Dees Illustration Paul Craig Roberts
Activist Post

The US financial system and, probably, the financial system of Europe, like the police, no longer serves a useful social purpose.

In the US the police have proven themselves to be a greater threat to public safety than private sector criminals. I just googled “police brutality” and up came 183,000,000 results.

(Here are two recent brutal assaults, one deadly, by police on hapless individuals: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/05/kelly-thomas-video-dad-they-are-killing-me-.html and http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article31364.htm )

The cost to society of the private financial system is even higher. Writing in CounterPunch (May 18), Rob Urie reports that two years ago Andrew Haldane, executive Director for Financial Stability at the Bank of England (the UK’s version of the Federal Reserve) said that the financial crisis, now four years old, will in the end cost the world economy between $60 trillion and $200 trillion in lost GDP. If Urie’s report is correct, this is an astonishing admission from a member of the ruling elite. http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/05/18/the-true-costs-of-bank-crises/print

Try to get your mind around these figures. The US GDP, the largest in the world, is about 15 trillion. What Haldane is telling us is that the financial crisis will end up costing the world lost real income between 4 and 13 times the size of the current Gross Domestic Product of the United States. This could turn out to be an optimistic forecast.

In the end, the financial crisis could destroy Western civilization.

Even if Urie’s report, or Haldane’s calculation, is incorrect, the obvious large economic loss from the financial crisis is still unprecedented. The enormous cost of the financial crisis has one single source–financial deregulation. Financial deregulation is likely to prove to be the mistake that destroys Western civilization. While we quake in our boots from fear of “Muslim terrorists,” it is financial deregulation that is destroying us, with help from jobs offshoring. Keep in mind that Haldane is a member of the ruling elite, not a critic of the system like myself, Gerald Celente, Michael Hudson, Pam Martins, and Nomi Prins. (This is not meant to be an exhaustive list of critics.)


Financial deregulation has had dangerous and adverse consequences. Deregulation permitted financial concentration that produced “banks too big to fail,” thus requiring the general public to absorb the costs of the banks’ mistakes and reckless gambling.

Deregulation permitted banks to leverage a small amount of capital with enormous debt in order to maximize return on equity, thereby maximizing the instability of the financial system and the cost to society of the banks’ bad bets.

Deregulation allowed financial institutions to sweep aside the position limits on speculators and to dominate commodity markets, turning them into a gambling casino and driving up the prices of energy and food.

Deregulation permits financial institutions to sell naked shorts, which means to sell a company’s stock or gold and silver bullion that the seller does not possess into the market in order to drive down the price. http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/accidentally-released-and-incredibly-embarrassing-documents-show-how-goldman-et-al-engaged-in-naked-short-selling-20120515

The informed reader can add more items to this list.

The dollar in its role as world reserve currency is the source of Washington’s power. It allows Washington to control the international payments system and to exclude from the financial system those countries that do not do Washington’s bidding. It allows Washington to print money with which to pay its bills and to purchase the cooperation of foreign governments or to fund opposition within those countries whose governments Washington is unable to purchase, such as Iran, Russia, and China. If the dollar was not the world reserve currency and actually reflected its true depreciated value from the mounting US debt and running of the printing press, Washington’s power would be dramatically curtailed.

The US dollar has come close to its demise several times recently. In 2011 the dollar’s value fall as low as 72 Swiss cents. Investors seeking safety for the value of their money flooded into Swiss francs, pushing the value of the franc so high that Switzerland’s exports began to suffer.

The Swiss government responded to the inflow of dollars and euros seeking refuge in the franc by declaring that it would in the future print new francs to offset the inflows of foreign currency in order to prevent the rise in the value of the franc.

In other words, currency flight from the US and Europe forced the Swiss to inflate in order to prevent the continuous rise in the exchange value of the Swiss currency.

Prior to the sovereign debt crisis in Europe, the dollar was also faced with a run-up in the value of the euro as foreign central banks and OPEC members shifted their reserves into euros from dollars. The euro was on its way to becoming an alternative reserve currency. However, Goldman Sachs, whose former employees dominate the US Treasury and financial regulatory agencies and also the European Central Bank and governments of Italy and, indirectly, Greece, helped the Greek government to disguise its true deficit, thus deceiving the private European banks who were purchasing the bonds of the Greek government. Once the European sovereign debt crisis was launched, Washington had an interest in keeping it going, as it sends holders of euros fleeing into “safe” dollars, thus boosting the exchange value of the dollar, despite the enormous rise in Washington’s own debt and the doubling of the US money supply.

