http://www.lvrj.com/opinion/47141327.html
"Fear of serious injury cannot alone justify suppression of free speech and assembly. Men feared witches and burnt women. It is the function of speech to free men from the bondage of irrational fears. To justify suppression of free speech, there must be reasonable ground to fear that serious evil will result if free speech is practiced."
-- Justice Louis Brandeis
Free speech should be practiced only by those who are ready to deal with the consequences, which just might include a knock on the door by a friendly federal investigator wanting to know if you posted an anonymous comment on a Web site. Were you advocating violence or confessing to breaking the federal tax laws?
This is not a hypothetical.
On May 26 the Review-Journal published an article about an ongoing federal tax evasion trial. The primary defendant, Las Vegan Robert Kahre, stands accused of tax fraud for using the rather inventive argument that he could pay people in U.S. minted gold and silver coins based on their precious metal value but for tax purposes use their face value, which is many times less.
The story was posted on our Web site. When last I checked nearly 100 comments were appended to it, running the gamut from the lucid to the ludicrous.
This past week the newspaper was served with a grand jury subpoena from the U.S. attorney's office demanding that we turn over all records pertaining to those postings, including "full name, date of birth, physical address, gender, ZIP code, password prompts, security questions, telephone numbers and other identifiers ... the IP address," et (kitchen sink) cetera.
Tantamount to killing a gnat with an A-bomb.
There was no indication what they were looking for or what crime, if any, was being investigated, just a blanket subpoena for voluminous and detailed records on every private citizen who dared to speak about a federal tax case.
Sure, some of the comments were a bit rough, but criminal?
One person who signed himself "Louis D. Brandeis" called federal
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
WHO gets ready declare a swine flu pandemic
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jTkkEKE5LtPih_5Jcc-3MpD0gOYQD98O1NF80
And what does fast track mean? It means your subject to the vaccination without proper testing precautions having been taken.
The World Health Organization is gearing up to declare a swine flu pandemic, a move that could trigger both the large-scale production of vaccines and questions about why the step was delayed for weeks as the virus continued to spread.
On Wednesday, WHO chief Dr. Margaret Chan quizzed eight countries with large swine flu outbreaks to see if a pandemic, or global epidemic, should be declared. After Chan's teleconference, the agency announced that an emergency meeting with its flu experts would be held Thursday.
Since swine flu first emerged in Mexico and the United States in April, it has spread to 74 countries around the globe. On Wednesday, WHO reported 27,737 cases including 141 deaths. Most cases are mild and require no treatment.
The world is in phase 5 of WHO's pandemic alert scale, meaning a global outbreak is imminent. Moving to phase 6, the highest level, means a pandemic has begun. If that declaration is made, it will push drugmakers to fast-track production of a swine flu vaccine
And what does fast track mean? It means your subject to the vaccination without proper testing precautions having been taken.
The World Health Organization is gearing up to declare a swine flu pandemic, a move that could trigger both the large-scale production of vaccines and questions about why the step was delayed for weeks as the virus continued to spread.
On Wednesday, WHO chief Dr. Margaret Chan quizzed eight countries with large swine flu outbreaks to see if a pandemic, or global epidemic, should be declared. After Chan's teleconference, the agency announced that an emergency meeting with its flu experts would be held Thursday.
Since swine flu first emerged in Mexico and the United States in April, it has spread to 74 countries around the globe. On Wednesday, WHO reported 27,737 cases including 141 deaths. Most cases are mild and require no treatment.
The world is in phase 5 of WHO's pandemic alert scale, meaning a global outbreak is imminent. Moving to phase 6, the highest level, means a pandemic has begun. If that declaration is made, it will push drugmakers to fast-track production of a swine flu vaccine
Fear Rules
http://www.rense.com/general86/fearrules.htm
The power of irrational fear in the US is extraordinary. It ranks up there with the Israel Lobby, the military/security complex, and the financial gangsters. Indeed, fear might be the most powerful force in America.
Americans are at ease with their country's aggression against Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan, which has resulted in a million dead Muslim civilians and several million refugees, because the US government has filled Americans with fear of terrorists. "We have to kill them over there before they come over here."
Fearful of American citizens, the US government is building concentration camps apparently all over the country. According to news reports, a $385 million US government contract was given by the Bush/Cheney Regime to Cheney's company, Halliburton, to build "detention centers" in the US. The corporate media never explained for whom the detention centers are intended.
