- GOP's Ensign receives handwritten confirmation of IRS penalty for failure to pay fee - Politico
- http://www.politico.com/livepulse/0909/Ensign_receives
- _handwritten_confirmation_.html?showall
- "Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) received a handwritten note Thursday from Joint Committee on Taxation Chief of Staff Tom Barthold confirming the penalty for failing to pay the up to $1,900 fee for not buying health insurance.
- "Violators could be charged with a misdemeanor and could face up to a year in jail or a $25,000 penalty, Barthold wrote on JCT letterhead. He signed it "Sincerely, Thomas A. Barthold."
- It makes splashy headlines, but Baucus' Baloney will lose in a court of law. Why?
- 1. The Constitution absolutely does not authorize CON-gress to legislate mandatory insurance for anyone. The federal government has never had the legal authority to be an insurance provider (FEMA), own shares in a private bank (the illegal bail outs) or health care. This is clearly established in the specifically enumerated clauses of Art. 1, Sec. 8 and no, the 'general welfare clause' does not give CON-gress leave to violate the supreme law of the land.
- 2. When the first Social Security Act was passed (Old Age Survivors, and Disability Insurance Benefits), it was shot down by the U.S. Supreme Court:
- http://home.hiwaay.net/~becraft/ssn.html
- "When Congress adopted the Social Security Act in 1935, the Supreme Court had already addressed the first such act of 1934 and held in Railroad Retirement Board, supra, 295 U.S., at 368, that Congress had no authority to establish a retirement scheme through its most tremendous power, its control over interstate commerce:
- "The catalogue of means and actions which might be imposed upon an employer in any business, tending to the satisfaction and comfort of his employees, seems endless. Provision for free medical attendance and nursing, for clothing, for food, for housing, for the education of children, and a hundred other matters might with equal propriety be proposed as tending to relieve the employee of mental strain and worry. Can it fairly be said that the power of Congress to regulate interstate commerce extends to the prescription of any or all of these things? Is it not apparent that they are really and essentially related solely to the social welfare of the worker, and therefore remote from any regulation of commerce as such? We think the answer is plain. These matters obviously lie outside the orbit of congressional power."
- "Additionally, the revolutionary acts of Congress adopted in the two preceding decades had been emasculated in a series of Supreme Court decisions. Are we to suppose that, against this legal background, Congress decided to enact legislation of the caliber which had been struck as unconstitutional in the same year?
- "In the second Social Security Act of 1935, Congress imposed excise taxes upon employers and those tax receipts were to be deposited with the Treasury. The act further provided schemes whereby participants could enjoy unemployment and retirement benefits. When the act was adopted, parties opposed thereto made challenges to the act, relying upon some, if not all, of the various cases cited above. The major arguments mounted against the act were premised upon contentions that the legislation constituted an invasion of state rights.
- "In Steward Machine Co. v. Davis, 301 U.S. 548, 57 S.Ct. 883 (1937), an employer challenged the unemployment tax imposed upon it and the Court held that such tax was an excise which Congress could impose. In reference to the contention that the subject matter of the act was properly within the historical field reserved to the states, the Court held that Congress could enact legislation to aid the states in an area of great concern. The Court placed considerable emphasis upon the fact that the states were reluctant to adopt unemployment acts because such taxes created differentials between states which had such legislation and those which did not.
- "By creating a national unemployment act, this difference was eliminated and a great benefit to the American people resulted. The Court, therefore, found nothing constitutionally objectionable to the act as to the issues which were raised. In Helvering v. Davis, 301 U.S. 619, 57 S.Ct. 904 (1937), the same rationale was used to uphold the retirement features of the act. The importance of these two cases upholding the Social Security Act concerns the issues which these cases did not raise: neither of them addressed the issue of whether there was a requirement for any domestic American to join Social Security.
- "The reason that this issue was not raised is because there is no such requirement, unless of course one works for a state government which has contracted into Social Security; see Public Agencies Opposed To Social Security Entrapment (POSSE) v. Heckler, 613 F.Supp. 558 (E.D. Cal. 1985), rev., 477 U.S. 41, 106 S.Ct. 2390 (1986). "
- 3. We know that no one is required to obtain an SSN to live or work in the U.S.
- I, along with hundreds of others, have letters from SSA that tell us so in plain language. You must apply for a SSN in order to obtain a benefit down the line. The government does not automatically issue an SSN to anyone. Babies are NOT required to be given that insidious number before they can leave a hospital. It says so right on SSA's own web site, yet parents are brow beaten and threatened all across this country. It is reprehensible.
- However, even if you choose not to get a social security number, the thieves in Congress passed laws to tax you anyway for someone else's retirement. A Ponzi scheme that is TRILLIONS in the hole.
- The bottom line is that CON-gress cannot force anyone to purchase health care insurance. I don't care what an ignorant fool like Baucus says. If this mess ever gets signed into law, there will be lawsuits by those contacted and told they must buy health insurance or pay a fine and/or go to jail. Bank on it.
- Also, note in Helvering v Davis the court correctly pointed out that SS taxes go into the general fund of the treasury and are not ear marked for any specific spending purpose. A mathematically doomed program from the start.
- Also, see:
- Health Care Reform: Congress Has no Authority to Legislate
- http://www.newswithviews.com/Devvy/kidd461.htm
- Judge Andrew Napolitano: Health Care is completely Unconstitutional
- http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203917304574412793406386548.html
- The forced health care coverage in Massachusetts is a complete disaster. Costs are going through the roof.
- Romneycare Costs One Hospital $100 Million
- http://capoliticalnews.com/blog_post/show/2668
- Please get on the phone all next week to your federal senator and tell them NO on any of these plans. More than 260 provisions that I've read in the plethora of bills have already been shot down by District Courts and the U.S. Supreme Court; I've cited many of the cases in my columns. Tell them all they're doing is creating a mess of new lawsuits.
- Health care COVERAGE reform is needed at the state level.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Obamacare - Buy Insurance Or Go To Jail!