Last year gold and silver were rapidly rising in price (measured in US dollars), with gold hitting $1,900 an ounce and on its way to $2,000 when suddenly short sales began dominating the bullion markets. The naked shorts of gold and silver bullion succeeded in driving the price of gold down $350 per ounce from its peak. Many informed observers believe that the reason Washington has not prosecuted the banksters for their known financial crimes is that the banksters serve as an auxiliary to Washington by protecting the value of the dollar by shorting bullion and rival currencies.

What happens if Greece exits the EU on its own or by the German boot? What happens if the other EU members reject German Chancellor Merkel’s austerity, as the new president of France promised to do? If Europe breaks apart, do more investors flee to the doomed US dollar?

Will a dollar bubble become the largest bubble in economic history?

When the dollar goes, interest rates will escalate, and bond prices will collapse. Everyone who sought safety in US Treasuries will be wiped out.

We should all be aware that such outcomes are not part of the public debate.

Recently Bill Moyers interviewed Simon Johnson, formerly chief economist of the International Monetary Fund and currently professor at MIT. It turns out that deregulation, which abolished the separation of investment banks from commercial banks, permitted Jamie Dimon’s JPMorganChase to gamble with federally insured deposits. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article31356.htm Despite this, Moyers reports that Republicans remain determined to kill the weak Dodd-Frank law and restore full deregulation.

Simon Johnson says: “I think it [deregulation] is a recipe for disaster.” The problem is, Johnson says, that correct economic policy is blocked by the enormous donations banks make to political campaigns. This means Wall Street’s attitudes and faulty risk models will result in an even bigger financial crisis than the one from which we are still suffering. And it will happen prior to recovery from the current crisis.

Johnson warns that the Republicans will distract everyone from the real crisis by concocting another “crisis” over the debt ceiling.

Johnson says that “a few people, particularly in and around the financial system, have become too powerful. They were allowed to take a lot of risk, and they did massive damage to the economy — more than eight million jobs lost. We’re still struggling to get back anywhere close to employment levels where we were before 2008. And they’ve done massive damage to the budget. This damage to the budget is long lasting; it undermines the budget when we need it to be stronger because the society is aging. We need to support Social Security and support Medicare on a fair basis. We need to restore and rebuild revenue, revenue that was absolutely devastated by the financial crisis. People need to understand the link between what the banks did and the budget. And too many people fail to do that.”

Consequently, Johnson says, the banksters continue to receive mega-benefits while imposing enormous social costs on society.

Few Americans and no Washington policymakers understand the dire situation. They are too busy hyping a non-existent recovery and the next war. Statistician John Williams reports that when correctly measured as a cost of living indicator, which the CPI no longer is, the current inflation rate in the US is 5 to 7 percentage points higher than the officially reported rate, as every consumer knows. The unemployment rate falls because, and only because, people unable to find jobs drop out of the labor force and are no longer counted as unemployed. Every informed person knows that the official inflation and unemployment rates are fictions; yet, the presstitute media continue to report the rates with a straight face as fact.

The way the government has rigged the measure of unemployment, it is possible for the US to have a zero rate of unemployment and not a single person employed or in the work force.

The way the government has the measure of inflation rigged, it is possible for your living standing to fall while the government reports that you are better off.

Financial deregulation raises the returns from speculative schemes above the returns from productive activity. The highly leveraged debt and derivatives that gave us the financial crisis have nothing to do with financing businesses. The banks are not only risking their customers’ deposits on gambling bets but also jeopardizing the country’s financial stability and economic future.

With an eye on the approaching dollar crisis, which will wreck the international financial system, the presidents of China, Russia, Brazil, South Africa, and the prime minister of India met last month to discuss forming a new bank that would shield their economies and commerce from mistakes made by Washington and the European Union. The five countries, known as the BRICS, intend to settle their trade with one another in their own currencies and cease relying on the dollar. The fact that Russia, the two Asian giants, and the largest economies in Africa and South America are leaving the dollar’s orbit sends a powerful message of lack of confidence in Washington’s handling of financial matters.

