Scenario: Your government is displeased with the communication going on in your location and pulls the plug on your internet access, most likely by telling the major ISPs to turn off service.
This is what happened in Egypt Jan. 25 prompted by citizen protests, with sources estimating that the Egyptian government cut off approximately 88 percent of the country's internet access. What do you do without internet? Step 1: Stop crying in the corner. Then start taking steps to reconnect with your network. Here’s a list of things you can do to keep the communication flowing.
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Contents
[hide]
* 1 Preventative measures
o 1.1 Make your network tangible
o 1.2 Broadcast on the radio
o 1.3 Phone
o 1.4 Fax
* 2 Getting back online
o 2.1 Find the privately-run ISPs
o 2.2 Return to dial-up
o 2.3 Ad-Hoc Networking
* 3 Get satellite access
* 4 Packet Radio
* 5 Back to Basics
* 6 Additional Resources
Preventative measures
Make your network tangible
Print out your contact list, so your phone numbers aren’t stuck in the cloud. Some mail services like Gmail allow you to export your online contact list in formats that are more conducive to paper, such as CSV or Vcard, and offer step-by-step guides on how to do this.
Broadcast on the radio
CB Radio: Short for "Citizens Band" radio, these two-way radios allow communication over short distances on 40 channels. You can pick one up for about $20 to $50 at Radio Shack, and no license is required to operate it.
Ham radio: To converse over these radios, also known as "amateur radios," you have to obtain an operator's license from the FCC. Luckily, other Wired How-To contributors have already explained exactly what you need to do to get one and use it like a pro.
Phone
Set up a phone tree: According to the American Association of University Women, a phone tree is "a prearranged, pyramid-shaped system for activating a group of people by telephone" that can "spread a brief message quickly and efficiently to a large number of people." Dig out that contact list you printed out and follow the steps on the AAUW website to spread the message down your pyramid of contacts.
Enable Twitter via SMS: Though the thought of unleashing the Twitter fire hose in your text message inbox may seem horrifying, it would be better than not being able to connect to the outside world at all. The Twitter website has full instructions on how to redirect tweets to your phone.
Alex Jones and infowars.com have a telephone number for people to listen to his radio show by phone, in case the internet goes down, or if you don't have internet. The phone in listen line is 512-646-5000.
Fax
If you need to quickly send and receive documents with lengthy or complex instructions, phone conversations may result in misunderstandings, and delivering the doc by foot would take forever. Brush the dust off that bulky old machine, establish a connection by phone first with the recipient to make sure his machine is hooked up, then fax away.
You may not need a fax machine to send or receive faxes if your computer has a dial-up fax application.
Getting back online
While it might be relatively easy for a government to cut connections by leveraging the major ISPs, there are some places they wouldn't get to so readily, like privately-owned networks and independent ISPs.
Find the privately-run ISPs
In densely populated areas, especially in central business districts and city suburbs there are multiple home WiFi networks overlapping each other, some secure, some not. If there is no internet, open up your WiFi by removing password protection: If enough people do this it's feasible to create a totally private WiFi service outside government control covering the CBD, and you can use applications that run Bonjour (iChat on Mac for example) to communicate with others on the open network and send and receive documents. **needs more clarification
If you are a private ISP, it's your time to shine. Consider allowing open access to your Wi-Fi routers to facilitate communication of people around you until the grid is back online.
Return to dial-up
According to an article in the BBC about old tech's role in the Egyptian protests, "Dial-up modems are one of the most popular routes for Egyptians to get back online. Long lists of international numbers that connect to dial-up modems are circulating in Egypt thanks to net activists We Re-Build, Telecomix and others."
Ad-Hoc Networking
Most wireless routers, PCs, laptops, and even some ultramobile devices like cellphones have the ability to become part of an "ad hoc" network, where different "nodes" (all of the devices on the network) share the responsibility of transmitting data with one another. These networks can become quite large, and are often very easy to set up. If used properly by a tech-savvy person, such networks can be used to host temporary websites and chat rooms. There are many internet tutorials on the internet for ad hoc networking, so feel free to google some.
Apple computers tend to have very accessible ad hoc functionality built in, including a pre-installed chat client (iChat) that will automatically set up an ad hoc "Rendezvous" chatroom among anybody on the network, without the need for an external service like AIM or Skype. Ad hoc network-hosting functionality is built in to the Wi-Fi menu.
Windows computers have several third-party ad hoc chat applications available (such as Trillian) and setting up an ad hoc Wi-Fi network is almost as simple as on a Mac.
Linux operating systems, of course, have plenty of third-party apps available, and most distros have ad hoc network-creation support built in.
Get satellite access
You can have very, very slow internet if you have something similiar to an Iridium phone, which would allow you to do dial up at 2400 baud, which at least gives you e-mail. This will also work when your government has shut down GSM and telephone access, and will work pretty much anywhere on the planet. If you're in the right place, get yourself KA-SAT access (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KA-SAT) which is satellite broadband and will not be routed through any internet exchange that certain local governments may monitor or block (unless that government is part of EU or er ... Uncle Sam.
Packet Radio
Back to the '90s: There do exist shortwave packet-radio modems. These are also excruciatingly slow, but may get your e-mail out.
Back to Basics
Have an air horn or other loud instrument handy. It may just come down to being able to alert people in your local geographic area, who would otherwise be unaware of an emergency. You may also want to learn a bit about Morse code and have a cheat sheet available.
Additional Resources
The online activist group known as Anonymous has posted a crowd-sourced document titled "20 Ways to Circumvent the Egyptians Governments' Internet Block" that includes specific connectivity details like ham radio frequencies and ip addresses for social networking sites.
http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Communicate_if_Your_Government_Shuts_Off_Your_Internet
Monday, January 31, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Taco Bell beef faked? No more than the rest of the FDA-approved toxic food supply
(NaturalNews) The word spread like wildfire across the internet: An Alabama law firm had filed a class action lawsuit against Taco Bell in California, saying its meat fails to meet the definition of beef set forth by the U.S. government (and even that's a pretty low hurdle, if you ask me). The lawsuit claims Taco Bell's meat cannot be honestly advertised as "beef" because it claims tests showed the meat was only 35% beef, not the 70% beef required by federal standards.
"It's mainly soy and oats, and there's lots of other stuff in there that I don't even know how to pronounce," said attorney Dee Miles.
Taco Bell responded quickly, saying their meat was "88% beef" and that they buy the same brand of beef sold in supermarkets -- Tyson Foods.
Oh well, that clears it all up, then. Tyson Foods.
And what's the other 12%? According to Taco Bell, it's water, spices, oats, starch and "other ingredients" that the restaurant says contribute to the "quality" of its beef. Apparently, Taco Bell believes the way to enhance the quality of beef is to throw in things that are not beef.
So what else might be found in that "other ingredients" category? A quick look at Taco Bell's own website reveals the restaurant uses all the following ingredients in its various menu offerings:
• Autolyzed Yeast Extract (which contains MSG, an excitotoxin)
• Red #40, Blue #1, Yellow #6 artificial colors
• Corn syrup solids
• Partially Hydrogenated Corn Oil
• Soy Protein
• Propylene Glycol Alginate
• Dimethylpolysiloxane (an anti-foaming chemical)
Source: http://www.tacobell.com/nutrition/i...
Are you seriously eating at Taco Bell?
If you're eating at Taco Bell, there's not something wrong with their meat... there's something wrong with your head.
Even if Taco Bell's beef is 100% beef, it's still conventional beef from cows that are processed in factory farm operations (rather than open-range grass-fed cows). The soy ingredients used in Taco Bell foods are almost certainly GMO soy in origin. The other chemicals such as dimethylpolysiloxane make their foods sound more like chemical concoctions than real food.
Then again, Taco Bell beef is probably no worse than any other fast food restaurant. These junk food chains all exist at the fringes of the very definition of "food". What they serve is more like PHUD.
In fact, in some ways Taco Bell is actually far better than some other popular restaurants. Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), for example, uses monosodium glutamate across a huge percentage of its menu items. And they advertise their fried chicken as "fresh!" (How is it fresh if it's fried? The claim makes no sense...)
Suddenly we care about food quality at Taco Bell?
But seriously, the bigger issue here isn't Taco Bell's meat ingredients as much as it is Americans' dietary complacency: If you eat at Taco Bell, you don't CARE what you're eating. Why should it matter if it's meat, or soy, or even recycled rat turds? The very fact that somebody is eating at Taco Bell already establishes they're not very interested in the purity, origins and nutritional potency of the foods they consume.
If a guy walked up to me, for example, and showed me a Taco Bell beef burrito and complained, "Dude, I'm not sure if this is real beef! What do you think is the problem here?" Then I would pause, examine the burrito carefully, then reply, "The problem is... you're a moron!"
Since when did people ever read the ingredients of the food they buy at Taco Bell anyway?
I guess reading ingredients lists is just too complicated these days
That's the glaring contradiction in all this, frankly. Of all these people sounding the alert over Taco Bell's beef, how many of them ever read the ingredients of the food they buy at Taco Bell in the first place? How many read ingredients at ANY restaurant? How many read the ingredients of the foods they buy at the grocery store? How many consider whether their favorite restaurants are cooking their food on toxic nonstick cookware?
The answer is virtually none. Because if mainstream America actually read (and understood) the chemicals going into the foods they buy every single day -- like bacon, sausage, canned soups and processed foods -- there would be an overnight food revolt that would make Taco Bell's beef burrito issue seem irrelevant.
Because Taco Bell's ingredient list isn't any worse than what you find in canned soups at your grocery store right now. And if you really want to find some toxic foods, look into the children's frozen food section where you'll find some of the most obnoxious and damaging chemicals of all, including sodium nitrite which causes cancer, and artificial colors which are derived from coal tars.
I recently produced and posted a mini-documentary video showing how blueberries are faked in many mainstream food products, including cereals from General Mills and Kellogg's. You can watch that video at www.FoodInvestigations.com
Nobody seemed to go berserk over that. Fake blueberries are acceptable to mainstream consumers, it seems. But fake beef? Oh, now that's messin' with the food supply!
Eat up, America! The beef in your burrito is no more fake than the idea that the FDA-approved processed dead food supply is somehow good for your health. By the way, you're also paying for your fake food using fake money being counterfeited by the Federal Reserve faster than you can say, "genetically modified soybean filler material."
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/031147_Taco_Bell_beef.html#ixzz1CYPyA0ZY
"It's mainly soy and oats, and there's lots of other stuff in there that I don't even know how to pronounce," said attorney Dee Miles.
Taco Bell responded quickly, saying their meat was "88% beef" and that they buy the same brand of beef sold in supermarkets -- Tyson Foods.
Oh well, that clears it all up, then. Tyson Foods.
And what's the other 12%? According to Taco Bell, it's water, spices, oats, starch and "other ingredients" that the restaurant says contribute to the "quality" of its beef. Apparently, Taco Bell believes the way to enhance the quality of beef is to throw in things that are not beef.
So what else might be found in that "other ingredients" category? A quick look at Taco Bell's own website reveals the restaurant uses all the following ingredients in its various menu offerings:
• Autolyzed Yeast Extract (which contains MSG, an excitotoxin)
• Red #40, Blue #1, Yellow #6 artificial colors
• Corn syrup solids
• Partially Hydrogenated Corn Oil
• Soy Protein
• Propylene Glycol Alginate
• Dimethylpolysiloxane (an anti-foaming chemical)
Source: http://www.tacobell.com/nutrition/i...
Are you seriously eating at Taco Bell?
If you're eating at Taco Bell, there's not something wrong with their meat... there's something wrong with your head.
Even if Taco Bell's beef is 100% beef, it's still conventional beef from cows that are processed in factory farm operations (rather than open-range grass-fed cows). The soy ingredients used in Taco Bell foods are almost certainly GMO soy in origin. The other chemicals such as dimethylpolysiloxane make their foods sound more like chemical concoctions than real food.
Then again, Taco Bell beef is probably no worse than any other fast food restaurant. These junk food chains all exist at the fringes of the very definition of "food". What they serve is more like PHUD.
In fact, in some ways Taco Bell is actually far better than some other popular restaurants. Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), for example, uses monosodium glutamate across a huge percentage of its menu items. And they advertise their fried chicken as "fresh!" (How is it fresh if it's fried? The claim makes no sense...)
Suddenly we care about food quality at Taco Bell?
But seriously, the bigger issue here isn't Taco Bell's meat ingredients as much as it is Americans' dietary complacency: If you eat at Taco Bell, you don't CARE what you're eating. Why should it matter if it's meat, or soy, or even recycled rat turds? The very fact that somebody is eating at Taco Bell already establishes they're not very interested in the purity, origins and nutritional potency of the foods they consume.
If a guy walked up to me, for example, and showed me a Taco Bell beef burrito and complained, "Dude, I'm not sure if this is real beef! What do you think is the problem here?" Then I would pause, examine the burrito carefully, then reply, "The problem is... you're a moron!"
Since when did people ever read the ingredients of the food they buy at Taco Bell anyway?
I guess reading ingredients lists is just too complicated these days
That's the glaring contradiction in all this, frankly. Of all these people sounding the alert over Taco Bell's beef, how many of them ever read the ingredients of the food they buy at Taco Bell in the first place? How many read ingredients at ANY restaurant? How many read the ingredients of the foods they buy at the grocery store? How many consider whether their favorite restaurants are cooking their food on toxic nonstick cookware?
The answer is virtually none. Because if mainstream America actually read (and understood) the chemicals going into the foods they buy every single day -- like bacon, sausage, canned soups and processed foods -- there would be an overnight food revolt that would make Taco Bell's beef burrito issue seem irrelevant.
Because Taco Bell's ingredient list isn't any worse than what you find in canned soups at your grocery store right now. And if you really want to find some toxic foods, look into the children's frozen food section where you'll find some of the most obnoxious and damaging chemicals of all, including sodium nitrite which causes cancer, and artificial colors which are derived from coal tars.
I recently produced and posted a mini-documentary video showing how blueberries are faked in many mainstream food products, including cereals from General Mills and Kellogg's. You can watch that video at www.FoodInvestigations.com
Nobody seemed to go berserk over that. Fake blueberries are acceptable to mainstream consumers, it seems. But fake beef? Oh, now that's messin' with the food supply!
Eat up, America! The beef in your burrito is no more fake than the idea that the FDA-approved processed dead food supply is somehow good for your health. By the way, you're also paying for your fake food using fake money being counterfeited by the Federal Reserve faster than you can say, "genetically modified soybean filler material."
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/031147_Taco_Bell_beef.html#ixzz1CYPyA0ZY
Doctors in training taught to physically violate unconscious patients (explicit)
(NaturalNews) Warning: Explicit language. We apologize for the extremely explicit nature of this story, but we feel that publishing this truth, no matter how repulsive, is in the public interest and serves the greater purpose of informing patients about what can happen to them while under sedation at hospitals. Do NOT read this article if you are easily offended, grossed out or otherwise disturbed by explicit language in a medical context. The information contained in this report is NOT appropriate for children. It is, however, true. This is not a hoax.
Now for the story:
If you're undergoing surgery at the hospital, you might want to have a secret nanny cam nearby to record what goes on, because it turns out that unconscious patients are being physically violated by medical students as part of their "medical training."
In a shocking report first published by Madison (http://madisonmag.com.au/news/no-co...), anesthetized patients in Australia were, without their knowledge or consent, repeatedly subjected to genital, anal and breast examinations by medical students.
In one case, a man who was under anesthesia for spinal surgery was subjected to "a queue of medical students" performing practice rectal examinations. One of the medical students who participated in this outrageous act later confessed, "I was [there], the patient was under a spinal [anesthetic] as well and there was a screen up and they just had a queue of medical students doing a rectal examination. He wasn't consented but because... you’re in that situation, you don’t have the confidence to say 'no' you just do it."
Details of this outrageous abuse of patient privacy will soon be published in the journal Medical Education (http://www.wiley.com/bw/journal.asp...).
The entire student body was in my rectum?
You really have to wonder what this poor patient thought when he woke up from surgery with a sore rectum that had been sodomized by a group of medical students while he was unconscious.
He may have awoken, realized something was terribly wrong, and thought to himself, in all seriousness, "Did I just get violated by my surgeon?"
