Pinned

Luv Ya Shalev

The Gay Secretary

You've just got to love Dr. Shalev's approach here.

First, you have a country, and a representative for that country, which will take absolutely now approach to their own contributions to Middle East instability.

Then, you get the "big lie" about Iran's nuclear program.

Iran is building a power plant, which it is perfectly within its right to do, as a signatory to the NPT. IAEA inspections have consistently indicated that Iran isn't building bombs. There has been no nuclear material gone walkabout, nor any indication that the degree of enrichment is anything other than that necessary for creating a power plant.

Unfortunately, Dr. Shalev's playing fast and loose with the facts here indicates that we are probably in for a world of hurt before the end of the year, courtesy of the US/Israeli attack against Iran.

She knows, with absolute certainty, that she will not be able to get the UN to go along with a resolution calling for a military attack against Iran, because Russia and China will veto.

Apparently, the UN is about to become (as happened right before the invasion and occupation of Iraq) "irrelevant". Shalev's remarks are simply pro forma, setting the stage for that to happen.

Also, it is obvious that Dr. Shalev hasn't spoken with, and is not listening to, her Russian counterparts at the UN.

Russian leadership has told both Tel Aviv and Washington, in no uncertain terms, that such an attack will lead to World War III.

And we don't need to guess upon which side Russia will be fighting.

From: the department of "You Can't Make this Stuff Up".

Alabama police are apparently prepared if Batman’s nemesis The Penguin and his weapon-umbrella army ever attack.

“Officers who used pepper spray and a Taser to remove a man from a store bathroom found out only later he was deaf and mentally disabled and didn’t understand they wanted him to open the door, police said Tuesday,” the Associated Press reports. “A spokesman for the Mobile Police Department said the officers’ actions were justified because the man was armed with a potential weapon — an umbrella.”

and don't forget this one

Studious Girl

Memo to SECSTATE HRC

The Gay Secretary

My dear lady, the "big lie" technique is not working on the American people anymore, no matter how desperately you feel the compulsive need to publicly prove your undying fealty to Israel.

FACT: As a signatory to the NPT, Iran is perfectly within its right to use atomic energy for peaceful purposes, i.e., build a power plant.

FACT: The IAEA, which has been inspecting this plant, has declared that there have been no missing or unaccounted for nuclear materials which might be used to create a nuclear bomb.

FACT: The level of uranium enrichment necessary for creating a weapon is infinitely stronger than that necessary for creating a power plant, and the IAEA has found absolutely no evidence of that either.

FACT: Israel, which does have nuclear weapons, refuses to sign the NPT, which would mandate inspection of their nuclear facilities.

FINAL FACT: Secretary Clinton, you must be, in light of your position in this administration, aware of the reality that senior Russian officials have warned that a military attack against Iran will trigger WWIII.

If you are insane enough to believe that somehow, a war between Russia and the US would be a really good thing for this country, you need to be immediately relieved of your responsibilities as Secretary of State, and receive a psychiatric evaluation.

More Booze To Ya

Simmons added she hopes a proposed White House beer between Gates, President Barack Obama and Sgt. James Crowley, can “move this conversation forward



American Scofflaw

An Irish cop can be silenced for one single, crappy beer. Talk about stereotyping an entire ethnicity. WOW!

They Who Just Don't Get It

Oh, The Disgrace

American Scofflaw

50 million of our taxpayer dollars, while homeless Vets are sleeping in our streets?!?

Memo to the Senate, because you have all obviously forgotten: your job is taking care of the

American people, first, second, and third, period, end of discussion.

This country is broke, with a crumbling infrastructure, education an absolute disgrace, and

you're ready to spend 50 million of our very hard earned tax payer dollars on .....WHAT?!?!?!?!?

Fragging, Fox Style

Der Generalsekretär Homosexuell

For the record, Ralph Peters has never seen combat; has never been anywhere close to combat. His “military service” consists of a stint in Germany during the mid-1980s, where he no doubt faced down the twin evils of disgusting sausages and horrible Euro-Pop. After which, he worked for U.S. Intelligence, and wrote shitty spy novels with titles like “Flames of Heaven” and “Traitor,” while all the time never being within a thousand miles of an actual gun going off. Then he got hired by Fox. Which pretty much brings us up to date.

