Turning Tide of History #35: The Tsunami of Changes Continues
Hello everysoul!
After a productive month of work on a book project and some time for restful play in the ocean and hiking in the tropical jungle around Punta Uva near Puerto Viejo where I stayed on the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica - all of which will soon be chronicled in pictures and available for your perusal on the Web - I've been back to work at home since March 5, as you've noticed through my 3 posts this past week of the new Meditation Focus and the March 20 Equinox Meditation - now also available in Italian, Dutch and Russian in addition to the French version, with the Portuguese and Spanish versions coming up in the next couple days) as well as the important Special Addendum to the Meditation Focus #221 sent this past Friday but whose distribution has been unfortunately delayed because of a huge backlog of undistributed emails at RiseUp.net.
Of course, you'll find below some of the latest developments about the situation In Japan - in addition to what is already included in the Special Addendum to the Meditation Focus #221 - plus lots more as usual. Let us all send our thoughts and heart vibes of support to the millions of souls now enduring the psychological aftershock of this major disaster. If, as apparently just confirmed on CNN, there is indeed a nuclear meltdown with a potentially massive release of radioactivity, the extent of this catastrophe will grow considerably larger and will in time affect much of the planet as did the Chernobyl meltdown. If you wish to send help, go at Tsunami aid and relief: How you can help (in the US) or check with your national relief organizations. Let us also cross our fingers that the inevitable global economic repercussions will not mean additional hardships for the poorest people on Earth now already affected with the fast increase in basic staple food prices.
Hoping you are ready for a resumption of review of my bi-monthly compilations... I'm sure that, like me, you've appreciated this break in this ongoing informational and transformation journey towards a brighter, more enlightened future. ;-)
To share this material with others, click HERE and then click on the icon(s) of the place(s) (like Facebook Blogger, etc.) where you want to share it, log on, etc. and it will be automatically posted there. You can also access the archived copy of this compilation (link shown above) and click on the share button featured under the Google automatic translation button, near the top, and then follow the same steps just mentioned.
Your feedback is as always welcomed and may be included in a coming compilation - unless you prefer it is not. Circulating this compilation (or any part of it) and personally inviting your correspondents to subscribe to this list would also help enlarge the circle of people who have access to this material. Please include in your forwards the URL address for the archived copy above, so others may have the opportunity to explore the original copy.
To unsubscribe from the Earth Rainbow Network automated listserver, or change your listing on it when you have a new email address, you can do it yourself through sending a blank email at earthrainbownetwork-unsubscribe@lists.riseup.net from the email account you wish to unsubscribe and then you subscribe your new email address - from your new email account - through sending a blank email to earthrainbownetwork-subscribe@lists.riseup.net. Or you can also ask me at globalvisionary@earthrainbownetwork.com to do it for you.
LATEST UPDATE ON THE JAPAN EARTHQUAKE
Japanese authorities rush to save lives, avert nuclear crisis (March 13, 2011) http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/13/japan.quake/
Sendai, Japan (CNN) -- Japanese authorities are operating on the presumption that possible meltdowns are under way at two nuclear reactors, two days after a massive earthquake, a government official said Sunday. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano added, however, that there have been no indications yet of hazardous emissions of radioactive material into the atmosphere. The attempts to avert a possible nuclear crisis, centered on the Fukushima Daiichi facility in northeast Japan, came as rescuers frantically scrambled to find survivors following the country's strongest-ever earthquake and a devastating tsunami that, minutes later, brought crushing walls of water that wiped out nearly everything in their paths. (...) Rescuers dug through mud and rubble to find the buried, both alive and dead. Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan said more than 3,000 people have been rescued, according to the nation's Kyodo News Agency. The death toll from the earthquake and tsunami rose to 801, with hundreds more missing, authorities said Sunday. At least 678 are missing, according to the National Police Agency Emergency Disaster Headquarters. The number of dead is expected to go up as rescuers reach more hard-hit areas. The number is expected to rise as rescuers reach more hard-hit areas. In one coastal town alone -- Minamisanriku, in Myagi Prefecture -- some 9,500 people, half the town's population, were unaccounted for. CLIP
West Coast USA Danger IF Japan Nuclear Reactor Meltdown (March 11, 2011) http://modernsurvivalblog.com/nuclear/west-coast-usa-danger-if-japan-nuclear-reactor-meltdown/
If they cant restore power to the plant (and cool the reactor), then theres the possibility of some sort of core meltdown. An alarming statement made by James Acton, a physicist who examined Japans Kashiwazaki nuclear plant after a 2007 earthquake, who told CNN that Japanese authorities are in race to cool down the Fukushima reactor. Following the fifth largest earthquake in recorded world history, a magnitude 8.9 earthquake, has resulted in the closure of all Japans nuclear power reactors, one of which, the Fukushima reactor, is overheating and in danger of a meltdown if coolant is not restored soon. Its like a pressure cooker when you have something generating heat and you dont cool it off or release the steam Reported from abc NEWS, Scientists said that even though the reactor had stopped producing energy, its fuel continues to generate heat and needs steady levels of coolant to prevent it from overheating and triggering a dangerous cascade of events. They go on to say, Up to 100 percent of the volatile radioactive Cesium-137 content of the pools could go up in flames and smoke, to blow downwind over large distances,Given the large quantity of irradiated nuclear fuel in the pool, the radioactivity release could be worse than the Chernobyl nuclear reactor catastrophe of 25 years ago. said Kevin Kamps, a nuclear waste specialist. Fukushima I (there are two plant locations) is one of the 25 largest nuclear power stations in the world. How would a nuclear plant meltdown unfold? (...) Update From Kyodo news, Japan, URGENT: Concerns of core partially melting at Fukushima nuke plant. The core at Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plants No. 1 reactor may be partially melting, the nuclear safety agency said Saturday. Reuters, Japan authorities: TEPCO plant fuel rods may have melted -Jiji, could develop into a breach of the nuclear reactor vessel and the question then becomes one of how strong the containment structure around the vessel is and whether it has been undermined by the earthquake. -- Check also: Japanese, Russian, Indonesian Volcanoes Erupt ... 5 Japanese Nuclear Reactors In Danger ... 1 Is Leaking and May Melt Down - Nuclear Fallout Headed for the USA! (NOTE: According to THIS WEBPAGE this map could be a hoax) - Explosion at nuclear power plant in Fukushima (video showing the nuclear plant explosion) - 194 pictures of the horrific damage in Japan - NASA Satellite Photos Show Devastation From Japan Quake and Tsunami - Japan Incident Map (shows the location of the numerous aftershocks and gives access to MANY Youtube videos of the event - you can actually hear the noise made by the earthquake such as in this video) - Japan Tsunami Wave Height Animation -
Blast at nuclear plant puts Japan at risk (March 12, 2011) http://presstv.com/detail/169478.html
A blast has been heard and white smoke is spewing out of Japan's Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant, sparking fears that the facility may be experiencing nuclear meltdown. Japan TV's footage on Saturday showed smoke billowing from the nuclear site located some 250 kilometers (160 miles) northeast of the Japanese capital, Tokyo, amid reports that radioactive Cesium has been detected in the vicinity of the plant, a Press TV correspondent reported. Several workers have been injured and radioactivity rose 20-fold outside, the report added. Earlier on Saturday, Japanese media outlets reported that Cesium has been detected near Fukushima nuclear plant, a strong indication that the facility "may be experiencing nuclear meltdown." A meltdown occurs when a severe failure of a nuclear power plant system prevents proper cooling of the reactor core to the extent that the nuclear fuel assemblies overheat and melt. - Check also Japan Reactor Fuel Rods May Have Begun to Melt, Atomic Safety Agency Say
Japanese fearful as nuclear crisis builds (March 12, 2011) http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-japan-quake-scene-20110313,0,7985092,full.story
As officials struggle with the specter of meltdowns at two plants in Fukushima, many Japanese don't trust authorities are telling them everything they know. -- They're scared. And they're skeptical. The government in Tokyo may be reassuring a nation already reeling from the worst earthquake in its recorded history that Japan is not about to experience a full-blown nuclear disaster. But the closer you got to the Fukushima nuclear complex, where officials are struggling with the specter of meltdowns at two of its six reactors, the less people were buying it. On National Road 4 on the city's outskirts, Mari Kano was crawling through congested traffic Sunday morning with her two young children in tow, baskets of clothes and toys in the back of her station wagon. "I'm extremely worried about this nuclear leakage, especially with children," the 33-year old homemaker said. "We live 12 miles from the reactors. We've left our home to stay with my parents. At this point, we have no idea how long it might be before it will be safe to return." CLIP
Japan Reports Emergency At Second Nuclear Reactor (March 12th, 2011) http://theintelhub.com/2011/03/12/japan-reports-emergency-at-second-nuclear-reactor/
TOKYO Japans nuclear safety agency is reporting an emergency at a second reactor in the same complex where an explosion had occurred earlier. The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said early Sunday that the cooling system malfunctioned at Unit 3 of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant. The agency said it was informed of the emergency by Tokyo Electric, the utility which runs the plant.No further details of the troubles at Unit 3 were immediately available. An explosion occurred at another reactor in the complex on Saturday, destroying the building housing the reactor and handing authorities an urgent complication amid rescue and relief efforts a day after Fridays earthquake and tsunami devastated Japans northeastern coast.
Thousands undergo radioactive screening after explosion in nuclear power station (12th March 2011) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1365536/Japan-earthquake-tsunami-Thousands-undergo-radioactive-screening-explosion.html
Three workers treated for radiation sickness after explosion in reactor building - Authorities evacuate thousands of people from 12-mile radius of plant - People offered iodine to help protect against radiation exposure - Plant's cooling systems damaged by powerful earthquake CLIP
On the Brink of Meltdown: The Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant (March 11, 2011) http://www.ips-dc.org/blog/on_the_brink_of_meltdown_the_fukushima_nuclear_power_plant
The devastating Japanese quake and its outcome could generate a political tsunami here in the United States. (...) The devastating Japanese quake and its outcome could generate a political tsunami here in the United States. For instance, it may become impossible for the owners of the San Onofre and Diablo Canyon reactors to extend their operating licenses. These two California reactors are sitting in high seismic risk zones near earthquake faults. Each is designed to withstand a quake as great as 7.5 on the Richter scale. According to many seismologists, the probability of a major earthquake in the California coastal zone in the foreseeable future is a near certainty. The U.S. Geological Survey reports the largest registering 8.3 on the Richter scale devastated San Francisco in 1906. "There have been tremblers felt at U.S. plants over the past several years, but nothing approaching the need for emergency action," Scott Burnell, a spokesman at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission told Reuters. As the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe approaches next month, Japan's earthquake serve as a reminder that the risks of nuclear power, when things go seriously wrong. The Chernobyl accident required nearly a million emergency responders and cleanup workers. More than 100,000 residents from 187 settlements were permanently evacuated because of radioactive contamination. And area an equal to half of the State of New Jersey was rendered uninhabitable.Fortunately, U.S. and Japanese reactors have extra measures of protection that were lacking at Chernobyl, such as a secondary concrete containment structure over the reactor vessel to prevent escape of radioactivity. CLIP
Earthquake dents Japan's economy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jaw2caLOgNY&NR=1
Japan's economy grew by nearly four per cent last year, its best performance in two decades. But the earthquake which hit the country on Friday is likely have a major detrimental effect on the country's finances.
Will The Japanese Earthquake Be The Straw That Breaks Europe's Back? (03/11/2011) http://www.zerohedge.com/article/will-japanese-earthquake-be-straw-breaks-europes-back
Two months ago many were scratching their heads when Japan announced it was buying Eurozone bonds. After all - why would Europe want to have a marginal buyer (or as the case may be seller) of its debt be the country that is known by all to be the most indebted entity in the world? Of course, it became promptly clear that it was not the Japanese government doing the buying, but mostly its financial companies, with an emphasis on its insurance and reinsurance companies. Fast forward to today when Japanese insurance companies are getting pummeled in local trading on concerns the payoffs to the decimated Japanese infrastructure will be unprecedented. So what will happen? Why a scramble for liquidity of course, just like we saw back in September 2008, when cash stricken companies sold all their liquid assets first, resulting in a toxic loop of self-fulfilling prophecy selling which almost tobbled the $25 trillion shadow banking system. And what will said Japanese insurance companies sell first? Why the very same Eurozone bonds they acquired with so much pomp and circumstance, by the minions of the insolvent Eurozone, back in January of course. Furthermore, now that Japan will have no choice but to launch a mini round of Quantitative Easing and flood the market with JGBs, there will be a dramatic spike in supply for sovereign paper, which of course means yields across the board will rise.Which begs the question: if an earthquake flips its wings in Japan, does the Eurozone go bankrupt, especially in the month when its most insolvent countries face billions in debt rollover requirements, tens of billions in maturity funding needs, even more in deficit funding requirements... and no cash?
Earth's Axis Shifts 4 Inches After Massive Earthquake Hits Japan; Declares "Nuclear Emergency"; Death Toll Rises To 62, Dozens Missing; Massive Whirlpool Seen Off Shore (March 11, 2011) http://fiatsfire.blogspot.com/2011/03/massive-earthquake-hits-japan-declares.html
The impact of the earthquake that hit Japan this morning shifted the earth's rotation axis nearly 4 inches, according to a preliminary result of studies carried out by INGV, National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology. This should help to rally the stock markets. (...) Prime Minister Kan declared a "Nuclear Emergency" after damage was reported to several of the nation's nuclear power plants. Kan stated to reporters, "The Self-Defense Forces are already mobilized in various places. The government is making its utmost effort to minimize the damage. I call on citizens to act calmly." The losses incurred by insurers the world over will be devastating, especially for the German/Swiss Re-insurers. Will they cop out and declare this another "act of God?" The results of an initial study by INGV show the earth's axis shifted 4 inches. One can only imagine what impact this will have on the climate and crops.
Possible Fukushima Nuclear Fallout Projections For the U.S. Based on Wind Patterns, Meltdown Confirmed http://theintelhub.com/2011/03/12/29810/
CNN is now reporting that #1 is indeed in a likely meltdown. Officials remain optimistic that it will not be as bad as Chernobyl. The body language of the Japanese Ambassador clearly indicates that this man is very scared and possibly knows much more then he is saying. (...) Some are now speculating that increased solar activity could be connected to the recent outbreak of earthquakes, along with fluctuations in the earth magnetic field and possibly HAARP. Massive solar flares have also been reported over the past week. CLIP
X-Class Flares Comes Sooner Than Later (March 10, 2011) http://earthchangesmedia.wordpress.com/2011/03/10/x-class-flares-comes-sooner-than-later/
An X1-class flare has fired away from sunspot region 1166. I had predicted an X-class flare would come within the next two weeks, but todays event has taken many by surprise. At the same time of this flare, a CME (coronal mass ejection) has hit the Earths magnetic field setting off a geo-magnetic storm. I will present a second report within the next ten hours. Watch for continued extreme weather like that of the US southeast, as well as earthquake and volcano activity. Equation: Sunspots ="> Solar Flares (charged particles) ="> Magnetic Field Shift ="> Shifting Ocean and Jet Stream Currents ="> Extreme Weather and Human Disruption. Note from Jean: It seems that, in this case, there might have been a connection between an intense solar flare hitting the Earth's magnetic field and the onset of earthquakes and volcanic activity. With the expected increase in solar flare activity over the coming couple years as the sun reaches the peak of its 11 year cycle, we may observe more such effects ...
THE QUOTES
"You who know you are lightworkers can let the light-generating masses who don't realize what they are doing inspire you to reach out beyond your circles of enlightened persons. You can dispel the negativity of despair in the people who are uninformed simply by living your light. We don't mean preaching or proselytizing, we mean living with such glowing spirit that your energy of joy and confidence touches everyone near you. So let your light shine in all its gloryit is a most meaningful, fulfilling life mission! Please don't think, however, that you should keep your knowledge under a bushel, so to say. You know family members, friends, neighbors and colleagues who are reluctant to accept whatever doesn't fit into their ideas and beliefsrespect that, knowing that they will have other opportunities to "see the light." For soul-searchers, though, having someone with whom to share intuitions and convictions can be immensely reinforcing, so when open-minded individuals indicate that they would welcome a discussion, offer as much as they are comfortable hearing. If they seem somewhat skeptical, still you have planted a seed that could grow into full blossom. With the light on Earth more intense than any of you can consciously remember, minds are opening just as hearts are. "
"About the time our monthly messages are anticipated, my mother hears from numerous individuals who eagerly are awaiting the message that gives them reason to feel hopeful, optimistic. We do welcome your trust in our information, but counting on it to uplift your spirits and reinforce a positive outlook signifies that our messages are not meeting their purpose. Always the purpose has been to offer spiritual guidance and enlightenment about this transitional period as Earth ascends out of third density and approaches her Golden Age, where you will take your rightful place as members of our universal family. Never have our messages been intended as a substitute for your own abilities!
Far, far beyond the readers who write to my mother, we see those who are lagging in developing discernment and instead depend on messengers such as we to provide the answers sought. We see the lapses into fear when a disastrous event of some kind or another is predicted in Internet articles and the sinking spirits at mainstream media reports. We have told you the myriad ways our space family has long been helping Earthand representatives of some of those civilizations also have told youyet there is discouragement because no fleet of ships has landed. We know the dissatisfaction, even alarm, about what is perceived to be happening rather than patience while actual happenings are still unfolding out of public view. And even though we have assured you time and again that you are magnificent souls with powers that are limited only by your thoughts that they are limited, you are hesitant to believe in yourselves.
We tell you that without any meanness of spirit, but rather only with love, and we know that not all of it applies to all of you, but if you recognize yourselves in what we said, please heed our words. You brothers and sisters who are so dear to us, it is imperative for spiritual growth that you stop looking externally for answers and start looking within. Everything you want and need you already haveplease believe in yourselves! Every one of you is beloved by all souls in higher spiritual realms, and we fervently wish that you would not approach life as if it were a complex and mysterious endurance test. Life is as simple as living from your heart, letting love be your guide, your understanding and your fulfillment!"
"America and the world know more about what is going on in Libya than in Madison. I have traveled some distance down-state to Madison three times in recent weeks to protest; and it is the smartest, most polite crowd of people I have ever seen. Police largely support the protestors and there has been minimal conflict. This revolution is being tweeted, but not televised, as it is clear the corporate media could give a damn about massive protests in America for social justice. Fox "News" even went as far as broadcasting footage of violent protestors with palm trees in the background, clearly impossible in a Wisconsin winter. Across the board humanity is at risk of losing the fruits of hard fought battles for human advancement. Over the past 300 years progressive and liberal thought and action have largely ended monarchy, slavery, and achieved equality, human rights and voting rights for much of the world. We have gained knowledge regarding ecology and our place in the world's web of life, and fully understand Earth and humanity are threatened by global ecosystem collapse. Globally we are all witnessing political and social implications of collapsing ecosystems, resource scarcity and economic inequities. In the United States some 400 individuals possess more wealth than the 155 million Americans in the bottom half. Globally 2.5 billion people live on less than $2 day; 800 million do not have enough food, and the same number lack clean water. The challenge of our generation is to stop Earth's biosphere from collapsing, making our home uninhabitable; while maximizing human freedom, fairness and dignity. It is pure evil that so few have so much, while so many suffer daily, failing to meet basic needs. The American dream is a myth built upon once-off economic growth destroying global ecosystems and unfairly sharing the ill-gotten proceeds. A new global dream is emerging from world protests. We are one human family with natural human rights to freedom, workers rights, ecological sustainability, equity, knowledge and justice. Humans have a right to associate with whomever they wish, and a right to cooperate in negotiations. We all also have the duty to protect our habitat, and to protect and restore shared ecology at all costs. And like all peoples, we have the right to change our government when it becomes abusive. (...) Global people's power protest sweeping the globe is humanity's last best chance for survival during a planetary ecological and social emergency. "
- Dr. Glen Barry -- Taken from Long Live the Cheddar Rebellion, We Are All Wisconsinites Now - To find out more on what's happening in Wisconsin watch 'America Is NOT Broke': Michael Moore Speaks in Madison, WI -- March 5, 2011-- Check also How I Got To Madison, Wisconsin By Michael Moore.
