DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
Friday, December 12, 2014
CIA chiefs launch vehement attack on Senate torture report
Six former CIA Directors and Deputy Directors have launched a scathing attack on the Senate, accusing it of 'cherry-picking' evidence for a report claiming agents tortured Al Qaeda suspects.
Branding the inquiry 'one-sided and error strewn', the ex-officials argued that the CIA's interrogation program in fact 'saved thousands of lives' by leading to the capture of senior Al Qaeda operatives.
Among the terrorists killed as a direct result of the controversial techniques, the former officials said, was Osama Bin Laden. This claim contradicts earlier statements that suggest 'enhanced interrogation techniques' had no role in tracking down the late Al Qaeda leader.
The rebuttal comes amid growing criticism of the report for downplaying the usefulness of the interrogation program, failing to interview any key CIA personnel, and claiming that the CIA mislead government officials about its actions.
More
Branding the inquiry 'one-sided and error strewn', the ex-officials argued that the CIA's interrogation program in fact 'saved thousands of lives' by leading to the capture of senior Al Qaeda operatives.
Among the terrorists killed as a direct result of the controversial techniques, the former officials said, was Osama Bin Laden. This claim contradicts earlier statements that suggest 'enhanced interrogation techniques' had no role in tracking down the late Al Qaeda leader.
The rebuttal comes amid growing criticism of the report for downplaying the usefulness of the interrogation program, failing to interview any key CIA personnel, and claiming that the CIA mislead government officials about its actions.
More
Omnibus Contains Casino Crony Kickback for Harry Reid and His Las Vegas Donors
The omnibus spending bill from House Speaker John Boehner and Appropriations Committee chairman Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY) contains a blatant handout to the travel—specifically casino—industry, something that benefits outgoing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
On page 217, Title VI of the bill, is the “Travel Promotion, Enhancement and Modernization Act of 2014.” It reauthorizes, extends, and changes the “Travel Promotion Act of 2009”—which, as Breitbart News has previously reported, is a nothing more than a kickback to Reid and his casino pals in Las Vegas.
This omnibus spending bill—which is supposed to be just an Appropriations bill, not dealing with reauthorizations like this—reauthorizes the Travel Promotion Act program for five extra years through 2020. It was supposed to sunset and end in 2015, and probably would have under a Republican-controlled Congress. Yet since Boehner is working to cut this deal with the Democrats in the lame duck post-election session of Congress rather than doing a clean Continuing Resolution (CR) when the new GOP Senate takes over, he included it in this bill.
More
On page 217, Title VI of the bill, is the “Travel Promotion, Enhancement and Modernization Act of 2014.” It reauthorizes, extends, and changes the “Travel Promotion Act of 2009”—which, as Breitbart News has previously reported, is a nothing more than a kickback to Reid and his casino pals in Las Vegas.
This omnibus spending bill—which is supposed to be just an Appropriations bill, not dealing with reauthorizations like this—reauthorizes the Travel Promotion Act program for five extra years through 2020. It was supposed to sunset and end in 2015, and probably would have under a Republican-controlled Congress. Yet since Boehner is working to cut this deal with the Democrats in the lame duck post-election session of Congress rather than doing a clean Continuing Resolution (CR) when the new GOP Senate takes over, he included it in this bill.
More
Memo To Citigroup CEO Michael Corbat: Does Your Crony Capitalist Plunder Know No Shame?
The times are few and far between that I am in agreement with Senator Elizabeth Warren’s brand of Big Government liberalism. But I do applaud her willingness to stand up to the Wall Street lobby machine; her capacity to recognize and call-out the egregious gambling dens that have metastasized there; and her insistence that never again should the hard-pressed taxpayers of America be forced to bailout the crony capitalist plunder that is enabled by the Fed’s free money madness.
But now comes a naked Wall Street raid on the taxpayers that’s beyond the pale; and it would have sailed right through in the dead of night absent Elizabeth Warren’s intrepid opposition. Bravo, Senator!