The answer, of course, is YES! In fact, he got violated by a whole queue of medical students practicing to become doctors. Because there's no better way to train would-be doctors how to dehumanize and exploit patients in the future than to set medical examples of the physical violation of innocent patients today. It sets the proper tone in the minds of medical students for pushing vaccines, chemotherapy, pharmaceuticals and other dangerous medical procedures that harm hundreds of millions of people each year around the world.
I suppose their thinking goes something like this: If a medical student is willing to sodomize an unconscious patient just because his instructor tells him to, there's probably nothing he won't do to people in the future as long as he is instructed by proper "authorities" (medical journals, drug companies, government officials, etc.).
The things doctors do when pressured by their peers
It also carries the powerful hidden message that patients exist to be exploited by you, the doctor, in whatever way you wish, without their knowledge or consent. Note, too, that when faced by peer pressure, most medical students just go along with whatever they're ordered to do, regardless of whether it violates a person's rights, or medical ethics, or even federal law. As documented in this particular study, 82 percent of medical students essentially sodomized an unconscious patient after being instructed to do so by their medical instructor.
(By the way, if you've read this far, please remember that I included the EXPLICIT warning at the top of this article for a reason. Again, I apologize for the explicit nature of this article and I wish such events were not even taking place in our world.)
Some medical students held their ground and said NO
The study mentioned here documented the behavior of 200 medical students in Britain and Australia. Not all the students went along with the anal violation of unconscious patients, by the way. In one case, a student refused to participate in what he described as a woman "spread-eagled on the bed and the nurse is pulling down her jeans at the same time and it was all very complicated and you could see her, she was about seventeen."
Apparently, modern-day medical instructors think that stripping down a 17-year-old girl, naked and spread eagle, while parading a "train" of medical students to perform who-knows-what medical examinations on her is totally okay!
But hey, if they don't make it through medical school, they can always get a job working for the TSA, where probing someone's genitals without their consent is part of the official job description.
Training doctors to treat human beings like animals
What does all this tell you about the ethics of modern medicine? These doctors are the same people who tell you to vaccinate your children; to treat your cancer with chemotherapy; to take statin drugs and to staple your stomach in order to lose weight.
These are the monsters of our medical system -- the ethically deficient and criminally-minded medical molesters who commit heinous acts of what can only be called medical violence against teenage girls and unconscious men and women who are under their "care."
When you go in to get elective surgery for a serious medical problem such as colon cancer, you don't expect to have your rectum paraded on display as a teaching aid for a group of students who each get to finger your rectum before they cut it out. Seriously, this is what one of the medical students actually said about this:
"If you're having your anus cut out then having someone’s finger put in it anyway, I just thought was an irrelevance basically so I have no qualms what[so]ever about not having specifically consented her to allow me to do a rectal examination."
This is what really goes on behind closed doors, under the surgical blankets and behind the screens, where innocent patients are sodomized, victimized and violated by their health care providers. And this isn't just one isolated case, either... it's how medical students are being TRAINED as part of their medical education!
This isn't a rogue pervert physician, in other words: It's an institutionalized psychopathic power trip that hints at the way conventional medicine is carried out right now, all across the world. It reminds me of the Milgram experiments where students were very easily trained to apply deadly levels of electroshock jolts to innocent victims merely because they were ordered to do so by an instructor (http://www.naturalnews.com/025141.html).
Those experiments proved that 70 percent of people will torture other human beings if encouraged to do so by someone in an apparent position of authority.
So if you ever undergo surgery, and you wake up with a throbbing rectum or obvious physical abuse of other body parts, it's probably not just in your head: You may have been victimized by medical students or physicians who think there's absolutely nothing wrong with exploiting your body for their own purposes while you're unconscious.
Your disease is their treatment experiment. Your suffering is their amusement. Your rectum is their training aid. You are there essentially to be treated like an unconscious rag doll by medical staff and medical students who have lost any and all sense of the meaning behind the term "health care."
These are despicable people, and the fact that they are tomorrow's doctors helps explain why health care is such an utter failure on every level: Physical, ethical and spiritual.
Now for the good news
The good news in all this, if there can be any found, is that an increasing number of younger medical students are actually embracing complementary medicine. They are increasingly questioning the old, outmoded mythologies behind pharmaceuticals, vaccines and chemotherapy, and they're learning the importance of using holistic healing methods to support patients rather than poison them.
Not all conventional doctors are psychopaths, in other words. There are good doctors among the bad ones, and there are even conventional doctors who actually have ethics and would never even think of violating patients in such a way. Some doctors even manage to make it through medical school without losing their moral compass, if you can believe that, and we should respect those who do.
Many doctors deserve tremendous credit for their miraculous work in emergency rooms, saving lives and treating acute injuries with remarkable skill and efficiency. Conventional medicine has an important (limited) role to play in society, and there are times when rectal exams are, of course, medically necessary. But when conducted, they should be done with consent unless special circumstances exist such as an unconscious gunshot victim needing acute emergency care that requires immediate action on the part of doctors and surgeons.
There's more good news in all this: The era of Big Pharma medicine is crumbling. The mythology behind vaccines is being increasingly exposed as quackery and fraud. The insanity of harmful mammograms and unnecessary surgical procedures is also being increasingly reported. Times are changing, and conventional medicine is resorting to outright desperation to keep itself in business at a time when most people are heading in the direction of holistic medicine based on patient compassion and understanding.
I bet you won't see naturopathic physicians (N.D.s) violating their patients. NDs, homeopaths, herbalists and massage therapists are usually compassionate, caring individuals who respect their patients as real human beings. They honor your boundaries and they practice the healing arts with a genuine sense of ethics that's too often lacking in the world of conventional medicine.
Remember: You have power in all this. When faced with any kind of health or medical situation, you always have a choice of where to spend your dollars. I encourage you to avoid choosing conventional doctors and their superbug-infested hospitals. Wherever possible, choose naturopathic health care offered by compassionate and sensitive health professionals who treat you like a valued human being and respect your boundaries.
And if you're forced to go into a conventional hospital for one reason or another, duct tape your butt cheeks together just to be sure no one goes in there. Put a sticker on the tape that reads, "Warranty void if seal broken," and point out to your surgeon that your rectum is off limits to him, his staff and his students. Make him sign a piece of paper that says, "I will not violate my patients." They make you sign a pile of paperwork, after all. Have a few documents of your own for them to sign for a change. That paperwork might include valuable tidbits such as, "The foot to amputate is on the LEFT. The foot to leave alone is on the RIGHT. The entire anal-rectal area is entirely off limits and don't play with my breasts while I'm unconscious."
This is really happening
I wish I were making up this story. I wish it were fiction, but sadly it's reality. After writing about health and medicine for nearly 8 years, there's nothing I've seen that surprises me anymore. To hear that medical students are being trained as a group to sodomize unconscious patients isn't actually the worst thing I've heard about conventional medicine.
They do far worse things to children with psychiatric drugs, and to cancer patients via chemotherapy poisons. The widespread vaccination of children with utterly horrifying chemical ingredients that are injected into their bodies is yet another true story of the harm routinely caused by conventional medicine.
The good news, of course, is that I believe this era of medical violence against children and adults -- which I call the Dark Ages of medicine -- is crumbling by the day. The tide is rapidly shifting, and there will be a day in the near future when Big Pharma CEOs spend their days in prison, when ass-raping surgeons are convicted of their crimes, and when vaccines are rejected by the vast majority of people who come to realize the truth about how harmful they really are.
Things really are going to get better in the years ahead. And I hope to be part of bringing you that good news here on NaturalNews.com.
Again, I apologize for the explicit language in this article, but I hope you agree that the seriousness of the facts warrant publication. If we refuse to talk about what's really happening behind closed doors in our hospitals and clinics, then we fail to prevent it from happening to other victims in the future.
Sources for this story include:
News.com.au:
http://www.news.com.au/national/med...
MadisonMag.com.au:
http://madisonmag.com.au/news/no-co...
Foxnews.com:
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/...
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/031155_medical_students_anesthesia.html#ixzz1CXvWCXwg
Now for the story:
If you're undergoing surgery at the hospital, you might want to have a secret nanny cam nearby to record what goes on, because it turns out that unconscious patients are being physically violated by medical students as part of their "medical training."
In a shocking report first published by Madison (http://madisonmag.com.au/news/no-co...), anesthetized patients in Australia were, without their knowledge or consent, repeatedly subjected to genital, anal and breast examinations by medical students.
In one case, a man who was under anesthesia for spinal surgery was subjected to "a queue of medical students" performing practice rectal examinations. One of the medical students who participated in this outrageous act later confessed, "I was [there], the patient was under a spinal [anesthetic] as well and there was a screen up and they just had a queue of medical students doing a rectal examination. He wasn't consented but because... you’re in that situation, you don’t have the confidence to say 'no' you just do it."
Details of this outrageous abuse of patient privacy will soon be published in the journal Medical Education (http://www.wiley.com/bw/journal.asp...).
The entire student body was in my rectum?
You really have to wonder what this poor patient thought when he woke up from surgery with a sore rectum that had been sodomized by a group of medical students while he was unconscious.
He may have awoken, realized something was terribly wrong, and thought to himself, in all seriousness, "Did I just get violated by my surgeon?"
The answer, of course, is YES! In fact, he got violated by a whole queue of medical students practicing to become doctors. Because there's no better way to train would-be doctors how to dehumanize and exploit patients in the future than to set medical examples of the physical violation of innocent patients today. It sets the proper tone in the minds of medical students for pushing vaccines, chemotherapy, pharmaceuticals and other dangerous medical procedures that harm hundreds of millions of people each year around the world.
I suppose their thinking goes something like this: If a medical student is willing to sodomize an unconscious patient just because his instructor tells him to, there's probably nothing he won't do to people in the future as long as he is instructed by proper "authorities" (medical journals, drug companies, government officials, etc.).
The things doctors do when pressured by their peers
It also carries the powerful hidden message that patients exist to be exploited by you, the doctor, in whatever way you wish, without their knowledge or consent. Note, too, that when faced by peer pressure, most medical students just go along with whatever they're ordered to do, regardless of whether it violates a person's rights, or medical ethics, or even federal law. As documented in this particular study, 82 percent of medical students essentially sodomized an unconscious patient after being instructed to do so by their medical instructor.
(By the way, if you've read this far, please remember that I included the EXPLICIT warning at the top of this article for a reason. Again, I apologize for the explicit nature of this article and I wish such events were not even taking place in our world.)
Some medical students held their ground and said NO
The study mentioned here documented the behavior of 200 medical students in Britain and Australia. Not all the students went along with the anal violation of unconscious patients, by the way. In one case, a student refused to participate in what he described as a woman "spread-eagled on the bed and the nurse is pulling down her jeans at the same time and it was all very complicated and you could see her, she was about seventeen."
Apparently, modern-day medical instructors think that stripping down a 17-year-old girl, naked and spread eagle, while parading a "train" of medical students to perform who-knows-what medical examinations on her is totally okay!
But hey, if they don't make it through medical school, they can always get a job working for the TSA, where probing someone's genitals without their consent is part of the official job description.
Training doctors to treat human beings like animals
What does all this tell you about the ethics of modern medicine? These doctors are the same people who tell you to vaccinate your children; to treat your cancer with chemotherapy; to take statin drugs and to staple your stomach in order to lose weight.
These are the monsters of our medical system -- the ethically deficient and criminally-minded medical molesters who commit heinous acts of what can only be called medical violence against teenage girls and unconscious men and women who are under their "care."
When you go in to get elective surgery for a serious medical problem such as colon cancer, you don't expect to have your rectum paraded on display as a teaching aid for a group of students who each get to finger your rectum before they cut it out. Seriously, this is what one of the medical students actually said about this:
"If you're having your anus cut out then having someone’s finger put in it anyway, I just thought was an irrelevance basically so I have no qualms what[so]ever about not having specifically consented her to allow me to do a rectal examination."
This is what really goes on behind closed doors, under the surgical blankets and behind the screens, where innocent patients are sodomized, victimized and violated by their health care providers. And this isn't just one isolated case, either... it's how medical students are being TRAINED as part of their medical education!
This isn't a rogue pervert physician, in other words: It's an institutionalized psychopathic power trip that hints at the way conventional medicine is carried out right now, all across the world. It reminds me of the Milgram experiments where students were very easily trained to apply deadly levels of electroshock jolts to innocent victims merely because they were ordered to do so by an instructor (http://www.naturalnews.com/025141.html).
Those experiments proved that 70 percent of people will torture other human beings if encouraged to do so by someone in an apparent position of authority.
So if you ever undergo surgery, and you wake up with a throbbing rectum or obvious physical abuse of other body parts, it's probably not just in your head: You may have been victimized by medical students or physicians who think there's absolutely nothing wrong with exploiting your body for their own purposes while you're unconscious.
Your disease is their treatment experiment. Your suffering is their amusement. Your rectum is their training aid. You are there essentially to be treated like an unconscious rag doll by medical staff and medical students who have lost any and all sense of the meaning behind the term "health care."
These are despicable people, and the fact that they are tomorrow's doctors helps explain why health care is such an utter failure on every level: Physical, ethical and spiritual.
Now for the good news
The good news in all this, if there can be any found, is that an increasing number of younger medical students are actually embracing complementary medicine. They are increasingly questioning the old, outmoded mythologies behind pharmaceuticals, vaccines and chemotherapy, and they're learning the importance of using holistic healing methods to support patients rather than poison them.
Not all conventional doctors are psychopaths, in other words. There are good doctors among the bad ones, and there are even conventional doctors who actually have ethics and would never even think of violating patients in such a way. Some doctors even manage to make it through medical school without losing their moral compass, if you can believe that, and we should respect those who do.
Many doctors deserve tremendous credit for their miraculous work in emergency rooms, saving lives and treating acute injuries with remarkable skill and efficiency. Conventional medicine has an important (limited) role to play in society, and there are times when rectal exams are, of course, medically necessary. But when conducted, they should be done with consent unless special circumstances exist such as an unconscious gunshot victim needing acute emergency care that requires immediate action on the part of doctors and surgeons.
There's more good news in all this: The era of Big Pharma medicine is crumbling. The mythology behind vaccines is being increasingly exposed as quackery and fraud. The insanity of harmful mammograms and unnecessary surgical procedures is also being increasingly reported. Times are changing, and conventional medicine is resorting to outright desperation to keep itself in business at a time when most people are heading in the direction of holistic medicine based on patient compassion and understanding.
I bet you won't see naturopathic physicians (N.D.s) violating their patients. NDs, homeopaths, herbalists and massage therapists are usually compassionate, caring individuals who respect their patients as real human beings. They honor your boundaries and they practice the healing arts with a genuine sense of ethics that's too often lacking in the world of conventional medicine.
Remember: You have power in all this. When faced with any kind of health or medical situation, you always have a choice of where to spend your dollars. I encourage you to avoid choosing conventional doctors and their superbug-infested hospitals. Wherever possible, choose naturopathic health care offered by compassionate and sensitive health professionals who treat you like a valued human being and respect your boundaries.
And if you're forced to go into a conventional hospital for one reason or another, duct tape your butt cheeks together just to be sure no one goes in there. Put a sticker on the tape that reads, "Warranty void if seal broken," and point out to your surgeon that your rectum is off limits to him, his staff and his students. Make him sign a piece of paper that says, "I will not violate my patients." They make you sign a pile of paperwork, after all. Have a few documents of your own for them to sign for a change. That paperwork might include valuable tidbits such as, "The foot to amputate is on the LEFT. The foot to leave alone is on the RIGHT. The entire anal-rectal area is entirely off limits and don't play with my breasts while I'm unconscious."
This is really happening
I wish I were making up this story. I wish it were fiction, but sadly it's reality. After writing about health and medicine for nearly 8 years, there's nothing I've seen that surprises me anymore. To hear that medical students are being trained as a group to sodomize unconscious patients isn't actually the worst thing I've heard about conventional medicine.
They do far worse things to children with psychiatric drugs, and to cancer patients via chemotherapy poisons. The widespread vaccination of children with utterly horrifying chemical ingredients that are injected into their bodies is yet another true story of the harm routinely caused by conventional medicine.
The good news, of course, is that I believe this era of medical violence against children and adults -- which I call the Dark Ages of medicine -- is crumbling by the day. The tide is rapidly shifting, and there will be a day in the near future when Big Pharma CEOs spend their days in prison, when ass-raping surgeons are convicted of their crimes, and when vaccines are rejected by the vast majority of people who come to realize the truth about how harmful they really are.
