Obama's Animal Farm: Bigger, Bloodier
Wars Equal Peace and Justice |
President Obama has elevated the most notorious of the psychopaths, General Stanley McChrystal, to head the US and NATO military command in Afghanistan. McChrystal's rise to leadership is marked by his central role in directing special operations teams engaged in extrajudicial assassinations, systematic torture, bombing of civilian communities and search and destroy missions. full story |
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Florida Officials: 43 Children Zapped
by Stun Gun during Prison Tour |
"None of the children in any of the incidents required medical attention or was notably harmed, McNeil said. He said the children, who ranged in age from 5 to 17, were all children of prison officials." "The jolt sent at least two of them sprawling to the floor, crying out in pain and clutching at agonizing burns on their arms. One child ended up in hospital," reported the Mail Online. full story |
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Pentagon Preps Soldier Telepathy Push |
Forget the battlefield radios, the combat PDAs or even infantry hand signals. When the soldiers of the future want to communicate, they'll read each other's minds. At least, that's the hope of researchers at the Pentagon's mad-science division Darpa. The agency's budget for the next fiscal year includes $4 million to start up a program called Silent Talk. full story |
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Scouts Train to Fight Terrorists, and More |
Ten minutes into arrant mayhem in this town near the Mexican border, and the gunman, a disgruntled Iraq war veteran, has already taken out two people, one slumped in his desk, the other covered in blood on the floor. The responding officers -- eight teenage boys and girls, the youngest 14 -- face tripwire, a thin cloud of poisonous gas and loud shots. BAM! BAM! -- fired from behind a flimsy wall. full story |
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UN and SPP Set Stage for Military
to Manage Flu Pandemic in US |
The Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America summit in Canada released a plan that establishes U.N. law along with regulations by the World Trade Organization and World Health Organization as supreme over U.S. law during a pandemic and sets the stage for militarizing the management of continental health emergencies. The "North American Plan for Avian & Pandemic Influenza" was finalized at the SPP summit last week in Quebec. full story |
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Video: Border Patrol Agents Ordered
NOT to Wear Protective Masks |
Homeland Security has ordered border patrol agents to not wear masks while ushering cars in from Mexico -- and this while the government is getting ready for drastic quarantine measures for a possible flu pandemic. full story |
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Censors for Talk Radio
Expected within 90 Days |
The announcement said the U.S. now is facing "an insidious attack on its 1st Amendment Rights that is being cloaked in legislation and regulation evidenced by the recently circulated draft FCC regulations to impose 'localism' and 'media ownership diversity' on talk radio." "In addition, under the guise of 'cyberspace security,' Sens. Rockefeller, Snowe and Nelson have introduced S773 which would give the fed. govt. control over the internet." full story |
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Patriot Act Stripped
16-Year Old of Due Process |
On March 5th at 10 p.m. armed FBI agents along with three local law enforcement officers stormed her home looking for her son. They handcuffed him and presented her with a search warrant. Ashton now sits in a juvenile facility in South Bend, Ind. His mother has had little access to him since his arrest. She has gone to her state reps. as well as attorneys, seeking assistance, but, she said, there is nothing she can do. full story |
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Montana Fires a Warning
Shot over States' Rights |
Montana is trying to trigger a battle over gun control --- and perhaps make a larger point about what many folks in this ruggedly independent state regard as a meddlesome federal government. "It's a gun bill, but it's another way of demonstrating the sovereignty of the state of Montana," said Democratic Governor Brian Schweitzer, who signed the bill. full story |
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Texas Doctor Claims Swine Flu
Cases Far Worse than Reported |
A doctor in Texas claims that swine flu cases are at least 10X worse than officials are letting on, and that hospitals are becoming overwhelmed as the virus has already crossed the threshold to be considered a phase 6 global pandemic. He claims that the actual number of confirmed cases of swine flu is 10 to 25 times worse than has been reported, and that people are not recovering easily, as has been claimed, but that many Americans are in fact seriously ill. full story |
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Flying Pigs, Tamiflu and Factory Farms |
If we are to believe what our trusted international media report, the world is on the brink of a global pandemic outbreak of a new deadly strain of flu, H1N1 as it has been labelled, or more popularly, Swine Flu. As the story goes, the outbreak of the deadly flu was first discovered in Mexico. According to press reports, after several days, headlines reported as many as perhaps 150 deaths in Mexico were believed caused by this virulent people-killing pig virus.. full story |
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Thought Police Muscle Up in Britain |
