Showing newest 27 of 67 posts from 2/1/09 - 3/1/09. Show older posts
Showing newest 27 of 67 posts from 2/1/09 - 3/1/09. Show older posts

Beating of 15 year old girl by police caught on video

A video showing a King County Sheriff's deputy pummeling a 15-year-old girl in a holding cell was released Friday over the strenuous objections of the officer's attorney.

And you wonder why we have a hard time trusting any of you. Police State in action

Beating caught on police video- Tape shows officer kicking, striking teenager

The report By SCOTT GUTIERREZ P-I REPORTER is biased in my opinion. The video clearly shows what happened to the 15 year old GIRL. Don't get me wrong, I know teens can be unruly and obnoxious. But damn MAN, your 31 and weigh at least twice as much as this little girl. You're an ADULT police officer. What ever happened to showing some restraint? Oh thats right, you did show restraint. You showed how you restrained a 15 year old little girl.

It's BAD cops like you that make us fear all cops. When saying the wrong thing might set off the psychological [I'm the Law, do as I say] defect in your brain. Maybe Deputy Paul Schene has had bad relationships in the past and doesn't like girls / women ? Maybe he beats them into compliance ? Maybe he thinks they like it ? Maybe hes just an asshole.

###

From www.lewrockwell.com
by William Grigg

Deputy Paul Schene of the King County Sheriff's Department, an eight-year law enforcement veteran, was videotaped beating a 15-year-old in a holding cell last November. The video was pried out of police hands just days ago by a Seattle television station that filed an official request under Washington's open records law.

After being arrested and booked on a charge of auto theft (the car belongs to her parents, and she was a passenger, not the driver), the teenager displayed a "lippy" disposition toward Schene and another officer. As the door to her cell was being closed, she was ordered to remove her shoes. She complied by kicking one of them in Schene's direction.

Perhaps Schene is well-versed in Arab culture and perceived this to be a grave insult to his masculinity, such as it is. In any case, he charged into the cell, kicked her in the stomach, slammed the girl's head against the wall, threw the girl (who weighed roughly half of what he did) face-first to the floor, and -- with the assistance of his fellow tax-feeder -- handcuffed her while striking her twice to the back to the head.

Once she was shackled, the girl was pulled to her feet and dragged out of the cell by her hair:





I don't agree with the posters description of this video on YouTube- "A clear case of racial tension. "
She doesn't appear to be Black to me, but I could be wrong. It's not racial, It's just wrong.




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Not much has changed since cable was introduced into your home.
Frank Zappa described the problem in 1976 on Saturday Night Live :




I'M THE SLIME

I am gross and perverted
I’m obsessed ’n deranged
I have existed for years
But very little had changed
I am the tool of the government
And industry too
For I am destined to rule
And regulate you

I may be vile and pernicious
But you can’t look away
I make you think I’m delicious
With the stuff that I say
I am the best you can get
Have you guessed me yet?
I am the slime oozin’ out
From your tv set

You will obey me while I lead you
And eat the garbage that I feed you
Until the day that we don’t need you
Don’t go for help...no one will heed you
Your mind is totally controlled
It has been stuffed into my mold
And you will do as you are told
Until the rights to you are sold

That’s right, folks..
Don’t touch that dial

I am the slime from your video
Oozin’ along on your livin’room floor

I am the slime from your video
Can’t stop the slime, people, lookit me go



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John Bolton: Benefits of Nuking Chicago

 
—Photo illustration by Steve Aquino.

John Bolton at CPAC: The Benefits of Nuking Chicago
— By Jonathan Stein | Thu February 26, 2009 9:27 AM PST
motherjones.com


Former UN Ambassador John Bolton believes the security of the United States is at dire risk under the Obama administration. And before a gathering of conservatives in Washington on Thursday morning, he suggested, as something of a joke, that President Barack Obama might learn a needed lesson if Chicago were destroyed by a nuclear bomb.

Appearing at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), the nation's largest annual conference of conservative activists, Bolton, one of the hardest hardliners of the George W. Bush administration, spoke at length about Obama's naiveté and how various nations – Russia, North Korea, Iran – will be exploiting the new president. The most dramatic moment of his speech may have been when he cracked a joke about the nuking of Obama's hometown.

"The fact is on foreign policy I don't think President Obama thinks it's a priority," said Bolton. "He said during the campaign he thought Iran was a tiny threat. Tiny, tiny depending on how many nuclear weapons they are ultimately able to deliver on target. Its, uh, its tiny compared to the Soviet Union, but is the loss of one American city" – here Bolton changes his tone subtly to prepare for the joke – "pick one at random – Chicago – is that a tiny threat?"

Bolton wasn't the only one who thought this was funny. The room erupted in laughter and applause. Was this conservative catharsis, with rightwingers delightfully imagining the destruction of a city that represents Obama? Or perhaps they were venting vengeance with their laughter. (Bolton is no stranger to inflammatory remarks. He once infamously quipped, "There are 38 floors to the UN building in New York. If you lost 10 of them, it wouldn't make a bit of difference.")

Continue Reading @ motherjones.com

(emphasis above added by ED/NAC)
#####

See also: UN Building Wired for Collapse ?



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Friday the 27 th claims 2 more banks; bringing the total to 16 for 2009; 10 in February 2009

MB Financial Bank, N.A., Chicago, Illinois, Assumes All of the Deposits of Heritage Community Bank, Glenwood, Illinois

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 27, 2009
Media Contact:
Andrew Gray (202) 898-7192
Cell: (202) 494-1049
E-mail: angray@fdic.gov

Heritage Community Bank, Glenwood, Illinois, was closed today by the Illinois Department of Financial Professional Regulation, Division of Banking, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver. To protect the depositors, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with MB Financial Bank, N.A., Chicago, Illinois, to assume all of the deposits of Heritage Community Bank.

The four offices of Heritage Community Bank will reopen as branches of MB Financial Bank on Saturday. Depositors of Heritage Community Bank will automatically become depositors of MB Financial Bank. Deposits will continue to be insured by the FDIC, so there is no need for customers to change their banking relationship to retain their deposit insurance coverage. Customers of both banks should continue to use their existing branches until MB Financial Bank can fully integrate the deposit records of Heritage Community Bank.

Over the weekend, depositors of Heritage Community Bank can access their money by writing checks or using ATM or debit cards. Checks drawn on the bank will continue to be processed. Loan customers should continue to make their payments as usual.

As of December 5, 2008, Heritage Community Bank had total assets of $232.9 million and total deposits of $218.6 million. In addition to assuming all of the deposits of the failed bank, including those from brokers, MB Financial Bank agreed to purchase approximately $230.5 million in assets at a discount of $14.5 million. The FDIC will retain the remaining assets for later disposition.

The FDIC and MB Financial Bank entered into a loss-share transaction. MB Financial Bank will share in the losses on approximately $181 million in assets covered under the agreement. The loss-sharing arrangement is projected to maximize returns on the assets covered by keeping them in the private sector. The agreement also is expected to minimize disruptions for loan customers as they will maintain a banking relationship.

Customers who have questions about today's transaction can call the FDIC toll-free at 1-800-823-5680. The phone number will be operational this evening until 9:00 p.m., CST; on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., CST; on Sunday from noon to 6:00 p.m., CST; and thereafter from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., CST. Interested parties can also visit the FDIC's Web site at http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/heritagebank.html.

The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund will be $41.6 million. MB Financial Bank's acquisition of all the deposits was the "least costly" resolution for the FDIC's Deposit Insurance Fund compared to alternatives. Heritage Community Bank is the fifteenth FDIC-insured institution to fail in the nation this year and the third in the state. The last FDIC-insured institution closed in Illinois was Corn Belt Bank and Trust Company, Pittsfield, on February 13, 2009.

Heritage Community Bank is not affiliated with Heritage Bank of Central Illinois, Heritage Bank of Schaumburg, or Heritage State Bank, Lawrenceville.

http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/press/2009/pr09031.html

# # #

Bank of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada Assumes All of the Deposits of Security Savings Bank, Henderson, Nevada

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 27, 2009
Media Contact:
Andrew Gray (202) 898-7192
Cell: (202) 494-1049
E-mail: angray@fdic.gov

Security Savings Bank, Henderson, Nevada was closed today by the Nevada Financial Institutions Division, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver. To protect the depositors, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Bank of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada, to assume all of the deposits of Security Savings Bank.

The two offices of Security Savings Bank will reopen on Monday as branches of Bank of Nevada. Depositors of Security Savings Bank will automatically become depositors of Bank of Nevada. Deposits will continue to be insured by the FDIC, so there is no need for customers to change their banking relationship to retain their deposit insurance coverage. Customers of both banks should continue to use their existing branches until Bank of Nevada can fully integrate the deposit records of Security Savings Bank.

