Thursday, April 21, 2011

Alan Watt - Foundations Run Your World

Federal Reserve Paying Banks Interest Rate That Is Eight Times Market Rate

EconomicPolicyJournal.com: Federal Reserve Paying Banks Interest Rate That Is Eight Times Market Rate
It's probably not clear to most Americans how Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has changed the rules of the game for the benefit of bankers since he has taken over as chairman. He calls these changes new Federal Reserve "tools".

One important example of Bernanke's new Federal Reserve "tools" is the paying of interest on deposits that banks leave with the Federal Reserve. It has resulted in over a trillion dollars accumulating at the Fed, as what is known as "excess reserves". The Fed is paying banks EIGHT times equivalent market rates when they keep the funds as excess reserves.

The money bankers deposit with the Fed is totally riskless and also does not require them to hold capital against the deposits. Prior to the Bernanke regime, interest was never paid on these deposits. Alan Greenspan never paid interest on deposits left at the Fed. Paul Volcker didn't. Arthur Burns didn't. In fact, no other Fed chairman in Fed history has done so. But because Bernanke is doing this, banks are racking up totally riskless earnings that no one else in America can get.

FREEMAN OWNS COP !

9/11 Responders to be Treated as Suspected Terrorists

9/11 Responders to be Treated as Suspected Terrorists | 911 Truth News

Category: COVERAGE

WASHINGTON — A provision in the new 9/11 health bill may be adding insult to injury for people who fell sick after their service in the aftermath of the 2001 Al Qaeda attacks, The Huffington Post has learned.
The tens of thousands of cops, firefighters, construction workers and others who survived the worst terrorist assault in U.S. history and risked their lives in its wake will soon be informed that their names must be run through the FBI’s terrorism watch list, according to a letter obtained by HuffPost.
Any of the responders who are not compared to the database of suspected terrorists would be barred from getting treatment for the numerous, worsening ailments that the James Zadroga 9/11 Health And Compensation Law was passed to address.
It’s a requirement that was tacked onto the law during the bitter debates over it last year.
The letter from Dr. John Howard, director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, informs medical providers and administrators that they should begin letting patients know before the new program kicks in this July.
“This is absurd,” said Glen Kline, a former NYPD emergency services officer. “It’s silly. It’s stupid. It’s asinine.”
“It’s comical at best, and I think it’s an insult to everyone who worked on The Pile and is sick and suffering from 9/11,” said John Feal, a former construction worker who lost half a foot at Ground Zero and runs the advocacy group Fealgood Foundation.
The provision was added in an amendment by Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) during the heated debate over the bill in the House Energy and Commerce Committee last May.
Sept. 11 responders in the committee room at the time mostly shook their heads at the move, which Democrats accepted on a voice vote after battling to bar other amendments on abortion and immigration that might have killed the bill.
But suddenly the point is no longer just a strategic concession to get a law passed.
As doctors and administrators begin acting on the federal instructions, participants in the 9/11 treatment and monitoring programs will soon be told that their names, places of birth, addresses, government ID numbers and other personal data will be provided to the FBI to ensure they are not terrorists.
Howard’s instructions include a sample letter to responders designed to minimize alarm.
“Although neither we nor [the Centers for Disease Control]/NIOSH anticipate the name of any individual in the current Programs will be on the list, CDC/NIOSH is expressly required by law to implement this particular requirement of the Act,” it says.
“Thank you for your understanding. We look forward to working with you and ensuring that you continue to receive uninterrupted services under the new WTC Health Program,” it concludes.

Obama approves drone strikes in Libya

Obama approves drone strikes in Libya - Africa - Al Jazeera English

US president Barack Obama has approved the use of armed drones in Libya, authorising US airstrikes against ground forces for the first time since America turned control of the military operation over to NATO.

The first armed drone mission since Obama's go-ahead was flown on Thursday, but the aircraft, armed with Hellfire missiles, turned back due to poor weather conditions without firing any of its munitions.

Pradator drones have routinely been flying surveillance missions in Libya, Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, told reporters at a Pentagon briefing on Thursday.

Cops arrest guy on his own property for not giving them his cell phone

Free Fall to O B L I V I O N

ICE National Detainee Handbook 2007

ICE National Detainee Handbook 2007

Putin: US Economic Policies Amount to 'Hooliganism'

Putin: US Economic Policies Amount to 'Hooliganism' | Europe | English
Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin addresses the parliament in Moscow, April 20, 2011
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says U.S. economic policies amount to "hooliganism."