There are no concentration camps or gulags but there are thought police with unprecedented powers to dictate ways of thinking and sniff out heresy, and there can be harsh punishments for dissent. Nikolai Bukharin claimed one of the Bolshevik Revolution's principal tasks was "to alter people's actual psychology". Britain is not Bolshevik, but a campaign to alter people's psychology and create a new Homo britannicus is under way without even a fig leaf of disguise. full story |
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Homeland Security Issues Alert on
Mandatory Quarantine Procedures |
The DHS has sent out an alert to health care providers outlining how BATF, FBI, and U.S. Marshals will be called upon to impose mandatory quarantines in the event of a widespread swine flu outbreak. A Defense Dept. planning doc. on dealing with pandemics states that the Pentagon will use the forces at its disposal to assist in "quarantining groups of people in order to minimize the spread of disease during an influenza pandemic" and aid in "efforts to restore and maintain order." full story |
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Dr. Horowitz: Anglo-American Vaccine
Industry behind Swine Flu Outbreak |
Consider the skyrocketing stock values of Novavax, Inc., precipitated by dozens of alleged flu deaths in Mexico. Then investigate the leading Anglo-American network of genetic engineers manipulating, mutating, and distributing these viruses. The evidence compels you, for the benefit of public health and safety to seriously consider, even decree, a conspiracy to commit genocide, according to this Harvard trained expert in emerging diseases. full story |
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AP Sensationalism: Worst-Case Scenario,
Pandemic Will Claim 2 Million Americans |
"Two million dead," Alonsozaldivar and Sullivan wrote. "Hospitals overwhelmed. Schools closed. Swaths of empty seats at baseball stadiums and houses of worship. An economic recovery snuffed out. We're nowhere close to what government planners say would be a worst-case scenario: a global flu pandemic. But government leaders at all levels, and major employers, have spent nearly four years planning for one in series of exercises." full story |
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Obama Nominee Advocates
Internet "Fairness Doctrine" |
Sunstein's believes that the government should impose a "fairness doctrine" on the internet. "Barack Obama's nominee for 'regulatory czar' has advocated a 'Fairness Doctrine' for the Internet that would require opposing opinions be linked and also has suggested angry e-mails should be prevented from being sent by technology that would require a 24-hour cooling off period." full story |
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Hillary Clinton Compares Margaret
Sanger to Thomas Jefferson |
"Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is set to receive the highest award given by Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the Margaret Sanger Award, named for the organization's founder, a noted eugenicist." In 1939, Clinton's heroine said: "We should hire three or four colored ministers, preferably with social service backgrounds and with engaging personalities. We don't want the word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population." full story |
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Drug Prohibition: Law
Enforcement Is the Problem |
Ending the War on Drugs would save countless lives from being lost or ruined. An enormous drain on our economy would cease. It would be great. Ending the War on Drugs would be a tremendous first step, but then what? The government would still have all the police powers it used to have. Perhaps they could be convinced to cut them back a bit, but we know from painful experience how hard it is to get the government to give up a power it has acquired. full story |
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Obama Traffic-safety Czar
Chauffeurs the Nanny State |
The nation's traffic-safety czar, picked by Obama, has broad powers to control the roads and road-going habits of Americans. Mr. Hurley has a history of pushing laws that harass millions of law-abiding citizens to ensnare a few lawbreakers. He supports returning the 55 mph speed limit to our highways as well as roadblocks and random pullovers to make sure drivers aren't doing anything wrong. This methodology is based on a presumption of guilt - not innocence. full story |
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100 Days in office, Obama Coronated Messiah |
On his 100th day in office Obama will be "crowned" in messianic imagery at NY's Union Square. Artist Michael D'Antuono's painting "The Truth", featuring Obama with his arms outstretched and wearing a crown of thorns upon his head, will be unveiled on 4/29. The painting depicts Obama appearing much like Jesus Christ on the Cross: atop his head, a crown of thorns; behind him, the dark veil being lifted (or lowered) on the Presidential Seal.0 full story |
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Flu Bug and Disappearing Microbiologists |
If you sell crack, join a gang, or rob the mob you can expect to die a violent death, but if you listen to your mother, eat all the right foods, and study hard in college to become a microbiologist, you should expect to live to a ripe old age and die peacefully That being the case, a few eyebrows were raised when five microbiologists either disappeared or died mysteriously violent deaths in 2001. A short time later the number rose to 19, and then 29. full story |
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Western Gray Whales Get a Break
From Noisy Oil Development |
