Politicians share many of the same skills as magicians. They both use psychological misdirection by making big gestures to distract and fixate spectators, while quietly performing their tricks.
A good example of this is the House and Senate agreeing to raise the budgets for the Commodities Futures Trading Commission and Securities & Exchange Commission in exchange for quietly repealing the Lincoln Amendment to the Dodd Frank financial regulation law. The action looks like more money for tougher regulation, but eliminating the Lincoln Amendment means American banks are once again free to use taxpayer money to back-stop their speculative derivative trading.
Involving government with financial institutions and derivatives has a very nasty history in the United States. It has been 20 years since Orange County, California filed for bankruptcy after losing $2.7 billion from derivatives; 16 years since Long Term Capital Management threatened America’s largest banks with $1 trillion in default risks; and 6 years since AIG’s $14.5 billion defaulted margin call on $20 trillion in derivatives almost wiped out the U.S. banking system and forced taxpayers to fund an $85 billion bailout.
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DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
Saturday, December 13, 2014
Cheney: George W. Bush Was Fully Aware Of The CIA Torture Program
Washington (AFP) - President George W Bush was fully aware and an "integral part" of the CIA's torture of terror suspects, his vice-president Dick Cheney said Wednesday.
The long-awaited US Senate report released Tuesday on the program of harsh treatment and torture of detainees said Bush only learned details of it in 2006, four years after it started in the wake of the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington.
Detainees were beaten, waterboarded -- some of them dozens of times -- and humiliated through the painful use of medically unnecessary "rectal feeding" and "rectal rehydration", the report said.
Speaking to Fox News, Cheney denied Bush was kept out of the loop. He said the then-president "was in fact an integral part of the program and he had to approve it."
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The long-awaited US Senate report released Tuesday on the program of harsh treatment and torture of detainees said Bush only learned details of it in 2006, four years after it started in the wake of the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington.
Detainees were beaten, waterboarded -- some of them dozens of times -- and humiliated through the painful use of medically unnecessary "rectal feeding" and "rectal rehydration", the report said.
Speaking to Fox News, Cheney denied Bush was kept out of the loop. He said the then-president "was in fact an integral part of the program and he had to approve it."
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Md. fire house damaged when truck crashes backing in
The incident occurred Thursday at approximately 10 p.m. as the crew was returning to the station, located at 1411 Cape St. Claire Road, according to a news release. The driver and officer in charge made the decision to back in, and as the vehicle was backed on to the ramp, the driver mistakenly believed he had the bay door lined up in his mirrors.
In fact, the driver had two different bay doors in his mirrors and he backed the trucked into the exterior brick column between the two doors.
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Schlafly: Hatred of men gave rise to UVA rape story
'People who make false accusations about a dangerous crime ought to be punished'
Feminists are distraught now that Rolling Stone has retracted the sensational University of Virginia rape story published last month. Many are continuing to defend “Jackie,” the UVA student whose tale of a horrific gang rape was found to contain numerous holes.
Jessica Valenti, columnist for London’s Guardian newspaper, wrote: “I choose to believe Jackie. I lose nothing by doing so, even if I’m later proven wrong.”
Liberal blogger Melissa McEwan tweeted: “I can’t state this more emphatically: If Jackie’s story is partially or wholly untrue, it doesn’t validate the reasons for disbelieving her.”
Conservative icon Phyllis Schlafly believes feminists are so vehemently defending Jackie and her partially discredited allegations because they don’t want to lose out on an anti-male narrative.
“The reason they bought into the story and didn’t have any suspicions about the flakiness of it is antagonism toward men in general,” Schlafly said. “Their cry is they want to abolish the patriarchy, and anything that hurts men is something that pleases the feminists.”
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Feminists are distraught now that Rolling Stone has retracted the sensational University of Virginia rape story published last month. Many are continuing to defend “Jackie,” the UVA student whose tale of a horrific gang rape was found to contain numerous holes.
Jessica Valenti, columnist for London’s Guardian newspaper, wrote: “I choose to believe Jackie. I lose nothing by doing so, even if I’m later proven wrong.”
Liberal blogger Melissa McEwan tweeted: “I can’t state this more emphatically: If Jackie’s story is partially or wholly untrue, it doesn’t validate the reasons for disbelieving her.”
Conservative icon Phyllis Schlafly believes feminists are so vehemently defending Jackie and her partially discredited allegations because they don’t want to lose out on an anti-male narrative.
“The reason they bought into the story and didn’t have any suspicions about the flakiness of it is antagonism toward men in general,” Schlafly said. “Their cry is they want to abolish the patriarchy, and anything that hurts men is something that pleases the feminists.”
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UVA Jackie's 'friends' who were blasted in Rolling Stone claim she was 'fine'
Three students who featured prominently in a now under-question Rolling Stone article about rape at the University of Virginia, have revealed their identities to refute their cold portrayal in the sickening story.
The article sent shockwaves through the university community, after the magazine published a female student's account of being gang-raped by seven men at a UVA fraternity two years ago, leading to the temporary shut down of all Greek life at the Charlottesville campus.
Next to victim 'Jackie's' account of the horrifying assault, one of the most appalling aspects of the story are the apathetic reactions of her three friends 'Randall', 'Andy' and 'Cindy' who she called for help after escaping the frat that night in September 2012.
The trio are now coming forward to refute key aspects of the Rolling Stone article, saying that while they believe Jackie was the victim of a 'traumatic' sexual assault they have found several inaccuracies in the article and are skeptical of the story.
Furthermore, the students say they never discouraged her from reporting the assault, and that they only stopped insisting she contact police when she asked to be taken back to her dorm room.
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The article sent shockwaves through the university community, after the magazine published a female student's account of being gang-raped by seven men at a UVA fraternity two years ago, leading to the temporary shut down of all Greek life at the Charlottesville campus.
Next to victim 'Jackie's' account of the horrifying assault, one of the most appalling aspects of the story are the apathetic reactions of her three friends 'Randall', 'Andy' and 'Cindy' who she called for help after escaping the frat that night in September 2012.
The trio are now coming forward to refute key aspects of the Rolling Stone article, saying that while they believe Jackie was the victim of a 'traumatic' sexual assault they have found several inaccuracies in the article and are skeptical of the story.
Furthermore, the students say they never discouraged her from reporting the assault, and that they only stopped insisting she contact police when she asked to be taken back to her dorm room.
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Sheriff Joe Arpaio wins first court battle in lawsuit over Obama amnesty
A report published last night by World Net Daily says a judge has ruled in favor of Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio in the first battle in what is expected to be a major court fight over the constitutionality of President Obama’s executive amnesty order. Arpaio's lawsuit is now on a fast track for case arguments and hearings.
US District Judge Beryl A. Howell in Washington, DC, granted a motion by Arpaio's attorney, Larry Klayman of FreedomWatch, to allow the case to move along quickly. Howell ordered President Obama to respond to Arpaio’s motion for a preliminary injunction -- to protect the U.S. while the court considers the constitutionality of Obama’s actions -- by Dec. 15. A full preliminary injunction hearing is set for Dec. 22. Two Department of Justice attorneys representing Obama in the case had asked for the deadline for their initial response to be delayed until late January.
"We are very pleased that Judge Howell has ordered an expedited hearing on our motion for preliminary injunction which asks to preserve the status quo and stop the implementation of President Obama’s executive order," Klayman said after the hearing. "The executive order violates the Constitution, as it seeks to circumvent the powers which the Framers delegated to Congress."