I am referring to the Citigroup-drafted sneak attack on Washington’s tepid effort to curtail the more egregious gambling habits of some of the big banks. These incorrigible larcenists have been trying to gut the “push out” provisions of Dodd-Frank for more than three years now, yet the latter boils down to a simple and urgently necessary injunction to the banks. Namely, you can’t roll the dice in the “derivatives” gambling halls with taxpayer guaranteed deposits.
In light of the inherent dangers of what even Warren Buffet once called “financial weapons of mass destruction”, it is self-evident that no bank—not even the mighty Citigroup—–should be allowed to bring these incendiary devices within a country-mile of the taxpayer enabled FDIC guarantee program. So what Dodd-Frank does is to say go ahead and swing for the fences, but do it in a holding company subsidiary. If something subsequently goes boom in the night, its on your earnings and bonus—–not the taxpayers’ hard earned bucks.
More
But now comes a naked Wall Street raid on the taxpayers that’s beyond the pale; and it would have sailed right through in the dead of night absent Elizabeth Warren’s intrepid opposition. Bravo, Senator!
I am referring to the Citigroup-drafted sneak attack on Washington’s tepid effort to curtail the more egregious gambling habits of some of the big banks. These incorrigible larcenists have been trying to gut the “push out” provisions of Dodd-Frank for more than three years now, yet the latter boils down to a simple and urgently necessary injunction to the banks. Namely, you can’t roll the dice in the “derivatives” gambling halls with taxpayer guaranteed deposits.
In light of the inherent dangers of what even Warren Buffet once called “financial weapons of mass destruction”, it is self-evident that no bank—not even the mighty Citigroup—–should be allowed to bring these incendiary devices within a country-mile of the taxpayer enabled FDIC guarantee program. So what Dodd-Frank does is to say go ahead and swing for the fences, but do it in a holding company subsidiary. If something subsequently goes boom in the night, its on your earnings and bonus—–not the taxpayers’ hard earned bucks.
More
Anyone That Believes That Collapsing Oil Prices Are Good For The Economy Is Crazy
Are much lower oil prices good news for the U.S. economy? Only if you like collapsing capital expenditures, rising unemployment and a potential financial implosion on Wall Street. Yes, lower gasoline prices are good news for the middle class. I certainly would rather pay two dollars for a gallon of gas than four dollars. But in order to have money to fill up your vehicle you have got to have an income first. And since the last recession, the energy sector has been the number one creator of good jobs in the U.S. economy by far. Barack Obama loves to stand up and take credit for the fact that the employment picture in this country has been improving slightly, but without the energy industry boom, unemployment would be through the roof. And now that the “energy boom” is rapidly becoming an “energy bust”, what will happen to the struggling U.S. economy as we head into 2015?
At the start of this article I mentioned that much lower oil prices would result in “collapsing capital expenditures”.
If you do not know what a “capital expenditure” is, the following is a definition that comes from Investopedia…
“Funds used by a company to acquire or upgrade physical assets such as property, industrial buildings or equipment. This type of outlay is made by companies to maintain or increase the scope of their operations. These expenditures can include everything from repairing a roof to building a brand new factory.”
More
At the start of this article I mentioned that much lower oil prices would result in “collapsing capital expenditures”.
If you do not know what a “capital expenditure” is, the following is a definition that comes from Investopedia…
“Funds used by a company to acquire or upgrade physical assets such as property, industrial buildings or equipment. This type of outlay is made by companies to maintain or increase the scope of their operations. These expenditures can include everything from repairing a roof to building a brand new factory.”
More
‘War Is The Health Of The State': Reflections On The Torture Report
The just-released Senate report on CIA interrogation practices since 9/11contains nothing that would have surprised the journalist and critic Randolph Bourne. Back in 1918, in an essay left unfinished at the time of his death later that year, Bourne had warned that “war is the health of the state.”
And so it is. War thrusts power into the hands of those who covet it. Only the perpetuation of war, whether under the guise of “keeping us safe” or “spreading freedom,” can satisfy the appetite of those for whom the exercise of power is its own reward. Only war will perpetuate their prerogatives and shield them from accountability.