An oil and gas consortium has agreed to suspend this summer's planned seismic testing off Sakhalin Island in the Russian Far East, the only feeding area for the critically endangered Western gray whale. The decision by Sakhalin Energy followed a recommendation today by an international scientific panel to halt further noisy seismic testing in the whales' feeding area near Piltun Bay on the western edge of the Sea of Okhotsk. full story |
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Ohio Man Arrested for Drunk Driving
on Motorized Bar Stool |
You really have to see this to believe it. An Ohio man was arrested for drunk driving on his homemade motorized bar stool. 28-year old Kile Wygle was spotted driving a "strange motorized machine" and police were contacted after he wrecked. When Police arrived on the scene, Wygle told them "I wrecked my bar stool" and pointed out the machine is capable of hitting 40 mph, even though he wrecked at only 20 mph. full story |
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The New Debtors' Prisons |
Edwina Nowlin, a poor Michigan resident, was ordered to reimburse a juvenile detention center $104 a month for holding her 16-year-old son. When she explained to the court that she could not afford to pay, Ms. Nowlin was sent to prison. The ACLU of Michigan, which helped get her out after she spent 28 days behind bars, says it is seeing more people being sent to jail because they cannot make various court-ordered payments. full story |
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Alert: Obama Pushing Treaty to Ban Reloading |
A week ago, Obama went to Mexico, whined about the US, and bemoaned (before the whole world) the fact that he didn't have the political power to take away our semi-automatics. Nevertheless, that didn't keep him from pushing additional restrictions on American gun owners. It's called the Inter-American Convention Against Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, and Other Related Materials. The title masks a really nasty piece of work. full story |
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The Shamelessness of Jane Harman |
Harman is not alone in her shamelessness, not as long as there are people like David Frum around. Frum is the author of the "axis of evil" trope, fired from his White House speechwriting job for grandstanding, and now embarked on a crusade to save the GOP from "extremism", this from a man who wrote a book calling for the invasion of nearly every country in the Middle East, and advocating total surveillance of the American people by govt. authorities. full story |
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Medical Director: Swine Flu
Was "Cultured In A Laboratory" |
Swine flu panic is spreading in Mexico and soldiers are patrolling the streets after it was confirmed that human to human transmission is occurring and that the virus is a brand new strain which is seemingly affecting young, healthy people the worst. Questions about the source of the outbreak are also being asked after a public health official said that the virus was "cultured in a laboratory ". full story |
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Obama Legal Team Wants
Defendants' Rights Limited |
The Obama administration is asking the Supreme Court to overrule long-standing law that stops police from initiating questions unless a defendant's lawyer is present, another stark example of the White House seeking to limit rather than expand rights. Since taking office, Obama has drawn criticism for backing the continued imprisonment of enemy combatants in Afghanistan without trial. full story |
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On Torture, the Pressure Builds |
Well, well. The New York Times has finally put a story together on the key role that two controversial psychologists played in devising the Bush admin.'s torture policies. Guess we should be thankful for small favors. Apparently, a NY Times "exposé" requires a 21-month gestation period; just by way of pointing out that the substance of the Times "exposé" appeared in an article the July 2007 issue of Vanity Fair. full story |
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Obama Rejects Truth Panel |
Obama rebuffed calls for a commission to investigate alleged abuses under the Bush admin. in fighting terrorism, telling congressional leaders at a White House meeting yesterday that he wants to look forward instead of litigating the past. In a lengthy exchange with John A. Boehner Obama appeared to back away from a statement earlier this week that suggested he could support an independent commission to examine possible abuses. full story |
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A Nation of Helpless Idiots |
As most of us know, Kansas City, Missouri is a haven for international and domestic terrorists. Pakistan and Afghanistan are small potatoes compared to this insurgency stomping ground. The kooks who tend to flourish in Missouri are young, law-abiding liberty-seekers who advocate Ron Paul's limited-government ideas; third-party proponents who supported Bob Barr's presidential bid.. full story |
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Public Outcry Leads Defense Department
to Reverse Spent Ammo Directive |
The U.S. Department of Defense has reversed a directive that would have prohibited U.S. ammunition retailers from purchasing used brass shell casings from the government -- and at least one ammo maker credits public outcry for the change of heart. "It just restores my faith that the system works," Curtis Shipley, owner of Georgia Arms, told CNSNews.com. "If enough people are motivated and say 'Hey, that is wrong,' the system does still work." full story |
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Senate Proposal Could Put Heavy
Restrictions on Internet Freedoms |
