Jan. 27, 2013
Source: Capitalist Preservation
Saturday, January 26, 2013
America Under Seige by Tyrants: NLRB: We will continue to act despite the Appeals Court decision
Jan. 26, 2013
Mark Gaston Pearce, chairman of the National Labor Relations Board, issued the following statement in reaction to today’s DC Appeals Court decision that President Obama use of recess appointments to install three people on the NLRB last year was unconstitutional. The action renders the board without a quorum to act and potentially invalidates a year’s worth of actions and rulings by it. Pearce indicated that the NLRB will attempt to continue on regardless:
The Board respectfully disagrees with today’s decision and believes that the President’s position in the matter will ultimately be upheld. It should be noted that this order applies to only one specific case, Noel Canning, and that similar questions have been raised in more than a dozen cases pending in other courts of appeals.
In the meantime, the Board has important work to do. The parties who come to us seek and expect careful consideration and resolution of their cases, and for that reason, we will continue to perform our statutory duties and issue decisions.
Pearce, in short, is indicating that the NLRB’s strategy is to act as if the court’s ruling that the appointments were unconstitutional somehow only applies only to the particular case that went before the Appeals Court and hope that the White House can get the Supreme Court to quickly review the case.
It’s a pretty brazen strategy, but consistent with a broader administration strategy to simply ignore the court’s ruling.
source: Washington Examiner
Mark Gaston Pearce, chairman of the National Labor Relations Board, issued the following statement in reaction to today’s DC Appeals Court decision that President Obama use of recess appointments to install three people on the NLRB last year was unconstitutional. The action renders the board without a quorum to act and potentially invalidates a year’s worth of actions and rulings by it. Pearce indicated that the NLRB will attempt to continue on regardless:
The Board respectfully disagrees with today’s decision and believes that the President’s position in the matter will ultimately be upheld. It should be noted that this order applies to only one specific case, Noel Canning, and that similar questions have been raised in more than a dozen cases pending in other courts of appeals.
In the meantime, the Board has important work to do. The parties who come to us seek and expect careful consideration and resolution of their cases, and for that reason, we will continue to perform our statutory duties and issue decisions.
Pearce, in short, is indicating that the NLRB’s strategy is to act as if the court’s ruling that the appointments were unconstitutional somehow only applies only to the particular case that went before the Appeals Court and hope that the White House can get the Supreme Court to quickly review the case.
It’s a pretty brazen strategy, but consistent with a broader administration strategy to simply ignore the court’s ruling.
source: Washington Examiner
Illinois Citizens Still Being Arrested For Filming Cops Despite Court Ruling Which Blocked Unconstitutional Law
Jan. 26, 2013
Naperville woman arrested on eavesdropping charges for recording forced installation of ‘smart meter’
Illinois citizens are still being arrested for recording police officers despite a 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling last year that blocked the enforcement of the law on the grounds that it was unconstitutional.
Following yesterday’s story concerning residents of Naperville who attempted to resist utility workers invading their private property to install so-called ‘smart meters’ – which have been linked with health issues – it emerged that one of the refusniks, Malia “Kim” Bendis, was arrested on attempted eavesdropping charges for recording police officers during the incident.
The irony of citizens being arrested for supposedly “eavesdropping” on cops in public where there is no expectation of privacy, while simultaneously the government forcibly installs devices on people’s property that really do eavesdrop on them in total violation of the 4th amendment, is staggering. Remember – this is a state that threatens to send people to prison for life for recording police officers.
Bendis filmed her friend’s confrontation with city workers and police but at no time attempted to interfere in their actions. The video clip shows an officer asking Bendis not to film him, an order with which she immediately complies.
However, the Chicago Tribune reports that Bendis was arrested and “Charged with two misdemeanors — attempted eavesdropping and resisting a peace officer.”
The state of Illinois is still directing its police officers to enforce a law that has repeatedly been found unconstitutional.
As the PINAC blog notes, “Bendis was charged with misdemeanor eavesdropping which indicates they may have kept the law intact but reduced it to a misdemeanor from a felony. Or more likely means the newspaper wasn’t very clear in their reporting,” adding that the Illinois legislature introduced a “technical change” to the law a day before the incident, but that no one seems to be aware of what exactly the change is.
In May 2012, the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the enforcement of a law that made it a felony to film police officers in the state of Illinois. This followed a case involving Illinois resident Michael Allison – who at one point was facing life in jail for recording cops.
“The Illinois eavesdropping statute restricts far more speech than necessary to protect legitimate privacy interests; as applied to the facts alleged here, it likely violates the First Amendment’s free speech and free-press guarantees,” wrote Judge Diane Sykes.
Furthermore, when Cook County State Attorney Anita Alvarez appealed the ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman re-affirmed it. In states all across the country, Americans arrested for filming police officers in public have won their cases. In August 2011, the First Circuit Court of Appeals also ruled that it is not illegal for citizens to videotape police officers when they are on public duty.
Eavesdropping charges against Illinois resident Tiawanda Moore for recording patrol officers were dropped in August 2011, after a “Criminal Court jury quickly repudiated the prosecution’s case, taking less than an hour to acquit Moore on both eavesdropping counts.”
Despite numerous different courts not only in Illinois but across the United States continually ruling that it is not illegal to record police officers in public, Americans continue to be arrested for doing so.
This sets a dangerous new precedent in America’s decline towards an authoritarian state, where laws that have clearly been blocked as unconstitutional are being enforced illegally on a whim for the convenience of police officers to abuse the rights of citizens without their actions being documented.
Source: Paul Joseph Watson
Naperville woman arrested on eavesdropping charges for recording forced installation of ‘smart meter’
Illinois citizens are still being arrested for recording police officers despite a 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling last year that blocked the enforcement of the law on the grounds that it was unconstitutional.
Following yesterday’s story concerning residents of Naperville who attempted to resist utility workers invading their private property to install so-called ‘smart meters’ – which have been linked with health issues – it emerged that one of the refusniks, Malia “Kim” Bendis, was arrested on attempted eavesdropping charges for recording police officers during the incident.
The irony of citizens being arrested for supposedly “eavesdropping” on cops in public where there is no expectation of privacy, while simultaneously the government forcibly installs devices on people’s property that really do eavesdrop on them in total violation of the 4th amendment, is staggering. Remember – this is a state that threatens to send people to prison for life for recording police officers.
Bendis filmed her friend’s confrontation with city workers and police but at no time attempted to interfere in their actions. The video clip shows an officer asking Bendis not to film him, an order with which she immediately complies.
However, the Chicago Tribune reports that Bendis was arrested and “Charged with two misdemeanors — attempted eavesdropping and resisting a peace officer.”
The state of Illinois is still directing its police officers to enforce a law that has repeatedly been found unconstitutional.
As the PINAC blog notes, “Bendis was charged with misdemeanor eavesdropping which indicates they may have kept the law intact but reduced it to a misdemeanor from a felony. Or more likely means the newspaper wasn’t very clear in their reporting,” adding that the Illinois legislature introduced a “technical change” to the law a day before the incident, but that no one seems to be aware of what exactly the change is.
In May 2012, the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the enforcement of a law that made it a felony to film police officers in the state of Illinois. This followed a case involving Illinois resident Michael Allison – who at one point was facing life in jail for recording cops.
“The Illinois eavesdropping statute restricts far more speech than necessary to protect legitimate privacy interests; as applied to the facts alleged here, it likely violates the First Amendment’s free speech and free-press guarantees,” wrote Judge Diane Sykes.
Furthermore, when Cook County State Attorney Anita Alvarez appealed the ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman re-affirmed it. In states all across the country, Americans arrested for filming police officers in public have won their cases. In August 2011, the First Circuit Court of Appeals also ruled that it is not illegal for citizens to videotape police officers when they are on public duty.
Eavesdropping charges against Illinois resident Tiawanda Moore for recording patrol officers were dropped in August 2011, after a “Criminal Court jury quickly repudiated the prosecution’s case, taking less than an hour to acquit Moore on both eavesdropping counts.”
Despite numerous different courts not only in Illinois but across the United States continually ruling that it is not illegal to record police officers in public, Americans continue to be arrested for doing so.
This sets a dangerous new precedent in America’s decline towards an authoritarian state, where laws that have clearly been blocked as unconstitutional are being enforced illegally on a whim for the convenience of police officers to abuse the rights of citizens without their actions being documented.
Source: Paul Joseph Watson
Flashback: Sheriffs Bushwhacked
Jan. 26, 2013
• Delaware attorney general strips county sheriffs of arrest powers
Sheriff Jeff Christopher of Sussex County, Delaware, when he was elected to the office in 2010, thought he was handpicked by the people to represent them as the highest-ranking law officer in the county. Instead, he has found himself in the middle of a fight for the future of American law enforcement as a result of a nationwide effort to abolish the sheriff’s office altogether.
It is one more example of federal and state governments ignoring the will of the people as well state laws. In the case of Delaware, the state’s own constitution stipulates that the office of the sheriff is a constitutionally created position just like the secretary of state and the attorney general. Delaware’s Constitution states: “The sheriffs shall be conservators of the peace within the counties . . . in which they reside.”
This time it is Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, son of Vice President Joe Biden, sending out mandates to commissioners informing them that their sheriffs no longer have arrest powers. In an opinion released February 24, State Solicitor L.W. Lewis said that neither the state nor the common law grants arrest powers to the county sheriffs.
It would appear that Lewis is a little confused. The office of sheriff was created more than a century before the official founding of the United States. Delaware’s first sheriff took office in 1669.
Christopher tells AMERICAN FREE PRESS that the two administrations prior to his—as far back as 2000—began to notice a reduction in funding and the chipping away of powers of the office in general.
“Now my deputies and I have been relieved of all arrest powers and can’t even make a traffic stop,” he said. “Delaware has only three counties. . . The other two sheriffs . . . will not stand up with me” to prevent the elimination of county law enforcement, he said.
During an interview at the Las Vegas Sheriffs Conference in January, Christopher told AFP that the impotence of his office was brought home to him when he was hit in the eye and kicked by County Councilman Vance Phillips but was unable to arrest him.
Beau Biden’s questionable ruling against the longtime tradition of the sheriff being the highest ranking law enforcement officer in the county because of election by the people means the state’s usurpation of the office appears to be a forthcoming fact.
County spokesman Chip Guy announced, “The opinion from the attorney general’s office reinforces what has long been the position of the county [that] Delaware sheriffs and their deputies do not have arrest powers and are not in the same vein as state police or municipal officers.”
American Free Press
Sheriff Jeff Christopher of Sussex County, Delaware, when he was elected to the office in 2010, thought he was handpicked by the people to represent them as the highest-ranking law officer in the county. Instead, he has found himself in the middle of a fight for the future of American law enforcement as a result of a nationwide effort to abolish the sheriff’s office altogether.
It is one more example of federal and state governments ignoring the will of the people as well state laws. In the case of Delaware, the state’s own constitution stipulates that the office of the sheriff is a constitutionally created position just like the secretary of state and the attorney general. Delaware’s Constitution states: “The sheriffs shall be conservators of the peace within the counties . . . in which they reside.”
This time it is Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, son of Vice President Joe Biden, sending out mandates to commissioners informing them that their sheriffs no longer have arrest powers. In an opinion released February 24, State Solicitor L.W. Lewis said that neither the state nor the common law grants arrest powers to the county sheriffs.
It would appear that Lewis is a little confused. The office of sheriff was created more than a century before the official founding of the United States. Delaware’s first sheriff took office in 1669.
Christopher tells AMERICAN FREE PRESS that the two administrations prior to his—as far back as 2000—began to notice a reduction in funding and the chipping away of powers of the office in general.
“Now my deputies and I have been relieved of all arrest powers and can’t even make a traffic stop,” he said. “Delaware has only three counties. . . The other two sheriffs . . . will not stand up with me” to prevent the elimination of county law enforcement, he said.
During an interview at the Las Vegas Sheriffs Conference in January, Christopher told AFP that the impotence of his office was brought home to him when he was hit in the eye and kicked by County Councilman Vance Phillips but was unable to arrest him.
Beau Biden’s questionable ruling against the longtime tradition of the sheriff being the highest ranking law enforcement officer in the county because of election by the people means the state’s usurpation of the office appears to be a forthcoming fact.
County spokesman Chip Guy announced, “The opinion from the attorney general’s office reinforces what has long been the position of the county [that] Delaware sheriffs and their deputies do not have arrest powers and are not in the same vein as state police or municipal officers.”
American Free Press
Holder begins gun-control push
Jan. 26, 2013
The Justice Department is taking the first steps toward carrying out President Obama’s executive actions on gun control.
(The Hill) - Attorney General Eric Holder on Friday released three proposals to strengthen the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), which was one of the 23 actions ordered by Obama last week to tackle gun violence.