Things really are going to get better in the years ahead. And I hope to be part of bringing you that good news here on NaturalNews.com.
Again, I apologize for the explicit language in this article, but I hope you agree that the seriousness of the facts warrant publication. If we refuse to talk about what's really happening behind closed doors in our hospitals and clinics, then we fail to prevent it from happening to other victims in the future.
Sources for this story include:
News.com.au:
http://www.news.com.au/national/med...
MadisonMag.com.au:
http://madisonmag.com.au/news/no-co...
Foxnews.com:
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/...
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/031155_medical_students_anesthesia.html#ixzz1CXvWCXwg
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Jesse Ventura Conspiracy Theory - Great Lakes Part 1 of 6
They call it "Blue Gold." Water is the new oil. Once a human right, it's now a valuable commodity, and corporations and super-rich oil dynasties are believed to be buying up water rights, controlling nations and populations. Jesse looks into the possibility of these activities finding their way to American shores and uncovers what may be a plot to literally steal the Great Lakes.
What's in your future kitchen? Food fabrication technology prints out your meals in seconds
(NaturalNews) In the not-so-distant future, instead of buying manufactured food items at the store, you may instead just "print" them right in your own kitchen. The technology is called "food fabrication," and it allows you to fabricate foods right in your own kitchen, layer by layer, in much the same way an inkjet printer prints a color bar chart on a piece of paper.
This is an emerging technology that I predict will have a huge impact on the future of food. Several food fabrication devices already exist, in fact. Perhaps the most notable example is from Cornell University's Computational Synthesis Lab (CCSL) (http://ccsl.mae.cornell.edu/3d_printing), where a project led by Dr Jeffrey Ian Lipton hopes to ultimately create a consumer-level food fabrication device that would one day be an integral part of every modern kitchen. With such a device, instead of running to the store to buy blueberry muffins, for example, you would simply download the 3D blueprint, then "print" the muffins on the food fab machine (and then bake them in your oven).
Cool tech, but with pitfalls
As cool as the technology sounds, however, keep in mind that it can really only fabricate foods out of homogenized, semi-liquid ingredients such as chocolate syrup, cookie dough, or tomato paste (for example). And it doesn't create food out of nothing: You still need to load up the syringes with the various ingredients to be used in the fabrication. The food fab machine merely "prints out" those ingredients in the right proportions, shapes and layers. It does not, however, cook your food, chop vegetables or otherwise turn raw ingredients into cuisine. It could, however, create a nice "raw lasagna" if you load up the syringes with sufficiently thickened raw ingredients such as tomato paste, spinach paste and a flax / nut butter paste of some sort.
But this technology also threatens to dehumanize our food right in our own kitchens. One of the greatest things about home food preparation right now is that every batch is unique and artistic. With home food fab machines, this art of food creation might literally be lost after just one generation as people forget how to create foods from scratch.
Another concern is that the primary food ingredient "pastes" will likely be sold in bulk at the store in much the same way that you currently buy ink jet printer ink. In order to adhere to so-called "food safety" rules, those food ingredients will all have to be pasteurized, fumigated, irradiated or otherwise killed, meaning they will all be processed junk food pastes rather than anything containing real living food.
Of course, there's always the possibility that you could hack your food fab machine and load up one of the ingredient cylinders with a paste blended up from fresh ingredients you grew yourself, but the inconvenience of that means most people will avoid doing so. The vast majority of consumers will simply buy the food fab ingredients off the shelf and use those to churn out factory foods at home.
$7,500 a gallon for ink?
This brings me to the business model discussion of such a food fabrication device. What HP has proven in the world of computers is that consumers vastly underestimate the long-term costs of using printers and are primarily attracted by the seemingly low up-front cost of buying the hardware. A typical consumer, for example, thinks they're getting a bargain paying $49 for an inkjet printer, not realizing they're actually paying as much as $7,500 for each gallon of ink consumed by that printer in the future.
Because consumers are so gullible in falling for this cost-shifting gimmick (hey, it works for Gillette's shaving consumables, too!), the future of food fabrication machines will likely follow the same structure. Any corporation that hopes to maximize profits over the long run will all but give away the machines up front while charging exorbitant fees for the consumable food ingredients that must be used with the device. In order to guarantee their long-term profits, they'll use all the same tricks that HP uses today to force consumers to buy name-brand toners and inkjet refills: Engineering physical limitations that make competing consumables incompatible with the fabrication device and even microchipping the consumable canisters to make sure that generic canisters don't function in their machines.
There will be a huge industry, however, that grows up around these devices: Expect somebody to make a fortune selling third-party "compatible" food ingredient canisters at a much lower price. A hacker community will also get involved and release open-source code for hacking the food fab devices in order to use them for purposes not intended by their original manufacturers, such as printing out "natural cure cookies" made with medicinal herbs that will have long since been banned by the FDA.
You can also expect the government to eventually get involved in regulating food fab devices in order to "protect the public" from "unsafe muffins" fabricated on non-licensed devices. Creating your own ingredients to be used in such machines may one day be criminalized in much the same way that selling raw cow's milk is today. The FDA, after all, doesn't want people to have real control over their own food. Food fabrication machines represent far too much freedom and must therefore be aggressively regulated.
Fabrication machines galore
It's not just food that's going to be fabricated in your future home, by the way. A new wave of desktop fabrication machines that use resins and other materials are also in development. Makerbot Industries recently introduced the Thing-O-Matic object printer that can print small items out of a quick-hardening resin material (http://wiki.makerbot.com/thingomatic).
You can use it to print all sorts of objects such as space invader earrings, tiny plastic tweezers, whistles and even gears. You accomplish this by downloading 3D designs from an open-source site called Thingiverse.com (http://www.thingiverse.com). So far, the library of objects from Thingiverse isn't exactly impressive, as this technology is just getting off the ground (what? You don't want your own plastic rhombohedron?).
It won't be long, however, before you can download and print out entire circuit boards, cell phones, and, in the case of astronauts on long space journeys, spare parts for your busted NASA spacecraft constructed by awarding government contracts to the lowest bidder.
The ultimately geek goal for these fabrication devices, by the way, is to build a device that can replicate itself. If a Thing-O-Matic could print out another Thing-O-Matic and assemble it, then runaway replication could give rise to a race of self-replicating machines that would one day declare war on the human race and develop a popular series of sci-fi movies starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Buying virtual blueprints for stuff instead of buying stuff
All this promises huge changes for our consumer-based society. Today, the stuff we buy is manufactured in China, then shipped to our stores by burning fossil fuels. We then buy the stuff, take the stuff home, and toss it in a corner of the house somewhere, just in case we might actually need it one day. (Where's that fly swatter when you need one?)
In the future of fabrication devices, instead of storing the stuff itself, you simply buy the blueprint for the stuff. But you don't actually need to create the physical object until you really need it. Is that fly buzzing around your head today? Load up the old fly swatter object model in your Thing-O-Matic and hit print. Grab the fly swatter as the machine spits it out and your problem is solved.
The key thing in all this, of course, is that with at-home fabrication technology, instead of storing lots of physical objects such as fly swatters, soap holders, kitchen funnels and even cell phone covers, you simply store the raw resin which can be made into just about any object you want, in mere minutes. Sure, the electronic blueprint will cost you some bucks up front, but once you download the blueprint, you can print out an unlimited number of similar objects in the future.
Why we will still need stores
Desktop fabrication machines won't be able to print out metal objects (at least not in the foreseeable future) for obvious reasons. They will be strictly limited to substances that can be squeezed out of small tubes, such as plastic resins or food ingredients. If you need to a heavy-duty wrench to fix that annoying leak under your kitchen sink, you'll still need to buy that through retail distribution.
Complex circuits and CPUs also won't be printable through desktop fabrication machines anytime in the near future, although there is the possibility that you may be able to print out small solar panels within a decade or so (they're doing it now on a larger scale).
You also won't be able to print out counterfeit $100 bills and hand them out to all your friends. That's the job of the Federal Reserve.
Nevertheless, food fabrication machines and desktop fabrication technology promise to truly revolutionize the way we buy and consume things in our modern society. They will also greatly reduce packaging waste since you no longer have to buy an object at retail, packaged in a plastic bubble shell that gets tossed into landfill. This might even qualify at-home fabrication devices as "green" technology.
Watch for this technology to quickly advance, and expect large corporations to get involved in creating consumer-ready devices over the next few years.
Sources for this story include:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technolog...
http://ccsl.mae.cornell.edu/3d_printing
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/031114_food_fabrication_machine.html#ixzz1CSWldXDA
This is an emerging technology that I predict will have a huge impact on the future of food. Several food fabrication devices already exist, in fact. Perhaps the most notable example is from Cornell University's Computational Synthesis Lab (CCSL) (http://ccsl.mae.cornell.edu/3d_printing), where a project led by Dr Jeffrey Ian Lipton hopes to ultimately create a consumer-level food fabrication device that would one day be an integral part of every modern kitchen. With such a device, instead of running to the store to buy blueberry muffins, for example, you would simply download the 3D blueprint, then "print" the muffins on the food fab machine (and then bake them in your oven).
Cool tech, but with pitfalls
As cool as the technology sounds, however, keep in mind that it can really only fabricate foods out of homogenized, semi-liquid ingredients such as chocolate syrup, cookie dough, or tomato paste (for example). And it doesn't create food out of nothing: You still need to load up the syringes with the various ingredients to be used in the fabrication. The food fab machine merely "prints out" those ingredients in the right proportions, shapes and layers. It does not, however, cook your food, chop vegetables or otherwise turn raw ingredients into cuisine. It could, however, create a nice "raw lasagna" if you load up the syringes with sufficiently thickened raw ingredients such as tomato paste, spinach paste and a flax / nut butter paste of some sort.
But this technology also threatens to dehumanize our food right in our own kitchens. One of the greatest things about home food preparation right now is that every batch is unique and artistic. With home food fab machines, this art of food creation might literally be lost after just one generation as people forget how to create foods from scratch.
Another concern is that the primary food ingredient "pastes" will likely be sold in bulk at the store in much the same way that you currently buy ink jet printer ink. In order to adhere to so-called "food safety" rules, those food ingredients will all have to be pasteurized, fumigated, irradiated or otherwise killed, meaning they will all be processed junk food pastes rather than anything containing real living food.
Of course, there's always the possibility that you could hack your food fab machine and load up one of the ingredient cylinders with a paste blended up from fresh ingredients you grew yourself, but the inconvenience of that means most people will avoid doing so. The vast majority of consumers will simply buy the food fab ingredients off the shelf and use those to churn out factory foods at home.
$7,500 a gallon for ink?
This brings me to the business model discussion of such a food fabrication device. What HP has proven in the world of computers is that consumers vastly underestimate the long-term costs of using printers and are primarily attracted by the seemingly low up-front cost of buying the hardware. A typical consumer, for example, thinks they're getting a bargain paying $49 for an inkjet printer, not realizing they're actually paying as much as $7,500 for each gallon of ink consumed by that printer in the future.
Because consumers are so gullible in falling for this cost-shifting gimmick (hey, it works for Gillette's shaving consumables, too!), the future of food fabrication machines will likely follow the same structure. Any corporation that hopes to maximize profits over the long run will all but give away the machines up front while charging exorbitant fees for the consumable food ingredients that must be used with the device. In order to guarantee their long-term profits, they'll use all the same tricks that HP uses today to force consumers to buy name-brand toners and inkjet refills: Engineering physical limitations that make competing consumables incompatible with the fabrication device and even microchipping the consumable canisters to make sure that generic canisters don't function in their machines.
There will be a huge industry, however, that grows up around these devices: Expect somebody to make a fortune selling third-party "compatible" food ingredient canisters at a much lower price. A hacker community will also get involved and release open-source code for hacking the food fab devices in order to use them for purposes not intended by their original manufacturers, such as printing out "natural cure cookies" made with medicinal herbs that will have long since been banned by the FDA.
You can also expect the government to eventually get involved in regulating food fab devices in order to "protect the public" from "unsafe muffins" fabricated on non-licensed devices. Creating your own ingredients to be used in such machines may one day be criminalized in much the same way that selling raw cow's milk is today. The FDA, after all, doesn't want people to have real control over their own food. Food fabrication machines represent far too much freedom and must therefore be aggressively regulated.
Fabrication machines galore
It's not just food that's going to be fabricated in your future home, by the way. A new wave of desktop fabrication machines that use resins and other materials are also in development. Makerbot Industries recently introduced the Thing-O-Matic object printer that can print small items out of a quick-hardening resin material (http://wiki.makerbot.com/thingomatic).
You can use it to print all sorts of objects such as space invader earrings, tiny plastic tweezers, whistles and even gears. You accomplish this by downloading 3D designs from an open-source site called Thingiverse.com (http://www.thingiverse.com). So far, the library of objects from Thingiverse isn't exactly impressive, as this technology is just getting off the ground (what? You don't want your own plastic rhombohedron?).
It won't be long, however, before you can download and print out entire circuit boards, cell phones, and, in the case of astronauts on long space journeys, spare parts for your busted NASA spacecraft constructed by awarding government contracts to the lowest bidder.
The ultimately geek goal for these fabrication devices, by the way, is to build a device that can replicate itself. If a Thing-O-Matic could print out another Thing-O-Matic and assemble it, then runaway replication could give rise to a race of self-replicating machines that would one day declare war on the human race and develop a popular series of sci-fi movies starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Buying virtual blueprints for stuff instead of buying stuff
All this promises huge changes for our consumer-based society. Today, the stuff we buy is manufactured in China, then shipped to our stores by burning fossil fuels. We then buy the stuff, take the stuff home, and toss it in a corner of the house somewhere, just in case we might actually need it one day. (Where's that fly swatter when you need one?)
In the future of fabrication devices, instead of storing the stuff itself, you simply buy the blueprint for the stuff. But you don't actually need to create the physical object until you really need it. Is that fly buzzing around your head today? Load up the old fly swatter object model in your Thing-O-Matic and hit print. Grab the fly swatter as the machine spits it out and your problem is solved.
The key thing in all this, of course, is that with at-home fabrication technology, instead of storing lots of physical objects such as fly swatters, soap holders, kitchen funnels and even cell phone covers, you simply store the raw resin which can be made into just about any object you want, in mere minutes. Sure, the electronic blueprint will cost you some bucks up front, but once you download the blueprint, you can print out an unlimited number of similar objects in the future.
Why we will still need stores
Desktop fabrication machines won't be able to print out metal objects (at least not in the foreseeable future) for obvious reasons. They will be strictly limited to substances that can be squeezed out of small tubes, such as plastic resins or food ingredients. If you need to a heavy-duty wrench to fix that annoying leak under your kitchen sink, you'll still need to buy that through retail distribution.
Complex circuits and CPUs also won't be printable through desktop fabrication machines anytime in the near future, although there is the possibility that you may be able to print out small solar panels within a decade or so (they're doing it now on a larger scale).
You also won't be able to print out counterfeit $100 bills and hand them out to all your friends. That's the job of the Federal Reserve.
Nevertheless, food fabrication machines and desktop fabrication technology promise to truly revolutionize the way we buy and consume things in our modern society. They will also greatly reduce packaging waste since you no longer have to buy an object at retail, packaged in a plastic bubble shell that gets tossed into landfill. This might even qualify at-home fabrication devices as "green" technology.
Watch for this technology to quickly advance, and expect large corporations to get involved in creating consumer-ready devices over the next few years.
Sources for this story include:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technolog...
http://ccsl.mae.cornell.edu/3d_printing
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/031114_food_fabrication_machine.html#ixzz1CSWldXDA
Whole Foods, Others Support Monsanto GMO Alfalfa In The US
* By Ronnie Cummins
Organic Consumers Association, Jan 27, 2011
Straight to the Source
"The policy set for GE alfalfa will most likely guide policies for other GE crops as well. True coexistence is a must." - Whole Foods Market, Jan. 21, 2011
In the wake of a 12-year battle to keep Monsanto's Genetically Engineered (GE) crops from contaminating the nation's 25,000 organic farms and ranches, America's organic consumers and producers are facing betrayal. A self-appointed cabal of the Organic Elite, spearheaded by Whole Foods Market, Organic Valley, and Stonyfield Farm, has decided it's time to surrender to Monsanto. Top executives from these companies have publicly admitted that they no longer oppose the mass commercialization of GE crops, such as Monsanto's controversial Roundup Ready alfalfa, and are prepared to sit down and cut a deal for "coexistence" with Monsanto and USDA biotech cheerleader Tom Vilsack.