DNA test shows Hitler skull is that of a woman
- DNA tests done on Hitler skull fragment
- Result says it's skull of a woman
- Casts doubts on the death of Hitler
Research on a skull fragment thought to be Adolf Hitler's has cast doubt on the circumstances of his death/ Reuters
US archaeologist Nick Bellantoni found fragments from the skull believed to be Hitler's were too thin to be from a male, and suspected it was the remains of a much younger woman, The Sun reports.
"The bone seemed very thin - male bone tends to be more robust. It corresponds to a woman between the ages of 20 and 40," Dr Bellantoni said.
DNA tests performed in a US laboratory confirmed the remains could not have belonged to the Nazi leader.
The discovery casts doubt on the exact circumstances of Hitler’s death and could force history books to be rewritten.
Original accounts of Hitler’s death said he shot himself in the head in a bunker after taking a cyanide tablet on April 30, 1945 as the Russian army attacked Berlin.
His remains, along with those of his wife Eva Braun, were taken from the bunker, doused in petrol and set ablaze.
A year later, skull fragments were dug up by Russian forces which seemed to confirm Hitler had shot himself in the bunker.
In 1970, the KGB cremated Hitler’s remains except for the skull fragment.
Dr Bellantoni was sceptical about the theory the skull fragments belong to Eva Braun, who was with Hitler in the bunker where he supposedly died.
"There is no report of Eva Braun having shot herself or having been shot afterwards. It could be anyone. Many people were killed around the bunker area," he said.
By staff writers
Cash-strapped sell their kidneys to pay off debts
British victims of the credit crunch are offering to sell their kidneys for £25,000 or more to help pay debts, an investigation by The Sunday Times has revealed.
At least a dozen adverts have appeared on the internet offering kidneys for sale from British “donors”. Five of the sellers corresponded with undercover journalists, who posed as friends and relatives of sick patients to negotiate sales.
One person willing to sell a kidney is a 26-year-old mental health nurse who said he needed the money to pay debts after a business he set up went bankrupt. Another is a 43-year-old taxi driver from Lancashire, who wants to raise cash to pay off some of his mortgage and buy a new kitchen.
Both men said they wanted to help those in need of kidney transplants at the same time as relieving their financial difficulties. A leading doctor said the phenomenon highlighted the need for a public discussion of the issue of selling organs.
Professor Peter Friend, a former president of the British Transplant Society, said: “The West has outlawed it for all sorts of good reasons, but the result is it goes underground. It is really important to have a debate.” Nearly 7,000 people in the UK are waiting for kidney transplants and 300 died last year while on the waiting list.
Offering to sell an organ in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is an offence under the Human Tissue Act even if the seller is planning to travel to another country for the transplant operation.
Yesterday William Henderson, the taxi driver, justified his offer to sell a kidney by saying: “I thought I was going to give another man a chance of life. I wanted to help myself at the same time. We are in the middle of a giant credit crunch.” He added: “A guy from Pakistan wanted one, but I turned him down. I think he was more buying it to sell it on. I’d rather . . . it’s got somewhere good to go.”
美國‧Facebook出現網上投票‧“是否應該暗殺奧巴馬”
（美國‧舊金山）社交網站Facebook在上週六出現一則網上投票，內容有關美國總統奧巴馬是否應該被暗殺，這項投票已引起美國特別情報局展開追查。