Over the weekend, depositors of Security Savings Bank can access their money by writing checks or using ATM or debit cards. Checks drawn on the bank will continue to be processed. Loan customers should continue to make their payments as usual.

As of December 31, 2008, Security Savings Bank had total assets of approximately $238.3 million and total deposits of $175.2 million. Bank of Nevada did not pay a premium to acquire the deposits of Security Savings Bank.

Customers who have questions about today's transaction can call the FDIC toll-free at 1-800-823-5017. The phone number will be operational this evening until 9 p.m., PST; on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., PST; on Sunday from Noon to 6 p.m., PST; and thereafter from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., PST. Customers who would like more information about today's transaction can also visit the FDIC's Web site at http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/securitysavings.html.

In addition to acquiring all of the failed banks deposits, including those from deposit brokers, Bank of Nevada agreed to purchase approximately $111.3 million in assets. The FDIC will retain any remaining assets for later disposition.

The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund will be $59.1 million. The Bank of Nevada's acquisition of all the deposits of Security Saving Bank was the "least costly" resolution for the FDIC's Deposit Insurance Fund compared to alternatives. Security Savings Bank is the sixteenth bank to fail in the nation this year. The last bank to fail in Nevada was Washington Mutual Bank, Henderson, on September 25, 2008.

http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/press/2009/pr09032.html




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Perhaps more important: General Motors' $5.3 billion cash burn for the quarter. Without government loans, it would already be in bankruptcy

By David Welch
businessweek.com

At the same time General Motors (GM) Chairman and CEO G. Richard Wagoner Jr. is headed to Washington to meet with President Obama's task force, the auto giant announced a massive loss for the fourth quarter and last year.

GM lost $9.6 billion in the fourth quarter and, perhaps more important, burned through $5.3 billion in operating cash as a global recession pummeled car sales. For the year, GM lost $31 billion including special items for restructuring and other one-time costs. It's the second-biggest loss in the company's history.

But these days, profits aren't the real measure for GM. The company is struggling to bring in enough cash to pay its bills, and without loans of $13.4 billion from the U.S. Treasury, GM would already be in bankruptcy. The company burned through $19.2 billion in operating cash flow last year and ended the year with $14 billion in cash, just above the bare minimum to keep its plants going.

While GM has already received $13.4 billion in loans, the company said in a presentation to Treasury on Feb. 17 that it will need as much as $16.6 billion more. The company will need about $9 billion more going forward and another $7.5 billion if auto sales remain as weak as they have been for an extended period. GM Chief Finance Officer Ray Young said GM should minimize its cash burn this year, but he didn't give a forecast.

read more @ businessweek.com
#####

related-

GM UNIT SAAB BANKRUPT

Despite Aid, US Auto Companies May Perish

GM cutting 47,000 Jobs

GM, Chrysler- Chapter 11 ?




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Long story short, maybe...
This post will offend many, but no more than you offend me.

So this week was not good. Today was not good. Two funerals in one day...not good.
On with it.....

Everything was fine until you thumper's tried to use what was to be final services for friends, as a recruiting venue. So they go on and on, blah, blah, blah....revelations this, deuteronomy that. Finally I had enough and excused myself to smoke a cig. But NO ! They followed me. Why ? Do I look like I need saving ? Most of my friends and family would say no.

So then I start giving it back. They don't like it when you let the shit fly and don't care who it hits. They don't like it when you at first glance seem a reasonable person. They don't like it when you tell them the book they are quoting from was 'Translated' in to english from the 'Original' transcripts by a mortal man who may have made mistakes. Maybe on purpose ?
Some are so rude, as to try and not let you get a word in edgewise until.... you speak louder and more forceful than them. Yet they still don't listen to what you have to say. Why would they ? You're not in their cult.

So it goes on and on.

Then one starts telling me of 'stories' of how god told certain people back in the day, to go and kill people. To wipe them out! No survivors. But they didn't listen and brought back some survivors and the king of these people and presented them before God himself. He tells me god was not happy with these people of which he commanded to slaughter others. Believe me, the shit blew my mind. So I ask this wannabe, If you had a vision or whatever, and god told you to go kill someone; would you ? This dumb ass said yes; if god told me to do it. I told him thats the problem with you and others like you. You kill in the name of god. Then I ask him isn't there something in this book you so cherish, that tells of not killing another. Again, he said if god says it, it's OK. I told him not to forget that, because their are many out there killing in the name of god, and when someone he knows is killed in this way not to get mad at the person who did it. He asked why not. I said because god told him to do it and that makes it OK.

And another thing..

I have found that most of you [most of you, not all] who attend a cult of personality are truly in need of something your shrink cant offer for your misdeeds. The forgiveness that makes all your wrongs go away. And because you are forgiven in the present, and can ask for forgiveness for you future deeds, it makes it all OK. Because god said so.

I got News for some of you.....In my early days I went over to the other side and came back. I saw the light. It was nice and peaceful. Some of you who think you're going there better rethink it. Cause you ain't even close to the pearly gates.

By the way....I believe. Just not what they want me too. I have a brain.

Old redneck proverb: Going to church makes you no more a christan, than standing in a garage makes you a car.
They don't like that either. Who can blame them, It's the truth !




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Wha...huh....

Home mortgage relief for millions of illegals
Obama's program provides $275 billion to assist homeowners facing foreclosure

Jerome R. Corsi
WorldNetDaily

Illegal aliens can apply for mortgage relief under the Obama administration's $275 billion plan, according to immigration experts and a group the government will use to help homeowners modify loans.

Steven Camarota, director of research at the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, D.C., told WND approximately 1 million households headed by illegal immigrants acquired mortgages through the beginning of 2007, before the housing bubble burst.

"There is no legal prohibition against illegal immigrants owning homes," he said, "and in most cases mortgage lenders will accept a taxpayer ID or a Matricula Consular card issued by a Mexican Consulate office as identification to illegal immigrants from Mexico."

Chad Buchanan, a manager at SaveMyHomeUSA – a group cooperating with the Obama administration that assists homeowners facing foreclosure – told WND illegal immigrants who own a home "could certainly apply under our program."

"We don't target or go after illegal immigrant customers," he said. "But if an illegal immigrant owns a home legally, we could try to help them under our program.

A mass marketed e-mail from Nicole Mercier at SaveMyHomeUSA tells prospects for the loan modification processor positions that the government "has provided billions of dollars to help people save their homes from foreclosure."

"We are the largest loan modification processing company in the country, and we are looking for individuals, like you, who can help us process these applications, and also find those that are in need of mortgage reduction through this program," the e-mail continued.

"You do not need a license or a certification to become a partner in this program," Mercier emphasized. "The pay is a minimum of $600 per processed loan modification file. We are currently processing over 1,000 modifications a month, if you would like to become a business partner, call today."

Mercier's e-mail was posted on an Americans for Legal Immigration PAC, or ALIPAC, bulletin board.

ALIPAC's president, William Gheen, told WND the e-mail from SaveMyHomeUSA "not only looks like illegal immigrants could refinance their own homes under the Obama mortgage modification program, they could also apply to become loan modification brokers, so they could help other illegal immigrants refinance their mortgages."

read more- here
#####

Recent related reading-

Ice agents under attack for doing their job

La Raza affiliate head of Citizenship and Immigration Services ?
#####

nod to- friendsofliberty.com



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Ice agents under attack for doing their job

I'm sorry, but what the hell is going on in this country. I'll tell you...it's ass backwards. People being investigated for doing their jobs, while others that ROB the country blind in plain site, get a Good ole boy slap on the back.

(snip...)

EXCLUSIVE: My New Hero--Top Seattle ICE Agent Shows DHS Chief Who the Real Man is


Debbie Schlussel

As you may have heard, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are under attack from Department of Homeland Security Chief Janet Napolitano a/k/a "The Lesbionic Woman" for actually doing their job, enforcing immigration law, and raiding employers who don't abide by it. She's now investigating the ICE agents.
(...snip)

Of course we know from this Obamas plan is to give all the Illegal Aliens Amnesty. Hell, he may be one himself. Thats why this is happening. Obama Hopes to discourage Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from doing their jobs.

I'm so pissed, I cant even think.....later fellow Americans.

p.s.- by the way...I'm sure you've heard the shit is hitting the fan on the southern border? right....




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There go those 3.5 million NEW jobs Obama mentioned.....

via~ Debbie Schlussel

Obama DumbAssity of the Day: Will Name LA RAZA Dude to Head . . . U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services???!!!!