Most Americans dismiss such reports. "It can't happen here." However, In northeastern Florida not far from Tallahassee, I have seen what might be one of these camps. There is a building inside a huge open area fenced with razor wire. There is no one there and no signs. The facility appears new and unused and does not look like an abandoned prisoner work camp.
What is it for?
The power of irrational fear in the US is extraordinary. It ranks up there with the Israel Lobby, the military/security complex, and the financial gangsters. Indeed, fear might be the most powerful force in America.
Americans are at ease with their country's aggression against Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan, which has resulted in a million dead Muslim civilians and several million refugees, because the US government has filled Americans with fear of terrorists. "We have to kill them over there before they come over here."
Fearful of American citizens, the US government is building concentration camps apparently all over the country. According to news reports, a $385 million US government contract was given by the Bush/Cheney Regime to Cheney's company, Halliburton, to build "detention centers" in the US. The corporate media never explained for whom the detention centers are intended.
Most Americans dismiss such reports. "It can't happen here." However, In northeastern Florida not far from Tallahassee, I have seen what might be one of these camps. There is a building inside a huge open area fenced with razor wire. There is no one there and no signs. The facility appears new and unused and does not look like an abandoned prisoner work camp.
What is it for?
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
The Top Twelve Indicators that the Economy is Bad
http://www.silverbearcafe.com/private/06.09/top12.html
12. CEO's are now playing miniature golf.
11. I got a pre-declined credit card in the mail.
10. I went to buy a toaster oven and they gave me a bank.
9. Hotwheels and Matchbox car companies are now trading higher than GM in the stock market.
8. Obama met with small businesses - GE, Pfizer, Chrysler, Citigroup and GM, to discuss the Stimulus Package.
7. McDonalds is selling the 1/4 ouncer.
6. People in Beverly Hills fired their nannies and are learning their children's names.
5. The most highly-paid job is now jury duty.
4. People in Africa are donating money to Americans. Mothers in Ethiopia are telling their kids, "finish your plate; do you know how many kids are starving in America?"
3. Motel Six won't leave the lights on.
2. The Mafia is laying off judges.
And my most favorite
12. CEO's are now playing miniature golf.
11. I got a pre-declined credit card in the mail.
10. I went to buy a toaster oven and they gave me a bank.
9. Hotwheels and Matchbox car companies are now trading higher than GM in the stock market.
8. Obama met with small businesses - GE, Pfizer, Chrysler, Citigroup and GM, to discuss the Stimulus Package.
7. McDonalds is selling the 1/4 ouncer.
6. People in Beverly Hills fired their nannies and are learning their children's names.
5. The most highly-paid job is now jury duty.
4. People in Africa are donating money to Americans. Mothers in Ethiopia are telling their kids, "finish your plate; do you know how many kids are starving in America?"
3. Motel Six won't leave the lights on.
2. The Mafia is laying off judges.
And my most favorite
Monday, June 8, 2009
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Economist: Housing bubble caused Great Depression, too
Economist: Housing bubble caused Great Depression, too
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/602/story/939371.html
The last line says it all.
Nobel Prize-winning economist Vernon Smith draws some disturbing parallels between the events that led up to the Great Depression of the 1930s and the severe economic slump of today.
Smith, professor of economics and law at Chapman University, won his Nobel in 2002. He spoke Friday, June 5, before a standing-room-only crowd in Fraser Hall at Western Washington University.
Most people think of the Great Depression as originating in the stock market crash of 1929. But Smith's research indicates that the 1929 crash was itself the result of an earlier collapse in the boom housing market during the Roaring '20s.
He argued that stock market crashes in themselves are not enough to drag the whole economy under: The collapse of the dot.com stock bubble of the 1990s, painful though it was, did not lead to wider economic collapse.
But in the 1920s, and again in the first few years of the 21st century, there was a rapid expansion in housing construction, and a rapid increase in household debt as more people borrowed more money to get their own homes. In both periods, housing construction and investment collapsed even more rapidly once the phenomenon peaked, Smith's data showed. Only then - in both cases - did stock prices fall off a cliff as concerns about the financial system began to mount.
When a questioner asked Smith if more economic shocks are still to come, Smith was far from reassuring.
"We've got a lot of this stuff coming due yet," he said. "We still have shoes to drop out there."