So of course, when a U.S. solider left his base and then got captured by the Taliban, Fox News brought Lt. Col. Peters on to speak. Peters started out fine, first saying, “I want to stress first of all that we must wait until all of the facts are in until we make a final judgment.” Good point, Mr. Peters! Because we don’t yet know how the solider got captured, why he left the base, or what really happened, or anything. After making his wise call to avoid a rush to judgment, Peters then waited approximately 0.5 seconds before rushing to judgment, calling the captured solider a “liar” and a “deserter.”

Peters then continued—

I want to be clear. If, when the facts are in, we find out that through some convoluted chain of events, he really was captured by the Taliban, I’m with him. But, if he walked away from his post and his buddies in wartime, I don’t care how hard it sounds, as far as I’m concerned, the Taliban can save us a lot of legal hassles and legal bills.

Yeah. Got that? U.S. soldiers who leave their base and get captured should be killed by the Taliban, because those soldiers suck, and because Ralph Peters really really knows what he’s talking about.

Here’s the entire amazing video

Will The Truth Please Stand Up

American Pawn

Heee Heee Heee

A Florida dentist is being sued for allegedly dropping tools down the throat of an elderly patient — twice.

Relatives of 90-year-old Charles Gaal Jr. recently filed the suit in circuit court accusing Dr. Wesley Meyers of negligence. An answering message at Meyers' office in Winter Park said Saturday that he was on vacation. He did not reply to a message from The Associated Press seeking comment.

The lawsuit says the doctor dropped an "implant screwdriver tool" in 2006 and a "mini-wrench" in 2007.

The suit also says Gaal underwent several medical procedures to remove the tools but never fully recovered. He died in 2007.

Meyers was fined $17,000 by the state a year later. The dentist was found negligent in a settlement.

Obama Scam Alert

The Gay Secretary

This is not about people who need health care actually getting healthcare.

This is about more and more taxation on an already tax-strapped population, taxed for money borrowed by this government to continue their wars without end.

At the end of the day in Congress, we don't have democrats or republicans; all we have is the War Party.

And even though we go through our kabuki-style elections every so often in this country, what we have come to in recent years is a new version of taxation without representation, the very issue which caused the

American colonies to rebel against the British government.

Representatives no longer represent We the People; they represent those large interests which have acquired them (through overt and covert campaign contributions and perks), and the people be damned.

Schweitzer is absolutely correct in stating that an intelligent government won't spend more than it has, something the federal government has blown by a wide margin, looking at the national deficit.

Were we not borrowing money to fund these wars without end, then perhaps we could actually fund meaningful health care reform.

But this legislation, which Obama is hoping desperately to stampede through congress without it even being read and digested by congress members, cannot logically be paid for under the current circumstances.

This appears to be just another ploy to stave off the very real possibility that the US will default on its debts before the end of this year.

WTF???

Funny Helicopter Surveillance in Iraq

Helicopter Surveillance Iraq (funny)

Luggage, Please

BY Wil Cruz

A sting captured by security cameras nabbed two sticky-fingered airport workers who swiped electronics planted by authorities, officials said.

Brian Burton, 27, and Antwon Simmons, 26, stole a laptop and cell phone from the decoy luggage as it moved through Kennedy Airport, Port Authority officials said.

"When air travelers check their luggage with an airline, there is an implicit trust that their bags and their contents will meet them at their destination," said Queens District Attorney Richard Brown. "The defendants are accused of betraying that trust."

Burton, an officer with the Transportation Security Administration, was videotaped July 7 pilfering through the Miami-bound suitcase in an airport screening room while Simmons, a baggage handler, looked on.

The thieves also switched the luggage tags, hoping to conceal their handiwork, officials said.

The suitcase was a trap set by the Transportation Security Administration and Delta Air Lines.

They stuffed the luggage with a lap top, an iPod and two cell phones, prosecutors said.

The pilfering pair - who had been on cops' radar, a source said - took the bait, failing the so-called integrity test.

Burton, of Queens, and Simmons, of Brooklyn, were awaiting arraignment last night on charges of grand larceny, possession of stolen property and falsifying business records.