The days of an open, largely unregulated Internet may soon come to an end. A bill making its way through Congress proposes to give the U.S. government authority over all networks considered part of the nation's critical infrastructure. Under the proposed Cybersecurity Act of 2009, the president would have the authority to shut down Internet traffic to protect national security. full story |
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The Evil-Hilarious Jane Harman |
Blue Dog Rep. Jane Harman -- once the most vigorous Democratic cheerleader of Bush's NSA warrantless eavesdropping program -- is rip-roarin' angry today. Apparently, her private conversations were eavesdropped on by the U.S. Government! This is a grave outrage that, as she told Andrea Mitchell just moments ago, demands a probing investigation. full story |
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Social Workers Snatch Elderly Mother |
A woman who removed her elderly mother from a care home amid worries over her health was shocked to see police and social workers on her doorstep with a battering ram ready to snatch her back. Rosalind Figg was concerned about the treatment her elderly mother was receiving and took her home to look after her personally. But social workers in Coventry disagreed with her actions and used a little-known power to take her back. full story |
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Alan Keyes: Government Will Stage
Terror, Declare Martial Law |
Former presidential candidate Alan Keyes has given perhaps his most dire warning yet, saying that the Obama administration is preparing to stage terror attacks, declare martial law and cancel the 2012 elections, which is why they are demonizing their political enemies as criminals and terrorists. Keyes said that Americans should be thankful if they even see another election in 2012. full story |
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Insane Cop Arrests ABC News
Reporter for Filming Traffic Accident |
It's becoming a disturbingly familiar scene in America, aggressive, overbearing and mentally unstable cops who think that it is an arrestable offense not to obey their every order, harassing citizens who have done absolutely nothing wrong. The latest example comes from El Paso, Texas, where a local ABC news reporter and his cameraman were arrested simply for something they routinely do every day as part of their job - filming traffic incidents. full story |
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Criminals For Gun Control |
Videos clearly showing how and why criminals love gun control and how armed citizens do stop violent crimes and the police do not. full story |
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Harman and AIPAC: More Evidence
of Massive Government Corruption |
Jane Harman was caught on a federal wiretap offering to lobby the Justice Dept. to reduce espionage-related charges against AIPAC officials. In exchange for help in getting espionage-related charges reduced against two AIPAC officials, a suspected Israeli agent pledged to lobby Nancy Pelosi, then-House minority leader, to appoint Harman chair of the Intelligence Committee after the 2006 elections. full story |
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Gold Owners Are Targets of the Government |
If you own gold, you are in a war. You are under assault. You had better figure this out early. The reason why you are under assault is because you have demonstrated by your purchase of gold or a gold-related investment that you do not trust the monetary policies of your nation's central bank. If you are an American, this means you do not trust the monetary policies of the Federal Reserve System. full story |
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Illinois Gov. Demands Answers from State
EPA on 2-decade Use of Tainted Well |
In response to a Tribune investigation that revealed the village's secret use of a polluted well, Quinn on Monday directed his senior staff to conduct a thorough review of the EPA's actions in Crestwood. Among other things, the governor wants to know why the agency didn't invoke a 2005 law requiring the state to issue a notification when residents could be exposed to soil or groundwater pollution. full story |
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Source: FBI Spied On Tea Party
Protesters Nationwide |
The Northeast Intelligence Network reports that a concerned unnamed FBI agent risked his career in blowing the whistle on the fact that Tea Party protesters were subject to covert surveillance. The FBI agent allegedly said, "The Dept. of Homeland Security Intelligence Assessment that is receiving so much attention is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg, and the true patriotic citizens of this country are on the Titanic." full story |
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The Shill World Order: Pushers of
the False Left-Right Paradigm |
Outside the political boundaries that seek to control dissent against the unconstitutional apparatuses of govt., lies a group of independent people who have been attacked under the Bush admin. as communist terrorists, and under Obama's as fascist racist. The people who propagate this fraud are millionaire media shills who push partisan propaganda to the benefit of the owners of both parties, the special interests, military industrial complex.. full story |
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Americans Live in a Fascist State |
America is going from what used to be the major capitalistic country in the world of free market -- a crusader -- into what Mussolini would have called fascism: the merger of state and corporate powers. So it is not socialism as people believe, it is socialism's egalitarianism. It's not communism where the state controls monopolies -- it's fascism, plain and simple. full story |