I feel like we're living in an episode of "The Twilight Zone." Can it really be that Barack Hussein Obama is about to name an open borders guy from Casa De Maryland--an affiliate of La Raza--to head up U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services???!!! According to the Washington Post, the answer is Si, Gringos


Maryland's labor secretary, Thomas E. Perez, right, joined students in Annapolis to urge approval of a bill granting in-state tuition rates to undocumented immigrants. (By Marvin Joseph -- The Washington Post)

######

Go check out Debbie's post (linked above), it has a couple links you should follow.


Related-

Obama on Security and Citizenship- “We cannot deport 12 million people. Instead, we’ll require them to pay a fine, learn English and go to the back of the line.”- - SEPT. 10,2008 WASHINGTON

Some Videos-

Barack Obama at La Raza Conference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEITOQfKVmo

Aztlan Rising / The nation of Aztlan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIW-BZ8oLrk

Lou Dobbs - National Council of La Raza (The Race): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kmTLk2Fgas


Category: Illegal Immigration



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arxivblog.com

One of the more frightening scenarios that civil defence teams worry about is the possibility that a bomb contaminated with radioactive material would be detonated in a heavily populated area.

Various research teams have considered this problem and come to similar conclusions–that the actual threat to human health from such a device is low. Some even claim that terror groups must have come to a similar conclusion which is why we’ve not been on the receiving end of such an attack. The panic such a device would cause is another questions.

Today Theodore Liolios from a private institution called the Hellenic Arms Control Center in Thessaloniki in Greece, goes through the figures.

He says the most likely material to be used in such an attack is Cesium-137, widely used throughout the developed and developing world as a source for medical therapies.

The unstated implication is that it would be relatively easy to get hold of this stuff from a poorly guarded hospital. Exactly this happened in Goiania in Brazil when an abandoned hospital was broken into and its supply of cesium-137 distributed around the surrounding neighbourhoods. The incident left 200 people contaminated. Four of them died.

But a dirty bomb would not be nearly as lethal. The trouble with them (from a terrorist’s point of view, at least) is that distributing radioactive material over a large area dramatically reduces the exposure that people receive. Particularly when most could be warned to stay indoors or be evacuated (unlike the Goiania incident in which most people were unaware they were contaminated).

Liolios calculates that anybody within a 300 metre range of a dirty bomb would increase their lifetime risk of cancer mortality by about 1.5 per cent. And then only if they were unable to take shelter or leave the area. That’s about 280 people given the kind of densities you expect in metropolitan areas.

And he goes on to say that it is reasonable to assume that a cesium-137 dirty bomb would not increase the cancer mortality risk for the entire city by a statistically significant amount.

But the terror such a device might cause is another question. Liolios reckons that current radiation safety standards would mean the evacuation of some 78 square kilometres around ground zero. That would affect some 78,000 people, cost $7.8m per day to evacuate and some $78m to decontaminate.

That seems a tad conservative but however it is calculated, it may turn out to be chickenfeed compared to the chaos caused by panic, which may well result in more deaths than the bomb itself could claim. How to calculate the effect of that?

Ref: arxiv.org/abs/0902.3789: The Effects of Using Cesium-137 Teletherapy Sources as a Radiological Weapon




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Same ole, same ole

Freeing Up Resources... for More War

by Norman Solomon
www.commondreams.org

Hours after President Obama's speech to a joint session of Congress, the New York Times printed the news that he plans to gradually withdraw "American combat forces" from Iraq during the next 18 months. The newspaper reported that the advantages of the pullout will include "relieving the strain on the armed forces and freeing up resources for Afghanistan."

The president's speech had little to say about the plans for escalation, but the few words will come back to haunt: "With our friends and allies, we will forge a new and comprehensive strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan to defeat Al Qaida and combat extremism, because I will not allow terrorists to plot against the American people from safe havens halfway around the world. We will not allow it."

Obama didn't mention the additional number of U.S. troops -- 17,000 -- that he has just ordered to Afghanistan. But his pledge that he "will not allow terrorists to plot against the American people" and his ringing declaration, "We will not allow it," came just before this statement: "As we meet here tonight, our men and women in uniform stand watch abroad and more are readying to deploy."

Get the message? In his first speech to Congress, the new president threw down a 90-month-old gauntlet, reaffirming the notion that committing to war halfway around the world -- in Afghanistan and now in Pakistan too -- will make Americans safer. With drumrolls like that, the mission could outlive all of us.

And so, a colossal and fateful blunder, made by a very smart leader, arguably our best and brightest, is careening forward with the help of silence that defers all too readily to power. This is how the war in Vietnam escalated, while individuals and groups muted their voices. Many people will pay with their lives.

The reasons why the war in Afghanistan cannot be won are directly connected to why the war is wrong. In essence, people do not like their country occupied for years on end, especially when the occupiers are routinely killing civilians (whatever the rationale). Monochrome words like Taliban and "terrorists" might seem tidy and clear enough as they appear in media coverage, or as they roll off a president's tongue, but in the real Afghan world the opponents of the U.S. war are diverse and wide-ranging. With every missile strike that incinerates a household or terrorizes a village, the truly implacable "extremists" can rejoice at Uncle Sam's assistance to their recruiting efforts.

Those who are fond of talking and writing about President Obama's admirable progressive values will, sooner or later, need to come to terms with the particulars of his actual policies. In foreign affairs, the realities now include the ominous pairing of his anti-terrorism rhetoric and his avowed commitment to ratchet up the U.S. war effort in Afghanistan.

I don't often make predictions, but I'm confident about this one: Within a few years, some members of Congress, and leaders of some progressive groups with huge email lists, will look back with regret as they recall their failure to clearly and openly oppose the pivotal escalation of the Afghan war.

They could save themselves a lot of shame, and save others their lives, by speaking out sooner rather than later. In the process, they might help save the Obama presidency from running aground in Afghanistan.

Norman Solomon is a journalist, historian, and progressive activist. His book "War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death" has been adapted into a documentary film of the same name. His most recent book is "Made Love, Got War." He is a national co-chair of the Healthcare NOT Warfare campaign.




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"You can't put people to work in American factories that don't exist."

The quote above is exactly what I said to myself last night after I heard Obama speak. Actually it was more like " What f-ing factories and fields do we have left for people to work in ?". And another thing about all these jobs they want to create by rebuilding the infrastructure.....The companies and corporations that will do it already have a full staff of workers. They wont be hiring extra. And about those 2.5 million jobs over 2-4 years....you will have more college and high school graduates; where are they going to work ? Hell, 2.5 million doesn't even cover the jobs recently lost. When will these folks go back to work ? Blah, blah, blah....I would rather them say nothing than tell us lies. ASSHOLES !!!

By Glen Ford
www.blackagendareport.com

February 25, 2009 "Black Agenda Report" - - The strength of the federal economic stimulus package is seriously diluted by the fact that many of the manufactured goods that will be purchased for the attempted recovery must be imported from outside the United States. America simply doesn't make lots of things, anymore. That means many billions of dollars that folks assumed would go towards fueling an American economic comeback, will instead provide work and paychecks to employees in other countries, that still have manufacturing bases. That's fine with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which is dominated by large multinational corporations - the same guys that began stripping the United States of manufacturing jobs decades ago.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce was one of the main lobbyists opposed to provisions that would have mandated that stimulus money go to U.S. companies. The Chamber is a U.S. organization in name only, like its finance capital comrades, the guys that gave the world such a bad case of the dreaded "American Disease," much of the planet is praying that cash-rich China will eventually bail everybody out.

The United States' lack of a manufacturing capacity makes it even less likely that anything resembling a lasting recovery can emerge from President Obama's approach to the economic crisis. The infrastructure projects that are supposed to be central to the recovery scheme are only valued at $150 billion - which is not much of a jolt, especially when much of what will have to be bought is only available in other countries, made by foreign workers. Barack Obama has put a huge emphasis on building a green economy. However, according to the New York Times, most of the sources of solar panels and wind turbines are located in Europe and Asia. There can be no green economy without a mass transit makeover of the United States, but the U.S. hasn't made subway and light rail cars in many years. They'd have to be imported.

"Most of the sources of solar panels and wind turbines are located in Europe and Asia."

Every product that must be imported for the infrastructure project means a watering down of the stimulus impact of the dollars spent. You can't put people to work in American factories that don't exist.