In a cleverly worded, but profoundly misleading email sent to its customers last week, Whole Foods Market, while proclaiming their support for organics and "seed purity," gave the green light to USDA bureaucrats to approve the "conditional deregulation" of Monsanto's genetically engineered, herbicide-resistant alfalfa. Beyond the regulatory euphemism of "conditional deregulation," this means that WFM and their colleagues are willing to go along with the massive planting of a chemical and energy-intensive GE perennial crop, alfalfa; guaranteed to spread its mutant genes and seeds across the nation; guaranteed to contaminate the alfalfa fed to organic animals; guaranteed to lead to massive poisoning of farm workers and destruction of the essential soil food web by the toxic herbicide, Roundup; and guaranteed to produce Roundup-resistant superweeds that will require even more deadly herbicides such as 2,4 D to be sprayed on millions of acres of alfalfa across the U.S.
In exchange for allowing Monsanto's premeditated pollution of the alfalfa gene pool, WFM wants "compensation." In exchange for a new assault on farmworkers and rural communities (a recent large-scale Swedish study found that spraying Roundup doubles farm workers' and rural residents' risk of getting cancer), WFM expects the pro-biotech USDA to begin to regulate rather than cheerlead for Monsanto. In payment for a new broad spectrum attack on the soil's crucial ability to provide nutrition for food crops and to sequester dangerous greenhouse gases (recent studies show that Roundup devastates essential soil microorganisms that provide plant nutrition and sequester climate-destabilizing greenhouse gases), WFM wants the Biotech Bully of St. Louis to agree to pay "compensation" (i.e. hush money) to farmers "for any losses related to the contamination of his crop."
In its email of Jan. 21, 2011 WFM calls for "public oversight by the USDA rather than reliance on the biotechnology industry," even though WFM knows full well that federal regulations on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) do not require pre-market safety testing, nor labeling; and that even federal judges have repeatedly ruled that so-called government "oversight" of Frankencrops such as Monsanto's sugar beets and alfalfa is basically a farce. At the end of its email, WFM admits that its surrender to Monsanto is permanent: "The policy set for GE alfalfa will most likely guide policies for other GE crops as well True coexistence is a must."
Why Is Organic Inc. Surrendering?
According to informed sources, the CEOs of WFM and Stonyfield are personal friends of former Iowa governor, now USDA Secretary, Tom Vilsack, and in fact made financial contributions to Vilsack's previous electoral campaigns. Vilsack was hailed as "Governor of the Year" in 2001 by the Biotechnology Industry Organization, and traveled in a Monsanto corporate jet on the campaign trail. Perhaps even more fundamental to Organic Inc.'s abject surrender is the fact that the organic elite has become more and more isolated from the concerns and passions of organic consumers and locavores. The Organic Inc. CEOs are tired of activist pressure, boycotts, and petitions. Several of them have told me this to my face. They apparently believe that the battle against GMOs has been lost, and that it's time to reach for the consolation prize. The consolation prize they seek is a so-called "coexistence" between the biotech Behemoth and the organic community that will lull the public to sleep and greenwash the unpleasant fact that Monsanto's unlabeled and unregulated genetically engineered crops are now spreading their toxic genes on 1/3 of U.S. (and 1/10 of global) crop land.
WFM and most of the largest organic companies have deliberately separated themselves from anti-GMO efforts and cut off all funding to campaigns working to label or ban GMOs. The so-called Non-GMO Project, funded by Whole Foods and giant wholesaler United Natural Foods (UNFI) is basically a greenwashing effort (although the 100% organic companies involved in this project seem to be operating in good faith) to show that certified organic foods are basically free from GMOs (we already know this since GMOs are banned in organic production), while failing to focus on so-called "natural" foods, which constitute most of WFM and UNFI's sales and are routinely contaminated with GMOs.
From their "business as usual" perspective, successful lawsuits against GMOs filed by public interest groups such as the Center for Food Safety; or noisy attacks on Monsanto by groups like the Organic Consumers Association, create bad publicity, rattle their big customers such as Wal-Mart, Target, Kroger, Costco, Supervalu, Publix and Safeway; and remind consumers that organic crops and foods such as corn, soybeans, and canola are slowly but surely becoming contaminated by Monsanto's GMOs.
Whole Food's Dirty Little Secret: Most of the So-Called "Natural" Processed Foods and Animal Products They Sell Are Contaminated with GMOs
The main reason, however, why Whole Foods is pleading for coexistence with Monsanto, Dow, Bayer, Syngenta, BASF and the rest of the biotech bullies, is that they desperately want the controversy surrounding genetically engineered foods and crops to go away. Why? Because they know, just as we do, that 2/3 of WFM's $9 billion annual sales is derived from so-called "natural" processed foods and animal products that are contaminated with GMOs. We and our allies have tested their so-called "natural" products (no doubt WFM's lab has too) containing non-organic corn and soy, and guess what: they're all contaminated with GMOs, in contrast to their certified organic products, which are basically free of GMOs, or else contain barely detectable trace amounts.
Approximately 2/3 of the products sold by Whole Foods Market and their main distributor, United Natural Foods (UNFI) are not certified organic, but rather are conventional (chemical-intensive and GMO-tainted) foods and products disguised as "natural."
Unprecedented wholesale and retail control of the organic marketplace by UNFI and Whole Foods, employing a business model of selling twice as much so-called "natural" food as certified organic food, coupled with the takeover of many organic companies by multinational food corporations such as Dean Foods, threatens the growth of the organic movement.
Covering Up GMO Contamination: Perpetrating "Natural" Fraud
Many well-meaning consumers are confused about the difference between conventional products marketed as "natural," and those nutritionally/environmentally superior and climate-friendly products that are "certified organic."
Retail stores like WFM and wholesale distributors like UNFI have failed to educate their customers about the qualitative difference between natural and certified organic, conveniently glossing over the fact that nearly all of the processed "natural" foods and products they sell contain GMOs, or else come from a "natural" supply chain where animals are force-fed GMO grains in factory farms or Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs).
A troubling trend in organics today is the calculated shift on the part of certain large formerly organic brands from certified organic ingredients and products to so-called "natural" ingredients. With the exception of the "grass-fed and grass-finished" meat sector, most "natural" meat, dairy, and eggs are coming from animals reared on GMO grains and drugs, and confined, entirely, or for a good portion of their lives, in CAFOs.
Whole Foods and UNFI are maximizing their profits by selling quasi-natural products at premium organic prices. Organic consumers are increasingly left without certified organic choices while genuine organic farmers and ranchers continue to lose market share to "natural" imposters. It's no wonder that less than 1% of American farmland is certified organic, while well-intentioned but misled consumers have boosted organic and "natural" purchases to $80 billion annually-approximately 12% of all grocery store sales.
The Solution: Truth-in-Labeling Will Enable Consumers to Drive So-Called "Natural" GMO and CAFO-Tainted Foods Off the Market
There can be no such thing as "coexistence" with a reckless industry that undermines public health, destroys biodiversity, damages the environment, tortures and poisons animals, destabilizes the climate, and economically devastates the world's 1.5 billion seed-saving small farmers. There is no such thing as coexistence between GMOs and organics in the European Union. Why? Because in the EU there are almost no GMO crops under cultivation, nor GM consumer food products on supermarket shelves. And why is this? Because under EU law, all foods containing GMOs or GMO ingredients must be labeled. Consumers have the freedom to choose or not to choose GMOs; while farmers, food processors, and retailers have (at least legally) the right to lace foods with GMOs, as long as they are safety-tested and labeled. Of course the EU food industry understands that consumers, for the most part, do not want to purchase or consume GE foods. European farmers and food companies, even junk food purveyors like McDonald's and Wal-Mart, understand quite well the concept expressed by a Monsanto executive when GMOs first came on the market: "If you put a label on genetically engineered food you might as well put a skull and crossbones on it."
The biotech industry and Organic Inc. are supremely conscious of the fact that North American consumers, like their European counterparts, are wary and suspicious of GMO foods. Even without a PhD, consumers understand you don't want your food safety or environmental sustainability decisions to be made by out-of-control chemical companies like Monsanto, Dow, or Dupont - the same people who brought you toxic pesticides, Agent Orange, PCBs, and now global warming. Industry leaders are acutely aware of the fact that every single industry or government poll over the last 16 years has shown that 85-95% of American consumers want mandatory labels on GMO foods. Why? So that we can avoid buying them. GMO foods have absolutely no benefits for consumers or the environment, only hazards. This is why Monsanto and their friends in the Bush, Clinton, and Obama administrations have prevented consumer GMO truth-in-labeling laws from getting a public discussion in Congress.
Although Congressman Dennis Kucinich (Democrat, Ohio) recently introduced a bill in Congress calling for mandatory labeling and safety testing for GMOs, don't hold your breath for Congress to take a stand for truth-in-labeling and consumers' right to know what's in their food. Especially since the 2010 Supreme Court decision in the so-called "Citizens United" case gave big corporations and billionaires the right to spend unlimited amounts of money (and remain anonymous, as they do so) to buy media coverage and elections, our chances of passing federal GMO labeling laws against the wishes of Monsanto and Food Inc. are all but non-existent. Perfectly dramatizing the "Revolving Door" between Monsanto and the Federal Government, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, formerly chief counsel for Monsanto, delivered one of the decisive votes in the Citizens United case, in effect giving Monsanto and other biotech bullies the right to buy the votes it needs in the U.S. Congress.
With big money controlling Congress and the media, we have little choice but to shift our focus and go local. We've got to concentrate our forces where our leverage and power lie, in the marketplace, at the retail level; pressuring retail food stores to voluntarily label their products; while on the legislative front we must organize a broad coalition to pass mandatory GMO (and CAFO) labeling laws, at the city, county, and state levels.
The Organic Consumers Association, joined by our consumer, farmer, environmental, and labor allies, has just launched a nationwide Truth-in-Labeling campaign to stop Monsanto and the Biotech Bullies from force-feeding unlabeled GMOs to animals and humans.
Utilizing scientific data, legal precedent, and consumer power the OCA and our local coalitions will educate and mobilize at the grassroots level to pressure giant supermarket chains (Wal-Mart, Kroger, Costco, Safeway, Supervalu, and Publix) and natural food retailers such as Whole Foods and Trader Joe's to voluntarily implement "truth-in-labeling" practices for GMOs and CAFO products; while simultaneously organizing a critical mass to pass mandatory local and state truth-in-labeling ordinances - similar to labeling laws already in effect for country of origin, irradiated food, allergens, and carcinogens. If local and state government bodies refuse to take action, wherever possible we must attempt to gather sufficient petition signatures and place these truth-in-labeling initiatives directly on the ballot in 2011 or 2012. If you're interesting in helping organize or coordinate a Millions Against Monsanto and Factory Farms Truth-in-Labeling campaign in your local community, sign up here: http://organicconsumers.org/oca-volunteer/
To pressure Whole Foods Market and the nation's largest supermarket chains to voluntarily adopt truth-in-labeling practices sign here, and circulate this petition widely: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_22309.cfm
And please stay tuned to Organic Bytes for the latest developments in our campaigns.
Power to the People! Not the Corporations!
Ronnie Cummins
Organic Consumers Association
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_22449.cfm
Organic Consumers Association, Jan 27, 2011
Straight to the Source
"The policy set for GE alfalfa will most likely guide policies for other GE crops as well. True coexistence is a must." - Whole Foods Market, Jan. 21, 2011
In the wake of a 12-year battle to keep Monsanto's Genetically Engineered (GE) crops from contaminating the nation's 25,000 organic farms and ranches, America's organic consumers and producers are facing betrayal. A self-appointed cabal of the Organic Elite, spearheaded by Whole Foods Market, Organic Valley, and Stonyfield Farm, has decided it's time to surrender to Monsanto. Top executives from these companies have publicly admitted that they no longer oppose the mass commercialization of GE crops, such as Monsanto's controversial Roundup Ready alfalfa, and are prepared to sit down and cut a deal for "coexistence" with Monsanto and USDA biotech cheerleader Tom Vilsack.
In a cleverly worded, but profoundly misleading email sent to its customers last week, Whole Foods Market, while proclaiming their support for organics and "seed purity," gave the green light to USDA bureaucrats to approve the "conditional deregulation" of Monsanto's genetically engineered, herbicide-resistant alfalfa. Beyond the regulatory euphemism of "conditional deregulation," this means that WFM and their colleagues are willing to go along with the massive planting of a chemical and energy-intensive GE perennial crop, alfalfa; guaranteed to spread its mutant genes and seeds across the nation; guaranteed to contaminate the alfalfa fed to organic animals; guaranteed to lead to massive poisoning of farm workers and destruction of the essential soil food web by the toxic herbicide, Roundup; and guaranteed to produce Roundup-resistant superweeds that will require even more deadly herbicides such as 2,4 D to be sprayed on millions of acres of alfalfa across the U.S.
In exchange for allowing Monsanto's premeditated pollution of the alfalfa gene pool, WFM wants "compensation." In exchange for a new assault on farmworkers and rural communities (a recent large-scale Swedish study found that spraying Roundup doubles farm workers' and rural residents' risk of getting cancer), WFM expects the pro-biotech USDA to begin to regulate rather than cheerlead for Monsanto. In payment for a new broad spectrum attack on the soil's crucial ability to provide nutrition for food crops and to sequester dangerous greenhouse gases (recent studies show that Roundup devastates essential soil microorganisms that provide plant nutrition and sequester climate-destabilizing greenhouse gases), WFM wants the Biotech Bully of St. Louis to agree to pay "compensation" (i.e. hush money) to farmers "for any losses related to the contamination of his crop."
In its email of Jan. 21, 2011 WFM calls for "public oversight by the USDA rather than reliance on the biotechnology industry," even though WFM knows full well that federal regulations on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) do not require pre-market safety testing, nor labeling; and that even federal judges have repeatedly ruled that so-called government "oversight" of Frankencrops such as Monsanto's sugar beets and alfalfa is basically a farce. At the end of its email, WFM admits that its surrender to Monsanto is permanent: "The policy set for GE alfalfa will most likely guide policies for other GE crops as well True coexistence is a must."
Why Is Organic Inc. Surrendering?
According to informed sources, the CEOs of WFM and Stonyfield are personal friends of former Iowa governor, now USDA Secretary, Tom Vilsack, and in fact made financial contributions to Vilsack's previous electoral campaigns. Vilsack was hailed as "Governor of the Year" in 2001 by the Biotechnology Industry Organization, and traveled in a Monsanto corporate jet on the campaign trail. Perhaps even more fundamental to Organic Inc.'s abject surrender is the fact that the organic elite has become more and more isolated from the concerns and passions of organic consumers and locavores. The Organic Inc. CEOs are tired of activist pressure, boycotts, and petitions. Several of them have told me this to my face. They apparently believe that the battle against GMOs has been lost, and that it's time to reach for the consolation prize. The consolation prize they seek is a so-called "coexistence" between the biotech Behemoth and the organic community that will lull the public to sleep and greenwash the unpleasant fact that Monsanto's unlabeled and unregulated genetically engineered crops are now spreading their toxic genes on 1/3 of U.S. (and 1/10 of global) crop land.
WFM and most of the largest organic companies have deliberately separated themselves from anti-GMO efforts and cut off all funding to campaigns working to label or ban GMOs. The so-called Non-GMO Project, funded by Whole Foods and giant wholesaler United Natural Foods (UNFI) is basically a greenwashing effort (although the 100% organic companies involved in this project seem to be operating in good faith) to show that certified organic foods are basically free from GMOs (we already know this since GMOs are banned in organic production), while failing to focus on so-called "natural" foods, which constitute most of WFM and UNFI's sales and are routinely contaminated with GMOs.
From their "business as usual" perspective, successful lawsuits against GMOs filed by public interest groups such as the Center for Food Safety; or noisy attacks on Monsanto by groups like the Organic Consumers Association, create bad publicity, rattle their big customers such as Wal-Mart, Target, Kroger, Costco, Supervalu, Publix and Safeway; and remind consumers that organic crops and foods such as corn, soybeans, and canola are slowly but surely becoming contaminated by Monsanto's GMOs.