Look Over Here

American Scofflaw

Folks, this is a HUGE flashing neon sign saying, "LOOK OVER HERE!!!"

They are working TOO hard to make this case look interesting.

Let us be honest; unless you are personally willing to kick down the door of OUR White House, fight your way past the SS, and evict Obama, then any discussions about his eligibility are a pointless waste of time, because if the US Government were willing or able to do anything about it, they would have done so long before now.

So, this feels to me like the "No plane at Pentagon", and "Apollo Landings were faked" distractions; planted and intended to trick the bloggers into wasting their time rather than to stay focused on the real issues of preventing a new world war and putting the blame for the economic melt-down where it rightly belongs.

One Has To Wonder

The Gay Secretary

Looks as though Haaretz is sourcing their old friend again, that Greek, "Anonymous".

But if Israel decides to go through with an attack against a nation which is building a power plant, and not bombs, they should just go ahead and do it - without any US help.

We've spent enough in money and blood, thank you very much, "neutralizing" Iraq, which - by the way - never, ever had weapons of mass destruction.

You will note that the demonization of Iran is proceeding in the corporate western press, ahead of such a potential strike, full-tilt boogie; remember, this was precisely the kind of synchronized lie campaign which preceded the invasion of Iraq.

Iran is Russia's 7th largest trading partner. One has to wonder what Israel thinks Russia will do if Israel attacks Iran.

I don't think the Russian answer to such an attack against Iran will be that of sitting back...and doing nothing.

American Scofflaw Girl of the Day

Vaccinate $$$$ Fire At Will

American Scofflaw

During the 1976 Swine Flu pandemic the mandated vaccination program had to be canceled part way through when it was discovered that the vaccine was killing fifty times as many people as the flu itself, and leaving many more with permanent neurological symptoms.

And the current vaccine is being prepared by a company already under investigation for "accidentally" releasing a test vaccine last year laced with live Bird Flu virus!

And given Obama's Science Czar's comments regarding forced population reductions the dire warnings of draconian punishments for refusing the "vaccine" are only making people more concerned as to just what is in that needle!

Werid Ass TV

我一直告訴你，這種全球變暖的廢物

American Scofflaw

While our media sleep, the United Nations is proceeding, with President Obama’s acquiescence, to implement a global plan to create a new international socialist order financed by global taxes on the American people.

The Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and its Impact on Development that begins on Wednesday will consider adoption of a document calling for “new voluntary and innovative sources of financing initiatives to provide additional stable sources of development finance…” This is U.N.-speak for global taxes. They are anything but “voluntary” for the people forced to pay them. [Read Cliff's book: "Global Bondage: The UN Plan to Rule The World"]

The most “popular” proposals, which could generate tens of billions of dollars in revenue for global purposes, involve taxes on greenhouse gas emissions and financial transactions such as stock trades.

The document was agreed to at an informal meeting of expert “facilitators” and was made available on Monday afternoon at 3 p.m. It is doubtful that any changes will be made to it.

The Gay Secretary

Iran is building a nuclear power station. Iran has the legal right to build nuclear power stations and to make fuel rods for them under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty which both the US and Iran have signed.

The IAEA, which enforces the terms of the NNPT, has repeatedly confirmed that Iran is NOT building nuclear weapons or making preparations to do so.

Under the NNPT, The US is not only required to allow Iran to build power stations, but under Article IV is required to assist! I think it is obvious that the best way to know for a fact that Iran is not building a weapons lab underneath their power station is to be in there helping to pour the foundations and lay the pipes!

So, Israel is now screaming that Iran is a threat because Iran is building a nuclear power station. Israel, which actually does have a used-to-be clandestine weapons lab underneath the Dimona reactor and who has refused to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty apparently assuages its guilt over its weapons program by pointing accusing fingers at their neighbors.

Israel did in fact accuse Iraq of planning to build nuclear weapons at their power station at Osirik. Israel then bombed the power station. Following the invasion of 2003 the IAEA inspected the remains of the power station at Osirik and confirmed that it was indeed only a power station. There was no weapons factory in the ruins. So Israel's past record of knowing who does and does not have a weapons lab is rather abysmal.

So, do you want your kids to die in yet another war fought because Israel is hallucinating yet more paranoid fantasies about hidden nuclear weapons factories underneath power stations?