The proposed regulations would give local law-enforcement agencies access to the gun-sale database that is maintained by the FBI. The rules would also preserve records of denied weapons sales indefinitely.
The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act already requires federal background checks for gun purchases, but not every firearm sale is covered under the law.
Currently, law enforcement agencies cannot perform a NICS check when transferring, returning or selling weapons that have been confiscated, seized or recovered. The new rules would change that, allowing officials to perform a background check on people who receive those weapons to ensure that they are permitted to own a gun.
Obama ordered the rule change in a Jan. 16 memo that called for “rulemaking to give law enforcement the ability to run a full background check on an individual before returning a seized gun."
Holder is also proposing that the NICS hold on to records of denied weapon sales that are more than 10 years old. When the NICS was established, the Justice Department ordered that the records be moved to a storage facility after 10 years, which Holder says is no longer necessary.
"The FBI has therefore determined that for NICS’ own internal business operations, litigation and prosecution purposes, and proper administration of the system, NICS shall retain denied transaction records on site," Holder wrote in a notice to be published in Monday's Federal Register. "The retention of denied transaction information ... will enhance the efficiency and operational capability of the NICS."
The proposed rules would also give Native American tribes access to NICS. Currently, only federal, state, or local agencies can perform the checks, which leaves out “domestic dependent nations” recognized by the United States.
The Justice Department isn’t the only part of the administration that has been asked to take action in response to last month’s school shooting in Newtown, Conn. The president has also ordered the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Education and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to get involved.
One of Obama’s directives was to ensure coverage of mental health treatment in Medicaid and under the healthcare reform law. He also ordered increased training of school staff to help them recognize signs of mental illness.
The CDC, meanwhile, was directed to study the causes of gun violence. The president urged Congress to approve $10 million for the agency to examine whether there are links between shooting sprees and violent entertainment.
Comments on the Justice Department proposals are due by March 28.
The Justice Department is taking the first steps toward carrying out President Obama’s executive actions on gun control.
(The Hill) - Attorney General Eric Holder on Friday released three proposals to strengthen the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), which was one of the 23 actions ordered by Obama last week to tackle gun violence.
The proposed regulations would give local law-enforcement agencies access to the gun-sale database that is maintained by the FBI. The rules would also preserve records of denied weapons sales indefinitely.
The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act already requires federal background checks for gun purchases, but not every firearm sale is covered under the law.
Currently, law enforcement agencies cannot perform a NICS check when transferring, returning or selling weapons that have been confiscated, seized or recovered. The new rules would change that, allowing officials to perform a background check on people who receive those weapons to ensure that they are permitted to own a gun.
Obama ordered the rule change in a Jan. 16 memo that called for “rulemaking to give law enforcement the ability to run a full background check on an individual before returning a seized gun."
Holder is also proposing that the NICS hold on to records of denied weapon sales that are more than 10 years old. When the NICS was established, the Justice Department ordered that the records be moved to a storage facility after 10 years, which Holder says is no longer necessary.
"The FBI has therefore determined that for NICS’ own internal business operations, litigation and prosecution purposes, and proper administration of the system, NICS shall retain denied transaction records on site," Holder wrote in a notice to be published in Monday's Federal Register. "The retention of denied transaction information ... will enhance the efficiency and operational capability of the NICS."
The proposed rules would also give Native American tribes access to NICS. Currently, only federal, state, or local agencies can perform the checks, which leaves out “domestic dependent nations” recognized by the United States.
The Justice Department isn’t the only part of the administration that has been asked to take action in response to last month’s school shooting in Newtown, Conn. The president has also ordered the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Education and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to get involved.
One of Obama’s directives was to ensure coverage of mental health treatment in Medicaid and under the healthcare reform law. He also ordered increased training of school staff to help them recognize signs of mental illness.
The CDC, meanwhile, was directed to study the causes of gun violence. The president urged Congress to approve $10 million for the agency to examine whether there are links between shooting sprees and violent entertainment.
Comments on the Justice Department proposals are due by March 28.
Feinstein bill based on 1917 Bolshevik horror!!!
Jan. 26, 2013
The Feinstein gun ban is based on the success of the Bolshevik takeover in Moscow. Government officials, law enforcement, and retired law enforcement personnel are exempt in the Feinstein bill! This is textbook Bolshevik style takeover!
Even liberal media outlets like the Huffington Post are reporting that the exemptions are true.
The Feinstein bill uses vague terms to ban virtually all rifles and handguns with a detachable magazine.
In 1918 the Bolsheviks told police and retired military in Moscow that they could keep their arms if they stood down while the general public was disarmed. Later the police and military were simply mass murdered to get rid of them.
The Feinstein bill tells politicians and police officers, that they get to keep their guns. This is the exact same ploy used by the murderous Bolsheviks in 1918 before they began their campaign of mass murder.
Pravda, the former official newspaper of the Soviet regimes, explains how Bolsheviks won with the same tactic!
source
additional editing: mine
Even liberal media outlets like the Huffington Post are reporting that the exemptions are true.
The Feinstein bill uses vague terms to ban virtually all rifles and handguns with a detachable magazine.
In 1918 the Bolsheviks told police and retired military in Moscow that they could keep their arms if they stood down while the general public was disarmed. Later the police and military were simply mass murdered to get rid of them.
The Feinstein bill tells politicians and police officers, that they get to keep their guns. This is the exact same ploy used by the murderous Bolsheviks in 1918 before they began their campaign of mass murder.
Pravda, the former official newspaper of the Soviet regimes, explains how Bolsheviks won with the same tactic!
source
additional editing: mine
More Sheriffs pledge to defy any potential Federal gun confiscation
Jan. 26, 2013
Liberal blue states California and Oregon are in the lead!
Note: There are many other Sheriffs who have spoken out against gun control. We are only listing the ones who have specifically indicated that will or are likely to refuse to co-operate. The ones who only said they may refuse have a note next to their name. The CofCC encourages readers to contact your local County Sheriffs and ask them to take a stand.
Please help us compile a full list. E-mail use your tips.
We also encourage everyone to talk to your county sheriff and ask them to take a stand against Federal gun control tyranny.
You can find the list of contacts that we have so far here>>
Liberal blue states California and Oregon are in the lead!
Please help us compile a full list. E-mail use your tips.
We also encourage everyone to talk to your county sheriff and ask them to take a stand against Federal gun control tyranny.
You can find the list of contacts that we have so far here>>
US braces for 'six strikes' online piracy program
Jan. 26, 2013
AFP - A new voluntary system aimed at rooting out online copyright piracy using a controversial "six strikes" system is set to be implemented by US Internet providers soon, with the impact unclear.
The program was created with the music and film industry and the largest Internet firms, with some prodding by US government.
The system had been set to take effect late last year but was delayed until early 2013 by the Center for Copyright Information, the entity created to manage the program.
Even though the program became known as "six strikes," backers say the name is misleading and that it is not aimed at cutting off Internet access for people downloading pirated films or music.
The center's director Jill Lesser said the program is not "punitive."
"We believe a voluntary, flexible program will be the best way to address this, and we think consumers will respond to it," she told AFP.
Participating in the program are the five largest broadband Internet providers -- Comcast, Time Warner Cable, AT&T, Cablevision and Verizon -- covering some 85 percent of US residential customers.
Lesser said the program should be launched "very soon" after some technical issues are worked out, but offered no date.
A Verizon document leaked on the TorrentFreak blog suggests that the big Internet provider would deliver warnings for the first two suspected offenses and for the third and fourth incident, redirect customers to a page where they would have to "acknowledge" the warning.
For the fifth and six offenses, Verizon would "throttle" the Internet download speeds of customers to just above dial-up speeds. Customers could appeal the actions by paying $35 for a review by an arbitrator.
Verizon spokesman Ed McFadden said the report was based on a "working draft document," and that the company is still developing its response.
Other leaked documents showed AT&T would block users' access to some of the most frequently-visited websites and that Time Warner Cable would temporarily interrupt the ability to browse the Internet, according to TorrentFreak.
Lesser said the program is not aimed at operators of public Wi-Fi networks such as cafes, though critics disagree.
"It's becoming clear that operating a public Internet hotspot is going to be nearly impossible" because of potential copyright violations on sites like YouTube and Facebook, said Cory Doctorow, editor at tech blog Boing Boing.
But Lesser insisted the program "will not shut down public wireless access."
Six strikes has received a mixed response, but even some Internet freedom activists say it is preferable to a government-mandated program like the Stop Online Piracy Act, which failed last year to win congressional approval.
The program could "play a useful and positive role in addressing the problem of copyright infringement without causing a lot of problems for consumers and the architecture of the Internet," said David Sohn of the Center for Democracy & Technology.
But Chris Soghoian of the American Civil Liberties Union said it was "biased" toward copyright holders.
"The rights holder doesn't have to pay to accuse you of anything. You have to pay to assert your innocence," said Soghoian, the principal technologist with the ACLU's Speech, Privacy and Technology Project.
He said similar programs in other countries have proven unpopular and failed in many cases to accomplish their stated goals.
"There is a proven way of reducing infringement, and that is to create things people want to buy at a reasonable price and make it easy to play it on any device they own," Soghoian said.
Derek Bambauer, a law professor at Arizona State University who has worked on an ACLU lawsuit seeking more information on the program, said it is unlikely to have a major impact on piracy.
The French HADOPI law produced well over a million claims of infringement but "very little follow-on," he noted.
Bambauer said the effort appears to be "backdoor policymaking" by the US administration after it failed to implement any new policy.
But the US system is not a government program and entities are participating voluntarily, Lesser said, adding that the effort sought to learn from other countries' programs.
In France, she said, merely announcing the program discouraged illegal file-sharing by "people who thought they were doing this anonymously," and drove an increase in legal services.
"We hope there will be a similar psychological impact here," Lesser added.
 |
| Protesters demonstrate against the proposed Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA) on January 18, 2012 in New York City. A new voluntary system aimed at rooting out online copyright piracy using a controversial "six strikes" system is set to be implemented by US Internet providers soon, with the impact unclear. |
The program was created with the music and film industry and the largest Internet firms, with some prodding by US government.
The system had been set to take effect late last year but was delayed until early 2013 by the Center for Copyright Information, the entity created to manage the program.
Even though the program became known as "six strikes," backers say the name is misleading and that it is not aimed at cutting off Internet access for people downloading pirated films or music.
The center's director Jill Lesser said the program is not "punitive."
"We believe a voluntary, flexible program will be the best way to address this, and we think consumers will respond to it," she told AFP.
Participating in the program are the five largest broadband Internet providers -- Comcast, Time Warner Cable, AT&T, Cablevision and Verizon -- covering some 85 percent of US residential customers.
Lesser said the program should be launched "very soon" after some technical issues are worked out, but offered no date.
A Verizon document leaked on the TorrentFreak blog suggests that the big Internet provider would deliver warnings for the first two suspected offenses and for the third and fourth incident, redirect customers to a page where they would have to "acknowledge" the warning.
For the fifth and six offenses, Verizon would "throttle" the Internet download speeds of customers to just above dial-up speeds. Customers could appeal the actions by paying $35 for a review by an arbitrator.
Verizon spokesman Ed McFadden said the report was based on a "working draft document," and that the company is still developing its response.
Other leaked documents showed AT&T would block users' access to some of the most frequently-visited websites and that Time Warner Cable would temporarily interrupt the ability to browse the Internet, according to TorrentFreak.
Lesser said the program is not aimed at operators of public Wi-Fi networks such as cafes, though critics disagree.
"It's becoming clear that operating a public Internet hotspot is going to be nearly impossible" because of potential copyright violations on sites like YouTube and Facebook, said Cory Doctorow, editor at tech blog Boing Boing.
But Lesser insisted the program "will not shut down public wireless access."
Six strikes has received a mixed response, but even some Internet freedom activists say it is preferable to a government-mandated program like the Stop Online Piracy Act, which failed last year to win congressional approval.
The program could "play a useful and positive role in addressing the problem of copyright infringement without causing a lot of problems for consumers and the architecture of the Internet," said David Sohn of the Center for Democracy & Technology.
But Chris Soghoian of the American Civil Liberties Union said it was "biased" toward copyright holders.
"The rights holder doesn't have to pay to accuse you of anything. You have to pay to assert your innocence," said Soghoian, the principal technologist with the ACLU's Speech, Privacy and Technology Project.
He said similar programs in other countries have proven unpopular and failed in many cases to accomplish their stated goals.
"There is a proven way of reducing infringement, and that is to create things people want to buy at a reasonable price and make it easy to play it on any device they own," Soghoian said.
Derek Bambauer, a law professor at Arizona State University who has worked on an ACLU lawsuit seeking more information on the program, said it is unlikely to have a major impact on piracy.