Putin, in his annual address to the Russian parliament, said Wednesday that "everything is not so good for our friends in the States." He told the lawmakers to look at the U.S. trade balance in which the country imports more products than it exports, its growing long-term debt, and annual budget deficits.

He said Russia does not "have the luxury for such hooliganism." Putin said Russia has none of that and he hopes the country never will.

Napolitano backs 6-year old’s pat-down: ‘Done professionally according to the protocols’

» Napolitano backs 6-year old’s pat-down: ‘Done professionally according to the protocols’ Alex Jones' Infowars: There's a war on for your mind!

COMMENT: Napolitano’s own statements indicate how the TSA nightmare at airports is itself being used as a Hegelian pretext or “created problem” to move us into a new nightmare or “created solution” where biometric IDs are required to travel (despite the fact that our right to travel is guaranteed under the Constitution, natural law and common law for millennia).

Daily Caller
April 21, 2011

The shock of a video of a Transportation Security Administration screener patting down a 6-year-old child has drawn anger and even a subsequent potential legislative response. But the TSA’s actions were not improper, says Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

“Nobody likes to see those kinds of things [...] even though it was done professionally according to the protocols,” she said. “But, what TSA is doing is reexamining those protocols all the time. It’s all in relation to threat – what is the threat? And one of the things we do see is if you categorically remove a group from any type of screening, well those who seek to do us harm will then exploit that group. So you have to be very careful on how you do it.”

However, Napolitano told “Morning Joe” that she and her colleagues are working a number of things to streamline the airport screening process, including expediting the process for frequent travelers.

“So here’s a couple of things we’re working on,” she said. “Number one is expanding trust and traveler programs, programs where people will get biometric cards. They’ve already supplied information. We know they are safe to travel. We can move them through the system. That’s going to be expanded this year. That allows us to remove a number of people I think from the screening process.”

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McDonald's warns of higher food inflation

McDonald's warns of higher food inflation - Yahoo! Finance
On Thursday April 21, 2011, 1:28 pm EDT

By Lisa Baertlein and Phil Wahba

LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK (Reuters) - McDonald's Corp (NYSE:MCD - News) forecast higher prices for beef, dairy and other items and said it would cautiously raise prices to keep attracting diners, who are grappling with higher grocery and gas bills.

Shares fell 1.5 percent after the world's biggest hamburger chain said it planned to offset some, but not all, of its higher food costs, with small price increases throughout the year.

McDonald's results landed a day after rival Yum Brands Inc (NYSE:YUM - News) reported strong China results that masked rising food and labor costs. Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG -News), which has nearly all of its 1,100 restaurants in the United States, saw higher food costs eat into margins.

McDonald's and other restaurant operators are getting squeezed by accelerating food costs and must figure out how to raise prices without scaring away already skittish diners.

Silver Surges Over $46.25/oz As Rumours Of A Short Squeeze And Cornering Market Gain Credence

Silver Surges Over $46.25/oz As Rumours Of A Short Squeeze And Cornering Market Gain Credence - BlackListedNews.com

Source: Gold Core

Gold and silver have surged to new record nominal highs in dollar terms (all time and 31-year) with the dollar falling sharply on international markets. Silver has continued to surge in all currencies and has surged to a new record nominal high of $46.25/oz (£27.85/oz and €31.54/oz) on growing rumours of a short squeeze involving a billionaire or state interest attempting to corner the silver market (see FT news story below).

Silver Surges Over $46.25/oz As Rumours Of A Short Squeeze And Cornering Market Gain Credence goldcore bloomberg chart1 21 04 11 small
Bloomberg Composite Silver Inflation Adjusted Spot Price – 1975-2011 (Weekly)

Traders and technically minded investors are firmly focused on silver’s record nominal high of $50.35/oz. Some with a longer term fundamental focus continue to see silver in triple digits if it is to match the real record highs of $130/oz seen in 1980. The inflation adjusted silver chart puts the present sharp rise in the all important historical context.

The massive concentrated short positions of some Wall Street banks have incurred serious losses and a desperate attempt to close their futures positions due to the tight physical marketplace may be leading to a short squeeze. This is something that GoldCore and a few other analysts have warned for some time.