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Obama Appointee Suggests Radical
Plan for Newspaper Bailout |
Influential Los Angeles Times columnist Rosa Brooks has hung up her journalistic hat and joined the Obama administration, but not before penning a public proposal calling for some radical ideas to help bail out the failing news industry. Brooks, who has taken up a post as an adviser at the Pentagon, advocated upping "direct government support for public media" and creating licenses to govern news operations. full story |
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Illegal Trade Wiping Out
Indonesia's Sumatran Orangutans |
A lack of adequate law enforcement against the illegal trade in Indonesian apes threatens the survival of orangutans and gibbons on the island of Sumatra, finds a new study released today by the wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC. Numbers of these primates continue to decline in the wild, and TRAFFIC estimates that just 7,300 critically endangered Sumatran orangutans now survive. full story |
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Are You Kidding Me? |
In Lafayette Park, Washington D.C., of all places to protest, the plan was to dump one million tea bags in the park, but the brave dissidents never did it because they forgot to get the proper permits. Are you kidding me? What is civil disobedience without civil disobedience? They even went so far as to say that they were willing to put down plastic tarps and clean up after themselves. full story |
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Grizzlies Killed in Record Numbers |
Hunters are killing grizzly bears in record numbers around Yellowstone National Park, threatening to curb the species' decades long recovery just two years after the bear was removed from the endangered-species list. Driving the high death rate, researchers say, is the bears' continued expansion across the 15,000-square-mile Yellowstone region of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. full story |
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Napolitano Lying to Americans About Her
Rightwing Extremism Report; TMLC Files Suit |
"Napolitano is lying to the American people when she says the Report is not based on ideology or political beliefs. In fact, her report would have the admiration of the Gestapo and any current or past dictator in the way it targets political opponents. This assessment will be used as a tool to stifle political opposition and opinions. It will give a pretext for opponents of those Americans to report them to police as rightwing extremists and terrorists. You can imagine what happens then." full story |
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Conspiracy Theorists Were Right All Along! |
The Department of Homeland Security is warning "law enforcement officials" (jackbooted criminal types) about a rise in "rightwing extremist activity," but a footnote in this report by the Homeland Security Office of Intelligence and Analysis defines rightwing extremism as "including not just racist or hate groups, but also groups that (don't miss this part) reject federal authority in favor of state or local authority." full story |
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Video: Baptist Pastor Beaten
and Tazed by Border Patrol |
Young minister describes how he was beaten and tortured by cops when he stood up for his Constitutional rights. full story |
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Pirate Bay Four Jailed for Breaking
Copyright in Swedish File-sharing Trial |
Founders Peter Sunde and Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, along with two other employees Fredrik Neij and Carl LundstrÖm, were sentenced to a year in jail after being found guilty in a Swedish court of making 33 copyright-protected files accessible for illegal downloading on the website Piratebay.org. The four were also ordered to pay $3.6 m (£2.4m) in damages to copyright holders. full story |
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National Guard On Alert For Tea Party Protests |
As the Jawa Report points out, the majority of the people attending the Tea Party protests will be mainstream conservatives who are likely to be pro-military and pro-national guard. It's almost inconceivable that they would be any kind of threat to the Maryland National Guard. The advisory is more likely to be directed against libertarians and Ron Paul-style Republicans who will also be attending the Tea Party protests in large numbers. full story |
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A Cure for Honey Bee Colony Collapse? |
For the first time, scientists have isolated the parasite Nosema ceranae (Microsporidia) from professional apiaries suffering from honey bee colony depopulation syndrome. The researchers then treated the infected surviving under-populated colonies with the antibiotic drug, flumagillin and demonstrated complete recovery of all infected colonies. The loss of honey bees could have an enormous horticultural and economic impact worldwide. full story |
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Celente Calls for 'Revolution'
as the Only Solution |
Taxed to death, angry at government bailouts, outraged by Wall Street greed, and bitterly resentful of a system that rewards the undeserving rich, the American public is ready to revolt. "The Tea Parties and Tax Protests sprouting across the nation, which we had predicted, are harbingers of revolution," said Gerald Celente. "But they are not enough. Our call for 'Revolution' will galvanize the people, destroy the corrupt ruling systems, and produce a prosperous and more just nation."