Whole Food's Dirty Little Secret: Most of the So-Called "Natural" Processed Foods and Animal Products They Sell Are Contaminated with GMOs
The main reason, however, why Whole Foods is pleading for coexistence with Monsanto, Dow, Bayer, Syngenta, BASF and the rest of the biotech bullies, is that they desperately want the controversy surrounding genetically engineered foods and crops to go away. Why? Because they know, just as we do, that 2/3 of WFM's $9 billion annual sales is derived from so-called "natural" processed foods and animal products that are contaminated with GMOs. We and our allies have tested their so-called "natural" products (no doubt WFM's lab has too) containing non-organic corn and soy, and guess what: they're all contaminated with GMOs, in contrast to their certified organic products, which are basically free of GMOs, or else contain barely detectable trace amounts.
Approximately 2/3 of the products sold by Whole Foods Market and their main distributor, United Natural Foods (UNFI) are not certified organic, but rather are conventional (chemical-intensive and GMO-tainted) foods and products disguised as "natural."
Unprecedented wholesale and retail control of the organic marketplace by UNFI and Whole Foods, employing a business model of selling twice as much so-called "natural" food as certified organic food, coupled with the takeover of many organic companies by multinational food corporations such as Dean Foods, threatens the growth of the organic movement.
Covering Up GMO Contamination: Perpetrating "Natural" Fraud
Many well-meaning consumers are confused about the difference between conventional products marketed as "natural," and those nutritionally/environmentally superior and climate-friendly products that are "certified organic."
Retail stores like WFM and wholesale distributors like UNFI have failed to educate their customers about the qualitative difference between natural and certified organic, conveniently glossing over the fact that nearly all of the processed "natural" foods and products they sell contain GMOs, or else come from a "natural" supply chain where animals are force-fed GMO grains in factory farms or Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs).
A troubling trend in organics today is the calculated shift on the part of certain large formerly organic brands from certified organic ingredients and products to so-called "natural" ingredients. With the exception of the "grass-fed and grass-finished" meat sector, most "natural" meat, dairy, and eggs are coming from animals reared on GMO grains and drugs, and confined, entirely, or for a good portion of their lives, in CAFOs.
Whole Foods and UNFI are maximizing their profits by selling quasi-natural products at premium organic prices. Organic consumers are increasingly left without certified organic choices while genuine organic farmers and ranchers continue to lose market share to "natural" imposters. It's no wonder that less than 1% of American farmland is certified organic, while well-intentioned but misled consumers have boosted organic and "natural" purchases to $80 billion annually-approximately 12% of all grocery store sales.
The Solution: Truth-in-Labeling Will Enable Consumers to Drive So-Called "Natural" GMO and CAFO-Tainted Foods Off the Market
There can be no such thing as "coexistence" with a reckless industry that undermines public health, destroys biodiversity, damages the environment, tortures and poisons animals, destabilizes the climate, and economically devastates the world's 1.5 billion seed-saving small farmers. There is no such thing as coexistence between GMOs and organics in the European Union. Why? Because in the EU there are almost no GMO crops under cultivation, nor GM consumer food products on supermarket shelves. And why is this? Because under EU law, all foods containing GMOs or GMO ingredients must be labeled. Consumers have the freedom to choose or not to choose GMOs; while farmers, food processors, and retailers have (at least legally) the right to lace foods with GMOs, as long as they are safety-tested and labeled. Of course the EU food industry understands that consumers, for the most part, do not want to purchase or consume GE foods. European farmers and food companies, even junk food purveyors like McDonald's and Wal-Mart, understand quite well the concept expressed by a Monsanto executive when GMOs first came on the market: "If you put a label on genetically engineered food you might as well put a skull and crossbones on it."
The biotech industry and Organic Inc. are supremely conscious of the fact that North American consumers, like their European counterparts, are wary and suspicious of GMO foods. Even without a PhD, consumers understand you don't want your food safety or environmental sustainability decisions to be made by out-of-control chemical companies like Monsanto, Dow, or Dupont - the same people who brought you toxic pesticides, Agent Orange, PCBs, and now global warming. Industry leaders are acutely aware of the fact that every single industry or government poll over the last 16 years has shown that 85-95% of American consumers want mandatory labels on GMO foods. Why? So that we can avoid buying them. GMO foods have absolutely no benefits for consumers or the environment, only hazards. This is why Monsanto and their friends in the Bush, Clinton, and Obama administrations have prevented consumer GMO truth-in-labeling laws from getting a public discussion in Congress.
Although Congressman Dennis Kucinich (Democrat, Ohio) recently introduced a bill in Congress calling for mandatory labeling and safety testing for GMOs, don't hold your breath for Congress to take a stand for truth-in-labeling and consumers' right to know what's in their food. Especially since the 2010 Supreme Court decision in the so-called "Citizens United" case gave big corporations and billionaires the right to spend unlimited amounts of money (and remain anonymous, as they do so) to buy media coverage and elections, our chances of passing federal GMO labeling laws against the wishes of Monsanto and Food Inc. are all but non-existent. Perfectly dramatizing the "Revolving Door" between Monsanto and the Federal Government, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, formerly chief counsel for Monsanto, delivered one of the decisive votes in the Citizens United case, in effect giving Monsanto and other biotech bullies the right to buy the votes it needs in the U.S. Congress.
With big money controlling Congress and the media, we have little choice but to shift our focus and go local. We've got to concentrate our forces where our leverage and power lie, in the marketplace, at the retail level; pressuring retail food stores to voluntarily label their products; while on the legislative front we must organize a broad coalition to pass mandatory GMO (and CAFO) labeling laws, at the city, county, and state levels.
The Organic Consumers Association, joined by our consumer, farmer, environmental, and labor allies, has just launched a nationwide Truth-in-Labeling campaign to stop Monsanto and the Biotech Bullies from force-feeding unlabeled GMOs to animals and humans.
Utilizing scientific data, legal precedent, and consumer power the OCA and our local coalitions will educate and mobilize at the grassroots level to pressure giant supermarket chains (Wal-Mart, Kroger, Costco, Safeway, Supervalu, and Publix) and natural food retailers such as Whole Foods and Trader Joe's to voluntarily implement "truth-in-labeling" practices for GMOs and CAFO products; while simultaneously organizing a critical mass to pass mandatory local and state truth-in-labeling ordinances - similar to labeling laws already in effect for country of origin, irradiated food, allergens, and carcinogens. If local and state government bodies refuse to take action, wherever possible we must attempt to gather sufficient petition signatures and place these truth-in-labeling initiatives directly on the ballot in 2011 or 2012. If you're interesting in helping organize or coordinate a Millions Against Monsanto and Factory Farms Truth-in-Labeling campaign in your local community, sign up here: http://organicconsumers.org/oca-volunteer/
To pressure Whole Foods Market and the nation's largest supermarket chains to voluntarily adopt truth-in-labeling practices sign here, and circulate this petition widely: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_22309.cfm
And please stay tuned to Organic Bytes for the latest developments in our campaigns.
Power to the People! Not the Corporations!
Ronnie Cummins
Organic Consumers Association
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_22449.cfm
Bill Nelson wants cops to see through walls
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson of Orlando wants to give law enforcement the edge when trying to capture dangerous fugitives.
So on Thursday, he proposed allowing limited deployment of "sense-through-the-wall technology" developed for use by the military to help
deputized federal agents with a warrant determine if a fugitive is hiding inside a building.
That technology could include hand-held radar or heat-detecting devices.
Nelson's proposal follows the shootings of 11 police officers in five incidents nationwide since Sunday. Among those were the fatal shootings of two officers in Miami and two in St. Petersburg who were trying to arrest fugitives.
Initial reaction to his proposal has been positive within the Florida law enforcement community.
Palm Bay Police Chief William Berger, who is in line to become U.S. marshal for the Middle District of Florida, said he is “in full support of Senator Nelson’s attempt to give us some tools to do the job better.”
Berger said he believes the technology would be useful to law enforcement, allowing officers to take precautionary measures when they are trying to determine how many fugitives are in a building and where they are.
Amy Mercer, executive director of the Florida Police Chiefs Association, said her association “would be supportive of anything that would be protective of our officers. With the loss of lives we’ve had in the past week, it’s an extremely dangerous time out there for our officers.”
Steve Wilkinson, division commander at the West Melbourne Police Department, said police “always need any advantage we can get” in pursuing criminals.
“I don’t know any law enforcement officer who wouldn’t be for being able to use a device like this if it is used properly,” Wilkinson said, adding that it could help save the lives of both law enforcement officers and innocent civilians.
Palm Bay Deputy Police Chief Doug Muldoon also supports the idea, saying his department backs technology that would help officers do their job “safer, smarter or more efficiently.”
One such technology that could be deployed is a radar-based system developed in Orlando by CyTerra Corp., a unit of defense contractor L3 Communication. In September, CyTerra rolled out a version of its system targeted to the law enforcement market, which is being tested by police agencies throughout the country.
In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, Nelson cited the Army’s plan to purchase more than 9,000 detectors over the next three years and asked whether the new technologies should be among the tools provided to agents of federal task forces when they have warrants to apprehend felons considered armed and dangerous.
Nelson said the use of such technologies “could greatly shift the odds to the good guys, before they have to enter a building where a fugitive is hiding out. We should arm our law enforcement with the tools that they need to protect themselves.”
Nelson asked the Justice Department to consider the matter during its review of the recent attacks on law enforcement officers around the country, and said he would be willing to sponsor legislation in the U.S. Senate to create a pilot program.
Florida is one of the areas of the country where the U.S. Marshals Service set up fugitive task forces combining federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to find dangerous fugitives and assist in high-profile investigations.
Nelson contends that the limited use of the technology would pose no privacy concerns because the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled such devices can’t be employed without a warrant.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20110128/NEWS01/101280319/1006/rss01
So on Thursday, he proposed allowing limited deployment of "sense-through-the-wall technology" developed for use by the military to help
deputized federal agents with a warrant determine if a fugitive is hiding inside a building.
That technology could include hand-held radar or heat-detecting devices.
Nelson's proposal follows the shootings of 11 police officers in five incidents nationwide since Sunday. Among those were the fatal shootings of two officers in Miami and two in St. Petersburg who were trying to arrest fugitives.
Initial reaction to his proposal has been positive within the Florida law enforcement community.
Palm Bay Police Chief William Berger, who is in line to become U.S. marshal for the Middle District of Florida, said he is “in full support of Senator Nelson’s attempt to give us some tools to do the job better.”
Berger said he believes the technology would be useful to law enforcement, allowing officers to take precautionary measures when they are trying to determine how many fugitives are in a building and where they are.
Amy Mercer, executive director of the Florida Police Chiefs Association, said her association “would be supportive of anything that would be protective of our officers. With the loss of lives we’ve had in the past week, it’s an extremely dangerous time out there for our officers.”
Steve Wilkinson, division commander at the West Melbourne Police Department, said police “always need any advantage we can get” in pursuing criminals.
“I don’t know any law enforcement officer who wouldn’t be for being able to use a device like this if it is used properly,” Wilkinson said, adding that it could help save the lives of both law enforcement officers and innocent civilians.
Palm Bay Deputy Police Chief Doug Muldoon also supports the idea, saying his department backs technology that would help officers do their job “safer, smarter or more efficiently.”
One such technology that could be deployed is a radar-based system developed in Orlando by CyTerra Corp., a unit of defense contractor L3 Communication. In September, CyTerra rolled out a version of its system targeted to the law enforcement market, which is being tested by police agencies throughout the country.
In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, Nelson cited the Army’s plan to purchase more than 9,000 detectors over the next three years and asked whether the new technologies should be among the tools provided to agents of federal task forces when they have warrants to apprehend felons considered armed and dangerous.
Nelson said the use of such technologies “could greatly shift the odds to the good guys, before they have to enter a building where a fugitive is hiding out. We should arm our law enforcement with the tools that they need to protect themselves.”
Nelson asked the Justice Department to consider the matter during its review of the recent attacks on law enforcement officers around the country, and said he would be willing to sponsor legislation in the U.S. Senate to create a pilot program.
Florida is one of the areas of the country where the U.S. Marshals Service set up fugitive task forces combining federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to find dangerous fugitives and assist in high-profile investigations.
Nelson contends that the limited use of the technology would pose no privacy concerns because the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled such devices can’t be employed without a warrant.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20110128/NEWS01/101280319/1006/rss01
Friday, January 28, 2011
Man Subjected To Body Cavity Search At Traffic Stop
ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Police Department has confirmed that it is conducting an internal investigation into inappropriate conduct accusations involving some members of the department’s Red Dog unit.
The three officers involved have been placed on administrative duty pending disciplinary decisions.
Channel 2 Action News reporter Eric Philips began piecing together the story after two men came forward and complained about possible officer misconduct during a June traffic stop on Fulton Street.
One of the men said members of the Red Dog unit pulled over his vehicle and forced him to pull down his pants on the side of the road in broad daylight, as officers conducted a search for drugs. No drugs were ever found, passenger Brian Kidd said.
Kidd told Philips that his roommate, Shawn Venegas, was also subjected to a body cavity search that left him feeling uncomfortable.
"One of the officers actually stuck his hand down into Shawn Venegas' pants," said attorney Mark Bullman.
Kidd said it was too much for him to bear.
“They went to his bottom part. That’s as low as you can go. I don’t think anybody should be subjected to that kind of search,” Kidd said. “I had to look away because I couldn’t watch my friend be done like that.”
Venegas said he was so traumatized by the incident that he moved to another state.
"I feel molested, and I feel like I was raped," Venegas told Philips over the phone.
Two of the three officers involved in the stop were also named in the infamous Atlanta Eagle bar raid that the city recently settled. Co-counsel on the traffic stop case, Dan Grossman, was the lead attorney in the Atlanta Eagle case.
“I’ve heard many stories from citizens who were stripped in public by Red Dog,” Grossman said.
[Brian Kidd]
Enlarge Image
WSB-TV
Brian Kidd
On Thursday, Atlanta police spokesman Carlos Campos e-mailed a statement to Channel 2 in response to the accusations.
"The Atlanta Police Department is in the process of concluding the internal investigation into this matter. There is evidence to suggest that some of the officers' actions during this traffic stop were inappropriate,” Campos said. “As a result, Chief Turner intends to move swiftly to discipline some of the officers with actions - up to, and including, dismissal.”
According to the department’s website, the Red Dog unit’s mission is to provide a police presence in areas where drug sales and drug-related activities are prevalent.
“The Atlanta Police Department expects its officers to be truthful at all times, to follow all policies and procedures and to follow all of the local, state and federal laws they are sworn to uphold. Failure to do so will not be tolerated," Campos said.
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/26647035/detail.html
The three officers involved have been placed on administrative duty pending disciplinary decisions.
Channel 2 Action News reporter Eric Philips began piecing together the story after two men came forward and complained about possible officer misconduct during a June traffic stop on Fulton Street.
One of the men said members of the Red Dog unit pulled over his vehicle and forced him to pull down his pants on the side of the road in broad daylight, as officers conducted a search for drugs. No drugs were ever found, passenger Brian Kidd said.
Kidd told Philips that his roommate, Shawn Venegas, was also subjected to a body cavity search that left him feeling uncomfortable.
"One of the officers actually stuck his hand down into Shawn Venegas' pants," said attorney Mark Bullman.
Kidd said it was too much for him to bear.
“They went to his bottom part. That’s as low as you can go. I don’t think anybody should be subjected to that kind of search,” Kidd said. “I had to look away because I couldn’t watch my friend be done like that.”
Venegas said he was so traumatized by the incident that he moved to another state.
"I feel molested, and I feel like I was raped," Venegas told Philips over the phone.
Two of the three officers involved in the stop were also named in the infamous Atlanta Eagle bar raid that the city recently settled. Co-counsel on the traffic stop case, Dan Grossman, was the lead attorney in the Atlanta Eagle case.
“I’ve heard many stories from citizens who were stripped in public by Red Dog,” Grossman said.
[Brian Kidd]
Enlarge Image
WSB-TV
Brian Kidd
On Thursday, Atlanta police spokesman Carlos Campos e-mailed a statement to Channel 2 in response to the accusations.
"The Atlanta Police Department is in the process of concluding the internal investigation into this matter. There is evidence to suggest that some of the officers' actions during this traffic stop were inappropriate,” Campos said. “As a result, Chief Turner intends to move swiftly to discipline some of the officers with actions - up to, and including, dismissal.”
According to the department’s website, the Red Dog unit’s mission is to provide a police presence in areas where drug sales and drug-related activities are prevalent.