A true national recovery effort would mean re-industrialization, on a grand scale and a green model, through massive direct federal creation of state-owned industries independent of the finance capitalists who murdered American manufacturing and then blew up their own businesses on Wall Street. But this is already nearly impossible, since President Obama is committed to saving the banking class through unlimited infusions of public money, and then allowing these reborn zombies to resume their roles as lords of development. The bankster parasites have neither the capacity nor the intention to build anything other than mountains of debt for the rest of us. Therefore, Obama's partnership with them spells doom for national recovery.

Like Billy Preston said, "Nothin' from noth in' leaves nothin'." The U.S. cannot create the conditions for economic health without rebuilding a manufacturing capacity. And the remnants of Wall Street have nothing to contribute to an economic recovery, but an infinite capacity to steal.

For Black Agenda Radio, I'm Glen Ford. On the web, go to www.BlackAgendaReport.com
BAR executive editor Glen Ford can be contacted at Glen.Ford@BlackAgendaReport.com




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Salmonella Outbreak: Not Headline news...anymore

I have to agree with Ingrid. On her blog she makes a fine case of where the bulk of the blame for the outbreak should have been placed.

I agree because, if it had been one of your favorite restaurants in this condition it would have been shut down. The cleanliness of the business is up to the staff and or cleaning personal. However, the FDA is also at fault for possibly overlooking these conditions.

I have worked in many places where an inspection by some government / state official occurs. I can tell you from experience that they are humans and are subject to the same mistakes you and I make. I can also say, in a given situation where I was given an inch, I took a mile (fortunately I've never been in the food industry). I feel as though this was the case with PCA. Unfortunately it bit them in the rear.

Ingrid tells us that the latest count as of last Thursday is 654 infected individuals in 44 states and 9 deaths. This count could have been higher if not for the FDA & CDC stepping in.

Read more- Salmonella Outbreak: Peanuts and the Press.




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You may have heard that Iran has enough material for a Nuclear Bomb ? You can find evidence of this on many blogs and just about all government CONtrolled MSM(main stream media)sites. Its the same old song...be afraid, the terrorist are coming and they have weapons of mass destruction.

I knew of this just as you may have, but I didn't run with it and for good reason. I don't post material to scare you. I post material so you will know the facts. The facts in this case as with many others has been spun. This dis-information makes it easier for a person who hasn't been listening to the 'war drum' dealing with Iran, to believe it. Also for the casual reader that may come across it.

In the previous week reports have come from some of the oh so reliable sources [read fear mongers]. The Financial Times ran a piece with the headline “Iran holds enough uranium for bomb”. The New York Times ran this headline, “Iran Has More Enriched Uranium Than Thought”. Others picked up these stories and ran with them. I was skeptical. Then again, I've been following the run to war with Iran since December 2006. You can read all I have in The Iran Files.

To show you were I'm going with this, I posted this on 25 June 2008, El Baradei: Iran could make a nuclear weapon in 6 months. And then..right on cue..these reports from The Financial Times & The New York Times linked above come out 8 months later. Coincidence ?

To help you make sense of these reports dealing with Iran's uranium enrichment you can read this report from The Federation of American Scientists titled: Iran’s Uranium: Don’t Panic Yet. They relate the facts on low-enriched uranium (LEU) vs. highly enriched uranium (HEU), the later which is needed for a full blown Nuclear Bomb / Warhead.

On a side note: Why do you need an Aircraft Carrier Strike Group to fight Somalia Pirates ? Is the reason for a naval build up in this area preparation for something bigger ? Or, could this be a reason from the past, The Neoconservative Agenda to Sacrifice the Fifth Fleet – The New Pearl Harbor ? I don't know. I just thought it strange, the need for 'another' Aircraft Carrier Strike Group in this area if nothing is on the radar.

Related post-

War with Iran, final moves

Video:John Bolton 'I would attack Iran NOW'

Middle East developments..

And don't forget, for all past information see The Iran Files




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This is an i-paper; you can view it at ScribD: Warning Against Adverse Health Effects From the Operation of Digital Broadcast

PDF & Text download is available, but you need a free ScribD account.
Via: ScribD:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/12548638/Warning-Against-Adverse-Health-Effects-From-the-Operation-of-Digital-Broadcast

I feel this is an important issue and Know many people will not create a free account at Scibd to view it.
Therefore, I have taken the neccessary steps to bring you this information in Text form below. It may not be perfect, but it is readable.

I first read this over at cryptogon were it was embeded. It was a pain is in the ass, as I had to scroll back and forth to read the embeded i-paper. The view at ScribD is much better.

Description

The Digital TV will start operating in the USA in these days. Many people are worrying about this new technology which has not been tested yet. People in USA will be the Guinea pigs and, what a chance for the industry, there is so much radiation everywhere without DVBT that you will probably see no difference to other RF. (Perhaps more exhaustion, more tiredness, the feeling of being paralyzed??)

Dr. med. Cornelia Waldmann Selsam
Founding Member of the Bamberg Appeal
Karl-May-Str.48
D-96049 Bamberg
Phone: 011 49-951-12300
Germany

Dr. med. Christine Aschermann
Neurologist-Psychotherapy
Founding Member of the Freiburg Appeal
Eichenstr. 6
D-88299 Leutkirch Germany

Dr. med. Markus Kern
Psychosomatic Medizin
Founding Member of the Physicians Appeal Allgäu-Bodensee-Oberschwaben
Beim Flosserhäusle 8
D-87439 Kempten
Germany

Bamberg, February 12, 2009

To the President of the United States of America
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Fax: 001 202‐456‐2461

To the Citizens of the United States of America
To the Members of the House of Representatives
To the Members of the Senate

Warning Against Adverse Health Effects from the Operation of Digital Broadcast Television Stations (DVB‐T)

Dear President Obama:
Dear Members of the House of Representatives:
Dear Members of the Senate:
Dear Citizens of the United States of America:

In the US, digital broadcast television is scheduled to start operating on February 17, 2009. We write to you today because we wish to save you from the significant negative health consequences that have occurred here in Germany.
In Germany, analog broadcast television stations have gradually been switching to digital broadcast signals since 2003. This switchover first took place in metropolitan areas. In those areas, however, the RF exposures in public places as well as at home continued to increase at the same time. As a result, the continuing declining health status of children, adolescents, and adults in urban areas could not be attributed to any single cause.

On May 20, 2006, two digital broadcast television stations went on the air in the Hessian Rhoen area (Heidelstein, Kreuzberg), which until recently had enjoyed rather low mobile phone radiation exposure levels. Within a radius of more than 20 km, the following symptoms that occurred abruptly were reported: constant headaches, pressure in the head, drowsiness, sleep problems, inability to think clearly, forgetfulness, nervous tensions, irritability, tightness in the chest, rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, depressive mood, total apathy, loss of empathy, burning skin, inner burning, leg weakness, pain in the limbs, stabbing pain in various organs, weight increase

Birds had fled the area. Cats had turned phlegmatic and hardly ever went into the garden. One child committed suicide; a second child tried doing it.

Over time the same unbearable symptoms showed up in other locations—most recently in Bamberg and Aschaffenburg on November 25, 2008. Physicians accompanied affected people to areas where there was no DVB‐T reception (valleys, behind mountain ranges) and witnessed how these people became symptom‐free only after a short period of time.

The respective agencies responsible in Germany were approached for help, but they declined to follow up on the strongly suggestive evidence in the actual locations. The behavior of the government agencies disregards the fundamental rights of affected people guaranteed in the German Constitution.

In Germany, DVB‐T (Digital Video Broadcasting Terrestrial) uses Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex Modulation. The fundamental principle of this type of modulation works by spreading the information across several thousand carrier frequencies directly adjacent to each other. A channel is 7.8 MHz wide. The amplitude also changes constantly.

The WHO, the German Radiation Protection Commission, and the German Federal Ministry of the Environment rely on the Guidelines for Limiting Exposure to Time‐varying Electric, Magnetic, and Electromagnetic Fields (up to 300 GHz), (Health Physics 74 (4): 494‐522; 1998) published by the International Commission on Non‐Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). In this document, it says:
p. 495: “These guidelines will be periodically revised and updated as advances are made in identifying the adverse health effects of time‐varying electric, magnetic, and electromagnetic fields.”

p. 507: “Interpretation of several observed biological effects of AM electromagnetic fields is further complicated by the apparent existence of “windows” of response in both the power density and frequency domains. There are no accepted models that adequately explain this phenomenon, which challenges the traditional concept of a monotonic relationship between the field intensity and the severity of the resulting biological effects.”