Klayman argued during the hearing that Obama’s executive action "thwarts Sheriff Arpaio’s duties and responsibilities as the chief law enforcement officer of Maricopa County, Arizona."
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US District Judge Beryl A. Howell in Washington, DC, granted a motion by Arpaio's attorney, Larry Klayman of FreedomWatch, to allow the case to move along quickly. Howell ordered President Obama to respond to Arpaio’s motion for a preliminary injunction -- to protect the U.S. while the court considers the constitutionality of Obama’s actions -- by Dec. 15. A full preliminary injunction hearing is set for Dec. 22. Two Department of Justice attorneys representing Obama in the case had asked for the deadline for their initial response to be delayed until late January.
"We are very pleased that Judge Howell has ordered an expedited hearing on our motion for preliminary injunction which asks to preserve the status quo and stop the implementation of President Obama’s executive order," Klayman said after the hearing. "The executive order violates the Constitution, as it seeks to circumvent the powers which the Framers delegated to Congress."
Klayman argued during the hearing that Obama’s executive action "thwarts Sheriff Arpaio’s duties and responsibilities as the chief law enforcement officer of Maricopa County, Arizona."
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Buchanan: GOP Leadership Has Same Agenda as Chamber of Commerce
Columnist Pat Buchanan declared "find out what the agenda is of the Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable and you will find out what the agenda is of the leadership of the Republican Party on Capitol Hill" on Wednesday's "Hannity" on the Fox News Channel.
"There are parts of the Republican Party, the corporate conservatives or the corporate Republicans, they want an amnesty...and basically they're throwing the Tea Party folks under the bus" he stated. And "I think that the leadership of the Republican Party in its heart would like to fulminate against this, to keep the folks, say 'we fought the good fight, we tried to stop it.' But in the end, I think the Republican leadership will go into the tank on this one." He later added "find out what the agenda is of the Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable and you will find out what the agenda is of the leadership of the Republican Party on Capitol Hill"
Buchanan was more optimistic on Obamacare, stating "I think there's things they can do on Obamacare that they will try to do because that is an enormous thing, and that frankly you get a lot of corporate conservatives and others want the battle fought there," but that the GOP would not go for full repeal and replace.
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"There are parts of the Republican Party, the corporate conservatives or the corporate Republicans, they want an amnesty...and basically they're throwing the Tea Party folks under the bus" he stated. And "I think that the leadership of the Republican Party in its heart would like to fulminate against this, to keep the folks, say 'we fought the good fight, we tried to stop it.' But in the end, I think the Republican leadership will go into the tank on this one." He later added "find out what the agenda is of the Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable and you will find out what the agenda is of the leadership of the Republican Party on Capitol Hill"
Buchanan was more optimistic on Obamacare, stating "I think there's things they can do on Obamacare that they will try to do because that is an enormous thing, and that frankly you get a lot of corporate conservatives and others want the battle fought there," but that the GOP would not go for full repeal and replace.
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Four young Christians brutally beheaded by ISIS
Four young Christians brutally beheaded by ISIS in Iraq for refusing to convert to Islam, says British Vicar of Baghdad Canon Andrew White
Four young Christians were brutally beheaded by ISIS in Iraq for refusing to convert to Islam, according to a British reverend forced to flee the country.
Canon Andrew White, known as the Vicar of Baghdad, told the horrifying story how of the youths, all under 15, were murdered for standing up to the jihadists.
The vicar of the city’s St George's Church, the only Anglican church in the whole of Iraq, has had to leave the country for Israel amid constant threats on his life by Islamic State.
In a harrowing interview with the Orthodox Christian Network, he said ISIS had killed ‘huge numbers’ of believers in Jesus.
‘Islamic State turned up and said to the children, “you say the words that you will follow Mohammad”’, he said, his voice cracking with emotion.
‘The children, all under 15, four of them, said “no, we love Yesua; we have always loved Yesua; we have always followed Yesua; Yesua has always been with us”.
‘They [ISIS] said, “Say the words.” They [the children] said, “No, we can't”.
‘They chopped all their heads off. How do you respond to that? You just cry.
‘They are my children. That is what we have been going through and that is what we are going through.'
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Four young Christians were brutally beheaded by ISIS in Iraq for refusing to convert to Islam, according to a British reverend forced to flee the country.
Canon Andrew White, known as the Vicar of Baghdad, told the horrifying story how of the youths, all under 15, were murdered for standing up to the jihadists.
The vicar of the city’s St George's Church, the only Anglican church in the whole of Iraq, has had to leave the country for Israel amid constant threats on his life by Islamic State.
In a harrowing interview with the Orthodox Christian Network, he said ISIS had killed ‘huge numbers’ of believers in Jesus.
‘Islamic State turned up and said to the children, “you say the words that you will follow Mohammad”’, he said, his voice cracking with emotion.
‘The children, all under 15, four of them, said “no, we love Yesua; we have always loved Yesua; we have always followed Yesua; Yesua has always been with us”.
‘They [ISIS] said, “Say the words.” They [the children] said, “No, we can't”.
‘They chopped all their heads off. How do you respond to that? You just cry.
‘They are my children. That is what we have been going through and that is what we are going through.'
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Black Police Officer: I’m Called Uncle Tom By Black Community « CBS St. Louis
ST. LOUIS (CBS St. Louis/AP) – Jorge “Jinho” Ferreira feels the tension between being black and carrying a badge every day as a sheriff’s deputy in Alameda County, California.
“I feel like you have to prove yourself on every level,” said Ferreira, 39, who patrols about 30 miles east of San Francisco. “You have to prove yourself to the black community, you have to prove yourself to all of your co-workers, you have to prove yourself to society.”
With the nation roiled by two grand juries’ recent decisions not to indict white police officers in the deaths of unarmed black men, some black officers say that as they enforce the law, they also wonder whether the system they’re sworn to uphold is stacked against black men.
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“I feel like you have to prove yourself on every level,” said Ferreira, 39, who patrols about 30 miles east of San Francisco. “You have to prove yourself to the black community, you have to prove yourself to all of your co-workers, you have to prove yourself to society.”
With the nation roiled by two grand juries’ recent decisions not to indict white police officers in the deaths of unarmed black men, some black officers say that as they enforce the law, they also wonder whether the system they’re sworn to uphold is stacked against black men.
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The CIA Tortured More Than ‘Some Folks’——-And Now The MSM Invites The Perpetrators To Lie, Again
It wasn’t that bad, we’ve been told, over and over again, for more than a decade. “We only waterboarded three people” goes the line American officials have been force-feeding the world for years. “We tortured some folks,” Barack Obama admitted recently, still downplaying war crimes committed in America’s name. But we now know those statements do not even begin to do justice to the horrific activities carried out by the CIA for years – atrocities that now have been exposed by the US Senate’s historic report on the CIA’s torture program, finally released on Tuesday after years of delay.
There are stories in the CIA torture report of “rectal rehydration as a means of behavior control”, threats to murder and “threats to sexually abuse the mother of a detainee” – or cut a mother’s throat. There are details about detainees with broken bones forced to stand for days on end, detainees blindfolded, dragged down hallways while they were beaten. There were even torture sessions that ended in death. The list goes on and on, and on and on.
But beyond all the the depravity, perhaps the most shocking part of this exposed history is the action of US officials who knew these horrors were unfolding – and covered them up.
For years, as the 480-page executive summary of the report documents in meticulous detail, these officials lied to the Senate, the Justice Department, the White House, to the American public and to the world. They prevented CIA officers involved from being disciplined. They investigated and marginalized those who were investigating them. They happily leaked classified information to journalists – much of it false – without worry of consequence.