Note from Jean: I first found out about what's happening in Madison through Glen Barry's letter above - whose approach I obviously like - and then discovered about Michael Moore's initiative. Although I found it at first uplifting to see Michael Moore jumping in and doing his utmost best to arouse the people in Madison and, as he certainly hopes, across the USA to stand up to the massive 2008 thievery (or heist as he calls it) that allowed a handful of rich people to own and control much of the US - replicating what happened in much of the rest of the world - and start a people's revolution against the creeping corporate fascists that are wreaking havoc around the world to fill their overfilled coffers, after also watching this 2009 interview on Sean Hannity's show in which he contributed once again to perpetuate the 9/11 BIG Lie (that a bunch of Muslim terrorists did this instead of it being an inside job), I am left to wonder if, despite his good intents (and I certainly don't question his motives!), he is not somehow playing in the hands of those very fascists through stirring up anger against the ultra rich elite and a nationwide revolt that could be used as a pretext to clamp down on free speech and further repress any opposition. I know it sounds paranoid and I understand you don't start a larger movement to correct the economic injustices of America without addressing and strongly denouncing their root causes, but there is something I'm not really comfortable with when I see someone trying to fan the flames of anger in an effort to move the people to perhaps take more radical actions - something for which the potential is always there and which can be readily staged through agent provocateurs as we have often seen whenever large protests were organized to oppose the shenanigans of the elite - like when some "protesters" were clearly allowed to set fire to police cars during the G8 summit in Toronto in June 2010, thus justifying mass illegal arrests of real protesters afterwards. This being said, I fully trust that the good people in Madison and elsewhere in the US are never going to fall into any kind of violent behavior to make their point and bring about change. There is a huge reservoir of wisdom in people's heart and I know that what will in the end precipitate the changes we need to stir this planet to a higher ground where love and compassion will prevail is precisely those 2 guiding beacons: Love and Compassion... and certainly NOT anger and hatred. PS: I'm including below the edited transcript of Michael Moore's entire speech in case you prefer to read it instead of watching his rousing rendition of it.
Contrary to what those in power would like you to believe so that you'll give up your pension, cut your wages, and settle for the life your great-grandparents had, America is not broke. Not by a long shot. The country is awash in wealth and cash. It's just that it's not in your hands. It has been transferred, in the greatest heist in history, from the workers and consumers to the banks and the portfolios of the uber-rich.
Today just 400 Americans have the same wealth as half of all Americans combined.
Let me say that again. 400 obscenely rich people, most of whom benefited in some way from the multi-trillion dollar taxpayer "bailout" of 2008, now have as much loot, stock and property as the assets of 155 million Americans combined. If you can't bring yourself to call that a financial coup d'état, then you are simply not being honest about what you know in your heart to be true.
And I can see why. For us to admit that we have let a small group of men abscond with and hoard the bulk of the wealth that runs our economy, would mean that we'd have to accept the humiliating acknowledgment that we have indeed surrendered our precious Democracy to the moneyed elite. Wall Street, the banks and the Fortune 500 now run this Republic -- and, until this past month, the rest of us have felt completely helpless, unable to find a way to do anything about it.
I have nothing more than a high school degree. But back when I was in school, every student had to take one semester of economics in order to graduate. And here's what I learned: Money doesn't grow on trees. It grows when we make things. It grows when we have good jobs with good wages that we use to buy the things we need and thus create more jobs. It grows when we provide an outstanding educational system that then grows a new generation of inventors, entrepreneurs, artists, scientists and thinkers who come up with the next great idea for the planet. And that new idea creates new jobs and that creates revenue for the state. But if those who have the most money don't pay their fair share of taxes, the state can't function. The schools can't produce the best and the brightest who will go on to create those jobs. If the wealthy get to keep most of their money, we have seen what they will do with it: recklessly gamble it on crazy Wall Street schemes and crash our economy. The crash they created cost us millions of jobs. That too caused a reduction in tax revenue. Everyone ended up suffering because of what the rich did.
The nation is not broke, my friends. Wisconsin is not broke. Saying that the country is broke is repeating a Big Lie. It's one of the three biggest lies of the decade: 1) America is broke, 2) Iraq has WMD, and 3) The Packers can't win the Super Bowl without Brett Favre.
The truth is, there's lots of money to go around. LOTS. It's just that those in charge have diverted that wealth into a deep well that sits on their well-guarded estates. They know they have committed crimes to make this happen and they know that someday you may want to see some of that money that used to be yours. So they have bought and paid for hundreds of politicians across the country to do their bidding for them. But just in case that doesn't work, they've got their gated communities, and the luxury jet is always fully fueled, the engines running, waiting for that day they hope never comes. To help prevent that day when the people demand their country back, the wealthy have done two very smart things:
1. They control the message. By owning most of the media they have expertly convinced many Americans of few means to buy their version of the American Dream and to vote for their politicians. Their version of the Dream says that you, too, might be rich some day -- this is America, where anything can happen if you just apply yourself! They have conveniently provided you with believable examples to show you how a poor boy can become a rich man, how the child of a single mother in Hawaii can become president, how a guy with a high school education can become a successful filmmaker. They will play these stories for you over and over again all day long so that the last thing you will want to do is upset the apple cart -- because you -- yes, you, too! -- might be rich/president/an Oscar-winner some day! The message is clear: keep you head down, your nose to the grindstone, don't rock the boat and be sure to vote for the party that protects the rich man that you might be some day.
2. They have created a poison pill that they know you will never want to take. It is their version of mutually assured destruction. And when they threatened to release this weapon of mass economic annihilation in September of 2008, we blinked. As the economy and the stock market went into a tailspin, and the banks were caught conducting a worldwide Ponzi scheme, Wall Street issued this threat: Either hand over trillions of dollars from the American taxpayers or we will crash this economy straight into the ground. Fork it over or it's Goodbye savings accounts. Goodbye pensions. Goodbye United States Treasury. Goodbye jobs and homes and future. It was friggin' awesome and it scared the shit out of everyone. "Here! Take our money! We don't care. We'll even print more for you! Just take it! But, please, leave our lives alone, PLEASE!"
The executives in the board rooms and hedge funds could not contain their laughter, their glee, and within three months they were writing each other huge bonus checks and marveling at how perfectly they had played a nation full of suckers. Millions lost their jobs anyway, and millions lost their homes. But there was no revolt (see #1).
Until now. On Wisconsin! Never has a Michigander been more happy to share a big, great lake with you! You have aroused the sleeping giant known as the working people of the United States of America. Right now the earth is shaking and the ground is shifting under the feet of those who are in charge. Your message has inspired people in all 50 states and that message is: WE HAVE HAD IT! We reject anyone who tells us America is broke and broken. It's just the opposite! We are rich with talent and ideas and hard work and, yes, love. Love and compassion toward those who have, through no fault of their own, ended up as the least among us. But they still crave what we all crave: Our country back! Our democracy back! Our good name back! The United States of America. NOT the Corporate States of America. The United States of America!
So how do we make this happen? Well, we do it with a little bit of Egypt here, a little bit of Madison there. And let us pause for a moment and remember that it was a poor man with a fruit stand in Tunisia who gave his life so that the world might focus its attention on how a government run by billionaires for billionaires is an affront to freedom and morality and humanity.
Thank you, Wisconsin. You have made people realize this was our last best chance to grab the final thread of what was left of who we are as Americans. For three weeks you have stood in the cold, slept on the floor, skipped out of town to Illinois -- whatever it took, you have done it, and one thing is for certain: Madison is only the beginning. The smug rich have overplayed their hand. They couldn't have just been content with the money they raided from the treasury. They couldn't be satiated by simply removing millions of jobs and shipping them overseas to exploit the poor elsewhere. No, they had to have more -- something more than all the riches in the world. They had to have our soul. They had to strip us of our dignity. They had to shut us up and shut us down so that we could not even sit at a table with them and bargain about simple things like classroom size or bulletproof vests for everyone on the police force or letting a pilot just get a few extra hours sleep so he or she can do their job -- their $19,000 a year job. That's how much some rookie pilots on commuter airlines make, maybe even the rookie pilot who flew me here to Madison today. He told me he's stopped hoping for a pay increase. All he's asking for now is enough down time so that he doesn't have to sleep in his car between shifts at O'Hare airport. That's how despicably low we have sunk! The wealthy couldn't be content with just paying this man $19,000 a year. They had to take away his sleep. They had to demean him and dehumanize him and rub his face in it. After all, he's just another slob, isn't he?
And that, my friends, is Corporate America's fatal mistake. But trying to destroy us they have given birth to a movement -- a movement that is becoming a massive, nonviolent revolt across the country. We all knew there had to be a breaking point some day, and that point is upon us. Many people in the media don't understand this. They say they were caught off guard about Egypt, never saw it coming. Now they act surprised and flummoxed about why so many hundreds of thousands have come to Madison over the last three weeks during brutal winter weather. "Why are they all standing out there in the cold?" I mean, there was that election in November and that was supposed to be that!
"There's something happening here, and you don't know what it is, do you ...?"
America ain't broke! The only thing that's broke is the moral compass of the rulers. And we aim to fix that compass and steer the ship ourselves from now on. Never forget, as long as that Constitution of ours still stands, it's one person, one vote, and it's the thing the rich hate most about America -- because even though they seem to hold all the money and all the cards, they begrudgingly know this one unshakeable basic fact: There are more of us than there are of them!
Madison, do not retreat. We are with you. We will win together.
---
Related articles:
Wisconsin: The Real Stakes of Walker's Union War (March 03, 2011) http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2056637,00.html
If you don't look too closely, the battle lines between Wisconsin's Republican governor, Scott Walker, and his state's public employees' unions seem to be clearly drawn. Walker wants public employees to pay more toward their health care and retirement benefits, while teachers and public workers howl that Walker's plan to curb most collective bargaining is a malicious plot to bust up their unions. Of course neither side wants to discuss what is really at stake in this battle: the public-sector unions are fighting for their shady ability to take millions of dollars from their members' dues money without really asking, and the governor is not really owning up to his ambition to smash the political power of public employees' unions to smithereens. The stakes are rising because, if Walker succeeds, other swing states with newly elected Republican governors, such as Ohio and Michigan, could follow. A growing movement by cash-strapped states to limit the political clout of public-sector unions would bring disastrous results, not only for the unions but for every Democratic candidate eyeing the 2012 ballot, from local officials all the way up to Barack Obama. Walker has a strong case on the fiscal merits. The cost of state employees' benefits has skyrocketed in tandem with the rising power of public employees' unions. It has become a perverse and semicorrupt arrangement: the unions raise millions from dues, which are then used to elect labor-friendly politicians who cave at the contract-negotiating table, especially on long-term employment deals, whose cost really begins to crush the state or city budget in the years after the agreeable politician has left office. This is where public-sector unions lack the moral authority of their private-sector brethren. When the United Steelworkers negotiate with a steel company, they don't also control the company's board of directors. CLIP
Wisconsin Senate Advances Bill Opposed by Unions (March 9, 2011) http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/03/09/us/AP-US-Wisconsin-Budget-Unions.html
MADISON, Wis. (AP) The Wisconsin Senate succeeded in voting Wednesday to strip nearly all collective bargaining rights from public workers, after Republicans outmaneuvered the chamber's missing Democrats and approved an explosive proposal that has rocked the state and unions nationwide."You are cowards!" spectators in the Senate gallery screamed as lawmakers voted. Within hours, a crowd of a few hundred protesters inside the Capitol had grown to an estimated 7,000, more than had been in the building at any point during weeks of protests. "The whole world is watching!" they shouted as they pressed up against the heavily guarded entrance to the Senate chamber. All 14 Senate Democrats fled to Illinois nearly three weeks ago, preventing the chamber from having enough members present to consider Gov. Scott Walker's "budget-repair bill" a proposal introduced to plug a $137 million budget shortfall. The Senate requires a quorum to take up any measure that spends money. But Republicans on Wednesday took all the spending measures out of Walker's proposal and a special committee of lawmakers from both the Senate and Assembly approved the revised bill a short time later. The unexpected yet surprisingly simple procedural move ended a stalemate that had threatened to drag on indefinitely. Until Wednesday's stunning vote, it appeared the standoff would persist until Democrats returned to Madison from their self-imposed exile. "In 30 minutes, 18 state senators undid 50 years of civil rights in Wisconsin. Their disrespect for the people of Wisconsin and their rights is an outrage that will never be forgotten," said Democratic Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller. " - Check also Santa Rosa labor rally backs Wisconsin worker
Michael Moore Addresses Rally in Wisconsin (MARCH 7, 2011) FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL BLOG http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2011/03/07/michael-moore-addresses-rally-in-wisconsin/
Documentary director Michael Moore popped up at a rally in Wisconsin to show solidarity for workers fighting against the threat of losing their collective bargaining rights. Moore read from a statement he titled America is Not Broke. The filmmaker said,contrary to what those in power would like you to believe so that youll give up your pension, cut your wages, and settle for the life your great-grandparents hadAmerica is not broke, not by a long shot, the country is awash in cash 400 obscenely wealthy individuals most of whom benefited in some way from the multitril lion dollar taxpayer bailout of 2008, now have more cash, stock and property than the assets of 155 million Americans combined. It is a shame. If you cant bring yourself to call that a financial coup détat, then you are simply not being honest with what you know in your heart to be true. Gov. Scott Walker, whose budget-repair bill includes limits on public unions collective-bargaining rights, said on Friday that I won reelection twice as county executive in an area of the state that went two-thirds for President Obama by identifying a problem, telling people how I was going to deal with it, and then moving forward with the solution. According to a story in the Wall Street Journal, Democratic senators who left Wisconsin to help thwart restrictions on public-employee unions said yesterday that they planned to return from exile soon. - CHECK ALSO Michael Moore Goes to Wisconsin: Hero or Hypocrite? WHICH INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING COMMENT: If I published encyclopedias, his picture (eesh!), would be above the word 'Hypocrite'. Jim Meyers of NewsMax reports that although Moore said he doesn't own any stocks 'due to moral principle', uncovered IRS documents show his foundation has bought stocks in some of America's largest corporations, including Halliburton, other defense contractors and even some companies he has attacked in his films and in speeches. The bloated windbag who raves at 'the rich' for hoarding 'our' money is worth around $50,000,000. Karma is real, and I hope he discovers that she is just as much of a big, smelly bitch as he is. WHICH IS AMPLY SUBSTANTIATED IN THIS 2005 ARTICLE: Michael Moore Owned Halliburton, Defense Stocks ... MORE RELATED NEWS HERE
Renowned American Filmmaker Urged More Protests Across the US (7 March 2011) THE IRANIAN VIEW... http://hamsayeh.net/world/435-renowned-american-filmmaker-urged-more-protests-across-the-us.html
(...) The renowned filmmaker went on to encourage the protesters for their legitimate demands from government officials. you have aroused a sleeping giant, known as the working people, the filmmaker shouted: Keep marching! Keep protesting! On Wisconsin! said Moore. The so-called worlds biggest economy is struggling with huge economic problems that according to analysts should only become worse once the current bubble created by QE1 and QE2 programs bursts. The nation of over 300 million people has debts at more than $15 trillion that could never be paid back unless the US Federal Reserve brings down value of US dollar through inflation. This measure however will have severe international backlash from China, oil producing nations and other emerging economies.
------
NUGGETS OF SPECIAL INTEREST
2011: Co-Creating a New World - MOST inspiring and timely! And VERY moving... (30 min) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s9_MJj-IEU
Recommended by long-time ERN subscriber and good friend Ron Van Dyke (paradoxman@cfl.rr.com) who wrote: "I've gone from the pen to the camera, and am posting YouTube videos almost daily. Here's one I hope you can share with your readers. It is a talk I gave a little over a week ago here in Florida (on January 23, 2011). Throughout, people not only applauded, but were wiping tears of joy from their eyes. It was a beautiful thing to behold." Note from Jean: What Ron is doing is setting up a stellar example of a soul speaking from his heartfelt truth and with direct simplicity. He is inspiring people to take back their freedom as sovereign souls and is himself a powerful example of how to do so. And he is teaching with vibrant clarity key spiritual facts/realities we can all resonate with. I hope this video will go viral as everyone ought to hear Ron and be moved as I've been. Two other 10 min videos (so far) from Ron at http://www.youtube.com/user/paradoxman316 also warmly recommended. Check also his website at http://metagroups.info/
Libya: No-Fly Zone http://avaaz.org/en/libya_no_fly_zone_1/
As Qaddafi's jets drop bombs on the Libyan people, the UN Security Council will decide in 48 hours whether to impose a no-fly zone to keep the government's warplanes on the ground. Together, we've already flooded the Security Council with messages, "overwhelming" the President's office and helping win targeted sanctions on the Libyan regime. But Qaddafi has only stepped up his bombardment, and Libyan citizens -- including the provisional opposition government -- have called urgently for a no-fly zone to be enforced by through international action. If Qaddafi can't dominate the air, he loses a key weapon in a war in which civilians are paying the heaviest price. Enforcing a no-fly zone involves risks, but if it's done correctly -- without landing foreign troops on Libyan soil, and with utmost care for human life -- then it could prevent tremendous bloodshed. We have just 48 hours left. Let's send 1 million messages to stop Qaddafi's deadly air attacks before it's too late. Check also Bomb Gaddafi's runways - US Intelligence Chief: Gadhafi Likely to Defeat Rebels - Long guerrilla war would follow Gaddafi "win" - MUCH MORE INFO AT THE TOP OF THE "KEY INTERNATIONAL NEWS" BELOW
Egyptian General says enemy agents in the White House and Israel carried out 9/11 (Feb 7, 2011) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNh1Isb20twax
Now you know one of the reasons why the US shadow government and Israel want to have a say in who is the next Egyptian President and will not allow Mubarak to leave. MUST WATCH! QUITE AN EYE-OPENER!
UFO Expert: Stanley Fulham UFO predictions fulfilled over NY, Moscow, and London (February 14th, 2011) http://www.examiner.com/exopolitics-in-seattle/ufo-expert-stanley-fulham-s-ufo-predictions-fulfilled-over-n-y-moscow-and-lo
(...) Based on the enormity of eyewitnesses and video evidence taken by many independent sources and posted on the Internet for all to see, it is clearly evident the late Stan Fulham's predictions of 3 UFO displays taking place over New York City on October 13th, 2010, over Moscow the first week of January 2011, and over London the 2nd week of January 2011 have proved to be accurate. CLIP
Chinese Pollution Reaches U.S. (CBS News) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsjANjFlK0M
Pollution in China has reached worrying heights. Sixteen of the world's 20 most-polluted cities are in China, and pollution from China is reaching the U.S. Barry Petersen reports. Check also China Pollution
Building Chinas future? (February 17, 2011) http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/4112
Following Singapores example, Britain is trying to secure a role in Chinas eco-cities market. But what does that mean for the green agenda?
Enter the AnthropoceneAge of Man http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/03/age-of-man/kolbert-text
Its a new name for a new geologic epochone defined by our own massive impact on the planet. That mark will endure in the geologic record long after our cities have crumbled.
San Diego Port Officer Says Nukes Have Been Found In An American Port (February 12th, 2011) http://theintelhub.com/2011/02/12/port-officer-says-nukes-have-been-found-in-or-near-san-diego/
Al Hallor, the assistant port director and an officer with Customs and Border Protection has openly admitted that an unnamed government agency has found a nuclear weapon or weapon of mass effect at a U.S. port in the last year!Thats right, an assistant port director has spilled the beans on a possible major government cover up. During the conversation the port authority press agent continually interrupted the officer in an attempt to get him to shut up. CLIP
RFID CHIP & NATIONAL ID Coming Soon (10 March 2010) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iz1I0UBRUK0
Ron Paul discusses the White House and Obama's Plans for a National ID Card. What it will mean for the Freedom and free movement of all Americans.