Amazon failure takes down sites across Internet

News from The Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) -- Scores of websites and Internet services like Foursquare and Reddit crashed or had limited availability Thursday because of problems at a data center run by Amazon.com.

Protesters hit high-end Obama fundraiser

DRUDGE: Protesters hit high-end Obama fundraiser...<BR><BR> 'We paid our dues -- were's our change?'
San Francisco -- ***Protestors in high-end fundraiser - see below***

Motorcade left the Intercontinental Hotel at 9 am local and arrived at the St. Regis for President Obama's last Bay area fundraiser. A couple dozen demonstrators are on a corner across the street from the hotel. They have signs - "Yes We Cannabis" and "Protect Marijuana Patients Rights" - and are chanting something your pooler couldn't make out. One of them also has sign of Uncle Sam's face with "LIAR" written on his hat.

About 200 donors were at the breakfast fundraiser, per a Democratic official.Your pooler counted 15 tables with 10 chairs each, however, and not all tables were full, including one in the back where Valerie Jarrett, Jay Carney and Patrick Gaspard sat with two other people. Tickets are $35,800 each. The money goes to The Victory Fund, a joint account of the Obama campaign and the DNC. $5,000 goes to the campaign, and $30,800 goes to DNC.

POTUS was introduced by Nancy Pelosi. "We can thank him for bringing hope where there was despair for some," Ms. Pelosi said. POTUS, she said, was a job creator from the start."His reelection is absolutely essential to our country's future," Ms. Pelosi said. POTUS spoke with a handheld mic. "I'll admit I sort of slept in," POTUS said.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Lt Gov. Gavin Newsom was seated front, former Mayor Willie Brown, "no matter how hard I try, Willie is still better dressed than me - although I'm still getting used to the no mustache thing." POTUS called Ms. Pelosi one of the greatest speakers in history. He started to launch into his stump speech when Ms. Pelosi interrupted to say Gov. Jerry Brown had been there.

Mr. Obama was in the middle of his remarks when a woman in a white suit stood up and said, Mr. President we wrote you a song. POTUS tried to get her to wait until later, but she persisted and the table of 10 broke into a song that pointed out they'd just spent $5,000 donating to his campaign and went on to protest the treatment of Pfc. Bradley Manning. The woman stayed standing as they sang. Mr. Obama looked to Ms. Pelosi and asked, Nancy did you do this? Ms. Pelosi had a look on her face, as she stared at the singing group, that definitely said she did not. The song - will send quotes after transcribe - talked about Bradley Manning and how he is "alone in a cell..."

The 10 singers then passed around 8.5x11 signs that said "Free Bradley Manning" or had a photo of him.Then the woman in the white suit stripped off her jacket to reveal a black T-shirt that said Free Bradley Manning, with an image of him. "We paid our dues. Where's our change?" they sang. USSS and WH staff had moved near the table at this point. The woman was escorted out. Two others left on their own. (The rest stayed and applauded at the end of POTUS's speech.)

Actress Kate Walsh: Americans Who Support Offshore Drilling Are ‘Misinformed’

Actress Kate Walsh: Americans Who Support Offshore Drilling Are ‘Misinformed’ | CNSnews.com
Thursday, April 21, 2011

(CNSNews.com) – Actress Kate Walsh of ABC’s “Private Practice” told CNSNews.com that drilling offshore will not reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil and Americans who support domestic drilling are “misinformed.”

Walsh was on Capitol Hill with the nonprofit organization Oceana speaking at an event held to mark the one year anniversary of the BP gulf oil spill.

CNSNews.com asked Walsh about a recent CNN poll showing that themajority of Americans support more domestic drilling given the rising cost of gasoline.

Organic Farmers Sue Monsanto to Protect against Contamination

Organic Farmers Sue Monsanto to Protect against Contamination - BlackListedNews.com

Source: All Gov

A coalition of organic farming interests have sued Monsanto in what they say is a preventive measure to stop the corporation from unfairly litigating them over the spread of patented seeds.
Increasingly, genetically-modified seeds produced by Monsanto are coming into contact with organic crops, contaminating the latter. To make matters worse, the biotech giant has threatened to file lawsuits against organic farmers on grounds that the inadvertent mixing of seeds constitutes patent infringement.
“It seems quite perverse that an organic farmer contaminated by transgenic seed could be accused of patent infringement, but Monsanto has made such accusations before and is notorious for having sued hundreds of farmers,” Dan Ravicher, executive director of thePublic Patent Foundation (PUBPAT), told Huffington Post.