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There are stories in the CIA torture report of “rectal rehydration as a means of behavior control”, threats to murder and “threats to sexually abuse the mother of a detainee” – or cut a mother’s throat. There are details about detainees with broken bones forced to stand for days on end, detainees blindfolded, dragged down hallways while they were beaten. There were even torture sessions that ended in death. The list goes on and on, and on and on.
But beyond all the the depravity, perhaps the most shocking part of this exposed history is the action of US officials who knew these horrors were unfolding – and covered them up.
For years, as the 480-page executive summary of the report documents in meticulous detail, these officials lied to the Senate, the Justice Department, the White House, to the American public and to the world. They prevented CIA officers involved from being disciplined. They investigated and marginalized those who were investigating them. They happily leaked classified information to journalists – much of it false – without worry of consequence.
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From Republicanism To Tyranny: How Did We Lose Our Rights
If an effort is to be undertaken by Americans in which they are to reclaim their rights under natural law (rights that are being stolen from them every day by the tyrannical fascist American regime), then an understanding of what has transpired to take away those rights must first be achieved. For if one does not know how his rights were taken from him, there is no way he can adequately labor for their return.
The Founding Fathers drafted the Constitution, ostensibly, to create a vehicle to keep a check on government. It was a compact of states, and the document was ratified by the states (see Article VII). It was not ratified by the people in a mass election, but by the states one by one.
The Constitution drafted by the Founders was not intended to form a strong “national” government with heavily centralized power, but as a means to represent a group of states only on matters that concerned them all. The government was given a list of enumerated powers in Article I, Section 8. As James Madison wrote in Federalist No. 14:
In the first place, it is to be remembered, that the general government is not to be charged with the whole power of making and administering laws. Its jurisdiction is limited to certain enumerated objects, which concern all the members of the republic, but which are not to be attained by the separate provisions of any.
In Federalist No. 45 Madison wrote:
The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce; with which last the power of taxation will, for the most part, be connected. The powers reserved to the several states will extend to all the objects which, in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people, and the internal order, improvement and prosperity of the State.
The Constitution was not a document designed to restrain the people or the states, but to place restraints on the federal government the Founders were creating. This is an important distinction. It would not have been ratified if not for the promise of a bill of rights to further check the federal government. That’s because most of the Founders — particularly the Anti-Federalists — feared the Constitution wasn’t strong enough to prevent the Federal government from stealing power from the states.
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The Founding Fathers drafted the Constitution, ostensibly, to create a vehicle to keep a check on government. It was a compact of states, and the document was ratified by the states (see Article VII). It was not ratified by the people in a mass election, but by the states one by one.
The Constitution drafted by the Founders was not intended to form a strong “national” government with heavily centralized power, but as a means to represent a group of states only on matters that concerned them all. The government was given a list of enumerated powers in Article I, Section 8. As James Madison wrote in Federalist No. 14:
In the first place, it is to be remembered, that the general government is not to be charged with the whole power of making and administering laws. Its jurisdiction is limited to certain enumerated objects, which concern all the members of the republic, but which are not to be attained by the separate provisions of any.
In Federalist No. 45 Madison wrote:
The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce; with which last the power of taxation will, for the most part, be connected. The powers reserved to the several states will extend to all the objects which, in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people, and the internal order, improvement and prosperity of the State.
The Constitution was not a document designed to restrain the people or the states, but to place restraints on the federal government the Founders were creating. This is an important distinction. It would not have been ratified if not for the promise of a bill of rights to further check the federal government. That’s because most of the Founders — particularly the Anti-Federalists — feared the Constitution wasn’t strong enough to prevent the Federal government from stealing power from the states.
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Pimping Passports For Chinese Capital: America's Ingenious Ploy To Raise CapEx From China's Oligrachs
A week ago we wrote how Pennsylvania is financing various state infrastructure projects by selling residency to Chinese "investors" for $500K each. As it turns out, the practice of pimping passports for Chinese capex is hardly new or just isolated to Pennsylvania and is, in fact, massively widespread throughout America's insolvent states whose tax collections are far below budget and which are in desperate need of fresh funds toembezzle invest in random boondoggles.
Case in point, New York, where the Biggest real-estate project in a generation, the Hudson Yards, is now officially financed by 1200 Chinese families in search of visas allowing them to live (and park their stolen cash) in the US.
According to the WSJ, "Developer Related Cos. says it has raised roughly $600 million from the families to build the foundation for three skyscrapers at the West Side project, a 17-million-square-foot colossus of office, retail and residential space set to open over the next decade.
To finance the concrete-steel platform, Related tapped a little-known and at times controversial federal visa program known as EB-5, which offers green cards to foreign families who invest at least $500,000 in U.S. projects that create at least 10 jobs per investor.
The amount brought in so far, which privately held Related hasn’t previously disclosed, is a record for the cash-for-visa program.
Related’s success shows how the once-obscure federal program has grown in popularity among developers and foreign investors since the recession.
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Case in point, New York, where the Biggest real-estate project in a generation, the Hudson Yards, is now officially financed by 1200 Chinese families in search of visas allowing them to live (and park their stolen cash) in the US.
According to the WSJ, "Developer Related Cos. says it has raised roughly $600 million from the families to build the foundation for three skyscrapers at the West Side project, a 17-million-square-foot colossus of office, retail and residential space set to open over the next decade.
To finance the concrete-steel platform, Related tapped a little-known and at times controversial federal visa program known as EB-5, which offers green cards to foreign families who invest at least $500,000 in U.S. projects that create at least 10 jobs per investor.
The amount brought in so far, which privately held Related hasn’t previously disclosed, is a record for the cash-for-visa program.
Related’s success shows how the once-obscure federal program has grown in popularity among developers and foreign investors since the recession.
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Poll: Millionaires Want Jeb or Hillary in White House–and Amnesty
CNBC recently polled "500 people with investable assets of $1 million or more, which represents the top 8 percent of American households," and the poll was "evenly split between Democrats, Republicans and Independent." Clinton received 31% of the vote while Bush received 18%.
According to the poll, "immigration reform" was the second most important priority for millionaires—behind corporate tax reform.
Because of their ties to the bipartisan permanent political class, both Bush and Clinton are distrusted by their respective bases while hailed by their respective political establishments.
Source
Poll: 70 percent Want Congress to Keep Probing IRS
Most American voters want Congress to keep investigating the IRS targeting of conservative political groups, according to the latest Fox News poll.
Seventy percent say the IRS investigation should last until “someone is held accountable.” That’s down from a high of 78 percent in June 2013. Only about one in five thinks it is time to "move on" (22 percent).
Call it a “kumbaya” question, as majorities of Democrats (60 percent), independents (75 percent) and Republicans (78 percent) support lawmakers continuing to dig.
The new poll also asked why the White House is refusing to release thousands of pages of documents related to the IRS targeting. By nearly three-to-one people think it’s because the administration wants to keep its role in the scandal secret (63 percent) rather than to keep taxpayer information confidential (22 percent).
Even Democrats are more likely to say the Obama White House is withholding documents to hide its involvement (45 percent) rather than to protect taxpayers (35 percent). Another 20 percent is unsure.
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Seventy percent say the IRS investigation should last until “someone is held accountable.” That’s down from a high of 78 percent in June 2013. Only about one in five thinks it is time to "move on" (22 percent).
Call it a “kumbaya” question, as majorities of Democrats (60 percent), independents (75 percent) and Republicans (78 percent) support lawmakers continuing to dig.