Join Our Non-GMO Network to Create The Tipping Point! http://action.responsibletechnology.org/p/salsa/web/common/public/signup?signup_page_KEY=2925
"Stopping GMOs is simply a numbers game. When enough shoppers stop buying GMO brands, the food industry will kick out all genetically modified (GM) ingredients. This happened in Europe, and it's happening in the US with GM bovine growth hormone (rbGH)."We need about 5% of US shoppers-15 million people or 5.6 million households-to choose healthier non-GMO brands in order to generate a non-GMO tipping point."It's just a matter of reaching enough people. That's what our educational tools and talking points are designed to do."~ Jeffrey M. Smith - There are three different ways you can join the Non-GMO Tipping Point Network: CLIP - Note to US subscribers: Read Alfalfa Plan B and send a letter to executives to let them know of your choice to buy only non-GMO foods. This is a complement to USDA Recommends "Coexistence" with Monsanto: We Say Hell No! which I networked with lots more info in my January 21 compilation
WILL RECENT USDA APPROVALS OF GMOS SPREAD TO BOULDER COUNTY? (02-10-2011) http://npaper-wehaa.com/boulder-weekly/#2011/02/10/?article=1166404&vw=1
(...) The USDAs Jan. 27 decision to grant non-regulated status to GM alfalfa was accompanied by assurances from federal officials that the genetically engineered crop poses no risks. After conducting a thorough and transparent examination of alfalfa through a multi-alternative environmental impact statement (EIS) and several public comment opportunities, [the USDA] has determined that Roundup Ready alfalfa is as safe as traditionally bred alfalfa, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a press release. But the announcement triggered a fiery response from Ronnie Cummins of the Organic Consumers Association, who said (...) the Frankenfalfa is guaranteed to spread its mutant genes and seeds across the nation; guaranteed to contaminate the alfalfa fed to organic animals; guaranteed to lead to massive poisoning of farm workers and destruction of the essential soil food web by the toxic herbicide, Roundup; and guaranteed to produce Roundup-resistant superweeds that will require even more deadly herbicides such as 2,4-D to be sprayed on millions of acres of alfalfa across the U.S. (...) He, like Cummins, tells people to tell their congressional representatives and the White House that they want GM crops labeled as such, because GM foods have quietly infiltrated the majority of foods in conventional supermarkets, but there is no way to tell them apart from other products. Even products labeled with the widely abused misnomer natural can contain GMOs, experts say. Labeling will solve everything, because that will give consumers the choice, Hoffman says. Right now they have no choice. They dont know its in 80 percent of their grocery-store food. CLIP
Faut-il avoir peur du fluor? (17 février 2011) http://www.protegez-vous.ca/sante-et-alimentation/fluor-toxique.html
Une synthèse de plusieurs études publiée aux États-Unis pointe les dangers du fluor et de ses dérivés. Fluorose dentaire, fragilisation du système osseux, troubles de la thyroïde et du système endocrinien, voire atteinte aux capacités cognitives La liste est longue des reproches qui sont adressés au fluor et à ses dérivés. Et depuis des décennies, la polémique au sujet de la fluoration de leau potable fait rage entre tenants et opposants. Un article récemment publié dans la revue étasunienne Toxicology Mechanisms and Methods par lIndependent Research Foundation (IRF) risque fort de relancer le débat. Selon son auteur, le Dr Jeff Prystupa, cette synthèse des études publiées sur la toxicité du fluor et des fluorures vise en effet à «éduquer et informer sur la nature néfaste de cette toxine omniprésente, réactive et corrosive». Très documentée, cette revue sappuie sur un examen scrupuleux de nombreuses sources internationales officielles, publiques comme privées, et en particulier des études du National Research Council et de lAgency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry étasuniens. Dans ses conclusions, le Dr Prystupa suggère qu«en raison de leur appétit insatiable pour le calcium, le fluor et les fluorures représentent probablement une forme de chimie incompatible avec les tissus biologiques et les fonctions du système organique». La fluoration de leau potable est au centre des débats qui divisent partisans et détracteurs du fluor. «Alors que le discours officiel a toujours été de dire que la fluoration de leau permettait de prévenir les caries, on connaît aujourdhui le degré de toxicité du fluor, détaille Pierre Larose, chirurgien-dentiste à Montréal. On sait quil a des effets sur la matrice même de lémail des dents et quil les fragilise plutôt que les renforcer.» CLIP
Sida : un vaccin préventif pour les femmes trouvé ? (14 février 2011) http://www.maxisciences.com/sida/sida-un-vaccin-preventif-pour-les-femmes-trouve_art12541.html
Des scientifiques français travaillant sur la mise au point d'un vaccin contre le Sida depuis 15 ans, auraient testé avec succès un candidat-vaccin sur des femelles singes.Pour les besoins de l'expérimentation, le candidat-vaccin en question a été testé sur des macaques femelles, et aurait pour but de bloquer la transmission sexuelle du virus du Sida. Ce vaccin a été développé et expérimenté par des chercheurs français de l'Institut Cochin à Paris tandis que leurs résultats ont été publiés dans la revue américaine Immunity explique Le Parisien. L'expérimentation a consisté à vacciner cinq femelles macaques par voie nasale et intramusculaire. Les résultats ont alors démontré une protection des animaux contre le virus, et cela par voie vaginale. Elles auraient à chaque fois échappé au VIH alors qu'elles y étaient exposées treize fois chacune.Directrice de recherche au CNRS à l'Institut Cochin, Morgane Bomsel explique : "Ce succès est prometteur. Le vaccin fonctionne relativement bien in vitro contre les sous-types B et C du VIH, responsables de 95% des cas aux Etats-Unis, en Europe et en Inde". Pour autant, la chercheuse reste prudente, expliquant qu'il faut encore tester le produit sur les hommes, et contre d'autres voies de transmission que vaginales.
Immunization with HIV-1 gp41 Subunit Virosomes Induces Mucosal Antibodies Protecting Nonhuman Primates against Vaginal SHIV Challenges (10 February 2011) IN CLEAR - A VACCINE FOR AIDS HAS BEEN FOUND!! http://www.cell.com/immunity/abstract/S1074-7613(11)00036-7
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 is mainly transmitted mucosally during sexual intercourse. We therefore evaluated the protective efficacy of a vaccine active at mucosal sites. Macaca mulatta monkeys were immunized via both the intramuscular and intranasal routes with an HIV-1 vaccine made of gp41-subunit antigens grafted on virosomes, a safe delivery carrier approved in humans with self-adjuvant properties. Six months after 13 vaginal challenges with simian-HIV (SHIV)-SF162P3, four out of five vaccinated animals remained virus-negative, and the fifth was only transiently infected. None of the five animals seroconverted to p27gag-SIV. In contrast, all 6 placebo-vaccinated animals became infected and seroconverted. All protected animals showed gp41-specific vaginal IgAs with HIV-1 transcytosis-blocking properties and vaginal IgGs with neutralizing and/or antibody-dependent cellular-cytotoxicity activities. In contrast, plasma IgGs totally lacked virus-neutralizing activity. The protection observed challenges the paradigm whereby circulating antiviral antibodies are required for protection against HIV-1 infection and may serve in designing a human vaccine against HIV-1-AIDS.
Conversation with GOD
Man: God? God: Yes? Man: Can I ask you something? God: Of course! Man: What's a million years for you? God: A second. Man: And a million dollars? God: A penny. Man: God, Could I have a penny? God: Wait for a second.
Further gains for Gaddafi in east http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0KrdiU0Lv8
Muammar Gaddafi seems to be getting an upper hand in Libya, at least militarily. His forces are pushing the rebels back further to the east. The military has bombarded the oil port of Ras Lanuf again, and pro-Gaddafi forces have reportedly taken the nearby town of Brega. There are also reports of fierce attacks on Ajdabiya, which is on the way to the opposition stronghold of Benghazi.
Dangerous Crossroads: The West is ready to invade Libya (March 11, 2011) http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=23652
Military analysts across the globe say that an international military campaign against Libya is imminent. Britain may lead a military operation against Col.Muammar Gaddafi. Prime Minister David Cameron is demonstrating a profound insight into the situation in the Middle East and a zealous support for austerity sanctions or even a military invasion of Libya. (...) The EU leaders have dismissed Sarkozys moves as a sovereign position which has nothing to do with that of the EU. But military analysts across the globe say that an international military campaign in Libya is imminent. In the opinion of Vice-President of the Institute of Geopolitical Problems Leonid Ivashov, preparations for an air blockade of Tripoli are nearly over. The Enterprise aircraft carrier is on its way to the region, and so are ships and air defense platforms. These are enough to paralyze Gaddafis radar fields, airfields and flight control systems.Former Bundeswehr Lieutenant Colonel Jurgen Rose thinks along the same lines. Similar operations have been held before, in so-called no-fly zones in Northern and Southern Iraq. Gaddafis fighter planes can be shot down without fearing a response from air defenses and his airfields, and aircraft and runways can be easily destroyed too. Libyas hopelessly outdated aircraft have no chance. Many experts agree that while Libyas air space is easy to seal off, the political aspect of the crisis remains outstanding and both NATO and the EU are aware of that. NATO leaders have made it clear that there will be no more military interventions without a UN mandate. NATOs reputation in the Islamic world is bad enough. But a carte blanche from the UN Security Council is unlikely as a number of countries, including permanent members, are opposed to such a move. -- Check also US and allies step up military and intelligence operations in Libya - Point Of No Return: U.S. And NATO Prepare For War With Libya - U.S. general warns no-fly zone could lead to all-out war in Libya
"Operation Libya" and the Battle for Oil: Redrawing the Map of Africa (March 9, 2011) http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=23605
The geopolitical and economic implications of a US-NATO led military intervention directed against Libya are far-reaching. Libya is among the World's largest oil economies with approximately 3.5% of global oil reserves, more than twice those of the US. "Operation Libya" is part of the broader military agenda in the Middle East and Central Asia which consists in gaining control and corporate ownership over more than sixty percent of the world's reserves of oil and natural gas, including oil and gas pipeline routes. (...) An invasion of Libya under a humanitarian mandate would serve the same corporate interests as the 2003 invasion and occupation of Iraq. The underlying objective is to take possession of Libya's oil reserves, destabilize the National Oil Corporation (NOC) and eventually privatize the country's oil industry, namely transfer the control and ownership of Libya's oil wealth into foreign hands. CLIP
Rebel forces retreat from Ras Lanuf (10 March 2011) http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/03/201131041228856242.html
Opposition fighters have been forced to withdraw from the central port city of Ras Lanuf as forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi launched a major offensive against rebels fighting to end the Libyan leader's decades-long rule. Pro- and anti-government forces are locked in intense fighting for control of several other cities and towns along the coastline to the east of Tripoli, including Brega and Bin Jawad, as well as in Az Zawiyah to the west of the capital. Rebel forces in the port city of Ras Lanuf, which is the site of a key oil installation, are now retreating from their positions and heading further east. Opposition fighters were seen trooping into cars and trucks by the hundreds and fleeing eastwards, after coming under intense mortar and rocket fire, as well as aerial bombardment earlier in the day. Pro-Gaddafi forces hit a natural gas installation, as well as bombing a civilian house and the area around a hospital, opposition forces said.In an interview with Reuters news agency, Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam said the time had come for full scale military action against the rebels. "There is no more chance for negotiations with rebels fighting the Libyan government," he said on Thursday. He said the military would never give up, that they will fight in Libya and die in Libya.
(...) Hoda Abdel-Hamid, our correspondent in Benghazi, reported that officials confirmed that Ras Lanuf and Brega, another town with key oil installations, had come under attack from gunboats. Brega, a key oil and gas hub, was also under attack from the air. She reported that rebels in Benghazi feel the tide "may be reversing", and that there is a "realisation that this is going to be a long, long uprising".Gaddafi's men also pounded Az Zawiyah with tanks and war planes."The revolutionaries control the centre of Zawiyah and Gadhafi's forces are surrounding it. It's 50-50," a resident who fled the city said. "There was no one in the streets, the town is completely deserted, and there are snipers on the roofs," he said, adding that he did not know which side they were on.
(...) The battles are raging as rebels pile on pressure on the international community to impose a no-fly zone over Libya to cripple Gaddafi's air force. While several world powers have backed such a measure, the logistics are yet to be worked out with Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, saying such a move should be driven by the United Nations and not the United States. NATO and the European Union began fresh talks on a no-fly zone on Thursday, with Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Nato's secretary-general, saying that "further planning will be required" if a no-fly zone were to be enforced, under the UN's mandate.Jakob Kellenberger, the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), on Thursday warned that Libya was in a state of "civil war", and appealed for aid workers to be given greater access to the country. Amid such discussions, Gaddafi has launched his own diplomatic effort, sending emissaries to Brussels and Cairo. Opposition forces vowed to continue fighting against Gaddafi, even if a no-fly zone was not imposed. CLIP - More info in the FULL COVERAGE BY AL JAZEERA
Libya Rebels Reject Potential Gaddafi Offer To Step Down: Reports (3/7/11) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/07/gaddafi-resigning-libya-resignation_n_832578.html
(Reuters) - Two Arab newspapers and al Jazeera television said on Monday Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was looking for an agreement allowing him to step down, but there was no official confirmation of the reports. Al Jazeera said Gaddafi had proposed to Libyan rebels to hold a meeting of parliament to pave the way for him to step down with certain guarantees.It said Gaddafi made the proposal to the interim council, which speaks for mostly eastern areas controlled by his opponents. It quoted sources in the council as saying Gaddafi wanted guarantees of personal safety for him and his family and a pledge that they not be put on trial. Al Jazeera said sources from the council told its correspondent in Benghazi that the offer was rejected because it would have amounted to an "honourable" exit for Gaddafi and would offend his victims.The London-based daily Asharq al-Awsat and the daily al-Bayan, based in the United Arab Emirates, also cited unnamed sources as saying Gaddafi was looking for an agreement.A source close to the council told Reuters he had heard that "one formula being proposed by the other side would see Gaddafi hand power to the head of parliament and leave the country with a certain guaranteed sum of money." "I was told that this issue of money is a serious obstacle from the national council's point of view," he said, adding that his information came from a single source close to the council. CLIP
Libya and the folly of intervention (7 March 2011) http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/03/201135141253240339.html
After turning a blind eye to Gaddafi's violent rule, the West has no legitimacy to enforce a no-fly zone. -- Calls for international intervention to end the conflict in Libya have come from across the political spectrum and have even included Libyan voices, such as the country's delegation to the United Nations. These calls, especially on the part of Libyans, are surely motivated by a belief that the international community, with all its power, must have some tools at its disposal to put real pressure on Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi to cease the bloodshed and step down as the country's leader. However, some calls for international engagement with the Libyan conflict have also been motivated by a disingenuous desire to reassert US leadership in the world. To the extent that these intentions are the guiding light, the international communitys interventionist policy, including the recently passed UN Security Council Resolution 1970 imposing sanctions on Libya, is dangerous, misguided and irresponsible. One of the measures approved by the UN includes an arms embargo, preventing foreign governments and arms manufacturers from selling weapons to the Libyan government. Since the predominant fear here is less that Libya might sell arms on the international market and more that western arms companies might supply Libya with reinforcements and spare parts, the international community should have included measures for monitoring these companies and subjecting them to sanctions or other forms of accountability for non-compliance. By merely placing an arms embargo on Libya, without establishing a means of holding arms purveyors who violate the ban accountable for their actions, the UN has allowed the international community and arms manufacturers to escape accountability and complicity for any trade occurring with the Libyan government. Furthermore, it underscores the UN's unwillingness to police member states, who may be clandestinely supporting the Libyan regime, and thus betraying the interests of the Libyan people. CLIP
Public consequences of pop stars' private gigs (March 10, 2011) http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-music-dictators-20110311,0,3275782.story
With Mariah Carey, Beyoncé and other artists feeling the sting of their private concerts' connection to the Moammar Kadafi clan, the risks and payoffs of such lucrative engagements come to the surface. When pop stars Mariah Carey, Beyoncé, Nelly Furtado and 50 Cent recently said they'd renounced millions of dollars they'd received for performing for members of Libyan strongman Moammar Kadafi's family, they drew attention to a growing and controversial cultural phenomenon: celebrity artists being hired by rich, powerful and sometimes disreputable clients to play at private or semi-private functions. From flashy hotel openings to wedding receptions, upscale bat mitzvahs and Caribbean bacchanalias, brand-name musicians, Hollywood actors and other celebrities are increasingly renting out their talents, or simply their crowd-drawing presence, for under-the-radar engagements. Despite the potential ethical breaches, and the risk of tainting their public images, big stars likely will continue to be tempted by fat fees and all-expense-paid trips by private jet to a remote tropical island or luxury resort. Today's free-spending clients include Fortune 500 corporations, Wall Street tycoons and nouveau-riche developing-world businessmen.
(...) But that can be difficult if the client is using a third-party intermediary or hiding behind a pseudonym, as one of Kadafi's sons is known to do, Van Ronkel said. That was the explanation put forward by Carey last week when she renounced the reported $1 million she earned for giving a private 2008 New Year's Eve concert bankrolled by a member of the Kadafi family. "I was naive and unaware of who I was booked to perform for," the singer, who has a substantial record of philanthropic activities, said in a statement. "I feel horrible and embarrassed to have participated in this mess. Going forward, this is a lesson for all artists to learn from. We need to be more aware and take more responsibility, regardless of who books our shows." A few days previously, Furtado, the Canadian pop chanteuse, had announced in a Twitter message that she planned to give away the $1 million she made playing a 45-minute show for the Kadafi clan at an Italian hotel in 2007. She did not specify where the money would go. Beyoncé said in a statement that she hadn't realized who was picking up the tab for a Kadafi-sponsored private party. "Once it became known that the third-party promoter was linked to the Kadafi family, the decision was made to put that payment to a good cause," the statement read. The singer said she already had donated the money she earned to Haitian earthquake-relief efforts. CLIP
Is Syria the next domino? (06 Mar 2011) http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/03/20113482455647372.html
With the Tunisian and Egyptian regimes gone and street protests roiling cities from Algiers to Tehran, many people are now wondering which domino might fall next. Syria, whose secular, militarised dictatorship most closely resembles the fallen regimes of Tunisia and Egypt, may not be next in line - but appears nonetheless to be approaching a tipping point. Of course, the old "domino theory" of international relations was merely a crude way of emphasising that different parts of any region are linked to each other. For todays Arab world, a better metaphor might be a chessboard, from which the removal of even a pawn inevitably alters the relationships among all other pieces. Today, as protests mount and multiply, the government of every Arab state in the Middle East and North Africa probably believes that, if left to its own devices, it can contain internal dissent. In Syria, it seems inevitable that protest may soon crack the regime's brittle political immobility. Most ordinary Syrians face extremely difficult economic and social conditions, including high unemployment, rising food prices, constraints on personal freedom, and endemic corruption. These factors are no different from those that brought people to the streets in North Africa and the Middle East. What began as protests over living conditions became full-scale demands for freedom and democracy.
The regime in Damascus is fearful of similar unrest, as it should be. The best way to avoid a confrontation between the people and the security forces is a process of genuine reform leading to elections and a government of national unity. The ingrained inertia of the current regime, however, seems to preclude any early move toward that. Instead, Syria's rulers are offering inducements to ensure key constituencies remain in line laptops for teachers, subsidies for public-sector workers, and empty reformist rhetoric. But the current situation calls for far more serious measures. Lifting the state of emergency that has been in force since 1963 which has granted sweeping powers to the regime and its security services would be both a symbolic and tangible step in the right direction. Unless Syrias rulers, like other leaders in the Arab world, begin to appreciate that freedom is a fundamental human right, even the most quiescent peoples patience may wear dangerously thin. High food prices may have served as a trigger in North Africa, but the speed with which the protesters turned their attention to political reform caught everyone off guard. Putting this genie back in its bottle would be virtually impossible without bloodshed of the type we are now witnessing in some parts of the Arab world. So the Syrian leadership knows that it must respond hence the half-hearted reform agenda that it recently outlined. But trying to address deep-rooted popular grievances with flowery language and a bouquet of subsidies is like trying to extinguish a forest fire with a water pistol. The solutions to Syria's problems must be as substantive as the problems are serious. CLIP
Saudi Arabia police 'fire at rally' (10 Mar 2011) http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/03/2011310185818570316.html
Police have reportedly opened fire at a rally in Saudi Arabia in an apparent effort to stop planned protests there, AP news agency has reported. A witness in the eastern city of Qatif told AP that gunfire and stun grenades were fired at several hundred protesters marching in the city streets on Thursday. The witness, speaking on condition of anonymity because he feared government reprisal, said police in the area opened fire. The witness saw at least one protester injured. Government officials have warned they will take strong action if activists take to the streets after increasing calls for large protests around the country to press for democratic reforms. Despite the ban on protests and the government warning, demonstrators demanding the release of political prisoners took to the streets for a second day in Qatif. Several hundred protesters, some wearing face masks to avoid being identified, marched after dark asking for "Freedom for prisoners". Police, who were lined up opposite the protesters, fired percussion bombs, followed by gunfire, causing the crowd to scatter, a witness said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of government retaliation.Last month, the government announced an unprecedented economic package worth an estimated $36bn that will give people interest-free home loans, unemployment assistance and debt forgiveness. It also reiterated that demonstrations are forbidden because they contradict Islamic laws and society's values and said security forces were authorised to act against anyone violating the ban. So far the demonstrations have been small and concentrated but activists have been emboldened by other uprisings and have set up Facebook groups calling for protests in the capital, Riyadh, on Friday to demand democratic reforms.One such group garnered more than 30,000 supporters. Earlier on Thursday, the human rights organisation Amnesty International called on the Saudi Arabian authorities to reverse the ban on peaceful protest in the kingdom, amid fears of a violent crackdown on Friday's planned Day of Rage." Instead of banning peaceful protests the Saudi Arabian authorities should address the need for major human rights reform in the country," Philip Luther, deputy director of Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa programme, said. Media reports over the weekend suggested that some 10,000 Saudi troops would be deployed to crack down on any protests. Reports that the Saudi authorities plan to deploy troops to police upcoming demonstrations are very worrying, Luther said.