Facebook網站公司在接獲通知後，已在週一（9月28日）撤走這個引發爭議的投票活動。據悉，這個網上投票的題目為“奧巴馬應否被殺”，共有“是”、“否”、“不確定”以及“若他削減我的醫療福利，就應該被殺”4個選項。
特情局發言人威利指出，當局在發現此事後，第一時間聯絡Facebook網站，要求將這項投票撤下。
他說：“任何可能針對總統的威脅均需調查，就像我們對待其他的威脅一樣。”
據透露，在投票被撤以前，有超過750名Facebook用戶已參與投票。
Facebook使用者Cocoa Fly表示，這是一項病態且令人難過的行為。
他說：“這裡面反奧巴馬的聲音都是純粹的種族主義者。”
中國‧汽車公司總裁身家175億‧王傳福登中國首富
（中國‧北京）根據週一（9月28日）公佈的今年“胡潤百富榜”，被股神巴菲特看好，並入股的比亞迪汽車的公司總裁王傳福以350億元（人民幣．下同）身家榮登中國首富寶座。
玖龍紙業老闆張茵家族則以330億元，屈居第二。
今年“胡潤百富榜”上榜富豪1000位，上榜門檻從去年的人民幣7億元提高到10億元。
今年43歲的王傳福出生於安徽，人稱“技術狂人”、“汽車狂人”。王傳福以財富350億元成為今中國首富，他的財富較去年增加290億元，或增加5倍，排名從去年的103位上升到今年的第1位。
王傳福於1995年創立比亞迪，擁有充電電池、手機產業，2003年初進入汽車領域。
獲巴菲特稱讚
據報，巴菲特去年9月以2.3億美元（約馬幣8億令吉）購入比亞迪10%股份，王傳福手中的27.8%總股本為他帶來巨額的利潤。在今年的巴菲特股東大會上，巴菲特稱王傳福是“真正的明星”。
曾於2006年榮登中國首富的玖龍紙業創辦人張茵今年排名第二，較去年第15位的排名上升了13位。
胡潤表示，中國的億萬美元富翁從去年的101人增加至130人。
一年一度“胡潤百富榜”完整榜單將在10月中下旬發佈。
中國‧對登月再跨前一大步‧完成月球3D地形圖
（中國‧北京）新華社報導指出，中國早前已完成一幅高清晰度的月球3D地形圖，距離未來登月的壯舉又跨前了巨大的一步。
繼在2003年送出首位宇航員遨遊太空後，中國計劃在2012年左右，派出無人探測器前往月球探險，並在2020年開始執行太空任務。
報導稱，這幅3D圖像為中國首個月球探測器嫦娥一號衛星於2007年所搭載的一台推掃相機所攝，該相機能在85秒內獲得同一物體的前視、正視和後視三個不同視角的圖像數據，以此獲得全月球的3D地形數據。
中國測繪科學研究院劉先林指出，這項重大的成就可以讓科學家深入研究月球表面的特徵，並且加深對月球地質學進化的瞭解。
香港理工大學土地測量與地理信息學系系主任陳永奇教授表示，這對日後中國登陸月球的創舉起著重大的作用。
他說：“這幅3D圖像可以幫助太空梭挑選著陸點，同時幫助我們瞭解月球地表結構。”
台灣‧屬煙花表演總導演團隊成員‧馬英九2女受關注
（台 灣‧台北）中國60週年國慶聯歡晚會將有大型煙花表演，燃放的煙花數量是去年北京奧運的兩倍，煙花表演總導演則由京奧開幕式的煙花總設計蔡國強擔任。由於 台灣總統馬英九兩名女兒馬唯中、馬元中都是蔡國強團隊的重要成員，兩人是否為大陸國慶晚會策劃、執行並前往大陸做相關工作，近日成為台灣政壇關注焦點。
由於大陸國慶具有高度敏感的政治意義，台灣總統府發言人王郁琦週一（9月28日）對相關詢問低調回應，只表示“目前沒有相關信息”。
現年29歲的馬唯中及23歲妹妹馬元中在美國完成學業後，先後加入蔡國強的紐約工作室，並成為蔡的助手。
邀200多台胞觀禮
另一方面，大陸透過台聯、台盟邀請200多位台胞、海外台胞赴北京參觀慶典，其中將有10位可以登上天安門前貴賓觀禮台。
新加坡‧獅城人超無聊？‧“超人”搭廉航乘客驚奇
（新加坡）“超人”搭廉航，乘客皆驚奇！
一名STOMP網民在網上透露，他在樟宜機場航空候機樓，看到一名穿著“超人”服裝的男子。“超人”穿著藍色緊身衣和緊身褲，以及鮮紅色斗篷，並在緊身褲外套了超人的標誌——鮮紅色內褲。
男子看來20多歲，是華族，長相普通，雖然穿著奇裝異服，但表現自然。
網站上載了“超人”的多張照片與一段錄像，並開玩笑說︰“超人找到更容易的飛翔方法！”
錄像中，“超人”拉著一個黑色的行李箱，如常人一樣通過了安全檢查，在候機的公眾都看得目瞪口呆，還掏出手機拍他的照片。
他走向一架虎航飛機時，一名空少走出來看到他，一臉錯愕。最終，“超人”還是上飛機離開了。
不少網民覺得這段錄像很爆笑，但也有人說，“超人”這麼做很無聊，丟盡新加坡人的臉。
網民指是打廣告
網民Joann381則指出︰“這顯然是個廣告。他的服裝上寫的不是S（代表超人Superman），而是T（代表虎航Tiger Airways）。
你們真的以為有人那麼無聊，穿著這種服裝去搭飛機嗎？”
新加坡‧受炮轟鬧得滿城風雨‧“盜卡世姐”放棄桂冠
（新加坡）鬧得滿城風雨的“盜卡世姐”自動放棄桂冠！
19歲世姐劉依敏在盜卡風波傳出後的第4天，主動放棄桂冠。
據悉，世姐的資格已被取消，她也不會代表新加坡到南非參加12月12日舉行的世界小姐決賽。
遭抗議代表新出賽主辦世姐賽的ERM行銷公司發言人受詢時，證實這個消息。
劉依敏早前說，她雖對盜卡行為感到失望，但堅持不會放棄后冠及選美夢想。
不過，這幾天坊間引起的強烈炮轟聲浪，以及抗議她代表新加坡出賽的意見，相信多少讓她備受困擾。
這間公司發言人週二（9月29日）下午說，劉依敏已表示要放棄桂冠。
“我們和劉依敏及她的父母見面討論這件事後，他們同意讓女兒放棄桂冠，因為我們認為這是對世姐賽和新加坡來說最好的決定。”
發言人指：“身為一名年輕罪犯，我們對她的情況感到抱歉，但我們不能對規則、條例和世姐賽的形象作出妥協，因此也不能讓她代表新加坡參加世姐決賽。”
公司說，他們事前並不知道劉依敏盜卡事件及她患上躁郁症。
“我們是沒辦法去查出參賽者是否有犯罪記錄或患上抑郁症。”
但公司表示不會對劉依敏採取任何紀律處分。
至於誰會代替劉依敏參加世姐決賽，公司表示目前正在進行面試，稍後會作出宣佈。
世姐賽亞軍李函穎（22歲，南大畢業生）週二下午表示她還未接到主辦者的任何通知。
這也是新加坡選美史上首次發生這樣的事。
盜卡世姐3謊言被揭破
選美公司事後才知真相
盜卡世姐，3大謊言被揭破，承認是在事件曝光後才把真相告知選美公司！
ERM行銷公司週一（9月28日）聲稱在劉依敏奪冠前，對盜卡事件毫不知情。
公司公開表態後，世姐突然有180度轉變，立即推翻她之前所說過的話，言語自相矛盾，其中有3大謊言被揭穿。
謊言1︰公司早知她觸犯法律世姐上週接受媒體訪問時說，公司早就知道她曾盜卡，因為她奪冠後在簽約前告訴他們。不過，她週一突然改變說法，表示是在週五新聞曝光後，公司質問後，她才承認曾觸犯法律。
謊言2︰公司讓她繼續比賽世姐上週五（9月25日）說，公司早前表示只要盜卡消息不傳出去，會讓她繼續比賽；她還說擔心如今事情鬧大，不知是否還能參賽。但她週一告訴《海峽時報》，公司是在週五才得知她的情況。
謊言3︰不知被控或有犯罪紀錄不能參賽上週五，世姐接受《聯合早報》訪問時說，她今年6月報名參加選美賽時，知道參賽規則有列明，參賽者不能有被控或犯罪紀錄，但她認為緩刑監視不是犯罪紀錄，所以沒告訴主辦者。
不過，週一她卻說，報名時沒細讀比賽條規，“我沒真的去檢查，因為我參加過其他選美賽，他們（主辦者）也沒怎麼查。”
“不是甚麼大事”
世姐：沒必要告知主辦者
自認“盜卡判緩刑”不是甚麼大事，沒必要告訴選美主辦者！
世姐週一接受《海峽時報》訪問時說，盜卡新聞曝光後，公司問她，她才坦白說出來。
“他們問我才說啦，因為其實我覺得沒必要說……”
被問及為何報名參賽時沒告訴主辦者，她說︰“這雖是個記錄（判緩刑監視），但又不是甚麼大事……我已得到改過自新的機會。”
這名世姐是在去年4至5月，盜刷他人信用卡，購買首飾、手機和到高級餐館用餐等，花了近8000新元。她在今年5月被判緩刑監視24個月，7月底登上世姐寶座。
緩刑監視庭令是法庭除判處青少年罪犯進感化院或改造所之外另一選擇，完成緩刑期的青少年罪犯不會留下案底。
新加坡‧青少年平均中四失身‧專家建議教學生“買套”
（新加坡）獅城青少年平均中四就失身，比亞太區域的平均失身年齡小一歲，議員專家呼吁，學校應教學生如何買套和用套！
新加坡200名15到19歲的青少年參與最新的“世界避孕日性知識”調查，平均16歲失身，比亞太（共1206名受調者）的平均17歲年輕一歲，和澳洲、泰國並居亞太之首。
性教育改善“失身”問題
新加坡家長計劃協會（SPPA）理事長蔡榮亮認為，性教育可以“中學就會失身”為前提，進行全面提昇改善。
他坦言，青少年思想開放，有的在13、14歲就嘗試性的初體驗。
“雖然性是個敏感的話題，但性教育不能蜻蜓點水，我們不能只粗略提，有哪幾種避孕方法。”
瞭解資訊保護自己
蔡榮亮，不是一談避孕就意味著性生活活躍，只有讓學生知道更多資訊、瞭解後果，他們才知道該如何保護自己，決定要不要做。