Examples: Large numbers of adjustable-rate mortgages will reset at higher rates in the next couple of years, putting more households at risk of foreclosure and piling more losses on mortgage lenders. And sharp drops in consumer spending have yet to play themselves out in the commercial real estate markets. Increasing numbers of commercial loans to retailers are likely to go sour in the months ahead.
"That has yet to hit the banking sector," Smith said.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/602/story/939371.html
The last line says it all.
Nobel Prize-winning economist Vernon Smith draws some disturbing parallels between the events that led up to the Great Depression of the 1930s and the severe economic slump of today.
Smith, professor of economics and law at Chapman University, won his Nobel in 2002. He spoke Friday, June 5, before a standing-room-only crowd in Fraser Hall at Western Washington University.
Most people think of the Great Depression as originating in the stock market crash of 1929. But Smith's research indicates that the 1929 crash was itself the result of an earlier collapse in the boom housing market during the Roaring '20s.
He argued that stock market crashes in themselves are not enough to drag the whole economy under: The collapse of the dot.com stock bubble of the 1990s, painful though it was, did not lead to wider economic collapse.
But in the 1920s, and again in the first few years of the 21st century, there was a rapid expansion in housing construction, and a rapid increase in household debt as more people borrowed more money to get their own homes. In both periods, housing construction and investment collapsed even more rapidly once the phenomenon peaked, Smith's data showed. Only then - in both cases - did stock prices fall off a cliff as concerns about the financial system began to mount.
When a questioner asked Smith if more economic shocks are still to come, Smith was far from reassuring.
"We've got a lot of this stuff coming due yet," he said. "We still have shoes to drop out there."
Examples: Large numbers of adjustable-rate mortgages will reset at higher rates in the next couple of years, putting more households at risk of foreclosure and piling more losses on mortgage lenders. And sharp drops in consumer spending have yet to play themselves out in the commercial real estate markets. Increasing numbers of commercial loans to retailers are likely to go sour in the months ahead.
"That has yet to hit the banking sector," Smith said.
Complete Remote Airliner Control Before 9-11
Looks like Raytheon was in:
http://www.bushstole04.com/911/911_guidance.htm
Automated Precision Satellite Guidance Of 9/11 Type Aircraft Largely Possible Just Before Attacks
- United Airlines Boeing Aircraft, Along With UPS And NASA 757s And 767s Utilized During Pre-9/11 GPS Tests
- Raytheon/FAA Controlled GPS Satellite Navigation Array Activated 13 Months Before 9/11 Attacks
- October, 2001 Pilot Override System Envisioned Use Of Satellite Auto-Navigation Concept And Communications Termination
Because information collected after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 has raised questions about the alleged ability and motivation of the people accused of piloting Boeing 757 and 767 planes into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, speculation has since lingered regarding the covert use of technology to precisely self-navigate all 4 airliners into targets that day.
Government and aviation industry publications shed light on the development and implementation of pre-9/11 state-of-the-art systems capable of facilitating precise automated navigation of the Boeing 757 and 767 aircraft used during the 9/11 attacks, to a given destination.
"WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System) is an extremely accurate navigation system developed for civil aviation. Before WAAS, the U.S. National Airspace System (NAS) did not have the potential to provide horizontal and vertical navigation for approach operations for all users at all locations. With WAAS, this capability is a reality ... WAAS provides service for all classes of aircraft in all phases of flight - including en route navigation"
http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ato/service_uni...
Just 13 months before the September 11 terrorist attacks, the WAAS GPS satellite array was activated by the FAA and operated by "Raytheon" on a preliminary basis.
AMENDED VERSION: Wide Area Augmentation System Signal Now Available
August 24, 2000
"WASHINGTON, DC - After a successful 21-day stability test of the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) signal in space, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) declared that it is now available for some aviation and all non-aviation uses ... The system demonstrated one to two meters horizontal accuracy and two to three meters vertical accuracy throughout the contiguous United States ... Raytheon will operate the system for the FAA on a continuous basis"
http://www.faa.gov/news/press_releases/news_story.cfm?newsId=5249
One member having served on Raytheon's Special Advisory Board is "Project for the New American Century" signatory Richard Armitage.
http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itps/0900/ijpe/pj52bios.htm
Only 3 weeks after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, a patent was applied for regarding a system that would override pilot control from an autopilot equipped aircraft and redirect such an aircraft to a predetermined destination via pre-programmed autopilot settings. This patent cites the Differential Global Position Satellite research and development conducted by Honeywell and NASA during the mid-1990s.
