CISPA and Journalism

 
18 April 2012

The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act is a bill that would allow companies doing business in the US to collect records of American citizens online activities, worldwide.  This includes all American journalists, photographers, investigative journalists, news agencies, associations, You Tube and bloggers.  This is a bill in my opinion, is very serious indeed. 

It was developed to help stop "cybersecurity threats" and for "cybersecurity purposes"  The bill is weak in definition, and it does not narrow the categories that the companies are to report to the American government.  This leaves the door open to any kind of interpretation, censor any speech that a company believes could "downgrade the network."  It is supposed to "protect theft or misappropriation of private or government information."  This includes intellectual property.  This gives a powerful weapon to close websites that provide important information to the American public and to the world.  The New York Times, could face problems with this bill because they published information from WikiLeaks.  They could censor international sites from American view who has information that the government does not want the American people to know about.

It reminds me of the European history pre-WWII, or the American Japanese scare and arrests on American soil.  I don't want to be forced to "wear a star" so others can identity me as a "cyber terrorist", or a "propaganda terrorists", (a new term that I read about lately, more on that later) and an American enemy, because I am writing this article.  As far as I am concerned this is the next step towards Fascism, by controlling the people, controlling the media and inserting fear that you may just get arrested the next time you cross over into American borders. 

How does the CISPA effect journalists? 
The bill disregards our Fourth Amendment rights as they apply to journalists and documentary filmmakers working on subject matter related to US military operations, foreign policy and other subjects that the Homeland Security finds offensive. 

Wait, what does homeland security have to do with CISPA the "internet eye in the sky?"  It has everything to do with it, when a person writes "keywords" that are a concern to American homeland security, that person is added to a "Homeland Security watch list" and if that person is researching, investigating, photographing, filmmaking on any of these subjects, then they will be added onto this list.  When someone is on the list, then the government, Homeland Security will have the right to arrest, question, or detain that person without any explanation, rights to make a phone call, for any amount of time and without any legal representation.  Now that is a hard call and a scary one.

The fourth amendment reads: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

Is not the passing of CISPA creating the legal ability for the government (what ever branch) to follow citizens actions, opinions, online published papers, published articles, images, or emails and conversations using the written word or even voiced such as on Skype or Google, against the fourth amendment?  This action will Kill the Forth Amendment. 

In the end, it boils down to who is reading the key words and what kind of mood they are in that day if they report you or not. If anyone in the corporation feels that the citizen in this case, journalist, is approaching information that concerns the said "national interest, sensitive, secret or protected from disclosure then that information," journalist will be considered a "threat".  Remember it is the government or "homeland security" that can distinguish which materials are public or protected from disclosure not the companies.

CISPA puts the companies into the position of becoming "informers" with the promise of shielding them from any legal responsibility.  The government and these companies, (see supporters of CISPA list) tell the citizens that the law protects the populations and tech companies from cyber attacks.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference, and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers"

That freedom was suppressed in Germany by President Paul Von Hindenburg, as Adolf Hitler was coming into power.  Hitler suppressed press freedom through the Joseph Goebbels' Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda where which the government acted as a central point for all media, issuing orders as to what stories could or could not be told. In this way, important realities were kept from the citizens and the journalists did not have a choice to take action in fear of execution. 

This bill instills increased fear among the American people.  I always hear people say, "Well, I'm not doing anything wrong, they can do what they want.  I have nothing to hide."  Wait a minute, does this mean because you are a "good person" that you will watch our civil rights drift away?  What happens when you become really angry about what can most likely happen in America's future when our freedoms are really gone and you want to say something or do something about it, like create a petition?  If the CISPA bill passes, you will be faced with the fear regarding, your postings on Facebook, web searches, sending emails, writing blog posts, any communication online...for fear that someone could "come knocking" on your door.  This has already happened to over 50,000 American citizens, and some of them have quietly been deported.

If "they" don't like what you are doing, they will have the right to: shut you down, your website, your blog, your business, and your existence.

Reporters Without Borders put it this way, "The definition of potential threats is even broader. It targets ‘‘efforts to degrade, disrupt, or destroy” a system or network, the “theft or misappropriation of private or government information, intellectual property, or personally identifiable information”.  CISPA in its current form is written in broad scope.  The information that the companies share is not narrow and limited.  Information sharing should be about increasing Internet users' security, not government surveillance.

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Procedures for handling Assemblies and Mass Demonstrations in D.C. 

Stop The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA)

18 April 2012
The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) would allow companies doing business in the US to collect exact records of all of our online activities and hand them over to the US government, without ever notifying us that we are being watched. No warrant, no legal cause and no due process required. To make matters worse, the bill provides the government and corporations with blanket immunity to protect them from being sued for violation of privacy and other illegal actions.

The bill’s supporters claim that consumer information will be protected, but the reality is that huge loopholes would make everything we do online fair game -- and nowadays, from banking to shopping, our private information is all stored on the Internet.

CISPA is being moved forward in Congress and will be voted upon in days. Let’s raise a massive outcry to stop corporations from giving the US a blank check to monitor our every move.

Right now, the US is poised to pass a new law that would permit US agents to spy on almost everything we do online. But we can stop them before the final vote.

Companies that we trust with our personal information, like Microsoft and Facebook, are key supporters of this bill that lets corporations share all user activity and content with US government agents without needing a warrant in the name of cyber-security -- nullifying privacy guarantees for almost everyone around the world, no matter where we live and surf online.

If enough of us speak out, we can stop companies that profit from our business from supporting cyber-spying. Sign the petition to these key net corporations now:

Click below to take action:
Avaaz

This year, we helped stop SOPA, PIPA and ACTA -- all dire threats to the Internet. Now, let’s block CISPA and end the US government attack on our Internet.
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No Wage Change in 30 Years

The people have been living with wage decline since republicans have had a voice in government!

For working people the economy has been in recession since 1973.
The GOP and the rich corporatra¬tists have made a mess of everything¬.
1. Before 1973, The inflation Adjusted Median Income rose at 2.5% per year:

1953 = $22,648
1973 = $34,762

2. From 1973 to 2009, Inflation Adjusted Median Income fell by $2,578.

1973 = $34,762
2009 = $32,184
U.S. Census

3. The same thing shows up in Weekly Earnings.

All earners:

1979 = $339
2008 = $339

No Change over 30 years

Men:
1979 = $412
2010 = $389

DECREASE of $23/week
BLS

4. While per capita GPD has doubled:

1969 = $21,021
2010 = $42,517
USDA

5. This is accomplish by shifting the income distributi¬on:
Share Of Aggregate Income by Quintile:

BOTTOM 20% - 1967: 4.0% 2009: 3.4% Change: -0.6%
LOWER MIDDLE - 1967: 10.8% 2009: 8.6% Change: -2.2%
MIDDLE CLASS - 1967: 17.3% 2009: 14.6% Change: -2.7%
UPPER MIDDLE - 1967: 24.2% 2009: 23.2% Change: -1.0%
UPPER CLASS - 1967: 43.6% 2009: 50.3% Change: +6.7%
BLS

Bottom line message: WORK MORE, PRODUCE MORE, BUT GET LESS”

Comparrison of the debt under different proposals

According to the CBO from 2012 to 2022:

I. Obama's Proposals:
a. Extends Bush Tax Cuts.
b. Repeals Alternative Minimum Tax AMT.
c. No Medicare Reductions.

These add $2.7-trillion to the deficit.