“學校應教學生避孕套怎麼用，避孕藥去哪裡買、怎麼吃，各種避孕方法的效果如何等等。”
社青體部高級政務次長張思樂說，性教育或要提前，要鼓勵更多家庭向孩子灌輸正確的性教育。
他說，如今的青少年能從不同的平台上獲取資訊，因此無法避“性”而不談，不過這不單是學校的性教育問題︰“許多東西要從家裡開始，才能幫助孩子做理智的決定。”
雖然讀小學的兒女還未問張思樂避孕問題，但也曾好奇地問他和太太，孩子是從哪裡來的。
張思樂說︰“我們沒有一概而談，而是解釋人怎麼懷孕，身體構造等等。”
對避孕方法一知半解
過半獅城青少年對避孕方法一知半解，近40%的青少年把體外射精當成避孕法。
調查顯示，41%的新加坡青少年第一次性交前沒有和性伴侶談如何避孕，58%表示對避孕方法認知不夠。
除安全套和避孕藥，近四成受調青少年把體外射精（withdrawalmethod）當作防止“意外造人”的途徑。
婦產專科醫生陳斯華指出，體外受精不是避孕的可靠方法，戴安全套可防染性病，吃避孕藥還可降低女性患子宮頸癌的風險。
蔡榮亮表示，家長計劃協會正探討成立青年團，向同齡人傳達正確性及避孕信息。
他也呼吁新加坡年輕人上網站your-life-asia.com，宣誓為安全性行為負責。
亞太青少年平均失身年齡調查
國家：新加坡、澳洲、泰國
失身年齡：16歲
國家：中國、韓國
失身年齡：17歲
國家：馬來西亞
失身年齡：18歲
Marines Bypass Taliban Opium Fields in Afghanistan
GARMSER, Afghanistan — The Marines of Bravo Company’s 1st Platoon sleep beside a grove of poppies. Troops in the 2nd Platoon playfully swat at the heavy opium bulbs while walking through the fields. Afghan laborers scraping the plant’s gooey resin smile and wave.
Last week, the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit moved into southern Helmand province, the world’s largest opium poppy-growing region, and now find themselves surrounded by green fields of the illegal plants that produce the main ingredient of heroin.
Last week, the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit moved into southern Helmand province, the world’s largest opium poppy-growing region, and now find themselves surrounded by green fields of the illegal plants that produce the main ingredient of heroin. The Taliban, whose fighters are exchanging daily fire with the Marines in Garmser, derives up to $100 million a year from the poppy harvest by taxing farmers and charging safe passage fees — money that will buy weapons for use against U.S., NATO and Afghan troops.
Yet the Marines are not destroying the plants. In fact, they are reassuring villagers the poppies won’t be touched. American commanders say the Marines would only alienate people and drive them to take up arms if they eliminated the impoverished Afghans’ only source of income.
Many Marines in the field are scratching their heads over the situation.
”It’s kind of weird. We’re coming over here to fight the Taliban. We see this. We know it’s bad. But at the same time we know it’s the only way locals can make money,” said 1st Lt. Adam Lynch, 27, of Barnstable, Mass.
The Marines’ battalion commander, Lt. Col. Anthony Henderson, said in an interview Tuesday that the poppy crop ”will come and go” and that his troops can’t focus on it when Taliban fighters around Garmser are ”terrorizing the people.”
”I think by focusing on the Taliban, the poppies will go away,” said Henderson, a 41-year-old from Washington, D.C. He said once the militant fighters are forced out, the Afghan government can move in and offer alternatives.
An expert on Afghanistan’s drug trade, Barnett Rubin, complained that the Marines are being put in such a situation by a ”one-dimensional” military policy that fails to integrate political and economic considerations into long-range planning.
”All we hear is, not enough troops, send more troops,” said Rubin, a professor at New York University. ”Then you send in troops with no capacity for assistance, no capacity for development, no capacity for aid, no capacity for governance.”
Most of the 33,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan operate in the east, where the poppy problem is not as great. But the 2,400-strong 24th Marines, have taken the field in this southern growing region during harvest season.
In the poppy fields 100 feet from the 2nd Platoon’s headquarters, three Afghan brothers scraped opium resin over the weekend. The youngest, 23-year-old Sardar, said his family would earn little money from the harvest.