Ron Paul on CNN Newsroom 04/21/11

Morgan Stanley profit drops nearly 50 percent

Morgan Stanley profit drops nearly 50 percent

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Morgan Stanley's first-quarter profit dropped nearly 50 percent, hurt by a steep decline in bond trading revenue.

The bond trading business has long been a trouble spot for the bank. The operation generated big losses during the financial crisis and then lagged rivals during a recovery in 2009.

Chief Executive James Gorman is pushing the division to gain market share and improve its performance.

Morgan Stanley posted quarterly net income for shareholders of $736 million, or 50 cents a share, down from $1.41 billion, or 99 cents a share, in the same quarter last year.

Fixed income trading revenue fell across Wall Street in the first quarter after unusually strong results in the year-ago period. But some banks have experienced more weakness than others. Morgan Stanley's revenue for its fixed income and commodities sales and trading unit fell by 35 percent to $1.77 billion.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc posted a 28 percent decline for its fixed income customer trading business, while JPMorgan Chase & Co posted a decline of just 4 percent.

Morgan Stanley said its bond trading results were lower mainly because of weakness in credit products, which typically include corporate bonds and credit derivatives. The bank posted higher revenue in interest rates, and commodities trading improved from a year earlier.

Sheriff Larry Dever says Border Patrol told officers STOP arresting Mexican illegal immigrants

Sheriff Larry Dever says Border Patrol told officers STOP arresting Mexican illegal immigrants | Mail Online

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 8:10 AM on 20th April 2011


Allegations: Sheriff Larry Dever claims Border Control agents have ordered officers not to arrest illegal immigrants

Allegations: Sheriff Larry Dever claims Border Control agents have ordered officers not to arrest illegal immigrants

Border Patrol agents have told dozens of law enforcement officers to stop arresting illegal immigrants crossing into the U.S. from Mexico, an Arizona sheriff has claimed

Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever claims the order was issued to reduce official figures on the number of apprehensions at the border.

He said agents have instead told him and other law enforcement officers to chase the immigrants back towards Mexico.

He claims has been 'flooded' with emails supporting his accusations.

The revelations come just a few weeks after Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano cited the lower arrest rates as evidence of a more secure border.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection commissioner Alan Bersin even said: 'The border is more secure than it has ever been.'

Sheriff Dever first made the claims to Fox News earlier this month, saying several Border Patrol officials - including at least one senior supervisor - told him they had been ordered to turn immigrants 'Back South' (TBS) rather than arresting them.

At the time, Border Patrol chief Michael Fisher wrote to Sheriff Dever denying the accusations.



Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1378739/Sheriff-Larry-Dever-says-Border-Patrol-told-officers-STOP-arresting-Mexican-illegal-immigrants.html#ixzz1KAnpJVJh

Why Are Geithner and Bernanke Trying to Panic Financial Markets With Debt Limit Demagoguery?

Why Are Geithner and Bernanke Trying to Panic Financial Markets With Debt Limit Demagoguery? - Business in The Beltway - Money & Politics - Forbes

Just a few days ago, for instance, the Treasury Secretary was fanning the flames of a financial meltdown, as noted by Bloomberg:

“Default would cause a financial crisis potentially more severe than the crisis from which we are only now starting to recover,” Geithner said. “For these reasons, default by the United States is unthinkable.”

4409 -- FRUIT POLICE SHOWDOWN - Introduction

Apple named 'least green' tech company

Apple named 'least green' tech company | Environment | guardian.co.uk

Apple has come bottom of the most comprehensive green league table of technology companies because of its heavy reliance on "dirty data" centres.

The list, which is compiled by Greenpeace and released in San Francisco on Thursday, shows that the company relies heavily on highly polluting coal power at the sites that house its banks of servers.

Greenpeace's report, How Dirty is Your Data? reveals that the company's investment in a new North Carolina facility will triple its electricity consumption, equivalent to the electricity demand of 80,000 average US homes. The facility's power will be supplied by Duke Energy, with a mix of 62% coal and 32% nuclear. On Wednesday, Apple posted a large boost in quarterly earnings, which grew by 95% to $6bn (£3.65bn).