II. Ryan/Romney's Proposals:
a. Extends Bush Tax Cuts.
b. Repeals Alternative Minimum Tax AMT.
c. Tax cut for those making more than $1 million
d. A 20% cut to all tax rates.
e. Increase military spending by 4% GPD.

These add $8.3-trillion to the deficit, THREE TIMES AS MUCH AS OBAMA.

III. Sa.nt.or.um's Proposals:
a. Extends Bush Tax Cuts.
b. Repeals Alternative Minimum Tax AMT.
c. Cuts capital gains to 12%
d. Cuts personal taxes across board
e. Cuts corporate taxes by 1/2

These add $6-trillion to the deficit, or TWICE AS MUCH AS OBAMA

WalMart Stirs Concern over Workers Compensation System

By: Becca Aaronson
9 April 2012

When Walmart, one of Texas’ largest private employers, dropped out of the state’s workers’ compensation system in March, it was a heavy blow to advocates of the system who have watched more large companies offer private — and in many cases, less generous — injury benefits.

Texas is the only state in the country that allows employers of any size to decline to carry state-regulated workers’ compensation coverage. Businesses administer their own injury benefit programs, reaping big cost savings in exchange for exposing themselves to heightened liability risks. Target, for example, began administering its own injury care policy in 2005.

Fifteen percent of Texas businesses with more than 500 employees do not carry state workers’ compensation coverage, according to a 2010 survey conducted by the Texas Department of Insurance.

Daniel Morales, a spokesman for Walmart, said the company is “sort of late to the game” of switching to its own program. The new policy gives the company “an opportunity to provide better care for our associates while also better managing our costs,” he said.

Opponents of large companies forgoing the state system, like Rick Levy, a lobbyist for the AFL-CIO, say the practice poses a “real threat” to the workers’ compensation system. He said it puts competitive pressure on companies that remain in the system to find similar cost-savings in their budgets.

“You end up punishing the folks that are trying to do the right thing by making their life more difficult as this other option becomes more prevalent,” he said.

But Bill Minick, president of PartnerSource, which has designed injury benefit policies for dozens of Fortune 500 companies, including Walmart, said these private plans restore the balance between adequate benefits and employee accountability. Many of them require employees to report injuries in a timely manner, visit pre-approved physicians and follow medical advice, he said.

Terry Frakes, senior vice president of public affairs at Texas Mutual, the largest provider of workers’ compensation coverage in Texas, said he believes the benefits for injured employees are not as good under the private plans.

For example, Walmart’s in-house plan caps total medical coverage at $300,000 for individual injuries, compared with lifetime coverage for the injury under state workers’ compensation. The Walmart plan provides 90 percent of lost wages for injured employees for up to 120 weeks, compared with 70 percent of lost wages for up to 401 weeks under the state system. That is a maximum of $140,350 under workers' compensation and $54,000 under Walmart’s policy for employees who earn $500 a week.

But Frakes said mandating that all employers carry state workers’ compensation, as the AFL-CIO has proposed, would not lower premium rates and could endanger some businesses.

“If they were forced into the decision, they would have to make the decision, can they afford to buy a policy or do they go out of business?” he asked.

Steve Bent, the executive director of the Texas Association of Responsible Nonsubscribers, which advocates for private injury benefit systems said with rising workers’ compensation rates possibly motivating more companies to opt out, insurance companies could be pressured to keep premium rates low.

* This story did not originally say that figures used for maximum payments through workers' compensation and Walmart's policy were based on employees who earn $500 a week.

Texas Tribune
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This reminds me of a video that was released regarding some U.S. soldiers.  This must happen in every war where there are brutal killings.  Maybe this is a way of handling the mental crisis when it comes to killing people?

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Six ways to get the Rich Richer under Romney

1. Housing bargains – but only for the wealthy and uber-wealthy.  The largest transfer of wealth from the public to private sector. The federal government will be bulk-selling the massive portfolio of foreclosed homes now owned by HUD, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to private investors — vulture  Read More... funds.  “You and I will not be allowed to participate” is that these properties will only be sold to those that can bring “a billion dollars or more to each transaction”

2. Tax breaks are good – especially if you’re rich - RYAN PLAN - $MANY TRILLIONS - PLUS CAYMAN and SWISS ACCOUNTS.  PAY FOR THIS CUTTING PROGRAMS FOR THE 99%.

3. Hedge funds: A typical minimum investment is $2.5 million, but many have much higher admission prices.  PLANNED SCAMS FOR THE RICH!

4. Borrowing is easy – if you don’t need the money
Mark Twain said, “A banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining, but wants it back the minute it begins to rain.”

5. Buy low and sell high – easier if you’re rich - capitalize on bad times as prices plummet and demand drops and supply increases.

6. Good credit is money in the bank - More income and money you have, the easier it get credit at ZERO%
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Procedures for handling Assemblies and Mass Demonstrations, D.C.

Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department Procedures for Handling First Amendment Assemblies and Mass Demonstrations
From:  Public Intelligence

    The Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) outlined in this manual are to ensure that this department is prepared to respond effectively and efficiently in accordance with applicable law and District of Columbia policy to any unlawful conduct occurring in the context of First Amendment assemblies. These SOP’s incorporate revisions to the manner in which the Metropolitan Police Department responds to demonstrations and other assemblies on District of Columbia public space that the District has implemented in resolving litigation. This manual also reflects measures mandated by the First Amendment Rights and Police Standards Act of 2004.

    This handbook sets forth general policy and shall serve as standard operating procedures for all members in carrying out the mission of the Metropolitan Police Department in dealing with all demonstrations, rallies, marches, picket lines, or other similar gatherings conducted for the purpose of persons expressing their political, social, or religious views. This policy is intended to exceed constitutional requirements and satisfy the heightened requirements of local statutory law and best practices.

    The manual also is designed around the concept of operational flexibility within the requirements of the National Incident Management System. It is impossible to devise specific standard procedures for handling all possible situations, for each has its own characteristics and problems. The overall police philosophy must be one of moderation, flexibility and controlled response. Since each situation is unique, both commanders and supervisory officials must plan to respond according to the nature and size of the crowd. The tactical procedures established within this manual are a guide, and not a substitute for the exercise of sound judgment and proper command and supervision within the context of general departmental policy.

    It is imperative that members of the force understand the role of the Metropolitan Police Department during mass demonstrations and major disturbances in our city and the manner by which the department prepares itself to fulfill this role. It is to this end that this handbook is dedicated.

    …

    V. VIOLENT CIVIL DISTURBANCES

    Unplanned civil disturbances may arise from a number of causes such as political grievances, economic conflicts, community unrest, or in response to police action taking place in neighborhoods, or in the midst of a crowded street, park or public place. Civil disturbance participants come from all walks of life and cover the entire political spectrum.

    Whenever an unplanned First Amendment assembly arises, the first officer on the scene will serve as the initial incident commander. That member will be responsible for conducting an assessment of the scene, notifying the CIC and the element Watch Commander of the situation and requesting assistance from the Special Operations Division.

    The basic human element sparking a civil disturbance is usually the presence of a crowd. Civil disturbances usually arise when a crowd:

    1. Gathers to air grievances on issues, and transfers its anger from the issues to the people dealing with the issues.
    2. Swells uncontrollably as curious bystanders and sympathetic onlookers join forces with the activists or protestors.
    3. Is incited to irrational action by skillful agitators.