”We receive money from the shopkeepers, then they will sell it,” said Sardar, who was afraid to give his last name. ”We don’t have enough money to buy flour for our families. The smugglers make the money,” added Sardar, who worked alongside his 11-year-old son just 20 yards from a Marine guard post, its guns pointed across the field.
Afghanistan supplies some 93 percent of the world’s opium used to make heroin, and the Taliban militants earn up to $100 million from the drug trade, the United Nations estimates. The export value of this harvest was $4 billion — more than a third of the country’s combined gross domestic product.
Though they aren’t eradicating poppies, the Marines presence could still have a positive effect. Henderson said the drug supply lines have been disrupted at a crucial point in the harvest. And Marine commanders are debating staying in Garmser longer than originally planned.
Second Lt. Mark Greenlief, 24, a Monmouth, Ill., native who commands the 2nd Platoon, said he originally wanted to make a helicopter landing zone in Sardar’s field. ”But as you can see that would ruin their poppy field, and we didn’t want to ruin their livelihood.”
Sardar ”basically said, ‘This is my livelihood, I have to do what I can to protect that,”’ said Greenlief. ”I told him we’re not here to eradicate.”
The Taliban told Garmser residents that the Marines were moving in to eradicate, hoping to encourage the villagers to rise up against the Americans, said 2nd Lt. Brandon Barrett, 25, of Marion, Ind., commander of the 1st Platoon.
In the next field over from Sardar’s, Khan Mohammad, an Afghan born in Helmand province who lives in Pakistan and came to work the fields, said he makes only $2 a day. He said the work is dangerous now that Taliban militants are shooting at the U.S. positions.
”We’re stuck in the middle,” he said. ”If we go over there those guys will fire at us. If we come here, we’re in danger, too, but we have to work,” said the 54-year-old Mohammad, who supports a family of 10.
An even older laborer, his back bent by years of work, came over and told the small gathering of Afghans, Marines and journalists that the laborers had to get back to work ”or the boss will get mad at us.”
Staff Sgt. Jeremy Stover, whose platoon is sleeping beside a poppy crop planted in the interior courtyard of a mud-walled compound, said the Marines’ mission is to get rid of the ”bad guys,” and ”the locals aren’t the bad guys.”
”Poppy fields in Afghanistan are the cornfields of Ohio,” said Stover, 28, of Marion, Ohio. ”When we got here they were asking us if it’s OK to harvest poppy and we said, ‘Yeah, just don’t use an AK-47.”’Is 'Al Qaeda' the Modern Incarnation of 'Emmanuel Goldstein'?
| Is "Al Qaeda" the modern incarnation of "Emmanuel Goldstein", the arch-villain manufactured by the state to rule the population with fear? |  |
|
Once you accept that there can be one group of people willing to commit acts of terror you must accept that there can be a second group equally willing to commit acts of terror to blame on the first group.
Stop and think for a minute. Do the acts of terror accomplish anything for the group that is blamed for the terror? Does terror achieve their ends or obtain the results they want? Or isn't it obvious that the acts of terror are actually achieving the objectives of those who claim to be the victims of the terror, to gain them sympathy and political alliances? |
| History is full of rulers who used fake terror on their own populations to create consent for their policies. The US is known to have actually planned fake terror to create support for an invasion of Cuba. And, it is now well established that FDR not only allowed the attack on Pearl Harbor to happen, but goaded the Japanese into it to get a reluctant US into WWII. Then there is the infamous "Lavon Affair" in which Israelis bombed British and American targets and left evidence to frame Arabs. According to ex-Mossad agent Victor Ostrovsky, Israel suckered the US into attacking Libya with fake radio messages. The US told other nations as early as March 2001 of a plan to invade Afghanistan in October 2001. Isn't it interesting that the "terrorists" struck on 9-11, perfectly in time to create the public anger Bush needed to carry out the already-planned already-announced war? |
|
Who is running Al Qaeda? Who benefits from their activities? Bush got his oil war...
...and Sharon got a green light to kill Palestinians and steal their land. Who really benefits? That's who is running Al Qaeda.
|
"...there are intelligence agencies in the U.S., which require billions of dollars worth of funds from the Congress and the government every year. This [funding issue] was not a big problem till the existence of the former Soviet Union but after that the budget of these agencies has been in danger. They needed an enemy. So, they first started propaganda against Usama and Taleban and then this incident [9/11] happened." [Osama bin Laden 09/28/01]
U.S. Economy Weakened in August, Chicago Fed Says
The scent of double dip is in the air.
Only one of the four broad categories of indicators made a positive contribution in August. The production and income component was positive for the second straight month. Employment, consumption and housing, and sales made negative contributions.
Thirty-one of the 85 indicators made positive contributions. Forty-seven of the 85 indicators improved relative to July.
The index was at negative 2.01 in August 2008, and was at negative 4.13 in JanuaryThe Chicago Fed's National Activity Index dropped back to negative 0.90 in August from an upwardly revised negative 0.54 in July.
Only one of the four broad categories of indicators made a positive contribution in August. The production and income component was positive for the second straight month. Employment, consumption and housing, and sales made negative contributions.
Thirty-one of the 85 indicators made positive contributions. Forty-seven of the 85 indicators improved relative to July.
The index was at negative 2.01 in August 2008, and was at negative 4.13 in JanuaryThe Chicago Fed's National Activity Index dropped back to negative 0.90 in August from an upwardly revised negative 0.54 in July.
New music video from DownsizeDC: Federal Reserve FRAUD
From DownsizeDC.org:
Quote of the Day: "Once I built a railroad, I made it run, made it race against time. Once I built a railroad; now it's done. Brother, can you spare a dime?" -- "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime," lyrics by Yip Harburg, music by Jay Gorney (1931)
Subject: DownsizeDC.org Releases New Folk Song, "Brother Can You Spare a F.R.A.U.D.?"
If the Great Depression had a theme song it was "Brother Can You Spare A Dime." Now we're offering a new folk song by DC Downsizer Dan Litwin.
It's the theme song for our campaign to . . .