Report: iPhones secretly track their users' locations

Report: iPhones secretly track their users' locations - CNN.com

(CNN) -- Apple devices appear to be tracking their owners' locations and storing data about people's whereabouts without their knowledge, according to a report posted Wednesday on a site called iPhone Tracker.

The unauthorized surveillance started in June 2010, when the latest version of Apple's mobile operating system was released, according to two researchers who say they discovered a hidden tracking file and posted it out of concern for users.

General Electric: TAX FREE tax avoidance at work

Editorials | General Electric: tax avoidance at work | Seattle Times Newspaper

General Electric, the nation's largest corporation, paid no federal taxes in 2010. The profitable company, which shaved 20 percent of its U.S. work force in less than a decade, should inspire a hard look at corporate tax rates and how taxes are collected and avoided. Cash-strapped working Americans are paying GE's bill.

OUTRAGE and envy still ripple from a report in The New York Times that General Electric, the nation's largest corporation, paid no U.S. corporate taxes in 2010.

Zero. Zip. Nada. Indeed, the company, with $14.2 billion in worldwide profits, claimed a tax benefit of $3.2 billion from Uncle Sam.

GE did not break the law, but the bill it successfully avoided was picked up by the rest of us, or put on the national credit card.

Obama works to 'friend' young voters at Facebook

Obama works to 'friend' young voters at Facebook - BusinessWeek

President Barack Obama likely has a few more "friends" after a town hall at Facebook headquarters that drew questions from site users and the youthful employees of the social media giant.

The president's first question Wednesday came from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who asked Obama about his plan to curb the federal deficit.

Most of the conversation centered on earnest discussion of the president's policies on the economy, immigration, energy and education

Ron Paul Wins Worcester, MA Tea Party Straw Poll | Ron Paul 2012 | Sound Money, Peace and Liberty

Ron Paul Wins Worcester, MA Tea Party Straw Poll | Ron Paul 2012 | Sound Money, Peace and Liberty

Cops Extracting Data From Drivers' Cell Phones

Homeland Security Black Helicopters In Drill Over Downtown Miami (Video) :

Homeland Security Black Helicopters In Drill Over Downtown Miami (Video) :

By Michael Edwards
Activist Post
April 20th, 2011

Miami-Dade County seems to have become a staging ground in preparation of a militarized police state.

The latest event was reported on by The Miami-Herald when a scene right out of the movie Conspiracy Theory led residents to start Tweeting about “pitch black” military helicopters dropping men onto buildings, including the Bank of America building, beginning around 9:15 p.m. as witnessed in the video below:

Miami-Dade County already has become infamous among lovers of freedom for being the first local police department to order surveillance drones.

Although the purpose of this latest drill was not immediately released, residents, local police, and the U.S. Coast Guard were kept in the dark about the arrival of the Southeast Regional Domestic Security Task Force.

This is yet another example of the ramping-up of Homeland Security activity in urban centers around the country, which has added to reports that preparations are being made for Martial Law and FEMA campinternment of American citizens.

One thing is clear according to The Miami-Herald report: this is an extended operation that will continue for several more days.

And what is clear from first-hand, insider accounts is that a FEMA sponsored system of control calledIncident Command Structure is being taught to police that it is completely normal to conduct urban warfare training as a necessary preparation for the future corralling of American citizens.

In Afghanistan, Obama foe assails US pullout plan

In Afghanistan, Obama foe assails US pullout plan - Yahoo! News

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US House Speaker John Boehner wrapped up a visit to Afghanistan Wednesday and assailed President Barack Obama's plan to begin pulling US troops out in July a risk to fragile security gains.

"Any drawdown of US troops must be based on the conditions on the ground, not on political calculations," Boehner, the White House's top Republican foe in the US Congress, said in a statement from his office in Washington.

"If the Obama administration insists on beginning to draw down troops in July, it must explain how the pace and scope of such a move will not undermine the tenuous progress we've made thus far. To date, it has not done so."

10 Examples That Should Convince Anyone That We No Longer Live In The Land Of The Free And The Home Of The Brave

10 Examples That Should Convince Anyone That We No Longer Live In The Land Of The Free And The Home Of The Brave

#1 According to the ACLU, state police in Michigan are using "extraction devices" to download data from the cellphones of motorists that they pull over. This is taking place even if those pulled over are not accused of doing anything wrong.