full story |
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About Those Conservative Tax Protesters |
It's wonderful that rightwingers are making noise all around America through the Tea Party tax protests. We must remember, however, that this April 15th we are still suffering the burden of Bush's leviathan govt. We are filing for '08, the last year of Rep. rule. We will long be enduring the cost of Bush's wars, spending and bailouts. We should be wary of letting the Rep. establishment co-opt the grassroots, anti-govt. spirit of these protests and turn them into a platform to shill for GOP statism. full story |
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Conservatives Outraged at DHS Assessment
Warning of Violent 'Rightwing Extremism' |
Richard Poplawski, the Pittsburgh shooter, was linked to the white supremacist group Stormfront by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette following discovery of posts he made to the group's Web site. The paper, along with a broad range of media sources, also fallaciously linked Poplawski to Jones, a self-described paleoconservative and supporter of Republican Congressman Ron Paul. full story |
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The Rush Towards Socialism -
and How To Stop It |
It only took the Obama admin. a couple of weeks to prove that the national leadership of the Dem. Party is guided by totalitarian-minded socialists who seek to create an omnipotent govt.. The U.S. govt. is now controlled by people who have been dreaming of living out their utopian socialist fantasies ever since the fantasies were brought to their attention in college decades ago by their Mao/Castro/Che Guevara poster-hanging, capitalism-hating, communistic professors. full story |
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How to Convince Men to Drive Drunk |
What I am about to reveal to you lawmakers of the world are some fool-proof instructions for drafting and enacting laws that will transform men who are disinclined to drive while intoxicated into dangerous drunk drivers. I am not sure whether you will find these instructions useful in your professional lives, but I am fairly certain that you will find this information edifying nonetheless. full story |
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Tent-City Residents Issued Moving Papers |
Sacramento Police were busy today passing out decrees to the citizens of tent city telling them to move out by April 15th. "Move to Shelter by: 4-15-09 WED" was hand written at the bottom of the page. What alternatives for shelter do the Tent Citizens have? The Cal-Expo shelter touted as a solution on several local news reports has been full for some time and has a waiting list. That will leave many of over 500 residents without a solution. full story |
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Video: Child Protection Services
Cannot Be Trusted |
A speech by former Georgia senator Nancy Schaefer concerning the corruption of Child Protection Services and how it is merely a business that profits by 'kidnapping' children from their homes and families in order to adopt them out to strangers. full story |
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Government, Big Pharma Push Bill
to Drug America's Mothers |
It's called the Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act and if passed it will turn countless women into lifelong customers for Big Pharma. It was killed in the Senate last year but it was reintroduced in January of this year. Democrat Senator Robert Menendez from New Jersey, home to a large number of drug companies, and Democrat Richard Durbin are the main sponsors of the bill in the Senate (S. 1375). full story |
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Portland Police to Use Army Tank
for Civilian Law Enforcement |
The Portland Police Dept. is packing some heavy armor these days, 10 tons, give or take. The dept. is in the process of configuring an M113 armored personnel carrier, affectionately referred to as a "tank", for civilian law enforcement. There is no longer a turret-mounted machine gun, but Portland does plan on equipping the vehicle with a retractable battering ram just in case officers need to force their way into a barricaded building. full story |
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Obama Administration Endorses
Continued Spying on Americans |
Since fatuously declaring his to be a "change" administration, President Barack Obama has quickly donned the blood-spattered mantle of state secrecy and executive privilege worn by the Bush regime. On Friday April 3, the Department of Justice filed a motion to dismiss one of the Electronic Frontier Foundation's (EFF) landmark lawsuits against illegal spying by the National Security Agency (NSA). full story |
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Secret DHS Doc Predicts Violence in
Response to New Gun Restrictions | |
In the wake of the MIAC report and the Virginia Terrorism Threat Assessment, another doc. issued by Homeland Security "for official use only" covering so-called "rightwing extremism" has surfaced. The doc. warns federal and local officials to expect "terrorism" in response to planned firearm restrictions and other points. According to the DHS and FBI, local law enforcement's primary concern should be the high volume of gun and ammunitions purchases over the last few months. full story |
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New Bill Would Give Obama
Power to Control the Internet |
A new bill would give the President emergency authority to halt web traffic and access private data. Senators John Rockefeller (D-W. Va.) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) introduced a bill on Wednesday to establish the Office of the National Cybersecurity Advisor, an arm of the executive branch that would have vast power to monitor and control Internet traffic to protect against threats to critical cyber infrastructure. full story |
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Video: You Are a Slave to the Government |
"Anger is the engine that drives our will to resist and without resistance, without awareness, they will take it all. It's not just politically perverse. It's a sin against mankind because freedom is actually sacred. Drop an ant and seal the lid. It will spend the rest of it's life trying to get out. It has no where to go but it wants to be free. That is it's nature. It's the way every living thing is made." full story |
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Wildlife At Risk as Iraq's
Marshlands Shrink Again |
Along with sightings of several Globally Threatened and endemic birds, the survey teams discovered an endemic sub-species of otter that has been seen so rarely that some scientists believed it to be extinct in the Marshlands. "We were very excited recently when we discovered an endemic sub-species of otter, the Vulnerable smooth-coated otter, Lutrogale perspicillata maxwelli," said Mudhafar Salim. full story |
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Throngs of Thai Protesters
Storm Asia Leadership Summit |
Thai anti-government demonstrators blockaded a summit of Asian leaders for a second day, forcing the postponement of two key meetings, with reports of three people injured. The protesters have vowed to target the summit in the beach resort of Pattaya, which is supposed to be focused on the global economic crisis, until Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva resigns. full story |
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Goldman Sachs Hires Law Firm
to Shut Blogger's Site |
Goldman Sachs is attempting to shut down a dissident blogger who is extremely critical of the investment bank, its board members and its practices. The bank has instructed Wall Street law firm Chadbourne & Parke to pursue blogger Mike Morgan, warning him in a recent cease-and-desist letter that he may face legal action if he does not close down his website. Florida-based Mr Morgan began a blog entitled "Facts about Goldman Sachs" full story |
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Just 53% Say Capitalism Better Than Socialism |
Only 53% of American adults believe capitalism is better than socialism. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 20% disagree and say socialism is better. 27% are not sure which is better. Adults under 30 are essentially evenly divided: 37% prefer capitalism, 33% socialism, and 30% are undecided. Adults over 40 strongly favor capitalism, and just 13% of those older Americans believe socialism is better.