“The Atlanta Police Department expects its officers to be truthful at all times, to follow all policies and procedures and to follow all of the local, state and federal laws they are sworn to uphold. Failure to do so will not be tolerated," Campos said.
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/26647035/detail.html
Israel conducts massive controlled blast
Israel conducted a massive controlled explosion to calibrate instruments at seismic monitoring stations worldwide, officials said.
Using 100 tons of explosives, The Geophysical Institute of Israel conducted the explosion at a site in the Negev on Wednesday.
It registered 2.7 on the Richter scale, and created a mushroom cloud that reached the height of up to 1.78 miles, or three kilometers, Haaretz reported Thursday.
Local scientists and scientists from the U.S. and France as well as journalists observed the blast.
Dr. Rami Hofstetter, head of seismology at the Geophysical Institute told the newspaper the experiment was important to study how seismic waves travel.
Testing stations located in countries such as Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia, all members of the International Monitoring System, were able to measure the explosion, the newspaper said.
Stations in Africa, North America, South America, Asia and Europe provide data about nuclear tests that have not been reported to the United Nations or the international community, Haaretz said.
The data was broadcast to the stations using equipment located 328 feet from the blast site and immediately transferred by satellite to the international data center located in Vienna for processing.
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Israel_conducts_massive_controlled_blast_999.html
Using 100 tons of explosives, The Geophysical Institute of Israel conducted the explosion at a site in the Negev on Wednesday.
It registered 2.7 on the Richter scale, and created a mushroom cloud that reached the height of up to 1.78 miles, or three kilometers, Haaretz reported Thursday.
Local scientists and scientists from the U.S. and France as well as journalists observed the blast.
Dr. Rami Hofstetter, head of seismology at the Geophysical Institute told the newspaper the experiment was important to study how seismic waves travel.
Testing stations located in countries such as Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia, all members of the International Monitoring System, were able to measure the explosion, the newspaper said.
Stations in Africa, North America, South America, Asia and Europe provide data about nuclear tests that have not been reported to the United Nations or the international community, Haaretz said.
The data was broadcast to the stations using equipment located 328 feet from the blast site and immediately transferred by satellite to the international data center located in Vienna for processing.
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Israel_conducts_massive_controlled_blast_999.html
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
New Yorks Finest at it's worst (Brutality)
Father double parked in front of a Public School in Queens, NY. Cop gives him a ticket for double parking (which EVERYONE does there), father rips up parking ticket, cops go crazy and mace and beat up the father !!! Then 10 more cop cars show up !
Naked Body Scanner Blamed For Woman’s Death
Steve Watson
Prisonplanet.com
Jan 25, 2011
A radiation firing body scanner has been identified as the possible cause of death in the case of a 57 year old Palestinian woman who died over the weekend at a border crossing between Gaza and Egypt.
Haaretz reports that Palestinian sources are blaming the use of a “U.S.-made advanced portal using millimeter wave holographic technology to screen passengers for weapons and explosives” for the woman’s death.
It is believed that the woman did not mention to security officials that she had a pacemaker.
The machine is said to have interfered with the woman’s pacemaker. Around half an hour after passing through the machine at the Rafah crossing, she is said to have suddenly collapsed.
She was pronounced dead at an Egyptian hospital shortly afterwards.
The same crossing was closed last week by Palestinian authorities in protest of the installation of the scanning technology which they believe to be unsafe, according to the report.
The millimeter wave scanners emit a wavelength of ten to one millimeter called a millimeter wave, these waves are considered Extremely High Frequency (EHF), the highest radio frequency wave produced. EHF runs a range of frequencies from 30 to 300 gigahertz, they are also abbreviated mmW. These waves are also known as tetrahertz (THz) radiation.
Experts have previously warned that people with medical implants such as pace-makers should avoid electromagnetic pulse generating body scanners as they can significantly alter the waveform of the pacemaker pulse.
Naked Body Scanner Blamed For Womans Death 250111banner1
As we have previously highlighted, there are other dangers associated with such scanning devices.
The force generated from tetrahertz waves is small but, according to scientists, the waves can ‘unzip’ or tear apart double-stranded DNA, creating bubbles in the DNA that could interfere with processes such as gene expression and DNA replication.
Those who pass through the scanners will be at risk of long term health effects, such as cancers, according to some scientists.
The reason millimeter-wave bands are used by the scanners is that they render clothing and organic materials translucent. However, while this allows the observer to see metal objects concealed beneath clothing, it does not necessarily reveal low-density materials such as plastic, chemicals or liquid, precisely the materials used by the so called underwear bomber.
This was the main reason that the manufacturers of the technology had to admit that it probably would not have prevented the incident form taking place (if you discount the fact that the bomber was aided through security by unidentified accomplices).
This is the first reported case of someone actually dying as a result of going through one of the scanners. Unfortunately, it is almost certain not to be the last.
Meanwhile Homeland Security head Janet Napolitano, or big sis as she has been nicknamed, recently announce that hundreds more of the body scanners would be installed into American airports, with the long term goal to make their use mandatory for all air travelers.
http://www.prisonplanet.com/naked-body-scanner-blamed-for-womans-death.html
Prisonplanet.com
Jan 25, 2011
A radiation firing body scanner has been identified as the possible cause of death in the case of a 57 year old Palestinian woman who died over the weekend at a border crossing between Gaza and Egypt.
Haaretz reports that Palestinian sources are blaming the use of a “U.S.-made advanced portal using millimeter wave holographic technology to screen passengers for weapons and explosives” for the woman’s death.
It is believed that the woman did not mention to security officials that she had a pacemaker.
The machine is said to have interfered with the woman’s pacemaker. Around half an hour after passing through the machine at the Rafah crossing, she is said to have suddenly collapsed.
She was pronounced dead at an Egyptian hospital shortly afterwards.
The same crossing was closed last week by Palestinian authorities in protest of the installation of the scanning technology which they believe to be unsafe, according to the report.
The millimeter wave scanners emit a wavelength of ten to one millimeter called a millimeter wave, these waves are considered Extremely High Frequency (EHF), the highest radio frequency wave produced. EHF runs a range of frequencies from 30 to 300 gigahertz, they are also abbreviated mmW. These waves are also known as tetrahertz (THz) radiation.
Experts have previously warned that people with medical implants such as pace-makers should avoid electromagnetic pulse generating body scanners as they can significantly alter the waveform of the pacemaker pulse.
Naked Body Scanner Blamed For Womans Death 250111banner1
As we have previously highlighted, there are other dangers associated with such scanning devices.
The force generated from tetrahertz waves is small but, according to scientists, the waves can ‘unzip’ or tear apart double-stranded DNA, creating bubbles in the DNA that could interfere with processes such as gene expression and DNA replication.
Those who pass through the scanners will be at risk of long term health effects, such as cancers, according to some scientists.
The reason millimeter-wave bands are used by the scanners is that they render clothing and organic materials translucent. However, while this allows the observer to see metal objects concealed beneath clothing, it does not necessarily reveal low-density materials such as plastic, chemicals or liquid, precisely the materials used by the so called underwear bomber.
This was the main reason that the manufacturers of the technology had to admit that it probably would not have prevented the incident form taking place (if you discount the fact that the bomber was aided through security by unidentified accomplices).
This is the first reported case of someone actually dying as a result of going through one of the scanners. Unfortunately, it is almost certain not to be the last.
Meanwhile Homeland Security head Janet Napolitano, or big sis as she has been nicknamed, recently announce that hundreds more of the body scanners would be installed into American airports, with the long term goal to make their use mandatory for all air travelers.
http://www.prisonplanet.com/naked-body-scanner-blamed-for-womans-death.html
Evergreen Aviation Admits to Chemtrail Contracts with USAF
Danger in the Sky: Complete Report with Timeline
Evergreen Aviation Admits to Chemtrail Contracts with USAF
Written by Joan Biakov
Friday, 14 January 2011 12:40
Evergreen Aviation, one of the worlds largest private aviation companies admits to weather modification service.
On their own website in the Markets section for their New Super Tanker they state Weather modification among other interesting service markets.
Content copied directly from Evergreen Aviation website:
The Evergreen Supertanker is not just limited to fighting fire . It will be a true utilitarian aircraft with the capability to configure to different applications on short notice. This multimission aircraft can support sensitive security and environmental missions. The aircraft’s exceptional drop capabilities, loiter time and size make it an ideal tool to perform challenging homeland security missions, able to neutralize chemical attacks on military installments or major population centers, and help control large, environmentally disastrous oil spills.
In addition, the upper deck of the Boeing 747 provides over 200 square feet of space that could be assigned as a command and control center. EIA possesses an FAA exemption number 1870C that permits the carriage of up to five individuals that are not crewmembers in the upper deck. This area is capable of providing space for command and control components that would assist in sophisticated mapping, incident monitoring and video/communications downlink relay that might require additional personnel over and above the required crew.
MARKETS:
• Firefighting
• Oil Spill Containment
• Weather Modification
• Biochemical Decontamination
What airports will Evergreen operate the Supertanker out of?
Evergreen will operate the aircraft from any major airport with sufficient ramp space to load the aircraft. These include civilian bases, joint use civilian/military bases and accessible military bases. Generally, the runway requirements for the Evergreen Supertanker are 8000 feet.
Can the Supertanker fight fires at night, while they are most vulnerable?
The Supertanker utilizes advanced avionics and flies at higher, safer altitudes, which will enable fire agencies the option of fighting fires at night, while they are dormant.
Are there any other markets for the Evergreen Supertanker? Can it operate globally?
Evergreen is studying other applications for the Supertanker. Oil spill containment, chemical decontamination and weather modification are all potential markets for this aircraft. Because the aircraft is pressurized, the Evergreen Supertanker has the capability of any long-range Boeing 747 passenger aircraft. This allows the aircraft to deploy to any international location.
If you want to read up for yourself on this, just go to gibiru.com, do a search on “Weather Control”, and then start clicking through the links that come up. You might find it as surprising as I did. Here is the bottom line:
Is weather control real?
Yes.
Do we have the technology to create a hurricane, or tornado, or earthquakes?
Yes.
Who has this technology?
The US and Russia. But Russia has been offering the technology for sale.
What specific technologies/techniques can be used to alter the weather and create storms?
Several.
High-energy lasers can be directed into the atmosphere which creates free oxygen (O2), this combined with hydrogen to create H2O – water. Space based lasers are even more effective, and can also create O3 (Ozone) in the process of creating water in the atmosphere. Water is the most essential element in weather. The amount of it at a given point in time at a given location can create wind shifts, rain, (obviously), snow, but a clever use of it can create a tornado, or, over water, a hurricane. Over warm ocean water, it creates a very powerful hurricane, and if created in the right position at the right time, prevailing winds will carry it where you want it to go.
But far more effective than that technology is the HAARP project in Alaska. This uses VLF (Very low frequency) energy pulses bounced off the ionosphere to create extreme weather conditions anywhere in the world they wish to direct it. The Earth has a fundamental resonant frequency of 7.83 hz. Anything that operates at that frequency risks disturbing all aspects of the earth. Weather, earthquakes, etc. It depends upon the amount of power produced. HAARP produces 1.7 gigawatts.
Here are a couple of interesting quotes about it I found on one of the websites I visited:
~~~
"The $30 million [Pentagon] project, euphemistically named HAARP (High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program), is made to beam more than 1.7 gigawatts (billion watts) of radiated power into the ionosphere -- the electrically charged layer above Earth's atmosphere. Put simply, the apparatus is a reversal of a radio telescope -- just transmitting instead of receiving. It will 'boil the upper atmosphere'. After [heating] and disturbing the ionosphere, the radiations will bounce back onto the earth in for form of long waves which penetrate our bodies, the ground and the oceans." ["Angels Don't Play This HAARP", page 8]
Let us allow Dr. Begich explain this concept. "... this invention provides the ability to put unprecedented amounts of power in the Earth's atmosphere at strategic locations and to maintain the power injection level, particularly if random pulsing is employed, in a manner far more precise and better controlled than heretofore accomplished by the prior art ...." [Page 28]
"... the goal is to learn how to manipulate the ionosphere on a more grand scale than the the Soviet Union could do with its similar facilities. HAARP would be the largest ionospheric heater in the world, located in a latitude most conducive to putting Eastlund's invention into practice." [Page 29] Furthermore, from this northern latitude, the energy could be aimed into the ionosphere so that it would bounce back down to the earth so it would come down wherever the scientists wanted it to come down. The secret was to learn how and where to aim it to hit the earth where they wanted it to hit, creating the type of disaster or weather they desired.
In NEWS1198, "U.N. Treaty Proves Weather Control Is Real", we report news articles that Malaysia actually contracted with a Russian Weather Modification company to create a hurricane that would be directed close enough to clear the smoke and smog from Malaysia's cities without actually coming on to land to create devastation. This Russian company delivered, and Malaysia had clear skies.
Our information also tells us that, not only can hurricanes be created, they can be dismantled should scientists so desire. And, they certainly can be driven on the ocean much like we drive our cars on roadways. Therefore, one has to ask why American scientists have allowed unprecedented hurricanes, like Andrew, to ever come on shore. Why are American scientists allowing extensive damage and lives lost to recent unprecedented storms, since they have the capability to keep these storms away from us?
HAARP can create nuclear-sized explosions without radiation! [Page 38, 62]. This process is protected by patent 4,873,928.
The greatest concern of New Age scientist Nick Begich, in his book, "Angels Don't Play This HAARP", is that scientists and the military are so very arrogant in their ignorant, reckless use of focused energy into the ionosphere. Military scientists talk about "kicking this thing in high gear to see what would happen"! This attitude is complete arrogance. What if they set off an unintended reaction in the atmosphere that cannot be controlled or stopped?”
~~~
Well, if a country can deliver nuclear-like explosions anywhere in the world they wish, without using ICBM missiles and other nuclear delivery systems, then I suppose that makes traditional nuclear weapons arsenals obsolete for warfare purposes, and mostly only good for political posturing and negotiations. That would explain why both Russia and the US were willing to agree to disarmaments, and reductions in their nuclear proliferation. I think maybe that was the first time in human history that countries voluntarily chose to disarm themselves and reduce their ability to conduct war. Given the nature of mankind and his history, it would make much more sense if they had a better card up their sleeves.
Judging by the apparent irresponsible arrogance of the people in charge of it as suggested by Begich, I wonder who should be in charge of decision-making for this technology. Once a technology is invented, it cannot be ‘un-invented’. It is now there, and some people will try to use it. Most will try to use it to their personal advantage and to support their agendas. Always, it seems that those that want to act in the interest of all mankind lack the same level of energy and determination of those acting in self interest, and so the people that push their way to the top into positions of power and authority rarely act responsibly or altruistically, but rather they act to gain power and wealth to themselves.
Having said that, if we follow the line of reasoning logically, if we accept that current technology allows us to create a hurricane, then we have to ask ourselves who might have started a hurricane like Katrina that specifically destroyed the area where most of our oil refineries are? In whose interest does this serve? Who benefits from this?
Another interesting question: Since we apparently not only have the ability to create a hurricane, and steer it, and even stop it – why did we choose not to stop Katrina from doing the damage it did? Is the information incorrect? Can we start them, but not stop them? Or is there some other reason that Katrina served the purposes of some people? I honestly don’t know. I’m wondering myself.
Here is a chronology of the technological advances that contributed to weather control. The comments are not mine but come from that website that I found. I have to admit – as much as I would like to go back to thinking that the weather is not controllable, It’s hard to ignore this much information on the subject.
TIMELINE
1900: "Tesla applies for patent on a device to 'Transmit Electrical Energy Through the Natural Mediums." In 1905, the U.S. Patent Office issue Patent #787,412 for this purpose. I bet it is news to everyone that the technology to transmit electrical power without wires exists, and exists so that the generation and transmission of electricity can be both bountiful and FREE! Of course, a lot of dollars of sales and profit would immediately vanish, so Tesla's discovery was never made public.
1924: "Confirmation that radio waves bounce off 'ionosphere 1' (an electrically charged layer starting at an altitude of 50 kilometers)."
1938: "Scientist proposes to light up night sky by electron gyrotron heating from a powerful transmitter." The fact that untold numbers of powerful electron heaters are pouring tens of millions of watts of electricity at Extremely Low Frequencies to effect this Weather Warfare is the major reason we are experiencing Global Warming! This warming has nothing to do with any Industrial pollutants or emssions, and certainly not from cow flatulance, as New Age extremists have claimed. New World Order planners are able to make dire predictions and then technologically deliver them!