The following is how an article on CNET News describes the capabilities of these "extraction devices"....

The devices, sold by a company called Cellebrite, can download text messages, photos, video, and even GPS data from most brands of cell phones. The handheld machines have various interfaces to work with different models and can even bypass security passwords and access some information.

#2 In the state of New York, the Department of Health has designated wiffle ball, dodge ball, kick ball, freeze tag, red rover, frisbee tossing and tug of war as "risky recreational activities". Any organization or program that allows kids to enjoy these games during the summer will now be subject to strict government regulation according to the New York Daily News....

Under the new rules, any program that offers two or more organized recreational activities - with at least one of them on the risky list - is deemed a summer camp and subject to state regulation.

#3 At one public school in the Chicago area, children have been banned from bringing their lunches from home. Yes, you read that correctly. Students at that particular school are absolutely prohibited from bringing lunches from home. Instead, it is mandatory that they eat the food that the school cafeteria serves.

#4 Would you like to have your face scanned and your ID recorded every time you attend a public event? Don't laugh. The San Francisco Entertainment Commission is actually proposing a new rule which "would require all venues with an occupancy of over 100 people to record the faces of all patrons and employees and scan their ID’s for storage in a database which they must hand over to law enforcement on request."

#5 In Delaware, police and state government officials recently tore a basketball hoop right out of a family's front yard and carted it away because it was "too close" to the street. They even extracted the pole for the basketball hoop out of the ground and took that away too.

#6 In Missouri of all places, two young girls named Abigail and Caitlin Mills were recently taught a lesson on how to be good citizens in the emerging totalitarian control grid going up all over the United States. After a complaint from a neighbor, the city of Hazelwood cracked down on the two girls and told them that they must stop selling girl scout cookies in their own front yard.

#7 As I have written about previously, federal bureaucrats have outlawed the incandescent light bulbs that we all grew up with and will be forcing us to switch over to new CFL (compact fluorescent lamp) light bulbs that are more expensive and that are actually worse for the environment. One new study conducted by scientists in Germany has shown that the new CFL light bulbs that we are being forced to use contain poisonous carcinogens that are likely cause cancer. In fact, the German scientists say that these CFL bulbs should be "kept as far away as possible from the human environment".

#8 Many states are aggressively seizing "unclaimed" safe deposit boxes and are selling off the contents and using the money to pay state government bills. In the state of California, they are now going after safe deposit boxes if the owners have had "no contact" with the bank for just 3 years. Other states are being nearly as aggressive. If you have a safe deposit box that you have not opened in a while you need to go check on it right away.

#9 One Mississippi state judge recently issued an order for state officials to gather and deliver to him the names of every single child that is being homeschooled in the state. The frightening thing is that the judge did this all on his own. Nobody requested this information and there is no case pending for which this information would be required.

#10 The TSA had promised that they were going to stop groping little children at airports, but apparently that is not the case. For example, one 6 year old little girl made headlines recently when a TSA worker touched all of her private areas before allowing her to get on an airplane. Her parents were forced to stand aside and watch this outrage take place.

So what do all of you think about this list?

Does anyone out there still believe that we live in the land of the free and the home of the brave?

Years of Deceit: United States Openly Admits Bin Laden Long Dead

Years of Deceit: United States Openly Admits Bin Laden Long Dead | Sovereign Independent




“everyone knows the picture is fake the same as every news report or video released of bin laden sticking his fingers up to the US. There has not been a genuine photo or video of him since before 9/11″

Simon, Sovereign Independent
…………………………………………………………………

Gordon Duff
Veterans Today

Bin laden never mentioned in McChrystal report or Obama speech
“Hunt for bin laden” a national shame

Conservative commentator, former Marine Colonel Bob Pappas has been saying for years that bin Laden died at Tora Bora and that Senator Kerry’s claim that bin Laden escaped with Bush help was a lie. Now we know that Pappas was correct. The embarrassment of having Secretary of State Clinton talk about bin Laden in Pakistan was horrific. He has been dead since December 13, 2001 and now, finally, everyone, Obama, McChrystal, Cheney, everyone who isn’t nuts is finally saying what they have known for years.