""A method for ... deactivating on-board control of the autopilot system; directing the autopilot system to fly the aircraft to a landing."
http://www.bushstole04.com/911/911_guidance.htm
Automated Precision Satellite Guidance Of 9/11 Type Aircraft Largely Possible Just Before Attacks
- United Airlines Boeing Aircraft, Along With UPS And NASA 757s And 767s Utilized During Pre-9/11 GPS Tests
- Raytheon/FAA Controlled GPS Satellite Navigation Array Activated 13 Months Before 9/11 Attacks
- October, 2001 Pilot Override System Envisioned Use Of Satellite Auto-Navigation Concept And Communications Termination
Because information collected after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 has raised questions about the alleged ability and motivation of the people accused of piloting Boeing 757 and 767 planes into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, speculation has since lingered regarding the covert use of technology to precisely self-navigate all 4 airliners into targets that day.
Government and aviation industry publications shed light on the development and implementation of pre-9/11 state-of-the-art systems capable of facilitating precise automated navigation of the Boeing 757 and 767 aircraft used during the 9/11 attacks, to a given destination.
"WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System) is an extremely accurate navigation system developed for civil aviation. Before WAAS, the U.S. National Airspace System (NAS) did not have the potential to provide horizontal and vertical navigation for approach operations for all users at all locations. With WAAS, this capability is a reality ... WAAS provides service for all classes of aircraft in all phases of flight - including en route navigation"
http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ato/service_uni...
Just 13 months before the September 11 terrorist attacks, the WAAS GPS satellite array was activated by the FAA and operated by "Raytheon" on a preliminary basis.
AMENDED VERSION: Wide Area Augmentation System Signal Now Available
August 24, 2000
"WASHINGTON, DC - After a successful 21-day stability test of the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) signal in space, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) declared that it is now available for some aviation and all non-aviation uses ... The system demonstrated one to two meters horizontal accuracy and two to three meters vertical accuracy throughout the contiguous United States ... Raytheon will operate the system for the FAA on a continuous basis"
http://www.faa.gov/news/press_releases/news_story.cfm?newsId=5249
One member having served on Raytheon's Special Advisory Board is "Project for the New American Century" signatory Richard Armitage.
http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itps/0900/ijpe/pj52bios.htm
Only 3 weeks after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, a patent was applied for regarding a system that would override pilot control from an autopilot equipped aircraft and redirect such an aircraft to a predetermined destination via pre-programmed autopilot settings. This patent cites the Differential Global Position Satellite research and development conducted by Honeywell and NASA during the mid-1990s.
""A method for ... deactivating on-board control of the autopilot system; directing the autopilot system to fly the aircraft to a landing."
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Bailout banks hoard oil, eyeing price hikes
Bailout banks hoard oil, eyeing price hikes
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://rawstory.com/08/news/2009/06/...ice-increases/
Nothing like being bitten by the bank you fed
The giant US bank JPMorgan Chase has reportedly hired a newly-built supertanker to store heating oil off the Mediterranean island of Malta. Other companies, including BP and a unit of Citigroup, have also hired ships to store either crude oil or oil products.
According to Bloomberg.com, “Traders were already using smaller tankers to store record volumes of jet fuel and heating oil in Europe as on-shore tanks filled up.”
This latest move comes amid suggestions that recent increases in oil prices may be the result of speculators looking for a new financial bubble, prompting fears that increases in energy costs could stall any hope of an economic recovery.
According to MSNBC, “Even though most analysts say crude is still overpriced, the market has created its own momentum with an enormous amount of money fleeing equity and currency markets. … With so much money flowing into the market, prices are likely to hold close to where
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://rawstory.com/08/news/2009/06/...ice-increases/
Nothing like being bitten by the bank you fed
The giant US bank JPMorgan Chase has reportedly hired a newly-built supertanker to store heating oil off the Mediterranean island of Malta. Other companies, including BP and a unit of Citigroup, have also hired ships to store either crude oil or oil products.
According to Bloomberg.com, “Traders were already using smaller tankers to store record volumes of jet fuel and heating oil in Europe as on-shore tanks filled up.”
This latest move comes amid suggestions that recent increases in oil prices may be the result of speculators looking for a new financial bubble, prompting fears that increases in energy costs could stall any hope of an economic recovery.
