in on calls -- broadband and wireless providers are being left behind.
  On the other hand, ads make Facebook and Google free to use. Says Christopher Soghoian, principal technologist with the ACLU's Speech, Privacy and Technology Project: "When you pay a company $80 a month, they have no business monetizing the data they're collecting."
Strange Things Are Afoot at the Circle K
  Link to Article
  Source: EconomicPolicyJournal.com
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 12:46
  Stephan Kinsella writes on the odd Koch brothers turn toward a fanatical pro-war wing of Randianism. Most shocking is news that Sheldon Richman is no longer at the Koch-controlled Foundation for Economic Education:Morning musings: my impression is that libertarianism has been growing in the past few decades, and more and more young and maturing libertarians are influenced by Austrian economics and anti-war, anti-state and anti-IP Rothbardian/radical libertarianism. And that orthodox Objectivism is on the wane.
  Now in a recent post by Bob Wenzel (Ayn Rand Institute Attack on Murray Rothbard http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2012/10/ayn-rand-institute-attack-on-murray.html), we have ARI's Yaron Brook explaining why they are doing more things with libertarians nowadays, unlike in the past when they were verboten. He says libertarians are more reasonable now, less crazy/Rothbardian/anarchist. That's not my impression at all.
  However it is odd that Cato has hired a former ARI board member, John Allison, as its CEO. As noted here, http://www.patheos.com/blogs/jeremylott/2012/08/how-objectionable-is-john-allisons-objectivism/ , this stands to make Cato even worse on foreign policy, and also on IP (see my post http://c4sif.org/2012/08/does-catos-new-objectivist-ceo-john-allison-presage-retrogression-on-ip/).
  And even more oddly: last month, the heroic, plumbline, antiwar, anti-IP anarchist Sheldon Richman, editor of FEE's The Freeman for the last 15 years--well, his employment at FEE came to an end. He is no longer editor. And now, FEE is collaborating with ARI on a conference:
  http://www.fee.org/event/morality-of-capitalism/ --"MORALITY OF CAPITALISM STUDENT CONFERENCE
  "On Saturday, October 27, the Ayn Rand Institute and the Foundation for Economic Education are co-sponsoring a day-long conference Morality of Capitalism in Irvine, Ca. The conference is a unique opportunity to engage with top free market thinkers, participate in lectures and discussions, and network with other students. In addition, attendees will receive free books and three meals, and the conference will wrap up with an evening social at a nearby restaurant."
  Randroidism making a comeback...? Strange things are afoot at the Circle K.
Danger is my pronoun Name
  Link to Article
  Source: Lame Cherry
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 12:26
  Ok kiddie bumps, I know you are just like me in you have had it in the American gulag in all those blacks and whites getting their own Mexican slaves and you and I only getting to be slaves.
  Therefore I have a new policy for Mano Romney if he steals this back from Barry Chin.
  Why should all of the rich white and black folks have these Mexican slaves? They get them for their votes and for their social security wages they will never collect......and you know them white Spaniards in Mexico installed by Scytl that they got their gold mine in these workers too.Every person in the planet it seems is making out like Obama's Birther Luo slave traders from Kenya and the rest of us are getting just the bean fart.
  I move that America open season on Mexicans on this side of the border. It is simple in every American if they can catch a Mexican, that Mexican is their's for liek 7 years. Sort of indentured servants.
  Now I know there have to be rules in this. I say if someone gets like 10 Mexicans he can keep them, but can sell them to other people who are lazy.You treat the Mexicans like a good pet.........no sex, good feed and water and a nice mat to lay on.
  If Mexicans run away to Mexico, they can stay there, but if they hang around they can be shot for being illegals and escapees at large.
  Now for the real deal in this.........
  Asians are the only ones, besides those who catch a beaner who can have more than 1 Mexican. See Asians work so hard, that it will take 4 beaners to keep up with one Mongoloid. Plus we do not want these beaners getting so Asian industrialist that they work themselves to death or put themselves out of jobs, as 1 beaner doing the work of an Asian is ........well we would not need 3/4's of the Mexicans.
  Blacks can't have a beaner, but they can borrow one as we do not want Mexicans turning into Obama pretending he is a black man.
  Whites can have 1 beaner on 1 to 1 ration, providing they did not vote for Obama, as we do not want Mexicans who are insane and collect welfare.
  Say like Michelle Malkin has 4 beaners under her porch. Jesse Jackson jr. can phone her up and borrow one to mow his lawn or like wash his car......if he feeds them and lets them rinse off with the hose before the beaner is brought back.
  Now that should please all the American slaves, as nothing perks up a gulag slave than like having a slave of their own. Is why Obama loves making slaves by the billions.......makes him feel good.
  To make things good, really good though, I say we invade north Mexico as I advocated and take it over..........no Mormons though as Romney's wife snatchers only went south for pussy and when the banditos showed up they all ran back to Texas for welfare.So I say let's arm some million Americans and give them the title of Don El Amerixo and give them land, and then all these trained beaners by Michelle Malkin can be shipped back in 7 years in learning things and not being beaners any more.
  We arm them with guns and hoes, and make them like the quasi territories of America, and cut them loose to make Mexico land of the former peon and home of the former beaner.
  It is just a win win........all those American after Obama need a 7 year rest, and what better way than to liberate Romney and Obama's Mexican slaves, and make them democratic slaves in the poor folks will have their own slaves too. They can rest and the Mexicans can learn to work like Asians and white people, and blacks too who feel inclined to wash the lawn or mow the car once a week.This really will help Mexicans as this Mormon Obama slave trade has only taught cowardice and slovenness. You never hear a Mexican say, "I want to grow up to be a black Mormon"......and children, you know there is a reason why for that.
  This Mexican situation is now solved, and Jeb Bush can now go back to plotting to be president in 2016 if that fat goblets on his face are not covering his eyes, as that boy is quite porker........looks like Pepe when he got into the sow feed and she went all starvation razor back as the beaner at all the hog chow.
  Remember you heard it here first and this blog is always the last word on any subject.
  agtG
The Fuck Stops Here
  Link to Article
  Source: Lame Cherry
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 12:12
  Fraud is an illegitimate thing.
  When one has nothing but frauds, one has nothing but bastardized truth which is deception which is lies, which is the spawn of satan, for that is the father of lies.
  When the establishment conservatives suddenly seize upon the exclusives of this blog and still remain too pansy to actuall say the words in ANALGATE over Chris Stevens and others murder, it is no different than Mark Levin taking years to utter the world MARXIST concerning B. Hussein or taking 6 weeks to come to the conclusion in his cowardice that the Gulf Gusher was deliberate sabotage by the regime to shut down American oil production.
  This blog has led the way in ALL OF THIS. It has been banned from posting comment on World Tribune after Robert Morton requested me to write an editorial.
  None of this is any different that Daniel Pipes coming to the "conclusion" on subjects after I posted on this site the same thing weeks prior. I have been banned from Huffington Post, Front Page and yes that Tony Wiener, Noel the Coward Shepherd thought he too could come in and bash around a woman who called him out on saying Sarah Palin liked political rape, with his chumster Camille Paglia.
  It is all the same my children from Rush Limbaugh plagiarising this blog, to the use of this blog by World Net Daily. The machinations of this established machine goes from top to bottom in these homosexual honeys have me doing the heavy work and then they like their brat commenters rip this blog ON THE FIELD I CLEARED in removing racism, homophobia and the untouchable Obama, so they are not having federal police banging on their doors to shut them up, the way Lawrence Sinclair experienced in 2008.I promised I would never forget that American and I never will stop making note of what Obama, Greta and the rest did to him in making him a political prisoner in America like Lt. Col. Terry Lakin.
  You have this field, because this blog did the dirty work. Because this blog took the mines out in stating the rude and profane things in driving back these thugs and exposing their crimes. By God's Grace this was accomplished, and it included stomping Rush Limbaugh into losing radio stations and exposing his lies about biofuels which if America did not have alchohol fuels as George W. Bush created, you would be burning 7 dollar a gallon gas right now, funding trillions more in 9 11 events.
  Where this foundation or prelude is going is important as Ambassador Chris Stevens and his gay entourage were murdered in mass with anal rape. These frauds like Mike Gallagher the happy consevative, can whisper about it being bigger than Watergate in the murders, but they can not as cowards say the word ANALGATE as broken by this blog.
  Gallagher will champion that liberal fraud Obama voter from FOX in Chris Wallace in taking on Adolf Axelrod spinning Romney was using ANALGATE as a political event, but the problem is when Axelrod was spewing about "let the investigation take it's course" all Wallace could do was shout..............
  Hey Chris Wallace you Obama voter, how about calmly just stating the fact in, "Mr. Axelrod what investigation, in you took 2 weeks to get the FBI into Libya and only as far as Tripoli. There is no investigation, but a cover up of your regime's crimes which FOX has been a part of in your blackmailing Rupert Murdoch and taking away his media empire!"
  That is the fact my children and it was broken here as thee only new stories which have been broken for the past 4 years have been broken here from Stuxnetgate to now Analgate.
  If you want the connect the dots it is simple. Stevens wanted security. He applied to Hillary Clinton, who denied it, so that a hostage even would take place that she had intelligence puff lip rumors on to tie this directly to Barack Hussein Jimmy Carter as in 1980 to bring down Obama, as the Clinton's are in bed with Mitt Romney for his win, so Hillary can win in 2016 as she does not want to face Jeb "clinton skeleton's in the closet" Bush.Hillary knew what was up, and helped set up the hostage taking. Of course as was reported here, Obama thought it was going to be hostages taken, and then rescued before the first debate for his to seal the election theft.
  Problem was the Obama al Qaeda is a bastard lot like him, and they sold out. You can not keep secrets in the Middle East as Ronald Reagan found out in Iran Contra. Every damn one of those merchants is a gossip and sells out their own sex partner camel for a bowl of couscous.
  This is Russian Roulette in a Mexican stand off and I informed all of you about this, as they are all dirty and all shooting at each other, and Chris Stevens gets anal raped and mass murdered, and Hillary was plotting something and got screwd on it, Obama was plotting something and got screwed on it and then there is Romney in the Casey Associates who got wind of this nightmare and "for the cause" were doing a non hostage rescue but release as in 1980 like Iran to benefit Romney as it helped bring down Obama.All blew up because it was Muslim murderers involved, and the Casey Associates went in and shot the entire lot with a mixed bag of civilian and military enforcers.
  This is what ANALGATE is. Muslim Obama playing with his terrorists for an election theft. Hillary angling for 2016. The Cowboys getting into the mix as everyone knew Obama was behind this hostage taking, and the Marxist mullahs raping a sodomite Ambassador who had no business ever being stationed in a Muslim nation, no more than his gay parade being put into this situation where a mass murder took place.
  It is pathetic in Chris Steven's father being quoted by Adolf Axelrod in his not liking his son being politicized. Perhaps the reality is a father should be marching like Cindy Sheehan not in BUSH LIED PEOPLE DIED, but in THE F*CK STOPS HERE at the gates of the Obama occupation of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
  Until these pansy fraud conservatives get off their asses and just follow this blog in stating what this story is in ANALGATE to bestow on it the bestial nature of this heinous crime, they are as has been since Day One, nothing but enablers of this criminal Obama regime, now being blackmailed by most the countries in the Middle East costing you billions of dollars over this ANALGATE.
  Oh yes, Sean Hannity, Mr. Abyss, that defination came from this blog too, but you rich bastards of Mockingbird can not quote what goes on here or else everyone is going to know what frauds you are from top to bottom on the right and the left.
  This is no Harry Truman fraud in his giving away central Europe, the atomic bomb and China in claiming THE BUCK STOPS HERE. No this is the Obama equal in giving away central Europe, giving Iran the atomic bomb and Asia to China in electioneering THE FUCK STOPS HERE, as this all comes from the Barack Hussein Obama desk, and every Mike Gallagher conservative is there holding down the American Virgin to be raped as the Adolf Axelrods provide the whips and chains and broom handles.
  Come on Chris Wallace, Mike Gallagher, big mouth Mark Levin, how about doing your satan cursed jobs you Faustian Freeloaders in someone asking the obvious in the pattern..........
  Gee John Roberts looks like he was blackmailed for Obamacare.
  Gee FBI Director Mueller has been absent for 4 years of Obama crimes and his FBI was kept out of Libya so the crime scene could be wiped clean, but CNN could get into the anal diaries with Teabagger Anderson Cooper.
  Amazing how those facts are never brought up except here.
  .........or is it, there is so much blackmail dirt that all these Obama enablers just never find the stories, until months after they are broken here first.
  That is the Barack Hussein Obama legacy. The Fuck Starts Here. The Fuck Stops Here and his rapist mob on the Chris Matthews left and Rush Limbaugh right are gagging the Virgin so the electorate will not call the FBI on these crimes.
  For all of the frauds who do not like the f word or profanity, and have used it more than this blog ever has, just remember your profane natures hiding in Christianity, sodomy or liberalism, and how not defining Barack Obama in ANALGATE is only getting more people murdered daily around this globe.
  The f*cking all starts and stops with each of you as you protect your piles of money in your fraud jobs parroting your puppet masters stories, all so you can go home at night and lie about how much better you are than the rest of the mob.
  agtG 260Y
Barack Obama and Mitt Romney's Economic Plan -- New York Magazine
  Link to Article
  Source: Dave Winer's linkblog feed
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 11:46
  (Photo: Christopher Anderson)
  If you ask Barack Obama or Mitt Romney, or merely wander in front of a television when they are speaking, they will confidently tell you the same thing: This election poses a fundamental choice to America. And they are right. America is struggling to pull out of its deepest economic crisis in 80 years. The past four years have unleashed a raw, bitter war over economic class, our social obligation to the poor and sick, and the basic sustainability of the modern state that has existed since Franklin Roosevelt. Various events have conspired to compress the decisive battles of the war into a brief period at the beginning of the next year, in what will likely be an atmosphere of economic crisis. ''2013,'' says Paul Ryan, correctly, ''is the magic year that determines how all this gets resolved.''
  But when you press the candidates to explain just how it is they could escape the muck that has ensnared Obama the past two years, they descend into mushy platitudes. Romney promises ''leadership in Washington that will actually bring people together and get the job done, and could not care less if it's a Republican or a Democrat'''--at most a mild Republican retreat from Obama's aggressive reforms, or perhaps even a reprise of Romney's often liberal tenure in Massachusetts. Obama, for his part, has offered up an even less plausible scenario, which is that, even though Republicans in Congress responded to his 2008 victory by becoming even more radical than they were under George W. Bush, winning a second election will beat the crazy out of them and usher in a new era of legislative compromise and good feelings.
  It seems natural to conclude from all this vapid, buoyant patter that neither candidate has a plausible blueprint to avoid political gridlock, and that, whoever wins, the stalemate of the past two years will grind on into the next four. President Obama would still likely face a Republican House, and President Romney a Senate in which Democrats can mount a filibuster. Yet all the signs suggest both candidates do have strategies in mind to prod the creaky machinery of Washington to life and effect the dramatic change they vaguely but ardently promise. In fact, shortly after the next Inaugural Ball'--perhaps very, very shortly after'--the great stalemate between socialism and social Darwinism will break open and likely turn decisively in one direction or the other.
  For different reasons, the candidates cannot openly describe these plans to the voters. But the clues are everywhere.
  Let's first imagine that, on January 20, Romney takes the oath of office. Of the many secret post-victory plans floating around in the inner circles of the campaigns, the least secret is Romney's intention to implement Paul Ryan's budget. The Ryan budget has come to be almost synonymous with the Republican Party agenda, and Romney has embraced it with only slight variations. It would repeal Obamacare, cut income-tax rates, turn Medicare for people under 55 years old into subsidized private insurance, increase defense spending, and cut domestic spending, with especially large cuts for Medicaid, food stamps, and other programs targeted to the very poor.
  Few voters understand just how rapidly Romney could achieve this, rewriting the American social compact in one swift stroke. Ryan's plan has never attracted Democratic support, but it is not designed for bipartisanship. Ryan deliberately built it to circumvent a Senate filibuster, stocking the plan with budget legislation that is allowed, under Senate ''budget reconciliation'' procedures, to pass with a simple majority. Republicans have been planning the mechanics of the vote for many months, and Republican insiders expect Romney to use reconciliation to pass the bill. Republicans would still need to control 50 votes in the Senate (Ryan, as vice-president, would cast the tiebreaking vote), but if Romney wins the presidency, he'll likely precipitate a partywide tail wind that would extend to the GOP's Senate slate.
  One might suppose that at least a handful of Republicans might blanch at the prospect of reshaping the entire face of government unilaterally. But Ryan's careful organizing of the party agenda has all taken place with this vote as the end point, and with the clear goal of sidestepping any such objection. When Republicans won control of Congress during the 2010 elections, Ryan successfully lobbied the party to take a vote on his budget plan the following April. The plan stood no chance of passage (given Obama's certain veto) and exposed dozens of vulnerable House members to withering attacks over its unpopular provisions. So why hold a vote carrying huge potential risk and no chance of immediate success? So Ryan could get the party on record supporting his plan, depriving quiet dissidents of any future excuse to defect should the real vote come in 2013.
Oak Ridge researchers prove Fukushima Unit 4 spent fuel pool NEVER a danger
  Link to Article
  Source: Atomic Insights
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 11:42
  The temperature in the Fukushima Daiichi Unit 4 spent fuel pool never exceeded 90 degrees C and the level in the pool never fell below the top of the used fuel that was stored there. The Chairman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the people who supported his testimony to Congress on the afternoon of March 16, 2011 were dead wrong.
  He swore to the world that the pool was dry and the fuel was burning. His recommendation to evacuate all Americans who were within 50 miles of the facility caused intense embarrassment for one of America's strongest allies and slowed the development of the only technology with the proven capability of supplying reliable power anywhere and everywhere on earth without releasing greenhouse gases. Jaczko's testimony was the seed of a continuing campaign of misinformation about the conditions in the unit 4 spent fuel pool.
  Chairman Jaczko's announcement of the spent fuel pool fire and his evacuation recommendations were based on sketchy information, faulty logic, and poor assumptions about the physical behavior of simple materials like steel and water.
  Those are the conclusions that should have been announced upon completion of a paper titled Study of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Unit 4 Spent-Fuel Pool. Instead, the research team of Dean Wang, Ian C. Gauld, Graydon L. Yoder, Larry J. Ott, George F. Flanagan, Matthew W. Francis, Emilian L. Popov, Juan J. Carbajo, Prashant K. Jain, John C. Wagner, and Jess C. Gehin completed their paper in December 2011 and submitted it to the peer review process for Nuclear Technology. That process involves no sense of urgency or understanding of the important political aspects of this particular topic.The paper was accepted for publication in January 2012; the people who reviewed determined that it was accurate. There must be quite a queue of papers waiting for publication at Nuclear Technology; the paper has finally been published in the November 2012 issue of the journal and is available for subscribers or for individual purchase (for a bargain price of just $30.00) on the web. I suspect that it is fated to be greeted with silence instead of the loud acclaim I believe it deserves.
  The paper authors have done little to draw attention to their important work, hiding their conclusions in dry scientific language full of acronyms and passive voice that requires reference to other sources for full understanding of what they are trying to say. Here is the abstract:
  A study on the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station spent-fuel pool (SFP) at Unit 4 (SFP4) is presented in this paper. We discuss the design characteristics of SFP4 and its decay heat load in detail and provide a model that we developed to estimate the SFP evaporation rate based on the SFP temperature. The SFP level of SFP4 following the March 11, 2011, accident is predicted based on the fundamental conservation laws of mass and energy. Our predicted SFP level and temperatures are in good agreement with measured data and are consistent with Tokyo Electric Power Company evaluation results.
  The quote below is one of the most important paragraphs in the paper. It provides support for my assertion on March 17, 2012 that Chairman Jaczko's testimony was dangerously wrong and not based on physical realities.
  It is interesting to make some simple calculations. For example, the SFP will daily lose 2 tons of water when the SFP temperature is at 40 C. The water loss would increase to 86 tons when the SFP temperature reaches 87.5 C, which means that such an evaporation rate would take away all the decay heat of SPF4 without reaching the boiling temperature. It should be pointed out that this analysis is very important to understand the SFP temperature data collected in SFP4. SFP4 would reach the equilibrium temperature within 2 days during the loss of SFP cooling with a total decay heat of 2.28 MW. We should not expect any observable changes in the SFP temperature over a short time (days to months) during a loss-of-cooling event since the decay heat change is small. We will discuss this later in the paper.
  (Emphasis added.)
  That information should be considered in all proposed regulatory actions to improve monitoring and cooling capabilities for spent fuel pools, but I suspect it will be ignored in the battle to create the most ''conservative'' models possible.
  Here is the rather quiet conclusion from the Nuclear Technology paper.
  '... it is reasonably concluded that there would have been no large leakage in the SFP and no occurrence of fuel uncovery at any time.