Yemen president vows reform as protests continue (March 10, 2011) http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/10/us-yemen-protests-president-idUSTRE7291EK20110310
Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh, hoping to defuse increasingly violent protests against his 32-year rule, said Thursday he would draw up a new constitution to create a parliamentary system of government. An opposition spokesman swiftly rejected the proposal, and called for the continuation of anti-government rallies, which kicked off in January and have claimed almost 30 lives. Impoverished Yemen, a neighbor of oil giant Saudi Arabia, is one of several Arab states that have seen mass protests this year, with Saleh looking increasingly weakened by the unrest. Speaking to thousands of cheering supporters gathered in a soccer stadium, the autocratic Saleh said he wanted to form a unity government to help put in place a new political system. (...) Saleh has already made several concessions to protesters, but has refused to bow to their central demand that he relinquish power immediately, saying he wanted to see out his term which expires in 2013. "What president Saleh doesn't realize is that in the past 32 years he's really racked up a trust deficit and people just don't believe him anymore," said Gregory Johnsen, a Yemen scholar from Princeton University.Tens of thousands of anti-Saleh protesters took to the streets of Sanaa, Taiz and Ibb as Saleh pitched his initiative to his own supporters. South of the capital in Dhamar, one of the 68-year old leader's political strongholds, thousands rallied against the government Thursday.
Yemen uses nerve gas on protesters (March 9, 2011) http://presstv.com/detail/169100.html
Yemen government forces have used nerve gas against anti-government protesters as President Ali Abdullah Saleh come under mounting pressure to step down, reports say.Witnesses present at the scene of Tuesday's anti-government protests in the capital Sana'a said that what was originally thought to be tear gas may have been some form of nerve gas, reports said on Wednesday. Military personnel used live bullets and some form of gas on Tuesday night to disperse a group of demonstrators who were trying to bring more tents into the protest area outside Sana'a University. One protester was killed and around 100 others were injured in the attack. The victims of the violence complained of symptoms similar to those caused by nerve gas, including temporary paralysis. "We are seeing symptoms in the patient's nerves, not in their respiratory systems. I'm 90 percent sure its nerve gas and not tear gas that was used," confirmed Dr. Sami Zaid at the Science and Technology Hospital in Sana'a. The use of nerve gas is forbidden under international law. Meanwhile, protesters thronged the streets of the Yemeni capital on Wednesday, calling on President Ali Abdullah Saleh to resign. Also on Wednesday, two more protesters were killed in clashes with regime forces in the province of Hadramout. Saleh has already been in office for over 32 years, with opposition members arguing that his long-promised reforms have not materialized. The country's opposition and religious figures have envisioned a roadmap for the ruler's departure before the end of this year. The head of state, however, has vowed to stay in power until the end of his term in 2013. Dozens of people have so far been killed and hundreds more injured in Sana'a crackdown on anti-regime protests.
Palestinians call for 'third Intifada' (March 12, 2011) http://presstv.com/detail/169486.html
Thousands of Palestinians around the globe have endorsed an online campaign, calling for a 'third Intifada' against Israel in order to free Palestine.As many as 52,000 Facebook users have 'liked' a page saying "Palestine will be freed and we will free it," AFP reported on Friday. The page called for a "third Intifada (uprising)" against Tel Aviv's occupation of the Palestinian lands and suppression of the Palestinian people. A total of 6,200 Palestinians died during their first such move between 1987 and 1993 and the second one in 2000s, which were both fiercely confronted by Israel. They also called for a march towards Palestine on May 15, the anniversary of Israel's occupation of their homelands in 1948. The year saw Israel fabricating its existence during full-scale military offensives against the Arab world. The operations forced 711,000 Palestinians to leave their homeland. 2008 estimates put the number of Palestinian refugees at over 4.6 million.
Jordanian protesters call for reforms (March 11, 2011) http://presstv.com/detail/169414.html
Hundreds of Jordanians have attended protest rallies in the capital, Amman, and other major cities, demanding sweeping government reforms.Protesters poured into the streets following the Friday Prayers and called for a constitutional monarchy and a quick dissolution of the country's parliament. "The people want regime reforms," and "What is acceptable today will not be tomorrow," as well as "We want the dissolution of parliament, protesters chanted. Surrounded by a cordon of police, the protesters also called for Jordan's new Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit to step down. "Out, out Bakhit, the turn is yours," the protesters shouted, adding that they would keep up the rallies until their demands are met. Witnesses say Friday's turnout was not as big as past days, since some of Jordan's top Muslim religious leaders issued a fatwa -- a religious edict -- instructing Jordanians not to take part in protests while the government and opposition parties try to hold talks. Meanwhile, Jordan's key opposition party, the Islamic Action Front (IAF) has rejected talks with the government, saying the regime does not intend to initiate reforms. IAF leaders say they want constitutional reforms, and not just amendments to the electoral law and party politics. Inspired by popular revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, Jordanians have been protesting for weeks, calling for political and economic reform.
Bahrain activists threatened with 'death' (March 12, 2011) http://presstv.com/detail/169472.html
As mass anti-government protests continue in Bahrain, prominent human rights activists in the kingdom say they have received death threats through Facebook from anonymous groups.Rupert Colville of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Friday that messages published on Facebook and other social networks threatened to kill Mohammed al-Maskati and Naji Fateel of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights, as well as Abdulhadi al-Khawaja of Human Rights Defenders, all of whom they branded as 'traitors,' a Press TV correspondent reported. According to Colville, the death threats provide detailed information about how to track the activists and showed their photos, addresses, telephone numbers, personal identification card numbers and the model of their cars. He also voiced UN's grave concern about the activists' security and urged the Bahraini officials to protect them. The civil activists accuse the government of being behind the threats. A government spokesman, however, denied the allegation. On Friday, Bahraini police opened fire on anti-government protesters heading toward the Royal Court in the capital city of Manama, injuring over 770 persons. Of those, 107 sustained injuries serious enough to require hospitalization. The violence occurred as protesters marched on the Royal Court en masse amid tight security in the town of Riffa, a residential area where the ruling Al Khalifah family live, the Bahraini Health Ministry said. Roughly 8,000 people marched toward the Royal Court to force the kingdom to respond to the people's demands. Thousands of women joined the protesters to demand an end to King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifah's rule. They also called for the ouster of the government and said they want a new constitution. But they were suddenly faced by hundreds of pro-government forces -- security and civilian -- carrying swords, hatchets, metal pieces, cricket instruments, and pieces of wood with nails hammered into them. Earlier, the government described the rally as a security threat. Manama also warned organizers and participants that they would be held responsible for any unrest in the country. Government officials have denied the reports that the security forces used live ammunition and that people inhaled tear gas to the point of suffocation. Riffa is just over 12 miles (20 kilometers) southwest of the capital, Manama, where anti-government demonstrators have been protesting in Pearl Square since February 14.
Over 770 injured in Bahrain (March 12, 2011) http://presstv.com/detail/169440.html
Over 700 people have been injured as Bahraini police opened fire on anti-government protesters who were heading toward the Royal Court in Manama. On Friday, Security forces and pro-government vigilantes carrying clubs and swords beat the protesters near the royal complex, injuring 770 people, 107 of whom were hospitalized for serious injuries and problems in breathing. CLIP
Saudi Arabia under security blanket (March 11, 201) http://presstv.com/detail/169365.html
Saudi authorities have deployed hundreds of security forces in the capital, Riyadh, ahead of planned anti-government protest rallies. Online activists using social networks have called for a "Day of Rage" rally across Saudi Arabia on March 11 after the Friday Prayers to press for democratic reforms in the kingdom. However, since early morning, security forces blocked roads and set up checkpoints across the capital and other major cities in a move to deter protesters from the planned rallies. There are reports suggesting that hundreds of Shia anti-government protesters have taken to the streets in the eastern town of Hufuf, demanding the release of Shia prisoners, who they say are being held unjustly, some as long as 16 years. On Thursday, Saudi police opened fire on a protest rally in the eastern city of Qatif, injuring at least three Shia protesters. Witnesses say police also beat demonstrators with batons. Protesters were calling for the release of nine Shia prisoners who they say have been held without trial for more than 14 years. In Saudi Arabia, protest rallies and any public displays of dissent are forbidden and are considered illegal. Senior Wahhabi clerics in the kingdom have also censured opposition demonstrations as "un-Islamic." A Facebook group, which has over 17,000 members, has also called for a "Saudi Revolution" on March 20. Tens of thousands of Saudis have already joined the drive.
OTHER RECOMMENDED NEWS AND INFORMATION
Obama Backs Off Promise, Lifts Ban On Guantanamo Bay Trials (March 10, 2011) SHAME!! http://www.personalliberty.com/news/obama-backs-off-promise-lifts-ban-on-guantanamo-bay-trials-800449293/
President Barack Obama has signed an executive order to resume military trials at Guantanamo Bay and to create a system for indefinitely holding its detainees.On March 7, Obama formally ended a two-year ban on military commission trials for suspected terrorists at the detention center. The President, who had promised to close down the Cuba-based facility within the first year of assuming his office, said he is still committed to eventually closing the prison and prosecuting the prisoners in Federal courts.However, the executive order is proof that Obama has changed his tune regarding the previous administration's anti-terrorism efforts. In 2009, Obama condemned former President George W. Bush for creating "a misguided experiment" at Guantanamo. Obama's promise to shut down the prison ran into one major problem: There was nowhere else to place the detainees. Other nations were reluctant to house the prisoners, while many Federal lawmakers in Washington, D.C. were opposed to transferring the alleged terrorists to the continental United States for security reasons. GOP legislators praised the executive order, saying that Obama is wise in affirming Bush's belief that terrorists should not be treated like traditional defendants. "Though it took more than two years, I am pleased that the Obama administration has finally seen the light on military commission trials," said Representative Lamar Smith (R-Texas), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, quoted by FOX News. - Check also President Barack Obama Issues Executive Order Institutionalizing Indefinite Detention
Guantánamo policy risks long-term harm to US, former CIA official writes (March 9, 2011) http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/blogs/the_angle/2011/03/guantanamo_poli.html
President Obama's decision to go ahead with military tribunals at Guantánamo and authorize indefinite detention of prisoners represents a final retreat from his campaign promise to close the controversial facility. Although Obama signed an order in 2009 to shutter the prison, the order was never fully implemented, and lawmakers have balked at the idea of bringing accused terrorists to the US for trial.Obama's change of heart on Guantánamo has disappointed many of his supporters, especially because Guantánamo was seen as emblematic of former president George W. Bush's approach to foreign policy. Now Bush's detainee policy appears to have the blessing of his Democratic successor.And one former CIA official now at Harvard, Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, writes that the apparently permanent place of the Guantánamo prison in American foreign policy will do lasting damage to the image of the US:As a retired CIA officer, I'm not "soft" on terrorism. Im not advocating that we release dangerous terrorists. I am not saying that U.S. laws should apply to the detainees as for citizens. But even our enemies deserve due process under the law. Even our enemies especially our enemies deserve a form of swift and fair justice. If some of these men are released and return to threaten us one day, then so be it; we must not be guided by fear... Obama says he remains committed to closing the facility eventually, but in a written statement did not indicate any timeframe for doing so. But the Obama administration has released some detainees, lowering the number of inmates to 172, compared to 242 when he took office. CHECK ALSO ACLU Disappointed By Obama Gitmo Reversal
Torture, Collective Bargaining and Getting Our Own House in Order (March 9, 2011) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lillian-daniel/torture_1_b_831275.html
My husband and my eighteen-year old son are heading up to Wisconsin tomorrow to participate in the protests. They want to stand up for collective bargaining at an historic moment in history. While I may worry about road conditions and the drive, at least I do not have to worry that they will be gunned down. I have much to be grateful for in this democracy, where we are able to disagree, and to stand up to one another without fearing for our lives.I have been watching in wonder, hope and sometimes despair as people in the Middle East have stood up together for democracy. I can only imagine the fear of the mothers and fathers of the young protesters. They have no assurance that their beloved children will survive the protests. But these protesters are willing to challenge their governments so that future generations might live with the privileges we so often take fore granted. It is easy to see brutality elsewhere and assume that such cruelty could not happen in a democracy like ours. But when people are frightened about losing their power, when they fear for their safety, they are capable of justifying cruel behavior they would never otherwise condone. That is why I was moved in reading the words of an Ethics professor at Duke Divinity School, Dr. Amy Laura Hall, who is planning a conference about torture for students, clergy, people of conscience and people of faith, later this month. "This is not an academic debate ... torture is always wrong, torture does not make 'us' safer," she said. "Torture dehumanizes both victim and perpetrator. And it ultimately renders the nation that practices it morally damaged, less secure, and less human than before."
(...) Let us pray for the liberation and flourishing of all people around the world. And before we judge other nations, let us look closely at ourselves. According to the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, polls indicate that more than fifty percent of Americans now support the use of torture in some instances. The United States has much to be grateful for and proud of, but no nation stands above God's judgment. At this time of uprising in the world, we would do well to attend to our own blind spots. Having seen the brutality in other countries, might we be ready to take on brutality in our own? As we champion the folks marching in the squares around the world, might we also champion the right to collective bargaining here at home? CLIP -- TAKE A STAND:
http://www.nrcat.org/storage/nrcat/documents/opcat_one_pager.pdf
The Problem: Torture occurs in every region of the world. While there are international treaties banning torture, and torture is illegal under the laws of most nations, these are not always sufficient to prevent abuses.Prisons, jails, immigrant detention facilities, psychiatric institutions, and other places of detention are not always subject to independent oversight a necessary step for ensuring adherence to treaties and national laws banning torture and abuse.
The Solution: The Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT) requires nations that ratify the treaty to establish one or more National Preventative Mechanisms (NPMs) to conduct oversight of the treatment of those in prisons or other detention facilities. NPMs have access to all persons who are held in confinement and all relevant information about places of detention. NPMs can interview confined persons without other witnesses present. Following their visits to places of confinement, NPMs provide recommendations to the relevant authorities for improvements in the conditions of detention and for preventing abuse of confined persons.
(...) OPCAT was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2002, and already has 78 signatories, 57 of which have ratified the agreement. It is time for the U.S. to sign and ratify as well so that we can again take a leadership role in the effort to end torture. - CHECK ALSO Bradley Manning Now "Catatonic"; Obama ENOUGH! BELOW
Exclusive: If we dont fight, TSA-like security coming to sidewalks, football games, Texas Rep. warns (March 8th, 2011) http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/03/08/exclusive-if-we-dont-fight-tsa-like-security-coming-to-sidewalks-football-games-texas-rep-warns/
The lawmaker behind a bill Texas that would levy felony charges against overly-touchy security personnel may be staunchly Republican, but he truly believes his cause isn't one tied to the political left or right. "We're talking about what would be a criminal act in any other place," Rep. David Simpson (R) told Raw Story on Monday. "If you viewed someone naked without their permission or consent, or as a condition of travel, it would be sexual harassment or vouyerism. If you touched people's privates, that would be sexual assault."This is not a left or right issue," he added. "They are treating American citizens with great indignity, and we've got to make this right." Though unlikely to pass -- even with a GOP supermajority in the Texas legislature -- Simpson's proposal has become a cause célèbre for civil libertarians, many of whom adamantly oppose the TSA's screening procedures. The bill would amend a Texas statute pertaining to "the offensive touching of persons," extending it to security personnel who conduct a search "without probable cause." (...) "It needs to stop somewhere," he insisted. "If we don't nip this thing in the bud it's gonna come to our sidewalks, to our football games. The DHS was considering as recent as five years ago doing covert scanning of the public, but they've denied pursuing that any further. That they would consider it shows they have no regard for the Fourth Amendment." A spokesperson with the Department of Homeland security refused to comment on the pending legislation, but noted that in many cases still, state laws do not trump the federal government. The bill's text was available online. A similar bill by the same author, which would restrict the TSA's use of backscatter x-ray machines, was also available online.
Why Evangelicals Hate Jesus (March 3, 2011) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/phil-zuckerman/why-evangelicals-hate-jes_b_830237.html
The results from a recent poll published by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life reveal what social scientists have known for a long time: White Evangelical Christians are the group least likely to support politicians or policies that reflect the actual teachings of Jesus. It is perhaps one of the strangest, most dumb-founding ironies in contemporary American culture. Evangelical Christians, who most fiercely proclaim to have a personal relationship with Christ, who most confidently declare their belief that the Bible is the inerrant word of God, who go to church on a regular basis, pray daily, listen to Christian music, and place God and His Only Begotten Son at the center of their lives, are simultaneously the very people most likely to reject his teachings and despise his radical message.Jesus unambiguously preached mercy and forgiveness. These are supposed to be cardinal virtues of the Christian faith. And yet Evangelicals are the most supportive of the death penalty, draconian sentencing, punitive punishment over rehabilitation, and the governmental use of torture. Jesus exhorted humans to be loving, peaceful, and non-violent. And yet Evangelicals are the group of Americans most supportive of easy-access weaponry, little-to-no regulation of handgun and semi-automatic gun ownership, not to mention the violent military invasion of various countries around the world. Jesus was very clear that the pursuit of wealth was inimical to the Kingdom of God, that the rich are to be condemned, and that to be a follower of Him means to give one's money to the poor. And yet Evangelicals are the most supportive of corporate greed and capitalistic excess, and they are the most opposed to institutional help for the nation's poor -- especially poor children. They hate anything that smacks of "socialism," even though that is essentially what their Savior preached. They despise food stamp programs, subsidies for schools, hospitals, job training -- anything that might dare to help out those in need. Even though helping out those in need was exactly what Jesus urged humans to do. In short, Evangelicals are that segment of America which is the most pro-militaristic, pro-gun, and pro-corporate, while simultaneously claiming to be most ardent lovers of the Prince of Peace. CLIP
Shock: Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson favors marijuana legalization (December 22nd, 2010) http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/12/22/shock-christian-leader-pat-robertson-favors-marijuana-legalization/
Count this among the 10 things nobody ever expected to see in their lifetimes: 700 Club founder Pat Robertson, one of the cornerstone figures of America's Christian right movement, has come out in favor of legalizing marijuana. (...) "We're locking up people that have taken a couple puffs of marijuana and next thing you know they've got 10 years with mandatory sentences," Robertson continued. "These judges just say, they throw up their hands and say nothing we can do with these mandatory sentences. We've got to take a look at what we're considering crimes and that's one of 'em."I'm ... I'm not exactly for the use of drugs, don't get me wrong, but I just believe that criminalizing marijuana, criminalizing the possession of a few ounces of pot, that kinda thing it's just, it's costing us a fortune and it's ruining young people. Young people go into prisons, they go in as youths and come out as hardened criminals. That's not a good thing."Robertson has in recent years come under fire for increasingly flamboyant comments, such as calling for the assassinations of foreign leaders and blaming gay people for the destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina.In this instance, even though he clearly expressed support for the reform of US marijuana laws, a spokesman for religious television station CBN walked back Robertson's comments, telling Raw Story on Thursday morning the Christian Coalition founder "did not call for the decriminalization of marijuana." "He was advocating that our government revisit the severity of the existing laws because mandatory drug sentences do harm to many young people who go to prison and come out as hardened criminals," CBN spokesman Chris Roslan wrote. "He was also pointing out that these mandatory sentences needlessly cost our government millions of dollars when there are better approaches available. Dr. Robertson's comments followed a CBN News story about a group of conservatives who have proven that faith-based rehabilitation for criminals has resulted in lower repeat offenders and saved the government millions of dollars. Dr. Robertson unequivocally stated that he is against the use of illegal drugs." The segment, while significant for illustrating a key conservative stalwart's shifting opinion on the drug war, was mainly a plug for a new conservative group called "Right on Crime," which parlays the arguments of groups like the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) into conservative-leaning messages."Our marijuana prohibition laws, which send people to prison for merely possessing a plant, are clearly immoral," LEAP executive director Neill Franklin, a former Baltimore narcotics officer, told Raw Story."As a Christian, and as a former law enforcer who is now working to undo the damage these laws have done to our families and our communities, I'm glad to see Pat Robertson joining the chorus of faith leaders calling for reform." CLIP
The Asian Experience (Feb. 21, 2011) http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2048169,00.html
(...) Asia gave birth to people power in 1986, when a sea of yellow-clad demonstrators peacefully overthrew a dictator in the Philippines. Other popular uprisings against authoritarianism followed, from Thailand, South Korea and Taiwan to Mongolia and Indonesia. Watching the events unfold in the Arab world, Asia's fledgling democracies can be forgiven for indulging in a moment of nostalgia. While revolutionary zeal may have toppled the region's strongmen, however, too few of their successors have bothered to build the institutions needed to sustain democracy beyond its first flush. Democracy through revolution is heady stuff, but it's not always a template for building lasting freedom and justice. The withered potential of people power is best examined on its home turf. This month, the Philippines will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the start of its historic uprising. Those following the events in Egypt will find many parallels. Ferdinand Marcos, a corrupt, aging, U.S.-backed dictator, was ousted by a populace that rallied, in part, thanks to technology. (Then it was radio, not Facebook or Twitter.) But a quarter-century later, with the son of people-power heroine Corazon Aquino now serving as President, the Philippines is still beset by the poverty, cronyism and nepotism that provoked the 1986 protests. These failings are not the Philippines' alone. Across Asia, elections are held, but vote buying taints the results. Politics is dominated by the same old families. Economic growth often rewards the few rather than the many. And from Malaysia and East Timor to Taiwan and Thailand, I have met local journalists who passed information on to me because they felt it was too dangerous to write about the issues themselves. Without the crucial check of a free press or independent legislatures and courts, for that matter democracy exists in name only. Still, Asia also offers heartening lessons for the Arab world. There's South Korea, for instance, which overthrew a U.S.-backed military dictatorship, then carefully constructed a prosperous democracy. And then there's Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority nation. In 1998, after 32 years in power, strongman Suharto was forced out by massive street protests. Since then, change in Indonesia has occurred not in one cataclysmic jolt but instead through years of brick-by-brick nation building. That may not sound sexy, but it works. Indonesia has now peacefully cycled through several secular-minded leaders, and its civil society is flourishing. The country's problems are still immense: graft and poverty persist, as does sectarian conflict. But Egypt could do a lot worse than to follow the model of this moderate, Muslim-majority democracy.