    In civil disturbances, crowds employ any number of tactics to achieve their goals. Their tactics may be unplanned or planned, non-violent or violent confrontations. As indicated, the situations that could evolve into a violent civil disturbance are numerous and varied. Often there will be little or no warning before the onset of violence or property damage. In a few instances, it may be possible to predict a level of civil disorder by the nature of a pre-planned event. However, each civil disturbance situation is unique and commanders and supervisory officials must, therefore, plan and respond according to the nature and size of the disturbance. The policies and procedures presented in this SOP are based upon the concept of operational flexibility, and it is expected that officials will exercise sound judgment and proper command and supervisory responsibility in the control of a civil disturbance.

To Download the entire manual click here 

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Recalculating Romneys Four Percent Gimmick

2 April 2012  (Think before you vote...really)  This is one of the most important elections in our history, our future is at stake and this is not a time for playing around...(side note: Susan Brannon)

I have a new piece up at ForeignPolicy.com on Ron Paul and the Republican Party, focused in particular on the strong support that Paul draws from young people, with some additional speculation about where those young people will end up, if and when Paul steps back from his very public role. My instincts are that these young people are motivated at least as much by the ideas that Paul espouses as by Ron Paul, the person. If I am correct, many of them are likely to remain active in politics. I close with a warning to GOP leaders that they would be making a grave error if they ignored this libertarian-leaning voting bloc. Unfortunately, that is what the GOP’s leading candidate, Mitt Romney, seems to be doing by pushing a short-sighted plan for boosting military spending at a time when the country is awash in debt.

I have always been puzzled by the fact that conservatives who rail against welfare dependency here at home miss the pernicious effects of security dependency among our allies. Tim Pawlenty didn’t get it. Neither does Mitt Romney. Rather than questioning the mantras that have guided U.S. foreign policy for over a generation, Romney simply assumes that the United States will remain the world’s policeman, other countries will continue to free-ride on our security guarantees, and U.S. taxpayers will happily foot the bill. He proposes spending at least four percent of GDP on the military’s base budget, plus whatever additional money might be needed to fight the wars that he wants to fight (for example, this one).

I commented on the Four Percent Gimmick a few months ago, and now I have a bit more detail about Romney’s plan relative to the Obama administration’s latest 10-year projections. I alluded to these numbers in the ForeignPolicy.com piece, and below provide some more detail. (I am grateful, as always, for the help of my colleague Charles Zakaib in sorting through these, and in preparing the charts).



The chart above shows spending in nominal, current-year dollars, over the next ten years. The Obama administration plans to spend $5.7 trillion between 2013 and 2022 (the blue bars). If Romney keeps his promise of four percent for defense, he will spend at least $8.3 trillion (using OMB’s GDP projections) over that same period, an additional $2.58 trillion (the yellow bars). His budget in 2022 would top $1 trillion, and would be at least 61 percent higher than Barack Obama’s. He hasn’t said what other spending he will cut, or what taxes he would increase, to cover that difference. Until he does, it is logical to conclude that he plans to pile on more debt.

And we should remember that current laws call for even less spending than President Obama has proposed, but he has chosen to ignore the sequestration provisions of the Budget Control Act. GOP leaders in Congress seem equally disinterested in following through on their promise to kick the spending habit, and several have put forward plans to undo sequestration for the Department of Defense. Either way, the bottom line is more debt. As I speculate at ForeignPolicy.com, no wonder young people seem to like Ron Paul so much (and Mitt Romney so little).

Another way to demonstrate the absurdity of Romney’s plan is to control for inflation and compare it to future and past trends. Looking ahead, in constant, 2012 dollars, annual Pentagon spending will average $744.8 billion over the next ten years—again assuming the same GDP projections as Obama’s plan. That is 44 percent higher than Obama’s average budget (the bright pink line) over that same period, and nearly 59 percent higher than sequestration (the dark red line).

Now consider how this compares with the recent past. As you can see, Romney’s Four Percent Gimmick would result in taxpayers spending more than twice as much on the Pentagon as in 2000 (111 percent higher, to be precise), and 45 percent more than in 1985, the height of the Reagan buildup. Over the next ten years, Romney’s annual spending (in constant dollars) for the Pentagon would average 64 percent higher than annual post-Cold War budgets (1990-2012), and 42 percent more than the average during the Reagan era (1981-1989).





Mitt Romney may genuinely believe that today’s enemies are 42 percent more frightening than the big bad Soviets. He might believe that spending an average of $450 billion (in constant dollars) every year since 1990 has left the country dangerously vulnerable. If that is true, he should say so. More importantly, however, he should be compelled to answer the question on everyone’s mind: Where is he going to get the money to fund his Pentagon spending binge?

Cross-posted from Cato @ Liberty 
Related Information:
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Here is my response to "The Police Tracking our Cellphones"  From the Twilight Zone.  Watch this!  Growing in suspicion on a daily basis, anything goes and just watch...neighbors will be suspicious of each other, family members, into a frizzy.  This will justify and does justify our privacy rights being violated in America today.

History of the Value of the U.S. Dollar and Today's Economical Crisis

Susan Brannon
30 March 2012

I decided to take a look at the U.S. dollar's value to compare it with today's in order to find out why the dollar continues to drop.  I wanted to know, when in the past has it dropped and what may have caused it.  I wanted to understand what we can do today, to help stabilize the American economy.  I don't take it for granted as "truth" when the media and politicians tell me (us: The Americans) that things are getting better, when all I need to do is to open my eyes and see in reality they are not and have not been getting better since they have been telling us for the past few years.  I have been feeling like a Ethiopian waiting for the rain to fall so my crop will grow and the rain never comes.

This may seem like boring stuff, but it is rather important for us to know and understand our "history" in relation to the U.S. dollar and the American economy.  It helps us to gain insights as to what we can intelligently petition our politicians to help create change to improve our lifestyles. What I discovered were two important years that the value of the U.S. dollar started to fall, never to regain its previous status.  The years were 1933 and 1968, both of which had something to do with changes in the Gold Standard Act.

The U.S. Dollar

In 1800 the estimated value of the U.S. dollar was $1.961 and continued to go up from the first railroad (1827) on through the California gold rush to an all time high of $4.00 in 1849.  It remained stable at $4.00 until 1853. 

From 1853 the value of the dollar started to drop until the development of the Marconi telegraph in 1895, where it went back to $4.00 followed by zero inflation until 1901. During zero inflation and the stability of the dollar, historical events such as the Klondike gold rush and the discovery of penicillin and the end of the Spanish-American war occurred.

In 1900, was the development of the Gold Standard Act, where gold became the sole legal-tender coinage of the United States, and set the value of the dollar at $20.67 per ounce. The gold standard act was suspended twice, and re-opened in 1914.

By the time the Federal Reserve Act in 1913, came into power the dollar was valued at 3.367 with a 2.4% inflation rate.  From then on the value continue to drop and inflation continued to bounce around until the great recession in 1920 when inflation hit 15.8% and the value was $1.667.

If we compare out current economic crisis to the great depression that started in 1929 through the 1930's, we will find that in 1929 the inflation rate was zero with a $1.949 dollar value and in 1932 with the development of the new deal and the Third Reich, the dollar went up to $2.577 after which the value has been dropping ever since.

In 1933, many countries went off the gold standard, and during the great depression people starting to hoard gold not trusting the dollar depleting gold reserves. This was an historical event for the American economy and its future.  In 1933, President Roosevelt implemented a series of Acts of Congress and Executive Orders, which suspended the gold standard except for foreign exchange.  As a result, the value of the U.S. dollar started do tumble. They revoked gold as a universal legal tender for debts, and banned private ownership of significant amount of gold coin.  At that time, the set amount of gold was $20.67 per ounce was lifted, allowing the dollar to float freely in the market.

