How many times has the West encouraged rebels–going back to the Warsaw ghettos–only to leave them to die in the lurch? When motives are less than pure, both those being supported and those doing the supporting are on shaky moral ground, and opening Pandora's Box, which always includes third parties with their own agendas, empowered by Western destabilization to muck about on their own.
It was seen as one of the most distressing effects of climate change ever recorded: polar bears dying of exhaustion after being stranded between melting patches of Arctic sea ice.
But now the government scientist who first warned of the threat to polar bears in a warming Arctic has been suspended and his work put under official investigation for possible scientific misconduct.
. . . . . .
Some question why Monnett, employed by the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, has been suspended at this moment. The Obama administration has been accused of hounding the scientist so it can open up the fragile region to drilling by Shell and other big oil companies.
“Congress must take the lead in challenging the laws and practices that have allowed excessive secrecy to become the dominant feature of our national security culture,” the American Civil Liberties Union urged in a new report on government secrecy.
“The excessive secrecy that hides how the government pursues its national security mission is undermining the core principles of democratic government and injuring our nation in ways no terrorist act ever could,” wrote Mike German and Jay Stanley, the authors of the ACLU report. “It is time for Congress to make the secrecy problem an issue of the highest priority, and enact a sweeping overhaul of our national security establishment to re-impose democratic controls.”
The report provides a fluid account of current secrecy policy, along with a critique from first principles as well as from recent experience. Highly readable and thoroughly footnoted, the 51 page report covers a spectrum of secrecy issues, from the state secrets privilege to secret law to the role of national security whistleblowers, and a lot more. It concludes with a menu of recommended reforms that Congress could and, the authors say, should undertake.
Press Release Contact: Amy Bennett or Patrice McDermott, OpenTheGovernment.org, 202-332-6736
July 26, 2010 – Organizations that support openness and accountability were shocked and saddened to learn that House Republican leadership plans to wipe out bipartisan progress on Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) legislation in the interest of pushing its budget package.
“If House leadership wishes to make good on their pledge to improve transparency and accountability, they should not kill this good government bill with strong bipartisan support as a political maneuver,” said Angela Canterbury, Director of Public Policy at the Project On Government Oversight (POGO). “Instead, they should walk their talk by making the Faster FOIA Act law.”
This afternoon, at the direction of House leadership, the House Rules Committee is poised to approve a rule that allows Speaker Boehner to strip all language out of S. 627, the Faster FOIA Act, and replace it with his budget proposal.
Two recent attempts at revivals of the Knights Templar.
One: Norway. In this video posted by Anders (the Oslo bomber) before his attack. He makes a plea for a revival of the Knights Templar at the end of the video (the first part is an attack on liberalism/multiculturalism and islamic immigration). His bloody attack was an attempt to jump start a revival through what's called “a plausible promise.”
Two: Mexico. A splinter group from the Michoacan La Familia cartel (which is unravelling) has named themselves the Knights Templar. They have published a code of conduct, eschew drug use, etc. This group is active in the drug business, growing quickly (the simple rules of conduct required to join it are very viral), and killing every rival in their way (the Zetas, what's left of La Familia, and the Mexican government troops/police).
Why? The Knights Templar is an historical model that is a ready made formula for manufacturing fictive kinship. Fictive kinship is the “glue” or “cement” that holds together tribes. Manufacturing fictive kinship enables the formation of a tribe/gang/cult that is able to defend itself and its interests.
In the case of religiously grounded historical examples like this, it allows the group and its members to believe they are special. So special they can transcend the laws, customs, and morality of the outside world without remorse/pause. The result is a group that will often kill in a far more aggressive way than what is seen with groups that are glued together only through economic ties (al Qaeda used this approach).
There is a massive complicity in America today between the corporations that fund elections and the officeholders they elect. Actions like Tim's are aimed at disrupting that complicity. For our children, for our country and for the world, we should honor his courage and self-sacrifice and pledge to follow in his footsteps, each in our own way.
Op-Ed
Tim DeChristopher's courageous bid to save our world
In disrupting a federal auction of oil and gas leases, Tim DeChristopher became a hero, but he now faces as many as 10 years in prison.
By Peter YarrowLos Angeles Times, July 26, 2011
In March, Tim DeChristopher was convicted of two felony counts for a nonviolent act of civil disobedience. Acting out of his deepest convictions and his abiding concern for the survival of humankind, Tim bid on oil and gas leases on federal land that he didn't have the means to pay for. On Tuesday, he could be sentenced to a maximum of 10 years in prison for his actions.
Farm thefts in California. From copper to iron to avocados to bees to solar panels. Combo of economic depression/financial collapse (a loss of legitimacy) that continues to ravage CA and legal decay (budgets to protect against this are down by 50% in three years
EXTRACT
Like many lawmen in vast agricultural areas, Sheriff Anderson said a major challenge was the remoteness of farms and the lack of witnesses. “It’s not like breaking into the neighbor’s house and the dog barking,” he said. “These things are just sitting out here in the middle of nowhere.”
Phi Beta Iota: This one quote is gripping, because it describes the insanity of what the US Government is trying to do with Homeland Security: “It’s difficult to lock up 1,400-plus acres,” he said. “The value of the fences would be worth more than I’m worth.”
How many times has the West encouraged rebels–going back to the Warsaw ghettos–only to leave them to die in the lurch? When motives are less than pure, both those being supported and those doing the supporting are on shaky moral ground, and opening Pandora's Box, which always includes third parties with their own agendas, empowered by Western destabilization to muck about on their own.