What prompted Bourne’s pungent observation was US intervention into the disastrous European war that began a century ago this summer. In 1917, Congress had acceded to President Woodrow Wilson’s request to enter that stalemated conflict, Wilson promising a world made safe for democracy and vowing to end war itself.
Bourne foresaw something quite different. War turned things upside down, he believed. It loosened the bonds of moral and legal restraint. It gave sanction to the otherwise impermissible. By opting for war, Bourne predicted, the United States would “adopt all the most obnoxious and coercive techniques of the enemy,” rivaling “in intimidation and ferocity of punishment the worst government systems of the age.”
And so it has come to pass, the United States in our own time having indisputably embraced torture as an allowable practice while disregarding the rule of law and trampling underfoot the values to which the chief representatives of the state routinely profess to adhere.
How did this happen? To blame a particular president, a particular administration, or a particular agency simply will not do. The abuses described in the report prepared by the Senate Committee on Intelligence did not come out of nowhere. Rather than new, they merely represent variations on an existing theme.
More
And so it is. War thrusts power into the hands of those who covet it. Only the perpetuation of war, whether under the guise of “keeping us safe” or “spreading freedom,” can satisfy the appetite of those for whom the exercise of power is its own reward. Only war will perpetuate their prerogatives and shield them from accountability.
What prompted Bourne’s pungent observation was US intervention into the disastrous European war that began a century ago this summer. In 1917, Congress had acceded to President Woodrow Wilson’s request to enter that stalemated conflict, Wilson promising a world made safe for democracy and vowing to end war itself.
Bourne foresaw something quite different. War turned things upside down, he believed. It loosened the bonds of moral and legal restraint. It gave sanction to the otherwise impermissible. By opting for war, Bourne predicted, the United States would “adopt all the most obnoxious and coercive techniques of the enemy,” rivaling “in intimidation and ferocity of punishment the worst government systems of the age.”
And so it has come to pass, the United States in our own time having indisputably embraced torture as an allowable practice while disregarding the rule of law and trampling underfoot the values to which the chief representatives of the state routinely profess to adhere.
How did this happen? To blame a particular president, a particular administration, or a particular agency simply will not do. The abuses described in the report prepared by the Senate Committee on Intelligence did not come out of nowhere. Rather than new, they merely represent variations on an existing theme.
More
Leaked document: Ukraine's government to eliminate... everything
As the holiday season approaches you might have mistletoe on your mind for cheery, romantic reasons.
What you might not have known however is that the festive flora and its relatives are all actually parasites.
Unable to photosynthesize to feed itself, mistletoe latches on to a host plant and steals away its nutrients and water.
From the mistletoe’s point of view this may seem like a great idea… for a while.
Depleted of nutrients, the host’s growth is stunted. Branches fall off. And eventually if the mistletoe grows large enough, the entire host plant just dies.
Thus, mistletoe can quite literally eat its own self out of house and home. This isn’t exactly a solid long-term strategy.
Given their behavior it seems that most governments belong to the same genus.
More
What you might not have known however is that the festive flora and its relatives are all actually parasites.
Unable to photosynthesize to feed itself, mistletoe latches on to a host plant and steals away its nutrients and water.
From the mistletoe’s point of view this may seem like a great idea… for a while.
Depleted of nutrients, the host’s growth is stunted. Branches fall off. And eventually if the mistletoe grows large enough, the entire host plant just dies.
Thus, mistletoe can quite literally eat its own self out of house and home. This isn’t exactly a solid long-term strategy.
Given their behavior it seems that most governments belong to the same genus.
More
Incredible! Frackers pretend water is a person!
OK, we all know how criminals claim that rich corporations are people with more rights to pollute than real people have rights to defend themselves.
Now frackers are playing a freakish version of that deadly game. Does an ecosystem -- a watershed -- have more rights to pollute the people of Warren, Pa. than they have rights to protect their own water wells?