Next, they devalued the the dollar on the foreign exchange and made the dollar a fixed price of $35.00 per ounce of gold.  This created more countries to exchange gold for dollars, to allow the U.S. to corner the world gold market. From 1933 the dollar value was $2.577 and slowly declined to $1.00 in 1967.

In 1968, the redemption of pre-1963 Federal Reserve notes for gold or silver officially ended.  For 177 years gold was set at fixed prices with the gold-based dollar with a long standing value of $35.00 for an ounce of gold.  The ability for the U.S. to control the market became too
complicated to manage, caused by economic and trade pressures, as a result the effort to control the private market price of gold was abandoned and a two tier system started.

This was the beginning of a time when the U.S. dollar was not worth a dollar anymore to $.960 in 1968. Central banks trading gold became a isolated event.  They would trade gold with each other at $35.00 per ounce, but would not trade with the private market, this pushed gold to the price of $43.00 per ounce by the end of the year. 

When the gold standard act was abandoned, the dollar became a free market, meaning that the value was based on what other countries felt the value was to the dollar, not backed by anything.  Prices became unstable, inflation was harder to control, it left unchecked balances to America's debt, and started chaotic "floating" of currencies valued against each other.

By 1972 the price of gold was over $70.00 per ounce and by 1973, the two-tier system was abandoned and the dollar was "self valued" at $.798.

By the official end of the Vietnam war in 1975, there was not enough gold to back the dollar and the value of the dollar fell to $.620.

Now we are under the Fiat standard that is, money not backed by any physical asset. In 2010, the value of the dollar fell to $.153.* 

The New York Times reported, that the dollar weighed against global currencies had "hit a 40-year low" in May of 2011.  This is because the Federal Reserve's policy of printing dollars to spry the economy is not working.  Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman believe that the cheaper dollar encourages "American manufactures to hire more aggressively." Has anyone seen that happen except for outsourcing?

The claim of the Federal Reserve to continue to print money in order to  "stabilize" the economy has not worked.  History has proven that the government continues to borrow and expand as long as the money is available and the government has not proven to spend any less than it has before.  They borrow money to bail out banks and on foreign investments with money that America does not have. 

America's unemployment rate in real numbers is estimated at 22.5%, according to WND while prices continue to rise.  When this happens, people spend less and cut back on just about everything that they can in order to survive month to month.  With less people buying, the harder it is for companies to keep their employees or stay open; it becomes harder for manufactures to stay open because of the lower demand and high cost of developing products.

Inflation is a real threat and here is why:
In the past forty years the U.S. dollar dropped in value by 72% compared to the Euro and 75% compared to the Japanese yen.  When America's purchasing power falls, inflation occurs,  drop of exchange rates can cause inflation, the national debt can cause inflation, price control of certain markets such as oil, can cause inflation.  

There is another problem, the reported inflation rates are not "real" numbers in terms of practical living.  For example, in 2011 a gallon of milk cost $3.39 in December. Compare that to the average price of $4.25 in March 2012 or a gallon of gas from 3.89 to $4.00 in 2012. This reflects much more than the reported inflation rate of 2.9% for February 2012.  The actual rate for inflation in 2011 was 9% based on consumer goods such as gas, food, house rent, compared to the reported amount of 3.5%.  In the end, if you receive a 3% pay raise, you will have lost 8.9% of your income due to "real" inflation numbers.  This is why American's are continuing to feel the pinch of the current crisis and do not feel that things are getting any better.

History tells us that if we went back to the Gold Standard, it would be easier to balance the budget, increase price stability and lower inflation.  It would put into a "check" of our spending and national debt. 

Conclusion:  Get back to the Gold Standard Act, to stabilize the economy, create checks and balances for national spending, and to help control inflation. 

*The "values" listed here are based on an old survey called "Prices paid by farmers" to approximate inflation.
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American Struggling Middle Class (Video)                        What is Wall Street?
Global Confidence in Economy Collapses
Crime Against Humanity
Which Countries Have the Most Days Off?
Changing Hands  From Europe/USA to India/China       Examples of US Financial Corruption
Lies and More Lies - Cost of Wars and Lives                      One Example of Wall Street Corruption  Occupy Wall Street Proposed/Unproposed Demands       
American Job Act Summary - Obama                                Occupy Wall Street - Quiz                     
Italy in a Crisis - August 2011                         

Presidential Candidates Response to Occupy Wall Street
Goldman Sachs Robbing the Americans Video
Asian Stocks Fall - Video -  August 2011
Euro on the Edge - Video - August 2011
Spanish and Italian Bond Move - Video - August 2011
July Employment Report - Article - August 2011
Making Sense of a Failing Economy - Article - August 2011
Making Sense of Bank of America - Article- August 2011

11. The Largest Event In Human History

You know, I hate this stuff like "conspiracy theories" type information.  However, I must say that I too have been watching (and posting) items of investigation regarding our global and American economy, politics and corruptions.  I have also noticed a "pattern" of cycles, and it is general knowledge that all life has its cycles. 

שיר השיקסע ai se eu te pego

Health Care Reform's Impact on Small Business

Documents Show NYPD Infiltrated Liberal Groups

Our Freedom at Risk.  Expressing political views sets an alarm with the NYPD, crossing the line.  Federal Judge relaxed restrictions on spying on civil political activity.  The problem is the interpretation of those involved in the activities.

Rethinking Cancer Research and Treatment

Susan Brannon
16 March 2012

We need to rethink our cancer research and treatments on a global level. It is known that chemicals such as Benzene, workshop hazards, environmental hazards can cause cancer. What has not been researched are most of the 100,000 chemicals commonly used in commerce. Not only are the factory chemicals, workplace and the environment increase our chance of getting cancer, but the treatment itself is under question and that question remains behind closed doors.  The treatment is strongly  promoted by lobbyist and funded with billions of dollars to keep the risks silent. This includes radiation and chemotherapy, Davis (in The Secret History in the War on Cancer) claims that cancer researchers and cancer physicians are dying in record numbers.

CT scanning is a $100 billion dollar industry per year that allows us to view nifty 3 dimensional images but exposes us to radiation. A typical CT scan equals to 400 x-rays and it is known that 2,500 people die each year from the scans. (Yale Study) Davis explains that America is exposed to "equivalent of hundreds of Hiroshimas" spanned across Europe and Russia in radiation from diagnostic machines.   According to the Journal of Medicine, (2007) there were currently 62 million CT scans in the United States, with 4 million used on children. The article express the concern that  "the increasing exposure to radiation in the population may be a public health issue in the future."  ABC, investigated in 2010 that a problem with CT scans is that the radiation dosages vary widely, "Some patients who underwent the same type of test received 20 times more radiation than others, often in the same hospital."  In the end, America is at risk to increased radiation exposure.

Aspartame, cellphones and Ritalin are known to be contributors to brain cancer and tumors, yet 10% of America's children remain on ritalin. Any child under the age of 18 should not have or use a cell phone, and in reality any adult for that matter because the use of cell phones doubles the risk of brain cancer.