  The below statement helps to explain why this paper and its important conclusions have been soft peddled.
  This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle LLC under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the U.S. Department of Energy.
  There is not usually much appetite among politically dependent funding sources for issuing clearly written materials that show that statements made by the heads of other agencies were completely wrong, especially when the person who made the false statement in the first place was backed up by the President and the Senate Majority Leader.
  Are you getting the sense that I think there is a serious need for recalibration of the perceived risk to benefit ratio for nuclear energy? Not only are the benefits of an emission free, energy dense, reliable power source understated, but the hazards from the use of the power source have been hugely overstated. Nuclear energy is capable of rapid growth, important to the prosperity of billions of human beings, and extremely safe when handled with moderate care.
Paedophilia War Royalty
  Link to Article
  Source: the tap
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 05:57
  Juliet writes -Illuminati dates approaching...November coming up. The Illuminati dates (the 1s and 2s) can only occur in 4 months of the year. Soon we will have 1.11.12 and 2.11.12, then 11.11.12 and 12.11.12. I have a particular strong feeling about 22.11.12. This is when the ones and twos are equal, but I was originally pointed here by my son (Sun). Most of November has more 1s. 12.12.12 is equal again, and 2.12.12 and 22.12.12 have more 2's. I don't know what it means, but I know it matters. The days are labelled for a reason. The third key...I have discovered two keys, the gold watery Queen Quay, and the silver King Key. Is there a third one, the master key of life itself? Qi is the Chinese word for the meridian lines through your body, that need to be in good shape for well being and health. Is it the Qi that unlocks everything? The murder of Jesus gives us clues towards this. Look where the nails have been placed. Decoding Post codes...My letter from British Gas has the last two letters of their postcode as BG. Wembley stadium is AA. That's the same last two letters as the Queen at Buckingham Palace. Clearly AA means something of major importance! We are all being carefully mapped to exactly where we live, and it has got nothing to do with delivering the post. It is very good for collecting data on how your location influences your life and health The post delivery thing is a cover story to allow it to be hidden in plain view. Cities are postal centres because they are energy centres. Cities are all built on sacred sites. See http://suliwrites.wordpress.com/2012/10/09/city-sites/The Sun on Savile...The Sun seems to be blasting out about Savile every day as the lead story, unlike some of the other papers. Today, they have shifted their position a little bit. There used to be an emphasis on the youngest victim being 13, and pictures were shown that looked as if the victims were happy and willing, as if paving the way for saying that it wasn't anything too awful really. Now the youngest victim is a 9 year old boy scout who does not look at all happy. They have also reported the necrophilia side of things. Alongside this there is a story of how fantastic Prince Harry is killing people - "the enemy" - in one of the UK wars, I forget which one. One more step, The Sun, please expose Savile as part of the global paedophilia network that includes the Royals and prime ministers and presidents. He is not an isolated one off paedophile. TAP - no chance!
Topman ExxonMobil op straat gexecuteerd na avondje uit in Brussel
  Link to Article
  Source: Een andere kijk op nieuws @infomagnl » Nieuws items
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 05:55
  Geplaatst @ 16 oktober 2012
  In Brussel is zondagavond een topman van het petrochemisch bedrijf ExxonMobil doodgeschoten op straat. Nicholas Mockford kreeg twee kogels door het hoofd toen hij rond 22 uur met zijn vrouw een Italiaans restaurant verliet.Dat meldt het Vlaamse dagblad Het Laatste Nieuws vandaag. Het slachtoffer overleed op weg naar het ziekenhuis. Zijn echtgenote werd zwaar mishandeld.Getuigen zagen naderhand twee mannen weglopen die een motorhelm droegen. De Belgische politie en justitie houden rekening met verschillende mogelijkheden, van een mislukte ontvoering tot autodiefstal.
  De politie pluist nu het doen en laten van de topman bij zijn firma uit, in de hoop een aanwijzing te vinden. ExxonMobil is het moederbedrijf van de tankstations Esso, Mobil en Exxon.
@adamcurry hier in Nederland ook http://t.co/uqWBi5Av
  Link to Article
  Source: @adamcurry - Twitter Search
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 05:54
  ma 15 okt 2012, 23:32|
  lees voorDEN HAAG - Politie en justitie moeten de bevoegdheid krijgen om vanaf een afstand in te breken op computers om zo ernstige vormen van cybercrime tegen te gaan. Dat blijkt uit een conceptbrief van minister Ivo Opstelten van Veiligheid en Justitie aan de Tweede Kamer.
  Behalve inbreken op een computer om bestanden te doorzoeken, moet de politie ook de bevoegdheid krijgen om vanaf een afstand software te installeren. Een en ander moet ook gelden voor computers die niet in Nederland staan. De brief van Opstelten is nog niet naar de Tweede Kamer gestuurd.
  'žPolitie en OM geven aan dat er allerlei vormen van criminaliteit zijn die zich aan het zicht van politie en OM onttrekken omdat zij niet de bevoegdheid hebben om een computer te mogen binnendringen'', schrijft Opstelten in de brief die door nu.nl op internet is gezet. Nu mag de politie - in tegenstelling tot bijvoorbeeld de AIVD - niet inbreken op computers, aldus nu.nl.
  De politie moet wat Opstelten betreft ook de bevoegdheid krijgen om bestanden op afstand te blokkeren of te vernietigen, bijvoorbeeld bij kinderporno.
  (C) 1996-2012 Telegraaf Media Nederland | Landelijke Media B.V., Amsterdam.Alle rechten voorbehouden.e-mail: redactie-i@telegraaf.nlPrivacy | Cookies | Disclaimer
DSK's "Eyes Wide Shut" Lifestyle Exposed
  Link to Article
  Source: Zero Hedge
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 03:19
  Submitted by Mike Krieger of Liberty Blitzkrieg blog,
  It has been my contention for a very long time now, that the reason most people in positions of power do absolutely nothing for the good of their respective societies even in the face of total systemic collapse is not simply greed, corruption and stupidity. They are totally compromised.
  As we see in this amazing article from the NY Times, former IMF head, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, lived a decadent lifestyle straight out of Stanley Kubrick's final film Eyes Wide Shut (which was clearly a warning about the perversion rampant within the elite class). I am not judging his lifestyle so much as saying that when the most powerful leaders in the financial world are behaving like this they are incapable of ever doing the right thing because they are compromised and can be blackmailed into anything. I will allow these quotes from the article speak for themselves.
  That defense and the investigation, which is facing a critical judicial hearing in late November, have offered a keyhole view into a clandestine practice in certain powerful circles of French society: secret soirees with lawyers, judges, police officials, journalists and musicians that start with a fine meal and end with naked guests and public sex with multiplepartners. (Sounds like a description of the Bilderberg group!)
  The exclusive orgies called ''parties fines'' '-- lavish Champagne affairs costing around $13,000 each '-- were organized as a roving international circuit from Paris to Washington by businessmen seeking to ingratiate themselves with Mr. Strauss-Kahn. Some of that money, according to a lawyer for the main host, ultimately paid for prostitutes because of a shortage of women at the mixed soirees orchestrated largely for the benefit of Mr. Strauss-Kahn, who sometimes sought sex with three or four women.
  At L'Aventure, Mr. Strauss-Kahn and a few friends gathered in a private basement club, carpeted in purple and black tiger stripes, with a female Belgian escort and Mr. Alderweireld's companion, B(C)atrice Legrain, who recalled that lunch in an interview.
  The investigation into the prostitution ring in Lille ultimately swept up 10 suspects, including Mr. Strauss-Kahn. They knew each other largely through their membership as French Freemasons, according to Karl Vandamme, a defense lawyer who represents Fabrice Paszkowski, the owner of a medical supply company who played a crucial role in organizing the sex parties.
  Ladies and gentlemen, you have been introduced to the leaders of the free world... and we are supposed to believe the IMF is going to save us?
  Full article here.
  Average:Your rating: NoneAverage: 4.9(13 votes)
Why Exxon Is More Interested In The Caspian Than The Gulf Of Mexico - Forbes
  Link to Article
  Source: Interesting News Items
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 03:17
  Why Exxon Is More Interested In The Caspian Than The Gulf Of Mexico - Forbes:'via Blog this'
Debt Slavery '' Why It Destroyed Rome, Why It Will Destroy Us Unless It's Stopped
  Link to Article
  Source: Set You Free News
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 03:17
  Pages: 123
  by MICHAEL HUDSON | Counter Punch
  Book V of Aristotle's Politics describes the eternal transition of oligarchies making themselves into hereditary aristocracies '' which end up being overthrown by tyrants or develop internal rivalries as some families decide to ''take the multitude into their camp'' and usher in democracy, within which an oligarchy emerges once again, followed by aristocracy, democracy, and so on throughout history.
  Debt has been the main dynamic driving these shifts '' always with new twists and turns. It polarizes wealth to create a creditor class, whose oligarchic rule is ended as new leaders (''tyrants'' to Aristotle) win popular support by cancelling the debts and redistributing property or taking its usufruct for the state.
  Since the Renaissance, however, bankers have shifted their political support to democracies. This did not reflect egalitarian or liberal political convictions as such, but rather a desire for better security for their loans. As James Steuart explained in 1767, royal borrowings remained private affairs rather than truly public debts. For a sovereign's debts to become binding upon the entire nation, elected representatives had to enact the taxes to pay their interest charges.
  By giving taxpayers this voice in government, the Dutch and British democracies provided creditors with much safer claims for payment than did kings and princes whose debts died with them. But the recent debt protests from Iceland to Greece and Spain suggest that creditors are shifting their support away from democracies. They are demanding fiscal austerity and even privatization sell-offs.
  This is turning international finance into a new mode of warfare. Its objective is the same as military conquest in times past: to appropriate land and mineral resources, also communal infrastructure and extract tribute. In response, democracies are demanding referendums over whether to pay creditors by selling off the public domain and raising taxes to impose unemployment, falling wages and economic depression. The alternative is to write down debts or even annul them, and to re-assert regulatory control over the financial sector.
  Near Eastern rulers proclaimed clean slates for debtors to preserve economic balanceCharging interest on advances of goods or money was not originally intended to polarize economies. First administered early in the third millennium BC as a contractual arrangement by Sumer's temples and palaces with merchants and entrepreneurs who typically worked in the royal bureaucracy, interest at 20 per cent (doubling the principal in five years) was supposed to approximate a fair share of the returns from long-distance trade or leasing land and other public assets such as workshops, boats and ale houses.
  As the practice was privatized by royal collectors of user fees and rents, ''divine kingship'' protected agrarian debtors. Hammurabi's laws (c. 1750 BC) cancelled their debts in times of flood or drought. All the rulers of his Babylonian dynasty began their first full year on the throne by cancelling agrarian debts so as to clear out payment arrears by proclaiming a clean slate. Bondservants, land or crop rights and other pledges were returned to the debtors to ''restore order'' in an idealized ''original'' condition of balance. This practice survived in the Jubilee Year of Mosaic Law in Leviticus 25.
  The logic was clear enough. Ancient societies needed to field armies to defend their land, and this required liberating indebted citizens from bondage. Hammurabi's laws protected charioteers and other fighters from being reduced to debt bondage, and blocked creditors from taking the crops of tenants on royal and other public lands and on communal land that owed manpower and military service to the palace.
  In Egypt, the pharaoh Bakenranef (c. 720-715 BC, ''Bocchoris'' in Greek) proclaimed a debt amnesty and abolished debt-servitude when faced with a military threat from Ethiopia. According to Diodorus of Sicily (I, 79, writing in 40-30 BC), he ruled that if a debtor contested the claim, the debt was nullified if the creditor could not back up his claim by producing a written contract. (It seems that creditors always have been prone to exaggerate the balances due.) The pharaoh reasoned that ''the bodies of citizens should belong to the state, to the end that it might avail itself of the services which its citizens owed it, in times of both war and peace. For he felt that it would be absurd for a soldier '... to be haled to prison by his creditor for an unpaid loan, and that the greed of private citizens should in this way endanger the safety of all.''
  The fact that the main Near Eastern creditors were the palace, temples and their collectors made it politically easy to cancel the debts. It always is easy to annul debts owed to oneself. Even Roman emperors burned the tax records to prevent a crisis. But it was much harder to cancel debts owed to private creditors as the practice of charging interest spread westward to Mediterranean chiefdoms after about 750 BC. Instead of enabling families to bridge gaps between income and outgo, debt became the major lever of land expropriation, polarizing communities between creditor oligarchies and indebted clients. In Judah, the prophet Isaiah (5:8-9) decried foreclosing creditors who ''add house to house and join field to field till no space is left and you live alone in the land.''
  Creditor power and stable growth rarely have gone together. Most personal debts in this classical period were the product of small amounts of money lent to individuals living on the edge of subsistence and who could not make ends meet. Forfeiture of land and assets '' and personal liberty '' forced debtors into bondage that became irreversible. By the 7th century BC, ''tyrants'' (popular leaders) emerged to overthrow the aristocracies in Corinth and other wealthy Greek cities, gaining support by cancelling the debts. In a less tyrannical manner, Solon founded the Athenian democracy in 594 BC by banning debt bondage.
  But oligarchies re-emerged and called in Rome when Sparta's kings Agis, Cleomenes and their successor Nabis sought to cancel debts late in the third century BC. They were killed and their supporters driven out. It has been a political constant of history since antiquity that creditor interests opposed both popular democracy and royal power able to limit the financial conquest of society '' a conquest aimed at attaching interest-bearing debt claims for payment on as much of the economic surplus as possible.
  When the Gracchi brothers and their followers tried to reform the credit laws in 133 BC, the dominant Senatorial class acted with violence, killing them and inaugurating a century of Social War, resolved by the ascension of Augustus as emperor in 29 BC.
  Rome's creditor oligarchy wins the Social War, enslaves the population and brings on a Dark AgeMatters were more bloody abroad. Aristotle did not mention empire building as part of his political schema, but foreign conquest always has been a major factor in imposing debts, and war debts have been the major cause of public debt in modern times. Antiquity's harshest debt levy was by Rome, whose creditors spread out to plague Asia Minor, its most prosperous province. The rule of law all but disappeared when publican creditor ''knights'' arrived. Mithridates of Pontus led three popular revolts, and local populations in Ephesus and other cities rose up and killed a reported 80,000 Romans in 88 BC. The Roman army retaliated, and Sulla imposed war tribute of 20,000 talents in 84 BC. Charges for back interest multiplied this sum six-fold by 70 BC.
  Among Rome's leading historians, Livy, Plutarch and Diodorus blamed the fall of the Republic on creditor intransigence in waging the century-long Social War marked by political murder from 133 to 29 BC. Populist leaders sought to gain a following by advocating debt cancellations (e.g., the Catiline conspiracy in 63-62 BC). They were killed. By the second century AD about a quarter of the population was reduced to bondage. By the fifth century Rome's economy collapsed, stripped of money. Subsistence life reverted to the countryside.
  Creditors find a legalistic reason to support parliamentary democracyWhen banking recovered after the Crusades looted Byzantium and infused silver and gold to review Western European commerce, Christian opposition to charging interest was overcome by the combination of prestigious lenders (the Knights Templars and Hospitallers providing credit during the Crusades) and their major clients '' kings, at first to pay the Church and increasingly to wage war. But royal debts went bad when kings died. The Bardi and Peruzzi went bankrupt in 1345 when Edward III repudiated his war debts. Banking families lost more on loans to the Habsburg and Bourbon despots on the thrones of Spain, Austria and France.
  Pages: 123
Hillary Clinton takes responsibility for Libya embassy attack
  Link to Article
  Source: The Guardian World News
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 03:09
  Hillary Clinton arrives in Peru where she said any failings regarding the security of the US embassy in Libya were her responsibility. Photograph: AFP/Andina/Getty
  Hillary Clinton has taken responsibility for the deadly security breach at the US diplomatic mission in Benghazi, saying the buck stopped with her and not the White House.
  The secretary of state took the blame in an interview to CNN on Monday night in what will be seen as an attempt to deflect Republican attacks on Barack Obama over the affair on the eve of the second presidential debate.
  "I take responsibility," she said in Lima, Peru, in her first interview about the 11 September attack that killed the US ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, and three other Americans.
  "I'm in charge of the state department's 60,000-plus people all over the world [at] 275 posts. The president and the vice-president wouldn't be knowledgeable about specific decisions that are made by security professionals [who are] the ones who weigh all of the threats and the risks and the needs and make a considered decision."
  Mitt Romney's campaign has hammered the administration over the security breach and its different explanations of how it happened. Romney is expected to continue the line of attack in Tuesday's debate.
  The issue gained traction during last week's vice-presidential debate when Joe Biden said the White House had been unaware of requests to bolster security at the consulate. That appeared to contradict testimony from state department officials who said requests had been made and rejected.
  A diplomatic cable presented to a congressional oversight and government reform committee tasked with investigating the affair showed that Stevens asked the state department for an additional 11 security personnel weeks before the attack. Republicans have demanded the administration reveal who knew what and when, saying there was a lack of transparency and that the attack showed the failure of Obama's Middle East foreign policy.
  On Sunday David Axelrod, a key member of the president's inner circle, said Romney was "working hard to exploit the issue" for political gain.
  Clinton's remarks on Monday tried to draw the fire by saying neither Obama nor Biden was involved in the decision. "I want to avoid some kind of political gotcha," she said, shortly after arriving in Lima for a conference on women and entrepreneurship.
  Commentators said it was an attempt to shield the president. "This was a purely political move to give Obama breathing room tomorrow night. That's it," said therightscoop.com.
  The secretary of state rebuffed criticism that administration officials continued to depict the attack as a spontaneous backlash against an anti-Islam film even after evidence emerged showing it was planned beforehand by a radical, well-armed group.
  In the immediate aftermath of such events there was always "confusion" and "fog of war", Clinton said. She described an "intense, long ordeal" for staffers at the state department on the night of the attack as they struggled to find out what was happening and respond.
  Clinton said her mission now was to make sure such an attack never happened again but that diplomacy, even in perilous parts of the Arab world, must continue. "We can't not engage," she said. "We cannot retreat."
RSS.app '-- Real Simple RSS
  Link to Article
  Source: Dave Winer's linkblog feed
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 03:07
  What is RSS.app?RSS.app is the ideal tool for the casual RSS user. The app is almost invisible: It is embedded in the status menu and uses Mountain Lion's Notification Center to alert you of new posts.
  You can use RSS.app to import your existing list of RSS feeds from Apple Mail '-- even after you've updated to Mountain Lion.
  It's like having native RSS functionality built into the operating system (again)!
  ScreenshotsYou get the picture!
  Getting itDownload it here: RSS.app.zip (1.0)
  Unfortunately Apple rejected the app due to it 'being too simple', so you won't find RSS.app in the App Store for now... I hope they will change their mind. It would make distributing any updates much easier.
  Suggestions?I'd love to hear your thoughts on RSS.app. Do you have any ideas for improvements? Let me know at support@rssapplication.com. Just keep in mind that the goal of RSS.app is to be the most minimal RSS reader out there. If you follow lots of feeds that get updated many times a day, you might want to consider a full fledged reader like NetNewsWire.
  Help, my feed doesn't work!Don't panic! First, verify if your RSS feed is valid using the W3C Feed Validation Service. If the feed is not valid, contact the webmaster responsible for the feed. If the feed is valid, then send me a link of the feed at support@rssapplication.com and I'll check it out. Thanks!
  About RSS.AppRSS.app is developed by Joost Schuttelaar, to 'scratch my own itch' after losing RSS functionality in Apple Mail. RSS.app makes use of the great RSSKit.
The "Obama Phone" Lady Makes it Into an Anti-Obama PAC Ad
  Link to Article
  Source: Dave Winer's linkblog feed
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 03:07
  Unless you consume a lot of conservative media, you might not have seen the "Obama phone" video that led the Drudge Report in September. An Ohio voter, a black woman, thanked the president for giving her a phone. Some quick follow-up reporting revealed the bland truth that this free phone program began decades ago. But for a certain sort of voter, it was indeliable.
  And now it's going to appear in a TV ad. The Tea Party Victory Fund, a new Super PAC, has clipped the video, added a black and white filter, and asked possible donors to help air it in Ohio.
  The pitch is written by the Fund's titular chairman Ken Blackwell, Ohio's former secretary of state -- and, important for the messaging here, a black man.
  This is it-- this is the October surprise. We just need to get this ad on television today.Will you help us?
  This commercial is a microcosm of the difference between Republicans and Democrats. Republicans want to create an environment where free people make their own choices and pursue their dreams. President Obama and the Democrats want to create a dependency on Government that ensures that Americans will continue to rely on Washington from cradle to grave.
  What this lady said is so offensive because it's so blatant--she finally comes out and says what we all know that the Democrats really think. That's why this ad is so damaging to the President here in Ohio.