The French HADOPI law produced well over a million claims of infringement but "very little follow-on," he noted.
Bambauer said the effort appears to be "backdoor policymaking" by the US administration after it failed to implement any new policy.
But the US system is not a government program and entities are participating voluntarily, Lesser said, adding that the effort sought to learn from other countries' programs.
In France, she said, merely announcing the program discouraged illegal file-sharing by "people who thought they were doing this anonymously," and drove an increase in legal services.
"We hope there will be a similar psychological impact here," Lesser added.
US Attorney, FBI investigating AG allegations
Jan. 26, 2013
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The U.S. Attorney's Office in Utah is confirming the agency and the FBI are investigating allegations made against the state's new attorney general.
A Utah businessman facing fraud charges has accused Attorney General John Swallow of brokering a deal to pay people connected to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to quash a federal investigation.
Swallow has asked the U.S. Attorney's Office to investigate the allegations made against him, saying it will clear his name.
The U.S. Attorney's Office does not usually reveal what they are investigating, but spokeswoman Melodie Rydalch says in a statement Friday that they are confirming the probe because of "the extraordinary public interest" in the case.
Rydalch says they will adhere to the facts and law and will not comment any further on the matter.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The U.S. Attorney's Office in Utah is confirming the agency and the FBI are investigating allegations made against the state's new attorney general.
A Utah businessman facing fraud charges has accused Attorney General John Swallow of brokering a deal to pay people connected to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to quash a federal investigation.
Swallow has asked the U.S. Attorney's Office to investigate the allegations made against him, saying it will clear his name.
The U.S. Attorney's Office does not usually reveal what they are investigating, but spokeswoman Melodie Rydalch says in a statement Friday that they are confirming the probe because of "the extraordinary public interest" in the case.
Rydalch says they will adhere to the facts and law and will not comment any further on the matter.
Obama Endorsed Change: 2 policeman shot dead in Port Said, Egypt, after 21 people sentenced to death for soccer stadium disaster
Jan. 26, 2013
CAIRO: Two policemen were shot dead outside a prison in Egypt's Port Said on Saturday shortly after a court sentenced to death 21 people found guilty over a 2012 soccer stadium disaster that killed 74 people, a security source reported.
Protesters had gathered at the prison where many of the defendants in the soccer case were held and state media had earlier reported gunshots outside the jail.
Earlier on Saturday, a court sentenced to death 21 of the 73 defendants accused in the Port Said soccer stadium disaster. Soccer fans and families in Cairo had cheered the court ruling. Soccer supporters had demanded the death penalty for the accused and threatened violence if justice was not done.
But some in Port Said were angry that people from their city were being held responsible for the disaster, and many rampaged through the streets. A witness saw some storming a police station.
source
Protesters had gathered at the prison where many of the defendants in the soccer case were held and state media had earlier reported gunshots outside the jail.
Earlier on Saturday, a court sentenced to death 21 of the 73 defendants accused in the Port Said soccer stadium disaster. Soccer fans and families in Cairo had cheered the court ruling. Soccer supporters had demanded the death penalty for the accused and threatened violence if justice was not done.
But some in Port Said were angry that people from their city were being held responsible for the disaster, and many rampaged through the streets. A witness saw some storming a police station.
source
Penalty could keep smokers out of health overhaul
Jan. 26, 2013
WASHINGTON—Millions of smokers could be priced out of health insurance because of tobacco penalties in President Barack Obama's health care law, according to experts who are just now teasing out the potential impact of a little-noted provision in the massive legislation.
The Affordable Care Act—"Obamacare" to its detractors—allows health insurers to charge smokers buying individual policies up to 50 percent higher premiums starting next Jan. 1.
For a 55-year-old smoker, the penalty could reach nearly $4,250 a year. A 60-year-old could wind up paying nearly $5,100 on top of premiums.
Younger smokers could be charged lower penalties under rules proposed last fall by the Obama administration. But older smokers could face a heavy hit on their household budgets at a time in life when smoking-related illnesses tend to emerge.
Workers covered on the job would be able to avoid tobacco penalties by joining smoking cessation programs, because employer plans operate under different rules. But experts say that option is not guaranteed to smokers trying to purchase coverage individually.
Nearly one of every five U.S. adults smokes. That share is higher among lower-income people, who also are more likely to work in jobs that don't come with health insurance and would therefore depend on the new federal health care law. Smoking increases the risk of developing heart disease, lung problems and cancer, contributing to nearly 450,000 deaths a year.
Insurers won't be allowed to charge more under the overhaul for people who are overweight, or have a health condition like a bad back or a heart that skips beats—but they can charge more if a person smokes.
Starting next Jan. 1, the federal health care law will make it possible for people who can't get coverage now to buy private policies, providing tax credits to keep the premiums affordable. Although the law prohibits insurance companies from turning away the sick, the penalties for smokers could have the same effect in many cases, keeping out potentially costly patients.
"We don't want to create barriers for people to get health care coverage," said California state Assemblyman Richard Pan, who is working on a law in his state that would limit insurers' ability to charge smokers more. The federal law allows states to limit or change the smoking penalty.
"We want people who are smoking to get smoking cessation treatment," added Pan, a pediatrician who represents the Sacramento area.
Obama administration officials declined to be interviewed for this article, but a former consumer protection regulator for the government is raising questions.
"If you are an insurer and there is a group of smokers you don't want in your pool, the ones you really don't want are the ones who have been smoking for 20 or 30 years," said Karen Pollitz, an expert on individual health insurance markets with the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation. "You would have the flexibility to discourage them."
Several provisions in the federal health care law work together to leave older smokers with a bleak set of financial options, said Pollitz, formerly deputy director of the Office of Consumer Support in the federal Health and Human Services Department.
First, the law allows insurers to charge older adults up to three times as much as their youngest customers.
Second, the law allows insurers to levy the full 50 percent penalty on older smokers while charging less to younger ones.
And finally, government tax credits that will be available to help pay premiums cannot be used to offset the cost of penalties for smokers.
Here's how the math would work:
Take a hypothetical 60-year-old smoker making $35,000 a year. Estimated premiums for coverage in the new private health insurance markets under Obama's law would total $10,172. That person would be eligible for a tax credit that brings the cost down to $3,325.
But the smoking penalty could add $5,086 to the cost. And since federal tax credits can't be used to offset the penalty, the smoker's total cost for health insurance would be $8,411, or 24 percent of income. That's considered unaffordable under the federal law. The numbers were estimated using the online Kaiser Health Reform Subsidy Calculator.
"The effect of the smoking (penalty) allowed under the law would be that lower-income smokers could not afford health insurance," said Richard Curtis, president of the Institute for Health Policy Solutions, a nonpartisan research group that called attention to the issue with a study about the potential impact in California.
In today's world, insurers can simply turn down a smoker. Under Obama's overhaul, would they actually charge the full 50 percent? After all, workplace anti-smoking programs that use penalties usually charge far less, maybe $75 or $100 a month.
Robert Laszewski, a consultant who previously worked in the insurance industry, says there's a good reason to charge the maximum.
"If you don't charge the 50 percent, your competitor is going to do it, and you are going to get a disproportionate share of the less-healthy older smokers," said Laszewski. "They are going to have to play defense."
AP———
Kaiser Health Reform Subsidy Calculator — http://healthreform.kff.org/subsidycalculator.aspx
WASHINGTON—Millions of smokers could be priced out of health insurance because of tobacco penalties in President Barack Obama's health care law, according to experts who are just now teasing out the potential impact of a little-noted provision in the massive legislation.
The Affordable Care Act—"Obamacare" to its detractors—allows health insurers to charge smokers buying individual policies up to 50 percent higher premiums starting next Jan. 1.
For a 55-year-old smoker, the penalty could reach nearly $4,250 a year. A 60-year-old could wind up paying nearly $5,100 on top of premiums.
Younger smokers could be charged lower penalties under rules proposed last fall by the Obama administration. But older smokers could face a heavy hit on their household budgets at a time in life when smoking-related illnesses tend to emerge.
Workers covered on the job would be able to avoid tobacco penalties by joining smoking cessation programs, because employer plans operate under different rules. But experts say that option is not guaranteed to smokers trying to purchase coverage individually.
Nearly one of every five U.S. adults smokes. That share is higher among lower-income people, who also are more likely to work in jobs that don't come with health insurance and would therefore depend on the new federal health care law. Smoking increases the risk of developing heart disease, lung problems and cancer, contributing to nearly 450,000 deaths a year.
Insurers won't be allowed to charge more under the overhaul for people who are overweight, or have a health condition like a bad back or a heart that skips beats—but they can charge more if a person smokes.
Starting next Jan. 1, the federal health care law will make it possible for people who can't get coverage now to buy private policies, providing tax credits to keep the premiums affordable. Although the law prohibits insurance companies from turning away the sick, the penalties for smokers could have the same effect in many cases, keeping out potentially costly patients.
"We don't want to create barriers for people to get health care coverage," said California state Assemblyman Richard Pan, who is working on a law in his state that would limit insurers' ability to charge smokers more. The federal law allows states to limit or change the smoking penalty.
"We want people who are smoking to get smoking cessation treatment," added Pan, a pediatrician who represents the Sacramento area.
Obama administration officials declined to be interviewed for this article, but a former consumer protection regulator for the government is raising questions.
"If you are an insurer and there is a group of smokers you don't want in your pool, the ones you really don't want are the ones who have been smoking for 20 or 30 years," said Karen Pollitz, an expert on individual health insurance markets with the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation. "You would have the flexibility to discourage them."
Several provisions in the federal health care law work together to leave older smokers with a bleak set of financial options, said Pollitz, formerly deputy director of the Office of Consumer Support in the federal Health and Human Services Department.
First, the law allows insurers to charge older adults up to three times as much as their youngest customers.
Second, the law allows insurers to levy the full 50 percent penalty on older smokers while charging less to younger ones.
And finally, government tax credits that will be available to help pay premiums cannot be used to offset the cost of penalties for smokers.
Here's how the math would work:
Take a hypothetical 60-year-old smoker making $35,000 a year. Estimated premiums for coverage in the new private health insurance markets under Obama's law would total $10,172. That person would be eligible for a tax credit that brings the cost down to $3,325.
But the smoking penalty could add $5,086 to the cost. And since federal tax credits can't be used to offset the penalty, the smoker's total cost for health insurance would be $8,411, or 24 percent of income. That's considered unaffordable under the federal law. The numbers were estimated using the online Kaiser Health Reform Subsidy Calculator.
"The effect of the smoking (penalty) allowed under the law would be that lower-income smokers could not afford health insurance," said Richard Curtis, president of the Institute for Health Policy Solutions, a nonpartisan research group that called attention to the issue with a study about the potential impact in California.
In today's world, insurers can simply turn down a smoker. Under Obama's overhaul, would they actually charge the full 50 percent? After all, workplace anti-smoking programs that use penalties usually charge far less, maybe $75 or $100 a month.
Robert Laszewski, a consultant who previously worked in the insurance industry, says there's a good reason to charge the maximum.
"If you don't charge the 50 percent, your competitor is going to do it, and you are going to get a disproportionate share of the less-healthy older smokers," said Laszewski. "They are going to have to play defense."
AP———
Kaiser Health Reform Subsidy Calculator — http://healthreform.kff.org/subsidycalculator.aspx
Friday, January 25, 2013
Is 'No Budget, No Pay' Unconstitutional?
Jan. 25, 2013
It's ok to tweek our rights to guns and free speech. But let us mention pay freezes for the crowd loves messing with our freedom and what do you get?
Is 'No Budget, No Pay' Unconstitutional?
By Napp Nazworth , Christian Post Reporter
January 24, 2013 7:48 am
The House of Representatives approved Wednesday, 285-144, a three-month extension of the debt limit. Included in that bill was a "no budget, no pay" provision, which requires members of Congress to pass a budget, or they will not receive a salary. Some of the lawmakers who voted against the bill say that the "no budget, no pay" provision violates the 27th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The 27th Amendment states: "No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened." This amendment essentially says that if Congress changes its salary, or any other parts of its compensation, those changes will not go into effect until after the next election.
Since the "no budget, no pay" law would change the compensation for lawmakers, by making it $0, it would violate this amendment, opponents claim.
"The American people rightfully expect Congress to do its job, and that includes passing a budget." Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) said in a Wednesday statement. "However, while I support the concept of the 'No Budget, No Pay' bill, the 27th Amendment to our Constitution specifically says 'No law, varying the compensation for services of Senators and Representatives, shall take effect' until after an intervening election. The language is clear and unambiguous. I support the spirit of the bill, but it did not meet constitutional standards.
"Each member takes their own oath of fidelity to the Constitution, and I respect the view of my colleagues who disagree. In order to keep my oath to the Constitution, my only choice was to vote no."
