PDF (46 Pages): The Next Chapter of Global Terrorism (December 2012)
Continue reading “Brookings Institution: “The Official Persistent Terrorism Threat””
Marcus Aurelius: Matt Damon on Politics — Game is Rigged
Corruption, Government, Ineptitude
Leftwing sage….
Huffington Post, 28 December 2012
Matt Damon is not only one of Hollywood's best actors, but also a top interviewee. The 42-year-old star rarely censors himself in interviews, offering unfiltered opinion and honesty that belies his standing as an A-list star. In a new chat with Playboy, Damon continues that trend by providing commentary on the recent presidential election and politics in general.
“We're at a point where politicians don’t really get any benefit from engaging with long-term issues,” Damon said. His new film, “Promised Land,” is tangentially about fracking, an environmental issue of growing concern in the United States, but not one politicians seem eager to discuss.
“It's all about the next election cycle. Those guys in the House don't do anything now but run for office,” Damon continued. “So unless they can find some little thing that zips them up a couple of points in the polls, they're not interested.”
Damon is often open about his politics. In a widely disseminated interview with Elle last year, the star dinged President Barack Obama for not being forceful enough.
“I've talked to a lot of people who worked for Obama at the grassroots level. One of them said to me, ‘Never again. I will never be fooled again by a politician,'” Damon told the magazine. “You know, a one-term president with some balls who actually got stuff done would have been, in the long run of the country, much better.”
Still, when asked by Playboy if he voted for Obama after those comments, Damon replied, “Definitely.”
“I assume there will be some Supreme Court appointments in this next term; that alone was reason to vote for him,” Damon said. “I don’t think I said anything a lot of people weren’t thinking. It’s easier now more than ever in my life to feel the fix is in, the game is rigged and no matter how hard you work to change things, it just doesn’t matter.”
The lengthy interview with Playboy is a must-read for Damon fans, and includes insight into much more about the star than just his politics. Head to Playboy.com to check it out.
Continue reading “Marcus Aurelius: Matt Damon on Politics — Game is Rigged”
SchwartzReport: Black-Market Abortions — When Legislators Let Ideological Money Ignore the Reality of Poor Women
07 Health, Civil Society, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Government
Black-Market Abortion Drug Sales Appear To Be Rising
The New Republic‘s cover headline this month is a topic that pro-choice activists speak about occasionally amongst themselves, but rarely address in public: “The Rise of DIY Abortions.” The reason that it's not much discussed in public forums is that reproductive health advocates are data-driven people, and one thing that's nearly impossible to get data on is the prevalence of women quietly buying an ulcer medication named Cytotec from sleazy online dealers and using that to terminate pregnacies at home, far out of the reach of doctors and agencies like the CDC or the Guttmacher Institute that compile statistics on abortions. The writer of the piece, Ada Calhoun, admits that there's no way to know how common these black-market abortions are, but points out that the rise in websites peddling Cytotec specifically to terminate pregnancy (instead for its on-label use to treat ulcers) makes it hard to deny that this is a growing trend:
Mini-Me: Sandy Hook Massacre — Still Conflicted
Collective Intelligence, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Government, IO Deeds of War, Law Enforcement, Media
Huh?
Sandy Hook: Huge Hoax and Anti-Gun “Psy Op”
By Jim Fetzer and Dennis Cimino
Jim Fetzer, a former Marine Corps officer, is McKnight Professor Emeritus at the University of Minnesota Duluth.
Dennis Cimino, who has extensive engineering and support experience with military electronics, predominantly US Navy Combat Systems, was the Navy’s top EMI troubleshooter before he went to work for Raytheon in the 1980s.
There are obvious signs that tell the difference between genuine and fabricated event. The recent shooting of police and firemen responding to a deliberately-set fire has all the signs of being a bona fide event: there is a single consistent narrative, one shooter has been clearly identified, and there has been no good reason to doubt that the subject, William Spengler, went off the rails and committed the crimes. There are many articles about it, which relate the same basic themes: “Killer of 2 NY Firemen had semiautomatic rifle, left note”: “Police say the man who lured firefighters in Webster, N.Y., into a deadly ambush had the same make and caliber semiautomatic rifle as the one used in the Connecticut school massacre. Webster Police Chief Gerald Pickering said Tuesday that 62-year-old William Spengler was armed with a .223-caliber Bushmaster rifle, a .38-caliber revolver and a 12-gauge shotgun in Monday’s ambush. Spengler killed two firefighters and wounded two others before fatally shooting himself.”