Pennsylvania General Energy (PGE), an oil and gas company based in Warren, Pa., filed a lawsuit in federal court claiming the township used an “impermissible exercise of police power” by prohibiting the underground injection of industrial waste from oil and gas fracking within the township....
Grant Township joins over 100 municipalities in Pennsylvania who’ve passed rights-based ordinances. These communities make up the Pennsylvania Community Rights Network (PACRN), whose ultimate goal includes changing the state’s constitution to recognize community rights.
“Until Pennsylvania communities are liberated to protect their health and safety, they will remain the subjects of their corporate-driven legislature,” reads PACRN’s website.
Similar to other municipalities before it, Grant Township’s new Bill of Rights asserts:
“…private corporations engaged in the depositing of waste from oil and gas extraction are wrongly recognized by the federal and state government as having more ‘rights’ than the people who live in our community, and thus, recognition of corporate ‘rights’ is a denial of the rights of the people of Grant Township…”
Does nature really have the same rights as a person? Corporations are considered ‘persons’ under current U.S. law, but not ecosystems. Both ecosystems and corporations ‘contain’ real living people, but it will be up to the courts to decide whether both have equal rights as living entities.
-- From “Pennsylvania Ecosystem Fights Corporation For Rights In Landmark Fracking Lawsuit,” by Melissa Troutman, at this December 10, 2014 Public Herald site:
Power corrupts, and sometimes an innocent man ends up dead
Eric Garner's death and the aftermath of it demonstrate two important lessons about the nature of power.
One lesson: When people have power over others, they are tempted to abuse it.
We don’t know why officer Daniel Pantaleo put Garner in a chokehold, pinned him to the sidewalk, kept the chokehold for 10 seconds and then pressed Garner’s head into the pavement. But here’s one very possible explanation: he did it because he could.
Physically, he could: Pantaleo is muscular, and clearly he had trained in takedowns. He had worked hard to acquire the strength and skills to take down a bigger man. Here was his chance to use that power.
But Garner's death demonstrates this danger of power in more general senses, too.
Police power is always and everywhere vulnerable to abuse — police are given a near-monopoly on the legal use of violence. This is why modern governments place so many restrictions on cops
More
One lesson: When people have power over others, they are tempted to abuse it.
We don’t know why officer Daniel Pantaleo put Garner in a chokehold, pinned him to the sidewalk, kept the chokehold for 10 seconds and then pressed Garner’s head into the pavement. But here’s one very possible explanation: he did it because he could.
Physically, he could: Pantaleo is muscular, and clearly he had trained in takedowns. He had worked hard to acquire the strength and skills to take down a bigger man. Here was his chance to use that power.
But Garner's death demonstrates this danger of power in more general senses, too.
Police power is always and everywhere vulnerable to abuse — police are given a near-monopoly on the legal use of violence. This is why modern governments place so many restrictions on cops
More
What Is Going on in Kentucky? Residents Report "Emergency Alert" Messages and Low-Flying Military Helicopters
On Tuesday, thousands of Kentucky residents received an alarming “Civil Emergency” alert on their cell phones.
The message was sent by the Emergency Operations Center. Spokesman Buddy Rogers said the alert was accidentally sent out “during testing” and was the result of a “computer error followed by a human error.”
Rogers said the message was sent to cell phones via the Federal Communication Commission’s Wireless Emergency Alert system.
From WTVQ.com:
According to the FCC, the Wireless Emergency Alert system is a public safety system that allows customers who own certain wireless phone models and other enabled mobile devices to receive geographically-targeted, text-like messages alerting them of imminent threats to safety in their area.
Paul Joseph Watson of Infowars reported that many residents find the messages – which are meant to warn people of immediate safety threats in their area – invasive.
Here’s Watson reporting on the story:
More
The message was sent by the Emergency Operations Center. Spokesman Buddy Rogers said the alert was accidentally sent out “during testing” and was the result of a “computer error followed by a human error.”
Rogers said the message was sent to cell phones via the Federal Communication Commission’s Wireless Emergency Alert system.