The new poll also asked why the White House is refusing to release thousands of pages of documents related to the IRS targeting. By nearly three-to-one people think it’s because the administration wants to keep its role in the scandal secret (63 percent) rather than to keep taxpayer information confidential (22 percent).
Even Democrats are more likely to say the Obama White House is withholding documents to hide its involvement (45 percent) rather than to protect taxpayers (35 percent). Another 20 percent is unsure.
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Top 9 Chem Trail Health Effects – HAARP Congress Counts On
This winter of discontent, the New England states have been hit with one after another particularly strange snowstorms. The previous 2007-08 winter was also similar. The snow smells full of chemicals, as it comes down uniformly and looks like manufactured snow that is used on ski slopes (i.e., fluffy, packed powder). Sometimes, the falling snow stops abruptly, and does not trail off, as it used to do. It is definitely not the same snow that, for millions of years, used to be provided by Mother Nature, in all her magnificence.
Snow is now provided by the US military, the Pentagon, and commercial planes especially equipped to dump on us highly toxic aerosols, from various altitudes. No doubt, these chemical mixtures are created in some secret US bio-weapons laboratory. With enormous egotistical hubris, the Air Force is already on record as saying that they "want to own the weather by 2025."(1) No longer a Star Trek or Star Wars movie fantasy, some of this is already a reality with the now more than 60 Clandestine Weather Modification programs that assault us daily. Despite this, there is a weather news blackout about Chemtrails. The exception is meteorologist Kevin Martin who reports Chemtrails on his website.
There has been absolutely NO PUBLIC DISCUSSION about Chemtrails! Over the past 10 years, not one public official has replied to the countless concerned citizen phone calls or letters. That's due to these "programs [being] secret because the Federal EPA and State Environmental Quality Agencies need to ‘not know’ about the by-products of the metabolites of biological, illegal, and [extremely] harmful agents are. It is for that reason the projects [have] been declared secret from citizens. It is all illegal under federal and state law."(2) Congress is complicit in this cover-up. So, we are the unwitting guinea pigs in a now global military assault of such magnitude that they are massive war crimes. Federal agencies may deliberately want not to know, but, nevertheless, Chemtrails continue to affect us detrimentally.
According to United States Code, Title 50, Chapter 32, Section 1520a, it is illegal "to use a civilian population for testing of chemical or biological agents." Will Thomas, who also has been writing about Chemtrails for a decade, has a Chemtrail Petition to Congress posted on his website:www.willthomasonline.net/willthomasonline/Chemtrails_Congressional_Petiti.html
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Snow is now provided by the US military, the Pentagon, and commercial planes especially equipped to dump on us highly toxic aerosols, from various altitudes. No doubt, these chemical mixtures are created in some secret US bio-weapons laboratory. With enormous egotistical hubris, the Air Force is already on record as saying that they "want to own the weather by 2025."(1) No longer a Star Trek or Star Wars movie fantasy, some of this is already a reality with the now more than 60 Clandestine Weather Modification programs that assault us daily. Despite this, there is a weather news blackout about Chemtrails. The exception is meteorologist Kevin Martin who reports Chemtrails on his website.
There has been absolutely NO PUBLIC DISCUSSION about Chemtrails! Over the past 10 years, not one public official has replied to the countless concerned citizen phone calls or letters. That's due to these "programs [being] secret because the Federal EPA and State Environmental Quality Agencies need to ‘not know’ about the by-products of the metabolites of biological, illegal, and [extremely] harmful agents are. It is for that reason the projects [have] been declared secret from citizens. It is all illegal under federal and state law."(2) Congress is complicit in this cover-up. So, we are the unwitting guinea pigs in a now global military assault of such magnitude that they are massive war crimes. Federal agencies may deliberately want not to know, but, nevertheless, Chemtrails continue to affect us detrimentally.
According to United States Code, Title 50, Chapter 32, Section 1520a, it is illegal "to use a civilian population for testing of chemical or biological agents." Will Thomas, who also has been writing about Chemtrails for a decade, has a Chemtrail Petition to Congress posted on his website:www.willthomasonline.net/willthomasonline/Chemtrails_Congressional_Petiti.html
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Indiana woman Kay Kise beaten but refuses to give up car to thieves at gunpoint
An Indianapolis grandmother stood up to a bunch of teenage would-be car thieves by refusing to give them the keys to her minivan.
Kay Kise, 67, had just arrived home and was just getting out of her car when three black males approached her.
One of the teens asked her for directions and then pulled a gun on her.
While gathering her belongings, a teenager approached Mrs Kise outside her van.
'He come up to my car and he said, 'Do you know where Hendricks Place is?'' said Mrs Kise.
'I told him it was just two blocks over and continued grabbing my shopping bags. The next thing you know, I turned back around and he had this gun right in my face,' she told WTHR.
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Kay Kise, 67, had just arrived home and was just getting out of her car when three black males approached her.
One of the teens asked her for directions and then pulled a gun on her.
'He come up to my car and he said, 'Do you know where Hendricks Place is?'' said Mrs Kise.
'I told him it was just two blocks over and continued grabbing my shopping bags. The next thing you know, I turned back around and he had this gun right in my face,' she told WTHR.
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Australia Prepares For World War III, Revives Air Warfare Destroyer Programme
The Abbott government revives the $8.5 billion Air Warfare Destroyer Programme, or AWD, to enhance wartime capabilities of the Royal Australian Navy. The government had also announced a three-point plan that will create a sustainable naval shipbuilding industry that supports shipbuilding jobs, Defence said in a statement.
The government's three-point plan includes working with the industry's best to revive the AWD programme, creating a sovereign submarine industry to avoid a submarine capability gap and creating a naval shipbuilding industry around a fleet of future frigates. The three-point plan is the government's way of showing that it is willing to invest for a safer and secureAustralia.
The looming World War III had been widely reported since the annexation of Crimea by Russian President Vladimir Putin In March, with the Western countries imposing sanctions thereafter. Western countries said the annexation was illegal and had since displayed their hard stance against Russia. Russia's military presence had subsequently become alarming, with NATO intercepting Russian jets in unusual frequency.
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The government's three-point plan includes working with the industry's best to revive the AWD programme, creating a sovereign submarine industry to avoid a submarine capability gap and creating a naval shipbuilding industry around a fleet of future frigates. The three-point plan is the government's way of showing that it is willing to invest for a safer and secureAustralia.
The looming World War III had been widely reported since the annexation of Crimea by Russian President Vladimir Putin In March, with the Western countries imposing sanctions thereafter. Western countries said the annexation was illegal and had since displayed their hard stance against Russia. Russia's military presence had subsequently become alarming, with NATO intercepting Russian jets in unusual frequency.
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Armstrong Williams: Blacks 'Allowed Gov't to Become Their Parents'
When it comes to the plight that faces African-Americans across the country, they only have themselves to blame because they have let government play too much of a role in their lives, Armstrong Williams tells Newsmax.
"If you look at any culture, whether it's Jewish, Irish Americans and many American blacks in this country, and if you think about where they come from and their history and you think what they have been able to do in the United States to make it their foot stool," Williams, host of "The Armstrong Williams Show" told Ed Berliner on Newsmax TV Thursday.
"Why? Because while they realized that they were disenfranchised at one time, they did not allow the government to break down their family, to become their role models, to decide how much you're going to eat . . . how many babies you're going to have, and whether the father is going to be in the household next year," he explained.
"If they break away from that government plantation mentality and realize that they need to gain back their self-worth, self-esteem, work ethic and discipline, then the world around them will begin to change," he added.