It is ironic that the outcome of financial deregulation in the US is the opposite of what its free market advocates promised. In place of highly competitive financial firms that live or die by their wits alone without government intervention, we have unprecedented financial concentration. Massive banks, “too big to fail,” now send their multi-trillion dollar losses to Washington to be paid by heavily indebted US taxpayers whose real incomes have not risen in 20 years. The banksters take home fortunes in annual bonuses for their success in socializing the “free market” banks’ losses and privatizing profits to the point of not even paying income taxes.

In the US free market economists unleashed avarice and permitted it to run amuck. Will the disastrous consequences discredit capitalism to the extent that the Soviet collapse discredited socialism?

Will Western civilization itself survive the financial tsunami that deregulated Wall Street has produced?

Ironic, isn’t it, that the United States, the home of the “indispensable people,” stands before us as the likely candidate whose government will be responsible for the collapse of the West.

This article first appeared at Paul Craig Roberts' new website Institute For Political Economy.  Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy and associate editor of the Wall Street Journal. He was columnist for Business Week, Scripps Howard News Service, and Creators Syndicate. He has had many university appointments. His Internet columns have attracted a worldwide following.


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BE THE CHANGE! PLEASE SHARE THIS USING THE TOOLS BELOW

George Ure and Gaye Levy, Contributors
Activist Post

With the stock market looking a bit “iffy” in the past few weeks (flirting with support levels, which if broken might lead to a retest of the 2009 lows), and with bond yields stuck and gold in a trading range, a question those lucky enough to have jobs are asking is “Where to put money now?”

Into the home – if you are not upside down in it and have at least six months of payments saved – is a pretty interesting answer. This is the time of year when home improvements go flying out the doors of the local retailers, too.

Lowes is set to announce their earnings on Monday before the open, and Home Depot’s recent reports showed strength, too. The stock market values the two companies highly at something north of $100-billion. To be sure, there are lots of drivers in play: the housing collapse of 2008 and beyond has resulted in plenty of theft of things like appliances, copper wire, outdoor air conditioners and a long list of other items.

The Boomerang Kids
But a lesser cited trend is the number of once “children” – now adults into middle age – who are moving back into the family homes with their parents or older siblings. This is happening as a result of a combination of factors: dim job prospects, low prevailing wages (especially in the service industry), punitive payments on student loan debt and, we have to say, an unquenchable thirst for toys, which to them are as important as a roof over their heads. (Did we mention that we do not pass judgment here.) For these kids, the only option to moving home is to live on the street.

In a 2010 article, New York Life (insurance) spotted the trend early and advised "Don’t let 'Boomerang Kids” Derail Your Goals" in the context of retirement savings and so forth. The article, wisely we think, included family goal-setting and time limits for the boomerangers to return back to a more traditional life supporting themselves under their own roof.

What is happening, however, is that even though such goals (including demands and ultimatums) are set, a lot of those timelines are being pressed further into the future by recent events. The NY Life article noted that “…in October 2009, 15.6% of 20-to-24-year-olds were unemployed vs. 8.7% for people over 25.” And just this week, while the unemployment rate cited by the Department of Labor’s Employment Situation Report suggests some improvement, the “boomerang effect” is likely to continue for some time.

This calls in to play the parental expectation of having an “empty nest”, but what in reality is become what is commonly called the “cluttered nest” or the “crowded nest”.

Parental Problem – Or Opportunity?
There are several ways parents can look at the return of adult children to the home; the most important, though, is setting expectations and ground rules that will help the family (typically the parents) live better with the returning kids then they did without them.

With that in mind, we decided to make a list of different ways having helpful hands around the home could be put to use doing basic chores and then, beyond that, what some minimal home improvements could be done by the extra labor to add substantial value to a home.

Chores and Home Improvements
No, they aren’t popular, but returning kids can offset the cost of their food and additional water and electricity use by doing yard work, washing and keeping cars detailed, doing all the housework, and even cooking meals and cleaning up afterwards. In short, mom and dad shouldn’t have to put up with becoming aging servants of spoiled kids.