China is now the lead on the global economic boom, with increases in factories and along with it, increases in chemical exposure. As the boom increases in China, so does the cancer rate. In fact, cancer is China's number one killer.  In 2010 the Guardian reported  that "cancer villages" are the dark side of the economic boom.  A woman from the Yunnan province near factories says that "the pollution is bad, and people are getting sick.", she explains during an interview with full blown cancer and tears in her eyes.  There is an explosion in lead poisoning cases and further studies show that communities that recycle electronic waste are exposed to cadmium, mercury and brominated flame retardants. China's cancer rate jumped 30% since the introduction of industry in the past 30 years. Chinese farmers are almost four times more likely to die of liver cancer and twice as likely to die of stomach cancer than the global average, according to study commissioned by the World Bank. There have been protests in China with concerns of the factory environmental issues, increase in illness and pollution.  In response, the Chinese government claims that they are cleaning up the problem faster and better than any other country, yet the small villages seem to remain neglected. (Guardian)

Let's go a bit back into the history. In 1936, top cancer experts assembled in Brussels to discuss the topic. A British scientist who studied twins, learned that cancer is not inherited and blamed in on the chemical exposures in life. An Argentin doctor described how sunlight combined with hydrocarbons causes tumors in rats. A hydrocarbon is a chief component of petroleum and natural gas. The scientists also discussed how regular exposure to hormone estrogen cause male rats to develop large breasts.

The fast was then known that exposure to certain chemicals increased the risks of cancer. This lead to environmental studies in Canada to discover the root causes to over 200 diseases. The studies made a huge turn after the second world war, from environmental concerns to treatment focus.

Environmental issues was put on the back burner and $70 billion dollars later of fraud, neglect and propaganda on cancer, has not made any real progress as to the investigations or regulations on chemicals that are known to cause cancer.

In the 1920's General Motors factory workers who bottled lead as a gasoline additive started to drop dead like flies, GM responded that it was a "natural contaminant" Dye makers working with Benzidine at DuPont, started to develop bladder cancer, the studies were hidden until public pressure forced DuPont to publish the results. For over 100 years Benzene as a cancer agent has been denied, neglected, and under deceit. "Myron Mehlman, a toxicologist with Mobil Oil, told Japanese officials in 1989 that gasoline with 5-per-cent benzene was damned dangerous and shouldn't be sold, the company fired him."

ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and Shell have invested $27-million in China to "contradict earlier claims that link exposure to low- and mid-levels of benzene to cancers and other diseases.", claims Davis.  The Huston Chronicle published an article in 2005, states that the oil industry funds study to counter benzene cancer causing claims. The study was launched in 2001 in Shanghai, China.  The article states, "The results have already been predicted" which makes this not a real scientific study, but a study to manipulate the facts in order to gain the desired results.

In 2009, MD Anderson released a study saying that in the next 20 years the cancer rate will increase in America 45% from 1.6 million in 2010 to 2.3 million in 2030. (link to article)   The Guardian reports that the cancer rate worldwide is increasing to 7.5 million people dying from cancer.  For almost 70 years, it has been known that environmental issues are contributors to cancer, billions is spent on cancer research and billions on its treatments, yet the cancer rate continues to rise. Don't you think that it is time for us to "rethink cancer research and treatments"

Shadow of Afghanistan Bin Ladin and Americans

Shadow of Afghanistan Jihad

Shadow of Afghanistan Ben Ladin

Shadow of Afghanistan "Instant Politics"

Shadow of Afghanistan clip 2

Clips from the film, "Shadow of Afghanistan" a historical view of Afghanistan.  America is in Afghanistan, and because we are "there" we should also be aware of why, and what there history is because history makes us what we are today.  For a better understanding....towards peaceful solutions. Is it possible?

'World fears US as a war-hungry drunk' - ex-Senator

ex-Senator takes the words out of my mouth

Gravel took the words out of my own mouth.  He is saddened about America, the state of our country and the money we spend on war instead of those who are going hungry in the U.S.  He wonders where are the morals of our leaders today.  With names are on lists, no trials, no reason for arrest is removing the governmental responsibility for their actions. Gravel says,  "Dropping bombs from the air, you don't see them die...but they are down there."  He also feels that, we have lost our sense in our morals and the "ability to govern ourselves.  The US has committed crimes against humanity and continues to this day.  The Bush war in Iraq, was a crime....Obama says, "Oh we don't look back."  Obama has been doing the exact same thing that the Bush administration." 

Did you know that America has ex pulsed over 500,000 people from the U.S. last year (2011).  Have you read this information in the news?  Why has not the media doing their "real" jobs.  This is what I say, the media is responsible to inform the citizens with facts and truths, not propaganda and lies as they have been doing so.  This is an insult to humanity and our intelligence.  The fact of the kicking people out of our country should be on the front page, they also were "Americans".  One day will they do the same thing to you or to me? 

Obama said, that "we are not going to take any money from special interests."  But, he has been, and has received over 1 billion dollars.  (More on that later) The Gravel says that, "Netanyahu is a liar, and Starkozy says this as well. Israel has weapons enough to start a third world war and we should be careful."

Gravel, feels that we need to leave the countries alone and they will take care of themselves.  "Leave them alone."  and get out of all the countries that we are terrorizing.  He adds, " We have lost our democracy, there are no democracies."

A few things that he mentioned in the video, "(World fears US as a war-hungry drunk')

"Corporations have no moral conscious and memory, they are designed to make money.  They should not be in command of society and our countries.  They are in command of society worldwide today. If this continues, then we will lead to the destruction of our planet. You see this today with the meltdown that is taking place.  They are all only to make a profit.  We need to control the corporations and take them out from controlling the countries.  "That is irresponsible corporate activity The people need a tool to control these things and that is the government.  The government is a tool, and if it is properly designed, and in the hands of the people, then the people will have a role of how things are run.  Marcus Sisrol said that, "People are free if they participate in power."  I know of know country in the world today that are really free."
Well said Gravel!

"

Afghanistan: The history of the occupation

Coalition shooting spree alleged in Kandahar, Afghanistan

CNN: We don't need photojournalists! - British Journal of Photography

Susan Brannon
9 March 2012

In November, CNN quietly announced it was laying off "a dozen" photojournalists across its US bureaus as, it says, the network can now rely on user-generated content thanks to new consumer technologies."  CNN is not the only news agency that is "laying off photojournalists"  We have been feeling this for a long time.  The system went from paid, send em' out into the field with all the benefits to find local freelancers that can do the same work for 1/2 the price, to let's just take images (without permission) from the local citizens and publish them.  CNN says that "We don't need photojournalist, citizen journalists can do just as good of a job thanks to the new technologies." 

A good example are the images that Daniel Morel took of the Haiti earthquake devastation. CNN grabbed the images without permission and the same images later won a World Press Photo prize.  There are now legal issues concerning the use of the images.  Daniel Morel says, "Our role is important as independent photojournalist to tell the story as it is. I was there to document accurately this tremendous tragedy for future generations."  Morel Tweeted 13 of the images he had taken in the earthquake, within hours Agency France Press (AFP) grabbed the images and published them and the images were published worldwide on the front page of major newspapers.  Morel wrote to the AFP agencies and asked them to remove the image.  They responded with the court system, "accusing Morel of engaging in "an antagonistic assertion of rights".  (See David Morel's Legal Tangle)

Unfortunately, CNN missed the point.  Look at "Eyewitness", The Guardian, or the Times with their strength in photojournalism with good results.  The people who start to publish run of the mill news, will loose the respect from the readers and in the end, advertising funding will start to diminish.  The old traditional media still has strengths in its' content, with high quality analysis, photography and in-depth stories.  Do you think that CNN will observe proper publishing rights used from social media?  I think not. 