Sounds Like a Threat To Me

American Scofflaw

The Federal Reserve warned on Thursday that a growing congressional threat to curtail its independence would destabilise markets and raise the cost of servicing US debt for “current and future generations”.

Ron Paul, the Texas Republican, has gathered the support of a majority of the House of Representatives for a bill that would audit the Fed’s monetary policy decisions. He told a Congressional hearing he wanted the power to prevent the Fed being "secret and clandestine and serving special interests”.

Donald Kohn, vice-chairman of the Fed, argued at the House financial services subcommittee hearing that any sense of political interference would negatively affect markets. “Any substantial erosion of the Federal Reserve’s monetary independence likely would lead to higher long-term interest rates as investors begin to fear future inflation,” he said.

Not only did Mr Kohn argue that the Fed should be given the power to regulate large systemically significant companies, but he argued against giving up responsibility for consumer protection, asking Congress to overturn the Obama administration’s proposal to create a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency.

Grave Robbers

They Are Stoned, Not Crazy

American Scofflaw

So could legalized pot keep California from closing parks and cutting school funding in the state's current budget crunch? Folks at the Marijuana Policy Project say yes -- and they've launched a statewide ad campaign today to reach Gov.Arnold Schwarzenegger and lawmakers in California as they wrestle this week over the yawning $26 billion-plus deficit.

Controversy has followed the ads even before they hit the airwaves: they were rejected by the NBC affiliate in the San Francisco Bay Area, and by ABC affiliates in Los Angeles and San Francisco. The fear among some broadcasters: they appear to advocate drug use.

But perhaps that's because such ads are a first in California, says Bruce Mirken of the Marijuana Policy Project, who predicts they're going to "catch people's attention. It's something nobody's come out and said in such a straightforward manner on TV before. I think there's gonna be some interest and it'll help the conversation along.''

Goldman Code Theft

American Scofflaw

Until a few weeks ago, Mr. Aleynikov, 39, was a computer programmer at Goldman, whose prowess in trading has long made it the envy of Wall Street.

But over five days in early June, the authorities say, he stole proprietary, “black box” computer programs that Goldman uses to make lucrative, rapid-fire trades in the financial markets. Their value, experts say, could be incalculable.

Mr. Aleynikov, however, will not get a chance to use those secrets. He was arrested by federal agents on Friday evening, as he got off a plane at Newark Liberty International Airport. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of theft of trade secrets and transporting them abroad.

This is the software that "earns" GS $100 million A DAY by rapid trading of stocks to catch the small up and down transitions. I want to know just WHERE this code was sent, because it is very dangerous. Used widely enough, it will break down the investor market into two groups.

Those who have the software will reap vast sums of money while those who try to trade without it will be driven out of business. Eventually, as the software comes to dominate trading, the actual worth and productivity of public companies will become irrelevant.

Only their volatility will matter and the more volatile their stock is, the faster money can be leached from those companies into the pickets of the program traders.

At the very least this demands a revival of the ban on program trading.
Or possibly day-trading will go extinct and investment will be long-term only, i.e. you buy a stock for a month at a time.

Left unchecked, the escape of this software "into the wild", could mean the end of publicly traded companies entirely!

That's okay, we have millions of young Americans we can use to protect Israel from Iran's bullets!

The Gay Secretary

US President Barack Obama's administration denied Monday that it is giving Israel the green light to attack Iran or that it is reconsidering plans to engage diplomatically with the Islamic Republic.

Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani, formerly the country's top nuclear negotiator, warned Tehran would hold Washington responsible for any such strike after Vice President Joe Biden said Washington would not dictate how Israel deals with Iran's nuclear ambitions.

But State Department spokesman Ian Kelly poured cold water on suggestions that Biden could be seen as giving the Jewish state a green light to attack Iran, which it views as an existential threat.

"I certainly would not want to give a green light to any kind of military action," Kelly told reporters.

Unfortunately, Vice-President Biden has all the diplomatic finesse of a meat grinder on steroids.

How is Iran to actually take that statement that "...Biden could be seen as giving the Jewish state a green light to attack Iran, which it views as an existential threat."

There's not a whole lot of wiggle room for interpretation of this statement.