Naturally, there are exceptions. For example on the day of a big job interview, there is nothing like a mom-cooked meal and some of dad’s last-minute coaching. Still, returning home should add to everyone’s life, not detract from it.

Getting the boomerang kids involved with gardening – and that means planting a decent garden and weeding it – is not an unreasonable expectation.

George’s son, (Gaye calls him little George), had to move back in with his mom for economic reasons, but since he’s an industrious sort the cars are now perfect, oil changes happen almost magically, the sidewalk is pressure washed, dishes automatically get washed and put back in the cupboards and so on.

Not only that, but the dogs get washed, the garbage goes out, the gutters are cleaned out every couple of months…and his list goes on. “I’m not a kid anymore,” he says – and he’s definitely “stepped up.” In our view this sure beats funding the Bank of Dad.

Not all boomerang kids are likely to have such hustle, since some still think of parents as wait-staff. But as the New York Life article noted, a family meeting (bargaining session if it comes to that) is where all the expectations get laid out on the front end.

How to Use Labor
In many ways, young people returning home can be a stress reducer for the family. For the adults, there’s no worrying about the house when taking off for business travel or long-delayed vacations. And pet-sitting becomes a cinch.

Even better: there are lots of home improvements which are low cost – but labor intensive – which young people can do with basic instructions if they don’t already know how to do things.

1. Interior Painting: A simple “How to paint book” and a $50-bill can transform any room (and that’s for paint, brushes, and drop cloths).

2. Exterior Painting: It costs a bit more to paint a whole house, but for $150 a house (and trim) can be brought up to looking sharp.

3. Redecorating: Rearranging the furniture, using some of the kid’s strong friends to move about big items, and turning the kids loose on creative projects like home-made works of art for the house and yard that reflect family tastes and values keeps minds working, hands busy, and most important, keeps the couch empty.

4. Insulation: This is a big one if you live in an older home. Check on local laws and codes, but many older homes, such as those built in the 1950s and earlier, often didn’t have much (if any) insulation in their sidewalls. Even recent vintage modular homes often didn’t have good sidewall insulation, so popping off the exterior sheeting and installing 2-3 inches of insulation can pay itself back many times over in energy savings.

5. Updated Windows: Another one that’s something of a “sleeper” is replacing old, outdated windows. By shopping around a bit, you can often find reasonable quality double-glazed windows for as little as $200 per window and sometimes local building materials outfits will have specials which are the time to load up on things like new kitchen cabinets, doors, and plumbing fixtures.

6. Modest Remodeling: Although it sounds fairly daunting, remodeling a bathroom or kitchen isn’t really that hard. In the case of bathrooms, the main issues relate to getting old (sometimes heavy) cast iron tubs and other fixtures out of the bath and the new units brought in. Again, check codes to see how much an owner can do, but kids of the owner are usually considered family.

7. Furniture Makeovers: One of Elaine’s sons has found a profitable part time business that he and his wife do out of their home. It is an example of how looking through Craigslist with “opportunity eyes” can pay off big. They pick up furniture that’s beat up – often found in the free section of Craigslist. Then, after picking up a few pieces, they spend a couple of evenings with some glue, nails, paint, and spackle and turn it into “nuevo chic” furniture. They usually make $20 to $40 on each piece. Again, it’s not that they are trying to make a killing on any one item, but a little effort results in a few hundred of month of side income.

8. Do Some Upholstery Work: Given a few more basic tools, like scissors, a nail gun, a hot glue gun and some upholstery books, you might even be able to get a whole house full of “new” furniture. Old furniture frames in good condition can be found inside even the crappiest of “giveaway” furniture. All it takes is a practiced eye to see the possibilities instead of the downsides.

9. Advanced Woodworking: A lot of homes, especially those built in the 1970s and 1980s were never really “finished off” with fancy crown moldings. A few dollars in wood, paint, and learning how to make molding with a shaper or router table can add thousands of dollars of “eye appeal” to your home. Basic instruction in how to use such tools is cheap (or even free at the local home improvement center) and experience (especially on wood that’s just been sitting around) is the best teacher of all.