Why are the German agencies in charge not willing to help identify the adverse health effects? Since immediately, after digital broadcast television stations had started transmitting, adverse health effects have occurred, the review of the Guidelines announced by the ICNIRP is imperative. Obviously, there are response windows contained within the broad frequency bands with their several thousand frequencies that change constantly and whose amplitude also changes constantly. The ICNIRP had already pointed out this possibility.

In 1992, Dipl.-Ing. Rüdiger Matthes, member of ICNIRP and of the Geman Radiation Protection Agency (BfS), emphasized the preliminary status of the exposure limits in a hearing on the health risks of electromagnetic radiation: “…They (electromagnetic exposure levels) are several orders of magnitude higher than the natural background radiation levels of nontechnical sources…In parallel to this development, findings of scientific studies according to which long‐term exposure to such fields may trigger adverse health effects keep accumulating.…In this context, it is also important to recognize that there are large differences in exposure levels within a given population. A small child, for example, absorbs much more RF energy than an adult person…There are several findings on low‐level exposures, which are considered scientifically validated because they have been reproduced often but which are rather difficult to interpret.

The impact of mostly pulsed or ELF modulated RF radiation on cell metabolism, for example, counts among them. It has been observed that the efflux of certain ions (e.g. calcium) from a cell increases during exposure to such fields. The occurrence of this effect is described almost completely independent of the actual field strength. It can be found at extremely low absorption levels.…With all the currently available scientific findings, there remain some crucial questions unanswered.
…There are gaps in the so‐called body of evidence. That means that the biological effects, for example, have only been investigated for individual frequencies. Data (e.g. effect thresholds) on the various biological effects across the entire frequency spectrum are not available. The exposure limits, therefore, are based on an approach that greatly simplifies the very complex reality whose details are unfathomable. It should also be noted that concrete data on possible effects of long‐term exposures are mostly lacking.”

Real life teaches us that it was wrong to simplify. In Germany, we see strong evidence of a direct temporal association between the start‐up of terrestrial digital broadcast television and the occurrence of severe health symptoms.

Dr.-Ing. W. Volkrodt, former R&D engineer at Siemens, recognized the danger of electromagnetic fields for humans, animals, and plants. He pinned his hopes on policymakers who would listen to reason when he wrote in 1987: “Future historians will refer to the RF dilemma during the period from around 1975 to 1990 as a short, time-limited ‘technical incident.’ Owing to the introduction of fiber optic technology, this incident could be remediated quickly and effectively.“

Satellites and cable provide the US population with television services. By contrast, the risk associated with terrestrial digital broadcast television transmitters is unacceptable.

We, therefore, ask you, dear Mr. President, who has the wellbeing of his citizens at heart, to stop the scheduled introduction of this new technology in the United States of America and to save the people from the negative health consequences that have occurred in our country.

Dr. med. Cornelia Waldmann-Selsam

Dr. med. Christine Aschermann

Dr. med. Markus Kern




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Obama's Trilateral Connection and more...

I think you'll find this interesting......,Ed

Robert Eringer
via- cryptome
February 21, 2009

With spring nearly upon us, the Trilateral Commission will soon blossom into its annual conference -- scheduled for Tokyo, the weekend of April 24-26. This networking elite of politicians, bankers, industrialists and intellectuals from North America, Europe, Japan, and South Korea strives to shape foreign and economic policies of nations from behind the scenes. Who are these Commissioners -- and who commissioned them?

The notion of a tri-sphere concept, combining movers and shakers from three geographic regions, was first broached at a Bilderberg conference.

So what is Bilderberg -- and from where does it derive its authority?

It is an elite group of self-appointed global manipulators -- from North America and Europe -- who have met privately since 1954 to quietly influence governments.

Bilderberger banking bigwig David Rockefeller tapped Zbigniew Brzezinski to attend the April 1972 Bilderberg meeting in Knokke, Belgium, having taken a fancy to "Tripartite Studies" produced by the then-obscure Colombia University professor.

Appearing before Bilderbergers, Dr. Brzezinski made a pitch for inviting the Japanese into their secretive coterie on the basis that Japan had morphed into an economic powerhouse entitling it to play with the big boys. (South Korea joined that "sphere" much later.)

But the burghers of Bilderberg declined to integrate the Japanese into their own forum, a bilateral success for 22 years (by then) that had succeeded in fashioning a new order in Europe -- the Common Market and European unity. Instead, attendees sanctioned a new league and, thus, the Trilateral Commission was born.

Mr. Rockefeller and Zbiggy launched themselves through Europe and Japan on a recruiting drive.

Their "planning group" convened on July 23rd and 24th at Pocantico Hills, a Rockefeller estate overlooking the Hudson River. Mr. Rockefeller underwrote the expense from his own (deep) pocket, having discovered, decades earlier, that investing in high-level networking paid huge dividends.

With approval from "the highest political and financial circles" (an internal Commission memo), the trio selected chairmen and directors to represent each sphere of the tri.

The Commission quickly became a springboard for the presidency of Jimmy Carter. Mr. Carter, as governor of Georgia, had caught Mr. Rockefeller's eye as a potential president and, consequently, Zbiggy and Mr. Rockefeller lunched Jimmy in October 1972 at the Connaught Hotel in London, where they signed him on the spot to be a Commissioner. Jimmy also became David and Zbiggy's presidential candidate -- and the Commission bestowed him the power elite support (influence and money) he needed to "arise from nowhere."

The Trilateral Commission was not nowhere -- just nowhere (back then) to be found in the newspapers.

So Jimmy the peanut farmer got elected president in 1976, and Zbig became his national security adviser, the job he had coveted from the outset. Other Commissioners in the Carter Administration included Vice President Walter Mondale, Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, Defense Secretary Harold Brown and Treasury Secretary Michael Blumenthal -- 18 in all, from 54 original members from the American sphere.

Together, this elitist clique messed things up real good: Soaring inflation, interest rates at 20 percent, and the world chessboard a horrible mess. President Carter's poor judgment caused confusion among our allies, laughter in the Soviet Union, and led, ultimately, to the hostage crisis in Iran.

"It completely justified our belief," a former senior CIA official told The Investigator, "that left to its own devices, the power elite is fully capable of causing another world war, not unlike their predecessors last century."

The CIA descended into decline, having had to endure Stansfield Turner as its director.

Said our CIA source: "Admiral Turner was more concerned about intelligence officers abroad engaging in extra-marital affairs than Iran imploding from within. He apparently mistook our agency for a missionary group."

As if things were not bad enough, Trilateral Commissioners David Rockefeller and Henry Kissinger pushed President Carter into allowing the ailing Shah of Iran into the United States, a political miscalculation that precipitated the storming of the U.S. Embassy in Teheran and the resulting hostage crisis that sealed the fate of Jimmy Carter's one-term presidency.

Mr. Rockefeller quietly bailed from the monster he'd created, putting his money behind another horse from the Commission stable: George Bush, a privileged East-coast preppie who had moved to Texas to prove his manhood in the oil biz.

But Mr. Bush lost to Ronald Reagan -- partly because the former California governor took a few jibes at "Trilateral Commission elitists" during his campaign to woo voters away from Mr. Bush in New Hampshire, where Commission membership had been whipped into a major issue just before its decisive primary.

Having enjoyed 15 minutes of fame during Jimmy Carter's presidency, the Commission then shriveled into just another think-tank opportunity for young men and women wishing entry to an international "Old Boy" network.

But now they're back!

Many of President Obama's picks for premier positions in his administration are Trilateral Commissioners (read: Beltway Establishment insiders). These include:

• Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner;

• National Security Adviser James Jones;

• Deputy National Security Adviser Thomas Donilon;

• Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair;

• State Department special envoys Richard Holbrooke. Dennis Ross, and Richard Haas;

• Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice;

• Lawrence Summers, Director of the National Economic Council;

• Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg;

• Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell;

• Paul Volcker, chairman of the Economic Recovery Committee.

(Gee, maybe President Obama will break Jimmy Carter's record?)

Ten days ago Adm. Blair clearly demonstrated how the "Old Boy" network functions: He tapped fellow Commissioner John Deutch to sit upon a spy satellite advisory panel.

Mr. Deutch, you may recall, was CIA director under Bill Clinton. "The worst director in CIA history," a former senior agency official told the The Investigator. You may also remember this: Soon after Mr. Deutch's departure from that job in 1996, he was discovered to have grossly mishandled government secrets. Mr. Deutch, it transpired, had downloaded 74 top secret documents onto four computers used at his home by other family members and connected by modem to the Internet -- on which Mr. Deutch also accessed Russian porn sites through his AOL account.

The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence investigated and produced a report to Congress stating: "Despite this knowledge (the risk of keeping secrets on un-encrypted computers), Deutch processed a large volume of highly classified information on these unclassified computers, taking no steps to restrict access to the information and thereby placing national security information at risk."