* End the inflation tax
* Stop legalized counterfeiting
* Draw attention to the need for Honest Money.
Whenever we talk about the Federal Reserve System and Federal Reserve Notes (otherwise known as The Dollar), we're talking about a F.R.A.U.D.
F- Federal
R- Reserve
A- Accounting
U- Unit, the...
D- Dollar
When the Federal Reserve expands the number of Federal Reserve Notes the value of each dollar you hold DECREASES, and prices rise. The actual value of goods and services hasn't INcreased. Instead, the value of the currency you hold has DEcreased. This is why . . .
The value of the dollar has fallen nearly 99% since the creation of the Federal Reserve System in 1913! In other words, because of the FED's legalized counterfeiting a dollar now buys less than a dime would in the Great Depression.
That's why we asked Dan Litwin to write "Brother, Can You Spare a F.R.A.U.D.?"
We want people to start talking about the dollar in terms of FRAUD.
When you think about it, "the dollar" is really a meaningless name. Instead, you should think of the dollar as a Federal Reserve Note, which -- as a fiat currency with no intrinsic value -- is merely an ACCOUNTING UNIT that the politicians use to rob you blind through . . .
* Direct taxes that consume nearly half of everything you earn (counting state and local taxes)
* Legalized counterfeiting -- the inflation tax that destroys the value of your savings
* Massive borrowing -- the national debt that jeopardizes your future
Protecting these activities is the reason the Federal government has a "legal tender" law and a coinage monopoly. If they didn't force you to trade in F.R.A.U.D.'s then you wouldn't. You'd prefer honest, free market money instead, like units of gold and silver. But that would cause the politicians to lose much of their power to tax, borrow, and inflate.
The politicians don't like that, but we do, so we want to . . .
* Repeal the legal tender law
* Repeal the coinage monopoly
* Give gold and silver the same tax status that F.R.A.U.D.'s now have
When we do these things you'll be able to withdraw from the F.R.A.U.D. economy, thereby reducing the power and relevance of the Federal Reserve. That's why we've supported three bills, NOT YET RE-introduced by Congressman Ron Paul . . .
* The 15-word "Honest Money Act" would repeal the 41-word legal tender law.
* The 104-word "Free Competition in Currency Act" would repeal the government monopoly over the creation of coins for use as currency.
* The 193-word "Tax-Free Gold Act" would prohibit federal and state taxes on precious metal coins and bullion.
Please send a letter to your Representative and Senators asking them to introduce these bills.
Use your personal comments to tell them that you think the dollar is a F.R.A.U.D, mentioning that it's lost nearly 99% of its value since 1913. Then . . .
* Watch the video for "Brother Can You Spare A F.R.A.U.D." on YouTube.
* Or listen to an mp3 audio-only from a safe Windows Media Server
* If you like the song, share it with others and urge them to start referring to dollars as F.R.A.U.D.'s
Spread this song far and wide -- re-post it on your blog, email it to your local talk shows, and share it with your friends.
Thank you for being a DC Downsizer,
Jim Babka, President
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.
Oklahoma City bombing tapes erased
Security tapes of the Oklahoma City bombing just released show key sections have been erased. Attorney Jesse Trentadue obtained the security camera tapes of the bombing through the Freedom of Information Act. The missing portions confirm speculation the official version of bombing is false. On April 19, 1995, bombs in Oklahoma City's Alfred Murrah Building killed 168 people. Timothy McVeigh was executed and co-conspirator Terry Nichols sentenced to life imprisonment. Trentadue says: "Four cameras in four different locations going blank at basically the same time..is no coincidence." The FBI in the past refused to release the security camera recordings, leading Trentadue to contend the government was hiding evidence others were involved. Trentadue's brother Kenneth died in the bombing, possibly murdered by officials who mistook him for the bomber. Trentadue's family was awarded $1.1 million. Further investigation by the deceased's brother Jesse to led to more evidence that didn’t match the official story. Source
Alex Jones Tv:The Pittsburgh G-20 Aftermath & Luke Rudkowski 1/3
Check this link ........ http://bit.ly/12HaXA
National Geographic vs Loose Change 9/11: An American Coup
Check this link ........ http://bit.ly/3x2G9R
Provocateur Cops Caught Disguised As Anarchists At G20
Shocking video has emerged of cops posing as anarchist protesters at the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh, in yet another example of authorities attempting to provoke chaos at global summits in order to justify a brutal police crackdown.
Footage from Saturday night shows three burly older men who look completely out of place with black bandanas over their face walking alongside young protesters during a march against police brutality in a You Tube clip entitled “G20 Epic Undercover Police Fail”.
The clip would be hilarious if it was not so disturbing. Protesters walking behind what are obviously badly disguised cops claim they broke cameras and acted aggressively towards genuine protesters, as well as carrying gas canisters. During a peaceful demonstration on Saturday night, riot cops savagely attacked protesters with batons and rubber bullets while also assaulting and arresting students who weren’t even part of the demonstration.
Watch the clip below.
At one point one of the undercover cops states, “Let’s not make this too much fun, I’m tired, I’m getting old.”
“Do you think it’s funny to mock our First Amendment rights, asks a demonstrator as onlookers begin to become aware that the men are obviously police officers dressed up as anarchists.
At every single major summit over the past few years, authorities have inserted agent provocateurs into protest groups in order to spy on them and if necessary, provoke violence to justify oppressive police brutality in the eyes of the watching world.
We have documented numerous different occasions where the leadership of the black bloc anarchists were actually working with the authorities to provide a pretext for a police state crackdown.
During the previous G20 protest in London, black bloc anarchists were allowed by police to smash up bank buildings while being accompanied by more press photographers than other protesters in what was obviously a stage-managed spectacle for mass consumption, while legitimate protest groups were refused “permits” to protest by the government.
Following the SPP protests in Canada two years ago, Quebec provincial authorities were forced to admit that three rock-wielding black mask-wearing “anarchists” were in fact police infiltrators used to gather information on protesters.