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told Fox News Monday that he would vote against the bill for the same reason. "I understand the sentiment behind 'no budget, no pay ... that said ... it appears that the 27th Amendment does not permit Congress to alter its pay in the midst of a current session," Jeffries said.
The 27th Amendment has an interesting history of citizen activism.
The 27th Amendment, authored by James Madison, was one of the first 12 amendments proposed by the 1st Congress. Ten of those amendments were ratified shortly after by the original 13 states. Those 10 amendments became known as the Bill of Rights.
In 1982, Gregory Watson wrote a paper about the amendment for his American government class at the University of Texas at Austin. Though he received a "C" on the paper, Watson decided the amendment should be ratified and began a personal quest to get enough states to ratify it so that it would be added to the Constitution.
Ten years later, in 1992, Watson succeeded. Madison's previously forgotten amendment was added to the Constitution. It was the last time the Constitution was amended.
source
It's ok to tweek our rights to guns and free speech. But let us mention pay freezes for the crowd loves messing with our freedom and what do you get?
Is 'No Budget, No Pay' Unconstitutional?
 |
| Members of the 113th Congress bow their heads in prayer as they convene in the Capitol in Washington January 3, 2013. In the wake of bruising fights in their own ranks over the "fiscal cliff" and aid for victims of superstorm Sandy - Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives open a new Congress on Thursday more divided than ever. (Photo: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque) |
January 24, 2013 7:48 am
The House of Representatives approved Wednesday, 285-144, a three-month extension of the debt limit. Included in that bill was a "no budget, no pay" provision, which requires members of Congress to pass a budget, or they will not receive a salary. Some of the lawmakers who voted against the bill say that the "no budget, no pay" provision violates the 27th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The 27th Amendment states: "No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened." This amendment essentially says that if Congress changes its salary, or any other parts of its compensation, those changes will not go into effect until after the next election.
Since the "no budget, no pay" law would change the compensation for lawmakers, by making it $0, it would violate this amendment, opponents claim.
"The American people rightfully expect Congress to do its job, and that includes passing a budget." Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) said in a Wednesday statement. "However, while I support the concept of the 'No Budget, No Pay' bill, the 27th Amendment to our Constitution specifically says 'No law, varying the compensation for services of Senators and Representatives, shall take effect' until after an intervening election. The language is clear and unambiguous. I support the spirit of the bill, but it did not meet constitutional standards.
"Each member takes their own oath of fidelity to the Constitution, and I respect the view of my colleagues who disagree. In order to keep my oath to the Constitution, my only choice was to vote no."
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told Fox News Monday that he would vote against the bill for the same reason. "I understand the sentiment behind 'no budget, no pay ... that said ... it appears that the 27th Amendment does not permit Congress to alter its pay in the midst of a current session," Jeffries said.
The 27th Amendment has an interesting history of citizen activism.
The 27th Amendment, authored by James Madison, was one of the first 12 amendments proposed by the 1st Congress. Ten of those amendments were ratified shortly after by the original 13 states. Those 10 amendments became known as the Bill of Rights.
In 1982, Gregory Watson wrote a paper about the amendment for his American government class at the University of Texas at Austin. Though he received a "C" on the paper, Watson decided the amendment should be ratified and began a personal quest to get enough states to ratify it so that it would be added to the Constitution.
Ten years later, in 1992, Watson succeeded. Madison's previously forgotten amendment was added to the Constitution. It was the last time the Constitution was amended.
source
Fight erupts at East St. Louis Welfare - Food Stamp Office
Jan. 25, 2013
CHICAGO (CBS) — A dispute over a spot in line at a food stamp office downstate escalated into a full-fledged brawl.
The fight on Tuesday was captured on video and shows at least four women wrestling and punching each other.
At one point, the video shows two women grabbing each other while a third punches one of them on the back of the head. At another point, a woman walks across the office and punches another person in the face.
Security officers struggled to end the chaos. It took them several minutes to separate the group and restore order. Some of the people involved in the fight initially refused to leave.
The incident happened at the Illinois Department of Human Services office in East St. Louis, reportedly only a few blocks from the police station there.
The nearly three-minute video was posted on You Tube.
“It`s just been cool, everybody standing in line, doing what they do, trying to get their stamps, trying to get, you know, whatever they`re trying to get. It`s never been like this in there,” Detria Graves told KTVI, the FOX affiliate in St. Louis.
A spokeswoman with the State Department of Human Services in Springfield said the staff was unaware of the video.
East St. Louis Mayor, Alvin Parks, called for metal detectors at the office at 9th and Missouri, KTVI reported.
CHICAGO (CBS) — A dispute over a spot in line at a food stamp office downstate escalated into a full-fledged brawl.
The fight on Tuesday was captured on video and shows at least four women wrestling and punching each other.
At one point, the video shows two women grabbing each other while a third punches one of them on the back of the head. At another point, a woman walks across the office and punches another person in the face.
Security officers struggled to end the chaos. It took them several minutes to separate the group and restore order. Some of the people involved in the fight initially refused to leave.
The incident happened at the Illinois Department of Human Services office in East St. Louis, reportedly only a few blocks from the police station there.
The nearly three-minute video was posted on You Tube.
“It`s just been cool, everybody standing in line, doing what they do, trying to get their stamps, trying to get, you know, whatever they`re trying to get. It`s never been like this in there,” Detria Graves told KTVI, the FOX affiliate in St. Louis.
A spokeswoman with the State Department of Human Services in Springfield said the staff was unaware of the video.
East St. Louis Mayor, Alvin Parks, called for metal detectors at the office at 9th and Missouri, KTVI reported.
Calling Bullshit: Chavez making progress, foreign minister says
Jan. 25, 2013
Once chemo spreads cancer to the abdominal region and major organs it is terminal. I've seen it happen a dozen times. The man is DEAD! Their government wants to get all of it's donkeys in order before they announce it.
AFP - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is making progress in his recovery from cancer surgery, but faces a tough battle ahead, Foreign Minister Elias Jaua said.
"The president is in the process of recovering. However, the upcoming battle is more complex," Jaua said upon his return from Cuba, where he was visiting the ailing 58-year-old Chavez.
The firebrand leftist leader has not been seen for more than a month since undergoing his latest cancer surgery in Havana. Government officials have repeatedly said in recent days that his condition is improving.
Jaua said he had seen Chavez "several times" this week, including once earlier Thursday. Vice President Nicolas Maduro, Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez and Chavez's brother Adan were also in Havana.
"We discussed a series of political and economic issues, as well as the upcoming mayoral elections," Jaua told reporters by telephone during a press conference given by Communications Minister Ernesto Villegas.
Villegas said the government was pleased with Chavez's progress, adding it was still too soon to talk about when the president might return home.
But he insisted Chavez was "making decisions," noting: "He is active... I have received instructions on certain tasks that need doing."
Jaua said the government hoped Chavez could be back home in a matter of "weeks" but also said everyone wanted the president to take his time to recover.
Chavez, who had surgery on December 11, was too sick to attend his January 10 inauguration, prompting the government to delay the swearing-in indefinitely under an interpretation of the constitution criticized by the opposition.
The Chavez-controlled National Assembly and Supreme Court both approved the arrangement, which keeps his administration in place under Maduro until Chavez can take the oath of office for his fourth term.
Once chemo spreads cancer to the abdominal region and major organs it is terminal. I've seen it happen a dozen times. The man is DEAD! Their government wants to get all of it's donkeys in order before they announce it.
 |
| A supporter of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez attends a rally in Caracas on January 23, 2013. Chavez is making progress in his recovery from cancer surgery, but faces a tough battle ahead, Foreign Minister Elias Jaua said. |
"The president is in the process of recovering. However, the upcoming battle is more complex," Jaua said upon his return from Cuba, where he was visiting the ailing 58-year-old Chavez.
The firebrand leftist leader has not been seen for more than a month since undergoing his latest cancer surgery in Havana. Government officials have repeatedly said in recent days that his condition is improving.
Jaua said he had seen Chavez "several times" this week, including once earlier Thursday. Vice President Nicolas Maduro, Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez and Chavez's brother Adan were also in Havana.
"We discussed a series of political and economic issues, as well as the upcoming mayoral elections," Jaua told reporters by telephone during a press conference given by Communications Minister Ernesto Villegas.
Villegas said the government was pleased with Chavez's progress, adding it was still too soon to talk about when the president might return home.
But he insisted Chavez was "making decisions," noting: "He is active... I have received instructions on certain tasks that need doing."
Jaua said the government hoped Chavez could be back home in a matter of "weeks" but also said everyone wanted the president to take his time to recover.
Chavez, who had surgery on December 11, was too sick to attend his January 10 inauguration, prompting the government to delay the swearing-in indefinitely under an interpretation of the constitution criticized by the opposition.
The Chavez-controlled National Assembly and Supreme Court both approved the arrangement, which keeps his administration in place under Maduro until Chavez can take the oath of office for his fourth term.
Russia prepares to advance 'anti-gay' bill
Jan. 25, 2013
AFP - Russia's parliament was expected Friday to give initial backing to a bill banning homosexual "propaganda" among minors that could lead to gays being fined for demonstrating or kissing in public.
The highly contentious measure is based on a law passed in President Vladimir Putin's native city of Saint Petersburg last year and in several other Russian regions.
To the horror of gay rights activists, the ruling United Russia party has now put forward a proposal for a federal law before the State Duma lower house of parliament.
Major cities such as Moscow, which ban annual gay rights parades, frown upon homosexuality, which was illegal for much of the Soviet era.
The bill in its current form prohibits "the propaganda of homosexual behaviour among minors". Activists worry that the vague wording of the bill could lead to gays being fined for demonstrating or even holding hands in public.
It also sets out fines for violations of up to 5,000 rubles ($165) for individuals and up to 50,000 rubles for officials.
Legal entities such as businesses and schools would be fined up to 500,000 rubles ($165,000).
Rights activists have vowed to fight the legislation, and a small group of its foes planned another "kiss-in protest" -- the third such event this week -- outside parliament during the debate.
Last year's Saint Petersburg measure led to a boycott of the former imperial capital by international gay rights groups and a series of fines against couples who appeared in public kissing or holding hands.
The ruling party's law formally aims to shield Russians aged up to 18 from what its authors view as the spread of dangerous and often foreign ideas by Western-backed advocates and new social media.
United Russia has the votes to carry any piece of legislation on its own without consultation with the other parties. But Communist and other lawmakers have also expressed sympathy with the draft.
Friday's reading will be the first of three held in the Duma. Draft laws then move to the upper house for a single vote before reaching Putin's desk.
 |
| A gay rights activist speaks with a police officer before a Madonna concert in St. Petersburg on August 9, 2012. Russia's parliament was expected Friday to give initial backing to a bill banning homosexual "propaganda" among minors that could lead to gays being fined for demonstrating or kissing in public. |
The highly contentious measure is based on a law passed in President Vladimir Putin's native city of Saint Petersburg last year and in several other Russian regions.
To the horror of gay rights activists, the ruling United Russia party has now put forward a proposal for a federal law before the State Duma lower house of parliament.
Major cities such as Moscow, which ban annual gay rights parades, frown upon homosexuality, which was illegal for much of the Soviet era.
The bill in its current form prohibits "the propaganda of homosexual behaviour among minors". Activists worry that the vague wording of the bill could lead to gays being fined for demonstrating or even holding hands in public.
It also sets out fines for violations of up to 5,000 rubles ($165) for individuals and up to 50,000 rubles for officials.
Legal entities such as businesses and schools would be fined up to 500,000 rubles ($165,000).
Rights activists have vowed to fight the legislation, and a small group of its foes planned another "kiss-in protest" -- the third such event this week -- outside parliament during the debate.
Last year's Saint Petersburg measure led to a boycott of the former imperial capital by international gay rights groups and a series of fines against couples who appeared in public kissing or holding hands.
The ruling party's law formally aims to shield Russians aged up to 18 from what its authors view as the spread of dangerous and often foreign ideas by Western-backed advocates and new social media.
United Russia has the votes to carry any piece of legislation on its own without consultation with the other parties. But Communist and other lawmakers have also expressed sympathy with the draft.
Friday's reading will be the first of three held in the Duma. Draft laws then move to the upper house for a single vote before reaching Putin's desk.
Tina Turner 'to become Swiss, give up US passport'
Jan. 25, 2013
AFP - US pop legend Tina Turner, who has been living in Switzerland since 1995, will soon receive Swiss citizenship and will give up her US passport, Swiss media reported Friday.
"I'm very happy in Switzerland and I feel at home here. ... I cannot imagine a better place to live," Turner told German language daily Blick.