A senior CIA official privy to the classified version of the Senate Committee's report put it more bluntly for The Investigator: "Deutch allowed the Russians access to our biggest secrets."

Mr. Deutch was stripped of his security clearances. (They have now been restored.)

Anyone else would have been investigated for espionage. But an Old Boy like Mr. Deutch? Janet Reno's Justice Department worked out a gentle plea bargain. But while Mr. Deutch was in the midst of pleading guilty to a mere misdemeanor, brazen Bill, on the last day of his presidency, pardoned him, thereby vanquishing even a mild slap on the wrist for his fellow Commissioner. (Did we mention William Jefferson Clinton was a member of the Trilateral Commission when elected president in 1992?)

So excuse our suspicions about this so-called "power elite." Not because they're in charge again, but because they don't know what the heck they're doing. Conspiracy theorists yearn to believe these uber networkers rule the world. Truth is, our Beltway Establishment -- Democratic or Republican -- couldn't organize a binge in a brewery. These are the folks responsible, through negligence and profit taking, for where we are today -- ripped off by banksters and Wall Street, and Madoffs who made off.

"Obama for Change"? Maybe President Rhetoric meant spare change.

########

via-cryptome

Daniel Brandt (namebase.org) sends:

December 21, 2009
Obama and CIA

I applaud your posting of Obama's Trilateral connections,
and you may also post this email if you wish.
Here are some links concerning Obama's background that
may be of interest. I think there is legitimate concern
over the possibility that Obama's career may have been
secretly groomed by elitists in the U.S. I think this
could have been done as a safety-valve that might be used
as a hedge against possible economic collapse, and the
possible resurgence of anti-elitist sentiment. It's
called "co-option," and yes, I believe that the ruling
class plans ahead for contingencies so that they can
preserve their money and influence.
1. Obama's father studied in the USA on American money,
and Obama's mother worked for USAID and then for the
Ford Foundation.
http://indo-nesia.blogspot.com/2008/10/obamas-mother-inonesia-and-cia.html
2. The Ford Foundation was thick with elements of U.S.
intelligence, particularly in Indonesia before and after
the 1965 coup.
http://www.cia-on-campus.org/internat/indo.html
(There is a huge amount of literature on the Ford Foundation
and its intelligence connections, beginning with the Marshall
Plan after WW2 and continuing through McGeorge Bundy, who was
president of the Foundation from 1966-1979. Bundy was LBJ's
national security advisor and his brother was a CIA official.)
3. Obama's mother got a PhD in anthropology in 1992 from the
University of Hawaii. There is a long history of collaboration
between anthropologists and the CIA.
http://www.cia-on-campus.org/social/price.html
4. After graduating from Columbia in 1983, Obama got a job
at Business International.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_International_Corporation
5. Business International has CIA connections.
http://www.namebase.org/nyt77-4.pdf (2nd column, 11th paragraph)




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Like many others [including yours truly], George Soros compares the current 'Recession' to the 'Great Depression'. In fact Soros said, "the turbulence is actually more severe than during the Great Depression."

So why are they(TPTB) still trying to convince you that it isn't as bad as the great depression, and its only a recession ? Because they want you to keep spending and sending your money to them. It is the only thing that is keeping the eCONomy of the U.S. afloat.

Soros also compared the depressed U.S. eCONomy to that of which brought down the former Soviet Union.

Guess what else the U.S. and the former Soviet Union have in common ?....Thats right you've been paying attention, Afghanistan ! As you may recall, Russia's war in Afghanistan along with a dwindling Russian eCONomy was said to have been the nail in the coffin.

Ah yes, I see in my magic 8-ball a Stimulating outlook for the U.S. eCONomy......Outlook not so good.

Related-

The Economy IS in a Depression

Afghanistan: History is repeating




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14th Bank Failure of 2009

The total now stands at 14 for 2009; 8 in February 2009

Citizens Bank, Corvallis, Oregon, Assumes All of the Deposits of Silver Falls Bank, Silverton, Oregon

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 20, 2009
Media Contact:
LaJuan Williams-Dickerson (202) 898-3876
Email: lwilliams-dickerson@fdic.gov

Silver Falls Bank, Silverton, Oregon, was closed today by the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver. To protect the depositors, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Citizens Bank, Corvallis, Oregon, to assume all of the deposits of Silver Falls Bank.

The three branches of Silver Falls Bank will reopen on Monday as branches of Citizens Bank. Depositors of Silver Falls Bank will automatically become depositors of Citizens Bank. Deposits will continue to be insured by the FDIC, so there is no need for customers to change their banking relationship to retain their deposit insurance coverage. Customers of both banks should continue to use their existing branches until Citizens Bank can fully integrate the deposit records of Silver Falls Bank.

Over the weekend, depositors of Silver Falls Bank can access their money by writing checks or using ATM or debit cards. Checks drawn on the bank will continue to be processed. Loan customers should continue to make their payments as usual.

As of February 9, 2009, Silver Falls Bank had total assets of approximately $131.4 million and total deposits of $116.3 million. Citizens Bank did not pay a premium to acquire the deposits of Silver Falls Bank.

Customers who have questions about today's transaction can call the FDIC toll-free at 1-800-760-3639. The phone number will be operational this evening until 9:00 p.m., PST; on Saturday from 9:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., PST; on Sunday from Noon to 6:00 p.m., PST; and thereafter from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., PST. Customers who would like more information about today's transaction can also visit the FDIC's Web site at http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/silverfalls.html.

In addition to acquiring all of the failed banks deposits, including those from brokers, Citizens Bank agreed to purchase approximately $13 million in assets comprised of cash, cash equivalents, securities, overdraft loans, and deposit secured loans. The FDIC will retain any remaining assets for later disposition.

The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund will be $50 million. The Citizens Bank acquisition of all the deposits of Silver Falls Bank was the "least costly" resolution for the FDIC's Deposit Insurance Fund compared to alternatives. Silver Falls Bank is the fourteenth bank to fail in the nation this year. The last bank to fail in Oregon was Pinnacle Bank, Beaverton, on February 13, 2009.

# # #

source




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Now you know how Bill Gates made his Billions

NSA offering 'billions' for Skype eavesdrop solution

By Lewis Page
www.theregister.co.uk

Counter Terror Expo News of a possible viable business model for P2P VoIP network Skype emerged today, at the Counter Terror Expo in London. An industry source disclosed that America's supersecret National Security Agency (NSA) is offering "billions" to any firm which can offer reliable eavesdropping on Skype IM and voice traffic.

The spybiz exec, who preferred to remain anonymous, confirmed that Skype continues to be a major problem for government listening agencies, spooks and police. This was already thought to be the case, following requests from German authorities for special intercept/bugging powers to help them deal with Skype-loving malefactors. Britain's GCHQ has also stated that it has severe problems intercepting VoIP and internet communication in general.

Skype in particular is a serious problem for spooks and cops. Being P2P, the network can't be accessed by the company providing it and the authorities can't gain access by that route. The company won't disclose details of its encryption, either, and isn't required to as it is Europe based. This lack of openness prompts many security pros to rubbish Skype on "security through obscurity" grounds: but nonetheless it remains a popular choice with those who think they might find themselves under surveillance. Rumour suggests that America's NSA may be able to break Skype encryption - assuming they have access to a given call or message - but nobody else.

The NSA may be able to do that: but it seems that if so, this uses up too much of the agency's resources at present.

"They are saying to the industry, you get us into Skype and we will make you a very rich company," said the industry source, adding that the obscure encryption used by the P2Pware is believed to change frequently as part of software updates.

The spyware kingpin suggested that Skype is deliberately seeking to frustrate national listening agencies, which seems an odd thing to do - Skype has difficulties enough getting revenues out of its vast user base at any time, and a paid secure-voice system for subversives doesn't seem like a money-spinner.

But corporate parent eBay, having had to write down $1.4bn already following its $2.6bn purchase of Skype back in the bubble-2.0 days of 2005, might see an opportunity here. A billion or two from the NSA for a backdoor into Skype might make the acquisition seem like a sensible idea.

We asked the NSA for comment, particularly on the idea of simply buying a way into Skype, but hadn't yet received a response as of publication. ®

#########

Related-

NSA Builds Security Access Into Windows [ Off Site- Opens new window ]

Another Government Backdoor in Windows

When getting it in the Backdoor was Sexual




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And so it begins...GM is going down.....It's a cruel world; somebody's gonna pay.....guess who?...