1940: "Tesla announces 'death ray' invention." Our military evidently has the capability to create a defense shield over our continent by aiming these electron heaters correctly.
1945: "Atomic bomb tests begin -- 40,000 electromagnetic pulses to follow."
1952: "W.O. Schumman identifies 7.83 Hertz the resonant frequency of the Earth".
1958: "Van Allen radiation belts discovered (zones of charged particles trapped in earth's magnetic field) 2,000+ miles up. Violently disrupted in the same year."
1958: "Project Argus, U.S. Navy explodes three nuclear bombs inside Van Allen belt."
1958: "White House advisor on weather modification says Defense Department studying ways to manipulate charges of 'earth and sky, and so affect the weather'." Wow! Did you know that such a department as "Weather Modification" existed in the White House way back in 1952? The mere existence of such an office strongly implies the technology to modify and control the weather existed.
1960: "Series of weather disasters begin."
1961: "Scientists propose artificial ion cloud experiments. In 1960's the dumping of chemicals (barium powder, etc.) from satellites and rockets began."
1961-62: "U.S.S.R. and U.S.A. create many electromagnetic pulses (EMPs) in the atmosphere. 300 megatons of nuclear devices deplete ozone layer by about 4%." Hmm, ozone layer depletion was intentionally created by both Russian and American governments by nuclear detonations? They not only knew about it, they measured the extent of the depletion and the time it lasted. Therefore, do you think it just might be possible that, once again, we have the situation where a dire prediction is made, with the knowledge that their scientists can actually make it happen?!
1962: "Launch of Canadian satellites and start of stimulating plasma resonances by antennas within the space plasma."
1966: "Gordon J.F. MacDonald publishes military ideas on environmental engineering."
1960's: In Wisconsin, U.S. Navy Project Sanguine lays extremely low frequency (ELF) antennae." We are told that the Navy needed this ELF capability to communicate with their submarines in a way that would be secure from enemy attack, a claim with which we do not argue. However, is it also possible that this ELF antennae may serve a dual purpose, of also helping to control the weather?
1968: "Moscow scientists tell the West that they have pinpointed which pulsed magnetic field frequencies help mental and physiological functions and which frequencies do harm." The very idea that a wicked totalitarian government serving Antichrist could know how to manipulate thought processes by the use of electromagmetic pusles is one of the most frightening thoughts imaginable! This little incident also shows the unusual cooperation between Russia and America at the height of the Cold War! Such cooperation constitutes proof of our claim that Russia has cooperated with the Western Powers since the beginning, in 1917, to stage the mock battle of Thesis battling Antithesis to produce the Synthesis system of Antichrist called the New World Order.
1972: "First reports on 'ionospheric heater' experiments with high frequency radio waves at Arecibo [Alaska]. A 100 megawatt heater in Norway built later in the decade can change the conductivity of the auroral ionosphere." Now, you are getting close to being able to control the weather. When you can manipulate the conductivity of the auroal ionosphere, where weather systems operate and originate, you are close to controlling the weather. Note the date here, at which time this technology was realized: 1972.
1973: "Documentation that the launch of Skylab 'halved the total electron content of the ionosphere for three hours' (by rocket exhaust gases)."
1974: "United Nations General Assembly bans environmental warfare." We reported on this terrible treaty in NEWS1196, "U.N. Treaty Proves Weather Control Is Real". You do not need a treaty banning Weather Warfare unless such technology already exists and has been proven effective. This means that this Weather Warfare technology has been fine tuned for 24 years.
1974: "High frequency experiments at Plattsville, Colorado Arecibo, Puerto Rico, and in Armidale, New South Wales. These experiments heated the 'bottom side of the ionosphere."
1974: "Experiments -- airglow brightened by hitting oxygen atoms in ionosphere with accelerated electrons."
1975: "Stanford professor Robert Helliwell reports that very low frequency (VLF) from power lines is altering the ionosphere." I remember this report well, as I scoffed at the idea that power lines could have that kind of effect on this huge earth. I never thought of the fact that the reason they could have this kind of effect is that they are just the right kind of frequency to affect the earth.
1975: "U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson forces the Navy to release research showing that extremely low frequency (ELF) transmissions can altar human blood chemistry." Once again, this technology begins to hit very close to home, does it not? When an enemy can altar my blood chemistry by aiming ELF transmissions at me, I can be destroyed with no knowledge of what is happening to me, or who is doing such lethal damage. Can you also sense the possibilty of control of an entire population, without the people ever being aware they are being manipulated?!
1975: "U.S. Senator Pell, Senate Subcommitted, urges that weather and climate modification work should be overseen by a civilian agency answerable to the U.S. Congress. Didn't happen." In NEWS1196, we report that Senator Pell urged the United States to sign this United Nations treaty banning Weather Warfare. It sounds like Pell was very concerned about the use and misuse of this technology, even though he is fully aware of the New World Order Plan and has acted to support it for many years.
1975: "Soviets begin pulsing 'Woodpecker' extremely low frequency (ELF) waves at key brainwave rhythms. Eugene, Oregon, was one of the locations where Woodpecker was aimed, and where people were particularly affected." Once, again, I am extremely agitated to discover that an enemy can destroy me either biologically or mentally from a distance, without me being aware of it.
1976: "Drs. Susan Bawin and W. Ross Adey show that nerve cells are affected by ELF fields."
1979: "Launch of NASA's third High-Energy Astrophysical Observatory causes large scale, artificially induced depletion in the ionosphere. The plasma hole was caused by 'rapid chemical processes' between rocket exhaust and the ozone layer. The ionosphere was significantly depleted over a horizontal distance of 300 km for some hours."
1985: "Bernard J. Eastlund applies for patent 'Method and Apparatus for Altering a Region in the Earth's Atmosphere, Ionosphere and/or Magnetosphere'. (First of three Eastlund patents assigned to ARCO Power Technologies, Inc.)"
1986: "U.S. Navy Project Henhouse duplicates the Delgado (Madrid) experiment -- very low level, very low frequency pulsed magnetic fields harm chick embryos."
1980's: "In the latter part of the decade, the U.S. begins the network of Ground Wave Emergency Network (GWEN) towers, each to generate Very Low Frequency (VLF) waves ..." IN NEWS1196, we reported that the GWEN towers created a high level electromagnetic dam in the atmosphere in the American Midwest that created the rain for 40 days and nights in 1993. GWEN towers were located right where the rain came down in such a Biblical type deluge. Furthermore, we showed a map of the United States where you could see the GWEN towers and where they were located. We found it extremely interesting that these towers were also located along the San Andreas fault in Califormai and Nevada, where all these earthquakes of the past decade have been occurring!
1987-1992: "Other ARCO Power Technologies Incorporated (APTI) scientists build on Eastlund patents for development of new weapon capabilities."
1994: "Military contractor E-systems buys APTI, holder of Eastlund patents and contract to build the biggest ionospheric heater in the world, the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Project (HAARP). Even though construction of HAARP towers in Alaska began before this date, this was the time the decision was made to make it as large as it is now today, over 40 acres of ELF towers.
1994: "Congress freezes the funding on HAARP until planners increase the emphasis on earth penetrating tomography uses, for nuclear counterproliferation efforts." Once again, we have to wonder if this technology might be used to create earthquakes, as well as monitor compliance with nuclear test ban treaties.
1995: "Congress budgets $10 million for 1996, under "nuclear counterproliferation' efforts for HAARP project." At least now we know that the U.S. Government is in firm control of HAARP, the same government driving us full speed into the global government of Antichrist, known as the New World Order.
1994-6: "Testing of first stage of HAARP equipment continues ..."
1996: HAARP planners to test the earth penetrating tomography applications by modulating the electroject at ELF frequencies." Let's see, were there any severe or unusual earthquakes, or series of earthquakes, in 1996? We shall study this and get back to you.
1998: "Projected date for fully operating HAARP system." We have had the most unusual severe weather in 1997 and 1998. It is no coincidence that the onset of this unprecedented weather coincided with the completion of the HAARP system. Now, scientists can create and control all types of weather, especially disasters.
Evergreen Aviation has a long history of government contracts, ranging from the USPS to unmanned flight operations for the USAF.
http://www.forbiddenknowledgetv.com/videos/meteorology/evergreen-aviation-admits-tochemtrail-contracts-with-usaf.html
Revoking the corporate charters of state agencies
In each and every state, incorporated agricultural agencies and their agents have enacted and enforced rules and regulations specifically designed and enforced to interfere with the prospective economic advantage of private producers. No where is this more apparent than in the efforts by the state agricultural agency corporations to act under “the color of law” against milk producers; setting arbitrary standards and requirements and granting themselves the authority to;
One issue seemingly untouched by the all the legal eagles out there who claim to be defending independent and family ranchers and farmers is, the conflict of interest with intent to benefit between the state corporations (in every state) operating as “Departments of Agriculture” and private and individual farmers and ranchers who are being prosecuted and persecuted as these state owned corporations are empowered to make their own laws to benefit their own interests and to enforce those laws with full knowledge that constitutional rights and protections have been fraudulently eliminated for the sovereign individuals.
This fraud, perpetrated by incorporated and privately owned agencies not only affects the agricultural sector, but also virtually every other sector of American life. On state and federal levels, corporations portraying themselves as state or federal agencies and agents exist as parasites on the public. Fully 80% of all revenues generated by any corporate agency is devoted to enforcement. To make matters worse, these agencies are funded using taxpayer revenues; in other words we are forced to fund these privately owned and fraudulent state and federal agencies. At issue of course, is; who benefits?
The intent to benefit needs to be examined in depth. Who will benefit and who has benefited should be paramount in revoking the corporate charters of autonomous corporations operating under the guise of “state agencies”. We are forced to fund through taxation, these private corporations which operate fraudulently as state agencies. In addition, as corporations these fraudulent state agencies may conduct business for profit with other corporations to the detriment of the people. As corporations they have only one duty: to make a profit; Even if it means destroying you and your livelihood to do it.
In researching for a remedy, I came across this Tort action. While it may not be the answer, it should provide a foundation for suing state and agencies, agents and operatives. It could also be extended to sue your legislature for failing to honor their oaths of office and defend your constitution and rights. After all, none of this happened with out their knowledge and consent. But then, your state government is a corporation too, so go figure.
Tort of Intentional Interference with Prospective Economic Advantage
The elements of that tort of are:
* (1) An economic relationship between [the plaintiff and some third person] containing the probability of future economic benefit to the [plaintiff], and expectation to profit from lawful business.
* (2) Knowledge by the defendant of the existence of the relationship,
* (3) Intentional acts on the part of the defendant designed to disrupt the relationship,
* (4) Actual disruption of the relationship, [and]
* (5) Damages to the plaintiff proximately caused by the acts of the defendant.’
(1).The economic relationship between the [plaintiffs] and some third person:
This relationship is specifically indicated by the relationship between independent and family agricultural producers [the plaintiff] and the third person [the consumer/buyer] of the products the plaintiff produces with the intent to profit.
In each and every state, incorporated agricultural agencies and their agents have enacted and enforced rules and regulations specifically designed and enforced to interfere with the prospective economic advantage of private producers. No where is this more apparent than in the efforts by the state agricultural agency corporations to act under “the color of law” against milk producers; setting arbitrary standards and requirements and granting themselves the authority to;
* Unlawfully trespass onto privately owned property
* Deny due process of law
* Search and seize property without cause or warrant, and,
* Forcibly, end the right to engage in commerce as is the right of the sovereign
* To establish fictions of law and present them as enforceable: a willing fraud on the people.
* To deny the rights of sovereign individuals to engage in lawful business.
* To deny the sovereign the right to judicial review and fair treatment in common law.
* Through restraint of trade by the interfering party as defendant
* Impediment to proceed with a contract still subject to a condition precedent such as regulatory approval which is known to be arbitrary to the rights of the individual to engage in his trade.
* The forcing of signature to contracts presented as “permits”, “licenses” etc. for which the signatory does not know the full extent of said contract implied or otherwise, and which in most cases abrogates all of his/her constitutional rights and protections.
(2). Knowledge by the defendant of the existence of the relationship
The corporate state agricultural agencies are fully aware that they:
* Are no longer operating as public servants and are in fact, agents and operatives of an autonomous corporation operating under a fiction of law intended to defraud the public on behalf of the Corporate government operating as THE UNITED STATES and its sub-corporations, the USDA/FDA
* That with this knowledge, these corporate agencies, agents and operatives are fully aware of the violations not only of valid state laws, but also the Constitution of not only the state, but the nation as well.
* That these corporate agencies, agents and operatives have full knowledge of the right of the sovereign to engage in lawful business and that their activities will disrupt that right to commerce.
(3) Intentional acts on the part of the defendant designed to disrupt the relationship,
* Corporate state agencies after first creating fictions of law then,
* Proceed to act under the “color of law”.
* That these fictions and acts constitute a fraud on the public at large
* That these corporate agencies, agents and operatives are fully aware of the fraud
* That these corporate state agencies, agents and operatives have created a fraud intended to benefit private stakeholders and to further the business plans of federally held corporations operating as USDA/FDA and others.
(4) Actual disruption of the relationship, [and]
* Have harassed and threatened third partys (consumers)
* Have terrorized and harassed the plaintiffs
* Have suspended all access to markets and sales by agency declaration and physical seizure of land and/or property
* Have caused the plaintiff to lose or forfeit their right to engage in lawful business and to anticipated profits
* Have created and enforced arbitrary laws, regulations, fees, fines and threats of imprisonment if plaintiff did not forfeit his/her rights to engage in business.
* Have physically appeared in person on private property armed and dangerous and posing a threat to not only the business owner, but family members and employees.
* Have mounted a public campaign to negatively impact the products produced by the plaintiff and to condition the public thinking that the sale of the plaintiffs products was harmful.
* Have committed assault and battery, defamation and fraud and deceit
* Caused a third party to either terminate an at-will contract with the plaintiff according to its terms, or,
* Failed to renew a renewable contract with the plaintiff because of threat of prosecution from fictitious rule-making, harassment and threat by corporate state agencies acting under color of law.
The corporate state agencies have required unnecessary and burdensome record keeping, fees, licensing, regulations, prohibitions, and unlawful interferences to impede the right to engage in lawful commerce.
These same corporate state agencies have acted to deprive the individual through independent rule-making authority for which there is no constitutional authority.
These impediments are and were designed to target segments of the agricultural community with the intent to limit, disrupt or to end entirely the individuals right to engage in business and the potential to profit.
That these impediments are and were created to benefit industrialized corporate interests and, under the color of law, to unlawfully seize privately owned lands and real property for the benefit of the corporate state.
That agents on behalf of the state corporation operating under various names but commonly known as the Departments of Agriculture, have with malice and forethought, using coercion and duress, interfered with legal trade and commerce;
Have disrupted the lawful businesses of private individuals.
Created arbitrary fictions of laws to facilitate that disruption
Have used force and threat against sovereign individuals who refused compliance with known violations of their sovereign rights.
(5) Damages to the plaintiff proximately caused by the acts of the defendant.’
Departments of Agriculture in each state have been registered as private corporations. As such, they no longer serve the public as each of them operates “for profit” and willingly and knowingly engage in activities known to profit the agency by their interaction with other private corporate stakeholders having a vested interest in ending competition, controlling market access and the buying and selling of numerous agricultural products.
As the corporate agencies which operate as a fraud have profited not only publicly, but also personally, each agent, operative, and agency should be held personally liable for the loss of income, the interruption of free commerce and the intent to benefit through the use of the creation of fictions of law used to persecute and prosecute sovereign individuals who refused to forfeit their constitutional rights to an unelected corporate agency.
Whether the corporations operating as “government’ like it or not, we have rights. While this little document may not be the end all, be all of remedies it could be the basis for mounting a countering action.
Before we will ever make any progress we must first move to revoke all state corporate charters and return our state government on all levels to one of “public service”. As long as we allow every level of state government to incorporate we are in danger of losing any freedom we may have left.
http://ppjg.wordpress.com/2011/01/22/revisiting-conflicts-of-interest-revoking-the-corporate-charters-of-state-agencies/
One issue seemingly untouched by the all the legal eagles out there who claim to be defending independent and family ranchers and farmers is, the conflict of interest with intent to benefit between the state corporations (in every state) operating as “Departments of Agriculture” and private and individual farmers and ranchers who are being prosecuted and persecuted as these state owned corporations are empowered to make their own laws to benefit their own interests and to enforce those laws with full knowledge that constitutional rights and protections have been fraudulently eliminated for the sovereign individuals.