Turner, 73, who was born Anna Mae Bullock, lives in picturesque town of Kuesnacht, on the shores of Lake Zurich in northern Switzerland, and has passed a local civics test and interview, according to an official announcement published in the Zuerichsee-Zeitung daily.
The woman behind such hits as "Private Dancer", "Simply the Best" and "What's Love Got to Do With It?" will still need a green light from the canton of Zurich as well was federal authorities before she can receive red passport, the two papers reported.
Turner spokeswoman Karin Rhomberg told the Zuerichsee-Zeitung that the singer wanted to "clarify her situation".
"Tina Turner will therefore also give back her US citizenship," she said.
Turner, who has learned German, reportedly moved to Switzerland in 1995 when her longtime partner, German record executive Erwin Bach, was transferred here.
 |
| US singer Tina Turner arrives for the Emporio Armani fashion show in Milan, on February 26, 2011. Turner -- who has been living in Switzerland since 1995 -- will soon receive Swiss citizenship and will give up her US passport, according to Swiss media reports. |
"I'm very happy in Switzerland and I feel at home here. ... I cannot imagine a better place to live," Turner told German language daily Blick.
Turner, 73, who was born Anna Mae Bullock, lives in picturesque town of Kuesnacht, on the shores of Lake Zurich in northern Switzerland, and has passed a local civics test and interview, according to an official announcement published in the Zuerichsee-Zeitung daily.
The woman behind such hits as "Private Dancer", "Simply the Best" and "What's Love Got to Do With It?" will still need a green light from the canton of Zurich as well was federal authorities before she can receive red passport, the two papers reported.
Turner spokeswoman Karin Rhomberg told the Zuerichsee-Zeitung that the singer wanted to "clarify her situation".
"Tina Turner will therefore also give back her US citizenship," she said.
Turner, who has learned German, reportedly moved to Switzerland in 1995 when her longtime partner, German record executive Erwin Bach, was transferred here.
Celebrating "Worse than it was": 2nd anniversary of 2011 Egyptian revolution
Jan. 25, 2013
Violence flares on anniversary of Egypt uprising
(Reuters) - Hundreds of youths clashed with Egyptian police in Tahrir Square on Friday in a violent start to the second anniversary of the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak and led to the election of an Islamist president who is now the focus of protester rage.
Opponents of President Mohamed Mursi and his Muslim Brotherhood allies are expected to mass in Tahrir Square later on Friday to revive the demands of a revolution that they say has been betrayed by the Islamists.
The square was calm by daybreak, following early morning battles between police and protesters who threw petrol bombs and firecrackers as they tried to approach a wall blocking access to government buildings near the square.
Plumes of teargas fired by the police filled the air.
The Health Ministry said 16 people had been wounded. At one point, riot police used one of the incendiaries thrown at them to set ablaze at least two tents erected by the youths, a Reuters witness said.
Inspired by Tunisia's uprising against President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, Egypt's revolution helped set off more revolts in Libya and Syria. But the sense of common purpose that united Egyptians at the time has given way to conflict that has grown only worse and last month triggered lethal street battles.
The anniversary will once again showcase the divide between the Islamists and their secular opponents. The Brotherhood has decided against mobilizing in the street for the occasion, a decision that could reduce the likelihood of confrontation.
"The people want to bring down the regime," declared banners in the square. "Save Egypt from the rule of the Supreme Guide," said another, a reference to leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohamed Badie.
Mursi, in a speech on Thursday marking the Prophet Mohammad's birthday, called on Egyptians to mark the anniversary "in a civilized, peaceful way that safeguards our nation, our institutions, our lives".
"The Brotherhood is very concerned about escalation, that's why they have tried to dial down their role on January 25," said Shadi Hamid director of research at the Brookings Doha Center.
"There may very well be the kinds of clashes that we've seen before, but I don't see anything major happening that is going to fundamentally change the political situation," he said.
DISCONTENT
Mursi faces discontent on multiple fronts.
His opponents say he and his group are seeking to dominate the post-Mubarak order. They accuse him of showing some of the autocratic impulses of the deposed leader by, for example, driving through a controversial new constitution last month.
The Brotherhood dismisses such criticism as unfair. It accuses its opponents of failing to respect the rules of the new democracy that put the Islamists in the driving seat by winning elections.
Six months into office, Mursi is also being held responsible for an economic crisis caused by two years of turmoil. The Egyptian pound has sunk to record lows against the dollar.
Other sources of friction abound. Activists are impatient for justice for the victims of political violence perpetrated over the last two years. Little has been done to reform brutal Mubarak-era security agencies. A spate of transport disasters on roads and railways neglected for years is feeding discontent.
The parties that have called for Friday's protest list demands including a complete overhaul of the Islamist-tinged constitution that was fast-tracked into law by Mursi in December, a move that fuelled street violence.
Its critics say the constitution, which was approved in a popular referendum, offers inadequate protection for human rights, gives the president too many privileges and fails to curb the power of the military establishment.
Mursi's supporters say the criticism is unfair, that enacting the constitution quickly was crucial to restoring stability, and that the opposition is making the situation worse by perpetuating unrest.
With its eye firmly on forthcoming parliamentary elections, the Brotherhood is marking the anniversary with a big charity campaign. It aims to deliver medical aid to 1 million people, offer affordable basic foods, and renovate some 2,000 schools.
A strong turnout on Friday could also help the Brotherhood's opponents ahead of the elections. "There is a lot of power in this day and a real chance to use that to mobilize their supporters in the lead-up to the elections," Hamid said.
(Additional reporting by Mohamed Abdellah; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Alison Williams)
Violence flares on anniversary of Egypt uprising
| Masked protesters block the tramway tracks near a main square where protesters have gathered to mark the second anniversary of the 25th January revolution in Alexandria January 25, 2013. |
Opponents of President Mohamed Mursi and his Muslim Brotherhood allies are expected to mass in Tahrir Square later on Friday to revive the demands of a revolution that they say has been betrayed by the Islamists.
The square was calm by daybreak, following early morning battles between police and protesters who threw petrol bombs and firecrackers as they tried to approach a wall blocking access to government buildings near the square.
Plumes of teargas fired by the police filled the air.
The Health Ministry said 16 people had been wounded. At one point, riot police used one of the incendiaries thrown at them to set ablaze at least two tents erected by the youths, a Reuters witness said.
Inspired by Tunisia's uprising against President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, Egypt's revolution helped set off more revolts in Libya and Syria. But the sense of common purpose that united Egyptians at the time has given way to conflict that has grown only worse and last month triggered lethal street battles.
The anniversary will once again showcase the divide between the Islamists and their secular opponents. The Brotherhood has decided against mobilizing in the street for the occasion, a decision that could reduce the likelihood of confrontation.
"The people want to bring down the regime," declared banners in the square. "Save Egypt from the rule of the Supreme Guide," said another, a reference to leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohamed Badie.
Mursi, in a speech on Thursday marking the Prophet Mohammad's birthday, called on Egyptians to mark the anniversary "in a civilized, peaceful way that safeguards our nation, our institutions, our lives".
"The Brotherhood is very concerned about escalation, that's why they have tried to dial down their role on January 25," said Shadi Hamid director of research at the Brookings Doha Center.
"There may very well be the kinds of clashes that we've seen before, but I don't see anything major happening that is going to fundamentally change the political situation," he said.
DISCONTENT
Mursi faces discontent on multiple fronts.
His opponents say he and his group are seeking to dominate the post-Mubarak order. They accuse him of showing some of the autocratic impulses of the deposed leader by, for example, driving through a controversial new constitution last month.
The Brotherhood dismisses such criticism as unfair. It accuses its opponents of failing to respect the rules of the new democracy that put the Islamists in the driving seat by winning elections.
Six months into office, Mursi is also being held responsible for an economic crisis caused by two years of turmoil. The Egyptian pound has sunk to record lows against the dollar.
Other sources of friction abound. Activists are impatient for justice for the victims of political violence perpetrated over the last two years. Little has been done to reform brutal Mubarak-era security agencies. A spate of transport disasters on roads and railways neglected for years is feeding discontent.
The parties that have called for Friday's protest list demands including a complete overhaul of the Islamist-tinged constitution that was fast-tracked into law by Mursi in December, a move that fuelled street violence.
Its critics say the constitution, which was approved in a popular referendum, offers inadequate protection for human rights, gives the president too many privileges and fails to curb the power of the military establishment.
Mursi's supporters say the criticism is unfair, that enacting the constitution quickly was crucial to restoring stability, and that the opposition is making the situation worse by perpetuating unrest.
With its eye firmly on forthcoming parliamentary elections, the Brotherhood is marking the anniversary with a big charity campaign. It aims to deliver medical aid to 1 million people, offer affordable basic foods, and renovate some 2,000 schools.
A strong turnout on Friday could also help the Brotherhood's opponents ahead of the elections. "There is a lot of power in this day and a real chance to use that to mobilize their supporters in the lead-up to the elections," Hamid said.
(Additional reporting by Mohamed Abdellah; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Alison Williams)
Greek riot police carry out pre-dawn raid on striking workers at Athens subway's operations center
Jan. 25, 2013
AFP - Greek riot police conducted a pre-dawn raid on striking workers at the operations centre of Athens' metro system, police said.
The raid on the centre, which strikers protesting austerity measures had occupied on Thursday, took place at around 4:00 am (0200 GMT) the next day, police told AFP.
Four people were temporarily detained but later released, they said.
The government has ordered a civil mobilisation to force the Athens metro staff to halt their strike, which has disrupted traffic in the Greek capital for over a week.
Unions reacted by calling a general transport standstill on Friday.
Friday's police crackdown was immediately criticised by a leftist party that is part of the ruling coalition.
Metro staff oppose government plans to reduce their pay and equate it with the broader public sector, part of reforms tied to the country's massive EU-IMF loan bailout.
The government said strikers had shown contempt for court rulings that had declared the metro strike illegal earlier this week.
 |
| Striking Athens metro employees hold a meeting on January 24, 2013 in the Greek capital. Riot police conducted a pre-dawn raid Friday on the workers. |
The raid on the centre, which strikers protesting austerity measures had occupied on Thursday, took place at around 4:00 am (0200 GMT) the next day, police told AFP.
Four people were temporarily detained but later released, they said.
The government has ordered a civil mobilisation to force the Athens metro staff to halt their strike, which has disrupted traffic in the Greek capital for over a week.
Unions reacted by calling a general transport standstill on Friday.
Friday's police crackdown was immediately criticised by a leftist party that is part of the ruling coalition.
Metro staff oppose government plans to reduce their pay and equate it with the broader public sector, part of reforms tied to the country's massive EU-IMF loan bailout.
The government said strikers had shown contempt for court rulings that had declared the metro strike illegal earlier this week.
Mental health care: How to spot the warning signs of severe mental illness
Jan. 25, 2013
Severe mental illness is one of the most stigmatized and least understood areas of modern medicine.
The public often mistakenly believes people living with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder are dangerous or too crazy to prosper in society. Research has proven that with treatment, most people with severe mental illness can live well in their own communities, have jobs and families.
But most people don't get treatment until their illness has bottomed out. About 160 people present themselves to the Dauphin County Crisis Intervention Unit to receive their first mental health care, said county Mental Health Director Dan Eisenhauer. About a third of them need to be hospitalized.
That's like waiting until for a cold to worsen into pneumonia before thinking about taking medicine, Eisenhauer said. If people begin treatment earlier, when they were healthier, they would likely have better outcomes.
What warning signs of severe mental illness should a person look for in themselves or a loved one?
We asked Dr. Alan J. Gelenberg, the Chair of Psychiatry at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.
What should people look for?
Is the person acting out of character?
"A person whose behavior, familiar patterns of acting, feeling, talking, thinking are outside of the ordinary should trigger in a family member the consideration of getting professional input," Gelenberg said.
Pay special attention if someone who has been outgoing and exuberant suddenly gets dark, reticent and quiet. Look for physical signs like a change in weight, eating and sleeping patterns, either more or less. See a person is fatigued, lacks energy or has abdominal pains.
"Another broad area is anything that makes people uncomfortable," Gelenberg said. "Let's say a young person of 20 -- has he always been a little odd all his life? He's always been a little quiet, has kept to himself, has never had many friends, is always gone his own way, but I'm getting more concerned because lately he's talking to himself and he's saying things that scare me."
Is it illness or age?
Severe mental illness often appears in a person's late teens or early 20s. The normal transitions of that age can make it hard to discern what is the beginnings of a mental illness and what is the awkwardness of reaching adulthood.
"It's a grey zone," Gelenberg said. "There aren't bright lines that separate the 20 year old who's going to have a break with reality and need to be hospitalized or do something violent to themselves or someone else from the normal kid who's going through the pains that we have leaving parents and making career choices, dealing with peers and sexuality and moving out of home."