[ via: cryptogon.com
HA! Socialist Sweden isn’t as socialist as the U.S. when it comes to corporate bailouts.]


Via: AP:

General Motors Corp.’s Swedish-based subsidiary Saab went into bankruptcy protection Friday so the unit can be spun off or sold by its struggling U.S. parent, officials said.

The move comes after Sweden turned down GM’s request for government help for Saab.

An application to reorganize the brand was filed at a district court in Vanersborg, in southwestern Sweden, Saab spokeswoman Margareta Hogstrom said. It was approved later Friday.

The Swedish government on Wednesday rejected a request from loss-making GM to inject money into the carmaker. GM, which is seeking help from the U.S. government to avoid bankruptcy at home, has been looking for buyers for Saab but said it needs more funding to spin off or sell the division.

“We explored and will continue to explore all available options for funding and/or selling Saab and it was determined a formal restructuring would be the best way to create a truly independent entity that is ready for investment,” Saab’s managing director, Jan Ake Jonsson, said in a statement.

The move would give Saab protection from creditors while it restructures in a process similar to a Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S.

“Pending court approval, the reorganization will be executed over a three-month period and will require independent funding to succeed,” Saab said, adding it would seek funding “from both public and private sources.”

However, government officials seemed to rule out financial assistance. “I’m not sure what they’re referring to, because support in the form of money is not on the agenda,” Industry Ministry spokesman Hakan Lind said.
######################

Related- GM cutting 47,000 Jobs




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Panic Selling Crashes Stocks Through False Bottom

By : Rick Gagliano
Money Daily
February Thursday 19 2009

Yesterday's manipulated close above the false bottom at Dow 7552 could not hold, not even for a day, in the wake of unprecedented government handouts and institutional selling that nearly brought the major stock indices to their knees in the final hours of Thursday's session. The Dow Jones Industrials finished the day at their lowest level since October 9, 2002, prior, even to the start of the Iraq War.

The best the government interlopers (through their proxies at Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, et. al.) could muster today was putting a good face on an unmitigated disaster. The game is over for Wall Street. A massive systemic collapse of global finance is palpable and seemingly inevitable.

With an opening pop, investors bought the Dow up about 60 points, but the market could not sustain the gains. By 10:30 the index was back into the red. After a brief, heartless rally, stocks cascaded lower with the Dow eventually falling below 7450. From 11:30 to the close, the the major indices were all under water. Selling was relentless, with the occasional covering of options positions, which close tomorrow. A line could be drawn diagonally across the tops. The slope of the bottoms was more severe.

Dow 7,465.95, -89.68 (1.19%)
NASDAQ 1,442.82, -25.15 (1.71%)
S&P 500 778.94, -9.48 (1.20%)
NYSE Compos 4,881.16, -43.38 (0.88%)


It was not the size of the losses that mattered much in this session, but the overall tenor and tone of trading. The level of desperation as a standard emotion continues to deepen, even daily. People are angry. The press, economists, and the public are all up in arms over the rapid-fire moves of the federal government. Most of the abuse is being heaped upon newly-elected President Obama, though much of the focus is rightfully on the US congress.

Unsurprisingly, the Dow components were a shambles, 20 down and 10 up, with most of the largest losses sustained by financials and tech, though the damage was truly broad-based. Paradoxically, the largest percentage gainer on the Dow was Home Depot, which gained 1.82%, up 0.36 to 20.16.

If you're seeking a good proxy for the Dow, look no further than JP Morgan Chase (JPM), which turned negative today just as the Dow was rolling over. The pride of Wall Street banking, JPM is probably overvalued by a factor of 5-10, since it is in largely the same boat as brethren Bank of America and Citigroup, all of whom are in the government's notorious gang of Systemically Significantly Failing Institutions under the Capital Purchase Program.

JP Morgan Chase dipped 0.91 to 20.60, a mere 4.23% loss, but it is joined at the hip to Bank of America (-0.64, 3.93, -14%) and Citigroup (-40, 2.51, -13.75).

The January Producer Price Index (PPI) registered its first gain in six months, edging up 0.8% over December. This shouldn't have come as much of a surprise, since retailers discounted heavily in December during one of the worst holiday shopping seasons in memory.

Inflation alarmists should also take a cold shower on this news, as much of the increase was due to slightly higher energy prices, and, of course, the figures are seasonally adjusted. Deflation continues to rule.

But the real story of the day was the final breakdown through the November 20 bottom on the Dow. The process will no doubt continue as the other indices approach and retest their lows. The markets are again in uncharted territory.

Friday's action most certainly will be among the most volatile of recent vintage. Thursday was only a prelude to the real wealth-cleansing that will occur over the coming days, weeks and months.

Internals did little to mask the carnage. Decliners swept by advancers, 4384-2129. New lows outnumbered new highs, 617-11. Volume was strong enough to suggest more selling as more participants become engaged in a race to the bottom.

NYSE Volume 1,485,501,000
NASDAQ Volume 2,036,313,000


Commodities exhibited perhaps the most random and directionless trade in decades. Oil priced $4.86 higher, to $39.48. Gold fell $1.70, to $976.50, while silver lost 36 cents, to $13.94. The metals cooled off what was, until today, a torrid rally. Beef and corn were up, pork and soybeans were down. Natural gas fell to a new seasonal low as at $4.11, as milder weather and conservation measures are keeping demand tamped down.

The level of unrest, not only on Wall Street but on Main Street and across the nation and around the world, cannot be underestimated. Cheats and scoundrels in government and business have opened the gates of hell with their wrong-headed policies over many years. Another of America's dates with destiny is fast approaching.

Brace yourself.

Rick Gagliano is the publisher of Downtown Magazine and Money Daily




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Earlier this month at work and making conversation to pass the time, I mention to my coworker the skyscraper in Beijing that burned and didn't collapse. His response was, It didn't get hit by a jet like the twin towers.

So today I Mention WTC-7. You know, the building a couple of blocks away from WTC- 1 & 2, that didn't get hit by a jet, had minimal fires and collapsed ?

He never heard of it, then tried to correct me by saying there were only 2 building in the World Trade Center complex. I said No, you are wrong; [which pissed him off] There were only 2 Twin towers but many buildings in the WTC complex itself. He said he has some kind of 9/11 book and its not in it, and that WTC-1 & 2 must have fallen on WTC-7, and then " Whats your point?"

I said my point is the building in Beijing, the one in Madrid, and the one in Venezuela were also not hit by jets like WTC-7 wasn't hit by a jet, and they didn't collapse.

His response was, life is to short for me to worry about that.

He also said why does everything need to be a CONspiracy with me. I said do you know the deffinition of CONspiracy ? He didn't, like many others that use the word. So I told him Which really pissed him off!

Unbelievable......

So I wonder......after almost 8 years, how many highly educated people like him are still in the dark about WTC-7 ?




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I received this via email- from a group list....

Tax his land, Tax his bed, Tax the table At which he's fed.

Tax his tractor, Tax his mule, Teach him taxes Are the rule.

Tax his work, Tax his pay, He works for peanuts anyway!

Tax his cow, Tax his goat, Tax his pants, Tax his coat.

Tax his ties, Tax his shirt, Tax his work, Tax his dirt.

Tax his tobacco, Tax his drink, Tax him if he Tries to think.

Tax his cigars, Tax his beers, If he cries Tax his tears.

Tax his car, Tax his gas, Find other ways To tax his ass.

Tax all he has Then let him know That you won't be done Till he has no dough.

When he screams and hollers, Then tax him some more, Tax him till He's good and sore.

Then tax his coffin, Tax his grave, Tax the sod in Which he's laid.

Put these words upon his tomb, 'Taxes drove me to my doom...'

When he's gone, Do not relax, Its time to apply The inheritance tax.

#######

Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL license Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Excise Taxes
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax (42 cents per gallon)
Gross Receipts Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Taxes
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Personal Property Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service Charge Tax
Socialist Security Tax
Road Usage Tax
Sales Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Non-recu rring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Taxes
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax

THINK THIS IS FUNNY?

Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, and our nation was the most prosperous in the world.

We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.

What in the world happened? Can you spell 'politicians!'And I still have to 'press 1' for English!?!?!?!?

I hope this goes around THE USA at least 100 times!!!!! YOU can help it get there!!!!

GO AHEAD - - - BE AN AMERICAN !!!!!!




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mmmm hmmm....

Don't forget about this recent post- GM cutting 47,000 Jobs, in which GM would be eliminating 47,000 jobs worldwide, 21,000 of which are in the U.S., and shutting the doors of 5 of it's American based factories. So that would relate to the Millions of jobs lost in the snip below due to the trickle down effect of closing these 5 GM facilities. So you see, they don't need any more bailout funds. They're playing the fear card of what if. It doesn't matter either way, it's going to happen once these 5 production facilities are shuttered. Screw'em.....