 Reference Link:
CNN: We don't need photojournalists! - British Journal of Photography

המופע של נאור ציון - הערס

Mark Focus Presents his work to Putney Swope

This goes to show you that photographers should not shoot for free.  Photographers, please don't shoot for free....you are killing us!

Jewish Guy Attacked By Zionist Police

If we are not careful as Americans, the same thing will start to happen to us more and more...a police state. Already so many protesters have been arrested, journalist arrested for covering the protests in our own country. In Israel, all they do is take them to the airport and ship them off.

Jewish activist to AIPAC: Stop Silencing Dissent!

I know, people get mad at me for my Israeli/Palestinian views...but I support this organization called the "other" Jewish Voice.
They are doing good work.

Watch Mitt Romney's Speech on Michigan Primary Win: 'We Won by Enough'

Rick Perry Says He Would Send Troops Back To Iraq

Rick Perry's incoherent foreign policy ramble

Governor Rick Perry Doesn't Know What A Decade Is.

Rick Perry: Why a Rental Mansion?

Top 10 Rick Perry Failures

الجيش السوري اقتحام بابا عمرو 1-3-Entering into Baba Amr2012

(translated) according to a security source in Damascus today, the source said "This area is under control, the army operation cleansing of the neighborhood, building after building, and house after house. " 03/01/2012
"The soldiers searched all the cellars and tunnels in search of weapons and terrorists."
He continued, "there are still some spots that must be curtailed."
Announced the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights For his part, said in a statement that "the clashes taking place in the vicinity of neighborhood Pope AMR, between the regular army and Syrian dissident groups prevent the attempt to break into the neighborhood, at a time when you hear the sound of explosions and shootings in the neighborhoods of the other city." Is under Baba Amr and other neighborhoods in the city , came under artillery and rocket three weeks ago, hundreds of sign Alguetlymusdr Syrian security confirms the army to storm the district Baba Amr in Homs and activists deny
An official security source in Damascus that the Syrian army stormed the neighborhood of Baba Amr in the city of Homs center of the country on Wednesday, February 29 and is now the process of cleansing it.

Baba Amr حمص بابا عمر 29-2-2012

Syrian security forces take Baba Amr

After 27 days of bombardment, Syrian security forces loyal to President Bashar al-Asad now claim they have retaken full control of the rebel-held Baba Amr neighbourhood of Homs.

تنسيقية الرستن : مجزرة الرستن 2 - 3 جمعة تسليح الجيش الحرMar3-12 Rastan, Syria

Rastan massacre 2-3 Fri arming the army free. (Free Army...translated direct)
Mortar shells down on peaceful demonstrators in Rastan and kill and injure. This is the reality of war folks...these videos do not spare the realities

French journalist Edith Bouvier returns to France after being rescued fr...

She made it home!!

Le spettacolari immagini dell'Etna, un misto di lava e neve

Volcano Etna, in Southern Italy, where I offer Photo Workshops is bubbling! Activity of the new crater southeast, lasted a few hours, but the images are spectacular, paerchè the lava meets the snow and the result is all to watch.

Edith Bouvier Escapes from Homs

by: Damien Pearse and agencies

Journalist was left taped to a stretcher inside the tunnel rebels had dung to smuggle her out when Syrian forces bombed it

The French journalist Edith Bouvier feared her escape from the besieged Syrian city of Homs had come to an end after the tunnel through which she was smuggled came under bombardment from Assad's forces.

Her leg broken by a shell, which killed the Sunday Times journalist Marie Colvin and French photographer Rémi Ochlik days earlier, Bouvier was abandoned, taped to a makeshift stretcher, as rebels and dozens of wounded fled the explosions and headed back to Baba Amr district.

"One of them placed his Kalashnikov on me. He put his hand on my head and said a prayer. It wasn't very reassuring. Then he left," Bouvier told Le Figaro newspaper, for which she was working in Syria.

"I didn't know what was going to happen. Was the exit blocked? Were Syrian soldiers going to enter? I wanted to run away before remembering that I was taped to a stretcher."

Bouvier and the French photographer William Daniels, who stayed with her throughout, were finally rescued by a rebel who drove down the 1.6-metre high tunnel on a motorbike and carried them back to Baba Amr.

With the tunnel blocked and Baba Amr close to falling to the army, the two journalists, the objects of a manhunt after their faces were broadcast on Syrian television, decided to risk everything by slipping out of the city in a vehicle under cover of darkness.

"We were exhausted, physically and mentally. We had to get out of there," Bouvier said. Details of their escape route were not published by the newspaper to protect those who helped them.

Moving from safe house to safe house, changing vehicles frequently and taking rocky mountain roads amid a snowstorm, it took the journalists and their rebel escort four days to travel the 25 miles to the Lebanese border. Everywhere strangers greeted them by name, welcoming them warmly.

"They really put themselves in danger for us. They did everything for us," said Bouvier, who called her parents as soon as she crossed into Lebanon under cover of darkness. "I didn't tell them where I was, just that I was safe and sound."
Guardian

How I Escaped Homs Syria.

Javier Espinosa
Guardian
Sunday 4 March 2012

The motley procession seemed like something out of the 17th-century Spain described by the writer Francisco de Quevedo. One injured man was in his underwear, with his legs, head and arms bandaged up, using his working hand to grasp his drip. He could barely walk. Then came a limping man, wounded in his foot, who hopped or was carried on a friend's back. Another young man, his leg shattered by shrapnel, was transported on a blanket held by others.

Ahmed, his arm and leg lacerated by shrapnel from a rocket, leaned on Mohamed, who struggled onwards with a sniper's bullet in his back. Journalists Paul Conroy and Edith Bouvier, both wounded, were part of the same strange troop, along with two other correspondents, including me.

Even the vehicles we travelled in seemed more ready for the scrapyard than this insane venture. The lorries were peppered with bullet holes and shrapnel. One jolted along on a flat tyre.

Fifty or more of us – many disabled by their wounds – were trying to break out of the besieged neighbourhood of Baba Amr, in Homs, fleeing the final attack unleashed by the Syrian regime. It was to be a risky night-time dash through Syrian army lines, which would prove just how desperate these people, abandoned to their luck, had become.

The journey started at 9pm. Lorries full of those trying to flee navigated the deserted, pitch-dark streets at high speed. We drove without headlights, trying not to alert snipers.

The people of Baba Amr have suffered so monstrously that for some of those who found a seat it seemed almost funny. They giggled at the sight of a journalist protecting their head with a laptop. "Silence! Please!" a militiaman ordered. One man was only too aware of the danger; he prayed continuously.

Only part of the journey could be travelled by vehicle. The rest was to be done on foot. Suddenly the sky lit up. Government troops must have heard the noise and begun to fire off flares.

"Get down! Get down! Snipers!"

The group began to splinter. Most went to hide in ruined buildings. The seriously injured could do no more than throw themselves to the ground. On this occasion, the flares lit up an area away from where we were. But it was a taste of the chaos to come.

"Mummy! Mummy!" Terrified children called out as they walked. The Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters tried to quieten them. But it was too late. The firing started as suddenly as the flares. Bullets ricocheted around us. A burst of gunfire forced us to hide in the scrub. Then a hail of bullets broke up the group.

We ran across fields. Bullets whistled past. I followed Mohamed and Ahmed, who seemed to have forgotten the shrapnel in his leg. He hopped and trotted at an incredible speed. Later he would joke about it: "How on earth could I run like that, when I can't even walk?"