Video shows two of the provocateurs pick up rocks and try to incite violence before they are outed as cops by legitimate demonstrators. The two thugs then tried to slip behind police lines before their fellow officers were forced to stage their arrest. Again, the fact that they were cops in disguise was later admitted by authorities. Watch the video.
Alex Jones’ film Police State 2: The Takeover exposed how the black bloc anarchists were completely infiltrated and provocateured by the authorities during the violent 1999 WTO protests in Seattle.
The authorities declared a state of emergency, imposed curfews and resorted to nothing short of police state tactics in response to a small minority of hostile black bloc hooligans. Police allowed the black bloc to run riot in downtown Seattle while they concentrated on preventing the movement of peaceful protestors. The film presents clear evidence that the black bloc anarchist group was actually controlled by the state and used to demonize peaceful protesters. Watch the video below.
At the WTO protests in Genoa 2001 a protestor was killed after being shot in the head and run over twice by a police vehicle. The Italian Carabinere also later beat on peaceful protestors as they slept, and even tortured some, at the Diaz School. It later emerged that the police fabricated evidence against the protesters, claiming they were anarchist rioters, to justify their actions. Some Carabiniere officials have since come forward to say they knew of infiltration of the so called black bloc anarchists, and that fellow officers acted as agent provocateurs.
At the Free Trade Area of Americas protests in Miami in late November 2003, more provocateuring was evident. The United Steelworkers of America calling for a congressional investigation, stated that the police intentionally caused violence and arrested and charged hundreds of peaceful protestors. The USWA suggested that billions of dollars supposedly slated for Iraq reconstruction funds are actually being used to subsidize “homeland repression” in America.
Despite being caught over and over again dressed up as anarchists and posing as protesters, authorities are still content to use agent provocateurs in a desperate and underhanded attempt to make heightening levels of police brutality somehow appear as a legitimate response. Since this maneuver has now been totally discredited and everyone is fully aware of it, it’s unlikely that they will be able to get away with it at all for future protests.
G20 Summit in Pittsburgh, in yet another example of authorities attempting to provoke chaos at global summits in order to justify a brutal police crackdown.
Footage from Saturday night shows three burly older men who look completely out of place with black bandanas over their face walking alongside young protesters during a march against police brutality in a You Tube clip entitled “G20 Epic Undercover Police Fail”.
The clip would be hilarious if it was not so disturbing. Protesters walking behind what are obviously badly disguised cops claim they broke cameras and acted aggressively towards genuine protesters, as well as carrying gas canisters. During a peaceful demonstration on Saturday night, riot cops savagely attacked protesters with batons and rubber bullets while also assaulting and arresting students who weren’t even part of the demonstration.
Watch the clip below.
At one point one of the undercover cops states, “Let’s not make this too much fun, I’m tired, I’m getting old.”
“Do you think it’s funny to mock our First Amendment rights, asks a demonstrator as onlookers begin to become aware that the men are obviously police officers dressed up as anarchists.
At every single major summit over the past few years, authorities have inserted agent provocateurs into protest groups in order to spy on them and if necessary, provoke violence to justify oppressive police brutality in the eyes of the watching world.
We have documented numerous different occasions where the leadership of the black bloc anarchists were actually working with the authorities to provide a pretext for a police state crackdown.
(ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW)
Provocateur Cops Caught Disguised As Anarchists At G20 260909banner
During the previous G20 protest in London, black bloc anarchists were allowed by police to smash up bank buildings while being accompanied by more press photographers than other protesters in what was obviously a stage-managed spectacle for mass consumption, while legitimate protest groups were refused “permits” to protest by the government.
Following the SPP protests in Canada two years ago, Quebec provincial authorities were forced to admit that three rock-wielding black mask-wearing “anarchists” were in fact police infiltrators used to gather information on protesters.
Video shows two of the provocateurs pick up rocks and try to incite violence before they are outed as cops by legitimate demonstrators. The two thugs then tried to slip behind police lines before their fellow officers were forced to stage their arrest. Again, the fact that they were cops in disguise was later admitted by authorities. Watch the video.
Alex Jones’ film Police State 2: The Takeover exposed how the black bloc anarchists were completely infiltrated and provocateured by the authorities during the violent 1999 WTO protests in Seattle.
The authorities declared a state of emergency, imposed curfews and resorted to nothing short of police state tactics in response to a small minority of hostile black bloc hooligans. Police allowed the black bloc to run riot in downtown Seattle while they concentrated on preventing the movement of peaceful protestors. The film presents clear evidence that the black bloc anarchist group was actually controlled by the state and used to demonize peaceful protesters. Watch the video below.
At the WTO protests in Genoa 2001 a protestor was killed after being shot in the head and run over twice by a police vehicle. The Italian Carabinere also later beat on peaceful protestors as they slept, and even tortured some, at the Diaz School. It later emerged that the police fabricated evidence against the protesters, claiming they were anarchist rioters, to justify their actions. Some Carabiniere officials have since come forward to say they knew of infiltration of the so called black bloc anarchists, and that fellow officers acted as agent provocateurs.
At the Free Trade Area of Americas protests in Miami in late November 2003, more provocateuring was evident. The United Steelworkers of America calling for a congressional investigation, stated that the police intentionally caused violence and arrested and charged hundreds of peaceful protestors. The USWA suggested that billions of dollars supposedly slated for Iraq reconstruction funds are actually being used to subsidize “homeland repression” in America.
Despite being caught over and over again dressed up as anarchists and posing as protesters, authorities are still content to use agent provocateurs in a desperate and underhanded attempt to make heightening levels of police brutality somehow appear as a legitimate response. Since this maneuver has now been totally discredited and everyone is fully aware of it, it’s unlikely that they will be able to get away with it at all for future protests.
World Bank Head Sees Dollar’s Role Diminishing
WASHINGTON — The president of the World Bank said on Monday that America’s days as an unchallenged economic superpower might be numbered and that the dollar was likely to lose its favored position as the euro and the Chinese renminbi assume bigger roles.
Skip to next paragraph 
Win McNamee/Getty Images
Robert Zoellick said the Treasury should get more power.
Robert Zoellick said the Treasury should get more power.