  Let me tell you something, I'm from Ohio -- I was elected statewide as the Secretary of State, and Ohio State Treasurer--this ad is effective. If swing voters in this state see this ad, they simply will not support President Obama, and he will lose Ohio.
  The ad's going up first in Lucas, Summit, and Mahoning counties.
It's NOT Always About You
  Link to Article
  Source: Dave Winer's linkblog feed
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 03:01
  Last week two friends came to pick up some pears from my tree and they happened to cross paths. I've known both of them for more than 20 years; one more than thirty. Naturally they've seen each other from time to time at my (ever more infrequent) gatherings and dinner parties. The two exchanged warm hellos and briefly caught each other up on main life events.As I handed over the pears one friend had to leave, said goodbye to us both, and left out the front door. The other friend looked at me and said, "did you see this? We're dressed exactly the same!!"
  I got up and turned around (there's a mirror on the wall) and we stood there, side by side, sure enough, "brown long sleeve shirts, jeans, black vests, black shoes... Look at us!" and we burst out laughing. It's funny because we are both 43 year old newly divorced moms who have been friends since Girl Scouts and somehow continually reflect each other - right down to the clothes we wear.
  She stayed a while longer then had to run off to get her kids.
  Fast forward three days and I receive a call from the first friend - the one who left early. "I wasn't out the door two seconds before you girls started making fun of me!!"
  "Huh? What are you talking about?" - me.
  "There is NOTHING WRONG WITH A BROWN SHIRT!" he yelled, "I heard what you were saying - those windows were wide open! You should be ashamed."
  After I recovered from my bewilderment and figured out what he was talking about I told him he had misunderstood and reiterated the actual conversation.
  He was silent for a moment, then said, "I've been feeling bad for two days thinking you were making fun of me."
  .... "How are you enjoying the pears?"
Kudlow Debate: Benghazi Fallout?
  Link to Article
  Tue, 16 Oct 2012 02:59
  Mon 15 Oct 12 | 07:34 PM ET This term does not appear
  Click text to jump within video
  Mon 15 Oct 12 | 07:34 PM ETPresident Obama and Mitt Romney are set to debate Tuesday night. CNBC's Larry Kudlow is hosting his own debate, with Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), and Representative Jason Chaffetz (R-UT).
UKIP Nigel Farage says Conservative PM David Cameron hiding massive budget deficit - Oct 2012
  Link to Article
  Source: Uploads by ukipmedia
  Mon, 15 Oct 2012 23:01
Staying Safe Online
  Link to Article
  Source: White House.gov Blog Feed
  Mon, 15 Oct 2012 22:48
  Michael DanielOctober 15, 201204:04 PM EDT
  We depend on the Internet and digital tools for many aspects of our daily lives. This fundamental reliance is why our digital infrastructure is a strategic national asset, and why today I joined leaders from the Department of Homeland Security, members of Congress, and leaders from across New York and financial world to support National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM) and the Stop.Think.Connect. Campaign.
  This month, we recognize the role we all play in ensuring our information and communications infrastructure is interoperable, secure, reliable, and open to all. NCSAM reminds us that being safer and more secure online is a shared responsibility. That's why, during the month of October we pay special attention to ''Achieving Cybersecurity Together.''
  While increased connectivity has enormous benefits, it has also increased the importance and complexity of our shared risk. Many of our lives depend on technology, which makes cybersecurity one of our country's most important national security priorities. Our economy and critical infrastructure depend upon the Internet, as nearly all public and private sector entities conduct business and store critical data on Internet-connected networks.
  Emerging cyber threats require engagement from the entire American community. This morning, I met with public and private leaders from the financial sector '' individuals in the vanguard for securing our online banking systems, financial transactions and e-commerce. This afternoon, I'll engage with the U.S. Secret Service's Electronic Crimes Task Force to examine law enforcement's coordinated efforts to combat cybercrime. Cybersecurity is a shared responsibility, from government and law enforcement to the private sector and members of the public, working together to create a safe, secure, and resilient cyber environment.
  We know it only takes a single infected computer to potentially infect thousands and perhaps millions of others. It's our goal to make basic cybersecurity practices as reflexive as putting on a seatbelt '' using antivirus software, being careful which websites you visit, not opening emails or attachments that look suspicious. These basic measures can improve both our individual and our collective safety online.
  At the White House, we are committed to achieving these shared goals, and we encourage you to take a few basic steps to be more secure:
  Set strong passwords, and don't share them with anyone.Keep a clean machine '' install regular updates to your operating system, browser, and other critical software applications.Maintain an open dialogue with your family, friends, and community about Internet safety.Carefully choose the amount of personal information you post online and use privacy settings to avoid sharing information widely.Be cautious about what you receive or read online '' if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.Please help us continue to spread the word about how to stay safe online.For more information on NCSAM 2012 or the Stop.Think.Connect. Campaign, visit www.dhs.gov/national-cyber-security-awareness-month or www.dhs.gov/stopthinkconnect.
  Michael Daniel is Special Assistant to the President and Cybersecurity Coordinator
  Related Topics: Technology, New York
Trump on 'Phony' Jobs Report: Unemployment Is Really '21 Percent'
  Link to Article
  Source: Crooks and Liars
  Mon, 15 Oct 2012 22:44
  Adding one more conspiracy theory to his resume on Monday, Donald Trump suggested that President Barack Obama's team had concocted a "phony" 7.8 percent unemployment number and that the real unemployment rate could be as high as 21 percent.
  Earlier this month Former, GE CEO Jack Welch spawned a ''jobs truthers'' front after he tweeted that an unemployment rate of 7.8 percent was ''unbelievable,'' and added that the ''Chicago guys'' in Obama's campaign headquarters ''will do anything..can't debate so change numbers.''
  Trump told the hosts of Fox & Friends on Monday that Welch got it right.
  "They're not real numbers because the 7.8 [percent] -- as Jack Welch said and he took a lot of heat for saying it, but he's right -- I guarantee you're going to have a correction right after the election," the billionaire reality star explained. "The 7.8 is not a real number. The real number is 15 percent, 16 percent, people even say 21 percent."
  "So, it's a phony number," he added. "I don't know how they allow it to get out there, but I guarantee you, as you're sitting there after the election, that number is going to be corrected substantially upward. And everybody knows it."
  Trump also had some advice for Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney prior to Tuesday night's second debate with Obama.
  "I don't think he has to prepare too much," Trump explained. "He's a smart guy. He's a good leader. He has it. He gets it for this country. He really gets it. And I will say this, if Obama has a performance like he had a couple of weeks ago, I don't believe it's possible for him to win the election."
  "Who knows? Did he become more intelligent in the last two weeks? You tell me."
  (h/t: Media Matters)
Report: White House considering retaliatory Libya strike - POLITICO.com
  Link to Article
  Mon, 15 Oct 2012 22:41
  The Associated Press reports:
  Administration officials say the White House has put special operations strike forces on standby and moved drones into the skies above Africa, ready to hit militant targets from Libya to Mali, if U.S. investigators can find the al-Qaida-linked group responsible for the death of the U.S. ambassador in Libya.
  But the officials say the administration also is weighing whether the short-term payoff of being able to claim retribution against al-Qaida is worth the risk that such strikes would be ineffective and rile governments in the region.
  Details were provided by three current and one former administration official, as well as an analyst who was approached by the White House for help. All four spoke only on condition of anonymity.
  The White House would not confirm the reports.
  (Also on POLITICO: Clinton defends State on Benghazi)
  "The investigation is on-going and we have nothing new right now. As [Pentagon spokesman] George Little has briefed recently, the DoD continues to monitor the situation closely and we are ready to respond with additional military measures when directed by the president," Robert Firman, a spokesman for the Department of Defense, told POLITICO.
  Philip Ewing contributed to this report.
Here's The Full 'Memo Of Understanding' That The Obama Campaign, Romney Campaign and Commision on Presidential Debates Wanted To Keep Secret
  Link to Article
  Source: TVNewser
  Mon, 15 Oct 2012 21:02
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The Obama Gates
  Link to Article
  Source: Lame Cherry
  Mon, 15 Oct 2012 22:24
  I wonder why all these Slavic girls have been posted here.
  Lame CherryYou +1'd this publicly. Undo13 hours ago '' When this blog was Inspired to refer to the caged bird, Birdie Obama, it was being led to set the stage for the unmasking of Obama in the ...Get more results from the past 24 hoursTold ya Obama was behind ...lamecherry.blogspot.com/.../told-ya-obama-was-behind-embassy-attacks.ht...Yes my children, from Islamocommunist for Obama ...Mar 4, 2012lamecherry.blogspot.com/2012_03_04_archive.htmlChildren, this is an exclusive as you require further proofs of ...May 26, 2012lamecherry.blogspot.com/2012_05_26_archive.htmlWhen this blog exclusively pointed out that the Europeans who ...May 28, 2012lamecherry.blogspot.com/2012_05_28_archive.htmlAt times in life, one must speak French to the idiot, for savants ...May 20, 2012lamecherry.blogspot.com/2012_05_20_archive.htmlKeeping Obama around is like telling yourself that sore on your ...The Nuclear Holocaustlamecherry.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-nuclear-holocaust.htmlFor a reality check: The Israeli state is 263 miles long and from ...lamecherry - YouTubewww.youtube.com/user/lamecherryCachedYou +1'd this publicly. UndoSearch Clear. View. All activities · Recent posts · Playlists · Likes · Feed · Comments · lamecherry added to Favorites 2 months ago. Thumbnail 3:13. Watch Later ...I wonder how I post things on YouTube in favorites when I do not ever visit YouTube?Popular girls apparently have a criminal following impersonating them.
  Where was I?
  Let's do some quotes:
  Teachers in schools are psychotics as they choose the profession like pedophiles in the priesthood, but teachers have a power lust and enjoy torturing children to make up for their helplessness while growing up and never dealing with it.Lame Cherry
  On do one more as is popular to quote me:Police are now the biggest criminal segment of retirees in fabricated conditions to pad their benefits they are extorting from the masses under the guise that law enforcement is such a sacrificing profession.
  Lame Cherry
  One more:Barack Hussein Obama was behind Analgate.Lame Cherry
  Am so pleased my children you got the double entendre.Did Susan Rice have contact with Obama campaign before defending administration on Libya?
  'Cover-up of Benghazi'...
  Oooppss Analgate
  REPORT: Jesse Jackson Jr. Allegedly Misused Campaign Funds For Home Decor...
  Oooppss Jackoffgate. B. Hussein Obama has done more damage to the powerful black man than Robert Byrd with a KKK castrating knife.
  POLL: Todd Akin takes lead...
  Ooopppssss Akingate by Puffy Lips Rove and Puffy Cheeks Obama. All credit to 2013 GOP pro life Patriot Todd Akin in any further assistance this blog can provide for him to win one for Conservative America out of Missouri after his publicing lynching.When everyone else was abandoning Todd Akin, this blog went Alamo Cherry and stood the ground.
  Now for something completely Baby and the plasmas.
  In the spider trends it is a shift in the leads to the ANALGATE, European intrigue, with keeping Obama is like a sexual disease, dead Pope anchor shift to more pressing matrix events, and once again the nuclear holocaust which very well could erupt prematurely as this Obama regime implodes.
  Do not miss the analogy in this as it is scientific in nature of physics. In order to gain a nuclear reaction, one uses high exploses with numerous fast krypton triggers to simultaneously create a mass gravity force, in which compression a nuclear atomic breakdown starts and that is what makes an atomic bomb.
  Barack Hussein Obama is reaching critical mass. He only has Surprises left as the forces joining to defeat him inside the Democratic party in blacks and whites, are working with the oil barons and Wall street tycoons to steal back a Romney close shave.
  I'm warning all of you, as I have for years, that the Obama chain reaction is not going to stop with his removal from office, and it will bring terror attacks in America in the deals he worked out with al Qaeda in the dope trafficking rings. It is also going to bring about Asian hegeonomy which will have Russia and China striking for domination in the near future. Coupled with European dreams of the NeoRoman empire with the caliph Obama has created, it means the Great Eurasian War.
  Obama has more heinous crimes from Gulf Gusher, Midwest flooding, the cover up the murder of the Polish Government, bin Laden's corpse murder, Khadaffi's murder, the attempted muder of Assad in Syria, caging Mubarak and Mexican Gun Runner, that all ties into Obama's 300 million in bribes from terrorists to his campaign in 2008, that all ties this together in his October Hostage taking adventure which ended in ANALGATE.
  The plasmas are hinting at the trends in what they are hearing from the spider in the elite. The doctrines in economics found in this blog can resurrect America, but that proves America is dead, and the warning signs are all around that tragic events are about to uncoil as Barack Obama is self imploding and out of control.
  I predicted that Obama would become Joe Stalin, and he did just that in his global murder spree in Syria is his Ukraine in 30,000 Syrians are said to be dead there now.
  There all kinds of revolutions and what one is seeing the beginning of is meltdown revolution which is not hot, but is arcing in spots and no one quite understands the explosive danger in all of this as in World War I when little terror plots became the Great European War.
  The world structure has been so weakened and shattered by Mr. Obama, that it literally can become the Twin Towers now in a few charges bringing it all down as is intended.
  For those who do not realize degrees of seperation. Each of you reading this has a literal touch to the year 1800. Either your parents or grandparents were from a 1900 period. They touched people who were born in the 1850's and they touched people in parents and grandparents who were alive when Napoleon, the War of 1812, the Hong Kong Opium rings, Oz was a Botany Bay penal colony and people in Africa, Asia and the Americas were eating each other.
  Human history is very close. You touch to 1800. They touch to 1600 and they touch to Joan of Arc, King Henry etc... It all repeats in sequence. It is all the connected matrix of thought and vibration. It continues on and it sets off and there are things being set off, and if care is not taken there will be chain reactions which will not stop until this all implodes to Biblical proportions.
  All of these Mark Levin and Darrell Issa types have kept Obama around and not indicted which would have diffused this. America has lost it's free elections as has the world. Brenanke dumping money which does not exist is an Emperor with not clothes. Midas Obama is close to not turning all you children to gold, but to radioactive ash heaps.
  Utter Ruin as this blog warned of in 2009 is here in this feudal Obama global regime. Too many necessary pins have been removed by Karl puffy lips Rove in destroying Conservatives, Romney wiping out Christian Patriots and Obama annihilating the black leadership structure and latino mob structure.
  Pull this out and it all comes down like the Twin Towers.
  You better hope Todd Akin gets elected. You had better hope the Slavs can form some kind of wedge in this ring of fire to protect the west. You had better hope that the patricians put parts of the Lame Cherry doctrines into their rapine polices as if Mr. Obama is not made to behave in the next few weeks for defeat and is made to behave after defeat, this surge Obama unleashed is going to come rushing back in a reverse tsunami.
  The Obamagates are not just criminal gates, but they are gates to the matrix where all sorts of things come flooding back and through.
  One of these times that peson who keeps flipping the switches in 3 AM calls is going to have these things go off. It is the occupant of the Oval Office where the problems start.
  This is the mirey clay of Obama to the steely strength of evil in what is coming.
  agtG 241
Chrysler Opens Dealer Orders for Natural Gas Ram Pickup- Bloomberg
  Link to Article
  Mon, 15 Oct 2012 22:21
  Chrysler Opens Dealer Orders for Natural Gas Ram Pickup
  By Craig TrudellOctober 14, 2012 6:01 PM EDT
  Chrysler Group LLC, the automaker controlled by Fiat SpA (F), is making its natural gas-powered Ram pickup available for sale to retail buyers, according to the head of the company's dealership network.
  Chrysler began allowing all dealers to order the Ram 2500 Heavy Duty CNG pickup in September, Peter Grady, vice president of network development and fleet, said in an interview. Chrysler, which initially made the truck available only to fleet buyers, joins Honda Motor Co. (7267) as the only automakers selling compressed natural gas vehicles to U.S. retail consumers.
  ''The dealers have been asking for it, they've been clamoring, particularly in the natural gas states and in some of these places where you're starting to get infrastructure,'' Grady said in an interview at his office in Auburn Hills, Michigan, where Chrysler is based. States where the fuel and infrastructure are most available include California, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania, he said.
  Sergio Marchionne, chief executive officer of Chrysler and Turin, Italy-based Fiat, has argued that natural gas engines are cheaper and more viable than plug-in hybrid and electric cars. The battery-electric Fiat 500, scheduled to start production later this year, will generate losses of about $14,000 per unit sold, Marchionne said last week in London.
  ''The electric technology just isn't advanced, it's not there, and there's so much innovation that's required to make it viable,'' Grady said. ''We've got to be there in some fashion, whether it's hybrids or whatever, but right now, compressed natural gas is here.''
  Fiat is the market leader for compressed natural gas vehicles in Europe, with about 90 percent market share in Italy. Sales of vehicles fueled by natural gas and propane surged 90 percent to 114,226 vehicles through August, accounting for 11.6 percent of the market. That's up from a 4.9 percent share a year earlier.
  Under U.S. fuel-economy standards released Aug. 28, natural gas-powered vehicles were made eligible for credits aimed at reducing emissions. Chrysler testified to the Senate's Energy and Natural Resources Committee in July and advocated for parity between natural gas-powered cars and trucks and other alternative-fuel vehicles.
  Chrysler's Ram 2500 Heavy Duty CNG pickup features both compressed gas storage tanks and a conventional gasoline fuel tank, the company said in a March 6 statement. The truck, which starts at $47,500 including a $995 destination charge, is designed to go 255 miles (410 kilometers) on compressed natural gas before switching to the 8-gallon (30-liter) reserve tank, extending the range to 367 miles.
  ''Our strategy on our investment in this product was really predicated on the natural gas industry,'' Grady said. ''We came up with the truck because that's the one that they said they would like to do. They've embraced the truck.''
  Chrysler now is seeing interest beyond buyers in the natural gas industry, he said. Additional potential fleet and commercial buyers include waste and transit companies as well as airport shuttles.
  The automaker also is getting demand from states looking to add the pickup to their fleets. Chrysler said in an Oct. 5 statement that 13 of its Ram truck dealers reached contracts with 19 states to supply their fleets with the truck.
  Honda is the only automaker selling cars with compressed natural gas engines to retail customers in the U.S., with its $26,305 Civic Natural Gas sedan. The Tokyo-based automaker last week said it would offer $3,000 debit cards for customers to use toward purchasing the fuel in a promotion with Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (CLNE), the largest owner of U.S. natural gas stations.
  To contact the reporter on this story: Craig Trudell in Auburn Hills, Michigan, at ctrudell1@bloomberg.net
  To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jamie Butters at jbutters@bloomberg.net
Belgian Hackers Let You Build Circuit Boards on the Web | Wired Enterprise | Wired.com
  Link to Article
  Mon, 15 Oct 2012 22:18
  The rise of low-cost, hacker-friendly electronics is fueling a new wave of hardware hobbyists. Using programmable boards like the Arduino and dirt-chip computers like the Raspberry Pi, you can build everything from your very own supercomputers to an internet-connected beer fermentation refrigeration system.
  But Belgium startup called Circuits.io wants to take this trend even further. It wants to give you the power to build your own custom circuit boards.
  Historically, that's been expensive and difficult for hobbyists to do, but Circuits.io wants to change that by offering a web-based circuit board design system made especially for hobbyists complete with library of open source component designs. And soon it will also offer a CafePress-style print-on-demand service for circuit boards.
  The company was founded earlier this year by Schrauwen Karel Bruneel and Ben Schrauwen. Bruneel is an electrical engineering post-doc at the University of Gent and the co-creator of the Arduino-like Dwengo board. ''After his Ph.D. Larel had a void he needed to fill,'' Schrauwen explains.
  Schrauwen is a professor of machine learning and robotics at the University of Gent and the co-founder of Mollom, a spam filtering company that was acquired by Acquia last summer. ''After that, I had a void to fill as well,'' he says.
  The two have decided to fill the void in their lives by filling a void in the electronic design automation (EDA) software market. Bruneel and Schrauwen had seen how hard it was to teach circuit design to beginners using the tools already on the market. Most of these tools are meant for large electronics companies and are too complicated and expensive for hobbyists, Schrauwen says.
  Meanwhile, hobbyists are forced to design common parts of a board, such as power supplies, from scratch '-- or at least manually enter them into their design software from a schematic. In the software world, developers rely on open source libraries to avoid tediously re-creating common components. But Schrauwen says incompatibilities between different EDA applications have made it difficult to create common open source libraries for circuit boards.
  Finally, once you've finished a circuit board you'll want to have it printed. But Schrauwen says that manufacturers generally have a minimum order of 1,000 units, which makes printing boards prohibitively expensive for most hobbyists. And even those who do shell out for bulk manufacture will have to wait weeks to get their hands on the final product.
  Circuit.io is tackling all three of these problems. Its web-based design tool is aimed at hobbyists, and Schrauwen and Bruneel say they've kept it as simple as possible.