After the Egyptian Revolution: The Wars of Religion (Mar. 10, 2011) http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2058032,00.html
(...) The dispute stems from a romantic relationship between a Christian man and a Muslim woman in the town. The woman's relatives wanted to "cleanse their honor" of the smear of her being with a Christian man, according to local media reports as well as several of the Muslim men who gathered around me. But when the subject of an honor killing came up, the woman's father refused. He was shot dead by an unidentified assailant and buried on March 4. To date, no one has been arrested for the murder."After Friday prayers, some of the youth were angry and still mourning, so they came to the church looking for that filthy Christian," Mohammad said, referring to the young man involved in the love affair. They didn't find him, but they ransacked the church. "We found wine and books against Islam," Mohammad claimed as other men interrupted to speak of other alleged wrongdoings by their Christian neighbors. "They rape our women!" one yelled. "They overcharge us at their stores!" said another. It is unclear how many people were killed in Sole as a result of the dispute, but after Christians demonstrated in Cairo on Tuesday night against the desecration of the village church, a fight ensued with groups of Muslims, leading to violence that left 13 dead and 140 wounded. Tensions between Egypt's majority Muslim population and Christians, who make up about 10% of the country's 80 million people, have simmered for decades. They rose sharply, however, after a church in Alexandria was bombed on New Year's Day. Twenty-one worshippers were killed in the attack. After the state security headquarters in Cairo were ransacked over the weekend, documents allegedly emerged purporting that the attack was orchestrated by elements of the government. The authenticity of the documents has not been ascertained, but the contents play into long-held fears of some of Egypt's Christians.Many of Sole's Christian residents have fled, fearing further violence.
(...) "People are very scared. Some haven't left their homes in days," Narooz said of the remaining Christians in Sole. "They burned our church, they kicked around the statues of our saints. Our saints!" he repeated. "They tore up the Bible, and they're still there."In a bid to defuse rising tensions, the ruling Supreme Military Council pledged on Tuesday to rebuild the church before Easter and punish the perpetrators of the sectarian attacks. A day earlier, the country's new Prime Minister, Essam Sharaf, joined the protesters, but they refused to speak with him until their demands were met. The Copts want the church rebuilt in its original location, not elsewhere, as some officials suggested, and the resignation of the local governor. But it's obviously about a lot more than a village dispute. Michael Armanios, 20, who was hoarse from chanting outside the state TV building, fears for his future as an Egyptian Christian. "The second article of the constitution says that Shari'a is the law of the land, that this is a Muslim country. What about us?" he asked in a voice barely above a whisper. "Our soldiers don't want to hear us," he said, gesturing to the dozens of armed men manning the coiled razor wire near the building. "We want I need to have an opinion. I need to feel like I am a complete human being." CLIP
Egypt protests: America's secret backing for rebel leaders behind uprising (January 28, 2011) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/egypt/8289686/Egypt-protests-Americas-secret-backing-for-rebel-leaders-behind-uprising.html
The American Embassy in Cairo helped a young ["activist"] attend a US-sponsored summit for activists in New York. On his return to Cairo in December 2008, [he] told US diplomats that an alliance of opposition groups had drawn up a plan to overthrow President Hosni Mubarak and install a democratic government in 2011. The disclosures, contained in previously secret US diplomatic dispatches released by the WikiLeaks website, show American officials pressed the Egyptian government to release other dissidents who had been detained by the police. In a secret diplomatic dispatch, sent on December 30 2008, Margaret Scobey, the US Ambassador to Cairo, recorded that opposition groups had allegedly drawn up secret plans for regime change to take place before elections, scheduled for September this year. The memo, which Ambassador Scobey sent to the US Secretary of State in Washington DC, was marked confidential and headed: April 6 activist on his US visit and regime change in Egypt. It said the activist claimed several opposition forces had agreed to support an unwritten plan for a transition to a parliamentary democracy, involving a weakened presidency and an empowered prime minister and parliament, before the scheduled 2011 presidential elections. CLIP
Bill Gates No Longer World's Richest Man After Giving Away Billions (03/ 7/11) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/07/bill-gates-no-longer-worl_n_832634.html
NEW YORK - Bill Gates didn't lose his title as the world's richest man last year; he gave it away by plowing billions into his charitable foundation, experts say. (...) "It wouldn't be a competition," said David Lincoln, director of global valuations at wealth research firm Wealth-X. "(Gates) would have a comfortable margin if he had never discovered philanthropy." Lincoln said Gates was currently worth about $49 billion, behind Slim, whose fortune he estimated at $60 billion. Buffett, also a philanthropist, is now worth some $47 billion. But had Gates not given away any money, he would be worth $88 billion, Lincoln said.Gates and his wife Melinda have so far given $28 billion to their foundation, the largest in the United States. (...) Gates and Buffett have joined forces to encourage other billionaires to publicly pledge to give away at least 50 percent of their wealth during their lifetimes or upon their death as part of a campaign called The Giving Pledge.Glen Macdonald, president of the Wealth and Giving Forum, said Gates' philanthropy had influenced the way other rich people in the United States approach their own philanthropy. "Encouraging people and leading by example -- there's no question that's going to have influence on people's giving patterns," said Macdonald. "They are going to give sooner and they are going to give in greater amounts." But Macdonald, whose group has advised 600 wealthy U.S. families on their philanthropy, disagrees with the public nature of The Giving Pledge, which requires billionaires to release a letter explaining their intentions. So far 59 billionaires have joined The Giving Pledge, publishing their letter at http://www.givingpledge.org. The campaign does not accept any money nor tell people how to give away their wealth, it just asks for a moral commitment. CLIP
Food prices hit new record highagain (March 03, 2011) http://news.mongabay.com/2011/0303-hance_foodprices.html
Food prices in February hit a new record, breaking the previous one set in January and continuing an eight-month streak of rising prices, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Experts fear that rising food prices could lead to another food crisis similar to that of 2007-2008. The FAO's Food Index Price averaged 236 points last month up 2.2% from January and the highest recorded in the Food Index Price's 21 years. The only commodity that didn't rise was sugar. The FAO adds that rising oil prices could push food prices even higher. "Unexpected oil price spikes could further exacerbate an already precarious situation in food markets," David Hallam, Director of FAOs Trade and Market Division, said in a press release. "This adds even more uncertainty concerning the price outlook just as plantings for crops in some of the major growing regions are about to start." Given the complexity of world markets and agriculture, experts have pointed to a number of reasons behind the current food price rise including higher meat, dairy, and egg consumption, the commodity boom, fresh water scarcity, soil erosion, biofuels, growing human population, and climate change linked to extreme weather events such as last year's heatwave in Russia. Currently, the UN estimates that one billion people in the world are going hungry, nearly 14% of the world's population.
2045: The Year Man Becomes Immortal (Feb. 10, 2011) http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2048138,00.html
(...) Computers are getting faster. Everybody knows that. Also, computers are getting faster faster that is, the rate at which they're getting faster is increasing.True? True. So if computers are getting so much faster, so incredibly fast, there might conceivably come a moment when they are capable of something comparable to human intelligence. Artificial intelligence. All that horsepower could be put in the service of emulating whatever it is our brains are doing when they create consciousness not just doing arithmetic very quickly or composing piano music but also driving cars, writing books, making ethical decisions, appreciating fancy paintings, making witty observations at cocktail parties.If you can swallow that idea, and Kurzweil and a lot of other very smart people can, then all bets are off. From that point on, there's no reason to think computers would stop getting more powerful. They would keep on developing until they were far more intelligent than we are. Their rate of development would also continue to increase, because they would take over their own development from their slower-thinking human creators. Imagine a computer scientist that was itself a super-intelligent computer. It would work incredibly quickly. It could draw on huge amounts of data effortlessly. It wouldn't even take breaks to play Farmville. Probably. It's impossible to predict the behavior of these smarter-than-human intelligences with which (with whom?) we might one day share the planet, because if you could, you'd be as smart as they would be. But there are a lot of theories about it. Maybe we'll merge with them to become super-intelligent cyborgs, using computers to extend our intellectual abilities the same way that cars and planes extend our physical abilities. Maybe the artificial intelligences will help us treat the effects of old age and prolong our life spans indefinitely. Maybe we'll scan our consciousnesses into computers and live inside them as software, forever, virtually. Maybe the computers will turn on humanity and annihilate us. The one thing all these theories have in common is the transformation of our species into something that is no longer recognizable as such to humanity circa 2011. This transformation has a name: the Singularity. The difficult thing to keep sight of when you're talking about the Singularity is that even though it sounds like science fiction, it isn't, no more than a weather forecast is science fiction. It's not a fringe idea; it's a serious hypothesis about the future of life on Earth. There's an intellectual gag reflex that kicks in anytime you try to swallow an idea that involves super-intelligent immortal cyborgs, but suppress it if you can, because while the Singularity appears to be, on the face of it, preposterous, it's an idea that rewards sober, careful evaluation.
(...) The more you read about the Singularity, the more you start to see it peeking out at you, coyly, from unexpected directions. Five years ago we didn't have 600 million humans carrying out their social lives over a single electronic network. Now we have Facebook. Five years ago you didn't see people double-checking what they were saying and where they were going, even as they were saying it and going there, using handheld network-enabled digital prosthetics. Now we have iPhones. Is it an unimaginable step to take the iPhones out of our hands and put them into our skulls? Already 30,000 patients with Parkinson's disease have neural implants. Google is experimenting with computers that can drive cars. There are more than 2,000 robots fighting in Afghanistan alongside the human troops. This month a game show will once again figure in the history of artificial intelligence, but this time the computer will be the guest: an IBM super-computer nicknamed Watson will compete on Jeopardy! Watson runs on 90 servers and takes up an entire room, and in a practice match in January it finished ahead of two former champions, Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter. It got every question it answered right, but much more important, it didn't need help understanding the questions (or, strictly speaking, the answers), which were phrased in plain English. Watson isn't strong AI, but if strong AI happens, it will arrive gradually, bit by bit, and this will have been one of the bits. CLIP
GEOENGINEERING WATCH! - A MUST EXPLORE! http://geoengineeringwatch.org/
There are NOW 4.1 million URLs on this crime 128,000 Youtube videos - Chemtrailing is the public's term for the CLASSIFIED ONGOING artificial modification of Earth's climate systems using reflective nano-materials (aerosols) to reflect sunlight. The aerosols are dispersed via jet aircraft trails that expand into reflective artificial clouds. The reflective material of choice is aluminum. Chemtrailing has other classified intentions, the foremost being rapid weather modification, the weapon of weapons. A foreign power can be brought to its knees thru drought and famine rather than soldier's boots on the ground. Other uses of chemtrailing include biological and chemical warfare. Aerosol death can be deployed over years or days, as a biological or chemical warfare delivery system. Weapons scientists have already admitted to conceptualizing geoengineering as a weapon. Several government agencies, including the Air Force, have released denials to civilian chemtrail research. Many people find it hard to believe that the government would be involved in any secret program or experiments that would harm the public. The evidence is to the contrary. Both high ranking officials with the CIA and the FBI have come forward about the chemtrail program. Chemtrail jets are known flying out of Pinal Airfield/Evergreen Air in Arizona, there are 4 planes flying out of the air national gaurd field at Lincoln Nebraska, and an unknown number of planes out of Fort Sill Oklahoma. The program appeared to go "online" around 1997, though sightings of short-lived aerosol spray cloud construction goes back to the 1970s. Whistleblowers and discovered documents have identified the chemtrail program as Icarus, Deep Shield, Shield Project and Project Cloverleaf to name a few. Now the government is calling it geoengineering (and say it doesnt exist yet).
(...) Climate geoengineering at scale must be considered only as a last resort There should be no lesseningof attempts to otherwise correct the harmful impacts of human economies on the Earths ecology and climate. - The 36,000 member Institute of Physics CLIP
Chemtrails are global covert operation for total control, detecting UFOs Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3
Clifford E. Carnicom, an acknowledged expert since 1999 on the global covert spraying of aerosols into the atmosphere operation (also known as Chemtrails), stated in a March 1, 2011 exclusive ExopoliticsTV interview with Alfred Lambremont Webre that the covert aerosol-spraying operation had transformed the Earths atmosphere into a plasma for carrying out weaponized applications such as bio-warfare (including Morgellons disease), electromagnetic operations such as HAARP, weather warfare, tectonic (earthquake) warfare, mind control, advanced surveillance technology, and detection of advanced propulsion technology including UFOs. The over-all purpose of this covert operation of spraying aerosols into the atmosphere and converting it into plasma was to achieve absolute control over the global human population. This total control is accomplished using the combined effects of seven weapons-like applications that use the plasma-like atmosphere with weaponized effects on the environment, the biosphere and the human population. Although Mr. Carnicom prefers to use the term aerosols, the global covert operation spraying of aerosols into the atmosphere is also known as the chemtrails program. In a Jan. 10, 2011 assessment of the current impact of the global aerosol-spraying program, Mr. Carnicom stated, The vitality and viability of human existence and life on this planet, as it has been known to exist, is under threat. View ExopoliticsTV interview with Clifford E. Carnicom CLIP -- Check also Chemtrails parasites have infected all of us "Do the simple test at the end, you're gonna be surprised!!!" Recommended by Larry Morningstar (larrymorningstar@gmail.com) who wrote: "Not sure on this one.... what do you think?"
First large-scale map of oil palm plantations reveals big environmental toll (03/07/2011) http://news.mongabay.com/2011/0307-koh_palm_oil.html
Expansion of industrial oil palm plantations across Malaysia and Indonesia have laid waste to vast areas of forest and peatlands, exacerbating greenhouse gas emissions and putting biodiversity at risk, reports a new satellite-based analysis that maps mature oil palm estates across Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo, and Sumatra. The research, published in the journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), finds that closed canopy oil palm plantations covered 8.3 million ha in 2010, including 2 million ha in Peninsular Malaysia, 2.4 million ha in Borneo, and 3.9 million ha in Sumatra. The analysis is conservative: it only accounts for mature plantationsthose established in 2002 or earlierthat are over 200 ha. But while the map excludes smaller and/or immature plantations (thought to cover at least another 3 million ha in Malaysia and Indonesia), the work represents an important development in determining the extent of oil palm expansion in Southeast Asia.
(...) Comparing the map with known peat forests, they found that at least 880,000 hectares of carbon-dense swamps had been converted to plantations by the early 2000s, contributing to the loss of more than 140 million metric tons of above-ground carbon stocks and resulting in annual carbon emissions of at least 4.6 million tons from peat oxidation.
(...) According to the study, some 2.3 million ha of peatswamp forests have been cleared, but not yet converted for oil palm agriculture or other land use.
Africa's vanishing wild: mammal populations cut in half (January 27, 2011) http://news.mongabay.com/2011/0127-hance_craigie.html
The big mammals for which Africa is so famous are vanishing in staggering numbers. According to a study published last year: Africa's large mammal populations have dropped by 59% in just 40 years. But what is even more alarming was that the study only looked at mammal populations residing in parks and wildlife areas, i.e. lands that are, at least on paper, under governmental protection. Surveying 78 protected areas for 69 species, the study included global favorites such as the African elephant, giraffes, zebra, wildebeest, and even Africa's feline king, the lion. "We werent surprised that populations had dropped but we were surprised by how large the drops had been," lead author Ian Craigie told mongabay.com in an interview. Craigie says that there are a number of causes behind the observed declines, including agriculture, hunting, and the bushmeat trade. But all of them are due to human actions. In fact, he points to Africa's population explosion as one of the underlying factors. "In Africa man has successfully lived alongside large populations of wild animals for millennia but the advent of advanced technology and agriculture has lead to a 5-fold increase in African human populations since World War 2. All these extra humans are using and moving into previously natural habitats and squeezing out the wildlife," he says (...) The overall decline of African mammals is likely to be worse than even the study portrays for two reasons: mammal populations have almost certainly suffered worse outside of parks than inside, and Craigie and his team were not able to include parks that didn't regularly survey their wildlife populations. "The parks left out of this study, where animals were not counted, are likely to be those which are financially poorer or less well managed. So the large declines we found were from the best parks, if we were able to include the other parks the results may have been even worse," Craigie explains. CLIP
A lion's story, an interview with the filmmakers of The Last Lions (February 14, 2011) http://news.mongabay.com/2011/0213-hance_lastlions.html
The new theatrical film, The Last Lions does not open, as one would expect, with a shot of lions or even an African panorama. Instead the first shot is a view of our planet from space at night. Billions of artificial lights illuminate continent showing just how much humans over the past few thousand years have come to dominate our world. Then comes the lions, but not in person, just in this staggering, and little known, statistic: in the last 50 years we have gone from a population of 450,000 lions to 20,000 today, a 95% decline. While the dramatic story of the The Last Lions follows the perils and tragedies of lion motherhood in one of the world's last untouched placesthe Okavango Deltathis statistic hangs over the film, reminding us that the story we are witnessing is on the verge of extinction. Most of us have seen at least one documentary on Africa's lions. But filmed by Dereck and Beverly Joubert, award-winning 'Explorers-in-Residence' with National Geographic, The Last Lions feels entirely new. Intimate, surprising, gut-wrenchingly intense, but ultimately hopeful, the film does not romanticize its subjects, but instead grants them the respect they deserve as Africa's true kings. In an interview with mongabay.com, the Jouberts discuss their new film, the crisis facing lions, and how everyone can help save Africa's lions from extinction.
World's sixth mass extinction still preventable (March 03, 2011) http://news.mongabay.com/2011/0303-hance_mass_extinction.html
So, here's the good news: a mass extinction, the world's sixth, is still preventable. But the bad news: if species currently threatened with extinction vanisheven over the next thousand yearshomo-sapiens will be the first single species responsible for a mass extinction. Comparing today's current extinction crisis with the big five that occurred in the past, a new study in Nature finds that while the situation is dire, the choice is ultimately up to humanity. "If you look only at the critically endangered mammalsthose where the risk of extinction is at least 50 percent within three of their generationsand assume that their time will run out, and they will be extinct in 1,000 years, that puts us clearly outside any range of normal, and tells us that we are moving into the mass extinction realm," explains lead author Anthony D. Barnosky, UC Berkeley professor of integrative biology.
Currently, there are 3,565 species listed as Critically Endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, however the IUCN has only evaluated around 2.7% of the world's species. Barnosky added that if species classified as Endangered and Vulnerable go extinct as well, the world could suffer a sixth mass extinction within 300 to 2,200 years. A recent analysis by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) found that 20% of the world's vertebrates were currently threatened with extinction. Most of the world's invertebrates have not even been surveyed for such threats. According to Barnoksy, 1-2% of the world's species have vanished " in the groups we can look at clearly", implying that there is still time. But extinctions are still happening faster than they did even during past mass extinctions. "Just because the magnitude is low compared to the biggest mass extinctions we've seen in a half a billion years doesn't mean to say that they aren't significant," coauthor Charles Marshall, UC Berkeley professor of integrative biology said.