From WTVQ.com:
According to the FCC, the Wireless Emergency Alert system is a public safety system that allows customers who own certain wireless phone models and other enabled mobile devices to receive geographically-targeted, text-like messages alerting them of imminent threats to safety in their area.
Paul Joseph Watson of Infowars reported that many residents find the messages – which are meant to warn people of immediate safety threats in their area – invasive.
Here’s Watson reporting on the story:
More
Lena Dunham’s publisher says her alleged rapist “Barry” wasn’t actually named Barry
As I noted last week, Lena Dunham’s memoir describes her having sex with someone named Barry, whom she labels as Oberlin’s “resident conservative.” Her description seems to leave it somewhat ambiguous as to whether Barry raped her, but it does describe some sexual behavior by Barry that at the very least reflects badly on him; readers have certainly viewed it as rape, and Dunham has elsewhere characterized it as rape. There are two passages in which she describes the incident: one in which it comes across as consensual but unsatisfying, and another one that she begins by saying,
I’m an unreliable narrator…. [I]n another essay in this book I describe a sexual encounter with a mustachioed campus Republican as the upsetting but educational choice of a girl who was new to sex when, in fact, it didn’t feel like a choice at all.
She then goes on to describe the incident in a good deal of detail, and as a Breitbart story by John Nolte notes, there is an easily identifiable Oberlin conservative from that era named Barry; indeed, that Barry has already been identified as the person from Dunham’s book by many people. But the Breitbart story also notes that many other details don’t add up, and that the allegations about Barry may thus be inaccurate.
More
I’m an unreliable narrator…. [I]n another essay in this book I describe a sexual encounter with a mustachioed campus Republican as the upsetting but educational choice of a girl who was new to sex when, in fact, it didn’t feel like a choice at all.
She then goes on to describe the incident in a good deal of detail, and as a Breitbart story by John Nolte notes, there is an easily identifiable Oberlin conservative from that era named Barry; indeed, that Barry has already been identified as the person from Dunham’s book by many people. But the Breitbart story also notes that many other details don’t add up, and that the allegations about Barry may thus be inaccurate.
More
Central Banks' 2% Plan to Impoverish You
The 2% target is low enough that the household frogs in the kettle of hot water never realize they're being boiled alive because the increase is so gradual.
A comment by correspondent David C. suggested the importance of demonstrating the impoverishing consequences of central banks reaching their 2% inflation target. David observed: "That central bankers aren't all hanging by their necks from lamp posts everywhere is a testament to how scarce are those who grasp exponents and compounding."
Anyone with basic Excel skills can calculate the cumulative impoverishment caused by central banks' "modest" 2% annual inflation. Here is my worksheet:
Column 1: year
Column 2: index starting with 100
Column 3: annual inflation sum (2% of previous year's total index)
Column 4: cumulative total index
1 100.00 2.00 102.00
2 102.00 2.04 104.04
3 104.04 2.08 106.12
4 106.12 2.12 108.24
5 108.24 2.16 110.41
6 110.41 2.21 112.62
7 112.62 2.25 114.87
8 114.87 2.30 117.17
9 117.17 2.34 119.51
10 119.51 2.39 121.90
Ten years of modest 2% inflation robs households of nearly 20% of their purchasing power. What was $100 in year 1 costs about $122 after 10 years of "modest" 2% inflation. Put another way, $100 in year one is only worth $81 in year 10.
More
A comment by correspondent David C. suggested the importance of demonstrating the impoverishing consequences of central banks reaching their 2% inflation target. David observed: "That central bankers aren't all hanging by their necks from lamp posts everywhere is a testament to how scarce are those who grasp exponents and compounding."