The three of us hid in a copse of trees, cowering there for more than an hour as shots continued to ring out nearby.

Ahmed is a 23-year-old Palestinian, born in the refugee camp in Hama. He joined the uprising at the start, fighting with the FSA. He boasted of having destroyed 17 armoured vehicles before he was wounded. Now he hoped to get to Lebanon and find a hospital to treat him. Mohamed was his comrade from the same katiba, or unit. He also wanted to get to Lebanon.

"What shall we do? Which direction do we go?" The three of us were lost. After the firefight, the countryside fell back into silence. The absence of noise was almost as startling as the gunfire.

Sometimes life is ruled by logic. I could just recall that this was the route I had used to get into Baba Amr, so they asked me to lead them. Little by little the muddy paths began to seem familiar. We walked in single file, slowed down by fear and the others' injuries. Mohamed had to prop himself on our shoulders.

Finally we made it to a cluster of houses. The rebellion is widespread in Homs. All Ahmed had to do was knock on a door and immediately a group of youths set about finding us somewhere to hide. Minutes later we were escaping again, four of us on a single motorbike.

The night belongs to the rebels. The motorbike was stopped by an FSA patrol that had blocked the road. They took charge of getting the three of us to a village far from Bashar al-Assad's troops.

Baba Amr's destiny has been decided. The rebellion there appears to have been quashed, but it will continue in many other places. South of Homs, in Qusair, the rebels boast that they control half of the town. People there walk in daylight whenever the bombardments die down. You can even buy falafel.

"They have 70 tanks and 5,000 soldiers surrounding the town, but they don't dare go in," said a member of the FSA's Farouk Brigade – which controls the farming region around Homs and had been in charge of Baba Amr.

That did not mean, however, that one entered the town at less than a crazy speed. It was a wise strategy. A car hit earlier was still burning on the road.

There is no method to war. Nothing you have learned helps you predict who will live and who will join the statistics. On the day I escaped Homs, the rebels said some 64 other people had died trying the same thing. They claim they were women and children.

For Assem, a 36-year-old labourer who has joined the rebels, the defeat of Baba Amr – still not certain when we spoke – would not end the uprising.

"Bashar has not got the message. I, for example, loved him when he took over. I thought he would be different to his father," he said. He pointed to a part of his little finger. "If he had just given us this little bit of freedom, we would have remained quiet. But whenever he slaughters someone from our families he simply increases our desire to kill him."
Guardian

International Criminal Court to deliver verdict on Congolese warlord

AMSTERDAM, Feb 29 (Reuters) - The International Criminal Court said it will deliver its verdict on Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga, who is accused of conscripting, training and arming hundreds of child soldiers, on March 14, in the war crimes court's first trial.

Lubanga's alleged crimes took place during the Democratic Republic of Congo's 1998-2003 conflict. He was handed over to the court in 2006 and went on trial in 2009.

An ethnic Hema, Lubanga has denied charges he enlisted and conscripted children under 15, some as young as nine years old, to his Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) movement to kill members of the rival Lendu tribe.

Prosecutors have said Lubanga is guilty beyond "any possible doubt" and that his armed group recruited "hundreds of children to kill, pillage and rape."

More than 30,000 child soldiers were recruited during the Congo conflict, according to some estimates. One girl told the court she was conscripted at the age of 13 and repeatedly sexually assaulted by her commanders.
Lubanga has said he was a politician rather than a warlord, and had never played an active role in the UPC'S militia.

(Reporting by Sara Webb)
Reuters

Stunting: The Global Crisis You\'ve Never Heard Of

By Anthony Lake 
Suppose I asked you to imagine a courtroom in which a stern judge peers with indifference at a baby — and off-handedly condemns the infant either to death or a life shorter than her peers, with poorer cognitive capacity, more likelihood of disease and less ability to learn at school and earn as an adult.
Of course, you would say this is unimaginable. What judge, or human being, would do such a thing? But this is what is happening to an estimated 180 million children under the age of 5, children whose bodies and minds are limited by stunting. Stunting, or stunted growth, is the result of chronic nutritional deficiencies. A stunted 5-year-old is four to six inches shorter than a non-stunted peer. But lost height is the least of concerns: a stunted child, for instance, is nearly five times more likely to die from diarrhea than a non-stunted child because of the physiological changes in a stunted body. Stunting is also associated with impaired brain development. A typical stunted brain has fewer cells. The cells themselves are somewhat smaller, and the interconnection between them is more limited. This means lasting impaired functioning, which leads in turn to significantly reduced learning. Considering the severe effects, stunting has received far too little attention for far too long.

Read more: http://ideas.time.com/2012/01/31/the-global-crisis-youve-never-heard-of/#ixzz1sb1pQcHA

Stunting: The Global Crisis You\'ve Never Heard Of

Homs Update: 25 Feb 2012

(Reuters) - President Bashar al-Assad's forces killed 103 people in Syria on Friday in the bombardment of the besieged city of Homs and in attacks on the countryside of Hama and the east and north of the country, the activist group Local Coordination Committees said.
Most of those killed were civilians, including 14 children and one woman, it said.
Anas al-Tarsheh, an activist in Homs who has been filming the bombardment and uploading the footage on YouTube, was also killed by the shelling, the grassroots opposition activists' organisation said in statement.
The group said at least 36 people had been killed in Homs and 32 in the province in Hama. Five were killed in and around the northern city of Aleppo, Syria's main commercial and industrial hub, it said.
Security forces also shot dead 10 people the eastern city of Hasaka, where crowds were fired upon when they tried to bring down a statue of Assad's late brother Bassel, said the group, which has been documenting what it describes as human rights abuses since the popular uprising against Assad broke out 11 month ago.
Other scattered killings took place across the country, it said.
(Reporting by Khaled Yacoub Oweis, Amman newsroom)
Reuters

Q&A with Horror of Homs cameraman

Baba Amr-Homs, Syria

Susan Brannon
24 February 2012
Life in Homs Syria

Danny Abdel describes life in Baba Amr is likened to a war zone.  "No one is safe here. They shoot at us everyday.  They come in armies in tanks, sometimes without us even knowing. I've lost 14 of my best friends, they all have been shot, bombed up or taken to prison and have come out dead...all of them."

Hundreds have been killed by rockets, snipers' bullets as the Syrian regime attempts to regain control of the country.  Homs is the third largest city in Syria and known as the capital of the Syrian revolution.There are 28,00 people in Baba Amr that are besieged and they cannot get out.  The regime will not let them out and are shelling the civilian areas.

 No one has been spared the violence that has reached high levels.  UN debated and failed to negotiate a resolution.  On February 6th a rocket blew into a local hospital.  It is said that the regime patrols the hospitals to arrest people who are injured.  They invade in the evening and go to the hospitals in the morning to find those who are revolutionaries.  The doctors in the hospitals are not allowed to treat anyone that has been injured in the violence.  This means any man, woman or child with their legs blown off, or bullets embedded in their bodies.

Many doctors are now treating people in homes without the proper medical equipment that is needed.  In a recent video journalist, Edith Bouvier pleads for her safe exit from the violent country after a shooting that destroyed both of her legs.  Her interview is from a room in someone's private home.