Stand Up, You Bastards

American Scofflaw

The low-cost airline would charge passengers less on "bar stools" with seat belts around their waists.

Michael O'Leary, the chief executive, has already held talks with US plane manufacturer Boeing about designing an aircraft with standing room.

He is now seeking approval from the Irish Aviation Authority before ordering a new fleet of carriers, according to The Sun.

A Ryanair spokesman told the newspaper: "If they approve it, we'll be doing it."

Mr O'Leary is reported to have got the idea from the Chinese airline Spring, which has put forward similar plans. It estimates space could be made for up to 50 per cent more passengers and costs could be cut by 20 per cent.

It is not the first time Ryanair has come up with a controversial proposal for cutting costs. Earlier this year Mr O'Leary suggested passengers could be charged £1 to use the on-board lavatories.

In an interview on BBC television he said that the low-cost airline was looking at the possibility of installing a coin slot on the lavatory door so that "people might actually have to spend a pound to spend a penny."

Mr O'Leary also considered introducing a "fat tax" for overweight passengers.

Out of Control Drunk

Cops Got Free Food From Waffle House, Taser Waiter For Laughs

Gwinnett County Police Department From left, Gwinnett County Police Cpl. Gary Miles was fired and Sgts. Chris Parry and Joey Parkerson lost their jobs after Miles allegedly stunned a Waffle House employee with a Taser without provocation.

By Andria Simmons

A Waffle House employee is suing the Gwinnett County Police Department over what he says was an unprovoked encounter with an officer who stunned
him with a Taser.

The department’s internal investigation records reveal that the officer used the weapon like a toy with tacit approval from two superior officers.

Daniel Wilson, the 22-year-old waiter, spoke publicly about the encounter Wednesday at his attorney’s office in Snellville. The incident has already resulted in the arrest of Cpl. Gary Miles, 33, and the resignations of Sgt. Christopher Parry and Sgt. Joey Parkerson. None of the officers could be reached for comment this week because their phone numbers are unlisted.

Wilson said all three officers were regular customers at the Waffle House at 2725 Grayson Highway in Loganville.

He said the restaurant provided police with free food.

Wilson said the officers often pointed the red laser from their Taser at him playfully. They would do so when Wilson picked a song they didn’t like on the jukebox or when telling him not to mess up their order, Wilson said.

“It was uncomfortable, but they are my customers and they tip pretty well,” Wilson said. “I just thought they were being foolish.”

Then on Feb. 16, Wilson was chatting with Parry and Parkerson when Miles sidled up behind him. Without saying a word, Miles zapped him with the Taser, Wilson said.

“I remember feeling the pulse go through my body,” Wilson said. “It hurt.”

Taser stun guns deliver a 50,000-volt electrical current capable of incapacitating a person. The weapon can fire barbed probes a distance of up to 35 feet, or it can be used in “drive stun mode” when pressed directly against a suspect. Gwinnett police checked the data recording from Miles’ Taser and found it was fired for one second at 2:48 a.m. on Feb. 16.

Miles told investigators that he only “spark tested” the Taser near the employee’s back “just to scare him a little bit,” according to the internal investigation file.

Parry, 41, and Parkerson, 39, witnessed the employee being shocked but did not report it. They laughed along with Miles, Wilson said. The sergeants later told investigators they didn’t realize the Taser made contact with Wilson’s body.

Wilson said he remembers telling Miles in the presence of the other officers, “Hey, you actually tased me.”

Wilson again sought an apology from Miles a few days later for accidentally stunning him. He said Miles replied, “Who says I did it by accident?”

Miles was arrested June 18 on charges of misdemeanor battery and violating his oath as an officer. Parry and Parkerson resigned in lieu of termination June 19. Police are also investigating allegations that a fourth officer pointed a Taser at Wilson’s groin during an earlier incident.

Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter said he has not ruled out the possibility of charging the two sergeants.

“If the evidence shows there was an unprovoked use of the Taser, and if the evidence shows the sergeants had some criminal responsibility in the case, then they can expect to be prosecuted vigorously,” Porter said.

Michael Puglise, who is representing Wilson in the lawsuit in Gwinnett County State Court, is seeking unspecified punitive damages. He also wants a judge to bar Gwinnett police from carrying Tasers until their policy and training is evaluated.