Anyone with basic Excel skills can calculate the cumulative impoverishment caused by central banks' "modest" 2% annual inflation. Here is my worksheet:
Column 1: year
Column 2: index starting with 100
Column 3: annual inflation sum (2% of previous year's total index)
Column 4: cumulative total index
1 100.00 2.00 102.00
2 102.00 2.04 104.04
3 104.04 2.08 106.12
4 106.12 2.12 108.24
5 108.24 2.16 110.41
6 110.41 2.21 112.62
7 112.62 2.25 114.87
8 114.87 2.30 117.17
9 117.17 2.34 119.51
10 119.51 2.39 121.90
Ten years of modest 2% inflation robs households of nearly 20% of their purchasing power. What was $100 in year 1 costs about $122 after 10 years of "modest" 2% inflation. Put another way, $100 in year one is only worth $81 in year 10.
More
Bratton: Report That Prison Gang Is Targeting Cops Is ‘Overblown’
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton on Sunday downplayed reports that a gang with historical ties to the Black Panther movement may be planning to gun down an on-duty police officer.
According to a report in the Staten Island Advance, a warning was issued to some police that 10 members of the Black Guerrilla Family — a militant group active in the Maryland prison system — has begun preparing to shoot a cop. The report cited an NYPD source.
Also, a letter that appears to include the signature of Ed Mullins, the president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association, has been circulating, saying, according to sources speaking to the Advance: “I have just received information of a credible threat to SHOOT an on duty police officer. It appears this is an organized action…. Please WEAR your VEST and carry your firearm off-duty along with additional magazines.”
The warnings come days after a Staten Island grand jury declined to indict Officer Daniel Pantaleoin the death of Eric Garner, who died shortly after being placed in an apparent chokehold by the cop in July. The grand jury decision has sparked protests nationwide.
More
According to a report in the Staten Island Advance, a warning was issued to some police that 10 members of the Black Guerrilla Family — a militant group active in the Maryland prison system — has begun preparing to shoot a cop. The report cited an NYPD source.
Also, a letter that appears to include the signature of Ed Mullins, the president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association, has been circulating, saying, according to sources speaking to the Advance: “I have just received information of a credible threat to SHOOT an on duty police officer. It appears this is an organized action…. Please WEAR your VEST and carry your firearm off-duty along with additional magazines.”
The warnings come days after a Staten Island grand jury declined to indict Officer Daniel Pantaleoin the death of Eric Garner, who died shortly after being placed in an apparent chokehold by the cop in July. The grand jury decision has sparked protests nationwide.
More
GOP 'Dark Horse' Mike Pence Wooing Conservatives
Key Republican leaders and pollsters quizzed by the Examiner are cooing over Pence’s chance to be the GOP standard bearer. They cheer about his efforts to turn Indiana into a Midwest economic engine, his Reaganesque positive outlook and his leadership as the House Republican Conference chairman in 2010, the year the party took back control of the chamber.
Plus, some say that he will be able to raise millions of dollars because of his deep ties to both social and business conservatives and also because one of his former top aides runs a free-market group funded by the billionaire Koch brothers.
And according to reports from Indianapolis, Pence is moving to shore up support from conservatives and Tea Party members in his new state budget that focuses heavily on school choice, expanding charter schools and even letting students attend private schools with taxpayer support.
More here
Department of Defense Releases Second Quarter Suicide Information
Release No: NR-614-14
Today, the Department of Defense released the quarterly suicide report (QSR) for the second quarter of calendar year 2014.
The report summarizes suicide counts for all services and components during the months of April through June of this year. Counts were down in all components from the first quarter. There were 70 suicides among service members in the active component, 14 suicides among service members in the reserves, and 20 suicides among service members in the National Guard.
The report also shows annual suicide rates and counts for 2012 and 2013.
The QSR is intended to communicate the department's suicide data on a routine basis. A breakdown of second quarter, 2014, suicide counts and resources for service members and their families, who may be facing challenges, can be found here.
Additional information is available on the Suicide Prevention Office website at www.suicideoutreach.org.
Service members or their friends and family seeking support can reach out to the Military Crisis Line, which offers free and confidential support to service members and their family or friends in crisis. The service is staffed by caring, qualified responders from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), many who have served in the military themselves. Support is offered through the crisis line, online chat, and text-messaging services for all service members (active, National Guard and reserve) and veterans 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year by visiting the Military Crisis Line website athttp://veteranscrisisline.net/ActiveDuty.aspx; Online Chat at http://www.veteranscrisisline.net/ChatTermsOfService.aspx; sending a text to: 838255 or calling toll free at: 1-800-273-8255, Press 1
Treasury Department Seeking Survival Kits For Bank Employees
Emergency masks, solar blankets to be delivered to every major bank in the U.S.