According to MSNBC, “Even though most analysts say crude is still overpriced, the market has created its own momentum with an enormous amount of money fleeing equity and currency markets. … With so much money flowing into the market, prices are likely to hold close to where
Draft Emergency Action Program For California
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.rense.com/general86/draft.htm
This plan needs to be utilized for the entire United States.
Being shut off the Grid is a scary thought isn't it but it's a possibility for any state that's having financial trouble.
How long before it's your state?
The budget crisis in California and most other states plus the bankruptcy and collapse of the US auto industry are signals that the United States and the world are sinking into an economic depression of awesome destructive power. Who should pay for this depression? Clearly the Wall Street, Chicago, and San Francisco bankers and speculators who caused the crisis must pay. There are limitations on what any state can do, but we here in California can and must take a stand for a real economic recovery. We must grab the attention of the corrupt Sacramento and Washington politicians and start to lead this country out of the crisis. We therefore demand:
1. No layoffs of state employees. Restore and maintain vital services at all costs. Maintain the electricity grid, police, fire, highways, public health, education, and restore water deliveries to California farmers. We solemnly remind Governor Schwarzenegger and all state officials that deliberately depriving civilians of food, clothing, shelter, and medical care under whatever pretexts constitutes a high crime against humanity under the Nuremburg precedents of 1945. Austerity measures that lead to needless deaths will be vigorously punished under these precedents.
2. 1% California Tobin Tax on derivatives and speculation. California needs revenue, but the average person is overtaxed already. The biggest untapped income stream in California is financial speculation. Most Californians pay almost 9% in a regressive sales tax, but bankers and hedge fund operators pay nothing, zero, nada, on their massive daily turnover of derivatives, options, futures, stocks, bonds, foreign currency, and other speculative paper. Surely these financial interests should pay their fair share to meet this crisis. We must therefore impose a Tobin tax or Securities Transfer Tax (STT) of one percent (1%) to be paid by the broker on all financial transactions in this jurisdiction. Bankers will howl and threaten to leave the state, but few will cut themselves out of the world's eight largest economy. Another mass of largely untapped wealth is represented by the foundations. A special 10% surtax on the assets and endowment of all foundations in the state should be established for the duration of the crisis.
2. Stop all foreclosures on California primary residences, farms, businesses, transportation, and any other activity providing production or soci
http://www.rense.com/general86/draft.htm
This plan needs to be utilized for the entire United States.
Being shut off the Grid is a scary thought isn't it but it's a possibility for any state that's having financial trouble.
How long before it's your state?
The budget crisis in California and most other states plus the bankruptcy and collapse of the US auto industry are signals that the United States and the world are sinking into an economic depression of awesome destructive power. Who should pay for this depression? Clearly the Wall Street, Chicago, and San Francisco bankers and speculators who caused the crisis must pay. There are limitations on what any state can do, but we here in California can and must take a stand for a real economic recovery. We must grab the attention of the corrupt Sacramento and Washington politicians and start to lead this country out of the crisis. We therefore demand:
1. No layoffs of state employees. Restore and maintain vital services at all costs. Maintain the electricity grid, police, fire, highways, public health, education, and restore water deliveries to California farmers. We solemnly remind Governor Schwarzenegger and all state officials that deliberately depriving civilians of food, clothing, shelter, and medical care under whatever pretexts constitutes a high crime against humanity under the Nuremburg precedents of 1945. Austerity measures that lead to needless deaths will be vigorously punished under these precedents.
2. 1% California Tobin Tax on derivatives and speculation. California needs revenue, but the average person is overtaxed already. The biggest untapped income stream in California is financial speculation. Most Californians pay almost 9% in a regressive sales tax, but bankers and hedge fund operators pay nothing, zero, nada, on their massive daily turnover of derivatives, options, futures, stocks, bonds, foreign currency, and other speculative paper. Surely these financial interests should pay their fair share to meet this crisis. We must therefore impose a Tobin tax or Securities Transfer Tax (STT) of one percent (1%) to be paid by the broker on all financial transactions in this jurisdiction. Bankers will howl and threaten to leave the state, but few will cut themselves out of the world's eight largest economy. Another mass of largely untapped wealth is represented by the foundations. A special 10% surtax on the assets and endowment of all foundations in the state should be established for the duration of the crisis.
2. Stop all foreclosures on California primary residences, farms, businesses, transportation, and any other activity providing production or soci
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