“The United States would be mistaken to take for granted the dollar’s place as the world’s predominant reserve currency,” the World Bank president, Robert B. Zoellick, said in a speech at the School for Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins. “Looking forward, there will increasingly be other options to the dollar.”
Mr. Zoellick, who previously served as the United States trade representative and as deputy secretary of state under President George W. Bush, said that the euro provided a “respectable alternative” for financing international transactions and that there was “every reason to believe that the euro’s acceptability could grow.”
In the next 10 to 20 years, he said, the dollar will face growing competition from China’s currency, the renminbi. Though Chinese leaders have minimized their currency’s use in international transactions, largely so they could keep greater control over exchange rates, Mr. Zoellick said the renminbi would “evolve into a force in financial markets.”
The World Bank, which is financed by governments around the globe and lends money primarily to poor countries, has no say over the economic policies of large nations or over currency matters.
But Mr. Zoellick’s comments were unusual, in part because he seemed intent on being provocative. He argued that the United States and a handful of other rich nations could no longer dominate the world economy and suggested that America was losing its clout. He also took issue with a central piece of the Obama administration’s proposal regarding the country’s financial regulatory system.
“The greenback’s fortunes will depend heavily on U.S. choices,” Mr. Zoellick said. “Will the United States resolve its debt problems without a resort to inflation? Can America establish long-term discipline over spending and its budget deficit?”
Mr. Zoellick criticized President Obama’s plan to put the Federal Reserve in charge of reducing “systemic risk” and to regulate institutions considered too big to fail. Saying that Congress had become uneasy about the Fed’s exercise of emergency powers to bail out financial institutions and prop up credit markets, Mr. Zoellick argued that the Treasury rather than the Fed should get more power because the Treasury was more accountable to Congress.
“In the United States, it will be difficult to vest the independent and powerful technocrats at the Federal Reserve with more authority,” Mr. Zoellick said, adding that “the Treasury is an executive department, and therefore Congress and the public can more directly oversee how it uses any added authority.”This is What a Police State Looks Like
Last week in Pittsburgh, the Group of 20 discussed, among other things, reforming the IMF (Providing liquidity to dictators and tyrants since 1944!) and resolved itself as the permanent world council for international economic cooperation, which is newspeak for the preservation of international economic oppression.
Whatever objective brings together the most powerful people from the most powerful nations in the world, is not wholesome. They do not have the people’s interests in mind because the their interests are not the people’s. So it is no wonder that a relatively diverse crowd showed up to protest the gathering darkness in Pittsburgh last week, where the Group of 20 met to discuss, among other things, reforming the IMF (Providing liquidity.
The powers that be do not like dissent. In particular, they do not like vocal, public displays of dissent which threaten to reveal their fraud. So thousands of hired guns, bought paid for with the people’s money were brought in to Pittsburgh last week to secure “order” and to silence the people’s voice of opposition.
The protesters, and many of the students at University of Pittsburgh saw firsthand what a police state looks like:
The photo (taken from the video on YouTube) shows a group of heavily armed police officers posing for a group photo with one of their trophies captives. The purpose of staging such a photograph with someone who is “innocent until proven guilty” is psychological warfare. It is meant to intimidate, debase, and to humiliate the opposition. It is the exercise of physical strength and brute force. The motivation is pure malice, the sort of cream which rises to the top of the State’s violence gangs.
Right out loud, the students and protesters learned (if they hadn’t learned already) that the police were not there to protect them. The police arrived in Pittsburgh in their professional capacities as soldiers of fortune, hired guns and goons… After all, four thousand heavily armed and armored men do not storm in to your city and tear gas you for your own safety. They were not there to protect Pittsburgh from the G20, they were there to protect the G20 from Pittsburgh.
h/t: iwitness video
The Real Reasons Behind Fed Secrecy
Last week I was very pleased that the Financial Services Committee held a hearing on the Federal Reserve Transparency Act, HR 1207. The bill has 295 cosponsors and there is also strong support for the companion bill in the Senate. This hearing was a major step forward in getting the bill passed.
I was pleased that the hearing was well-attended, especially considering that it was held on a Friday at nine o’clock in the morning! I have been talking about the immense, unchecked power of the Federal Reserve for many years, while the attention of Congress was always on other things. It was gratifying to see my colleagues asking probing questions and demonstrating genuine concern about this important issue as well.
The witness testifying in favor of HR 1207 made some very strong points, which was no surprise considering the bill is simply common sense. It was also no surprise that the witness testifying against the bill had no good arguments as to why a full audit should not be conducted promptly. He attempted to make the case that the fed is already sufficiently accountable to Congress and that the current auditing policy is adequate. The fact is that the Fed comes to Congress and talks about only what it wants to talk about, and the GAO audits only what the current laws allow to be audited. The really important things however, are off limits. There are no convincing arguments that it is in the best interests of the American people for anything the Fed does to be off limits.
It has been argued that full disclosure of details of funding facilities like TALF and PDCF that enabled massive bailouts of Wall Street would damage the financial position of those firms and destabilize the economy. In other words, if the American people knew how rotten the books were at those banks and how terribly they messed up, they would never willingly invest in them, and they would fail. Failure is not an option for friends of the Fed. Therefore, the funds must be stolen from the people in the dark of night. This is not how a free country works. This is not how free markets work. That is crony corporatism and instead of being a force for economic stabilization, it totally undermines it.
If the Fed gave its actual arguments against a full audit, they would not have mentioned anything about political independence or economic stability. Instead they would admit they don’t want to be audited because they enjoy their current situation too much. Under the guise of currency control, they are able to help out powerful allies on Wall Street, in exchange for lucrative jobs or who-knows-what favors later on. An audit would expose the Fed as a massive fraud perpetrated on this country, enriching a privileged few bankers at the top of our economic food chain, and leaving the rest of us with massively devalued dollars which we are forced to use by law. An audit would make people realize that, while Bernie Madoff defrauded a lot of investors for a lot of money, the Fed has defrauded every one of us by destroying the value of our money. An honest and full accounting of how the money system really works in this country would mean there is not much of a chance the American people would stand for it anymore.
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