However, since we lost a couple of hundred of our top special operations forces hunting for bin Laden after we knew he was dead, is someone going to answer for this with some jail time? Since we spent 200 million dollars on “special ops” looking for someone we knew was dead, who is going to jail for that? Since Bush, Rumsfeld and Cheney continually talked about a man they knew was dead, now known to be for reasons of POLITICAL nature, who is going to jail for that? Why were tapes brought out, now known to be forged, as legitimate intelligence to sway the disputed 2004 election in the US? This is a criminal act if there ever was one.

In 66 pages, General Stanley McChrystal never mentions Osama bin Laden. Everything is “Mullah Omar” now. In his talk at West Point, President Obama never mentioned Osama bin Laden. Col. Pappas makes it clear, Vice President Cheney let it “out of the bag” long ago. Bin Laden was killed by American troops many, many years ago.

America knew Osama bin Laden died December 13, 2001. After that his use was hardly one to unite America, but rather one to divide, scam and play games. With bin Laden gone, we could have started legitimate nation building in Afghanistan instead of the eternal insurgency that we invented ourselves.

Without our ill informed policies, we could have had a brought diplomatic solution in 2002 in Afghanistan, the one we are ignoring now, and spent money rebuilding the country, 5 cents on the dollar compared to what we are spending fighting a war against an enemy we ourselves recruited through ignorance.

The bin Laden scam is one of the most shameful acts ever perpetrated against the American people. We don’t even know if he really was an enemy, certainly he was never the person that Bush and Cheney said. In fact, the Bush and bin Laden families were always close friends and had been for many years.

Global Population Reduction: Confronting the Inevitable | Worldwatch Institute

Global Population Reduction: Confronting the Inevitable | Worldwatch Institute

Global Population Reduction: Confronting the Inevitable

Looking past the near-term concerns that have plagued population policy at the political level, it is increasingly apparent that the long-term sustainability of civilization will require not just a leveling-off of human numbers as projected over the coming half-century, but a colossal reduction in both population and consumption.

It has become increasingly apparent over the past half-century that there is a growing tension between two seemingly irreconcilable trends. On one hand, moderate to conservative demographic projections indicate that global human numbers will almost certainly reach 9 billion, perhaps more, by mid-21st century. On the other, prudent and increasingly reliable scientific estimates suggest that the Earth's long-term sustainable human carrying capacity, at what might be defined as an "adequate" to "moderately comfortable" developed-world standard of living, may not be much greater than 2 to 3 billion. It may be considerably less, particularly if the normative lifestyle (level of consumption) aspired to is anywhere close to that of the United States.

As a consequence of this modern-day "Malthusian dilemma," it is past time to think boldly about the midrange future and to consider alternatives that go beyond merely slowing or stopping the growth of global population. The human species must develop and quickly implement a well-conceived, clearly articulated, flexible, equitable, and internationally coordinated program focused on bringing about a very significant reduction in human numbers over the next two or more centuries. This effort will likely require a global population shrinkage of at least two-thirds to three-fourths, from a probable mid-to-late 21st century peak in the 9 to 10 billion range to a future (23rd century and beyond) "population optimum" of not more than 2 to 3 billion.

Bahraini rights activist on trial

Bahraini rights activist on trial - Middle East - Al Jazeera English

A prominent Bahraini human rights activist has gone on military trial, his family said on Thursday.

Abdulhadi al-Khawaja was arrested with two of his sons-in-law earlier this month as part of a government crackdown on protests the tiny Gulf island country.

Police have been arresting opposition activists at checkpoints set up across Manama, the capital, and in certain villages.

So far, hundreds of people, many of them opposition activists and politicians, have been arrested.

Khawaja was reportedly seized from his home by masked men after being beaten unconscious on April 9.

"The trial against [Khawaja] started today but we family members were not allowed to enter the court. I don't know what charges are brought against him," said Zainab al-Khawaja, the activist's daughter.

Deported for Supporting John Anthony Hill (7/7 Ripple Effect) in Freedom of Speech Related Case

Deported for Supporting John Anthony Hill (7/7 Ripple Effect) in Freedom of Speech Related Case | Sovereign I

What I would like to share with people, about what has happened to us, is the underlying reasons why we were physically removed from the boat; taken into custody and then deported from the UK, when we did nothing wrong.