  But what's really interesting is the component library. Circuits.io already has hundreds of components that hackers can use in their projects, and users can upload and share their own designs as well. What Circuits.io is offering is actually quite a lot like GitHub, the popular host for open source software projects.
  In addition to being able to reuse components, hardware hackers will be able to ''fork'' existing ones '-- that is, make their own copy that they can modify and share. You don't even have to use the online editor '-- you can import and export designs from Eagle and another popular design program.
  Schrauwen says the online editor and the open source libraries will always be free to use '-- the company will make money through its print-on-demand service.
  Schrauwen says the reason it costs so much to produce printed circuit boards (PCBs) is that manufacturers have to do extensive testing and preparation of a design before it's put into production. But by standardizing its formats, Schrauwen says Circuits.io can eliminate most of this prep work, enabling them to send files to manufacturers that are ready to be printed.
  By cutting out these costly early steps, Circuits.io users will be able to buy a single PCB instead of 1,000 '-- and get their hands on their boards much more quickly.
  Circuits.io isn't alone in its mission. Upverter is a web-based schematics designer and online community, and Fritzing is also trying to make it cheap to produce PCBs. This movement is just getting started.
Syrian crisis: Iran asked to help secure ceasefire
  Link to Article
  Source: The Guardian World News
  Mon, 15 Oct 2012 20:04
  Members of the Free Syrian Army use a catapult to launch a homemade bomb during clashes with pro-government soldiers in Aleppo. Photograph: Asmaa Waguih/Reuters
  Iran has been asked to persuade the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, to implement a ceasefire later this month in tandem with an appeal by the UN to halt the flow of weapons to both sides in the country's bloody conflict.
  Lakhdar Brahimi, the envoy for the UN and Arab League, used a weekend visit to Iran, a loyal ally of Damascus, to appeal for help in securing a ceasefire to mark Eid al-Adha, the four-day Muslim holiday later this month. In Baghdad on Monday he called on the Iraqi government to use its influence, while Nuri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, called for a speedy "political solution".
  Brahimi said a ceasefire would "help create an environment that would allow a political process to develop", said his spokesman, Ahmad Fawzi. But Fawzi denied a report that plans were afoot to send a 3,000-strong UN peacekeeping force to Syria, drawn from an existing UN contingent in south Lebanon.
  EU officials dismissed the idea as far-fetched, because it would first require a durable ceasefire and moves towards a political transition '-- both of which have proved elusive over the 19 months of the crisis.
  It is clearly being discussed, though. Qatar's prime minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al Thani, said any such force would have to be "well-armed".
  The Syrian Network for Human Rights reported 69 people were killed in Syria on Monday, mostly in Damascus.
  Brahimi, who replaced Kofi Annan last month, was due to travel on to the Egyptian capital, Cairo, his latest stop on a regional tour aimed at forging a solution to a conflict which has claimed an estimated 30,000 lives. Last week, the Algerian diplomat met leaders in Saudi Arabia and Turkey, the two Sunni states which have been the biggest supporters of the Syrian opposition.
  Syria, meanwhile, denied it was using cluster bombs to crush the uprising. Human Rights Watch accused it of using the banned weapons and produced video evidence. Russia denied it had been supplying the munitions to Syria.
  In Luxembourg, EU foreign ministers announced a 19th round of sanctions to freeze the assets of two Syrian firms linked to chemical and biological weapons programmes and more than two dozen people from Assad's entourage.
  Britain's foreign secretary, William Hague, described the punitive measures as "a clear warning to those close to the regime that if they back Assad and commit acts of violence and torture against civilians, the international community will hold them accountable".
  Diplomats said one new element in the EU's approach was aid to "civil society" organisations on the ground inside Syria, part of a shift away from supporting the external opposition. The local co-ordination committees (LCCs) are likely to receive new help, especially in areas that are no longer under the permanent control of the Damascus government. It would, said Hague, "help build essential capacity to enable a peaceful transition". New announcements are expected shortly.
  In another development that highlighted the international complexity of the crisis, the New York Times reported that most weapons supplied to Syrian rebels by Qatar and Saudi Arabia were reaching jihadi-type or Salafi groups rather than the Free Syrian Army, which is backed by the mainstream opposition.
  A new report by the International Crisis Group, a respected thinktank, found that Syrian rebel groups were playing up their Islamist credentials by growing Salafi-type beards, for example, as a ruse to secure arms from these conservative Gulf-based donors. Groups with no ideological affiliation had begun to adopt the symbols, rhetoric '' and facial hair '' associated with Salafism for that purpose.
Vanity Fair Admits To Mistake In Bombshell Michael Jackson Funeral Story
  Link to Article
  Source: Radar Online
  Mon, 15 Oct 2012 20:02
  Splash News
  By Jen Heger - Radar Assistant Managing Editor
  Vanity Fair is admitting to making a mistake in a story in its October issue in which it claimed Janet Jackson delayed her brother Michael's funeral for several months in a dispute over money, but the magazine's admission will surely not satisfy the Nasty singer, RadarOnline.com is exclusively reporting.
  As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Janet was accused of delaying her brother Michael's funeral three years ago because she wanted a hefty deposit of $40k returned that she had put down. According to Vanity Fair, which obtained an excerpt of a new biography on the King of Pop by Randall Sullivan, "Janet put up the $40,000 deposit at Forest Lawn to secure a spot for Michael, but refused to let the funeral take place until the money was repaid."
  PHOTOS: Michael Jackson Through The Years
  Janet's lawyer demanded a full retraction of the story, and RadarOnline.com has confirmed through multiple sources that the Control singer did not delay Michael's funeral because she demanded repayment of 40k.
  Despite that fact, in a surprising turn of events, the magazine told E! News that it stands by its story and asserted that new, just-released records indicate Janet's deposit was actually 49k. "Vanity Fair stands by Randall Sullivan's assertion that Janet Jackson's demand to be reimbursed for her deposit on her brother's burial plot was one of the reasons Michael Jackson's funeral was delayed," the mag told E! News. "Sullivan's sources told him that the amount of the deposit was $40,000, but records released last week indicate that the amount of the deposit was $49,000. Vanity Fair will make that correction on VF.com."
  PHOTOS: Stage Shots of Michael Jackson Performing
  According to an updated story on Vanity Fair's website says, "a previous version of this blog post reported that the amount of Janet's deposit was $40,000. Records released last week indicate that the actual amount was $49,000."
  RadarOnline.com thoroughly reviewed court and public records in an attempt to locate the documents Vanity Fair referenced and couldn't find any. When asked to provide the "new documents," Vanity Fair spokesperson said: "I was mistaken. They were not new."
  PHOTOS: Michael Jackson's Kids: Three Years After His Death
  "Janet never attempted to delay Michael's funeral for any reason relating money issues. In fact, Janet never tried to delay it for any reason and wanted the funeral to take place as soon as possible because of the ongoing stress and angst it was causing Katherine and Michael's children," a source close to the situation tells us.
  RELATED STORIES:
  Dr. Conrad Murray Will NOT Be Home For Christmas, Not Eligible To Be Transferred To House ArrestJanet Jackson Did Not Delay Michael's Funeral, The Family Couldn't Agree On Burial Place
  Paris Jackson Reveals LaToya Is Her Biggest Fan & Says Title Of 'M.J.'s Daughter' Doesn't Fit
  Michael Jackson's Estate Settles Copyright Lawsuit Against Howard Mann For $2.5 Million Dollars
UFO's above Rotterdam - YouTube
  Link to Article
  Mon, 15 Oct 2012 19:59
President Obama Weighs In On War Between Nicki Minaj & Mariah Carey! | Radar Online
  Link to Article
  Mon, 15 Oct 2012 19:57
  WENN
  By Radar Staff
  Who better than the American leader to chime in on American Idol?
  President Barack Obama weighed in on the ongoing feud between the show's new judges Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey in an interview with Miami's YO show on Y100 Monday.
  PHOTOS: The Obamas Meet The Royals
  Asked about the dueling divas, the pop culture friendly leader predicted, "I think they are going to be able to sort it out.
  "I am confident '... I'm all about bringing people together for the same cause," he said, predicting that "both outstanding artists are going to be able'.... they're moving forwards and not backward."
  PHOTOS: President Obama Through The Years
  The president said he's met Mariah, calling her "a wonderful lady," and as for Nicki, while he's never met her, he's got her music on his iPod.
  Asked how he thinks HE would fare on American Idol, the president referred to his famous singing of Al Green's Let's Stay Together before stating the oh-so obvious: "I'm gonna try to keep my day job."
  PHOTOS: The President's Busy Day
  As RadarOnline.com previously reported, the Super Bass singer exploded on Mariah during the show's auditions in North Carolina, when she declared, "I'm not f***ing putting up with her highness over there - figure it the f*** out, figure it out."
  The feud escalated after Minaj threatened to pull a gun on Mariah, as told to Barbara Walters by the Vision of Love singer, who said she had to beef up security after the bold statement.
  RELATED STORIES:
  KitchenAid Tweets Bad Taste Joke About President Obama's Deceased Grandma!
  Big Bird Goes Viral, Thanks To Mitt Romney
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Video: MPs stand united against bullying - The Globe and Mail
  Link to Article
  Mon, 15 Oct 2012 19:30
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Dean getroffen door crisis
  Link to Article
  Source: Telegraaf.nl - prive
  Mon, 15 Oct 2012 19:15
  ma 15 okt 2012, 20:52
  van onze redactieAMSTERDAM - Dean Saunders wordt hard getroffen in zijn portemonnee door de crisis. Hij krijgt minder aanvragen voor optredens (C)n verdient per show minder dan voorheen.
  Dat vertelt Dean openhartig aan Filemon Wesselink in De week van Filemon, dat dinsdag om 21.55 uur wordt uitgezonden op Nederland 3. Proefabonnement,10 weken '‚¬ 30,-!(C) 1996-2012 Telegraaf Media Nederland | Landelijke Media B.V., Amsterdam.Alle rechten voorbehouden.e-mail: redactie-i@telegraaf.nlPrivacy | Cookies | Disclaimer
Apple Turns on iPhone Tracking in iOS6
  Link to Article
  Source: Schneier on Security
  Mon, 15 Oct 2012 18:57
  A blog covering security and security technology.
  Master Keys | Main
  Apple Turns on iPhone Tracking in iOS6This is important:
  Previously, Apple had all but disabled tracking of iPhone users by advertisers when it stopped app developers from utilizing Apple mobile device data via UDID, the unique, permanent, non-deletable serial number that previously identified every Apple device.
  For the last few months, iPhone users have enjoyed an unusual environment in which advertisers have been largely unable to track and target them in any meaningful way.
  In iOS 6, however, tracking is most definitely back on, and it's more effective than ever, multiple mobile advertising executives familiar with IFA tell us. (Note that Apple doesn't mention IFA in its iOS 6 launch page).
  Posted on October 15, 2012 at 1:21 PM ' 4 Comments
  To receive these entries once a month by e-mail, sign up for the Crypto-Gram Newsletter.
  Schneier.com is a personal website. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of BT.
Red Bull Red-Faced Over 'Daredevil Tweet'
  Link to Article
  Source: RIA Novosti
  Mon, 15 Oct 2012 18:24
  It was one small tweet for a man, one giant marketing event for energy drink maker Red Bull: an apparently first-person account of how it feels to free-fall from the heavens and break the sound barrier, as Austrian Felix Baumgartner did this weekend.
  Trouble is, Baumgartner tweeted no such thing following his record-breaking, Red Bull-sponsored leap from the edge of space on Sunday. In fact, Baumgartner said he felt nothing at all as he broke the sound barrier. Now the discrepancy has the blogosphere up in virtual arms.
  ''What's the deal, Red Bull?'' asked one commenter, 31ModelA, on one of the websites that posted the head-cam video from Baumgartner's death-defying stunt.
  ''Too bad he said the complete opposite in the press conference,'' tweeted Web Smith on the thread posted on the Twitter account of Red Bull Stratos, the name given to the leap from the edge of space.
  A spokesman for the Red Bull event, Derrick Lerum, admitted that the tweet, ''I could feel myself break the speed of sound. I could feel the air building up and then I hit it'' posted on the Red Bull Stratos Twitter feed was not, in fact, authored by Baumgartner as it appeared.
  ''I'm not really sure where it came from,'' Lerum said by telephone. ''But I know he didn't tweet it.''
  Speaking at a news conference after breaking several records including the highest-ever parachute jump and the fastest unaided descent, Baumgartner stated clearly several times that he had no sensation of breaking the sound barrier.
  ''I didn't feel it,'' he said. ''When you are wearing that pressure suit you don't feel anything.''
  A marketing expert quoted on the Forbes magazine website meanwhile guessed that its sponsorship of the stunt, watched live by around eight million people, was worth tens of millions of dollars to Red Bull in terms of global brand exposure.
  ''Red Bull Stratos will continue to be talked about and passed along socially for a very long time,'' Forbes quoted Ben Sturner, president and CEO of Leverage Agency, a media marketing company, as saying.
Bewijs voor Peter R de Vries
  Link to Article
  Source: Een andere kijk op nieuws @infomagnl » Nieuws items
  Mon, 15 Oct 2012 18:18
  Geplaatst @ 14 oktober 2012Peter de Vries beweerde In de Wereld draait door dat een fotootje van Demmink in Turkije al voldoende voor hem zou zijn om de stellingen van Joris Demmink onderuit te halen. Demmink beweerde dat hij in de jaren sinds 1986 '... Continue reading '†'
Shut up and play nice: How the Western world is limiting free speech.
  Link to Article
  Source: DaDenMan news feed
  Mon, 15 Oct 2012 17:09
  By Jonathan Turley,Free speech is dying in the Western world. While most people still enjoy considerable freedom of expression, this right, once a near-absolute, has become less defined and less dependable for those espousing controversial social, political or religious views. The decline of free speech has come not from any single blow but rather from thousands of paper cuts of well-intentioned exceptions designed to maintain social harmony.
  In the face of the violence that frequently results from anti-religious expression, some world leaders seem to be losing their patience with free speech. After a video called ''Innocence of Muslims'' appeared on YouTube and sparked violent protests in several Muslim nations last month, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned that ''when some people use this freedom of expression to provoke or humiliate some others' values and beliefs, then this cannot be protected.''
  It appears that the one thing modern society can no longer tolerate is intolerance. As Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard put it in her recent speech before the United Nations, ''Our tolerance must never extend to tolerating religious hatred.''
  A willingness to confine free speech in the name of social pluralism can be seen at various levels of authority and government. In February, for instance, Pennsylvania Judge Mark Martin heard a case in which a Muslim man was charged with attacking an atheist marching in a Halloween parade as a ''zombie Muhammed.'' Martin castigated not the defendant but the victim, Ernie Perce, lecturing him that ''our forefathers intended to use the First Amendment so we can speak with our mind, not to piss off other people and cultures '-- which is what you did.''
  Of course, free speech is often precisely about pissing off other people '-- challenging social taboos or political values.
  This was evident in recent days when courts in Washington and New York ruled that transit authorities could not prevent or delay the posting of a controversial ad that says: ''In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat jihad.''
  When U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer said the government could not bar the ad simply because it could upset some Metro riders, the ruling prompted calls for new limits on such speech. And in New York, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority responded by unanimously passing a new regulation banning any message that it considers likely to ''incite'' others or cause some ''other immediate breach of the peace.''
  Such efforts focus not on the right to speak but on the possible reaction to speech '-- a fundamental change in the treatment of free speech in the West. The much-misconstrued statement of Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes that free speech does not give you the right to shout fire in a crowded theater is now being used to curtail speech that might provoke a violence-prone minority. Our entire society is being treated as a crowded theater, and talking about whole subjects is now akin to shouting ''fire!''
  The new restrictions are forcing people to meet the demands of the lowest common denominator of accepted speech, usually using one of four rationales.
  Speech is blasphemous
  This is the oldest threat to free speech, but it has experienced something of a comeback in the 21st century. After protests erupted throughout the Muslim world in 2005 over Danish cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad, Western countries publicly professed fealty to free speech, yet quietly cracked down on anti-religious expression. Religious critics in France, Britain, Italy and other countries have found themselves under criminal investigation as threats to public safety. In France, actress and animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot has been fined several times for comments about how Muslims are undermining French culture. And just last month, a Greek atheist was arrested for insulting a famous monk by making his name sound like that of a pasta dish.
  Some Western countries have classic blasphemy laws '-- such as Ireland, which in 2009 criminalized the ''publication or utterance of blasphemous matter'' deemed ''grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters held sacred by any religion.'' The Russian Duma recently proposed a law against ''insulting religious beliefs.'' Other countries allow the arrest of people who threaten strife by criticizing religions or religious leaders. In Britain, for instance, a 15-year-old girl was arrested two years agofor burning a Koran.
  Western governments seem to be sending the message that free speech rights will not protect you '-- as shown clearly last month by the images of Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, the YouTube filmmaker, being carted away in California on suspicion of probation violations. Dutch politician Geert Wilders went through years of litigation before he was acquitted last year on charges of insulting Islam by voicing anti-Islamic views. In the Netherlandsand Italy, cartoonists and comedians have been charged with insulting religion through caricatures or jokes.
  Even the Obama administration supported the passage of a resolution in the U.N. Human Rights Council to create an international standard restricting some anti-religious speech (its full name: ''Combating Intolerance, Negative Stereotyping and Stigmatization of, and Discrimination, Incitement to Violence and Violence Against, Persons Based on Religion or Belief''). Egypt's U.N. ambassador heralded the resolution as exposing the ''true nature'' of free speech and recognizing that ''freedom of expression has been sometimes misused'' to insult religion.
  At a Washington conference last yearto implement the resolution, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton declared that it would protect both ''the right to practice one's religion freely and the right to express one's opinion without fear.'' But it isn't clear how speech can be protected if the yardstick is how people react to speech '-- particularly in countries where people riot over a single cartoon. Clinton suggested that free speech resulting in ''sectarian clashes'' or ''the destruction or the defacement or the vandalization of religious sites'' was not, as she put it, ''fair game.''
  Given this initiative, President Obama's U.N. address last month declaring America's support for free speech, while laudable, seemed confused '-- even at odds with his administration's efforts.
  Speech is hateful
  In the United States, hate speech is presumably protected under the First Amendment. However, hate-crime laws often redefine hateful expression as a criminal act. Thus, in 2003, the Supreme Court addressed the conviction of a Virginia Ku Klux Klan member who burned a cross on private land. The court allowed for criminal penalties so long as the government could show that the act was ''intended to intimidate'' others. It was a distinction without meaning, since the state can simply cite the intimidating history of that symbol.
  Other Western nations routinely bar forms of speech considered hateful. Britain prohibits any ''abusive or insulting words'' meant ''to stir up racial hatred.'' Canada outlaws ''any writing, sign or visible representation'' that ''incites hatred against any identifiable group.'' These laws ban speech based not only on its content but on the reaction of others. Speakers are often called to answer for their divisive or insulting speech before bodies like the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal.
  This month, a Canadian court ruled that Marc Lemire, the webmaster of a far-right political site, could be punished for allowing third parties to leave insulting comments about homosexuals and blacks on the site. Echoing the logic behind blasphemy laws, Federal Court Justice Richard Mosley ruled that ''the minimal harm caused .'‰.'‰. to freedom of expression is far outweighed by the benefit it provides to vulnerable groups and to the promotion of equality.''
  Speech is discriminatory
  Perhaps the most rapidly expanding limitation on speech is found in anti-discrimination laws. Many Western countries have extended such laws to public statements deemed insulting or derogatory to any group, race or gender.
  For example, in a closely watched case last year, a French court found fashion designer John Gallianoguilty of making discriminatory comments in a Paris bar, where he got into a cursing match with a couple using sexist and anti-Semitic terms. Judge Anne-Marie Sauteraud read a list of the bad words Galliano had used, adding that she found (rather implausibly) he had said ''dirty whore'' at least 1,000 times. Though he faced up to six months in jail, he was fined.
  In Canada, comedian Guy Earle was charged with violating the human rights of a lesbian couple after he got into a trash-talking session with a group of women during an open-mike night at a nightclub. Lorna Pardysaid she suffered post-traumatic stress because of Earle's profane language and derogatory terms for lesbians. The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal ruled last year that since this was a matter of discrimination, free speech was not a defense, and awarded about $23,000 to the couple.
  Ironically, while some religious organizations are pushing blasphemy laws, religious individuals are increasingly targeted under anti-discrimination laws for their criticism of homosexuals and other groups. In 2008, a minister in Canada was not only forced to pay fines for uttering anti-gay sentiments but was also enjoined from expressing such views in the future.
  Speech is deceitful
  In the United States, where speech is given the most protection among Western countries, there has been a recent effort to carve out a potentially large category to which the First Amendment would not apply. While we have always prosecuted people who lie to achieve financial or other benefits, some argue that the government can outlaw any lie, regardless of whether the liar secured any economic gain.