According to Williams, "it's not an issue of laziness . . . . It's about personal responsibility and accountability. It's about what you want to become in life.
"Do you want to give your life to the government to run or do you want to live it yourself? "
Read more here
"If you look at any culture, whether it's Jewish, Irish Americans and many American blacks in this country, and if you think about where they come from and their history and you think what they have been able to do in the United States to make it their foot stool," Williams, host of "The Armstrong Williams Show" told Ed Berliner on Newsmax TV Thursday.
"Why? Because while they realized that they were disenfranchised at one time, they did not allow the government to break down their family, to become their role models, to decide how much you're going to eat . . . how many babies you're going to have, and whether the father is going to be in the household next year," he explained.
"If they break away from that government plantation mentality and realize that they need to gain back their self-worth, self-esteem, work ethic and discipline, then the world around them will begin to change," he added.
According to Williams, "it's not an issue of laziness . . . . It's about personal responsibility and accountability. It's about what you want to become in life.
"Do you want to give your life to the government to run or do you want to live it yourself? "
Read more here
Confident Biden sets timeline for presidential candidacy
Vice President Biden said Tuesday he’ll make up his mind about whether to run for president “at the end of the spring or early summer.”
"I honest to God haven't made up my mind,” Biden said at a ‘Women Rule’ event hosted by Politico. “I'm confident I'd be in a position to be competitive."
"The one thing that moves me — I think that I have the ability to bring the sides together,” he added.
Biden’s daughter Ashley appeared on stage with him at the event, and called his potential presidential aspirations a “family decision.”
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"I honest to God haven't made up my mind,” Biden said at a ‘Women Rule’ event hosted by Politico. “I'm confident I'd be in a position to be competitive."
"The one thing that moves me — I think that I have the ability to bring the sides together,” he added.
Biden’s daughter Ashley appeared on stage with him at the event, and called his potential presidential aspirations a “family decision.”
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Central Banks Have Failed Because They Can't Push Wages Higher
You can print all the money you want, but it will never boost wages to keep up with prices.
Central banks have been pursuing two goals for the past six years: ignite inflation and an expansion of debt that will supposedly generate "growth." Despite squandering trillions of dollars, yen, yuan and euros, central banks have failed to ignite sustainable inflation or growth.
There's nothing mysterious about their failure: you can't get "good" inflation or growth if wages are stagnant or declining.
The central banks don't bother to distinguish between "good" and "bad" inflation: any and all inflation is considered not only wonderful but essential to propping up the Ponzi scheme of debt-dependent consumption, a dynamic I described in Central Banks Create Deflation, Not Inflation.
"Good" inflation is wages rising faster than prices. When wages rise faster than consumer prices, households have more money to spend on consumption, and it's progressively easier for them to pay down debt and support additional borrowing.
"Bad" inflation is prices rising while wages stagnate. In "bad" inflation, prices keep rising as central bank money-printing devalues the currency, but wages don't rise along with prices. As a result, wages decline in real terms, i.e. purchasing power.
Central banks have been pursuing two goals for the past six years: ignite inflation and an expansion of debt that will supposedly generate "growth." Despite squandering trillions of dollars, yen, yuan and euros, central banks have failed to ignite sustainable inflation or growth.
There's nothing mysterious about their failure: you can't get "good" inflation or growth if wages are stagnant or declining.
The central banks don't bother to distinguish between "good" and "bad" inflation: any and all inflation is considered not only wonderful but essential to propping up the Ponzi scheme of debt-dependent consumption, a dynamic I described in Central Banks Create Deflation, Not Inflation.
"Good" inflation is wages rising faster than prices. When wages rise faster than consumer prices, households have more money to spend on consumption, and it's progressively easier for them to pay down debt and support additional borrowing.
"Bad" inflation is prices rising while wages stagnate. In "bad" inflation, prices keep rising as central bank money-printing devalues the currency, but wages don't rise along with prices. As a result, wages decline in real terms, i.e. purchasing power.
Somebody Is Manipulating the Numbers: ‘In The Realm Of Economics A Change Of This Magnitude Is A Collapse’
A paradigm shift is coming. Judgment Day… is inevitable
According to the U.S. government the American economy grew at an astounding 3.8% last quarter, signaling to many that the recession responsible for wiping out trillions in wealth and millions of jobs over the last six years is finally over.
But is it?
Or have the Gross Domestic Product statistics joined the same Bizarro world within which the fabricated unemployment numbers and historic stock market highs are being used to convince Americans that the recovery is complete and boom times are sure to return?
According to the X22 Report, something just doesn’t seem right.
We’re not seeing many corporations hire here. They are laying off at this point. This is why we are seeing the retail sales completely falling. We have an unemployment rate of 5.8%, but prior years the unemployment rate was higher but we had better sales.
Somebody is manipulating the numbers… and we know who that ‘somebody’ is… it’s the U.S. government and central bankers.
In the real world, where people regularly eat food, we see inflation… and if we really calculate it out we see inflation is around 10%…when we subtract a realistic estimate of inflation, once we get even close to 10%, suddenly a negative 11% on Black Friday becomes negative 20%.
Black Friday shopping in the U.S. this year plummeted by 20% or more.
In the realm of economics a year-over-year change of this magnitude is not a plunge. It is a collapse.
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According to the U.S. government the American economy grew at an astounding 3.8% last quarter, signaling to many that the recession responsible for wiping out trillions in wealth and millions of jobs over the last six years is finally over.
But is it?
Or have the Gross Domestic Product statistics joined the same Bizarro world within which the fabricated unemployment numbers and historic stock market highs are being used to convince Americans that the recovery is complete and boom times are sure to return?
According to the X22 Report, something just doesn’t seem right.
We’re not seeing many corporations hire here. They are laying off at this point. This is why we are seeing the retail sales completely falling. We have an unemployment rate of 5.8%, but prior years the unemployment rate was higher but we had better sales.
Somebody is manipulating the numbers… and we know who that ‘somebody’ is… it’s the U.S. government and central bankers.
In the real world, where people regularly eat food, we see inflation… and if we really calculate it out we see inflation is around 10%…when we subtract a realistic estimate of inflation, once we get even close to 10%, suddenly a negative 11% on Black Friday becomes negative 20%.
Black Friday shopping in the U.S. this year plummeted by 20% or more.
In the realm of economics a year-over-year change of this magnitude is not a plunge. It is a collapse.
More
SFD Calls For Service 12-12-14
- Friday December, 12 2014 @ 21:25Nature: Medical EmergencyCity:Salisbury
- Friday December, 12 2014 @ 20:32 Nature: Citizen AssistAddress: 2710 N Salisbury Blvd Salisbury, MD 21801
- Friday December, 12 2014 @ 17:58 Nature: Automatic AlarmAddress: 1117 E Church St Salisbury, MD 21801
- Friday December, 12 2014 @ 16:17Nature: Medical EmergencyCity:Salisbury
- Friday December, 12 2014 @ 15:59Nature: Medical EmergencyCity:Salisbury
Central Banks Create Deflation, Not Inflation
Financial and risk bubbles don't pop in a vacuum--all the phantom collateral constructed with mal-invested free money for financiers will also implode.
If there's one absolute truism we hear again and again, it's that central banks are desperately trying to create inflation. Perversely, their easy-money policies actually generation the exact opposite: deflation.
I will leave the debate as to what constitutes deflation to my economic betters. My definition of deflation is simple: deflation is any increase in the purchasing power of nominal wages.