This fraud, perpetrated by incorporated and privately owned agencies not only affects the agricultural sector, but also virtually every other sector of American life. On state and federal levels, corporations portraying themselves as state or federal agencies and agents exist as parasites on the public. Fully 80% of all revenues generated by any corporate agency is devoted to enforcement. To make matters worse, these agencies are funded using taxpayer revenues; in other words we are forced to fund these privately owned and fraudulent state and federal agencies. At issue of course, is; who benefits?
The intent to benefit needs to be examined in depth. Who will benefit and who has benefited should be paramount in revoking the corporate charters of autonomous corporations operating under the guise of “state agencies”. We are forced to fund through taxation, these private corporations which operate fraudulently as state agencies. In addition, as corporations these fraudulent state agencies may conduct business for profit with other corporations to the detriment of the people. As corporations they have only one duty: to make a profit; Even if it means destroying you and your livelihood to do it.
In researching for a remedy, I came across this Tort action. While it may not be the answer, it should provide a foundation for suing state and agencies, agents and operatives. It could also be extended to sue your legislature for failing to honor their oaths of office and defend your constitution and rights. After all, none of this happened with out their knowledge and consent. But then, your state government is a corporation too, so go figure.
Tort of Intentional Interference with Prospective Economic Advantage
The elements of that tort of are:
* (1) An economic relationship between [the plaintiff and some third person] containing the probability of future economic benefit to the [plaintiff], and expectation to profit from lawful business.
* (2) Knowledge by the defendant of the existence of the relationship,
* (3) Intentional acts on the part of the defendant designed to disrupt the relationship,
* (4) Actual disruption of the relationship, [and]
* (5) Damages to the plaintiff proximately caused by the acts of the defendant.’
(1).The economic relationship between the [plaintiffs] and some third person:
This relationship is specifically indicated by the relationship between independent and family agricultural producers [the plaintiff] and the third person [the consumer/buyer] of the products the plaintiff produces with the intent to profit.
In each and every state, incorporated agricultural agencies and their agents have enacted and enforced rules and regulations specifically designed and enforced to interfere with the prospective economic advantage of private producers. No where is this more apparent than in the efforts by the state agricultural agency corporations to act under “the color of law” against milk producers; setting arbitrary standards and requirements and granting themselves the authority to;
* Unlawfully trespass onto privately owned property
* Deny due process of law
* Search and seize property without cause or warrant, and,
* Forcibly, end the right to engage in commerce as is the right of the sovereign
* To establish fictions of law and present them as enforceable: a willing fraud on the people.
* To deny the rights of sovereign individuals to engage in lawful business.
* To deny the sovereign the right to judicial review and fair treatment in common law.
* Through restraint of trade by the interfering party as defendant
* Impediment to proceed with a contract still subject to a condition precedent such as regulatory approval which is known to be arbitrary to the rights of the individual to engage in his trade.
* The forcing of signature to contracts presented as “permits”, “licenses” etc. for which the signatory does not know the full extent of said contract implied or otherwise, and which in most cases abrogates all of his/her constitutional rights and protections.
(2). Knowledge by the defendant of the existence of the relationship
The corporate state agricultural agencies are fully aware that they:
* Are no longer operating as public servants and are in fact, agents and operatives of an autonomous corporation operating under a fiction of law intended to defraud the public on behalf of the Corporate government operating as THE UNITED STATES and its sub-corporations, the USDA/FDA
* That with this knowledge, these corporate agencies, agents and operatives are fully aware of the violations not only of valid state laws, but also the Constitution of not only the state, but the nation as well.
* That these corporate agencies, agents and operatives have full knowledge of the right of the sovereign to engage in lawful business and that their activities will disrupt that right to commerce.
(3) Intentional acts on the part of the defendant designed to disrupt the relationship,
* Corporate state agencies after first creating fictions of law then,
* Proceed to act under the “color of law”.
* That these fictions and acts constitute a fraud on the public at large
* That these corporate agencies, agents and operatives are fully aware of the fraud
* That these corporate state agencies, agents and operatives have created a fraud intended to benefit private stakeholders and to further the business plans of federally held corporations operating as USDA/FDA and others.
(4) Actual disruption of the relationship, [and]
* Have harassed and threatened third partys (consumers)
* Have terrorized and harassed the plaintiffs
* Have suspended all access to markets and sales by agency declaration and physical seizure of land and/or property
* Have caused the plaintiff to lose or forfeit their right to engage in lawful business and to anticipated profits
* Have created and enforced arbitrary laws, regulations, fees, fines and threats of imprisonment if plaintiff did not forfeit his/her rights to engage in business.
* Have physically appeared in person on private property armed and dangerous and posing a threat to not only the business owner, but family members and employees.
* Have mounted a public campaign to negatively impact the products produced by the plaintiff and to condition the public thinking that the sale of the plaintiffs products was harmful.
* Have committed assault and battery, defamation and fraud and deceit
* Caused a third party to either terminate an at-will contract with the plaintiff according to its terms, or,
* Failed to renew a renewable contract with the plaintiff because of threat of prosecution from fictitious rule-making, harassment and threat by corporate state agencies acting under color of law.
The corporate state agencies have required unnecessary and burdensome record keeping, fees, licensing, regulations, prohibitions, and unlawful interferences to impede the right to engage in lawful commerce.
These same corporate state agencies have acted to deprive the individual through independent rule-making authority for which there is no constitutional authority.
These impediments are and were designed to target segments of the agricultural community with the intent to limit, disrupt or to end entirely the individuals right to engage in business and the potential to profit.
That these impediments are and were created to benefit industrialized corporate interests and, under the color of law, to unlawfully seize privately owned lands and real property for the benefit of the corporate state.
That agents on behalf of the state corporation operating under various names but commonly known as the Departments of Agriculture, have with malice and forethought, using coercion and duress, interfered with legal trade and commerce;
Have disrupted the lawful businesses of private individuals.
Created arbitrary fictions of laws to facilitate that disruption
Have used force and threat against sovereign individuals who refused compliance with known violations of their sovereign rights.
(5) Damages to the plaintiff proximately caused by the acts of the defendant.’
Departments of Agriculture in each state have been registered as private corporations. As such, they no longer serve the public as each of them operates “for profit” and willingly and knowingly engage in activities known to profit the agency by their interaction with other private corporate stakeholders having a vested interest in ending competition, controlling market access and the buying and selling of numerous agricultural products.
As the corporate agencies which operate as a fraud have profited not only publicly, but also personally, each agent, operative, and agency should be held personally liable for the loss of income, the interruption of free commerce and the intent to benefit through the use of the creation of fictions of law used to persecute and prosecute sovereign individuals who refused to forfeit their constitutional rights to an unelected corporate agency.
Whether the corporations operating as “government’ like it or not, we have rights. While this little document may not be the end all, be all of remedies it could be the basis for mounting a countering action.
Before we will ever make any progress we must first move to revoke all state corporate charters and return our state government on all levels to one of “public service”. As long as we allow every level of state government to incorporate we are in danger of losing any freedom we may have left.
http://ppjg.wordpress.com/2011/01/22/revisiting-conflicts-of-interest-revoking-the-corporate-charters-of-state-agencies/
Monday, January 24, 2011
WASHINGTON STATE JOINS MOVEMENT FOR PUBLIC BANKING
Ellen Brown
January 24, 2011
www.webofdebt.com/articles/washington_state.php
Bills were introduced on January 18 in both the House and Senate of the Washington State Legislature that add Washington to the growing number of states now actively moving to create public banking facilities.
The bills, House Bill 1320 and Senate Bill 5238, propose creation of a Washington Investment Trust (WIT) to “promote agriculture, education, community development, economic development, housing, and industry” by using “the resources of the people of Washington State within the state.”
Currently, all the state’s funds are deposited with Bank of America. HB 1320 proposes that in the future, “all state funds be deposited in the Washington Investment Trust and be guaranteed by the state and used to promote the common good and public benefit of all the people and their businesses within [the] state.”
The legislation is similar to that now being studied or proposed in states including Illinois, Virginia, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Maryland, Florida, Michigan, Oregon, California and others.
The effort in Washington State draws heavily on the success of the 92-year-old Bank of North Dakota (BND), currently the only state-wide publicly-owned U.S. bank. The BND has helped North Dakota escape the looming budgetary disaster facing other states. In 2009, North Dakota sported the largest budget surplus it had ever had.
The Wall Street Credit Crisis Is Crippling State and Municipal Governments
That state budget deficits are reaching crisis proportions was underscored in the January 19 New York Times:
[A]lmost everywhere the fiscal crisis of states has grown more acute. Rainy day funds are drained, cities and towns have laid off more than 200,000 people, and Arizona even has leased out its state office building. . . .
“It’s the time of the once unthinkable . . . ,” noted Lori Grange, deputy director of the Pew Center on the States. “Whether there are tax increases or dramatic cuts to education and vital services, the crisis is bad . . . .”
The “once unthinkable” includes not only draconian cuts in services, increases in taxes, and sale of public assets, but now filing for bankruptcy. States are not currently allowed to go bankrupt, but a move is afoot in Congress to change all that. Bankruptcy proceedings would allow states to escape pension and other contractual obligations, following the dubious lead of such megacorporations as General Motors and Continental Airlines.
Meanwhile, fears of state bankruptcy have caused state and municipal bond values to plummet and borrowing costs to soar. As with Greece and Ireland, rumors of bankruptcy become a self-fulfilling prophecy, bringing out the hedge funds and short sellers that turn prophecy into reality.
Addressing the Problem at Its Source: The North Dakota Model
While drastic spending cuts are being proposed and implemented, the states’ woes are not the result of over-spending. Rather, they were caused by loss of revenues and increased borrowing costs resulting from the Wall Street banking crisis. Jammed with toxic assets, derivatives, and the subprime mortgage debacle, the Wall Street credit machine ground to a halt in the fall of 2008 and has still not recovered.
And it is here, in generating credit for the state, that the Bank of North Dakota has been spectacularly successful. By providing affordable, low interest credit for business expansion, new businesses and students, the BND has helped North Dakota sidestep the credit crisis altogether.
The BND partners with private banks, providing a secondary market for mortgages; offers “wholesale” banking services such as check clearing and liquidity support to private banks; and invests in North Dakota municipal bonds to support economic development. In the last ten years, the BND has returned more than a third of a billion dollars to the state’s general fund. North Dakota is one of the few states to consistently post a budget surplus.
Unlike private banks, public banks don’t speculate or gamble on high risk “financial products.” They don’t pay outrageous salaries and bonuses to their management, who are salaried civil servants. The profits of the bank are all returned to the only shareholder - the people.
Washington State Representative Bob Hasegawa, a prime sponsor of the Washington legislation, called the proposal for a publicly-owned bank “a simple concept that will reap huge benefits for Washington.” In a letter to constituents, he explained, “The concept (is) to keep taxpayers’ money working here in Washington to build our economy. Currently, all tax revenues go into a ‘Concentration Account’ held by the Bank of America. BoA makes money off our money and we never see those profits again. Instead, we can create our own institution and keep taxpayers’ dollars here in Washington, working for Washington.”
Hasegawa said a key feature of the Washington banking institution is that it will work in partnership with financial institutions, community-based organizations, economic development groups, guaranty agencies, and others. He said the Washington Investment Trust will offer “transparency, accountability, and accuracy of financial reporting,” a welcome change from the accounting tricks common among the large Wall Street money center banks today.
A public hearing on HB 1320 is scheduled for Tuesday, January 25th, at 1:30pm. The bill is assigned to the Business and Financial Services Committee in the House and the Financial Institutions, Housing & Insurance Committee in the Senate.
http://www.webofdebt.com/articles/washington_state.php
January 24, 2011
www.webofdebt.com/articles/washington_state.php
Bills were introduced on January 18 in both the House and Senate of the Washington State Legislature that add Washington to the growing number of states now actively moving to create public banking facilities.
The bills, House Bill 1320 and Senate Bill 5238, propose creation of a Washington Investment Trust (WIT) to “promote agriculture, education, community development, economic development, housing, and industry” by using “the resources of the people of Washington State within the state.”
Currently, all the state’s funds are deposited with Bank of America. HB 1320 proposes that in the future, “all state funds be deposited in the Washington Investment Trust and be guaranteed by the state and used to promote the common good and public benefit of all the people and their businesses within [the] state.”
The legislation is similar to that now being studied or proposed in states including Illinois, Virginia, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Maryland, Florida, Michigan, Oregon, California and others.
The effort in Washington State draws heavily on the success of the 92-year-old Bank of North Dakota (BND), currently the only state-wide publicly-owned U.S. bank. The BND has helped North Dakota escape the looming budgetary disaster facing other states. In 2009, North Dakota sported the largest budget surplus it had ever had.
The Wall Street Credit Crisis Is Crippling State and Municipal Governments
That state budget deficits are reaching crisis proportions was underscored in the January 19 New York Times:
[A]lmost everywhere the fiscal crisis of states has grown more acute. Rainy day funds are drained, cities and towns have laid off more than 200,000 people, and Arizona even has leased out its state office building. . . .
“It’s the time of the once unthinkable . . . ,” noted Lori Grange, deputy director of the Pew Center on the States. “Whether there are tax increases or dramatic cuts to education and vital services, the crisis is bad . . . .”
The “once unthinkable” includes not only draconian cuts in services, increases in taxes, and sale of public assets, but now filing for bankruptcy. States are not currently allowed to go bankrupt, but a move is afoot in Congress to change all that. Bankruptcy proceedings would allow states to escape pension and other contractual obligations, following the dubious lead of such megacorporations as General Motors and Continental Airlines.
Meanwhile, fears of state bankruptcy have caused state and municipal bond values to plummet and borrowing costs to soar. As with Greece and Ireland, rumors of bankruptcy become a self-fulfilling prophecy, bringing out the hedge funds and short sellers that turn prophecy into reality.
Addressing the Problem at Its Source: The North Dakota Model
While drastic spending cuts are being proposed and implemented, the states’ woes are not the result of over-spending. Rather, they were caused by loss of revenues and increased borrowing costs resulting from the Wall Street banking crisis. Jammed with toxic assets, derivatives, and the subprime mortgage debacle, the Wall Street credit machine ground to a halt in the fall of 2008 and has still not recovered.
And it is here, in generating credit for the state, that the Bank of North Dakota has been spectacularly successful. By providing affordable, low interest credit for business expansion, new businesses and students, the BND has helped North Dakota sidestep the credit crisis altogether.
The BND partners with private banks, providing a secondary market for mortgages; offers “wholesale” banking services such as check clearing and liquidity support to private banks; and invests in North Dakota municipal bonds to support economic development. In the last ten years, the BND has returned more than a third of a billion dollars to the state’s general fund. North Dakota is one of the few states to consistently post a budget surplus.
Unlike private banks, public banks don’t speculate or gamble on high risk “financial products.” They don’t pay outrageous salaries and bonuses to their management, who are salaried civil servants. The profits of the bank are all returned to the only shareholder - the people.
Washington State Representative Bob Hasegawa, a prime sponsor of the Washington legislation, called the proposal for a publicly-owned bank “a simple concept that will reap huge benefits for Washington.” In a letter to constituents, he explained, “The concept (is) to keep taxpayers’ money working here in Washington to build our economy. Currently, all tax revenues go into a ‘Concentration Account’ held by the Bank of America. BoA makes money off our money and we never see those profits again. Instead, we can create our own institution and keep taxpayers’ dollars here in Washington, working for Washington.”
Hasegawa said a key feature of the Washington banking institution is that it will work in partnership with financial institutions, community-based organizations, economic development groups, guaranty agencies, and others. He said the Washington Investment Trust will offer “transparency, accountability, and accuracy of financial reporting,” a welcome change from the accounting tricks common among the large Wall Street money center banks today.
A public hearing on HB 1320 is scheduled for Tuesday, January 25th, at 1:30pm. The bill is assigned to the Business and Financial Services Committee in the House and the Financial Institutions, Housing & Insurance Committee in the Senate.
http://www.webofdebt.com/articles/washington_state.php
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