The boat, which I, a New Zealand and therefore British-Commonwealth citizen, am the owner of, is a New Zealand flagged vessel and is therefore New Zealand territory when in international waters, but falls under the jurisdiction of host nations when inside that nation’s territorial waters. Under normal circumstances, if a foreign-flagged vessel enters a nation’s territorial waters and is denied entry into that nation, it is given a set time-period in which it must depart from that nation’s territorial-waters, otherwise it can be arrested. Since the boat itself is New Zealand territory when in international waters, sending it and us out of British waters would be the quickest and most efficient way of deporting us, minimizing the cost to the tax payer, who had to fork-out thousands of pounds to pay for our deportation.

But in our case, the standard refusal of entry procedure was not taken, because there were political motivations at work.

We are supporters of Mr. John Anthony Hill, who produced a documentary film titled “7/7 Ripple Effect”, which was released on the internet on 5th. November 2007 and questions the official account of the events surrounding the London tube-train and bus bombings of 7th. July 2005. It is available to watch on the Internet by Googling the name “7/7 Ripple Effect”.

In 2008, Mr. Hill posted copies of his film “7/7 Ripple Effect” as an “amicus curiae brief” (friend of the court) to a UK courthouse where a trial was being held of three men who were connected to the original four alleged bombers. He did this because the judge and the prosecuting barrister in that case told the jury that there was no doubt that the four original alleged bombers were guilty of committing those crimes, when that allegation has never been proven in a court of law and millions of people doubt that they did it.

Mr. Hill faces the charge of “attempting to pervert the course of justice, contrary to common law”, but he believes he was seeking to prevent a perversion of the course of justice by sending copies of his film; which calls into question whether the four original alleged bombers were actually guilty of committing those crimes; to the courthouse.

Mr. Hill was extradited from his home in Ireland to the UK in November 2010 and was held in prison for 150 days, until he has only recently been granted bail, awaiting his trial which is to be held on the May 9th this year.

We sailed to London from Ireland to support Mr. Hill at his trial. Upon arrival in London and visiting immigration, we were told that we could not be allowed entry into the country because London was not our first port of call and that we should have cleared immigration within 24 hours of entering British waters, at our first port of call, which was the remote bird sanctuary called Lundy Island in the Bristol Channel.

Because we hadn’t done that, the Immigration officers said they therefore could not grant us entry under their rules. They then advised us to go across to Europe and then re-enter the UK again and this time clear immigration within 24 hours of our arrival.

This we did, sailing to Holland and then down the Belgium and French coasts, and then back across the channel to the UK, arriving at Weymouth.

Upon arrival at Weymouth, we contacted immigration within 24 hours of arrival as instructed, and asked for clearance to enter the country as visitors. Instead of being welcomed into the country as we had hoped, we were forcibly taken off the boat and into custody, with only the clothes we were wearing, and were quickly deported to our respective countries of origin, being denied the right to appeal the deportation.

Although it was not stated directly to us by the British authorities, the friend whom I contacted to come and take care of the boat for me was told by British customs officers who were searching the vessel when he arrived, that we were being deported from the UK because we are supporters of Mr. John Hill and that his is a politically sensitive court case, in which the state wants a minimal amount of public attention.

This was again confirmed when I landed at the Auckland International Airport in New Zealand and was clearing customs there. The customs officers took me into custody for an interview. During that interview, they stated to me that they were informed by British customs that I was a supporter of a man who is involved in a politically sensitive court case in the UK and that was the primary reason for my deportation.

So, to summarize; although it was not clearly stated to us, or officially recorded as a reason for our deportation, it has become clear that the real reason we have been taken from our home and all our worldly possessions – the boat and contents – and vindictively deported back to our respective countries of origin with nothing but the clothes on our backs, so the authorities could try to steal the boat, instead of the usual procedure of being turned-away and allowed to leave the country on the boat, is because we are supporters of a man in a trial that the authorities would rather nobody knows anything about, and they are doing everything in their power to see to it that this is so.

So what exactly was his crime? – Sending a DVD video as a friend of the court, in an attempt to prevent what he saw as being a perversion of the course of justice.

And what exactly was our crime? Supporting that man, in an effort to keep freedom of speech alive and because we believe what he has done is the right thing to do.

If they can do this to him and to us and nobody says anything about it, then no-one is safe and who will be next? You and yours perhaps?

We are now thousands of miles away from our home, the boat , without the ability to return to collect it, so now will have to sell it where it is, if we can.

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