  One such law was the Stolen Valor Act, signed by President George W. Bush in 2006, which made it a crime for people to lie about receiving military honors. The Supreme Court struck it down this year, but at least two liberal justices, Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan, proposed that such laws should have less of a burden to be upheld as constitutional. The House responded with new legislation that would criminalize lies told with the intent to obtain any undefined ''tangible benefit.''
  The dangers are obvious. Government officials have long labeled whistleblowers, reporters and critics as ''liars'' who distort their actions or words. If the government can define what is a lie, it can define what is the truth.
  For example, in Februarythe French Supreme Court declared unconstitutional a law that made it a crime to deny the 1915 Armenian genocide by Turkey '-- a characterization that Turkey steadfastly rejects. Despite the ruling, various French leaders pledged to pass new measures punishing those who deny the Armenians' historical claims.
  The impact of government limits on speech has been magnified by even greater forms of private censorship. For example, most news organizations have stopped showing images of Muhammad, though they seem to have no misgivings about caricatures of other religious figures. The most extreme such example was supplied by Yale University Press, which in 2009 published a book about the Danish cartoons titled ''The Cartoons That Shook the World'' '-- but cut all of the cartoons so as not to insult anyone.
  The very right that laid the foundation for Western civilization is increasingly viewed as a nuisance, if not a threat. Whether speech is deemed imflammatory or hateful or discriminatory or simply false, society is denying speech rights in the name of tolerance, enforcing mutual respect through categorical censorship.
  As in a troubled marriage, the West seems to be falling out of love with free speech. Unable to divorce ourselves from this defining right, we take refuge instead in an awkward and forced silence.
  jturley@law.gwu.edu
  Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro professor of public interest law at George Washington University.
  Read more from Outlook:
  Ten reasons the U.S. is no longer the land of the free
  Friend us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
Jimmy Savile scandal: BBC director general to appear in front of MPs
  Link to Article
  Source: The Guardian World News
  Mon, 15 Oct 2012 17:03
  Jimmy Savile, above, will be the subject of questions MPs are to put to the BBC director general, George Entwistle. Photograph: Lewis Whyld/PA
  The BBC director general is expected to appear in front of MPs next week to take questions on the Jimmy Savile sex abuse scandal and the circumstances surrounding a decision by the editor of Newsnight to drop an investigation into the late BBC presenter towards the end of last year.
  George Entwistle has offered to appear in front of the culture, media and sport select committee next week, its chairman, John Whittingdale, told the House of Commons after an urgent question was raised about the Savile scandal. Whittingdale added that the committee would make time to accommodate the BBC boss's request.
  Maria Miller, the culture secretary, who opened the debate, said the Savile allegations were horrifying and said that she had spoken to Entwistle last Friday about the steps the broadcaster was taking. "From these conversations," Miller said, "I am confident that the BBC and the [BBC] Trust are taking the allegations very seriously indeed."
  She went on to list the independent inquiries already announced by Entwistle live on television on Friday and raised eyebrows when she said that one of those inquiries would look at the circumstances surrounding the "inappropriately pulled" Newsnight investigation into Savile.
  Winding up her opening statement, Miller added that these were "undoubtedly very serious matters which have wide ranging implications for a number of public institutions not just the BBC". But she rejected concerns raised by Conservative MP Rob Wilson that there should be a wider inquiry, independent of the BBC, into the affair, saying that there was "a police investigation going on" and that it was important that "that investigation can go on unfettered".
  Miller also dismissed calls for the Leveson inquiry into press practices to be extended to investigate the Savile scandal. "Extending the scope of Leveson at the moment would result in a delay which I don't think anybody would like to see on that particular inquiry," she said.
  Shortly afterwards the Department of Culture, Media and Sport clarified remarks Miller made in the Commons statement about the Newsnight investigation into Savile being "inappropriately pulled", saying she was not reflecting her own belief as to what happened regarding the film. A spokesperson said that the first part of her sentence demonstrated that she was referring to allegations that the film was dropped for corporate reasons.
  Miller said in her statement that the first of the BBC's inquiries "will look particularly at the allegations with regards to the item on Savile, which was inappropriately pulled from Newsnight".
  The department then released the text Miller actually intended to read out, demonstrating that she had slipped up slightly in the delivery. Miller was supposed to say: "The first review [by the BBC] will look into the allegations that an item on Savile was inappropriately pulled from Newsnight."
  It said in a statement: "The secretary of state has not prejudged the outcome of the BBC's investigation into the pulling of a Newsnight item on Savile. As the secretary of state made clear in the house, it is for the BBC, not ministers, to investigate these allegations."
  ' To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".
  ' To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook
FISCAL UNION
  Link to Article
  Source: VENITISM
  Mon, 15 Oct 2012 17:03
  Vaclav Klaus points out Europe is not yet at the end of its journey. Thede-democratization process goes on. The acronyms change further, together withthe incoming stages of the unification process: EEC '' EC '' EU '' EMU '' EFU '' EPU.We are now approaching the last but one stage, the European Fiscal Union, whichlooks for some people like a useful solution to the recent collapse of theprevious stage, of the European Monetary Union. And there are further dreams onthe side of the global governance adherents in Europe about moving towards thefinal stage '' the full-fledged European Political Union which will undoubtedlybecome the global governance paradise.Maros Sefcovic points out that making sure that Europe has the necessary meansto invest in its political priorities is vital. But the crisis has also shownthat unless we change the way we do things we will simply be throwing good moneyafter bad. We've already taken decisive action to comprehensively overhaul theeconomic governance of the EU, to ensure that excessive deficits, imbalances andirresponsible budgetary decisions in one Member State can never again poison allthe others. But we still need to go further.
  Fourth Reich was not initiated on March 25, 1957 in Rome, but on August 10, 1944in Strasbourg! Fourth Reich originates from the Red House Report, a detailedaccount of a secret meeting at the Maison Rouge Hotel in Strasbourg, a couple ofblocks from today's Eldorado of Prostitutes (EP), on August 10, 1944. There,Nazi officials instructed an elite group of German industrialists to plan forGermany's post-war recovery, prepare for the Nazis' return to power, and workfor a strong Fourth Reich.
  The three-page, closely typed report, marked Secret, copied by British spies andsent to the US Secretary of State, detailed how the industrialists were to workwith the Nazi Party to rebuild Germany's economy by sending money throughSwitzerland. They would set up a network of secret front companies abroad, waituntil conditions were right, and then grab power with various hoodwinkingtreaties.
  There is a clear understanding that the economic wellbeing of the entire EU ''not just the euro area '' is interconnected, and that is why we need a strongerand more binding economic governance framework for economic and monetary union.Sefcovic notes the banking union is one of the key pillars on which we can builddeeper EMU, and the European Commission (EC) on the 12 of September adoptedlegislative proposal for a single supervisory mechanism (SSM) based on theconferral of specific supervisory tasks to the ECB.
  Vaclav Klaus asserts the main problem of Fourth Reich is the European economicand social system that doesn't allow for a rapid economic growth. The EuropeanSoziale Marktwirtschaft prefers social policy based on income redistribution toproductive work. It prefers free-time and long holidays to hard work. It prefersconsumption to investments, debts to savings, security to risk-taking.
  All of it is part of a broader civilizational and cultural problem, deeplyrooted in the European continent or in most of its countries. It can't beexterminated overnight, it can't be changed as a result of one or another EUsummit, it can't be changed by painless cosmetic changes. It requires a deepsystemic change, something structurally similar to the task East Europe had toaccomplish at the fall of communism.
  Sefcovic is convinced that moving supervision of banks to the European level, aswell as the envisaged further steps towards establishing a fully-fledged bankingunion, are indispensable measures to ensure the stability of the integratedEuropean economy, to break the negative feedback loop between governments andbanks and to help preserve the internal market.
  That's why Sefcovic believes that while the SSM should apply to all euro-areaMember States, for which it is essential, it should also be open to theparticipation of any other Member States that wish to embark on a path of deeperintegration.
  You remember this quip from former Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel during thefinancial crisis: You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. What mattersto statists is that they see an opportunity in a pseudocrisis to shape publicperception and manipulate public opinion. The financial crisis yielded agovernment takeover of the financial sector. The healthcare pseudocrisis yieldeda government takeover of the healthcare system. What do you thinkEurokleptocrats are going to do with the crisis of PIGS? They'd be happy totransform the confederation of Fourth Reich to a federation. You should takethe blood libel seriously.
  Sefcovic says that establishing a single supervisory mechanism within the singlemarket is an important first step, but we will also need to progress quickly onthe remaining building blocks for a genuine EMU. This will include not only theremaining pillars of the banking union but also a fiscal union, economic unionand a strengthened democratic dimension of the EMU. The Commission will set outits views on how to progress later this year.
  The second element of a deeper economic union is the move towards a fiscalunion. We need a stronger and more binding framework for nationaldecision-making for key economic policies, as the only way to manageinterdependence and prevent imbalances.
  Fourthreichian fiscal union is the Trojan horse for overall harmonization ofeconomic rules, policies, and laws in Fourth Reich. Any eurozone problem isinterpreted as a consequence of the lack of harmonization and leads to anotherwave of a creeping harmonization. Fuehrer Merkollande frequently declares thatcoordinating tax policies and labor laws is not just about currency issues butalso about political cooperation, which has to be deepened. In other words,more enslavement to Brussels, transforming the confederation to a federation!
  Sefcovic points out the Commission has put forward proposals to tackle theoutstanding obstacles in the internal market; Sefcovic has also presentedproposals for a modern industrial policy strategy, which will be followed by anAction plan to contribute to a more entrepreneurial Europe; and before the endof the year, EC will launch a Youth package that will establish a youthguarantee scheme and equality framework to facilitate vocational training.
  EC has also been working hard to fully mobilise the EU structural funds and findother ways to keep up growth-enhancing investments in Europe, such as exploringwith the European Investment Bank how to better provide finance to SMEs, as wellas developing a new European Venture Capital regime.
  Sefcovic notes banking, fiscal and economic union is again only part of thepicture: for Europe to truly emerge stronger than ever from this crisis we mustbite the bullet of further institutional and political integration. As PresidentBarroso put it in his State of the Union speech in Strasbourg last month, weneed to move towards a federation of nation states. No way Jose!
  What exactly does that mean? Well, one definition might, indeed, be 'moreEurope' '' a deeper integration, cooperation and coordination that recognises andrespects the national sovereignties and identities of the Member States.
  There are events in history known as false flag events. These are staged by agovernment usually to distress the public, so the government can do somethingthat the public would otherwise disapprove. The name is derived from themilitary concept of flying false colors; that is flying the flag of a countryother than one's own. Lyndon Johnson's phony Gulf of Tonkin pseudoevent startedthe Viet Nam War in 1964. This was deemed necessary to begin a full scale warwith public approval and is now well documented as a false flag event. It neverhappened. Now PIGS are the false flag to transform the confederation of FourthReich to a federation.
  Smart words are more effective than smart bombs! Mighty words of a charismatickeynote speaker can transform your people to a new dimension of organizationalclimate, efficiency, self-actualization, enthusiasm, belonging, and motivation.I would like very much to speak at your conference in order to explain criticalpoints much further. venitis@gmail.com
Discovery Channel Special 'Militia Rising' to Premiere Wednesday, October 24
  Link to Article
  Source: TVbytheNumbers
  Mon, 15 Oct 2012 17:03
  via press release:
  DISCOVERY CHANNEL'S ''MILITIA RISING'' PROFILES AMERICA'S TOP MILITIA FORCES PREPPED FOR SOCIETY'S WORST-CASE-SCENARIOS
  - One-Hour Discovery Channel Special Airs on Wednesday, October 24 at 10 PM ET/PT -
  (NEW YORK) '' If the world as you know it falls apart, will you rise up to fight? Discovery Channel's new one-hour documentary follows citizen militia, survival and prepper groups in Arizona, Florida and Indiana who are preparing for the worst. After what they consider to be inadequate government responses to tragedies like Hurricane Katrina, these groups believe that disaster will strike '' and they must be ready to protect themselves and restore order.
  Natural disasters, government collapse and civil war may not be the first thing on the average American's mind, but members of the ''Watchmen of America'' militia group are ready to fight back. MILITIA RISING will show viewers how local militias prepare to survive difficult circumstances including massive power outages and civil unrest, and follow them as they learn self-defense tactics to protect their families.
  The featured groups include:
  · Watchmen of Florida '' Living under the constant threat of hurricanes, members are aware that the government may not be able to assist in an emergency. Leaders train new recruits and practice home rescues to bring family members to safety.· Watchmen of Indiana '' Anticipating a nuclear disaster, members of this militia prepare for a nuclear meltdown.· Watchmen of America, Arizona Guard ''This group will not wait for chaos and proactively aim to help the government protect the U.S./Mexican border '' especially from the drug cartels.
  MILITIA RISING is produced for Discovery Channel by Magilla Entertainment. For Magilla Entertainment, Executive Producers are Matthew Ostrom, Brian Flanagan, Laura Palumbo Johnson and Eric Leemon. For Discovery Channel, Executive Producer is French Horwitz and Associate Producer is Paige McKenzie.
  About Discovery Channel
  Discovery Channel is dedicated to creating the highest quality non-fiction content that informs and entertains its consumers about the world in all its wonder, diversity and amazement. The network, which is distributed to 100.1 million U.S. homes, can be seen in over 180 countries, offering a signature mix of compelling, high-end production values and vivid cinematography across genres including, science and technology, exploration, adventure, history and in-depth, behind-the-scenes glimpses at the people, places and organizations that shape and share our world. For more information, please visitwww.discovery.com.
  About Discovery Communications
  Discovery Communications (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) is the world's #1 nonfiction media company reaching more than 1.8 billion cumulative subscribers in 209 countries and territories. Discovery is dedicated to satisfying curiosity through 149 worldwide television networks, led by Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Science and Investigation Discovery, as well as U.S. joint venture networks OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, The Hub and 3net, the first 24-hour 3D network. Discovery also is a leading provider of educational products and services to schools and owns and operates a diversified portfolio of digital media services, including Revision3.
This Week: Project Videos We Heart
  Link to Article
  Source: Kickstarter Blog
  Mon, 15 Oct 2012 16:51
  The Kickstarter project video makes a crucial first impression. Creators introduce themselves and their dreams, sum up their plans, and ask for a little love. But as new projects continue to push the boundaries of what's possible on Kickstarter, the videos feel more and more like their own virtual film festival. Hitting that play button never felt so good.
  Each week, we experience hundreds of new videos '-- way too many to keep to ourselves. Feast on five recent favorites that we've been passing around the office and let us know what catches your eye this week.
  1. The Claytheist
  The Claytheist is a "conceptual experiment in stop-motion animation" wherein two puppets engage in an escalating argument over the origin of their existence. The creators' project video combines a rapid-fire narrative reminiscent of some 1920s radio hour with claymation mad scientists, hallucinatory visual effects, and some seriously impressive suspenders.
  2. These Treats Don't Suck: A Gluten-Free Cookbook
  ...And neither does their hilariously tongue-in-cheek project video, which poses the existential question of the ages: "What is gluten free?"
  3. The Goon
  On the shortlist of reasons why we love this one: killer robots, suspicious hooch, bad guys, zombies, slow-motion flying cars on fire. And David Fincher. Hit play... or else.
  4. Dale Radio: Spending Time With...
  Nothing beats a pitch video performed completely in character. In his podcast, "Dale" is a lovably crass, middle-aged weird uncle type. In his project video, he cements the rep with a killer tie, some tinted aviators, and a couple packs of Twizzlers. Now that's balling on a budget.
  5. King of Crime
  Speaking of staying in character, what about character and genre? The crew behind this noir-inspired card game, King of Crime, never breaks form in a pitch that doubles as a ransom video. We're guessing they'll let Smith go... if they reach their goal.
This Week in Kickstarter
  Link to Article
  Source: Kickstarter Blog
  Mon, 15 Oct 2012 16:51
  It's Comic Con weekend! That's right, Comic Con has once again descended upon the Big Apple and for the first time Kickstarter has an official presence at the illustrious nerd convention. If you plan on popping by the Javits Center this weekend, be sure to head to the Kickstarter booth in Artist Alley, where a host of comics creators will be sharing their work all weekend. Oh, and you can pick up one of these rad sketchbooks to start sketching your new comic. Boom!
  While your at NYCC be sure to check out Masaaki Yuasa's Kick-Heart project, which will be participating in a panel tonight at 5:15pm in room 1A23. In the meantime, or if you can't make it to Comic Con, head over to Masaaki's new Tumblr for Kick-Heart, where the team has been busy posting concept drawings and amazing animated gifs from the production process.
  In other animated news, an exciting project emerged this morning from David Fincher, director of such films as Se7en, The Social Network and Fight Club. The Goon, a new animated film based on the popular comics, stars Paul Giamatti as Franky and Clancy Brown as the titular Goon. Another example of inspiring talents stepping outside the traditional studio system to make a film the way they want to make it.
  Lastly, it's an honor to note that two Kickstarter-funded films, Kings Point and Inocente, were named to the Oscar-shortlist for Best Documentary Short, a major milestone for these filmmakers. We've got our fingers crossed that these short-listed docs will be nominated this January. Keep an eye on them!
Microsoft Makes New Push Into Music
  Link to Article
  Source: LIVE@LEEDS
  Mon, 15 Oct 2012 16:48
  NICK WINGFIELD 10/15/12 NY Times
  SEATTLE '-- Music fans have often viewed Microsoft as something like a bad cover band, one that pumped out uninviting facsimiles of Apple's iPod and iTunes with its Zune music players and service.
  Now that the Zune brand is dead, Microsoft is once again in search of a hit in digital music. But this time, to improve its odds of success, it is marshaling some of its most powerful brands as never before: Windows and the Xbox.
  On Monday, the company plans to announce a service called Xbox Music that will offer access to a global catalog of about 30 million songs. The service will let consumers listen free to any song on computers and tablets running the latest version of its Windows software, as well as on the Xbox console. Microsoft will not initially limit how much music can be streamed, though that could change over time.
  The service is part of a broad set of bets Microsoft is making this fall to help regain ground it has lost to competitors, especially Apple and Google. In addition to Windows 8, a major new version of its flagship operating system that will start shipping Oct. 26, the company is close to releasing a new version of its Windows Phone operating system for mobile phones and its first Microsoft-designed computer, a tablet device called Surface.
  In an aggressive push to persuade lots of people to use the service, Microsoft will package the software for Xbox Music with Windows 8. The arrangement could awaken antitrust concerns about Microsoft's use of Windows to gain toeholds in new markets.
  Microsoft's do-over in the market is a sign of how a strong music service has come to be seen as a prerequisite for any serious player in the gadget business. Apple first showed the way with that strategy by making it simple to buy songs from the iTunes Store, helping it sell more iPods. Google and Amazon have also gotten in on the act, adding music stores to their Android and Kindle devices.
  In addition to competing with those big companies, Xbox Music is entering a landscape thick with independent music services that offer their own variations on the listening experience. Spotify, for example, provides on-demand listening to a large library of music, while Pandora programs radio stations tailored to its listeners' individual tastes.
  Scott Porter, principal program manager for Xbox Music, said many music fans today relied on a variety of services like those, along with more traditional sellers of songs like iTunes, to satisfy all their musical needs. This approach, though, can be tedious.
  ''The dilemma is that music has become work,'' he said. ''Our vision for Xbox Music is that it shouldn't have to be work.''
  Xbox Music incorporates elements of all of those services. There is an option to buy songs, so a music fan can own them permanently with minimal restrictions. There are Pandora-like radio stations built around songs and similar-sounding music.
  And there is an option akin to Spotify that lets users listen free to any music from their computer, though they will get audio and visual advertisements. (Some major bands, like the Beatles, are missing from the catalog.) Like Spotify, Xbox Music offers a $10-a-month ad-free service that includes many other features, like the ability to listen to music on smartphones and the Xbox 360 game console.
  While finding music on other services can sometimes feel like studying a glorified spreadsheet, Xbox Music is much richer visually, with artist photos that can be flipped through quickly.
  Analysts say the success of Xbox Music will depend on far more than whether the service itself is any good, since the strategy is to have it enhance the appeal of Microsoft-powered gadgets that have much broader functions. ''This is not going to matter if no one wants the devices,'' said Richard Greenfield, an analyst at BTIG Research. ''You need to have a killer device.''
  That will be tricky on phones. The first smartphones on which the service will be available are those running a new version of Microsoft's mobile operating system, Windows Phone, which has struggled to gain traction.
  Microsoft has a far stronger position in the living room with the Xbox, having sold more than 67 million consoles to date. Don Mattrick, president of the Microsoft division that oversees the product, has made it a priority to transform the Xbox from a game device into an all-purpose hub for video and other forms of entertainment. Xbox Music will first appear on that device when Microsoft begins updating its software over the Internet starting on Tuesday.