“What is so concerning to me is the fact that you have a corporal — a ranking officer — zapping a kid with a stun gun and you have two sergeants sitting there watching for their own amusement,” Puglise said. “From their expressions and their actions, it is obvious that this is accepted.”

Gwinnett’s Police Department has had stun guns longer than any other force from the Atlanta area’s largest counties. Currently, 222 of Gwinnett’s 715 sworn officers are certified to carry Tasers, said Cpl. Illana Spellman, a department spokeswoman.

Spellman said using a Taser on innocent civilians is not acceptable. It is also against department policy for officers to accept free food from restaurants.

“It is clearly stated in training that the Taser will only be used to defend the officer or someone else,” Spellman said. “[These officers] were completely wrong.”

Police departments across the state have adopted widely different policies about the use of stun guns. Recently, the director of the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police said the state needs to offer standardized training.

What We've Become

Buckcrap

American Scofflaw

The real news is behind the jpeg click and NOBODY WANTS TO TALK ABOUT THIS!!!!!!!

We Were Here First

In July 1969, the telescopes at the Jodrell Bank Observatory, in Cheshire, were tracking the Americans' Eagle Lander carrying astronauts towards the moon's surface.

Sir Bernard Lovell, the astronomer, was among the team listening to transmissions coming from the area of space and began tracking the unmanned Soviet spacecraft Luna 15, which was trying to collect samples of lunar soil and rock and then return to Earth before the US mission.

The recordings from Jodrell's Lovell radio telescope, which were hidden in archives until researchers found them, show the Russian craft orbited the Moon and crash-landed onto its surface at 15:50 on July 21 – just a few hours before the Americans lifted off.

In the newly released recordings, which were made over three days, Sir Bernard, the founder of Jodrell Bank, can be heard narrating events with conversation from the Apollo 11 astronauts in the background.

Sir Bernard notes a change in the orbit of Luna 15 to take it closer to the US landing site and later reports a rumour from a "well-informed source in Moscow" that the craft is about to land.

People in Jodrell's control room can then be heard shouting "it's landing" and "it's going down much too fast" as they track Luna 15's final moments before it crashes.

A voice is later heard saying: "I say, this has really been drama of the highest order."

The recordings have been released by The University of Manchester's Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Moon landings.

Here's The Plan

The Gay Secretary

As Israel continues its efforts to portray Iran as a regime hell-bent on a nuclear war, top officials in the White House and the US military express contradictory stances on a potential Israeli attack on Iran.

The top US military commander, Admiral Mike Mullen, warned on Sunday that any military strike against Iran would have "unintended consequences".

My problem is that the US Government, owned as it is by Israel, will respond to Iran's inevitable counter-attack against Israel by sending more of your money to Israel to pay for the weapons, and worse, condemning your children in uniform to a bloody death in yet another war for Eratz Israel!

Israel's PLANNED goal for an attack on Iran is to trick the US and Russia into a mutually destructive world war that will leave Israel and its nuclear arsenal in control of the Mideast oil fields, which means economically in control of most of the world.

The whole world will be Palestine after that!

Guess who they are coming after to get the money

American Scofflaw

You know that $13 trillion the government borrowed to give to Wall Street?

Guess who they are coming after to get the money.

All of these government policies that brought the nation to ruin were done without the consent of the people. Whether lying us all into wars of conquest, endless gifts to Israel, tax credits to encourage the export of high paying jobs, the repeal of Glass-Steagal, bailouts, etc. etc. etc. the fact is that these were all done against the wishes of the majority of Americans.

Therefore, the effort to raise taxes to pay for a government that is spending money like there is no tomorrow represents taxation without representation. Because representation does not mean simply voting people into Congress, it means that the people voted into Congress VOTE the will of the people.

Clearly, as illustrated during the TARP debate, Congress does not represent the will of the people; it represents the will of the bankers.

Now, in the school I went to, taxation without representation was taught as a just cause for the removal of a government and creation of a new one.