"Even though the magnitude is fairly low, present rates are higher than during most past mass extinctions." Looking at mammals, the study found that current extinction rates were far higher than average: at least 80 mammals have gone extinct in the past 500 years, however, researchers found that looking at the fossil record showed that an average of less than 2 mammals going extinct every million years. "It looks like modern extinction rates resemble mass extinction rates, even after setting a high bar for defining 'mass extinction,'" Barnosky commented. Some groups are even more endangered than mammals. According to the IUCN, 33% of amphibians, 27% of reef-building corals, 29% of conifers, and 52% of cycads are currently threatened with extinction. Life is currently being diminished by a multitude of human impacts including deforestation, habitat loss, pollution, over-exploitation for food and traditional medicines, invasive species, and climate change. "The modern global mass extinction is a largely unaddressed hazard of climate change and human activities," said H. Richard Lane, program director in the National Science Foundation's Division of Earth Sciences, which funded the research.
"Its continued progression, as this paper shows, could result in unforeseenand irreversiblenegative consequences to the environment and to humanity." Biodiversity, the richness of life on Earth, provides a number of services to humanity such as pollination, pest control, medicinal discoveries, food production, fisheries, carbon sequestration, freshwater, and, of course, the immeasurable value of sharing the world with a wide-variety of weird and wonderful life-forms. "Our findings highlight how essential it is to save critically endangered, endangered and vulnerable species," Barnosky added. "With them, Earth's biodiversity remains in pretty good shape compared to the long-term biodiversity baseline. If most of them die, even if their disappearance is stretched out over the next 1,000 years, the sixth mass extinction will have arrived."
Mitsubishi and Walmart agree to clean up fish sourcing practices (March 09, 2011) http://news.mongabay.com/2011/0309-hance_princes.html
Two big players in seafood today announced that they are changing the way their fish are caught. Mitsubishi, which owns the UK's most popular brand for tuna in a tin, Princes, and Walmart, which owns Asda, have agreed to stop buying from fishermen who use purse seines fishing in conjunction with fish aggregating devices (FADs) by 2014. These methods have been blamed in part for the vast overfishing of the world's tuna and helping to decimate other species, such as sharks and rays, as bycatch. "Todays announcements by Princes and Asda are great news for sharks, tunas and our oceans," said David Ritter, head of Greenpeace UKs oceans campaign, which has been targeting Princes for months to change its policy. Fish aggregating devices float in the water and attract large schools of tuna and other species to them. Then the massive nets of the purse seine scoops everything up indiscriminately. The companies will still use purse seine fishing, but not with the FADs. Given global overfishing, conservationists generally agree that the most sustainable fishing method is old-fashioned pole and line. Princes has also agreed not to purchase tuna caught in the Pacific high sea pockets, a region that Greenpeace is pushing as a marine protected area (MPAs). "This move by Princes and Asda will put enormous pressure on the rest of the global tuna industry to start following sustainable practices. Consumers are not interested in being made complicit in the destruction of oceans by their tuna purchase decisions," said Sari Tolvanen Greenpeace International oceans campaigner. Greenpeace has said it will be next targeting John West in the UK, which is owned by Thai Union, the world's largest seafood company and still uses FADs.
Melting ice sheets largest contributor to rising sea levels (March 08, 2011) http://news.mongabay.com/2011/0308-hance_icesheets.html
Researchers expected the shrinking ice sheets of Antarctica and Greenland to eventually become the greatest contributor to the world's rising sea levels; they just didn't expect it to happen so quickly. A new study in Geophysical Research Letters has found that ice sheets have overtaken melting glaciers and ice caps. "If present trends continue, sea level is likely to be significantly higher than levels projected by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2007," said lead author Eric Rignot, of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the University of California, Irvine. "Our study helps reduce uncertainties in near-term projections of sea level rise." Unfortunately the study points to a greater, not lesser, sea level rise in the near-term than often predicted. By 2050, sea level could rise by over a foot (32 centimeters) with ice sheet melt contributing almost half to that expansion to 5.9 inches (15 centimeters). The study, which covers 18 years of data, also found that ice sheet melt has been accelerating. On average Greenland lost an additional 21.9 gigatonnes every year, while Antarctica averaged 14.5 gigatonnes annually. While global temperatures have been rising significantly, regional temperatures in the Arctic and Antarctic have risen even faster in part due to what scientists call the 'ice-aldebo feedback', which means melting ice exposes surfaces, such as water or tundra, that reflect less solar radiation than ice and thereby warm more.
Foreign big agriculture threatens world's second largest wildlife migration (March 07, 2011) http://news.mongabay.com/2011/0307-hance_suddmigration.html
As the world's largest migration in the Serengeti plainsincluding two million wildebeest, zebra, and Thomson's gazelleshas come under unprecedented threat due to plans for a road that would sever the migration route, a far lesser famous, but nearly as large migration, is being silently eroded just 1,370 miles (2,200 kilometers) north in Ethiopia's Gambela National Park. The migration of over one million white-eared kob, tiang, and Mongalla gazelle starts in the southern Sudan but crosses the border into Ethiopia and Gambela where Fred Pearce at Yale360 reports it is running into the rapid expansion of big agribusiness. While providing habitat for the millions of migrants, Gambela National Park's land is also incredibly fertile enticing foreign investment. According to Pearce, Ethiopia has leased 400,000 hectares, much of it within Gambela National Park, to foreign agribusinesses including Karuturi Global Limited of India and Saudi Star owned by billionaire Sheik Mohammed Hussein Ali Al Amoudi. Part of the problem is the park is not quite official.
(...) Given record food prices worldwide and rising concerns about food security, Africa is being seen by many as the last great frontier for massive agricultural expansion. A number of developing nations, including China and South Korea, have even begun leasing vast swathes of land in Africa on-the-cheap as essentially food insurance for their growing populations. CLIP
World's most controversial dam, Brazil's Belo Monte, back on (March 06, 2011) http://news.mongabay.com/2011/0306-hance_belomonte.html
A recent injunction against controversial dam, Belo Monte, in Brazil has been overturned, allowing the first phase of construction to go ahead. The ruling by a higher court argued that not all environmental conditions must be met on the dam in order for construction to start.
(...) Environmentalists and indigenous rights-groups alike have opposed the $11-17 billion Belo Monte dam for its anticipated impacts on the region. Diverting the Xingu River for around 62 miles, the dam would flood nearly 200 square miles (500 square kilometers) of rainforest. An estimated 50,000 indigenous people who depend on the river would be impacted, and many forced to move. Pushed aggressively by Brazil new president, Dilma Rousseff, the administration says the dam must be built to meet the rising nation's power needs. The dam will provide enough energy to power 23 million homes, yet during three to four months of the year critics say it will run on only 10-30% capacity due to low waters. Hydropower has been publicized as green, however dams built in the tropics have been shown to release massive amounts of the methane, a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide over 100 years. Recently 600,000 people from around the world signed a petition opposing the dam.
Chevron found guilty, ordered to pay $8.2 billion in epic oil contamination fight (February 14, 2011) http://news.mongabay.com/2011/0214-hance_chevron.html
It was the environmental legal battle that some believed would never end (and they may still be right). But today in Lago Agrio, Ecuador, after 18 years of an often-dramatic court case, Chevron was found guilty of environmental harm and ordered to pay $8.2 billion in damages, however the oil giant says it will appeal the ruling. The lawsuit was filed by indigenous groups in the Ecuadorian Amazon who argue that poor environmental safeguards from Texaco in the 1970s and 80s led to widespread oil contamination and high rates of diseases, including cancer, among the populace. In 2001 Chevron purchased Texaco and inherited the legal fight. For its part, Chevron has dubbed the ruling "illegitimate" and with an appeal will drag the case on longer. Following the ruling, the plaintiff's lead attorney, Pablo Fajardo, issued a short statement saying that his plaintiff's "provided the court with a great quantum of scientific and documentary evidence that Chevron deliberately and in violation of all industry norms discharged billions of gallons of toxic waste into the rainforest and into the water supply relied on by thousands of Ecuadorian citizens." Despite the likelihood of the legal battle continuing past this ruling, environmentalists and human rights groups called today's verdict 'historic'. It is the first time indigenous people have won a suit against a multinational corporation in the country where the damage occurred. "Todays ruling in Ecuador against Chevron proves overwhelmingly that the oil giant is responsible for billions gallons of highly toxic waste sludge deliberately dumped into local streams and rivers, which thousands depend on for drinking, bathing, and fishing," two organizations Rainforest Action Network and Amazon Watch said in a joint release. According to the plaintiffs, Texaco buried toxic oil waste in crude shallow pits that eventually leached into the Ecuadorian Amazon's river system, contaminating drinking water and resulting in the deaths of over 1,000 people. The full suit was for $27 billion in damages. CLIP
World Phosphorus Use Crosses Critical Threshold (Feb 17, 2011) http://www.seeddaily.com/reports/World_Phosphorus_Use_Crosses_Critical_Threshold_999.html
Recalculating the global use of phosphorus, a fertilizer linchpin of modern agriculture, a team of researchers warns that the world's stocks may soon be in short supply and that overuse in the industrialized world has become a leading cause of the pollution of lakes, rivers and streams.Writing in the Feb. 14 edition of the journal Environmental Research Letters, Stephen Carpenter of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Elena Bennett of McGill University report that the human use of phosphorus, primarily in the industrialized world, is causing the widespread eutrophication of fresh surface water. What's more, the minable global stocks of phosphorus are concentrated in just a few countries and are in decline, posing the risk of global shortages within the next 20 years. "There is a finite amount of phosphorus in the world," says Carpenter, a UW-Madison professor of limnology and one of the world's leading authorities on lakes and streams. "This is a material that's becoming more rare and we need to use it more efficiently."Phosphorus is an essential element for life. Living organisms, including humans, have small amounts and the element is crucial for driving the energetic processes of cells. In agriculture, phosphorus mined from ancient marine deposits is widely used to boost crop yields. The element also has other industrial uses. But excess phosphorus from fertilizer that washes from farm fields and suburban lawns into lakes and streams is the primary cause of the algae blooms that throw freshwater ecosystems out of kilter and degrade water quality. Phosphorus pollution poses a risk to fish and other aquatic life as well as to the animals and humans who depend on clean fresh water. In some instances, excess phosphorus sparks blooms of toxic algae, which pose a direct threat to human and animal life. CLIP
Effects of Pesticides On Public Health, Birds, and Other Organisms (FEBRUARY 13, 2011) http://rachels-carson-of-today.blogspot.com/2011/02/environmental-effects-of-pesticides-on.html
"The major problem with the recommended use of pesticides is that so little actually reaches the target pests. The estimate is that less than 0.01% of the pesticides that are applied reaches the target pests This, of course, means that 99.9% of the pesticide that is applied pollutes the environment In the United States, as mentioned, more than 1 billion pounds of pesticides are applied and worldwide about 5 billion pounds are applied each year Worldwide 26 million people [are] poisoned and about 220,000 die each year In addition, pesticides cause cancer and the estimate is that there are more than 10,000 cases of cancer that are the result of pesticide exposure Pesticides also disrupt the endocrine, immune, and neurological responses in humans and other animals Most pesticides applied to crops eventually end up in ground and/or surface water."
Mobile phone users encouraged to text by Government (11 March 2011) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8373551/Mobile-phone-users-encouraged-to-text-by-Government.html
Mobile phone users have been given the first official advice to send text messages rather than making calls for health reasons. -- An updated Department of Health leaflet now advises that texting and using hands-free kits reduces exposure to potentially harmful radiation. It also warns that it is unclear if using mobiles is safe in the long term as they have only been in use for relatively few years. CLIP Note from Jean: Yet, according to what is stated in the following article - The truth behind the man who knocked down 6 antennas - we should avoid sending SMS messages because "the mobile phones transmits at maximum power for this."
PUC orders PG&E to let customers opt out of SmartMeter program (03/10/2011) http://www.mercurynews.com/traffic/ci_17587382?nclick_check=1
Responding to months of consumer protests, the California Public Utilities Commission on Thursday ordered PG&E to come up with ways for worried customers to refuse SmartMeters. The utility was ordered to submit proposals to the commission outlining procedures and costs within two weeks. The PUC order is a stunning turnabout on a technology that many consider a key to managing energy use in the future. Utilities around the country have installed the electronic meters -- which can be monitored and adjusted wirelessly -- with little incident. But in Northern California, angry residents have expressed concerns that the meters can lead to overbilling and cause health problems, and PG&E has struggled tocounter the bad publicity. PUC President Michael Peevey said before Thursday's meeting that he hoped the announcement "might calm some of the emotion surrounding this issue." Peevey said he could not predict what kind of proposal PG&E will submit, or how the commission will judge it. "But I think it's clear the time has come for some kind of movement in the direction of customer opt-outs," he said. Joshua Hart, director of Stop Smart Meters, an activist group that has led opposition to the meters, said the PUC order was significant "but too little, too late." "We will not rest until we have a moratorium on installation and public hearings on the health concerns," Hart said.PG&E spokesman Paul Moreno said the utility has been examining possible opt-out options for the past few months in anticipation of such an order and that PG&E is prepared to meet the two-week deadline. "We understand some of our customers have concerns relating to radio frequency from SmartMeters, "Moreno said, "even though the great weight of scientific evidence demonstrates that they are safe. But we take those concerns seriously."
(...) Although independent studies have found that SmartMeters emit far less electromagnetic radiation than cell phones and microwave ovens, critics have worried they could be harmed by the low-level radiation, and have demanded a choice. Others have claimed that the SmartMeters have led to overcharges in their utility bills. Following growing opposition to the installation of the new meters, the PUC released a 400-page report by an independent consultant last year that found nothing wrong with the meters but concluded that PG&E turned the rollout into a consumer relations disaster.
(...) Peevey said Thursday that customers not wanting SmartMeters should pay "reasonable" costs for alternative meters instead of putting the burden on all ratepayers. - Check also Smart meters could pose health danger and Stop Smart Meters: Protest in SF Bay Area (The revolt against "smart meters" is really getting sizable in California and may help turn the tide against this insanity) - and Are EMFs Wreaking Havoc on Your Health? near the end of this compilation.
Cheap, Ultrafast Broadband? Hong Kong Has It (March 5, 2011) http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/06/business/06digi.html?_r=4
HONG KONG residents can enjoy astoundingly fast broadband at an astoundingly low price. It became available last year, when a scrappy company called Hong Kong Broadband Network introduced a new option for its fiber-to-the-home service: a speed of 1,000 megabits a second known as a gig for less than $26 a month In the United States, we dont have anything close to that. But we could. And we should. CLIP
EMF-Omega-News 29. January 2011 http://www.buergerwelle.de/cms/content/view/545/70/
Cell phones as bad as x-rays - How radiation can cause cancer - Cell Phone Tower Cancer Risks - Serious condition caused by exposure to EMR - Cell towers violate health and safety norms - Top researchers advise precaution on mobile phone use - Fountainwood resident and mother of three recounts her battle with T-Mobile - Mums fears over phone mast plans - The Precautionary Principle - U.S. Antenna Permit Denied on Health Grounds - Blunder over mast sparks row - Littlemore residents fight mobile mast plan - Neighbors dont like Wilmette tower request - AT&T is promoting the total dismantling of all telephone landlines in the entire country - Phone mast proposal - Phone mast to be sited in Burnley street despite health fears - Official is fined for illegal mast - Anger over plans for St Giles phone mast - Vaughan meeting sparked by petition - Next-up News - News from Mast Sanity
EMF-Omega-News 5. February 2011 http://www.buergerwelle.de/cms/content/view/548/95/
Biological Effects of Cell Tower Radiation - Mobile tower radiation a major health hazard - International Scientists Recommend Global Governments Adopt New Exposure Guidelines for Electromagnetic Radiation - The Hidden Hazards of Microwave Cooking - Science Update: January 2011 - Warning of Wi-Fi Danger - TUMOUR RISK TO THE YOUNG FROM USING MOBILE PHONES - Proliferation of patients 'allergic' to WiFi networks - Suicide and EMFs - Attempt to Destroy Scientific Mobile Telecommunication Data - Cell tower norms to get stricter - Fury over plans to erect phone mast by Shavington pub - Residents fight plans for mobile phone mast - Teachers union article sparks debate over Wi-Fi in schools - Concern over Thorpe St Andrew phone mast plans - Opponents of Forthill Primary School phone mast reminded to object - Phone mast fight
EMF-Omega-News 12. February 2011 http://www.buergerwelle.de/cms/content/view/552/95/
The radiation gives us brain damage - Electromagnetic pollution hits growth of children - Cellphones 'a threat to unborn babies' - Canadian Depression - Scientists find neurons communicate at a distance with electric fields - Smart meter health concerns causing 'a buzz' - Non-thermal Warning Label - Dirty electricity: danger to society - Irish research could see the end of cell phone masts - Concerns about cellphone towers not being heard - Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR) Clashes with Honey Bees - Pointe Claire council puts hold on cell tower applications - WASHINGTON GOVERNOR DECLARES MAY 2011 AS MULTIPLE CHEMICAL SENSITIVITY (MCS) AWARENESS MONTH - Letter to Health Concerned Parents About Wireless Radiation Exposure for Children - Mom's Rising to tell your Congressmen and Senator to take action on children's wireless safety - Cell Tower Radio Frequency Exposure Liability - Residents object to 12m phone mast near school - Next-up News - News from Mast Sanity
EMF-Omega-News 19. February 2011 http://www.buergerwelle.de/cms/content/view/554/95/
Radiation Exposure Concerns Raised by Scientists - Non-ionizing radiation and cancer, a public health experiment - Pooled analysis of case-control studies on malignant brain tumours - Occupational and residential exposure to electromagnetic fields and risk of brain tumors in adults - Alarming rise in strokes among younger people - What Happened to Grammys Reporter? - DUNDEE has been rocked by eighth suicide in just three months - Cell tower can't be ignored - Wi-Fi in Schools a Health Hazard - Cell phones: precautionary approach needed - Leaders of WHO Cell Phone Research Urge Precautions in Using Cell Phones - HOLDING POLLUTERS ACCOUNTABLE MASS TORTS AND CLASS ACTIONS - Bethlehem residents protest cell tower - MP demands toughest checks on mast plans - Councilman aims to stop 'tower farms' - Botley phone mast plan 'too tall for area' - 'Smart' Meter Debacle Continues as Lack of Required Certification Revealed - Nasa warns solar flares from 'huge space storm' will cause devastation
EMF-Omega-News 26. February 2011 http://www.buergerwelle.de/cms/content/view/557/95/
Effects of Cell Phone Radiofrequency Signal Exposure on Brain Glucose Metabolism - An interview to Adamantia Fragopoulou on EMF risks - Brain Reacts to Cellphones - Peculiar geese deaths baffle wildlife officials - Smart Meter Health Risk - Info on opposition - Will Thomas interview on cell phone dangers - Flask's 3-G mobile phone plans withdrawn: Hampstead is splattered with phone masts - Nurseries join forces to fight mobile phone masts - One mans stand over Vodafone phone mast bid for Bath - Colchester: Residents blast mast site plans - Outrage over positioning Gosford school next to substation - Next-up News - News from Mast Sanity
EMF-Omega-News 5. March 2011 http://www.buergerwelle.de/cms/content/view/560/95/
Thyroid Hormone inhibited by RF Radiation (900 MHz) - Cell Phone Radiation: Is It Dangerous? - Analysing the Health Impacts of Modern Telecommunications Microwaves - Towering concern - WiFi in Schools-a Ticking Time Bomb - Increased Risk in Malignant Brain Tumors - Murderous Microwaves - EMFs connections to suicides - A brain tumor, a funeral and a new cell phone study - Sir Paul McCartneys fame academy in phone mast controversy - Cancers up as sperm quality down - Vatican Radio is told to pay out over cancer risk scare - The Flaw in Obama's Wireless Plan - Colorado Governor Proclaims May 2011 as Electromagnetic Sensitivity (EMS) Awareness Month - Radiation effect must be checked before 4G system is okayed - Two more MP's believe in the precautionary principle and raise concerns about phone masts in Parliament - Public forum on SmartMeters - Sale of land for mast refused - Pub landlady set to petition against phone mast plan - Fears raised over Colinton phone mast
EMF-Omega-News 12. March 2011 http://www.buergerwelle.de/cms/content/view/563/95/
Can Wi-Fi harm kids? - Waking up to the dangers of radiation - Are EMFs Wreaking Havoc on Your Health? - Microwave Radiation Affects the Heart - Cell phone-related birth defects - What are the hazards of cell phone radiation? - The truth behind the man who knocked down 6 antennas - UK Department of Health issues new mobile phone leaflet - Significant Oversight (Error or Omission) Reported in Safety Code 6 - Health Effects of our Wireless World - 'Text dont call' Government tells mobile phone users for first time - Protests loom over phone mast plans - Residents engaged in mobile phone mast protests - CSD board rejects controversial cell tower - Orpington phone mast gets bad reception - Residents final attempt to stop phone mast plans - Smart meters could pose health danger - Stop Smart Meters: Protest in SF Bay Area - Power lines are not worth the risk - Reporting of Conflicts of Interest in Meta-analyses of Trials of Pharmacological Treatments - Next-up News - News from Mast Sanity
As Obama's crime of the destruction of Bradley Manning continues to unfold before our very eyes, Manning friend David House now tells us that over 8 months in isolation with movement and sleep restrictions placed on him have been having their intended effect. House has told MSNBC that by the end of January Manning appeared "catatonic" and that he had "severe problems communicating," with it having taken House nearly 45 minutes on a recent visit to engage in any meaningful way (video below.) House said Manning's demeanor was as "if he had just woken up and didn't know what was going on around him." Manning was "utterly exhausted physically and mentally... it was difficult to have any kind of social engagement."