By nominal I mean unadjusted: $1 is simply $1. It is not seasonally adjusted or adjusted for inflation/deflation or anything else.
When your paycheck loses purchasing power--that is, it buys fewer goods and services-- that's inflation. When your paycheck gains in purchasing power--it buys more goods and services, even though you didn't get a raise--that's deflation in my terminology.
I find that purchasing power cuts through a lot of economic jargon and data-clutter: how much does your paycheck buy today, compared to last month or last year?
Since the economy is dynamic, purchasing power is constantly increasing or decreasing on a variety of goods and services. This bedevils any attempt to discern systemic inflation/deflation.
The Federal Reserve and other central banks desperately want inflation, even though it destroys the purchasing power of paychecks and savings, for one reason:in a system based on phantom collateral supporting ever-increasing mountains of debt, the Prime Directive of central banks is to make it ever easier to service yesterday's debt.
The only systemic way to make it easier to service existing debt is to inflate the nominal value of money by debasing the currency. The net result of inflated money is a debt of $100 stays $100, but the face value of newly issued money keeps rising.
If there's one absolute truism we hear again and again, it's that central banks are desperately trying to create inflation. Perversely, their easy-money policies actually generation the exact opposite: deflation.
I will leave the debate as to what constitutes deflation to my economic betters. My definition of deflation is simple: deflation is any increase in the purchasing power of nominal wages.
By nominal I mean unadjusted: $1 is simply $1. It is not seasonally adjusted or adjusted for inflation/deflation or anything else.
When your paycheck loses purchasing power--that is, it buys fewer goods and services-- that's inflation. When your paycheck gains in purchasing power--it buys more goods and services, even though you didn't get a raise--that's deflation in my terminology.
I find that purchasing power cuts through a lot of economic jargon and data-clutter: how much does your paycheck buy today, compared to last month or last year?
Since the economy is dynamic, purchasing power is constantly increasing or decreasing on a variety of goods and services. This bedevils any attempt to discern systemic inflation/deflation.
The Federal Reserve and other central banks desperately want inflation, even though it destroys the purchasing power of paychecks and savings, for one reason:in a system based on phantom collateral supporting ever-increasing mountains of debt, the Prime Directive of central banks is to make it ever easier to service yesterday's debt.
The only systemic way to make it easier to service existing debt is to inflate the nominal value of money by debasing the currency. The net result of inflated money is a debt of $100 stays $100, but the face value of newly issued money keeps rising.
Video Captures Exactly Why It Bugs So Many People When Cops Turn Their Lights on Just Before Crossing an Intersection
LANGUAGE WARNING ON VIDEO
We’ve all seen it. We’re waiting at a red light when a police officer waiting there with us decides to throw on his lights and cross through the intersection. Now a video shows exactly why that annoys so many people.
Before going any further, we should note that it’s unclear if the officer in this video actually got a call the moment he approached the intersection, was possibly going to a call without his lights and sirens on so as to not tip off his presence, or was simply using his authority to blow off the red light. But either way, the video still shows exactly what can happen when officers do it for valid or invalid purposes.
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We’ve all seen it. We’re waiting at a red light when a police officer waiting there with us decides to throw on his lights and cross through the intersection. Now a video shows exactly why that annoys so many people.
Before going any further, we should note that it’s unclear if the officer in this video actually got a call the moment he approached the intersection, was possibly going to a call without his lights and sirens on so as to not tip off his presence, or was simply using his authority to blow off the red light. But either way, the video still shows exactly what can happen when officers do it for valid or invalid purposes.
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Volunteers Honored by Wicomico County’s Recreation, Parks & Tourism at Annual Banquet
Salisbury, MD – Each year, community members dedicate over 4,000 hours of time to Wicomico County’s Recreation, Parks and Tourism Department. These volunteers, who are working to make a positive difference in Wicomico County, were honored at the annual Volunteer Appreciation and Sportsmanship Awards Banquet on Tuesday, December 9 at the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center.
Nearly 20 volunteers were nominated this year by their peers. Based on the nominations submitted, the Recreation Commission presented awards to the following recipients.
Award recipients included:
Outstanding Youth Volunteer Award: Trevor Owens
Outstanding Youth Sportsmanship Award: Fallon Harvill
Outstanding Youth Coach Sportsmanship Award: Steve Sidell
Outstanding Community Volunteer Award: Nancy Springer & Jane Sonnier
Environmental Improvement Volunteer Award: “I Love Salisbury” SU SGA
Outstanding Business Booster Award: Schmidt’s Bakery
Outstanding Civic Booster Award: Steve Gustus
Outstanding Citizen Volunteer Award: Ellis Crump
Outstanding Sports Coach Award: Allen Seaton
Outstanding Tourism Volunteer: Rotary Club of Salisbury
Outstanding Recreation Council Volunteer: Krossin’ Lanez Biker Club
Nearly 20 volunteers were nominated this year by their peers. Based on the nominations submitted, the Recreation Commission presented awards to the following recipients.
Award recipients included:
Outstanding Youth Volunteer Award: Trevor Owens
Outstanding Youth Sportsmanship Award: Fallon Harvill
Outstanding Youth Coach Sportsmanship Award: Steve Sidell
Outstanding Community Volunteer Award: Nancy Springer & Jane Sonnier
Environmental Improvement Volunteer Award: “I Love Salisbury” SU SGA
Outstanding Business Booster Award: Schmidt’s Bakery
Outstanding Civic Booster Award: Steve Gustus
Outstanding Citizen Volunteer Award: Ellis Crump
Outstanding Sports Coach Award: Allen Seaton
Outstanding Tourism Volunteer: Rotary Club of Salisbury
Outstanding Recreation Council Volunteer: Krossin’ Lanez Biker Club
Jeb Bush Has a Mitt Romney Problem
Over the last several months, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush has been giving speeches, campaigning for candidates, appearing at public forums, and meeting with wealthy donors, which has led many people to believe that he may soon enter the race to become the next Republican presidential nominee. On Dec. 1, Bush told a gathering of business leaders at the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington that he would make a decision about his political future “in short order.” But Bush’s recent business ventures reveal that he shares a number of liabilities with the last nominee, Mitt Romney, whose career in private equity proved so politically damaging that it sunk his candidacy.
Documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Nov. 27 list Bush as chairman and manager of a new offshore private equity fund, BH Global Aviation, which raised $61 million in September, largely from foreign investors. In November the fund incorporated in the United Kingdom and Wales—a structure, several independent finance lawyers say, that operates like a tax haven by allowing overseas investors to avoid U.S. taxes and regulations.
BH Global Aviation is one of at least three such funds Bush has launched in less than two years through his Coral Gables, Fla., company, Britton Hill Holdings. He’s also chairman of a $26 million fund, BH Logistics, established in April with backing from a Chinese conglomerate, and a $40 million fund involved in shale oil exploration, according to documents filed in June and first reported on by Bloomberg News. His flurry of ventures doesn’t suggest someone preparing to run for president, according to a dozen fund managers, lawyers, and private-placement agents who were apprised of his recent activities by Bloomberg Businessweek. Most private equity funds have a life span of 10 years. While it isn’t impossible that Bush could bail on his investors so soon after taking their money, “that would be unusual,” says Steven Kaplan, a private equity expert at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. One fundraiser for private equity adds that normally you’d be winding down such businesses, rather than expanding them, if you were going to run.
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Documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Nov. 27 list Bush as chairman and manager of a new offshore private equity fund, BH Global Aviation, which raised $61 million in September, largely from foreign investors. In November the fund incorporated in the United Kingdom and Wales—a structure, several independent finance lawyers say, that operates like a tax haven by allowing overseas investors to avoid U.S. taxes and regulations.