No US Navy Seals for black McKinney

The Gay Secretary

American Scofflaw
And this from a guy who voted for Obama

On June 30, the government of Israel committed an act of piracy when the Israeli Navy in international waters illegally boarded the “Spirit of Humanity,” kidnapped its 21-person crew from 11 countries, including former US Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney and Nobel Laureate Mairead MaGuire, and confiscated the cargo of medical supplies, olive trees, reconstruction materials, and children’s toys that were on the way to the Mediterranean coast of Gaza. The “Spirit of Humanity,” along with the kidnapped 21 persons, is being towed to Israel as I write.

We all know the answer. The US talks a good “human rights” game, but never delivers--especially if the human rights abuser is Israel. After all, Israel owns the US Congress and President Obama. Israel even has an Israeli citizen and former member of the Israeli Defense Forces as the Chief-of-Staff in Obama’s White House. Israel owns millions of American “Christian Zionists” and “rapture evangelicans.” When it comes to Israel, the American government is a puppet state. It does what it is told.

Macho Americans might stand tall, but not when Israel snaps its fingers.

Load of Excrement

By Glenn Jacobs

H.R. 2454: American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 will result in a totalitarian centralization of the American economy in the administrative agencies of the federal government, especially the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This 1,300 page horror is a prime example of congressional modus operandi -- no one in Congress actually had the opportunity to read the bill which was, incidentally, being amended as it was debated on the floor. As H.R. 2454 shows, this axiom still holds true: the more benign the title of a congressional bill, the more draconian its contents. After all, who could be against clean energy or security? The real goal of H.R. 2454 has nothing to do with either of these; it is a power grab, pure and simple.

While we have all heard much about the tax implications of H.R. 2454 and that every American family could see a $3,000 a year increase in their energy costs, H.R. 2454 does much more than that. H.R. 2454 is a fascistic fait accompli, giving the government expansive powers to regulate, subsidize, and tax more sectors of the economy. The bill authorizes more federal government control over the electrical grid, state and local building codes, lighting and appliances, industry, the financial markets, and, perhaps most ominously of all, the health care system. In addition, it includes wealth redistribution measures and would allow increases in foreign aid.

Part of the rhetoric surrounding H.R. 2454 is that it will help break America's dependency on foreign oil by encouraging development of renewable energy sources. Most likely, the opposite will happen as oil companies "cope with U.S. carbon legislation by closing fuel plants, cutting capital spending and increasing imports."

Ironically, cap and trade -- the cornerstone of H.R. 2454 -- does not protect the environment! Even Greenpeace opposed H.R. 2454, recognizing that it "chooses politics over science." While I would argue that the science to which Greenpeace refers is dubious at best, there is no question that H.R. 2454 has put politics above all else.

In a cap and trade system, the government deems a certain level of pollution acceptable as long as the polluter pays a tax. That's like saying that it's acceptable for someone to throw trash on your lawn so long as he has bought a government permit. Even worse, he can throw even more trash on your lawn if he buys additional permits from someone who refrains from throwing trash on your lawn. In effect, cap and trade legalizes pollution.

Advocates of cap and trade have used tortured logic to portray it as a market based system. James Boyce, an economist at the University of Massachusetts, claims that "this is the biggest creation and allocation of property rights since the Homestead Act." This statement is false on its face and falls into the realm of fantasy.

Unlike the Homestead Act which dealt with property that actually existed in the real world, the property rights to which Boyce refers have been created exclusively through government edit. There is no such thing as a "carbon credit" except on a bureaucrat's spreadsheet. Boyce's statement turns the concept of property rights -- the basis of a free society -- on its head. The "right" to pollute is not a form of property, it is a government granted privilege.

No one has a "right" to have clean air and water provided for them at someone else's expense. But no one should have the "right" to pollute air or water that he does not own. Far from creating a new form of property rights, cap and trade undermines the property rights that we own in our own bodies by granting polluters the legal privilege of polluting resources that they do not own and that we put into our bodies, i.e. air and water.

Litigation (in the cases where harm has come to individuals) and a strict respect for property rights offer much more effective ways of dealing with pollution than regulation does.

True environmentalists -- those of us who are concerned about things such as clean air and water -- should oppose schemes like H.R. 2454. H.R. 2454 is not designed to clean up the environment. It is designed to generate more revenue for the government and to give the government more power over the economy, our lives, and our freedom. And it does so at the expense of the environment.