Similarly, the physical symptoms could be a physical illness.
Often, there is not one moment when a mental illness becomes apparent.
"It's not a dramatic change, but it's a gradual change that's setting off alarm bells," Gelenberg said.
What if you are worried about yourself?
Not everyone can recognize if a severe mental illness is beginning to affect their brain.
Some can. If you aren't sure if something is happening to you, here's one way to think about it:
"Something is happening to me. I'm feeling feelings, I'm having thoughts, I'm experiencing impulses that I just don't like, I don't understand," Gelenberg said, it's a good idea to speak to a professional.
If you suspect a loved one might be living with a severe mental illness, there are ways you can help them receive the treatment they need to likely recover.
source
Severe mental illness is one of the most stigmatized and least understood areas of modern medicine.
The public often mistakenly believes people living with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder are dangerous or too crazy to prosper in society. Research has proven that with treatment, most people with severe mental illness can live well in their own communities, have jobs and families.
But most people don't get treatment until their illness has bottomed out. About 160 people present themselves to the Dauphin County Crisis Intervention Unit to receive their first mental health care, said county Mental Health Director Dan Eisenhauer. About a third of them need to be hospitalized.
That's like waiting until for a cold to worsen into pneumonia before thinking about taking medicine, Eisenhauer said. If people begin treatment earlier, when they were healthier, they would likely have better outcomes.
What warning signs of severe mental illness should a person look for in themselves or a loved one?
We asked Dr. Alan J. Gelenberg, the Chair of Psychiatry at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.
What should people look for?
Is the person acting out of character?
"A person whose behavior, familiar patterns of acting, feeling, talking, thinking are outside of the ordinary should trigger in a family member the consideration of getting professional input," Gelenberg said.
Pay special attention if someone who has been outgoing and exuberant suddenly gets dark, reticent and quiet. Look for physical signs like a change in weight, eating and sleeping patterns, either more or less. See a person is fatigued, lacks energy or has abdominal pains.
"Another broad area is anything that makes people uncomfortable," Gelenberg said. "Let's say a young person of 20 -- has he always been a little odd all his life? He's always been a little quiet, has kept to himself, has never had many friends, is always gone his own way, but I'm getting more concerned because lately he's talking to himself and he's saying things that scare me."
Is it illness or age?
Severe mental illness often appears in a person's late teens or early 20s. The normal transitions of that age can make it hard to discern what is the beginnings of a mental illness and what is the awkwardness of reaching adulthood.
"It's a grey zone," Gelenberg said. "There aren't bright lines that separate the 20 year old who's going to have a break with reality and need to be hospitalized or do something violent to themselves or someone else from the normal kid who's going through the pains that we have leaving parents and making career choices, dealing with peers and sexuality and moving out of home."
Similarly, the physical symptoms could be a physical illness.
Often, there is not one moment when a mental illness becomes apparent.
"It's not a dramatic change, but it's a gradual change that's setting off alarm bells," Gelenberg said.
What if you are worried about yourself?
Not everyone can recognize if a severe mental illness is beginning to affect their brain.
Some can. If you aren't sure if something is happening to you, here's one way to think about it:
"Something is happening to me. I'm feeling feelings, I'm having thoughts, I'm experiencing impulses that I just don't like, I don't understand," Gelenberg said, it's a good idea to speak to a professional.
If you suspect a loved one might be living with a severe mental illness, there are ways you can help them receive the treatment they need to likely recover.
source
Punishing Innocence?
Jan. 25, 2013
It appears to me that even being proven innocent is not enough, the fact is, just being charged for a sex crime can obviously ruin your life. Unless you are a popular NBA star, what's the recourse?
Teacher removed from classroom even though charges dropped
A Manheim Central elementary school teacher who was cleared of sex abuse charges more than a year ago was removed from Stiegel Elementary last week.
Fourth-grade teacher Matthew Deppen was placed on unpaid leave on Jan. 18 after the Pennsylvania Department of Education revoked his teaching certificate.
"At the present time, Mr. Deppen is not in the school setting, is not allowed on school property and is in an unpaid leave status," school board president Bryan Howett said in an email Thursday. "By law, at this point in time, Mr. Deppen is not permitted to teach in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania."
After 14 months of confidential hearings, the state Professional Standards and Practices Commission voted to revoke Deppen's teaching certification on Jan. 17.
According to Howett, PDE did not notify the district about the revocation until the next day.
"In less than an hour, the superintendent of schools was in contact with the district's solicitor and within a few minutes after that, Mr. Deppen was removed from the school setting," Howett said in an email.
PDE had suspended Deppen's certificate two years earlier when he was charged with sexual abuse and attempted sexual abuse of children stemming from a 2004 incident in which he videotaped children undressing in his home. Deppen also faced a second set of charges from a separate incident including endangering the welfare of children, corruption of minors, invasion of privacy and indecent assault.
During the criminal trial in October 2010, Deppen maintained that he did not intend to video record the girls changing their clothes, rather the video was supposed to record their reaction when he surprised them wearing a monkey mask.
Deppen also testified that his wife immediately took the video and, six years later, turned it in to police when the couple were going through a divorce.
Deppen was found innocent of sexual abuse and attempted sexual abuse charges. Other charges were dropped because of lack of evidence.
After Deppen's criminal charges were cleared, PDE restored his teaching credentials, and Manheim Central school board reinstated him as a teacher at Stiegel Elementary for the 2011-12 school year.
Howett said in an email that when Deppen had his credentials restored and there were no further charges against him, the district had no legal basis to prevent Deppen from returning to his teaching position.
Since then, subsequent administrative charges were filed against him to determine whether administrative action should be taken against his certification, Howett said. "PDE is entitled to conduct it's own investigation into the matter prior to filing administrative charges," Howett said. "There are different standards of proof in administrative hearings versus criminal hearings."
PDE posted a notification of its action against Deppen on its website on Jan. 17. The notification lists grounds for disciplinary action, which include "inappropriate behavior" and sexual misconduct with a minor.
Howett said Deppen has the right to appeal the decision of the Professional Standards and Practices Commission.
Lt. George Pappas of Northern Lancaster County Regional Police Department handled the case for the former Penn Township police department in 2010. He said Jan. 24 he could not comment because it was a district personnel issue.
Fred Cummins, interim district superintendent, was unavailable to comment on whether a letter was sent to notify parents of Deppen's removal.
Business Manager Nathan Wertsch said he was not involved in handling the issue, but he recalled Jan. 24 a letter being drafted.
source
It appears to me that even being proven innocent is not enough, the fact is, just being charged for a sex crime can obviously ruin your life. Unless you are a popular NBA star, what's the recourse?
Teacher removed from classroom even though charges dropped
 |
| Matthew Deppen |
Fourth-grade teacher Matthew Deppen was placed on unpaid leave on Jan. 18 after the Pennsylvania Department of Education revoked his teaching certificate.
"At the present time, Mr. Deppen is not in the school setting, is not allowed on school property and is in an unpaid leave status," school board president Bryan Howett said in an email Thursday. "By law, at this point in time, Mr. Deppen is not permitted to teach in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania."
After 14 months of confidential hearings, the state Professional Standards and Practices Commission voted to revoke Deppen's teaching certification on Jan. 17.
According to Howett, PDE did not notify the district about the revocation until the next day.
"In less than an hour, the superintendent of schools was in contact with the district's solicitor and within a few minutes after that, Mr. Deppen was removed from the school setting," Howett said in an email.
PDE had suspended Deppen's certificate two years earlier when he was charged with sexual abuse and attempted sexual abuse of children stemming from a 2004 incident in which he videotaped children undressing in his home. Deppen also faced a second set of charges from a separate incident including endangering the welfare of children, corruption of minors, invasion of privacy and indecent assault.
During the criminal trial in October 2010, Deppen maintained that he did not intend to video record the girls changing their clothes, rather the video was supposed to record their reaction when he surprised them wearing a monkey mask.
Deppen also testified that his wife immediately took the video and, six years later, turned it in to police when the couple were going through a divorce.
Deppen was found innocent of sexual abuse and attempted sexual abuse charges. Other charges were dropped because of lack of evidence.
After Deppen's criminal charges were cleared, PDE restored his teaching credentials, and Manheim Central school board reinstated him as a teacher at Stiegel Elementary for the 2011-12 school year.
Howett said in an email that when Deppen had his credentials restored and there were no further charges against him, the district had no legal basis to prevent Deppen from returning to his teaching position.
Since then, subsequent administrative charges were filed against him to determine whether administrative action should be taken against his certification, Howett said. "PDE is entitled to conduct it's own investigation into the matter prior to filing administrative charges," Howett said. "There are different standards of proof in administrative hearings versus criminal hearings."
PDE posted a notification of its action against Deppen on its website on Jan. 17. The notification lists grounds for disciplinary action, which include "inappropriate behavior" and sexual misconduct with a minor.
Howett said Deppen has the right to appeal the decision of the Professional Standards and Practices Commission.
Lt. George Pappas of Northern Lancaster County Regional Police Department handled the case for the former Penn Township police department in 2010. He said Jan. 24 he could not comment because it was a district personnel issue.
Fred Cummins, interim district superintendent, was unavailable to comment on whether a letter was sent to notify parents of Deppen's removal.
Business Manager Nathan Wertsch said he was not involved in handling the issue, but he recalled Jan. 24 a letter being drafted.
source
Thursday, January 24, 2013
The Communist Takeover Of America – 45 Declared Goals
Jan. 24, 2013
by Guest Author
By Marion Algier – Ask Marion
In the wake of President Obama’s liberal Progressive second Inaugural speech, it is time for another look at greater underlying agendas and perhaps a time to remember that Progressivism = Socialism = Fascism = Marxism = Communism.
Ask almost anyone and you’ll hear, “Communism is dead! The Berlin wall came down, the USSR is gone, China is our trading partner, the cold war is over…” That is one of the problems with America and the western world; we live in the now and our attention span and planning is short term unlike those in movements promoting Communism, Marxism, Socialism, Fascism, Progressivism (all the same), a New World or Globalist Order or beliefs like Islam.
From Greg Swank – 12-4-02
Below is a list of 45 goals that found their way down the halls of our great Capitol back in 1963. As you read this, 50 years later, you should be shocked by the events that have played themselves out. I first ran across this list 3 years ago, but was unable to attain a copy and it has bothered me ever since. Recently, Jeff Rense posted it on his site and I would like to thank him for doing so.
Rense.com – h/t to MJ:
Communist Goals (1963) Congressional Record–Appendix, pp. A34-A35 January 10, 1963
Current Communist Goals EXTENSION OF REMARKS OF HON. A. S. HERLONG, JR. OF FLORIDA IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Thursday, January 10, 1963 .
Mr. HERLONG. Mr. Speaker, Mrs. Patricia Nordman of De Land, Fla., is an ardent and articulate opponent of communism, and until recently published the De Land Courier, which she dedicated to the purpose of alerting the public to the dangers of communism in America.
At Mrs. Nordman’s request, I include in the RECORD, under unanimous consent, the following “Current Communist Goals,” which she identifies as an excerpt from “The Naked Communist,” by Cleon Skousen:
Communist Goals:
[From "The Naked Communist," by Cleon Skousen]
1. U.S. acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war.
2. U.S. willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war.
3. Develop the illusion that total disarmament [by] the United States would be a demonstration of moral strength.
4. Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war.
5. Extension of long-term loans to Russia and Soviet satellites.
6. Provide American aid to all nations regardless of Communist domination.
7. Grant recognition of Red China. Admission of Red China to the U.N.
8. Set up East and West Germany as separate states in spite of Khrushchev’s promise in 1955 to settle the German question by free elections under supervision of the U.N.
9. Prolong the conferences to ban atomic tests because the United States has agreed to suspend tests as long as negotiations are in progress.
10. Allow all Soviet satellites individual representation in the U.N.
11. Promote the U.N. as the only hope for mankind. If its charter is rewritten, demand that it be set up as a one-world government with its own independent armed forces. (Some Communist leaders believe the world can be taken over as easily by the U.N. as by Moscow. Sometimes these two centers compete with each other as they are now doing in the Congo.)
12. Resist any attempt to outlaw the Communist Party.
13. Do away with all loyalty oaths.
14. Continue giving Russia access to the U.S. Patent Office.
15. Capture one or both of the political parties in the United States.
16. Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions by claiming their activities violate civil rights.
17. Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers’ associations. Put the party line in textbooks.
18. Gain control of all student newspapers.
19. Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack.
20. Infiltrate the press. Get control of book-review assignments, editorial writing, policy-making positions.
21. Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures.
22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to “eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms.”
23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. “Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art.”
24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them “censorship” and a violation of free speech and free press.
25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.
26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as “normal, natural, healthy.”
27. Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with “social” religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity, which does not need a “religious crutch.”
28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of “separation of church and state.”
29. Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis.
30. Discredit the American Founding Fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the “common man.”
31. Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of the “big picture.” Give more emphasis to Russian history since the Communists took over.
32. Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture–education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc.
33. Eliminate all laws or procedures which interfere with the operation of the Communist apparatus.
34. Eliminate the House Committee on Un-American Activities.
35. Discredit and eventually dismantle the FBI.
36. Infiltrate and gain control of more unions.
37. Infiltrate and gain control of big business.
38. Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand [or treat].
39. Dominate the psychiatric profession and use mental health laws as a means of gaining coercive control over those who oppose Communist goals.
40. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.
41. Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents.
42. Create the impression that violence and insurrection are legitimate aspects of the American tradition; that students and special-interest groups should rise up and use ["]united force["] to solve economic, political or social problems.
43. Overthrow all colonial governments before native populations are ready for self-government.
44. Internationalize the Panama Canal.
45. Repeal the Connally reservation so the United States cannot prevent the World Court from seizing jurisdiction [over domestic problems. Give the World Court jurisdiction] over nations and individuals alike.
Note by Webmaster: The Congressional Record back this far has not been digitized and posted on the Internet. It will probably be available at your nearest library that is a federal repository. Call them and ask them. Your college library is probably a repository. This is an excellent source of government records. Another source are your Congress Critters. They should be more than happy to help you in this matter. You will find the Ten Planks of the Communist Manifesto interesting at this point.
…Webmaster Forest Glen Durland found the document in the library.
Sources are listed below.
Microfilm: California State University at San Jose Clark Library, Government Floor Phone (408)924-2770 Microfilm Call Number: J 11.R5
Congressional Record, Vol. 109 88th Congress, 1st Session Appendix Pages A1-A2842 Jan. 9-May 7, 1963 Reel 12
1963 – The Year That Changed America
By Greg Swank – 12-4-2
Over the years, I have shared in debates and discussions regarding the current state of affairs in the U.S., and the changing social climate of this great nation. Since the “baby-boomer” generation, society and its culture have become noticeably different than the way it was 50 years ago. From the late 50?s to the 70?s a series of events took place contributing to the way we are currently living. However, like anything else, there has to be a starting point at which the wheels are put into motion. Sometimes it can be a single event, such as war, but more often, it is a series of events, some intentional, some planned, others unpredictable. There is always a pivotal point when things begin to change. I believe that time was 1963.
For my generation, some of the following will certainly stir old memories. If you born later, this may serve as a brief history lesson into the times your parents traveled through.
By 1963 television was the leading sources of entertainment. The public enjoyed a different type of programming back then. Lessons on life could be viewed weekly on “Leave it to Beaver” or “My Three Sons.” There were hero’s back then that never drew blood, “The Lone Ranger” and “The Adventures of Superman.” Cartoon series evolved, such as, “The Flintstones” and “The Jetsons” without messages of empowering the children, using vulgarities or demeaning parental guidance. Family’s could spend a weekend evening watching “Ed Sullivan,” “Bonanza” or “Gunsmoke.” For those who enjoyed thrill and suspense, we were blessed with “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” and the “Twilight Zone.” ‘My Favorite Martian,” “Ozzie and Harriet,” “Donna Reed” and “Sea Hunt” also kept viewers entertained weekly.
Movie theaters were not multiplex units with 15 screens, rather, one single, giant big screen with adequate sound and hard seats without springs. “Tom Jones” had won the Academy award for best picture. “How The West Was Won,” “Cleopatra,” “Lily of the Fields,” “The Great Escape,” “The Birds,” and “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” were all box office hits.
By years end, “The Beatles” had played for the British Royal Family and were laying the groundwork to conquer the U.S. the following year. Eric Clapton began his journey to fame with Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Jim McCarty and their band, “The Yardbirds.” Out on the west coast the surf was beginning to rock’n’roll with “The Beach Boys” and their first song to reach the top ten list, “Surfin’ U.S.A.”
“Joys of Jell-O” recipes for quivering florescent foodstuff hit the stores. U.S. Postal rates went up to five cents for the first ounce. AT&T introduced touch-tone telephones. The Yankees played in the World Series again; but lost to the Dodgers in four straight. The government and NASA began the Apollo program.
This is just a brief snapshot of some things that were going on back in 1963. Remember?
While some of these events played an important role in the direction of change that affect us today, many of them were lost to much greater, more political events, that I believe put everything into motion.
On January 10, 1963, the House of Representative and later the Senate began reviewing a document entitled “Communist Goals for Taking Over America.” It contained an agenda of 45 separate issues that, in hindsight was quite shocking back then and equally shocking today. Here, in part, are some key points listed in that document.
4. Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war.
5. Extension of long-term loans to Russia and Soviet satellites.
8. Set up East and West Germany as separate states.
11. Promote the U.N. as the only hope for mankind.
13. Do away with all loyalty oaths.
16. Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions by claiming their activities violate civil rights.
23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. “Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art.”
24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them “censorship” and a violation of free speech and free press.
25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.
26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as “normal, natural, healthy.”
27. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity, which does not need a “religious crutch.”
28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of “separation of church and state.”
40. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.
44. Internationalize the Panama Canal.
You can see the entire list on this web page – http://www.truthtrek.net/politics/takeover.htm (no longer works as a link)
Now, I am not saying that the U.S. is under some kind of Communist control, but what I do find frightening, is of the 45 issues listed, nearly all of them have come to pass. Remember this was in January 1963.
In 1963 the news media showed women burning their bras as the women’s liberation movement took off with the publishing of “The Feminine Mystique” by Betty Friedan. Martin Luther King was jailed in April and civil unrest was being brought to the forefront. On August 28th the media brought us live coverage of the march on Washington and Dr. Kings famous “I had a dream” speech. The Cuban missile crisis found its way in to our homes and our nation was gearing up for conflict.
By September of 1963 we had lost some very influential people, Pope John XXIII, Robert Frost, and country legend Patsy Cline, to name a few. In the early hours of November 22nd we learned of the quiet passing of C.S. Lewis and hours later we were brought to our knees when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated and our nation mourned.
So you see, while long since forgotten, 1963 could very well have been, one of the most important years since our founding fathers provided us with the Constitution of the United States. Which brings me to one final and extremely important decision that was made during this most provocative year.
On June 17, 1963 the U.S. Supreme Court concluded that any Bible reciting or prayer, in public schools, was deemed unconstitutional.
While American’s have endured great prosperity over the past 40 years we have also lost our moral compass and direction. In reviewing the research, data supports 1963 as a focal point, demonstrating a downward slope in our moral and social decline through 2001.
Certainly, one would have to agree that all of these events have had a profound impact on the way our current social structure has been changed. Personally, if I had to choose one specific event that has demonstrated the demoralization of our country, it would have to be the decision of the U.S Supreme Court in June of 1963.
But there is always “hope.” As always, I welcome your comments and can easily be reached. Thanks for the response to “Daddy, What’s Fluoride?” My email is: greg@truthtrek.net
Comment – 12-7-2
From Founders’ America – foundersamerica@hotmail.com
Jeff…adding a couple of my own numbers:
__ 46. Import anti-white racists from the Third World, via an open-borders policy, then force their integration to divide and conquer white Western civilization in North America.
__ 47. Feminize and disarm both the citizenry and military; especially disarm white males.
Founders’ America
P.O. Box 71024 Richmond, Va
23255
Purchase “the Naked Communist” here – Below is a video series that a YouTube Blogger put together about the book: The Naked Communist.
Former KGB agent Explains Ideological Subversion and brain washing warns America “No place for future dissenters in America.”
Yuri Bezmenov is a former KGB agent and an expert on ideological subversion. He discusses the slow process of demoralization that transformed America from a conservative and mostly homogeneous country into a socially-Marxist and egalitarian one.
Interview conducted by Edward Griffin in 1985.
Manipulation of public opinion and media. Those who refused the influence of communism in their country, their reputation was ruined. Or they were executed. Physically. Revolution forces.
________________________________________________
Yuri Bezmenov: the useful idiots of socialism
Presented for the first subtitled in French, this interview, although dating from 1985, is a rare news. Yuri Bezmenov, ex-KGB agent spent in the West in the 1970 recounts in detail the techniques of destabilization and manipulation of public opinion.
This interview can understand why, in 2007, we still contend with a left lunar why so many teachers continue to undermine formatted generations of schoolchildren and students and why the fight against Marxist socialism, despite all the evidence its harmfulness, is always on the agenda.
Yuri Bezmenov shows how the socialist-communist bloc:
• knowingly implemented a comprehensive manipulation of public opinion and elites worldwide.
• conditioned schoolchildren and students to Western socialist ideals on at least three generations. This task was in his 85% of the activity of the KGB.
• systematically recruited all opinion leaders in the West for influence and destabilize the non-Communist world.
• conditioned and “de-moralized” (loss of value) of entire sections of society, become “useful idiots” of socialism.
In a lecture he remains traces on the Internet, Yuri Bezmenov – aka Thomas Schuman – gave further guidance on techniques designed to destabilize the western nations. Among these strategies of destabilization, he cites include:
• sabotage units of national, ethnic, racial, religious, linguistic
• ridicule of patriotism by degrading the level of a mental illness (psychotic)
• encouragement of the political turmoil in the world of work by politicizing the trade unions.
We have thus far both feet in and we have not changed the world: we’re still the heirs of the Cold War. It is now inside the tent of disease spread. And the “useful idiots” are also still active.
Soviet Subversion of the Free World Press – 1984, posted with vodpod
Video Translation here
Full Interview Below
Demoralization of America
more about “Demoralization of America,” posted with vodpod
Video: Ronald Reagan on Socialism and Liberalism
Must reads: The Naked Communist, The Coming Insurrection, The Road to Serfdom, The New Road to Serfdom, American Progressivism, Barack Obama and the Enemies Within and The Manchurian President
Obama is the master of manipulating the uninformed!!
Please educate yourself and then share what you have learned with others. Thomas Jefferson was so strong on the need for public education for all so America would have an educated populace, which is needed to maintain a republic. As Benjamin Franklin said when asked by a woman. “What have you given us, Mr. Franklin?” “A Republic, Madame,” he replied, “If you can keep it!” Unfortunately, our very lacking public education system, the mainstream media (MSM) and Hollywood have all been infiltrated by Progressives… the radical left, who are indoctrinating and manipulating the public. History repeats itself and the answers for the future lie in understanding the past.
The Communists, Marxists, Socialists, Fascists, Fabians, Progressives, leftists radicals… whatever you want to call them, have been busy working their plan(s) for years as we were manipulated into believing that the Cold War was over, that Communism was virtually dead except for 4 or 5 radical regimes and that we no longer had anything to fear from them. Now we have Marxism or Progressivism (Communism), Islam and our own dumbed down populace to fight… while globalist radicals have continued to forge ahead with their plans including their infiltration into our White House, Congress and Supreme Court, our education system, many of our churches and every media arm from entertainment to news that indoctrinate our children and the thoughts of most Americans… especially the uninformed!
source: Gulag bound
by Guest Author
By Marion Algier – Ask Marion
In the wake of President Obama’s liberal Progressive second Inaugural speech, it is time for another look at greater underlying agendas and perhaps a time to remember that Progressivism = Socialism = Fascism = Marxism = Communism.
Ask almost anyone and you’ll hear, “Communism is dead! The Berlin wall came down, the USSR is gone, China is our trading partner, the cold war is over…” That is one of the problems with America and the western world; we live in the now and our attention span and planning is short term unlike those in movements promoting Communism, Marxism, Socialism, Fascism, Progressivism (all the same), a New World or Globalist Order or beliefs like Islam.
From Greg Swank – 12-4-02
Below is a list of 45 goals that found their way down the halls of our great Capitol back in 1963. As you read this, 50 years later, you should be shocked by the events that have played themselves out. I first ran across this list 3 years ago, but was unable to attain a copy and it has bothered me ever since. Recently, Jeff Rense posted it on his site and I would like to thank him for doing so.
Rense.com – h/t to MJ:
Communist Goals (1963) Congressional Record–Appendix, pp. A34-A35 January 10, 1963
Current Communist Goals EXTENSION OF REMARKS OF HON. A. S. HERLONG, JR. OF FLORIDA IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Thursday, January 10, 1963 .
Mr. HERLONG. Mr. Speaker, Mrs. Patricia Nordman of De Land, Fla., is an ardent and articulate opponent of communism, and until recently published the De Land Courier, which she dedicated to the purpose of alerting the public to the dangers of communism in America.