BH Global Aviation is one of at least three such funds Bush has launched in less than two years through his Coral Gables, Fla., company, Britton Hill Holdings. He’s also chairman of a $26 million fund, BH Logistics, established in April with backing from a Chinese conglomerate, and a $40 million fund involved in shale oil exploration, according to documents filed in June and first reported on by Bloomberg News. His flurry of ventures doesn’t suggest someone preparing to run for president, according to a dozen fund managers, lawyers, and private-placement agents who were apprised of his recent activities by Bloomberg Businessweek. Most private equity funds have a life span of 10 years. While it isn’t impossible that Bush could bail on his investors so soon after taking their money, “that would be unusual,” says Steven Kaplan, a private equity expert at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. One fundraiser for private equity adds that normally you’d be winding down such businesses, rather than expanding them, if you were going to run.
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Inside the 'traditional' tribal wedding ceremony that still takes place in Kenya
Clad in tribal jewellery and with their hair tied up in braids, some of the women can be seen struggling as they are hauled away, traded by their fathers for 20 goats, three camels, and ten cows.
Many of the girls, who are members of the Pokot tribe, are not aware they have been bargained away until their husbands come to collect them after spending a month in isolation before the ceremony takes place.
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Swiss company offers to turn cremated ashes of loved ones into gems
When a loved one passes, most keep their memory alive with pictures and by visiting burial sites, but some take it one step further, by turning the remains of a family member into a diamond.
Swiss company Algordanza has been turning human cremation ashes into 'memorial diamonds' for a decade.
The unusual keepsakes are made at a temperature between 1,600 and 2,000 degrees, and have a starting price of £2,800.
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Swiss company Algordanza has been turning human cremation ashes into 'memorial diamonds' for a decade.
The unusual keepsakes are made at a temperature between 1,600 and 2,000 degrees, and have a starting price of £2,800.
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Football fan sees spectator sexting in front of her boyfriend
A man named 'Lye' has written about his experiences confronting a stranger at a Detroit Lions football game, after he claims he saw the man's very pregnant girlfriend 'romantically texting' another man throughout the match.
At the end of the game, Lye handed the man a note revealing the alleged adulterous text messages, and later posted a picture of the note and the pair he claimed to be the couple to Facebook.
Those images have since gone viral and are now sparking a heated debate online about whether it's appropriate to wade into a complete stranger's relationship.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.”
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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.”
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‘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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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:
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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:
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Santa Arrives Tonight
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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
SFD Calls For Servie 12-11-14
- Thursday December, 11 2014 @ 21:53Nature: Medical EmergencyCity:Salisbury
- Thursday December, 11 2014 @ 21:16Nature: Medical EmergencyCity:Salisbury
- Thursday December, 11 2014 @ 19:09Nature: Medical EmergencyCity:Salisbury
- Thursday December, 11 2014 @ 18:24Nature: Medical EmergencyCity:Salisbury
- Thursday December, 11 2014 @ 18:12 Nature: Vehicle Accident w/InjuriesAddress: 2410 N Salisbury Blvd Salisbury, MD 21801
Cops Confiscate Guns From Home After False Arrest
Police refuse to return guns despite dropping all charges nearly four months ago
After falsely arresting a concealed carry permit holder nearly four months ago, Bakersfield, Calif., police confiscated all the guns from his home and never returned them, according to a lawsuit filed this week.
The permit holder, former vice principal Kent Williams, was arrested at Tevis Junior High School on Aug. 28 for carrying on campus despite state law exempting concealed carry permit holders.
Police then went to Williams’ home and confiscated his entire collection of firearms.
“If it was you or I, we would call it theft,” Williams’ attorney, Daniel Rodriguez, said after filing the civil lawsuit.
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After falsely arresting a concealed carry permit holder nearly four months ago, Bakersfield, Calif., police confiscated all the guns from his home and never returned them, according to a lawsuit filed this week.
The permit holder, former vice principal Kent Williams, was arrested at Tevis Junior High School on Aug. 28 for carrying on campus despite state law exempting concealed carry permit holders.
Police then went to Williams’ home and confiscated his entire collection of firearms.
“If it was you or I, we would call it theft,” Williams’ attorney, Daniel Rodriguez, said after filing the civil lawsuit.
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Police officer forms special bond with woman in need
DESOTO, Texas (HLNTV) - Dorothy Shepard, a 73-year-old widow, received a helping hand from a DeSoto police officer.
Officer John Holder came to the door of Shepard's home for her wellness check. Shepard lives alone and is recovering from knee and back surgeries.
"She struck me as someone that really needed someone to care and help her out," Holder tells CNN affiliate WFAA.
The officer gave Shepard his cell phone number and told her if she needed anything to call him.
Shepard was surprised by the gesture.
For the past six months, Holder has driven Shepard to and from every doctor's appointment when he's off-duty.
"I know police officers, but I never expected him to be that kind, and to go out of their way," says Shepard.
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Officer John Holder came to the door of Shepard's home for her wellness check. Shepard lives alone and is recovering from knee and back surgeries.
"She struck me as someone that really needed someone to care and help her out," Holder tells CNN affiliate WFAA.
The officer gave Shepard his cell phone number and told her if she needed anything to call him.
Shepard was surprised by the gesture.
For the past six months, Holder has driven Shepard to and from every doctor's appointment when he's off-duty.
"I know police officers, but I never expected him to be that kind, and to go out of their way," says Shepard.
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Inmate gets two more years for 'bang, bang' remark
Two words uttered after he was sentenced in another case earlier this year in Washington County Circuit Court resulted in two more years of incarceration for state prison inmate Devon Naeem Davis on Thursday.
Davis, 24, formerly of Hagerstown, pleaded guilty to retaliation against a witness for reporting a crime for saying "bang, bang" to the mother of the victim as he was being led from the courtroom on May 15.
On that day, Davis was sentenced by Circuit Judge Dana Moylan Wright to four years in prison on charges of indecent exposure and second-degree assault. More than a year earlier, he had pleaded guilty to the charges for offenses that had occurred in early 2012.
The victim, a preteen girl, told investigators that Davis had molested her while she was living with her mother in a motel, according to the charging documents in that case.
After the sentencing hearing finished, Davis looked at the mother of the victim and mumbled something that the woman was unable to understand, Assistant State's Attorney Leon Debes told Circuit Judge Viki M. Pauler. While staring directly at her, Davis then said in a loud voice, "bang, bang," Debes told the judge.
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Davis, 24, formerly of Hagerstown, pleaded guilty to retaliation against a witness for reporting a crime for saying "bang, bang" to the mother of the victim as he was being led from the courtroom on May 15.
On that day, Davis was sentenced by Circuit Judge Dana Moylan Wright to four years in prison on charges of indecent exposure and second-degree assault. More than a year earlier, he had pleaded guilty to the charges for offenses that had occurred in early 2012.
The victim, a preteen girl, told investigators that Davis had molested her while she was living with her mother in a motel, according to the charging documents in that case.
After the sentencing hearing finished, Davis looked at the mother of the victim and mumbled something that the woman was unable to understand, Assistant State's Attorney Leon Debes told Circuit Judge Viki M. Pauler. While staring directly at her, Davis then said in a loud voice, "bang, bang," Debes told the judge.
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Conservative Groups Oppose $1 Trillion Spending Deal In Congress
Outside conservative groups that routinely clash with the Republican leadership are making it clear they oppose the $1 trillion end-of-the-year spending package being debated in Congress this week.