full story |
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Obama to Push Immigration
Reform Bill Despite Risks |
While acknowledging that the recession makes the political battle more difficult, Obama plans to begin addressing the country's immigration system this year, including looking for a path for illegal immigrants to become legal. He said then that comprehensive immigration legislation, including a plan to make legal status possible for an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants, would be a priority in his first year in office. full story |
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Government Based on
Coercion Cannot Be Tamed |
The U.S. federal government is on a course of self-destruction. People of many political persuasions know this. People who are against coercive government know this. People who favor coercive government know this. People who do not mind if the federal government self-destructs know this, and people who want to save the federal government know this. full story |
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Obama Admin Seeks to Legalize
and Expand Government Spying |
The Obama Administration goes two steps further than Bush did, and claims that the US PATRIOT Act also renders the U.S. immune from suit under the two remaining key federal surveillance laws: the Wiretap Act and the Stored Communications Act. Essentially, the Obama Administration has claimed that the government cannot be held accountable for illegal surveillance under any federal statutes. full story |
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Mortgage Delinquincies Soar in U.S. |
More Americans are falling behind on their mortgages, an indication that the housing market has yet to hit bottom. Dann Adams, pres. of U.S. Information Systems for Equifax Inc, reported that 7% of homeowners with mortgages were at least 30 days late on their loans in February, an increase of more than 50% from a year earlier. He also said 39.8% of subprime borrowers were at least 30 days behind on their home mortgage loans, up 23.7% from last year. full story |
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Some Link Economy with Spate of Killings |
The carnage that occurred during less than 48 hours last week capped a recent string of unusually brazen mass killings, which crime experts say have touched more people and occurred in more public settings than in any time in recent memory. Comparative statistics are difficult to come by, but during the past month alone, at least eight mass homicides in this country have claimed the lives of 57 people. full story |
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Setting the Stage for Obama's
Control Over the Internet |
Cyberspies have penetrated the U.S. electrical grid and left behind software programs that could be used to disrupt the system, according to current and former national-security officials. Funny how spies are now swarming the electric grid as Senate bills No. 773 and 778, creating the Office of the National Cybersecurity Advisor and giving Obama the power to shut down the internet, are under consideration. full story |
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How Freedom Was Lost |
Envy, one of the seven deadly sins, is not unknown to Americans. My last column noted the absurdity of Obama lumping the upper middle class in with the rich. The income distribution in the United States is so skewed that the rich are found in the top 1% The truly rich, with the accoutrements associated with that class, are in the top 1/2 of 1%. Those points were lost on those Americans who regard anyone slightly better off than themselves as "rich." full story |
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The G20 Moves the World a Step
Closer to a Global Currency |
The world is a step closer to a global currency, backed by a global central bank, running monetary policy for all humanity. A single clause in Point 19 of the communiqué issued by the G20 leaders amounts to revolution in the global financial order. "We have agreed to support a general SDR allocation which will inject $250bn into the world economy and increase global liquidity," it said. SDRs are Special Drawing Rights, a synthetic paper currency issued by the IMF that has lain dormant for half a century. full story |
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Virginia Terrorism Threat Assessment:
Universities Possible Terror Portals |
According to the '2009 Virginia Terrorism Threat Assessment' 1/2 of Va. residents are concentrated in the n. Va., central Va., and Hampton Roads regions. All 3 of these regions feature ethnically diverse populations with cultural ties to the Middle East, the horn of Africa, Southeast Asia, and other areas heavily impacted by terrorist activities. Virginia's network of colleges also represent a potential avenue of entry for terrorist operatives and a possible forum for recruitment of sympathizers. full story |
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Violent Protests Erupt in Moldova |
A protest in Chisinau turned violent on Tues. as anti-Communist demonstrators broke into the headquarters of the country's parliament and the police attempted to disperse them with tear gas and water cannon. Dozens of people were reported injured. The crowd gathered to protest the results of parliamentary elections held on Sunday. Opposition leaders on Tuesday accused the Communists of rigging the election and demanded a recount. full story |
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Obama Administration Quietly Expands Bush's
Legal Defense of Wiretapping Program |
In a stunning defense of George W. Bush's warrantless wiretapping program, Obama has broadened the government's legal argument for immunizing his Administration and government agencies from lawsuits surrounding the National Security Agency's eavesdropping efforts. In fact, a close read of a government filing last Friday reveals that the Obama Administration has gone beyond any previous legal claims put forth by former President Bush. full story |