At Mrs. Nordman’s request, I include in the RECORD, under unanimous consent, the following “Current Communist Goals,” which she identifies as an excerpt from “The Naked Communist,” by Cleon Skousen:
Communist Goals:
[From "The Naked Communist," by Cleon Skousen]
1. U.S. acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war.
2. U.S. willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war.
3. Develop the illusion that total disarmament [by] the United States would be a demonstration of moral strength.
4. Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war.
5. Extension of long-term loans to Russia and Soviet satellites.
6. Provide American aid to all nations regardless of Communist domination.
7. Grant recognition of Red China. Admission of Red China to the U.N.
8. Set up East and West Germany as separate states in spite of Khrushchev’s promise in 1955 to settle the German question by free elections under supervision of the U.N.
9. Prolong the conferences to ban atomic tests because the United States has agreed to suspend tests as long as negotiations are in progress.
10. Allow all Soviet satellites individual representation in the U.N.
11. Promote the U.N. as the only hope for mankind. If its charter is rewritten, demand that it be set up as a one-world government with its own independent armed forces. (Some Communist leaders believe the world can be taken over as easily by the U.N. as by Moscow. Sometimes these two centers compete with each other as they are now doing in the Congo.)
12. Resist any attempt to outlaw the Communist Party.
13. Do away with all loyalty oaths.
14. Continue giving Russia access to the U.S. Patent Office.
15. Capture one or both of the political parties in the United States.
16. Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions by claiming their activities violate civil rights.
17. Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers’ associations. Put the party line in textbooks.
18. Gain control of all student newspapers.
19. Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack.
20. Infiltrate the press. Get control of book-review assignments, editorial writing, policy-making positions.
21. Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures.
22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to “eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms.”
23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. “Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art.”
24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them “censorship” and a violation of free speech and free press.
25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.
26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as “normal, natural, healthy.”
27. Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with “social” religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity, which does not need a “religious crutch.”
28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of “separation of church and state.”
29. Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis.
30. Discredit the American Founding Fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the “common man.”
31. Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of the “big picture.” Give more emphasis to Russian history since the Communists took over.
32. Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture–education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc.
33. Eliminate all laws or procedures which interfere with the operation of the Communist apparatus.
34. Eliminate the House Committee on Un-American Activities.
35. Discredit and eventually dismantle the FBI.
36. Infiltrate and gain control of more unions.
37. Infiltrate and gain control of big business.
38. Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand [or treat].
39. Dominate the psychiatric profession and use mental health laws as a means of gaining coercive control over those who oppose Communist goals.
40. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.
41. Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents.
42. Create the impression that violence and insurrection are legitimate aspects of the American tradition; that students and special-interest groups should rise up and use ["]united force["] to solve economic, political or social problems.
43. Overthrow all colonial governments before native populations are ready for self-government.
44. Internationalize the Panama Canal.
45. Repeal the Connally reservation so the United States cannot prevent the World Court from seizing jurisdiction [over domestic problems. Give the World Court jurisdiction] over nations and individuals alike.
Note by Webmaster: The Congressional Record back this far has not been digitized and posted on the Internet. It will probably be available at your nearest library that is a federal repository. Call them and ask them. Your college library is probably a repository. This is an excellent source of government records. Another source are your Congress Critters. They should be more than happy to help you in this matter. You will find the Ten Planks of the Communist Manifesto interesting at this point.
…Webmaster Forest Glen Durland found the document in the library.
Sources are listed below.
Microfilm: California State University at San Jose Clark Library, Government Floor Phone (408)924-2770 Microfilm Call Number: J 11.R5
Congressional Record, Vol. 109 88th Congress, 1st Session Appendix Pages A1-A2842 Jan. 9-May 7, 1963 Reel 12
1963 – The Year That Changed America
By Greg Swank – 12-4-2
Over the years, I have shared in debates and discussions regarding the current state of affairs in the U.S., and the changing social climate of this great nation. Since the “baby-boomer” generation, society and its culture have become noticeably different than the way it was 50 years ago. From the late 50?s to the 70?s a series of events took place contributing to the way we are currently living. However, like anything else, there has to be a starting point at which the wheels are put into motion. Sometimes it can be a single event, such as war, but more often, it is a series of events, some intentional, some planned, others unpredictable. There is always a pivotal point when things begin to change. I believe that time was 1963.
For my generation, some of the following will certainly stir old memories. If you born later, this may serve as a brief history lesson into the times your parents traveled through.
By 1963 television was the leading sources of entertainment. The public enjoyed a different type of programming back then. Lessons on life could be viewed weekly on “Leave it to Beaver” or “My Three Sons.” There were hero’s back then that never drew blood, “The Lone Ranger” and “The Adventures of Superman.” Cartoon series evolved, such as, “The Flintstones” and “The Jetsons” without messages of empowering the children, using vulgarities or demeaning parental guidance. Family’s could spend a weekend evening watching “Ed Sullivan,” “Bonanza” or “Gunsmoke.” For those who enjoyed thrill and suspense, we were blessed with “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” and the “Twilight Zone.” ‘My Favorite Martian,” “Ozzie and Harriet,” “Donna Reed” and “Sea Hunt” also kept viewers entertained weekly.
Movie theaters were not multiplex units with 15 screens, rather, one single, giant big screen with adequate sound and hard seats without springs. “Tom Jones” had won the Academy award for best picture. “How The West Was Won,” “Cleopatra,” “Lily of the Fields,” “The Great Escape,” “The Birds,” and “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” were all box office hits.
By years end, “The Beatles” had played for the British Royal Family and were laying the groundwork to conquer the U.S. the following year. Eric Clapton began his journey to fame with Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Jim McCarty and their band, “The Yardbirds.” Out on the west coast the surf was beginning to rock’n’roll with “The Beach Boys” and their first song to reach the top ten list, “Surfin’ U.S.A.”
“Joys of Jell-O” recipes for quivering florescent foodstuff hit the stores. U.S. Postal rates went up to five cents for the first ounce. AT&T introduced touch-tone telephones. The Yankees played in the World Series again; but lost to the Dodgers in four straight. The government and NASA began the Apollo program.
This is just a brief snapshot of some things that were going on back in 1963. Remember?
While some of these events played an important role in the direction of change that affect us today, many of them were lost to much greater, more political events, that I believe put everything into motion.
On January 10, 1963, the House of Representative and later the Senate began reviewing a document entitled “Communist Goals for Taking Over America.” It contained an agenda of 45 separate issues that, in hindsight was quite shocking back then and equally shocking today. Here, in part, are some key points listed in that document.
4. Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war.
5. Extension of long-term loans to Russia and Soviet satellites.
8. Set up East and West Germany as separate states.
11. Promote the U.N. as the only hope for mankind.
13. Do away with all loyalty oaths.
16. Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions by claiming their activities violate civil rights.
23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. “Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art.”
24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them “censorship” and a violation of free speech and free press.
25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.
26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as “normal, natural, healthy.”
27. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity, which does not need a “religious crutch.”
28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of “separation of church and state.”
40. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.
44. Internationalize the Panama Canal.
You can see the entire list on this web page – http://www.truthtrek.net/politics/takeover.htm (no longer works as a link)
Now, I am not saying that the U.S. is under some kind of Communist control, but what I do find frightening, is of the 45 issues listed, nearly all of them have come to pass. Remember this was in January 1963.
In 1963 the news media showed women burning their bras as the women’s liberation movement took off with the publishing of “The Feminine Mystique” by Betty Friedan. Martin Luther King was jailed in April and civil unrest was being brought to the forefront. On August 28th the media brought us live coverage of the march on Washington and Dr. Kings famous “I had a dream” speech. The Cuban missile crisis found its way in to our homes and our nation was gearing up for conflict.
By September of 1963 we had lost some very influential people, Pope John XXIII, Robert Frost, and country legend Patsy Cline, to name a few. In the early hours of November 22nd we learned of the quiet passing of C.S. Lewis and hours later we were brought to our knees when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated and our nation mourned.
So you see, while long since forgotten, 1963 could very well have been, one of the most important years since our founding fathers provided us with the Constitution of the United States. Which brings me to one final and extremely important decision that was made during this most provocative year.
On June 17, 1963 the U.S. Supreme Court concluded that any Bible reciting or prayer, in public schools, was deemed unconstitutional.
While American’s have endured great prosperity over the past 40 years we have also lost our moral compass and direction. In reviewing the research, data supports 1963 as a focal point, demonstrating a downward slope in our moral and social decline through 2001.
Certainly, one would have to agree that all of these events have had a profound impact on the way our current social structure has been changed. Personally, if I had to choose one specific event that has demonstrated the demoralization of our country, it would have to be the decision of the U.S Supreme Court in June of 1963.
But there is always “hope.” As always, I welcome your comments and can easily be reached. Thanks for the response to “Daddy, What’s Fluoride?” My email is: greg@truthtrek.net
Comment – 12-7-2
From Founders’ America – foundersamerica@hotmail.com
Jeff…adding a couple of my own numbers:
__ 46. Import anti-white racists from the Third World, via an open-borders policy, then force their integration to divide and conquer white Western civilization in North America.
__ 47. Feminize and disarm both the citizenry and military; especially disarm white males.
Founders’ America
P.O. Box 71024 Richmond, Va
23255
Purchase “the Naked Communist” here – Below is a video series that a YouTube Blogger put together about the book: The Naked Communist.
Former KGB agent Explains Ideological Subversion and brain washing warns America “No place for future dissenters in America.”
Yuri Bezmenov is a former KGB agent and an expert on ideological subversion. He discusses the slow process of demoralization that transformed America from a conservative and mostly homogeneous country into a socially-Marxist and egalitarian one.
Interview conducted by Edward Griffin in 1985.
Manipulation of public opinion and media. Those who refused the influence of communism in their country, their reputation was ruined. Or they were executed. Physically. Revolution forces.
________________________________________________
Yuri Bezmenov: the useful idiots of socialism
Presented for the first subtitled in French, this interview, although dating from 1985, is a rare news. Yuri Bezmenov, ex-KGB agent spent in the West in the 1970 recounts in detail the techniques of destabilization and manipulation of public opinion.
This interview can understand why, in 2007, we still contend with a left lunar why so many teachers continue to undermine formatted generations of schoolchildren and students and why the fight against Marxist socialism, despite all the evidence its harmfulness, is always on the agenda.
Yuri Bezmenov shows how the socialist-communist bloc:
• knowingly implemented a comprehensive manipulation of public opinion and elites worldwide.
• conditioned schoolchildren and students to Western socialist ideals on at least three generations. This task was in his 85% of the activity of the KGB.
• systematically recruited all opinion leaders in the West for influence and destabilize the non-Communist world.
• conditioned and “de-moralized” (loss of value) of entire sections of society, become “useful idiots” of socialism.
In a lecture he remains traces on the Internet, Yuri Bezmenov – aka Thomas Schuman – gave further guidance on techniques designed to destabilize the western nations. Among these strategies of destabilization, he cites include:
• sabotage units of national, ethnic, racial, religious, linguistic
• ridicule of patriotism by degrading the level of a mental illness (psychotic)
• encouragement of the political turmoil in the world of work by politicizing the trade unions.
We have thus far both feet in and we have not changed the world: we’re still the heirs of the Cold War. It is now inside the tent of disease spread. And the “useful idiots” are also still active.
Soviet Subversion of the Free World Press – 1984, posted with vodpod
Video Translation here
Full Interview Below
Demoralization of America
more about “Demoralization of America,” posted with vodpod
Video: Ronald Reagan on Socialism and Liberalism
Must reads: The Naked Communist, The Coming Insurrection, The Road to Serfdom, The New Road to Serfdom, American Progressivism, Barack Obama and the Enemies Within and The Manchurian President
Obama is the master of manipulating the uninformed!!
Please educate yourself and then share what you have learned with others. Thomas Jefferson was so strong on the need for public education for all so America would have an educated populace, which is needed to maintain a republic. As Benjamin Franklin said when asked by a woman. “What have you given us, Mr. Franklin?” “A Republic, Madame,” he replied, “If you can keep it!” Unfortunately, our very lacking public education system, the mainstream media (MSM) and Hollywood have all been infiltrated by Progressives… the radical left, who are indoctrinating and manipulating the public. History repeats itself and the answers for the future lie in understanding the past.
The Communists, Marxists, Socialists, Fascists, Fabians, Progressives, leftists radicals… whatever you want to call them, have been busy working their plan(s) for years as we were manipulated into believing that the Cold War was over, that Communism was virtually dead except for 4 or 5 radical regimes and that we no longer had anything to fear from them. Now we have Marxism or Progressivism (Communism), Islam and our own dumbed down populace to fight… while globalist radicals have continued to forge ahead with their plans including their infiltration into our White House, Congress and Supreme Court, our education system, many of our churches and every media arm from entertainment to news that indoctrinate our children and the thoughts of most Americans… especially the uninformed!
source: Gulag bound
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