The details of the massive spending bill were finally released late Tuesday, and Congress is expected to vote on it Thursday.
Opposing the legislation, some conservatives are pointing to the riders included in the bill, which they say amount to handouts to special interests.
“Christmas has come early for the big spenders in Congress who have been experiencing long-term withdrawal from the earmark ban,” Club for Growth VP of government affairs Andy Roth told lawmakers in a memo. “This 1,603-page bill provides a ‘fix’ for these jonesing politicians who carry water for their special interest buddies.”
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The details of the massive spending bill were finally released late Tuesday, and Congress is expected to vote on it Thursday.
Opposing the legislation, some conservatives are pointing to the riders included in the bill, which they say amount to handouts to special interests.
“Christmas has come early for the big spenders in Congress who have been experiencing long-term withdrawal from the earmark ban,” Club for Growth VP of government affairs Andy Roth told lawmakers in a memo. “This 1,603-page bill provides a ‘fix’ for these jonesing politicians who carry water for their special interest buddies.”
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Congress Passes Bill Which Grants “Unlimited Access to Communications of Every American”
Amash labels legislation "most egregious I've encountered"
According to Congressman Justin Amash, Congress just passed a bill which grants the government and law enforcement “unlimited access to the communications of every American”.
When the Michigan lawmaker discovered that the Intelligence Authorization Act for FY 2015 had been amended with a provision that authorizes “the acquisition, retention, and dissemination” of all communications data from U.S. citizens, he desperately attempted to organize a roll call vote on the bill.
However, the legislation was passed yesterday 325-100 via a voice vote, a green light for what Amash describes as “one of the most egregious sections of law I’ve encountered during my time as a representative”.
The bill allows the private communications of Americans to be scooped up without a court order and then transferred to law enforcement for criminal investigations.
The legislation effectively codifies and legalizes mass warrantless NSA surveillance on the American people, with barely a whimper of debate.
Read the full text of Congressman Amash’s letter below, which was sent out before the bill was passed.
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According to Congressman Justin Amash, Congress just passed a bill which grants the government and law enforcement “unlimited access to the communications of every American”.
When the Michigan lawmaker discovered that the Intelligence Authorization Act for FY 2015 had been amended with a provision that authorizes “the acquisition, retention, and dissemination” of all communications data from U.S. citizens, he desperately attempted to organize a roll call vote on the bill.
However, the legislation was passed yesterday 325-100 via a voice vote, a green light for what Amash describes as “one of the most egregious sections of law I’ve encountered during my time as a representative”.
The bill allows the private communications of Americans to be scooped up without a court order and then transferred to law enforcement for criminal investigations.
The legislation effectively codifies and legalizes mass warrantless NSA surveillance on the American people, with barely a whimper of debate.
Read the full text of Congressman Amash’s letter below, which was sent out before the bill was passed.
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Police catches mom shoplifting eggs ... and then buys them for her
When it comes to cop of the year, William Stacy has a pretty decent shot.
The officer from Tarrant, Alabama, was called to the local Dollar General store on Saturday for a shoplifting incident.
However upon arriving, he quickly switched from policeman to nice guy.
The woman being held at the shop had been caught stealing one dozen eggs.
Stacy knew the woman, having been called to her house once before.
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The officer from Tarrant, Alabama, was called to the local Dollar General store on Saturday for a shoplifting incident.
However upon arriving, he quickly switched from policeman to nice guy.
The woman being held at the shop had been caught stealing one dozen eggs.
Stacy knew the woman, having been called to her house once before.
More
Unarmed White Teen Gunned Down by Black Cop... Where's the Outrage?
Recently an 18-year-old University of South Alabama student, Gil Collar, was shot and killed by a campus police officer.
At the time of the shooting, the student was under the influence of LSD and exhibiting erratic behavior around the campus police station.
A two-minute video of the incident was played for the media by the Mobile County sheriff’s department.
A security camera mounted on the campus police station at the university and recorded most of the entire incident including the shooting. (H/T ReadyChimp)
Collar was seen acting “aggressively” in the short video, first walking up to the campus police station, pounding on the window and then walking away from it. He then walked back up to the station and again retreated.
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At the time of the shooting, the student was under the influence of LSD and exhibiting erratic behavior around the campus police station.
A two-minute video of the incident was played for the media by the Mobile County sheriff’s department.
A security camera mounted on the campus police station at the university and recorded most of the entire incident including the shooting. (H/T ReadyChimp)
Collar was seen acting “aggressively” in the short video, first walking up to the campus police station, pounding on the window and then walking away from it. He then walked back up to the station and again retreated.
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Woman Claims Police Brutality, Files $7M Lawsuit Against Officers
She tells reporters she was driving home last March when she saw a handcuffed man on the ground. She then began recording with her cellphone.
In the video, several officers can be heard yelling at Mwamba to park. But she says police were blocking her. Soon after Mwamba can be heard yelling, "Why would you do that?" ''He's burning me," and "What did I do?"
A man is then heard calling Mwamba a derogatory name and saying she tried to run over an officer.
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UC Study: Minimum Wage Hike of 2007-09 Cost 1.4M Jobs
University of California San Diego economic researchers discovered that the federal minimum wage increase from $5.15 to $7.25 per hour between 2007 and 2009 actually cost the economy 1.4 million jobs, Breitbart News reports.
Even worse, the increase's negative effect landed squarely on the people it was designed to help — low-paid, unskilled workers, who found themselves blocked out of low-paid or internship positions that would give them a shot at gaining experience and achieving higher-paid jobs, the study notes.
Breitbart noted that the Service Employees International Union has protested nationally, seeking an increase in the minimum wage, and Obama favors a 40 percent increase in the federal minimum wage to $10 per hour.
"The new research should give well-intentioned legislators pause before entertaining bills that would ultimately hurt low-skilled workers," Breitbart said.
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Hannity Rips 'Cowardly' Boehner For Being 'Everything That's Wrong With Washington'
Fox News host Sean Hannity is fuming mad over House Speaker John Boehner's (R-Ohio) support for the wide-ranging budget bill that is set to keep the government open and that narrowly passed the House late Thursday night.
"This measure did not sit well with a number of conservatives, including me," Hannity said on his program soon after the vote.
The $1.1 trillion bill was full of measures that both left-leaning and right-leaning members found objectionable. Liberals assailed the law for rolling back some environmental and banking regulations, while many conservatives were against it for not doing enough to oppose President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law and recent executive action on immigration.
"$2.5 billion for illegal immigrants and Obamacare is funded through the fiscal year, that's a conservative speaker? I don't think so," Hannity said, pointing to the Republican landslide in the 2014 midterm elections. "It's a sad day that John Boehner doesn't realize that there was an election. The people have spoken ... John Boehner has disrespected all the people who voted for all those Republicans tonight."
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"This measure did not sit well with a number of conservatives, including me," Hannity said on his program soon after the vote.
The $1.1 trillion bill was full of measures that both left-leaning and right-leaning members found objectionable. Liberals assailed the law for rolling back some environmental and banking regulations, while many conservatives were against it for not doing enough to oppose President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law and recent executive action on immigration.
"$2.5 billion for illegal immigrants and Obamacare is funded through the fiscal year, that's a conservative speaker? I don't think so," Hannity said, pointing to the Republican landslide in the 2014 midterm elections. "It's a sad day that John Boehner doesn't realize that there was an election. The people have spoken ... John Boehner has disrespected all the people who voted for all those Republicans tonight."
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