  In a departure for a company that generally favors devices run by its own software, Microsoft will release versions of the Xbox Music service that run on Google's Android and Apple's iOS devices next year, Mr. Porter said.
  One factor working against Microsoft is its dismal track record in music. Its Zune players sold poorly, and the company eventually stopped making them. After that it focused on making its Zune music service work on its mobile phone software, without much success.
  Xbox Music could get its biggest lift from Windows 8, a product Microsoft has redesigned completely to take advantage of touch-screen devices. Early reviews of the new operating system have been mixed. Microsoft urgently needs Windows 8 to help it respond to the blockbuster success of the iPad and to inject some energy into a PC market that is in an awful slump.
  While the PC market does not generate the excitement it once did, people still buy hundreds of millions of computers every year, the vast majority of which run Windows. Mark Mulligan, an independent music analyst in Britain, said Microsoft's bundling of Xbox Music into its ubiquitous operating system could be a way to push digital music services further into the mainstream.
  Mr. Mulligan wondered whether that bundling would attract the interest of regulators, especially in Europe, where Microsoft has tangled with antitrust enforcers for a decade. ''I assume they've done their due diligence,'' he said.
  Still, Microsoft's behavior does not appear to be all that different from that of Apple and Google, both of which include software for accessing their own music services in their mobile products.
  ''Customers expect devices in today's market to offer core experiences like music services,'' said Mr. Porter of Microsoft, adding that Windows users would be able to easily reach other music services through the app store.
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'Publieke omroep chanteert burgers met cookiemuur'
  Link to Article
  Source: VK: Home
  Mon, 15 Oct 2012 16:46
  OPINIE - Simon Wisselink '' 15/10/12, 15:00
  (C) Screenshot van de NPO mededeling op de site uitzendinggemist..
  opinieSinds deze week zijn de websites www.uitzendinggemist.nl en www.omroep.nl voorzien van een 'cookiemuur'. Om de websites te kunnen bekijken, moeten bezoekers cookies accepteren van bedrijven als Google, Facebook en Twitter. Wie dat niet wil, komt de websites niet op. 'De NPO ontzegt hiermee de burger het recht op vrije toegang tot de programma's van de publieke omroep', vindt Simon Wisselink van het bedrijf Kirra, een Nederlandse ontwikkelaar van websoftware.
  Op 5 juni 2012 trad de aangepaste Telecommunicatiewet, beter bekend als de 'cookiewet', in werking. De wet is bedoeld om de privacy van burgers op internet beter te beschermen. Door deze wetswijziging is het niet meer toegestaan om zonder toestemming van een bezoeker cookies te plaatsen voor doeleinden zoals het tonen van advertenties of het verzamelen van gegevens over het surfgedrag. Adverteerders zijn met cookies in staat om profielen van bezoekers op te bouwen en daar bijvoorbeeld hun advertenties op aan te passen.
  Toestemming krijgenAls een website toch cookies wil plaatsen, dan is daarvoor expliciete toestemming nodig. Veel websites, zoals www.wehkamp.nl en www.nu.nl, negeren (bewust of onbewust) deze toestemmingsvereiste en kiezen ervoor om de bezoeker alleen te informeren over het gebruik van cookies. Onder de nieuwe wet is dat niet voldoende.
  Veel andere websites zoals www.debijenkorf.nl en www.klm.nl negeren de nieuwe wet (vooralsnog) volledig en plaatsen cookies zonder daar melding van te maken. De Rabobank maakt het helemaal bont: op www.rabobank.nl wordt keurig om toestemming gevraagd, maar er worden desalniettemin direct cookies geplaatst, en zelfs wanneer de bezoeker kiest voor 'Cookies niet toestaan' blijven de cookies gewoon actief.
  CookiemuurPas na een brief van handhavingsinstantie OPTA kwam de NPO schoorvoetend in actie. Wie nu www.uitzendinggemist.nl of www.omroep.nl wil bezoeken, moet toestemming geven voor cookies. De NPO heeft gekozen voor een radicale methode door van bezoekers te eisen dat zij akkoord gaan met alle mogelijke cookies. Bezoekers die niet willen dat hun surfgedrag wordt gedeeld met partijen als Google, Facebook, Twitter en andere grote adverteerders, wordt toegang tot de website volledig ontzegd. Dit najaar wordt deze 'cookiemuur' geleidelijk voor alle websites van de publieke omroepen ingevoerd, zo stelt de NPO.
  De door NPO gekozen aanpak is opmerkelijk. Het is gebruikelijk om bezoekers gewoon toe te laten tot de website en alleen toestemming te vragen voor het plaatsen van cookies voor speciale functies zoals het bekijken van Youtube video's of Google Maps-kaarten. De ervaring van de afgelopen maanden leert dat slechts een klein deel van de bezoekers in dat geval toestemming geeft. Als het overgrote deel van de bezoekers aangeeft dat zij niet op cookies zitten te wachten, ligt het dan niet voor de hand om cookies waar mogelijk te vermijden?
  Publieke middelenOmdat de NPO vanuit belastinggeld wordt gefinancierd, mogen bezoekers verwachten dat zij de websites kunnen bezoeken zonder onnodige privacybezwaren. De omroep geeft op hun website aan niet anders te kunnen, omdat zij verplicht is om statistieken over haar bezoekers te rapporteren aan het ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap. Dit is echter geen bezwaar. Het is uitstekend mogelijk om statistieken over het gebruik van een website te verzamelen, zonder dat daarvoor individuele bezoekers gevolgd hoeven te worden met cookies. In de prestatie-afspraken die zijn gemaakt tussen het ministerie en de NPO wordt abstract gesproken over het meten van 'bereik', maar er zijn verschillende manieren om dat te doen. Het gebruik van cookies is daarvoor niet essentieel. Bovendien wordt in de afspraken tussen het ministerie en de NPO expliciet ruimte gelaten voor een aanpassing van de gerapporteerde gegevens wanneer verandering van regelgeving daartoe aanleiding zou geven.
  VoorbeeldfunctieDe NPO is de eerste grote overheidsorganisatie die voor deze radicale oplossing kiest, en geeft daarmee een signaal af naar andere overheidsinstellingen en het bedrijfsleven. Als de aanpak van de omroep navolging krijgt, dan zal een groot deel van de Nederlandse websites binnenkort verdwijnen achter een cookiemuur. Het was de bedoeling van de wetgever om de privacy van bezoekers van websites beter te beschermen, maar de oplossing van de NPO leidt ertoe dat bezoekers hun privacy juist moeten opgeven om websites te kunnen bekijken. Hierdoor worden bezoekers in feite gechanteerd om hun privacy op te geven en wordt de wet een wassen neus.
  Simon Wisselink (@simonwisselink) is hoofd Research & Development van Kirra. Kirra is een Nederlandse ontwikkelaar van websoftware, gevestigd in Groningen. Kirra heeft sinds de introductie van de cookiewet haar statistiekenpakket Kirra Analytics aangepast om zonder cookies te werken. Kirra Analytics is daarmee in staat om statistieken over het gebruik van websites te verzamelen, zonder individuele bezoekers te volgen. Website: www.kirra.nl.
NOS zendt schreeuw uit tijdens #LiveJump
  Link to Article
  Source: GeenStijl
  Mon, 15 Oct 2012 16:42
  Heeej. Dit is raar. Op dit filmpje van de NOS is vlak nadat Felix Baumgartner van 39 kilometer hoogte zijn eeuwige eindbazenschap tegemoet sprong een MYSTERIEUZE SCHREEUW (klinkt als: 'waaaaaahaaaaa') te horen. Goed luisteren. Op 00:05 seconden. Wij zaten net als 9 miljoen andere kijkers aan de YouTube-stream gekluisterd en een ding is zeker: die schreeuw was niet live te horen. Heeft er nou werkelijk iemand van de NOS stiekem in de montage die brul er onder zitten knippen en plakken? WTF was die denkende? De NOS heeft er een handje van om bij historische gebeurtenissen de audio een beetje mooier te knutselen. Tijdens een speech van koningin Beatrix werd ooit het slotapplaus een stukje verlengd. Gewoon. Omdat het mooier klonk. Opperbaas Marcel Gelauff ging daarvoor destijds diep door het stof. Terug naar de Baumgartner-jump. In een twittergesprekje met @jeffreyvmaurik (die als een van de eerste 'de schreeuw' ontdekte) ontkent NOS-redactienerd @Elger dat er bewust spannende extra audio onder de beelden is gezet. Zijn verweer: "Het zat live in de feed die gisteren ook is gebruikt in Achtuurjournaal. Hier terug te kijken". Verdomd zeg. Op 03:03 horen we inderdaad exact dezelfde 'waaaaaahaaaaa'. Maar nogmaals: die hoorden we niet gisteren op de livestream. Hoe is het mogelijk dat de NOS als enige nieuwsstation ter wereld Baumgartnerbeelden heeft waarop een schreeuw te horen was? Doen we even een rondje langs overige internationale newschannels: BBC: geen schreeuw te horen. CNN: idem dito. Het officile Red Bull kanaal: nog niet eens een lullig gilletje. Dat is dus allemaal heel erg opmerkelijk. Weet u wat ook bizar is? Op de beelden van RTL Nieuws is vlak na de jump een andere schreeuw te horen (klinkt meer als 'wooaaaahaaaaa') uit het publiek. Hiero te horen op 03:00. Schiet ons maar lek. Wij vertrouwen de oude media (die dit geniale live-event op internet toch al hebben onderschat) niet meer. Straks is dit zeker ook nep...UPDATE: Reactie @elger: "In ruimte waar stream wordt opgepikt stond een microfoon open en een collega was was enthousiast..."
  Brusselmans | 15-10-12 | 14:25 | Link | Ik die schreeuw anders ook gehoord op de livestream. Volgens mij op de Red Bull Stratos website..
  Handige Harrie | 15-10-12 | 14:29Moest natuurlijk zijn 'ik heb die schreeuw'..
  Handige Harrie | 15-10-12 | 14:29Ik heb geen schreeuw gehoord op de livestream van Red Bull Stratos via Youtube.
  Boumans | 15-10-12 | 14:30Ik ga ook altijd gillen van Red Bull.Zo van Aaaaaaah!! Mijn muil! Geef me een teiltje!
  vetkleppert | 15-10-12 | 14:32Lekker belangrijk. Fijn dat jullie het even hebbon onderzocht.
  Treurig varken | 15-10-12 | 14:33In de live-uitzending werd de mic dichtgedraaid op het moment dat-ie sprong. Volgens mij, dan.
  rara | 15-10-12 | 14:35Niets van gemerkt door mijn eigen geschreeuw van bewondering en verbazing dat die gast zich zo naar beneden liet donderen..... Respect!!
  Fatwabuster | 15-10-12 | 14:35en.wikipedia.org...
  Piet_Snot | 15-10-12 | 14:36Goh, dat zou werkelijk voor het eerst zijn dat de NOS echt als eerste een nieuwtje heeft.
  Spokoynoy Nochi | 15-10-12 | 14:36Marcel Gelauff die de stagiaire van de montage afdeling onder handen neemt?
  Swean | 15-10-12 | 14:36Applaus verlengen?Is dat ook censuur?Zo van, kijk eens hoe popi onze trix is, geen kritiek bitte.Toen Maartje van Wegen zich ging bemoeien met het royale familie gebeurde er ook iets geks>> het leek wel alsof ze een ander karakter kreeg, de vuist ging er dan ook tot de ellebogen in.
  Terpen-tijn | 15-10-12 | 14:37*volblaft.
  Swean | 15-10-12 | 14:37Ach, de Nederlandse MSN leukt wel vaker nieuws op. Zo is het in Zuideuropa "pais n vree" en kan de bevolking niet wachten op aanvullende Europese maatregelen, is de multiculturele samenleving een daverend succes, volgt lente op lente in de Arabische wereld, en Obama eigenlijk de ultieme sociaaldemocraat....
  Parel van het Zuiden | 15-10-12 | 14:37Wilhelm scream
  [url]en.wikipedia.org...
  FireFox1 | 15-10-12 | 14:38Parel van het Zuiden | 15-10-12 | 14:37MSN, bestaat dat nog?
  Handige Harrie | 15-10-12 | 14:38Ook opvallend, de schreeuw valt weg, maar de microfoon zit aan Baumgartners mond in de helm...
  hendrikjandetuinman | 15-10-12 | 14:38Volgens mij hebben ze de damschreeuwer er ook in geplakt, ze begonnen allemaal hard weg te rennen toe Bea een hard wind liet.
  Idontgiveafunk | 15-10-12 | 14:40Kijkcijfertechnisch is dit nog niet zo'n slecht idee van de NOS nu die vrouwentennisters niet meer mogen kreunen. Bij de NOS gaat straks iemand hele wedstrijden op een knop drukken om bij iedere slag een kreungeluid te faken.
  JanPaparazzi22 | 15-10-12 | 14:41Ik wou dat ik deze schreeuw in de kamer had hangen:
  www.google.nl...
  eerstneukendanpraten | 15-10-12 | 14:43@hendrikjandetuinman | 15-10-12 | 14:38En de schreeuw is opvallend helder, in vergelijking met het krakende radiogeluid wat hij v""r de sprong zegt.
  DaveyDuck | 15-10-12 | 14:43Volgens mij hoor je een schreeuw uit het commandocentrum, waar naar de sprong wordt gekeken.
  Dr. Mabuse | 15-10-12 | 14:43Hoe hard kun je schreeuwen in het luchtledige??
  JanRap | 15-10-12 | 14:46Kreunende vrouwen die tegen een balletje meppen.Kunnen ze die dan ook censureren?Niet dat ik dan ga kijken, maar ben elke keer te laat met doorzappen.
  Terpen-tijn | 15-10-12 | 14:49Surprise.....het nieuws wordt gemanipuleerd!
  Dhr. W. Anhoop | 15-10-12 | 14:50Dat Gelauff je toch niet?
  nielsjuuh23 | 15-10-12 | 14:52Bakito. Wat ben je stil kereltje. Hieronder nog even je plemp in het vorige topic.Lekkerrrr betrouwbaar die NOS.
  --------
  De NOS blijft de meest betrouwbare informatiebron van Nederland. Ook wat betreft het weer hebben ze vaak gelijk.
  Hopelijk vinden ze snel een kanjer als Erwin.Bakito | 15-10-12 | 13:35 |
  Pastor Sippenhaft | 15-10-12 | 14:55Aaaaaaarrrrghhh!
  www.nrc.nl...
  Stormageddon | 15-10-12 | 14:56Volgens mij hoorde ik het ook..dacht al...
  paddostoel | 15-10-12 | 14:58Nu heb je ook weer een spotje wat oproept tot tolerantie.Welke tolerantie? krijg geeneens de gelegenheid om het uberhaupt uit te dragen.Alsof die finnen iets met mij te maken willen hebben.Ze roeptoeteren maar wat in Hilversum, de grootste leugens zijn ok, zolang het maar maatschappelijk verantwoord is.
  Terpen-tijn | 15-10-12 | 14:59ja en?wat een nontopic.sjesus brusselmans
  ronzor | 15-10-12 | 14:59Vroeger kon je sigaretten roken die naar avontuur smaakten. En nu moet je het doen met een blikkie braaksel als je zelf ook wel door hebt dat je een slome duikelaar bent.
  vetkleppert | 15-10-12 | 15:02Is het Wilhelm misschien?en.wikipedia.org...www.youtube.com...
  Schoorsteenveger | 15-10-12 | 15:04@ronzor | 15-10-12 | 14:59 |
  Als je het niet begrijpt, hou dan gewoon je mond.
  Bruno Alaska | 15-10-12 | 15:08@Schoorsteenveger | 15-10-12 | 15:04Zucht.. Je bent de 3e ...( hint : eerst CTRL+F voor posten )
  Piet_Snot | 15-10-12 | 15:09Het lijkt wel een beetje op de 'Wilhelm Scream'www.youtube.com...
  looprekje | 15-10-12 | 15:11(ha, ik ben de 4e die dat opmerkt!)
  looprekje | 15-10-12 | 15:13Het was pas een geniaal live event geweest als er een scheurtje in zijn pak kwam of de parachute weigerde. Echt, die hele jump boeit mij voor geen meter en je maakt het alleen maar belachelijker Brusselmans, door het 'onderschat' te noemen. Schei toch uit...
  Detlev Tarnowitz | 15-10-12 | 15:16NOS= Natie oproep 's-Gravenhage.Leugens gebracht als nieuws
  toetanchamon | 15-10-12 | 15:17Mogelijk is het de Wilhelm Scream, maar dat weet ik niet helemaal zeker.en.wikipedia.org...
  RepubliekBanana | 15-10-12 | 15:17Oh jee, de linkse kerk is weer bezig geweest om dit door de dorstige burger betaalde snoepreisje op te leuken!We worden bedot waar we bij staan! Noord-koreaanse toestanden zeg ik u!Zucht. En dan denk je dat die republikeinen in de US van de pot zijn gerukt om die socialistische "ik wil altijd alles delen" Pino een loer te draaien. (Toegegeven, sesamstraat heeft wel een hele nare midden-oosterse klank.)Nee GS, blijf om alsjeblieft informeren over deze wanstaltige linkse praktijken....Stelletje idioten
  Mestkever | 15-10-12 | 15:18RepubliekBanana | 15-10-12 | 15:17 |Ik moet altijd zeggen dat het de Wilhem Scream is als ik hem hoor in een film.
  God wat ben ik toch een nerd.
  Nacho_Vidal | 15-10-12 | 15:19Vanaf nu heerst er een verbod op W. Scream linkjes...
  eerstneukendanpraten | 15-10-12 | 15:19Piet_Snot | 15-10-12 | 15:09 |Blij dat jij het voor me hebt bijgehouden.
  Schoorsteenveger | 15-10-12 | 15:21ik denk dat hij: fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net... het is geweest, die schrok natuurlijk.
  Cas Plant | 15-10-12 | 15:23Die kloodtzak van een Felix(katten naam) heeft gewoon zijn hondje in de capsule achter gelaten.de schoft!www.youtube.com...
  miko | 15-10-12 | 15:30@looprekje | 15-10-12 | 15:13Nee, je bent te derde die te lamlendig is om de comments te lezen voor je zelf wat post.
  steven paul | 15-10-12 | 15:35De NOS.. Waar ze het werkelijk over uit moeten schreeuwen doen ze het niet..
  Van Roden Den Drons | 15-10-12 | 15:41Volgens mij begint hij al te schreeuwen als ie nog gewoon op zijn springplankje staat.
  Karig Hutje | 15-10-12 | 15:42wat belachelijk van de Nos was,dat ze dit niet rechtstreeks uitzonden(een stukje maar)terwijl dit eens echt nieuws was.ze zenden liever wat geouwehoer over groenlinks uit als het echte nieuws.
  pejoar | 15-10-12 | 16:01Microfoon stond open tijdens het oppikken van de live stream... Yeah right. Als dat zo makkelijk ging zouden we toch veel vaker onbedoelde conversaties of commentaar van medewerkers meekrijgen?.
  Brou Is Back | 15-10-12 | 16:03Ja boeiuh. Als ik wat meer hoaces onthul worden mijn posts verwijderd. Wees er blij mee met die scoop. Ennie zeuren nou.
  Jos Tiebent | 15-10-12 | 16:12Soms download ik een filmpje van joetjoep.Als ik me bij het downloaden niet kan inhouden komt mijn geschreeuw ook altijd in het bestand terecht.Ik heb daar wel eens over geklaagd maar bij joetjoep beginnen ze dan altijd keihard te lachen.Ik hoop dat er ook per ongeluk geen audio bij dit reaguursel wordt meegestuurd.Heb een beetje droefmuziek opstaan.
  Alteidt Glijck | 15-10-12 | 16:13NOS, kijkt daar iemand naar dan?
  eagleye | 15-10-12 | 16:23Als je dan al iets zegt over de eerste man die vrije val sneller dan het geluid maakt, zeg dan dit:jalopnik.com...
  insensitive clod | 15-10-12 | 16:35Ik proef een ernstig onderwerpentekort ter redactie Geenstijl... Man man man wat een gezever om niks...
  Reykjavik | 15-10-12 | 16:57Voor meer felix lol check hart van Nederland van gisteren. Die expert daar stond droog de meeste grote onzin te verkondigen. "als hij was gestruikeld was hij de ruimte ingevlogen."
  FrankieHapsberger | 15-10-12 | 17:00Iedereen die geen klein gilletje heeft gegeven was niet voldoende op de hoogte. Wat een prestatie!
  linkemater | 15-10-12 | 17:02Die schreeuw was live via youtube gewoon te horen. Bij NOS etc hebben ze later het geluid bewerkt omdat ze er overheen lullen.
  dezeookalbezet | 15-10-12 | 18:18Reageer ookJe bent ingelogd als: (Uitloggen)
  Probeer trouwens eens de totaal officieuze niet-ondersteunde third-party GeenStijl extension die compleet niet door ons ondersteund wordt en volledig op eigen risico is.