American war journalist Marie Colvin was located near Edith and was killed.  During Colvin's last interview from Homs, she said that, "It's absolutely sickening...shelling started at 6:30 in the morning...I counted 14 shells hitting this civilian area of Baba Amr within 30 seconds. There's a small clinic, you can't really call it a clinic.  It's an apartment that has been turned into a clinic.  You have plasma bags hanging from coathangers.  I watched a little baby die today.  Absolutely horrific.  A two-year old had been hit, they stripped it and found the shrapnel had gone into the left chest....This is happening over and over and over."

It is believed that the journalists were targeted because of the signals from using satellites for reporting. Colvin had reported that the regime is bombing any home and the home that she was in before was bombed the week before.

No one in Syria can understand how the international community allows this to happen and they continue to make pleas to the outside world to help them.  They are confused because when the revolution occurred in Libya, the International community stepped in. 

More than 7,000 people have been killed in Syria since the start of the uprising.  They will not stop because if they do, then they will go door to door and gather up all the revolutionaries for mass execution. A Syrian activists said that the regime films the revolutionaries and knows who they are if they give up then things will become much worse for the people of Syria.  The activists put their very lives at risk by posting videos on You Tube in the attempt to gather international attention.

Hilary Clinton said, "If this was easy, it would have already been done." On January 30, 2012 the UN attempted to an agreement but failed by 13 for to 2 against. Russia attempted to change the wording to clarify avoiding any calls for military action. Their concern is that any vague wordings could be used by NATO for another Libya-style regime change.  Syrian ambassador Bashar Ja'Afari, responded to the agreement by stating  "I think that the European and American countries are making the same mistakes.  Syria will not be Libya and Syria will not be Iraq"

The humanitarian situation is at a crisis point.  Medical supplies and food are not coming in and the resources are limited. Oil needed for heating, babies milk, cutting off the power to phones and electricity and lack of medicine.   Aid agencies or others are not allowed to bring or travel around with supplies.  If anyone is found with medical supplies or food they will be shot on the spot no questions asked.  There are reports of human rights concerns, child torture, raping of women and children, targeted civilian murder, and the use of human shields.

As a reaction to this President Obama says, "I will continue to put pressure and use every tool available to stop the slaughter in Syria. It is imperative for the international community to rally and send a clear message to President Assad that it is time for a transition, a time to move on and a time to stop killing their own citizens."
For Syria, lets hope that they can do this soon.

True America; Where Lies become the Truth

Susan Brannon
25 February 2012
The brief history of America video is to remember who we really are in relation to the Syrian revolution.  I do not think that we know how to go and help a country, then leave. We must be able to print money that we don't have and is not backed up to help?  Help for what and for who?  We all know that Saddam did not have weapons of mass destruction, yet we stayed for years.  Our president and his two side kicks smiled and made up more stories to tell us.  They never went to jail or before court for their manipulation of the American public.  I can say the same about CNN, Fox News, CBS, BBC and others for blasting the same propaganda day in and day out without actual research on the facts that they were told by the pentagon.  They just told the stories as though they were facts.  Why?  Because they bowed down to the social cultural and expected norms mandated by patriot lies and wanted to keep their jobs and continue to be invited to the pentagon press briefings.
These well planned and prepared lies from our top leaders lead to the complete destruction of two other countries and now they are trying the same thing for Iran.  It lead to thousands of people killed, men women, children of all ages from all walks of life, and all languages.
     Our men went out to fight and be killed based on propaganda.  Their mothers, fathers, wives, children and family members will forever have a pain in their hearts for their death.  If I as a journalist, provided false information, knowingly, I would loose my career, my face, money, and all.  I would not have been able to get away with it.  I know photojournalists who altered images and are black listed from the field forever.
     Nixons wiretapping was nothing in comparison to what has been going on in our country.  This is when the lies become the truth and the truth become lies.  I remember coming back for a visit from Iraq and saw the changes in America.  I was talking to a friend on public transportation and a women came up to me and said, "You can't be talking like that here.  You may get arrested.  My advice is to stay quiet"  I was saddened.
      I noticed that my country has been developing on fear.  Fear the enemies strongest ally.  If you get people to live in fear, then you will have total control.  Everyone has been saying that Saddam was horrible, and yes he was.  What did he do?  He used fear to control his people.  Plain fear and became a very wealthy man.  But what was that fear compared to the fear that we have created in Iraq?  Citizens are scared to walk down the streets anymore.  They did not have to fear that in the past.  They just knew that they could not walk across the bridge, so they did not.  That fear was much less than the fear of random bombings, shootings and kidnappings.
     I ask, Why do we need planes, solders and guns to help a country?  I never had to carry a gun in a war zone, I just had to look up.  (for snipers) I did not have to point my gun at anyone to defend myself, gather information or to help those that needed help.  Words and images are a powerful tool to educate and inform others about a situation.  Look at what happened after the killing of Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik.  The news spread like a virus, the reports from the inside started receiving front page news.  Assad had to respond and let the medical professionals inside of Homs Amr to assist and evacuate the wounded women and children.  There was too much visibility for him to ignore the effects of his assaults on the civilians.
     Syria, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia all woke up to the lies that they have been fed from their leaders.  They became tired of the inequality, the division of the classes, poverty and walking in that same fear that we do today.  America's fear is the "attack from the Terrorists"  Really?  Who are the real terrorists, I may ask.  Who really flew into the towers?  We had drones a long time ago, don't fool yourself.  There has been too many stories with missing pieces of the puzzle.  There has been too many stories that created a false reality based on lies that became the truth and in turn the truth became the wrong way to think.

Let Your Life Be a Friction to Stop the Machine

Remember our true history. Okay, it is not about "America" it is about the "program" involved that put us where we are today. It took Egypt 30 years to remember who they want to be and stop believing the lies. It took them 30 years of oppression and poverty to say enough is enough. How long will it take us in America? This is an important question.

Marie Colvin last report

CNN Special Report From Baba Amr- 9-Feb-12 Danny Abdul Dayem Tells of Ho...

Journalist in Baba Amr, Syria

In solidarity to the journalists who risk their lives to tell us the news in war zones. In the city of Homs, the Syrian government shelled the Baba Amr district as a continuation of the Syrian uprising. "There is no safe place here."  Ramy Achmid Sayeed, a leading Syrian activist and Two foreign reporters were killed during the siege: CNN reporter Marie Colvin was killed and Remy Otlik from the Le Figaro. Their bodies were buried under the rubble from a shell blasting at their makeshift media center. The journalists entered into Syria illegally to report the news from the inside. Two French journalists were injured, Edith Bouvier and Paul Conory who works for CNN. Edith and Paul need medical attention that they cannot receive in Homs. They are requesting for a safe exit into Lebanon for medical treatment.

Two Syrian doctors report "Romeny was killed because he revealed the true picture of Baba Amr....Our revolution will continue with God's permission and many Romeny's will take his place."  "The Syrian government says that the people in Homs are criminal groups and are targeted." They report seeing families and children targeted during the incursion leaving many injured without the proper medical help." The doctor leaves a message for the Syrian people "because there are still many Syrians who betrayed the revolution, there are a lot of doctors that have been let down and no one is helping." They ask why.

The day before Marie Colvin was killed she reported that "No one can walk in the streets.  There are snipers all around Baba Amr on the high buildings.  I think the sicking thing is the complete merciless nature, they are hitting civilian buildings absolutely merciffily and without caring and the scale of it is just shocking."

Human rights organizers report that 27 men were chased, rounded up and killed execution style my Syrian organizers in the city street.  Anyone who attempts to go against the Syrian government, or reports the events have the risk of being targeted for death. There are some reports of the Syrian army using humans as shields during the clashes.