The Department of Treasury is seeking to order survival kits for all of its employees who oversee the federal banking system, according to a new solicitation.
The emergency supplies would be for every employee at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), which conducts on-site reviews of banks throughout the country. The survival kit includes everything from water purification tablets to solar blankets.
The government is willing to spend up to $200,000 on the kits, according to the solicitation released on Dec. 4.
The survival kits must come in a fanny-pack or backpack that can fit all of the items, including a 33-piece personal first aid kit with “decongestant tablets,” a variety of bandages, and medicines.
The kits must also include a “reusable solar blanket” 52 by 84 inches long, a 2,400-calorie food bar, “50 water purification tablets,” a “dust mask,” “one-size fits all poncho with hood,” a rechargeable lantern with built-in radio, and an “Air-Aid emergency mask” for protection against airborne viruses.
More here
The Department of Treasury is seeking to order survival kits for all of its employees who oversee the federal banking system, according to a new solicitation.
The emergency supplies would be for every employee at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), which conducts on-site reviews of banks throughout the country. The survival kit includes everything from water purification tablets to solar blankets.
The government is willing to spend up to $200,000 on the kits, according to the solicitation released on Dec. 4.
The survival kits must come in a fanny-pack or backpack that can fit all of the items, including a 33-piece personal first aid kit with “decongestant tablets,” a variety of bandages, and medicines.
The kits must also include a “reusable solar blanket” 52 by 84 inches long, a 2,400-calorie food bar, “50 water purification tablets,” a “dust mask,” “one-size fits all poncho with hood,” a rechargeable lantern with built-in radio, and an “Air-Aid emergency mask” for protection against airborne viruses.
More here
Pew Poll: Majority of Americans Support Gun Rights
For the first time in more than 20 years, more Americans support gun rights than gun control – a shift in attitude that began after the Newtown, Ct., school shootings that killed 20 children Dec. 14, 2012, a new survey finds.
According to the Pew Research Center survey, released Wednesday, 52 percent of Americans say it's more important to protect the right of Americans to own guns, while 46 percent say gun control is more important.
The majority support for gun ownership over gun control is a first in more than two decades of Pew surveys.
Since January 2013, support for gun rights has gone up 7 percentage points, from 45 percent to 52 percent, while support for gun control has dipped 5 percentage points, from 51 percent to 46 percent, the survey found.
Shortly after the Sandy Hook School massacre, 48 percent of Americans said guns do more to protect people from crime and 37 percent said they placed people at risk. The recent poll found 57 percent say guns do more to protect people from being crime victims, while 38 percent say it does more to endanger personal safety, Pew reports.
More
According to the Pew Research Center survey, released Wednesday, 52 percent of Americans say it's more important to protect the right of Americans to own guns, while 46 percent say gun control is more important.
The majority support for gun ownership over gun control is a first in more than two decades of Pew surveys.
Since January 2013, support for gun rights has gone up 7 percentage points, from 45 percent to 52 percent, while support for gun control has dipped 5 percentage points, from 51 percent to 46 percent, the survey found.
Shortly after the Sandy Hook School massacre, 48 percent of Americans said guns do more to protect people from crime and 37 percent said they placed people at risk. The recent poll found 57 percent say guns do more to protect people from being crime victims, while 38 percent say it does more to endanger personal safety, Pew reports.
More
Santa Arrives Tonight
.jpg)
The display will be open
- Friday 6pm til 9pm
- Saturday 6pm til 10pm
- Sunday 6pm til 8pm
All dates and times are weather permitting.
Like us on facebook to keep up to date!! We will post on facebook if we are unable to turn the lights on for any reason.
We are located on Parker Place in Pittsville, Maryland
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)