  Je bent niet ingelogd, klik hier om dat wel te doen: login of doe een CookieSync.
Susan Sarandon's Tails of the Casting Couch
  Link to Article
  Source: Jacky Jasper's Diary of a Hollywood Street King
  Mon, 15 Oct 2012 16:40
  by Jacky Jasper
  Confessions Of A Senior?Susan Sarandon is looking to set the record straight '-- clearing up word her boy toy is 35-years-old, not 33-years-old. That's the what the 66-year-old actress recently told Elle Magazine about ping pong partner, Jonathan Bricklin.
  During the interview, Sarandon also wanted to let it be known about her experience on the infamous Hollywood casting couch.
  Here's what Sarandon had to say about the experience:''It was not successful '' for either of us. I just went into a room, and a guy practically threw me on the desk.
  It was my early days in New York, and it was really disgusting. It wasn't like I gave it a second though, it was so badly done.''
  Here's what Sarandon had to say about her boy toy:
  ''People make him out to be much younger than he is '' and me older. Wryly, he is 35, not 33 as the media reported.''
  Did Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins maintain an open relationship? Of course! Don't believe me.. Ask Warren Beatty.
  Please Share This Article -Other HSK Articles:
Miss Jackson If You're Nasty Goes Muslim'...
  Link to Article
  Source: Jacky Jasper's Diary of a Hollywood Street King
  Mon, 15 Oct 2012 16:40
  by Jacky Jasper
  Fourth Wife is a Charm?HSK Exclusive - Control is something Janet Jackson seems to soon be leaving at the door. Know why? Because her epitome of an alpha-male fiance will be saying his ''I Do's'' for the fourth time, when the couple is set to marry next year. But, that's something that probably won't bother 'Miss Jackson If You're Nasty' '-- with Wissam Al Mana being a billionaire.
  You may remember we told you about Janet Jackson's reported engagement to Wissam '-- whose family has extensive reaches in the real estate and media spheres '-- after sources say he proposed to the singer with a 15-carat diamond ring. This after the couple met in December of 2009 '-- less than a year after Janet reportedly helped clean out Jermaine Dupri's expense account.
  Now, sources say Janet and the Middle Eastern heir are pushing their original plans for a wedding a few more years '' citing additional time to plan the lavish event.
  Since Janet Jackson has converted to the Muslim religion, are religious fanatics going to stone her when she performs on stage scanty clad? I don't know, but next time I see Cat ''Yusuf Islam'' Stevens, I'll ask him'...
  Please Share This Article -Other HSK Articles:
This should be fun!
  Link to Article
  Source: the tap
  Mon, 15 Oct 2012 16:38
  Good morning, all! Just a reminder that there will be a Better Off Out event with Douglas Carswell MP this evening at the Old Star Pub in Westminster. Douglas will be speaking about his Private Members Bill to repeal the European Communities Act (1972) and ensure the UK reclaims its freedom from the EU. Do come along and help to continue the good fight for freedom. Doors open from 5.30pm and Douglas should be speaking at around 6pm. Hope to see you there!
  I'm reading his latest book currently. He's never one to avoid the big issues.
Nieuwe inkomstenbron voor wetenschappers: reclame?
  Link to Article
  Source: ZapLog - externe links
  Mon, 15 Oct 2012 16:37
  Visionair: Germen op 15 oktober 2012Stel, er wordt een nieuwe exoplaneet ontdekt door een door PepsiCo gefinancierde ruimtelescoop. Of een door Philips gesponsorde bioloog ontdekte een nieuwe tarantulasoort: Tarantula philipsii. Of een gesponsorde fysicus ontwikkelt een nieuw superzwaar element, cisconium. Is sponsoring van wetenschappelijk onderzoek door megabedrijven d(C) kans om de steeds kleiner wordende budgetten van overheden te vervangen?
  Ideen belangrijker dan fysieke productenFabrikanten als sportschoenenreus Nike geven vele malen meer uit aan marketing dan aan de feitelijke productie van de schoen. Gezien de enorme marketingbudgetten die er door fabrikanten tegenaan worden gegooid om hun producten op de markt te zetten, ligt hier een enorme kans. Zullen zaken als wetenschap en cultuur in de toekomst gefinancierd kunnen worden met marketinggelden? Op zich is het idee niet zo gek. De bedragen die bedrijven uitgeven aan marketing en reclame zijn enorm. Zo geeft Nike per jaar gemiddeld zo'n 2 miljard dollar uit aan marketing in diverse vormen. [1] Bij zaken als frisdranken of andere fast-moving consumer goods is het effect van marketing ook enorm. Er is, anders dan fabrikanten je willen doen geloven, maar weinig verschil tussen dranken als Coca Cola en merkloze cola. Of tussen Spa Rood en water uit de kraan. Deze artikelen moeten het dus van hun image hebben, de perceptie in het brein van de consument.
  Wetenschap als brand building en sociale activiteitWetenschap is de meest effectieve methode die we kennen om de waarheid te benaderen. Door de grote effectiviteit van wetenschap heeft wetenschap en hebben de wetenschapsbeoefenaars een bijna mythische status gekregen. Om deze reden doen marketeers graag een beroep op 'wetenschappelijke' onderbouwing van hun beweringen over het product dat ze verkopen. Toch kan het ook anders. Bekend zijn bijvoorbeeld de door documentairezenders als Discovery Channel of NGC gesponsorde expedities naar bijvoorbeeld de Titanic. Hier wordt wetenschap bedreven terwijl het de zenders veel free publicity verschaft. Bedrijven zouden dit ook kunnen doen door bijvoorbeeld onderzoek te sponsoren naar biodiversiteit in tropische regenwouden. Of wellicht door het ontwikkelen van een manier om arme mensen pop een goedkope en effectieve manier aan schoon water te helpen.
  Zullen diersoorten straks naar grote bedrijven genoemd worden? Het zou een oplossing kunnen zijn voor de bezuinigingen op taxonomisch onderzoek.
  Nieuw ontdekte soorten als reclamemediumEr kruipen letterlijk nog miljoenen niet-ontdekte insektensoorten rond. Ook arachniden, weekdieren en andere groepen met klene dieren kennen nog vele duizenden tot miljoenen potentieel te ontdekken soorten. NU ruimtetelescopen steeds beter worden, worden er ook steeds meer kleine astero¯den ontdekt. Hier zit voor een bedrijf natuurlijk ook een nadeel aan. Stel dat de pasontdekte astero¯de 131313 Centraalbeheer een snoekduik richting aarde neemt, dan zal de marketingafdeling toch echt even Apeldoorn moeten bellen. Ook de trotse naamgever van de sprinkhaan Schistocerca macdonaldsii zal minder blij zij als het lieve beestje zijn kaken blijkt te zetten in gewassen. Dus wie weet zal sponsoring door bedrijven dan toch beperkt blijven tot TNO-onderzoeken of productontwikkeling'...
  Bronnen1. On The Run, forbes.com (2008)
Savile. Met pursues 340 lines of enquiry. BBC claim they had no idea.
  Link to Article
  Source: the tap
  Mon, 15 Oct 2012 16:35
  Another alleged victim of Jimmy Savile has claimed he was abused as a nine-year-old cub scout - one of the youngest people believed to have been targeted by the presenter.Kevin Cook, 45, told The Sun that Savile touched him inappropriately during filming for a Jim'll Fix It TV show in 1976. Mr Cook claimed that after he was assaulted by Savile, he was warned to keep quiet.He told the newspaper: "He (Savile) became really scary and said 'Don't you dare tell anyone. Don't even tell your mates. We know where you live' ... Nobody would believe you anyway - I'm King Jimmy'."Mr Cook, who lives in Essex with his wife and children, added: "For ages I felt like it was my fault. I felt guilty."The stuff in the papers brought all the old feelings back. My wife knew something was wrong so in the end I told her."Mr Cook is one of several alleged male victims of Savile, who died aged 84 last October, to have come forward.Among them is a man who said he was abused at the age of 10 at the Haut de la Garenne children's home in Jersey.Another man from Redcar said when he was nine he was fondled by Savile in the star's Rolls-Royce.The latest allegation comes as Culture Secretary Maria Miller will be asked by a Tory MP to say if the Government plans to launch an independent inquiry into the scandal.Rob Wilson will also call for answers about why the BBC dropped a major Newsnight investigation into Savile and went ahead with a tribute programme after his death.One of the hospitals where Savile allegedly abused patients was Broadmoor, where Scotland Yard detectives are due to visit to gather new evidence about the claims.The Department of Health (DoH) is to investigate how he was appointed in 1988 to lead a "taskforce" overseeing a restructuring of the hospital's management.Sky's Tom Parmenter, reporting from outside Broadmoor, said: "The big question is just how did Jimmy Savile seem to have the run of the place. He had his own living quarters, and his own keys to certain sections of the hospital."Meanwhile, Savile's ex-boss said he questioned the DJ over rumours about his private life more than 20 years ago.Metropolitan Police officers say the claims against the late TV presenter span six decades - between 1959 and 2006 - and they are pursuing 340 lines of enquiry.So far, 12 allegations of sexual offences have been officially recorded, but the police said there could be 60 victims.Derek Chinnery, who was BBC Radio 1 controller from 1978 to 1985, admitted he asked Savile directly about his suspected abuse.Savile worked at the station from 1969 to 1989, presenting a show of chart songs from previous decades.Mr Chinnery said: "I asked (Savile) 'what's all this, these rumours we hear about you Jimmy?' And he said 'that's all nonsense'. There was no reason to disbelieve (Savile)."The scandal surrounding the former Top Of The Pops presenter has mushroomed since ITV screened a documentary in which five women alleged they were abused by the celebrity.Met Police detectives are in contact with 14 other forces as the number of allegations against the former DJ continues to rise.HOREHOUND adds - MP's now trying to deflect all the blame / attention squarely at the door of the beeb, they should be asking who gave Savile the keys to Broadmoor.COMMENTER recommends -
Gold And Silver Lose Bernanke Bump
  Link to Article
  Source: Zero Hedge
  Mon, 15 Oct 2012 16:33
  WTI crude started moving first but soon afte the US day session opened we saw EUR weakness, US strength and precious metals started to fade rapidly. Gold and Silver have now retraced the post-FOMC Bernanke-Bump, but remain above the Draghi-Day levels...
  Chart: Bloomberg
  Average:Your rating: None
Decriminalise drug use, say experts after six-year study | Politics | The Guardian
  Link to Article
  Mon, 15 Oct 2012 16:31
  A six-year study of Britain's drug laws by leading scientists, police officers, academics and experts has concluded it is time to introduce decriminalisation.
  The report by the UK Drug Policy Commission (UKDPC), an independent advisory body, says possession of small amounts of controlled drugs should no longer be a criminal offence and concludes the move will not lead to a significant increase in use.
  The experts say the criminal sanctions imposed on the 42,000 people sentenced each year for possession of all drugs '' and the 160,000 given cannabis warnings '' should be replaced with simple civil penalties such as a fine, attendance at a drug awareness session or a referral to a drug treatment programme.
  They also say that imposing minimal or no sanctions on those growing cannabis for personal use could go some way to undermining the burgeoning illicit cannabis factories controlled by organised crime.
  But their report rejects any more radical move to legalisation, saying that allowing the legal sale of drugs such as heroin or cocaine could cause more damage than the existing drugs trade.
  The commission is chaired by Dame Ruth Runciman with a membership that includes the former head of the British Medical Research Council, Prof Colin Blakemore, and the former chief inspector of constabulary, David Blakey.
  The report says their analysis of the evidence shows that existing drugs policies struggle to make an impact and, in some cases, may make the problem worse.
  The work of the commission is the first major independent report on drugs policy since the influential Police Foundation report 12 years ago called for an end to the jailing of those possessing cannabis.
  The UKDPC's membership also includes Prof John Strang, head of the National Addictions Centre, Prof Alan Maynard, a specialist in health economics, and Lady Ilora Finlay, a past president of the Royal Society of Medicine.
  The report says that although levels of illicit drug use in Britain have declined in recent years, they are still much higher than in many other countries. The UK has 2,000 drug-related deaths each year and more than 380,000 problem drug users.
  The 173-page report concludes: "Taking drugs does not always cause problems, but this is rarely acknowledged by policymakers. In fact most users do not experience significant problems, and there is some evidence that drug use can have benefits in some circumstances."
  The commission's radical critique says the current UK approach is simplistic in seeing all drug use as problematic, fails to recognise that entrenched drug problems are linked to inequality and social exclusion, and that separating drugs from alcohol and tobacco use makes it more difficult to tackle the full range of an individual's substance use.
  It says the £3bn a year spent tackling illegal drugs is not based on any evidence of what works, with much of the money wasted on policies that are not cost-effective.
  It argues that even large-scale seizures by the police often have little or no sustained impact on the supply of drugs; that Just Say No campaigns in schools sometimes actually lead to more young people using drugs; and that pushing some users to become abstinent too quickly can lead to a greater chance of relapse or overdose and death.
  The commission argues a fresh approach based on the available evidence should be tested. Its main proposals include:
  ''¯Changing drug laws so that possession of small amounts of drugs for personal use would be a civil rather than criminal offence. This would start with cannabis and, if an evaluation showed no substantial negative impacts, move on to other drugs. The experience of Portugal and the Czech Republic shows that drug use would not increase and resources can be directed to treating addiction and tackling organised crime.
  ''¯Reviewing sentencing practice so that those caught growing below a specified low volume of cannabis plants faced no, or only minimal, sanctions. But the production and supply of most drugs should remain illegal.
  ''¯Reviewing the level of penalties applied against those involved in production and supply, as there is little evidence to show that the clear upward drift in the length of prison sentences in recent years has proved a deterrent or had any long-term impact on drug supply in Britain.
  ''¯Reviewing the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act so that technical decisions about the classification of individual drugs are no longer taken by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) or politicians but instead by an independent body with parliamentary oversight.
  ''¯Setting up a cross-party forum including the three main political party leaders to forge the political consensus needed to push through such a radical change in approach.
  Blakemore said: "Medicine has moved past the age when we treated disease on the basis of hunches and received wisdom. The overwhelming consensus now is that it is unethical, inefficient and dangerous to use untested and unvalidated methods of treatment and prevention. It is time that policy on illicit drug use starts taking evidence seriously as well."
  Blakey, who is also a former president of the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo), said the current approach of police taking action against people using drugs was expensive and did not appear to bring much benefit. "When other countries have reduced sanctions for low-level drug users, they have found it possible to keep a lid on drug use while helping people with drug problems to get into treatment," the former chief constable said. "But at the same time, we need to continue to bear down on those producing and supplying illicit drugs. This is particularly important for those spreading misery in local communities."
  Runciman said government programmes had done much to reduce the damage caused by the drug problem over the past 30 years, with needle exchanges reducing HIV among injecting drug users and treatment programmes which had helped many to rebuild their lives. The commission's chair said: "Those programmes are supported by evidence, but much of the rest of drug policy does not have an adequate evidence base. We spend billions of pounds every year without being sure of what difference much of it makes."
  The home secretary, Theresa May, last month ruled out any moves towards decriminalisation, saying it would lead to further problems.
  She told MPs she considered cannabis a gateway drug: "People can die as a result of taking drugs, and significant mental health problems can arise as a result of taking drugs."
BBC News - Mo Ibrahim prize for African leadership: No winner
  Link to Article
  Mon, 15 Oct 2012 16:18
  15 October 2012Last updated at07:37 ETThere is no winner this year for the world's most valuable individual prize - the Mo Ibrahim prize for good governance in Africa.
  The $5m (£3.2m) prize is supposed to be awarded each year to a democratically elected leader who governed well, raised living standards and then voluntarily left office.
  The panel said no candidate had met all of the criteria - as in 2009 and 2010.
  Last year, Cape Verde President Pedro Verona Pires won the prize.
  He led the fight against Portuguese colonialism, introduced multi-party politics and was praised raising for living standards.
  The $5m prize is spread over 10 years and is followed by $200,000 a year for life.
  'No compromise'Announcing the decision, Mr Ibrahim said: "You make your bed, you have to lie on it. If we said we're going to have a prize for exceptional leadership, we have to stick to that. We are not going to compromise."
  "We are not just in the business of positive messages - we would lose our credibility," the AFP news agency quotes him as saying.
  "The prize committee reviewed a number of candidates but none met all of the criteria needed to win the prize," said committee member Salim Ahmed Salim.
  The two other winners in the six years since the prize was launched were Botswana's President Festus Mogae and Mozambique's Joaquim Chissano.
  Earlier this month, Mr Ibrahim's foundation announced a special $1m award to Archbishop Desmond Tutu for "speaking truth to power".
  The London-based body called the cleric "one of Africa's great voices for justice, freedom, democracy and responsible, responsive government".
  Sudan-born telecoms entrepreneur Mr Ibrahim says the good governance prize is needed because many leaders of sub-Saharan African countries come from poor backgrounds and are tempted to hang on to power for fear that poverty awaits them when they leave office.
For whatever reason, President Obama, has until now refused to sell.
  Link to Article
  Source: Dave Winer
  Mon, 15 Oct 2012 14:30
  For whatever reason, President Obama, has until now refused to sell.
  It's a little late to teach him salesmanship, but maybe that's what they're doing in his debate prep before the second debate tomorrow at Hoftstra.
  The pitch is pretty easy:
  1. If you elect me to a second term, ObamaCare will be deployed and finally after a hugely long struggle, the United States will have the beginnings of health reform. It's not nearly everything we need to do, that will be something for a future president to tackle. For now, I promise to implement it. And that's a promise I can keep even with an obstructionist opposition party with a majority in the House.
  2. In my first term we wound down the war in Iraq, and we're winding down the war in Afghanistan. I get how weary we all are of war. My opponent, a nice man for sure, will imho get us into another war in the Middle East, with another crazy country, Iran -- and this one, like the other two, will be hard to get us out of. We're probably looking at another 10 or 20 years before all this war is over. Another war in the Middle East is not what we want. I think we can manage this one without sending Americans in to fight and without bombing Iran. I think we can work this politically and economically, with the cooperation of our allies and even our adversaries. No one outside of a few crazy countries wants to see Iran with nuclear weapons.
  3. Reproductive choices will remain with the people whose lives and bodies it concerns. None of us like abortion, but we have different views on what the correct moral choice is. As long as there is no consensus, and believe me there is not, we must stay with things as they are. You have to listen carefully to my opponent's words on this one. He says he won't pass legislation. But he also says he like Supreme Court judges like the ones who are prepared to overturn Roe v Wade. That means it's pretty likely if you elect him, that there will be a very serious changes to abortion rights.
  There you have three totally pragmatic reasons why you should re-elect the President. You may not like the way he looks, you may think (incorrectly) that he's a radical leftist. You may have heard (again incorrectly) that he was not born in the US. But if you think you might get sick, and if you're weary of war, and if you might ever have a family member with an unwanted pregnancy, you really have to vote for Obama.
  PS: I am an independent, I voted for Obama in 2008 and will vote for him this year. I've given his campaign $400 so far. However, I have still voted Republican more times than Democrat. So if you have a response to this post, I would appreciate if you took all this into account, and don't respond as if you're on Fox News and I'm one of the "liberals" they talk about. Thanks.
Heretics Unite!