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Video: Bill Black on the Deliberate Bank
Fraud That Caused Our Economic Crisis |
The financial industry brought the economy to its knees, but how did they get away with it? With the nation wondering how to hold the bankers accountable, Bill Moyers sits down with William K. Black, the former senior regulator who cracked down on banks during the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s. Black offers his analysis of what went wrong and his critique of the bailout. full story |
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Obama Economic Advisors
Took Millions from Banks |
Lawrence Summers, a top economic adviser to Obama, pulled in more than $2.7 million in speaking fees paid by firms at the heart of the financial crisis, including Citigroup & Goldman Sachs. He pulled in another $5.2 million last year from D.E. Shaw, a hedge fund for which he served as managing director from 10/06 until joining the admin. Thomas E. Donilon, Obama's deputy national security adviser, was paid $3.9 million last year by the power law firm O'Melveny & Myers to represent clients, including 2 firms that received federal bailout funds. full story |
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Fate of the Jaguar in US Agency's Hands |
In February, a wonderfully wild jaguar walked into a snare trap set by Arizona biologists and died shortly after his release. Upon capture, Macho B was sedated and fitted with a radio-collar to track him by satellite. But 12 days later, now listless and rapidly losing weight, he was darted by aircraft and euthanized. His kidneys were failing, apparently from the trauma of his first capture. full story |
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Americans Feel 15.6% Unemployment
as Underemployment Surges |
While workers are feeling real pain from the recession that began in December 2007, they're not represented in the 8.5 percent unemployment rate the Labor Department reported last week. They are part of a broader group that includes those who want a job but have stopped looking for work and those who want full-time positions but have to settle for part-time employment. full story |
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Reps Paul, Frank Introduce Bill
to Legalize Industrial Hemp |
Industrial hemp, a non-drug variety of the cannabis plan, used for centuries for its versatile fibers, is the subject of a new bill filed by Congressmen Ron Paul and Barney Frank. They and eight cosponsors, both Republican and Democrat, hope to legalize the plant so American farmers can begin supplying fibers for a wide array of products, with the overreaching goal of opening a new sector in American agriculture. full story |
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A New World Order - a Plan
to Reform the United Nations |
Veritas-Pax Publishing unveils a bold plan to transform the United Nations into a world body whose very structure is designed to foster the global co-operation seen in the run-up to the G20 London Summit -- but with one major difference. Under this plan, world leaders will unite for regular face-to-face meetings to chart a better tomorrow before the socio-economic challenges facing mankind erupt into the next crisis. full story |
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Russia's Medvedev Hails 'Comrade' Obama |
Russia's Dmitry Medvedev hailed Barack Obama as "my new comrade" Thursday after their first face-to-face talks, saying the US president "can listen" even if little progress was made on substance. The Russian president contrasted Obama as "totally different" to his predecessor George W. Bush, whom he blamed for the "mistake" of US missile shield plans fiercely opposed by Moscow. full story |
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Phoenix Police Raid Home of
Blogger Who Criticizes Police |
In what should send a frightening chill down the spine of every blogger, writer, journalist and First Amendment advocate in the United States, Phoenix police raided the home of a blogger who has been highly critical of the department. Jeff Pataky, who runs Bad Phoenix Cops, said the officers confiscated three computers, routers, modems, hard drives, memory cards and everything necessary to continue blogging. full story |
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Should We Kill the Fed? |
For the financial crisis that has wiped out trillions in wealth, many have felt the lash of public outrage. Fannie and Freddie. The idiot-bankers. The AIG bonus babies. The Bush Republicans and Barney Frank Democrats who bullied banks into making mortgages to minorities who could not afford the houses they were moving into. But the Big Kahuna has escaped. The Federal Reserve. full story |
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The Maniacs at MIAC |
Reading "The Modern Militia Movement," the document from the Missouri Information Analysis Center that conflates constitutionalists with Neo-Nazis, I was reminded of a scene in The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail. When poor Henry David's civil disobedience finally lands him behind bars, Ralph Waldo Emerson ruefully asks, "Henry!... What are you doing in jail?" To which Thoreau famously responds, "Waldo! What are you doing out of jail?" full story |
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How FDR Promoted Price-Gouging |
During the Great Depression of the 1930s, Americans desperately needed bargains. But President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed laws that forced businesses to charge above-market prices for everything. He made discounting a crime! FDR did this even though antitrust laws provided penalties for private individuals who acted in restraint of trade and charged above-market prices. These laws were passed by "progressives", his ideological brethren full story |
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