By VOA News

Billions of dollars in government aid may not be enough to keep one or more of the major U.S. auto companies out of bankruptcy.

One of the world's top ratings agencies, Standard and Poor's says both General Motors and Chrysler might collapse because of "highly uncertain consumer demand."

In restructuring plans presented to the U.S. government Tuesday, GM and Chrysler asked for a combined $14 billion in additional loans. They argue bankruptcy could cost U.S. taxpayers more than $100 billion and millions of jobs at related companies

More from VOA News



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THE BEGINNING OF THE END

A Letter to President Barack Obama

by Michael C. Ruppert
mikeruppert.blogspot.com

FEB. 17, 2009, 11:00 PM PST

Dear Mr. President:

Today, as you signed your recovery package into law, you said that this was "the beginning of the end."

No shit!

The death and collapse of the U.S. and global economies has been inevitable for some time. The collapse of industrialized civilization cannot be prevented by any plan or scheme invented by any political party operating in the current economic paradigm. There are alternatives and options that can save hundreds of millions, if not billions, of lives, but they are outside the box that you think in. I and many others have foreseen and accurately predicted these events for years. We are known as the Peak Oil/Sustainability Movement. Because of our incredible accuracy in predicting events to this point, over decades, you might want to pay attention to what we and a growing number of honest business reporters are saying about what is coming next.

With all respect, when you said "beginning of the end" with that sincere smile, transmitting hope and confidence, it sent a shudder down my spine. All you are doing is buying time to prevent the collapse of totally dysfunctional marriage where the mother (the government) kills the children (us) to save her relationship with the father (the way money works). The time has come to admit to the people the catastrophic event horizon before us and all of humankind. I cannot believe that you do not see this. And, if you do see it, then what you said today was the biggest Hail Mary pass in American political history. Those, Mr. President, are words that will come back to haunt you and it scares me to think that you might be cynical enough to try and sell it to us.

Mr. President, what you said today was a "tell" of desperation. There are those who want to help you, who are eager to help you. But you must look at us and call us by our name. Otherwise it will not be long before one of two things happens. Either you and the government of the United States will be compelled to listen to us, or else the people will stop listening to you.

The President we need now is not Abraham Lincoln.

It is Thomas Jefferson.


Sincerely,

Michael C. Ruppert

(C) Copyright 2009, All Rights Reserved. Michael C. Ruppert




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By Norm Lowry
normlowry.blogspot.com

"much of our coming calamity could likely be avoided. But it would necessitate complete honesty & integrity; admitting the truth (as it is), turning away from our blindness & evil, & becoming willing to make genuinely honest amends."

Lately, I have been inordinately baffled. The combined government & media sources of the world tell the tale of whole countries sitting on the edge of fiscal insolvency; civil unrest now becoming commonplace; starvation & suicide deaths soaring; staggering rises in unemployment; food shortages; rising threats & escalating wars. In my country (USA), the stories are the same…maybe 46 of 50 States, 80% of US cities & 2 of 3 US banks are fiscally insolvent; likely 1 of 5 workers unemployed or working part-time (due to lack of suitable employment); home foreclosures up 80% in 2008 (worse yet expected in 2009); the rise in homelessness expected to soon use up available resources; up to 1 in 6 go to bed hungry; likely 40% of States discussing possible secession options & Federal Government committing to unconstitutional use of US troops to quell expected civil disobedience or to enforce US sovereignty over the States. In spite of all of this, the majority of my fellow citizens seem to believe that we will somehow just be okay; that we are somehow more honorable & moral than everyone else.

Reality would seem to indicate that this is simply not true; that genuine hope lies only in the compassionate truth that our old, corrupt system of leadership & lies must die in order for honest resolution to occur. A monstrous lie, which is our silence to injustice, violence & racism, now covers my country like a thick fog. Though the preponderance of evidence would show us to be ‘freemen who have chosen slavery’ (Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn), our ‘absurd deafness’ (Henri Nouwen) thinks it prudent to overestimate our status & to overlook the fact that we have allowed our corrupt leaders to lead us into ‘purposeful, pre-planned recessions & wars, theft of the world’s wealth, selling of drugs & laundering of drug resources, repressing dissent (to avoid exposure), convincing the populace that we are moral & honorable, & committing genocide to maintain an illusion of control’ (Mike Ruppert, Jenna Orkin, Paul Craig Roberts, David M. Walker, Michel Chossudovsky, Ron Paul, Cynthia McKinney, John Pilger, Jonathan Cook, Stephen Lendman). Oh, that this were not true!

The Day of Reckoning for the USA is nigh at hand. Soon…our lights will go out, our economy will come to a screeching halt (when our oil supply is no longer able to be financed, due to the world losing confidence in us or no longer being willing to bow to our arrogance), chaos will become the law of our land & greater, mass death will be perpetrated on our citizenry. Soon…we will reap the due consequences of what we have allowed to be sown on our greater world.

The good news is that much of our coming calamity could likely be avoided. But it would necessitate complete honesty & integrity; admitting the truth (as it is), turning away from our blindness & evil, & becoming willing to make genuinely honest amends. Either way, the price tag seems to be the same. We can die or live, dependent on the Mercy of those we have offended…or…we can simply suffer the consequences of a terrible Day of Reckoning, with its guarantee of more destruction & death than any of us would like to see.



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Call To Action by Danny O'Brien
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)

Whether you're following a New Zealander on Twitter, or have friended a Kiwi on Facebook, you will not have missed Net users from that country protesting Section 92A in NZ's new Copyright Act. Thousands are turning their sites and their icons black to mourn the coming enforcement of the provision, which passed last year over the protests of ISPs and technology experts and activists.

The language of New Zealand's new copyright law is flawed for the country's Net users; but how it is being interpreted is also bad news for other countries, whose lawmakers might be influenced by the extreme position NZ's politicians and ISPs have wandered into.

Section 92A comes into force on February 28th, and states:

(1) An Internet service provider must adopt and reasonably implement a policy that provides for termination, in appropriate circumstances, of the account with that Internet service provider of a repeat infringer.

(2) In subsection (1), repeat infringer means a person who repeatedly infringes the copyright in a work by using 1 or more of the Internet services of the Internet service provider to do a restricted act without the consent of the copyright owner.


This isn't an entirely original framing of ISP duties. The chances are that this language was taken from the United States' very own DMCA, which in 512(i)(1)(A) states:

“The limitations on liability established by this section shall apply to a service provider only if the service provider— (A) has adopted and reasonably implemented, and informs subscribers and account holders of the service provider’s system or network of, a policy that provides for the termination in appropriate circumstances of subscribers and account holders of the service provider’s system or network who are repeat infringers”

But New Zealand experience demonstrates the dangers of simply adopting language from other countries without including a wider context. "Repeat infringer" in the DMCA is a term that was not defined in the law itself, and remains contentious here in the United States. Legal experts like David Nimmer have argued that "repeat infringer" means what it says: someone who has been repeatedly shown in court to have infringed, not simply accused of multiple infringement by rightsholders. There's certainly no universal acceptance in the home of the DMCA that rightsholders can force ISPs to throw US subscribers offline simply because they've been on the receiving end of (often inaccurate) notices by those same rightsholders.

The New Zealand law doesn't clarify that element of "repeat infringers."1 In their draft Code of Conduct, New Zealand's ISPs have defensively accepted the widest possible interpretation, and conceded that they must take a "three strikes" response to rightsholder's accusations, rather than actual court convictions.

The truth is that lawmakers in New Zealand were aware of these problems, and tried to stop 92A from becoming law: the legislative select committee that scrutinized the draft bill, for instance, removed the language before presenting it to Parliament (it was re-inserted by the government before the vote).

It's understandable that New Zealand Net users should be angry at their new law and how it is now being interpreted. We can only hope that their protest changes not only their own governments' position, but also clarifies just how radical and unwelcome the New Zealand interpretation would be in other countries.

To find out more about the protest and how to join, see the Creative Freedom Foundation Internet Blackout Page.

1. 1. Although 92A(2) does eliminate one ambiguity in the US text: as Nimmer also noted, most movie and music companies have been accused of copyright infringment themselves on multiple occasions. Does that might make them "repeat infringers" under U.S. law? Under the extended New Zealand definition, RIAA and MPAA members would at least have the opportunity to switch ISPs between evading license deals and bilking musicians, and thus avoid being terminated for their shady past. Yet another reason to choose New Zealand for your next production.




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