  Link to Article
  Source: Clusterfuck Nation
  Mon, 15 Oct 2012 14:23
  History is in a bad mood, as reflected in its acting troupe, the human race. What goes for the micro of an individual human personality also seems true for group. We have our bright moments, or years, and our darker ones and cycles within cycles of these and even sometimes bright and dark at the same moment. I am reflecting this week on Stephen Greenblatt's book, The Swerve: How the World Became Modern, which concerns itself with the mood of Europe in the early 1400s, but in particular the career of one Poggio Bracciolini, a poor boy whose beautiful handwriting took him to the center of power as secretary-scribe to the first Pope John XXIII (deposed and de-Poped), and later as key agent to unlocking the lost secrets of classical antiquity. (Apologies if I have already lost you in this week's departure from my usual japery). The depravity of the late medieval church hierarchy, and its sick grasp on the totality of everyday life a thousand years after the fall of Rome, is the outstanding feature of the period. What started out in Judea as a humble cult in thrall to the new idea of God-given grace, degenerated into a vile whoredom of concentrated wealth devoted to the routine infliction of cruelties. Poggio was especially struck by the fate of one radical reformer, Jerome of Prague, persecuted as a heretic. Jerome had made a career of inciting subversion in his wide travels around the universities of Europe, and was constantly in trouble with the church establishment. Around 1415 Jerome ventured to the Council of Constance in Germany where cardinals, archbishops, and other church poobahs had gathered to resolve a vexing administrative problem: the schism that had one Pope in Avignon, France, and another in Rome, each answering to different kingdoms of Europe. In the course of things, Jerome the reformer made a pest of himself and was branded a heretic, thus nominating himself as a candidate for gruesome execution. Poggio witnessed Jerome's defense of his actions and beliefs before the council higher-ups, which were delivered in Latin with an eloquence not displayed since the days of Cicero. Jerome was eventually burned at the stake anyway, but the heroic power of his rhetoric made an impression on Poggio. In the course of things at Constance, Poggio's patron, so-called "anti-Pope" John XXIII, a.k.a. Baldassarre Cossa, got kicked out of the club and Poggio was released from his duties to pursue his true life ambition, which was the rescue of forsaken manuscripts from the high culture of the Roman empire which lay moldering in the vaults and attics of monasteries all over the continent. He traveled far and wide in all weathers and seasons in a time when even the best roads were little more than mule tracks. The indifferent monks let him poke around their storerooms and in cases where he could not purchase a dusty scroll outright, he either pilfered them, or copied them out laboriously in his beautifully clear Carolingian handwriting. In rescuing the works such as the complete orations of Cicero, the Epicurian discourse of Lucretius (De Rerum Natura - On the Nature of Things), as well as the practical dissertations of Vitruvius on architecture and Frontinus on the Roman aqueducts, he opened the door to the revival of human spirit that we call the Renaissance. If you look closely at the artifacts of the centuries pre-dating the Renaissance, you detect a long-running mood of severe psychological depression when the human race dwelt in abject hopelessness and poverty, with only the hocus-pocus of the church promising better times beyond the mystery of death as the Zoloft of the day. Poggio was not alone in his enthusiasm for the lost world of the ancients, and eventually the rediscovery of a realm of ideas beyond the drear preoccupations of a corrupt church turned on a light for humanity that has burned for five hundred years. I mention these old and arcane matters because the mood of humanity lately seems to be darkening again, and to some large degree for understandable reasons. Between the melting of the polar icecaps, the destruction of all edible life in the oceans, and the vulgar spectacle of the paved-over American landscape with its clown monuments mocking all civilized endeavor, and a long list of other insults to healthy life on earth, there's a lot to be depressed about. We stand to lose a proportional amount of human capital accumulated over the past five hundred years as the benighted people of post-Roman Europe lost, and it may take us a thousand years or more to recover - if we recover at all. It's especially disturbing to see the infiltration of the latest version of Jesus mumbo-jumbo - Southern Republican Nascar Evangelical orthodoxy - take over the collective mind of the USA. The poverty of ideas this represents can't be overstated and the timidity of any opposition to it is a disgrace to our heritage. Maybe that's an argument for electing a Mormon president, since that peculiar branch of the church is so self-evidently childish and ridiculous that it will probably do more to defeat religious fanaticism than all the humanist dissertations ever written - or a thousand clones of Madonna Ciccone dancing in stadiums under laser beams in titanium brassieres._______________________________James Howard Kunstler's newest nonfiction book, TOO MUCH MAGIC, will be available in stores in July 2012. The book will be available at booksellers, large and small, online and off. To find out how you can help support local bookstores with your purchase, CLICK HERE. Other books:
Scripting News: Readings from news execs
  Link to Article
  Source: Dave Winer's linkblog feed
  Mon, 15 Oct 2012 05:57
  Preparing for Jay Rosen's class today, I, like all the students, had to read eight speeches given by news execs.
  It was a really depressing task. I guess that's the point. Unless I was required to read them, I would have given up on each long before the end. The story is just too sad, and the rationalizations too weak, and honestly, way too vain and self-centered.
  There was an interesting juxtaposition. Rupert Murdoch giving a mercifully short speech saying the biggest mistake someone in the news business could make is thinking the reader is stupid. He could easily have been introducing the next speaker, Bill Keller of the NY Times, who clearly thinks almost everyone who doesn't work at the NY Times is stupid. It seems he would exempt reporters at The Guardian, the LA Times and the Chicago Tribune. Probably the Boston Globe as well. Not sure who else he respects, but he certainly doesn't respect bloggers, or seem to understand that bloggers could have facts or perspectives that a Times reporter might cite (though, thankfully quite a few Times reporters seem to do that these days).
  For Jay's class, our assignment is to figure out how these guys are trying to adapt.
  Here's how I visualize how they're doing it. Imagine a box made of cardboard. It's big, but it's light. Pick the box up and move it from one place to another. When it gets to the new spot, it's still a big cardboard box. It still can contain the same stuff as the box did when it was in the old place.
  That's the transition each of these execs feel they have to make. The stuff in the box are news stories. The box is their editorial structure. The old place is print. The new place is the Internet.
  I, of course, don't think that's it. Not at all.
  Anyway, as I was reading these eight essays, my mind wandered -- and I wondered how each of these execs would explain Wikipedia. How is it that something that is very competitive with the product created by people more or less like them, was created by volunteers, people working for nothing?
  Because the fundamental thing each of the speakers has in common, the one possible mistake they're all making, the one variable they refuse to consider is the possibility that other people might do what they do, for no pay.
  Bill Keller said it most concisely. "newspapers have at least two important assets that none of the digital newcomers even pretend to match. One is that we deploy worldwide a corps of trained, skilled reporters to witness events and help our readers understand them. This work is expensive, laborious, sometimes unpopular, and occasionally perilous."
  The key word in that paragraph is "witness."
  They pay people to witness.
  These events they pay people to witness are witnessed by many more people who aren't being paid. Could at least a few of them relate what they witness? And isn't aggregating all these witness accounts what reporters actually do? The faulty assumption that bloggers would be helpless without reporters ignores the fact that reporters would be helpless without accounts of witnesses who are not reporters (and might even be bloggers).
  And of course, all this expensive witnessing is what they've been cutting. The Boston Globe used to have overseas offices, but was forced to close them to maintain their coverage of local news. They have also been using paid bloggers to cover many of the 200 towns in their area. Did it occur to them to simply start new publications in each of those towns, and let people do the witnessing on a voluntary basis?
  If you think it's not possible to have a quality result, then you have to explain why Wikipedia exists, and why a similar approach could not be used for news. This question kept coming up repeatedly as I read each of the speeches.
  The eight speeches:
  1. Tom Curley, President and CEO, The Associated Press, speech to the Online News Association Conference, Nov. 12, 2004
  2. Rupert Murdoch, CEO of News Corp., speech to the American Society of Newspaper Editors, April 13, 2005
  3. Bill Keller, Executive Editor of the New York Times, Hugo Young lecture, Chatham House, London, November 28, 2007 07.23 GMT
  4. Martin Baron, Editor of The Boston Globe, the 2009 Ruhl Lecture, University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication, April 2, 2009
  5. David Schlesinger, Editor-in-Chief Reuters News, speech to the International Olympics Committee Press Commission, June 23, 2009
  6. John Temple, formerly Editor of the Rocky Mountain News, speech to the UC Berkeley Media Technology Summit at Google in Silicon Valley, Sep. 30, 2009
  7. Alan Rusbridger, Editor of The Guardian, Hugh Cudlipp lecture, Chatham House, London, January 25, 2010
  8. Vivian Schiller, CEO of NPR, speech to the Investigative Reporters and Editors, June 14th, 2010
Marissa Mayer
  Link to Article
  Source: Outrages
  Mon, 15 Oct 2012 05:33
  The media is completely biased and rigged and fluff pieces like this really drive the point home.
  The media fawns all over this woman basically because she's a cute an "in tech". Seriously, where would she be if she hadn't been Larry Page's girlfiend?
EXCLUSIVE: Desperate RBS lobbying for tougher repossession laws
  Link to Article
  Source: A diary of deception and distortion
  Mon, 15 Oct 2012 05:33
  Taxpayer-owned bank in dire straits as Santander deal collapses; more customers reveal fraud evidence.Bank contractor sources revealed over last weekend that Royal Bank of Scotland lobbyists are hammering hard on the Coalition's door with a view to getting draconian repossession laws passed. With fraud suits and gagging orders flying in every direction, Stephen Hester uttered the euphemism of the year by telling the media that the failure of the Santander retail purchases deal to complete was 'disappointing'. Yesterday, financial opinion leaders were aghast at the thought of RBS effectively having its systemic gangsterism legalised.
  ''If you won't entertain debt forgiveness,'' said the banking insider who contacted the Slog two days ago, ''then managing bad debt is actually an expensive and time consuming activity.'' Especially for the customer. The source continued:
  ''In essence, the objective is for banks to be able to seize assets and collateral much sooner and to a greater extent than they can at the moment. They also want the current bankruptcy laws reviewed, the view being 'people mustn't be allowed to escape their obligations'. At the moment RBS are also looking at taking a much more aggressive approach with tens of thousands of people on relatively low amount debt repayment plans.''
  The Slog has ample evidence of pressure-switching from interest-only to full repayment loans'....as well as attempts to foreclose fraudulently. This is effectively asking customers oversold debt by bankers from 2003-08 if they wouldn't mind screwing themselves so Freddie Goodwin's megalomania can be amortised. Nice. My contact concluded:
  ''RBS along with a number of other banks is lobbying for a reform of debt laws and regulations in this country. Essentially they'll put the squeeze on people deep in debt but just coping.''
  If RBS staff are allowed to go any harder on such policies, they might just as well dress up in red and start using the rack. But 90% of the time, these drones are of course merely following the orders coming from those far above the train-timetables-and-tendering-for-gas-pellets process. And now that the Santander deal has collapsed, things can only get worse '' for everyone: for the Spanish bank was going to take on 316 RBS branches in the U.K.
  The knackered toxically insolvent bailed-out bank (82% owned by us and aren't we thrilled about that) was required by the European Commission in 2009 to sell the branches as a condition for receiving state aid. Santander has backed out after two years of haggling, and once again every taxpayer is entitled to ask why.
  Whenever anyone from an Arab wealth fund to a sovereign State gets to see the RBS books, they tend to reverse in the opposite direction in sixth gear. The Slog has been using RBS Group insiders for eighteen months now as the source of allegations that the real toxicity of the Group is way, way beyond anything the public has been told. Further, Freedom of Information (FOI) requests simply bounce off Stephen 'I'm above the Law' Hester, as the bank has been cleverly structured to ensure that the vast majority of the bank's jiggery-pokery lies beyond the definition 'State' or 'State owned'.*
  The bank said in a statement Friday that it would continue to work on fulfilling its obligations to the European Commission, and vowed that the decision would not impact on 'service to customers'. So if you have an account with RBS, you should be very afraid of being serviced bigtime in future by the Rogered Bowel Syndrome.
  All of which brings us back full circle to those 1600 customers currently in dispute with the Great Monetiser. So removing all names, pack drill and possibilities for injucting, here are some telling excerpts from just a few victims' accounts of being at war with the RBS:
  ''.....given the circumstances surrounding the closure of our Personal Bank Account, and your own close links with the Accused, we are legitimately concerned that you were personally involved in the orchestrated closure of this Account'...an act which we believe also constitutes the Criminal Act of Conspiring to Pervert the Course of Justice. We will deal with the matter of NatWest's / RBS's overall liability for our massive losses (i.e. as result of our improper & fateful introduction to XXX XXXXX) under separate cover'...'
  'Upon discussing the case with the Banking Ombudsman, who was horrified at RBS's conduct, we were told that this conduct seriously breached the Banking Code'...'
  'The Joint Personal Account was closed, without even informing us until the week after, on a Friday afternoon (on the 2nd October '09), before a vital Monday legal deadline (on the 5th October '09) in relation to our Proceedings at the Royal Courts of Justice'...Proceedings in which we have been forced to act as Litigants in Person, and having to prepare for substantive High Court submissions [because] we were left without access to money'....'
  I would stress that, before reaching any conclusions about the above content, readers should remember that:
  1. The above extracts could be a pack of lies; but
  2. Some of the behaviour mentioned in there rings true'....and sounds familiar.
  *Those so keen on the Branson acquisition of NHS primary care services should note that the same thing applies there.
  * * * * * *If you had asked me two years ago whether 'financial repression' was a reality or a blogosphere-invented conspiracy theory, I would've said the latter. But surveying the pending Court cases relating to UK retail banking at the moment, there is a veritable Alpine mountain range of evidence to demonstrate that at least four banks are actively involved '' with senior management approval '' in fraudulent asset repossession and thinly disguised extortion.
  It's also clearly doing it with the full approval of HM Treasury.
  This tells you all you need to know about how bad our fiscal and banking situation is here in Great Britain'...and how amoral the politico-banking axis has become. It also explains why 'glitz bricks' prices are heading for the Moon, and gold is almost certainly having a brief rest before powering well beyond the magic $1800 an ounce.
  Over the coming year, I will be holding the very minimum possible in cash. What you do is your affair. In the meantime, I would suggest that '' without massive passive resistance to banks and tax inspectors, we're all going to be fleeced yet again.
  See also: the multimillionaire Greek banker who regulates himself
  Like this:Be the first to like this.
Obama's Legacy of Deception
  Link to Article
  Source: Peter Bromberg's UnBlog
  Mon, 15 Oct 2012 05:12
  When the President, his Vice President, his Secretary of State and others deliberately lie to American citizens about the tragic killing of an American ambassador and three of his staff, the nation has reached a point where decisions need to be made on Election Day.
  What disturbs me the most is the utter disdain for the truth that has marked the presidency of Barack Obama. It has been nearly four years of repeated lies about the steps that were taken to respond to the financial crisis; the so-called ''stimulus'' which wasted billions, and the literal explosion of entitlement programs.
  The administration literally seized control of General Motors and Chrysler, which were then in the normal process of bankruptcy, claiming to save the jobs of auto workers. What they really did was bypass the legitimate creditors and investors. They arbitrarily discontinued GM's relationship with hundreds of auto dealerships, adding their employees to the unemployment lines. They then insisted that GM invest millions in the creation of an electric car that cost $47,000 to purchase and ended up buying them for government use with taxpayer's money.
  Obamacare, more than 2,700 pages in length and incorporating more than twenty new taxes, was passed by a Democrat-controlled Congress with little evidence that any of those who voted for it had even read it.
  Under Obama, the foreign policy of this nation has seriously weakened its position in the world and, combined with cuts to defense spending, put its ability to protect the homeland and project power abroad at risk. The administration failed to negotiate an agreement with Iraq that would permit U.S. troops to remain in place, leaving Iraq vulnerable to al Qaeda. Setting a date for withdrawal from Afghanistan has only emboldened the Taliban. Obama's foreign policy has been an abject failure.
  The so-called Arab Spring has mutated, not into the establishment of democratic institutions in nations like Egypt or Libya, but an opportunity for the Muslim Brotherhood to ascend to positions of power in opposition to America's interests in the Middle East and Northern Africa.
  We now know that President Obama skipped some sixty percent of the daily CIA briefings and this no doubt led to his ignorance of the impending tragedy in Libya, but the fault also lies with the State Department that ignored the slain ambassador's pleas for increased security for the embassy and consulate. This is a president who has been absent without leave as the Islamic jihad began to heat up across the face of the globe.
  The hostility of President Obama's administration to the vital energy sector of our nation has denied access to oil extraction on vast acreage of federal lands. It has denied permits for offshore drilling. It has mercilessly attacked the coal industry, responsible for nearly fifty percent of all electricity generation in the nation. Plants for electricity have closed down under the pressure of costly EPA regulations. Only the natural gas sector has grown, thanks to the technology of fracking, but both oil and gas is being extracted mostly on private land.
  The economy, which could have recovered in much the same way it did during the Kennedy and Reagan administrations, has limped along while 23 million Americans remain out of work or have stopped looking for jobs. There are 47 million Americans on food stamps, utilizing eighty percent of the budget of the Department of Agriculture. There are millions who have seen the value of their homes decrease and others have faced foreclosure.
  The Federal Reserve has pumped Trillions in fiat money into the banking system, and it hasn't done a thing except to raise the specter of rampant inflation. The Labor Department was just caught rigging the data on new jobs to get it below 8 percent in a record-setting 43 months.
  Barack Obama, a man whose personal life history is mostly a concoction of lies, whose personal records have been hidden from public examination, and who stunned viewers of his first debate with Mitt Romney by appearing so unprepared and so willing to repeat past lies, has been at the heart of a disastrous presidency.
  Americans, no matter what their political affiliation, who are now saddled with $16 trillion in national debt, nearly six trillion of which was imposed in just the last four years, have a common interest to defeat Barack Obama. It's high time for a big change, folks.
  Labels: economics, ECONOMY, Obama, obamacare
Guns: The election season silence
  Link to Article
  Source: BBC News - Home
  Mon, 15 Oct 2012 05:10
  14 October 2012Last updated at21:58 ETDespite being one of the biggest stories in America this year, the BBC's Raphael Rowe found that there is one subject that neither candidate in this year's presidential election wants to talk about - guns.
  The shooting death of black teenager Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman in a gated community in Florida in February led to a fierce debate about racial profiling, justice and the easy availability of guns.
  It also raised questions not just about America's gun culture, but the lobby effort that led to the creation of the so-called "stand your ground" laws that we have come to learn so much about.
  They are now in place in 24 states, with Florida being the first.
  Continue reading the main storyIt is the rare politician in America, even liberal politicians, who will vocally support increased gun control''
  End QuoteRoger SimonsPolitical columnistThe law expands on a centuries-old British legal principle that permits the use of deadly force in self-defence of your own home. It also grants immunity from arrest, detention and prosecution.
  Under Florida's "stand your ground", Mr Zimmerman was initially freed without charges, but following an outcry that included street protests reminiscent of the civil rights movement, the local police chief was sacked and the prosecutor quit the case.
  Gun lobbyPlease turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.
  Panorama reporter Raphael Rowe visits a gun shop to find out about the type of weapon preferred for self-defence
  After a further review, Mr Zimmerman was charged six weeks later with second degree murder and is currently free on bail awaiting trial. His lawyers say their case will be based on self-defence, not stand your ground, arguing that their client was being attacked when he fatally shot the 17-year-old schoolboy.
  Professor Mark Hoekstra of Texas A&M University in Houston said making the use of deadly force permissible has come at a price. He studied its effect in 21 states.
  "In terms of homicides, what we show'...there is about an 8% increase in the homicide rate caused by these laws'...that is about 600 additional homicides per year."
  Florida's bill was co-written by the National Rifle Association (NRA), the powerful pro-gun lobby that has a membership of almost 4m and an annual budget of $300m (£187m).
  Their efforts have been largely successful. In most states, anyone over 18 can walk into a gun shop and buy a gun. The number of guns that are privately owned in America is staggering, there are 90 guns for every 100 people and carrying a concealed weapon is legal in 49 states across America.
  In Florida, George Zimmerman was legally carrying a concealed handgun on the night Trayvon Martin was killed.
  Influence
  The driving force behind the rollout of "stand your ground" bills in legislatures across America was an umbrella organisation called the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a conservative, pro-business group that receives funding from the NRA and is 98% funded by corporate and sponsor donations.
  With a $7m budget (£4.4m) and more than 2,000 members or sponsors, the NRA took its model bill to ALEC to push upon state legislators.
  The Trayvon Martin killing has caused critics to claim that ALEC has undue influence and question what they say is an unhealthy relationship between legislatures, the NRA and corporate America.
  Lisa Graves, executive director of the Center for Media and Democracy, called ALEC a "corporate bill mill" and said large corporations - including large British-based multinationals such as BP, GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca - that give money to ALEC are helping to fund their lobbying efforts, regardless of whether or not they have any interest in being part of the pro-gun lobby.
  "Their money helps support ALEC's overall operations, its propaganda machine and its efforts to get these bills pushed in state houses across the country."
  In a statement, ALEC said it has disbanded its committee that pushed "stand your ground" laws out to legislators and has no current policies on the law.
  Politicians 'afraid'Scott Maxwell, a columnist for the Orlando Sentinel newspaper who has covered the Trayvon Martin killing extensively, said the level of influence of groups such as ALEC is worrying.
  "We're reached a point in this'...country where legislators and congressmen aren't the ones writing their bills any more...the corporations or these think tanks are and that's a scary thought'...in some regards democracy is increasingly in this country, for sale."
  Despite other recent high profile gun crimes, including June's mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado during a screening of the new Batman film that left 12 dead, the wider issue of gun control, the reach of the gun lobby and the "stand your ground" laws are all seemingly off-limits in this election season.
  While both President Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney spoke out about a search for answers amid the media storm that followed the Trayvon Martin shooting - which took place in a key battleground state - the silence since has been notable.
  Political columnist Roger Simons gave his take on the reasons why the two presidential candidates remain silent: "They're afraid, they are afraid to lose voters. It is the rare politician in America, even liberal politicians, who will vocally support increased gun control."
  Panorama: Kill at Will? America on Trial is on BBC One, Monday, 15 October at 20:30 BST and then available in the UKonlyon theBBC iPlayer.