Mannning has been held in a bare, windowless 6x12 cell for 23 out of 24 hours a day, with no sound or personal effects, no radio or clock with which to distinguish night from day. He is not allowed to exercise in his cell. His only exercise is walking figure eights in another room, in shackles. Since last week he has been forced to strip naked while he sleeps and to stand at attention in the morning in this state.
All for the crime of reporting war crimes and criminal behavior even among the highest-ranking military officials in Iraq.
In 2005, General Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said: It is absolutely the responsibility of every U.S. service member [in Iraq], if they see inhumane treatment being conducted, to try to stop it.
"soon found himself helping the Iraqi authorities detain civilians for distributing anti-Iraqi literature -- which turned out to be an investigative report into financial corruption in their own government entitled Where does the money go? The penalty for this crime in Iraq was not a slap on the wrist. Imprisonment and torture, as well as systematic abuse of prisoners, are widespread in the new Iraq. From the militarys own Sigacts (Significant Actions) reports, we have a multitude of credible accounts of Iraqi police and soldiers shooting prisoners, beating them to death, pulling out fingernails or teeth, cutting off fingers, burning with acid, torturing with electric shocks or the use of suffocation, and various kinds of sexual abuse including sodomization with gun barrels and forcing prisoners to perform sexual acts on guards and each other...
Like any good soldier, Manning immediately took these concerns up the chain of command. And how did his superiors respond? His commanding officer told him to shut up and get back to rounding up more prisoners for the Iraqi Federal Police to treat however they cared to..."
Manning also found a video and an official report on American air strikes on the village of Granai in Afghanistans Farah Province (also known as the Granai massacre). According to the Afghan government, 140 civilians, including women and a large number of children, died in those strikes.
War crimes? What war crimes? This is the point of view of the Obama administration as it destroys Bradley Manning.
Consider what happened to the U.S. soldiers who, over a period of hours not minutes went house to house in the Iraqi town of Haditha and executed 24 men, women and children in retaliation for a roadside bombing. "I watched them shoot my grandfather, first in the chest and then in the head, said one of the two surviving eyewitnesses to the massacre, nine-year-old Eman Waleed. Then they killed my granny." Almost five years later, not one of the men involved in the incident is behind bars. And despite an Army investigation revealing that statements made by the chain of command suggest that Iraqi civilian lives are not as important as U.S. lives, with the murder of brown-skinned innocents considered just the cost of doing business, none of their superiors are behind bars either."
Massacres of civilians in retaliation for IEDs seems to have been standard fare in Iraq. Ethan McCord says his unit was ordered to engage in "360 rotational" fire and "kill every mother&* in the street" in the event of an IED. The officer who gave the order was Col. Ralph Kauzlarich, "the lost Kauz" who is featured in David Finkel's book "The Good Soldiers." Col. K is also the executive officer who led the first investigation into the death of Pat Tillman.
Josh Stieber, a McCord unit-mate who also witnessed the order, said the logic was to get residents to be "pro-active" in preventing the planting of roadside bombs. Brass knew that the people in the houses nearest probably saw it planted and didn't say anything.
"Yeah, it was an order that came from Kauzlarich himself, and it had the philosophy that, you know, as Finkel does describe in the book, that we were under pretty constant threat, and what he leaves out is the response to that threat. But the philosophy was that if each time one of these roadside bombs went off where you don't know who set it ... the way we were told to respond was to open fire on anyone in the area, with the philosophy that that would intimidate them, to be proactive in stopping people from making these bombs ..."
Now nine Afghan children have been killed after what the Army says was mistaken identity after a nearby rocket attack on American forces. These boys could have been the boys some on this site got to know well in theNew Year's Global Call for Peace (they weren't, but they were just as precious.)
Defense Secretary Robert Gates once said people like Bradley Manning have "blood on their hands" for releasing documents which might identify Afghan informants. But look down Robert, and don't flinch. They are dripping.
Commander-in-Chief Obama, order Bradley Manning released!
The White House
Phone Numbers
Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
FAX: 202-456-2461
Webform for email: www.whitehouse.gov/contact
Also demand your congressman speak up and castigate this administration for the treatment of Bradley Manning, leave a voicemail if it is after-hours (24/7): Capitol switchboard: 202-224-3121
The Abusive Detention of Bradley Manning (March 11, 2011) http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=23649
Bradley Mannings appeal of the refusal to relax his conditions of confinement makes a strong case that he has been a model prisoner who is being unjustly abused. His inhumane treatment violates his due process rights and is cruel and unusual punishment. After providing detailed descriptions of his excellent behavior and the positive reports he has received while detained at Quantico since July 29, 2010, he contradicts the militarys claim that he is being treated just like any other prisoner.I am being treated differently from any other detainee at the Quantico Brig. While the PCF Commander follows the recommendation of the Brig Psychiatrist in dealing with other detainees, this does not happen in my case. Other detainees usually remain on MAX custody or in POI Status for about two weeks before they are downgraded. I, however, have been left to languish under the unduly harsh conditions of MAX Custody and POI Status since my arrival on 29 July 2010. In fact, I am currently the only detainee being held under MAX Custody and the only detainee being held in POI status by the Brig. Any objective person looking at the above facts would have to conclude that this treatment is unjustified. The determination to retain me in MAX Custody and under POI Status after 27 August 2010 was improper and constitutes unlawful pretrial punishment.There are two incidents that stand out above the daily abuse Manning has received while being held in virtual solitary confinement for ten months in pre-trial detention: being put on suicide watch and having his clothes taken away from him. On January 18, 2010 the Brig commander, James Averhart, who has since been replaced, put Manning on suicide watch. As Manning describes it: Suicide Risk assignment resulted in me being required to remain in my cell for 24 hours a day. I was stripped of all clothing with the exception of my underwear. My prescription eyeglasses were taken away from me and I was forced to sit in essential blindness. Here is what occurred that led to him being placed in this even more abusive condition. CLIP
Bradley Manning being mistreated, says Hillary Clinton spokesman (11 March 2011) http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/11/bradley-manning-clinton-crowley-comments
PJ Crowley says Pentagon is being 'ridiculous and stupid' by subjecting WikiLeaks suspect to punitive conditions in jail (...) Crowley's comments signal a crack within the Obama administration over the handling of the WikiLeaks saga in which hundreds of thousands of confidential documents were handed to the website. As news of the remarks rippled through Washington, President Obama was forced to address the subject of Manning's treatment for the first time. Asked about the controversy at a White House press conference, Obama revealed he had asked the Pentagon "whether or not the procedures that have been taken in terms of his confinement are appropriate and are meeting our basic standards. They assure me that they are."Obama would not respond specifically to Crowley's comments, which are the first critical remarks from within the administration about the handling of Manning. The prisoner is being held for 23 hours in solitary confinement in his cell and stripped naked every night. CLIP
Of all the scams, the worldwide banking system is one of the most mind-boggling. Never mind the entire false premise of fiat money and the debt system, that vast amounts of this illusory "currency" get shifted every micro-second just begs deceit and piracy.
Trouble is, if you "buy into it" you're already ensnared, and it's either eat, or be eaten. That's their design.
Ownership by Whom?
The estimated value of the Rothschild family's total holdings is at 500 Trillion dollars. So what. The entire planet is supposedly "owned" by a very small percentage of people. So?
Can anyone "own" anything? Ownership is a temporary power trip for the unenlightened--everything always gets passed on. Like the temporary unit we all live in called our body, it's an illusion that anyone can "live forever" physically never mind truly "possess" anything if we look at things truthfully.
However...
That would be fine if it was just a matter of perception. Trouble is, these ultra-possessive creeps called the global elite or Illuminati impose their system of temporal power beliefs on the rest of us. Either we play the game their way, or we're locked out of the playground and cut off from supplies by their hired thugs.
It's a beautiful planet with lots of beautiful people, but the world "system" is very ugly and run by non-empathetic psychopaths.
But again, it's all temporal.
Banking Scams Coming to Light
The recent economic manipulations have made a lot of things very obvious. While the MSMedia has tried to downplay or ignore these revelations, the globalist central bankster cartel is being exposed regularly.
While people are pounding on the obvious manipulation of and by the private Federal Reserve Bank hoax and Goldman Sachs and the like, there's another part of that story few have noticed.
It's a little known off-shoot of the FED called the DTCC aka "Cede and Co."
Making a (profit) difference all right--and same old Illuminati sun/saturn/eye symbolism and 6's
What is the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation?
There is a busy little private company you probably never have heard about, but which you should. Its name is the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation. See their website. Looks pretty boring. Some kind of financial service thing, with a positive slogan and out there to make a little business. You can even get a job there. Now, go and take a look at their annual report. Starts with a nice little Flash presentation and has a nice message from the CEO. And take a look at the numbers. It turns out that this company holds 23 trillion dollars in assets, and had 917 trillion dollars worth of transactions in 2002 alone. That's trillions, as in thousands of thousands of millions. 23,000,000,000,000 dollars in assets.
As it so turns out, it is not because DTCC has a nice website and says good things about saving their customers money that they are trusted with that kind of resources. Rather it is because they seem to have a monopoly on what they do. In brief, they process the vast majority of all stock transactions in the United States as well as for many other countries. And - and that's the real interesting part - 99% of all stocks in the U.S. appear to be legally owned by them.
How did this happen?
And why is this mega-monopolizer so hidden from public scrutiny? It turns out it's part of the Federal Reserve Bank. Big surprise. These same owners and players mandated that all transactions have to go through their subsidiary. And not just go through it for all the profits and asset holding interest the transaction will bring, but they are given ownership of everyone's assets in the process!
In the old days, when you owned stocks you would have the stock certificates lying in your safe. And if you needed to trade them, you needed to get them shipped off to a broker. Nowadays that would be considered very cumbersome, and it would be impractical to invest via computer or over the phone. So the shortcut was invented that the broker would hold your stocks instead of you. And in order for him to legally be able to trade them for you, the stocks were placed under their "street name". I.e. they're in the name of the brokerage, but they're just holding them in trust and trading them for you. And you're in reality the beneficiary rather than the owner.
Which is all fine and dandy if everything goes right. Now, it appears the rules were then changed so the brokers are not allowed any longer to put the stocks in their own name. Instead, what they typically do is to put the stocks into the name of "Cede and Company" or "Cede & Co" or some such variation. And the broker might tell you that it is just a fictitious name, and will explain why it is really more practical to do that than to put it in your name.
The problem with that is that it appears that Cede isn't just some dummy name, but an actual corporation that DTCC controls. And, well, if you ask anybody about this, who actually knows about it, they will naturally tell you that it is all a formality. To serve you better, of course. And, well, maybe it is. DTCC seems like a nice and friendly company. It is a private company, owned by the same people (major U.S. banks) who own the Federal Reserve Bank. And if they all stick to their job, and just keep the money and your stocks flowing smoothly, I'm sure that is all well and good. But if somebody at some point should decide otherwise, and there's a national U.S. emergency and/or the U.S. government becomes unable to pay its debts, well, they might just not give you your stocks back. Because legally they own them. Something to think about. (source)
Sound impossible?
Here's an explanation from another researcher:
The reason the public doesn't know about DTC is that they're a privately owned depository bank for institutional and brokerage firms only. They process all of their book entry settlement transactions. Jim McNeff (Director of Training for the DTC at the time) said "There's no need for the public to know about us... it's required by the Federal Reserve that DTC handle all transactions".
The Federal Reserve Corporation, a/k/a The Federal Reserve System, is also a private company and is not an agency or department of our federal government. The Federal Reserve Board of Governors is listed, but they are not the owners. The Federal Reserve Board, headed by Mr. Alan Greenspan [now Bernanke], is nothing more than a liaison advisory panel between the owners and the Federal Government. The FED, as they are more commonly called, mandates that the DTC process every securities transaction in the US.
How convenient. Talk about inside job.
It's no wonder that the DTC (including the Participants Trust Company, now the Mortgage-Backed Securities Division of the DTC) is owned by the same stockholders as the Federal Reserve System. In other words, the Depository Trust Company is really just a 'front' or a division of the Federal Reserve System.
"DTC is 35.1% owned by the New York Stock Exchange on behalf of the Exchange's members. It is operated by a separate management and has an independent board of directors. It is a limited purpose trust company and is a unit of the Federal Reserve." -New York Stock Exchange, Inc. (source--original link blocked)
Like the man said, something to think about.
Typical of the thief--distracts you with one hand while picking your pocket with the other. Only this thing is a multi-tentacled monster, and it's now going for the jugular.
Nearly a year after the oil disaster began, Gulf Coast residents are sick, and dying from BP's toxic chemicals.
Dahr Jamail -- 09 Mar 2011
"I have critically high levels of chemicals in my body," 33-year-old Steven Aguinaga of Hazlehurst, Mississippi told Al Jazeera. "Yesterday I went to see another doctor to get my blood test results and the nurse said she didn't know how I even got there."
Aguinaga and his close friend Merrick Vallian went swimming at Fort Walton Beach, Florida, in July 2010.
"I swam underwater, then found I had orange slick stuff all over me," Aguinaga said. "At that time I had no knowledge of what dispersants were, but within a few hours, we were drained of energy and not feeling good. I've been extremely sick ever since."
BP's oil disaster last summer gushed at least 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, causing the largest accidental marine oil spill in history - and the largest environmental disaster in US history. Compounding the problem, BP has admitted to using at least 1.9 million gallons toxic dispersants, including one chemical that has been banned in the UK.
According to chemist Bob Naman, these chemicals create an even more toxic substance when mixed with crude oil. Naman, who works at the Analytical Chemical Testing Lab in Mobile, Alabama, has been carrying out studies to search for the chemical markers of the dispersants BP used to both sink and break up its oil.
Poly-aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from this toxic mix are making people sick, Naman said. PAHs contain compounds that have been identified as carcinogenic, mutagenic, and teratogenic.
"The dispersants are being added to the water and are causing chemical compounds to become water soluble, which is then given off into the air, so it is coming down as rain, in addition to being in the water and beaches of these areas of the Gulf," Naman told Al Jazeera.
"I'm scared of what I'm finding. These cyclic compounds intermingle with the Corexit [dispersants] and generate other cyclic compounds that aren't good. Many have double bonds, and many are on the EPA's danger list. This is an unprecedented environmental catastrophe."
Aguinaga's health has been in dramatic decline.
"I have terrible chest pain, at times I cant seem to get enough oxygen, and I'm constantly tired with pains all over my body," Aguinaga explained, "At times I'm pissing blood, vomiting dark brown stuff, and every pore of my body is dispensing water."
And Aguinaga's friend Vallian is now dead.
"After we got back from our vacation in Florida, Merrick went to work for a company contracted by BP to clean up oil in Grand Isle, Louisiana," Aguinaga said of his 33-year-old physically fit friend.
"Aside from some gloves, BP provided no personal protection for them. He worked for them for two weeks and then died on August 23. He had just got his first paycheck, and it was in his wallet, uncashed, when he died."
National health crisis
Many of the chemicals present in the oil and dispersants are known to cause headaches, nausea, vomiting, kidney damage, altered renal function, and irritation of the digestive tract. They have also caused lung damage, burning pain in the nose and throat, coughing, pulmonary edema, cancer, lack of muscle coordination, dizziness, confusion, irritation of the skin, eyes, nose, and throat, difficulty breathing, delayed reaction time and memory difficulties.
Further health problems include stomach discomfort, liver and kidney damage, unconsciousness, tiredness/lethargy, irritation of the upper respiratory tract, hematological disorders, and death. Pathways of exposure to the chemicals are inhalation, ingestion, skin, and eye contact.
Al Jazeera has talked with scores of sick people across the Gulf Coast who attribute their illnesses to chemicals from BP's oil disaster.
Paul Doom, 22, from Navarre, Florida, was training in preparation to join the US Marines, until he became extremely ill from swimming in the Gulf of Mexico.
"I stopped swimming in July because I started having severe headaches that wouldnt go away," Doom told Al Jazeera. "But each time I went to the doctor they dismissed it."
In October, Doom began to have internal bleeding, but this too was dismissed by doctors. In November, when it worsened, he was given pain medications in the Emergency Room and was told it would pass. Less then three weeks after that, Doom collapsed with a seizure.
"Since then, I've had two blood tests for Volatile Organic Compounds [VOC's] which are in BP's oil and dispersants, and they both came back with alarmingly high levels," he said.
Since the onset of his symptoms, Doom has been dealing with ongoing internal bleeding, nose bleeds, bleeding from his ears, blood in his stool, headaches, severe diarrhea, two to five seizures per day, paralysis in his left leg and arm, and failing vision.
"A toxicologist that interpreted my blood VOC results told me they didn't know how I was alive," Doom explained. "My Hexane was off the charts, and I have 2 and 3 Methylpentane, Iso-octane, Ethylbenze, and mp-Xylene."
Wilma Subra, a MacArthur Fellow and chemist in Louisiana, has been testing the blood of BP cleanup workers and residents in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. Subra tested Doom's blood and found high amounts of several VOC's.
"Ethylbenzene, mp-Xylene and Hexane are volatile organic chemicals that are present in the BP crude oil," Subra told Al Jazeera. "We're finding these in excess of the 95th percentile, which is the average for the entire nation. Sometimes we're finding amounts 5 to 10 times in excess of the 95th percentile."
Subra explained that there has been long enough exposure so as to create chronic impacts, that include "Liver damage, kidney damage, and damage to the nervous system. So the presence of these chemicals in the blood indicates exposure."
Testing by Subra has also revealed the chemicals are present "in coastal soil sediment, wetlands, and in crab, oyster and mussel tissues."
Staggering toll
Since January, at least 67 dead dolphins have washed ashore along the Gulf Coast, an event the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared as "an unusual mortality event". In the whole of 2010, 89 dolphin deaths were reported for the same area.
In January, a Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute chemist and colleagues reported that the toxic chemical dispersants BP used to sink its crude oil remained in the deep ocean in an oil and gas-laden plume that had still not degraded.
Also in January, Louisiana Senator AG Crowe wrote a letter to President Barack Obama expressing his deep concern about the toxic dispersants BP used, and according to Senator Crowe, continues to use along the Gulf Coast.
"Mr President, my concern is that this toxic and damaging chemical is still being used and it will compound the long-term damage to our state, our citizens, our eco-system, our economy, our seafood industry, our wildlife and our culture," the letter read.
"We will not be fooled in to believing that the oil and the toxins are gone. Because the toxic dispersants have been, and are still being used today, the oil is being forced downward in to the water columns and then carried endlessly around and about by the Gulf currents adversely affecting our environment."
Subra, the MacArthur Fellow, is alarmed by what she is finding in the people whose blood she is testing.
"Severe symptoms, lots of respiratory and cardiovascular problems, and skin lesions," she explained. "There is a lot of internal bleeding, and the chemicals cause this by disrupting the integrity of the red blood cells."
Subra said: "Were seeing the chemicals in different classes of people. Cleanup workers employed by BP, clean-up workers no longer employed, and were seeing it in community members who come in contact with the crude by fishing or recreating in the Gulf."
Al Jazeera asked Subra what she thought the local, state and federal governments should be doing about the ongoing chemical exposures.
"There is a lack of concern by the government agencies and the [oil] industry." She said, There is a leaning towards wanting to say it's all fixed and let's move on, when it's not. The crude oil is continuing to come on shore in tar mats, balls, and strings."
Subra continued: "So the exposure continues. There is still a large amount of crude in the marshes and buried on the beaches. As long as that pathway is there for exposure, these problems will continue quite a long time into the future."
A bunch of guinea pigs
Jo Billups is an environmental activist who has taken it upon herself to assist in the funding, along with her friend Michelle Nix, in the blood testing being carried out by Subra.