Continue reading “Mini-Me: Sandy Hook Massacre — Still Conflicted”
Jerry Boykin: Benghazi — Focus on Failure of DoD to Rescue with Comment & Links by Robert Steele
Corruption, Government, Ineptitude, Military
BOYKIN: Congress asking the wrong questions on Benghazi
Lack of military response should be top issue
Washington Times, 26 December 2012
“Iknew wherever I was that you thought of me and that if I got in a tight place, you would come — if alive.” This statement was contained in a letter dated March 10, 1864, written by Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman to Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant. It expresses an ageless ethos among warriors, especially those within the U.S. military. The commitment to come to the aid of fellow Americans in times of duress and danger has always been one of the foundations of America’s fighting forces. Yet that appears to have changed on Sept. 11, 2012, in Benghazi, Libya, when no effort was made to respond to the calls for help by U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and his CIA team at the U.S. Consulate facility.
Why was there no attempt to save the lives of the ambassador and his colleagues, beyond sending an unarmed drone to observe their demise? The congressional committees investigating the events in Benghazi seem to have focused on the Sunday talk-show statements of Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice, who blamed the attack on an obscure anti-Islam video made by a relatively unknown man in California.
Marcus Aurelius: Maryland Traffic Cameras Caught Out — Issuing Tickets to Cars at Full Stop
Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Government, Ineptitude, Law EnforcementI'm am an opponent of speed cameras and red light cameras. Following two articles, about a local case where a driver stopped at a light and doing zero mph gets charged by a red light camera for doing 38 mph, makes the case, IMHO. This may be the one time in 10,000 where the equipment and people screw up. It could be the one time in one hundred million. No matter. If any single element of this case is as reported, IMHO it justifies Federal intervention via statute or Constitutional amendment to prohibit use of these unattended surveillance devices anywhere, for any purpose, within US National territory. Every contractor and the Balto PD officer involved should also be terminated. Seem like overkill? I disagree.
Speed camera nabs car stopped at light
TheWashingtonPost, Dec 14, 2012 03:32 PM EST
SchwartzReport: The Truth is a Stake in Monsanto’s Heart — If It Had One — and If Public Had a Brain
Commerce, Corruption, Earth Intelligence
Cancer of Corruption, Seeds of Destruction: The Monsanto GMO Whitewash
F. William Engdahl – Centre for Reseaerch on Globilization
Here is the latest on the GMO trend. It is not a happy story.
EXTRACT:
The study was also done with the highest number of rats ever measured in a standard GMO diet study. They tested also ‘for the first time 3 doses (rather than two in the usual 90 day long protocols) of the Roundup-tolerant NK603 GMO maize alone, the GMO maize treated with Roundup, and Roundup alone at very low environmentally relevant doses starting below the range of levels permitted by regulatory authorities in drinking water and in GM feed.” [1]
Their findings were more than alarming. The Seralini study concluded, ‘In females, all treated groups died 2–3 times more than controls, and more rapidly. This difference was visible in 3 male groups fed GMOs…Females developed large mammary tumors almost always more often than and before controls; the pituitary was the second most disabled organ; the sex hormonal balance was modified by GMO and Roundup treatments. In treated males, liver congestions and necrosis were 2.5–5.5 times higher. This pathology was confirmed by optic and transmission electron microscopy. Marked and severe kidney nephropathies were also generally 1.3–2.3 greater. Males presented 4 times more large palpable tumors than controls…” [2]
Phi Beta Iota: At root this website is dedicated to one general and two specific propositions. General: the truth at any cost lowers all others costs. Specific: there is a market for the truth; and the five billion poor are the center of gravity for the truth as a public good.