Working with the Louisiana Environmental Action Network and several doctors along the Gulf Coast, Billups and Nix have been holding workshops and helping sick people get their blood tested and find medical assistance.
"We have sick people from Apalachicola, Florida, to Grand Isle, Louisiana, and it's not stopping and that's what's disturbing," Billups said. "The levels we are seeing are not dropping, and we're seeing new chemicals now. We gave some of our blood test results to [EPA head] Lisa Jackson. They know what is going on, and they are not doing anything about it."
"The saddest part is the children," Billups added. "Were seeing young children with extremely high levels of chemicals. We're altering our DNA and our bodies forever, We're a bunch of guinea pigs."
Jennifer Rexford, from Panama City, Florida, was an oil clean-up worker for BP.
"We were taken to clean up oil and tar balls with inadequate equipment," Rexford told Al Jazeera. "We regularly got oil all over us."
Rexford now has a staph infection that covers much of her body that she attributes to the chemicals in BP's oil she was cleaning up.
"Everyone I know of that I worked with are now having kidney problems, along with lots of other illnesses," Rexford, who has been to the hospital four times trying to find a solution to her infection, said. "My neighbor has a rash all over her body, and another clean-up worker I know found a lump in her breast a month ago. So when I started calling my co-workers, I realized that were all sick."
"I have documentation and images showing lesions in my brain," Paul Doom said. "Lesions that are the same as lesions on the brains of marine life from the Exxon Valdez spill from marine necropsies. This is a life and death situation and a race against time."
Doom said the water and food along the Gulf Coast are not safe, and he is angry at the Obama administration.
"I would ask them why have they allowed this to happen," he said, "How can you live with yourself knowing you allowed this to happen and continue?"
Aguinaga feels betrayed as well.
"I feel stabbed in the back by my own country," he said, "I feel we are being dictated to by a foreign power. Maybe our president is not strong enough to stand up against them. I know money buys people, but they couldn't offer me enough money for the loss of my friend, and the stuff were going through."
Aguinaga's prognosis for the future of Gulf Coast residents?
"Were all lab rats and we didnt even know it. Were waiting to see how its going to turn out."
Former Pink Floyd frontman urges fellow artists to join ban until Israel to ends the occupation, grants full equality to Israeli Arabs, and allows all Palestinian refugees to return to their homes.
By Haaretz Service - 06.03.11
Roger Waters, founding member, vocalist and bassist of the iconic rock band 'Pink Floyd' has voiced his support for a cultural boycott of Israel.
The British musician performed in Israel in 2005, ignoring calls from Palestinian rights advocates to cancel. While in Israel, Waters visited Jerusalem and Bethlehem. He was taken to the controversial separation fence in the West Bank, which he called "an appalling edifice to behold."
Waters said he was extremely affected by his tour of the West Bank, scrawling "We dont need no thought control", lyrics from one of Pink Floyd's most popular songs, on the wall, and cancelling his performance in Tel Aviv. Instead, the British star held the concert in Neve Shalom, a cooperative village founded by Jews and Arabs.
In the letter Waters wrote announcing his support of a cultural boycott of Israel, he said that in his "view, the abhorrent and draconian control that Israel wields over the besieged Palestinians in Gaza, and the Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, coupled with its denial of the rights of refugees to return to their homes in Israel, demands that fair minded people around the world support the Palestinians in their civil, nonviolent resistance."
He concluded the letter, saying that he is joining the campaign of Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel, until it satisfies three basic human rights he claims are demanded by international law.
He called on Israel to end the occupation of the West Bank and dismantle the separation fence, recognize the rights of Arab citizens of Israel and granting them full equality and allow all Palestinian refugees to return to their homes.
Waters stressed in his letter that he is not anti-Semitic, and his solidarity with the Palestinians stems from his belief that all people deserve basic human rights.
Last week, American folk music legend Pete Seeger officially joined the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign - an international movement to pressure and sanction Israel through economic means.
Seeger, 92, one of the fathers of American folk music, is a veteran political and peace activist. In the 1950s he was interrogated by the McCarthyist House Unamerican Activities Committee and two years ago performed for U.S. President Barack Obama's inauguration concert.
Artists, academics and celebrities throughout the world have supported and participated in the cultural boycotting of Israel.
Earlier this year, French pop star Vanessa Paradis cancelled her concert in Israel only a month before she was supposed to arrive in the country with her partner, Hollywood actor Johnny Depp, leaving fans and pundits speculating as to the reasons for the cancellation.
Although Paradis' agent David Stern claimed that the cancellation was due to professional reasons, insiders who organized the concert claim that the singer acceded to calls to cancel the show made by Palestinian solidarity groups.
According to the same sources, it was apparently the planned visit of Paradis' partner Johnny Depp that drew the attention of the groups that advocate BDS.
Date: 11 Mar 2011
From: "PEERS: WantToKnow.info Email List" emaillist@peerservice.org">
Subject: Subliminal Behavior Modification Using TV, Computer Monitor Described in US Patent
Dear friends,
The arsenal of behavior modification technologies developed by government and industry is vast. A number of well researched books on the subject have been published revealing the complexity and variety of these technologies. We highly recommend Dr. Armen Victorian's Mind Controllers for an excellent overview of the subject. Click here for a 10-page summary of this eye-opening book, which includes hundreds of footnotes for verification purposes. For a short summary of "non-lethal" weapons described in this summary, click here.
The below patent describes technology used for behavior modification and manipulation through TV, video, and DVD programming. If you have a science background, I invite you to read the full 16-page patent to see the high level of sophistication involved. The manipulation is not done through the insertion of single-frame anomalies, as has been done in the past, but rather by modulation of the feed or signal.
It is unfortunate that very few people are aware of these behavior modification capabilities. I doubt there are any laws to protect us from such manipulation. Like any tool, these technologies can be used for either the benefit or detriment of society. Let us spread this information so that we might assure that these technologies are not used for harm, but rather only for the benefit of humankind. See the "">What you can do" box at the bottom of this article for excellent information on how to spread the news and further educate yourself.
Computer monitor and TV monitors can be made to emit weak low-frequency electromagnetic fields merely by pulsing the intensity of displayed images. Experiments have shown that the 1/2 Hz sensory resonance can be excited in this manner in a subject near the monitor. The 2.4 Hz sensory resonance can also be excited in this fashion. Hence, a TV monitor or computer monitor can be used to manipulate the nervous system of nearby people.
(...) Certain monitors can emit electromagnetic field pulses that excite a sensory resonance in a nearby subject, through image pulses that are so weak as to be subliminal. This is unfortunate since it opens a way for mischievous application of the invention, whereby people are exposed unknowingly to manipulation of their nervous systems for someone else's purposes. Such application would be unethical and is of course not advocated. It is mentioned here in order to alert the public to the possibility of covert abuse that may occur while being online, or while watching TV, a video, or a DVD.
The following paragraph on behavior modification is from page 205 of Dr. Victorian's Mind Controllers:
The latest development in the technology of induced fear and mind control is the cloning of the human EEG or brain waves of any targeted victim, or indeed groups. With the use of powerful computers, segments of human emotions which include anger, anxiety, sadness, fear, embarrassment, jealousy, resentment, shame, and terror, have been identified and isolated within the EEG signals as emotion signature clusters. Their relevant frequencies and amplitudes have been measured. Then the very frequency/amplitude cluster is synthesized and stored on another computer. Each one of these negative emotions is properly and separately tagged. They are then placed on the Silent Sound carrier frequencies and could silently trigger the occurrence of the same basic emotion in another human being.
Note: To understand how this is technically possible, read the brief descriptions of the U.S. patents below.
(...) USP # 6,091,994 (July 18, 2000), Pulsative Manipulation of Nervous Systems
Abstract: Method and apparatus for manipulating the nervous system by imparting subliminal pulsative cooling to the subject's skin at a frequency that is suitable for the excitation of a sensory resonance. At present, two major sensory resonances are known, with frequencies near 1/2 Hz and 2.4 Hz. The 1/2 Hz sensory resonance causes relaxation, sleepiness, ptosis of the eyelids, a tonic smile, a "knot" in the stomach, or sexual excitement, depending on the precise frequency used. The 2.4 Hz resonance causes the slowing of certain cortical activities.
The Outer Space Security and Development Treaty of 2011 establishes a framework and procedures to assure that space will be a neutral realm from which all classes of weapons are banned and from which no hostile action shall be taken toward Earth or the surrounding Cosmos. This Treaty invites Nation States to become Signatories to this Treaty and invites Parties, including Nation States, Indigenous Nations, and Cosmic Cultures to commit to plan and assist in the orderly development and implementation of a framework and procedures that will assure and verify that space is and will remain a neutral realm from which all classes of space-based weapons are banned in perpetuity. This Treaty will put a lid on the war industry and mindset while allowing it to be transformed. It recognizes that information and data gained and shared from cooperative space exploration and development will provide unlimited benefits and opportunities to all humankind in areas of health, education, the economy, mutual security, energy, and the environment as wars end. It acknowledges that we are not alone in the universes, that there are Cosmic Cultures that will be important allies for our security and development, and that our national and international policies must reflect this reality.
- Dr. Carol Rosin World Peace Ambassador, International Association of Educators for World Peace, IAEWP (NGO, UN-ECOSOC)
The Outer Space Security and Development Treaty of 2011
The Outer Space Security and Development Treaty of 2011 establishes a framework and procedures to assure that space will be a neutral realm from which all classes of weapons are banned and from which no hostile action shall be taken toward Earth or the surrounding Cosmos.
This Treaty invites Nation States to become Signatories to this Treaty and invites all parties, including Nation States, Indigenous Nations and Cosmic Cultures, to commit to plan and assist in the orderly development and implementation of a framework and procedures that will assure and verify that space is and will remain a neutral realm from which all classes of space-based weapons are banned in perpetuity.
The Parties to this Treaty:
Reaffirm the urgency of preventing a destabilizing, threatening, and costly arms race in space,
Recognize that an agreement by Treaty to create a weapons-free space domain to ensure universal cooperation in space will save huge sums that would otherwise be expended for a dangerous and provocative space arms race,
Recognize that eliminating space-based weapons is more easily accomplished by agreement before any further investment is made to place them in position,
Confirm that it is the obligation of all State leaders to ban all space-based weapons including the intention to weaponize space, the moon or any celestial body or to use any space-based technology as a space-based weapon,
Reaffirm the urgent need for agreements on concrete proposals and projects deriving from confidence-building, world-cooperative space ventures which will prevent an arms race in outer space,
Recognize that information and data gained from cooperative space exploration and development will provide unlimited benefits and opportunities to all humankind in areas of health, education, the economy, mutual security, energy, and the environment,
Acknowledge that we are not alone in the universes, that there are Cosmic Cultures that will be important allies for our security and development, and that our national and international policies must reflect this reality,
Acknowledge that from the beginning of nuclear weapons testing, extraterrestrial craft have demonstrated a capability to selectively shut down communications and/or the power of participating operational units, and have appeared over ICBM fields in several countries causing non-destructive failure of dozens of ICBMs taking them out of operational status for days,
Realize that the demonstrated capability of extraterrestrial cultures from the multiverse to neutralize any missile or nuclear capability is in itself not a threat message, but does serve notice of our limited understanding of physics and the clearly dangerous consequences of continuing to use destructive technologies,
Affirm that the possibility of reclaiming a peaceful future for humankind and a safe environment on Earth is intimately linked with curbing our violence toward each other and Earth, and with preparing to survive as Gaea heals herself, and that counsel and support from Cosmic Civilizations thousands of years our senior would be exceedingly helpful,
Note that every class of space-based weapons, including weapons of mass destruction or precise destruction, is a symbol of fear for which violence provides no remedy,
Recognize that space must forever be free of man-made hazards, and must be a passageway to the secrets of our past and the challenges of our future,
Are inspired by the great prospects of Earth taking its rightful place in the Cosmos and the citizens of off-Earth realms sharing the fruits of their cultures with humankind,
Reaffirm that preventing placement of space-based weapons will avert resulting consequences, risks, and dangers to peace on Earth and to peace in space,
Believe that world cooperation in space will contribute to developing mutual understanding and to strengthening security based on a new form of verification and enforcement that applies the latest tools of technology for observation and information sharing because cooperative relations build more trust and transparency,
Understand that this space Treaty is now verifiable and enforceable via applying monitoring, observation, and information sharing techniques both existing and forthcoming,
Are inspired by the great prospects, benefits, and opportunities for stimulating economies, jobs, profits, products, and services to solve urgent and potential problems of humans and the rest of the biosphere,
Recognize that our space assets can be protected only by mutual cooperation and verification, and that this Treaty will accomplish this objective,
Realize we are one interconnected and interdependent human species, and we are determined to live in peace with all our neighbors on Earth and in the universes,
Affirm that it is the policy of the Parties to this Treaty to permanently ban all space- based weapons and to proceed into space cooperatively,
Are convinced that this Treaty will further the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations.
The Nation States Signatories to this Treaty agree to the following Articles:
Outer Space Security and Development Treaty of 2011
1. This Treaty does not ban weapons located on Earth.
2. This Treaty bans the weaponization of space. The militarization of space, which has occurred, requires a new definition for the purposes of this Treaty. Militaries already provide enhanced intelligence and communication, observation and data sharing, and can help to pave a safe way for humans to enter into the universes and for members of Cosmic Cultures to enter the Earth sphere safely.
3. The strategy of this Treaty incorporates the reality that humans have evolved into a condition of much higher consciousness than that of the past, and that we will be working with Cosmic Cultures whose situation and willingness to cooperate with Earth cultures is based upon that higher consciousness. The Signatories of this Treaty acknowledge this viewpoint because it is necessary to work within the context of the highest truth in our time, and because this is the only approach that will garner the support needed to enact this Treaty.
This Plan of Action calls on all World Citizens to copy this Treaty and quickly email, fax or mail the Treaty to world leaders. Easy as that! Only NINE Signatories are needed to make this world law! Together, we can and will get this Treaty signed into world law!
"Dr. Rosin was a witness in The Disclosure Project at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. in May, 2001. She has appeared in numerous media productions, interviews, and publications, and on YouTube. She has served on technical and non-technical boards including the Advisory Board of The Exopolitics Institute, and among her awards was the United Societies in Space award for her 30 years of Humanitarian Work for the Peaceful Uses of Space for Peace on Earth. Carol and ISCOS are well-known for having helped start the movement to prevent the weaponization of space, and for educating the public and decision makers about the benefits and opportunities from space R&D, exploration, and living and working in space. As an international consultant and speaker to countless audiences, Carol started the movements to Stop Star Wars, the "Leaky Umbrella Campaign" first introduced on The Larry King Show on CNN, the "Campaign for Peace In Space," and the "Campaign to Save Outer Space" which ultimately involved approximately 50 million people. Her educational work has been focused on various aspects of space issues and actions and their relevance to achieving peace and a clean environment on Earth. Carol is dedicated to banning all space-based weapons. She has spoken around the world regarding civil, commercial, entrepreneurial, and military world cooperation in space in order to reap the potential benefits for all. These benefits include a new kind of security, economic conversion and stimulation, and Space Age solutions to solve urgent and potential problems of health, education, poverty, to aid in the amelioration of natural and man-made disasters, and to transform the war industry into a space industry to end war and finally achieve peace all in the context of human evolution into a higher consciousness and the truth regarding the existence of Cosmic Cultures."
Its easy to forget that we are essentially electrical beings. That is to say, all of the biological functions that occur within the human body are regulated by electricity, from the beating of our heart to the functions of our brain to the metabolic reactions that occur within every one of our cells.
When you think about it this way, it only seems logical that our constant exposure to the electromagnetic fields (EMFs) emitted by the electrical devices that surround us would result in health consequences of one kind or another. Most of us are surrounded day and night by wi-fi signals, cell phones, cordless phones, computers and a myriad of other electrical devices all of which emit EMFs.
According to Dr. Ann Louise Gittleman, author of Zapped: Why Your Cell Phone Shouldnt Be Your Alarm Clock and 1,268 Other Ways to Outsmart the Hazards of Electronic Pollution, were exposed to 100 million times the level of electromagnetic radiation that our grandparents were.
As Dr. Gittleman explains in Zapped, research has shown that the human body is extremely sensitive to even the slightest radiation exposures, like that emitted by cell phones and cordless phones. The body picks up these artificial electrical frequencies and they become intertwined with its own natural frequencies, interfering with cellular communication and creating a biochemical stress response.
Last week, a breakthrough study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) confirmed what Dr. Gittleman and other experts have been saying about EMFs. Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) found that simply holding an activated cell phone next to your head for 50 minutes produces measurable changes in brain metabolism.
This study is significant because it proves that the human body is sensitive to even the low levels of electromagnetic radiation emitted by cell phones. Previous scientific studies have linked EMF exposure to:
- Chronic inflammation
- Aches and pains
- Cognitive problem
- Sleep disruptions
- Fatigue
- Depression
- Headaches
- Vision problems
- Nerve damage
- Cancer
- Heart problems
So what can we do to protect ourselves? Given that completely avoiding exposure to EMFs is probably not an option, this is a very important question.
In Zapped, Dr. Gittleman provides some practical guidelines for reducing your exposure to EMFs, in addition to some nutritional and lifestyle strategies that may help minimize the negative effects of EMFs on your health.
Here are some examples of her recommendations:
- Limit the length and number of call you make using your cell phone.
- Keep your cell phone as far away from your head as possible. Text, use speaker phone or use an air-tube headset whenever possible.
- Use old-fashioned corded telephones in your home, rather than cordless phones.
- Remove all or most electronic devices from your bedroom.
- Keep laptops off your lap.
- Consume superfoods and antioxidant supplements to help combat the free radicals created by EMF exposure.
- Use grounding technology to stabilize the bodys electrical rhythms and minimize the effects of EMF interference.
By employing these and other strategies, Dr. Gittleman claims to have achieved great improvements in her own health, as well as in the health of people she has helped.
Are you concerned about EMFs? And if so, what are you doing to protect yourself? Do you believe your health has been adversely affected by exposure to EMFs? Please leave a comment and share your thoughts and experiences.
---
Related article:
Is Your Cell Phone Giving You Brain Cancer? (January 21, 2011) http://www.stopagingnow.com/liveinthenow/article/is-your-cell-phone-giving-you-brain-cancer
The controversy over whether or not cell phones present a health hazard intensified last week when new findings came to light showing a clear connection between hours of cell phone use over time and risk for brain cancer. According to a new in-depth research analysis published in the Journal of Computer Assisted Tomography, long-term exposure to the electromagnetic fields (EMFs) emitted by cell phones can cause DNA damage that may lead to the development of brain tumors.For many years, the wireless industry and some health experts have contended that cell phones are perfectly harmless. However, in looking at all of the published studies on the matter, researchers found that the largest ever study conducted on the health effects of cell phone use, which found no dangers associated with cell phone was largely flawed. Not surprisingly, the study happened to have been funded by the wireless industry. However, the data that researchers pooled from other studies led them to conclude that long-term regular cell phone use can approximately double the risk of developing a brain tumor in the more exposed side of the brain (i.e. the side you usually hold your phone on). The researchers said that their findings indicate a need to develop technologies to reduce EMF exposure and for laws requiring cell phone manufacturers to reduce their devices levels of EMF output. CLIP
8.
The value of time
Imagine there is a bank that credits your account each morning with $86,400.
It carries over no balance from day to day. Every evening deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day.
What would you do?
Draw out every cent, of course!!!!
Each of us has such a bank.
Its name is TIME.
Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose.
It carries over no balance.
It allows no overdraft.
Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the remains of the day. If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours. There is no going back.
There is no drawing against the "tomorrow". You must live in the present on today's deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness, and success! The clock is running.
Make the most of today.
To realize the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who failed a grade. To realize the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who gave birth to a premature baby.
To realize the value of ONE WEEK, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper. To realize the value of ONE HOUR, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet. To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a person who missed the train. To realize the value of ONE SECOND, ask a person who just avoided an accident. To realize the value of ONE MILLISECOND, ask the person who won a silver medal in the Olympics.
Treasure every moment that you have!
And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time.
And remember that time waits for no one. Yesterday is history.
Tomorrow is mystery.
Today is a gift....
That's why it's called the present!!
SUBSCRIPTION TO THE EARTH RAINBOW NETWORK E-LIST
If you are not yet a subcriber to the Earth Rainbow Network emailing list and would like to subscribe to its automated listserver and regularly receive similar compilations covering a broad range of subjects, including each new Meditation Focus issued on a regular basis, simply send a blank email at earthrainbownetwork-subscribe@lists.riseup.net from the email account to which you want to receive the material compiled and networked by the Earth Rainbow Network Coordinator. Subscription is FREE!