10. Home Grown Organic Foods: This is by far our favorite use of returning kids: load them up with library books on gardening and canning – and tell them that when they move out, they can take some of the canned goods with them. But in the meantime, nothing beats fresh-from-the-garden foods for taste, nutrition, and oh….did we mention cost?

Summing It All Up

There are lots of other ways to make money: Selling things on eBay, cleaning people’s homes, doing yard work, detailing cars – the list is almost endless. Although the kids may have jobs themselves and be working, everyone in the family pitching in can reduce the workload and increase the amount of pride and happiness in a family home.

People don’t like to think about such things, but if the markets head down again – and we do get a “second dip” and retest of the market panic of 2009, odds are good that lots more people – some not so young – will have to “Boomerang,” too. And in that case, what distinguishes average people from excellent people is how they plan and succeed regardless of economic and social conditions around them.

It is all a mind-set and that’s something you can never have taken away from you.

Introducing Strategic-Living: a practical and useful online magazine providing inspiration and guidance as we make our way through the maze of changes that are coming our way. In collaboration with my friend and colleague, George Ure, Strategic-Living will offer a synthesis of Urban Survival and Backdoor Survival with much more detailed tips, tools and strategies for creating a vibrant and sustainable lifestyle wherever your path may take you. Think of Urban Survival and Backdoor Survival as your roadmap and Strategic-Living as your detailed guidebook. Here you will find articles and photos, diagrams and how-to’s, and a healthy dose get-out-there and do it with kick-in-the-ass inspiration.



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BE THE CHANGE! PLEASE SHARE THIS USING THE TOOLS BELOW

Stephen Lendman, Contributor
Activist Post

Through Monday, downtown residents live in occupied Chicago.

Secret Service agents, NORTHCOM and National Guard forces, as well as thousands of state and local police seem everywhere.

Getting around feels hazardous. Anyone may be stopped, searched, interrogated, even arrested.

Residents were advised to hunker down and stay out of harm's way as best as possible. For many, it's not easy. More on a city under siege below.

NATO is the world's first global war-making alliance. Largely a US imperial tool, it's a killing machine. Its 28 members and dozens of partner states comprise about one-third of the world's nations.

Article 4 of its charter calls for members to "consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence, or security of any" is threatened.

Article 5 considers an armed attack (real or otherwise) against one or more members, an attack against all, and calls for collective self-defense.


Imperial conquests are planned. Wars are launched. Fundamental laws are violated. Nonbelligerent states are targeted. Vast destruction follows. Millions die. Human misery is incalculable. One conflict follows another in an endless cycle of worldwide collective punishment.

NATO's a global menace, a killing machine, a weapon of mass destruction threatening humanity, an alliance for war, conquest and dominance, not peace.

Enemies don't exist so they're invented. Wealth and power interests alone benefit. Humanitarian intervention is code language for aggressive wars. Pretexts are contrived to wage them.

NATO plans global dominance. China's being encircled. Encroachment approaches Russia's borders. It's targeted by strategic missiles for offense, not defense. At the 2010 Munich Conference, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said:
After the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact dissolved, 'a real opportunity emerged to make the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) a full-fledged organization providing equal security for all states of the Euro-Atlantic area.' However, the opportunity was missed, because the choice was made in favor' of expanding NATO eastward to Russia's borders.Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a message. He cancelled plans to attend the May 18 and 19 G8 summit. He won't be with NATO states in Chicago.

Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev represents him. Both leaders are justifiably concerned.

Putin participated in the Moscow Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) summit with most former Soviet Republics.

On May 3 and 4, 50 nations attended the Moscow missile defense conference. Representatives from NATO's 28 states came. So did China, Japan, and South Korea.

At issue was America's so-called missile shield. It represents major friction between Moscow and Washington. So is concern about war on Syria and Iran, as well as Obama administration officials fomenting and backing anti-government protests in Russia.

Putin's not silent. He opposes America's aggressive wars. In February 2007 at Munich's 43rd Conference, he said:
He'd 'avoid excessive politness.' He said 'what (he) really (felt) about international security problems.' What is a unipolar world, he asked? '(A)t the end of the day it refers to one type of situation, namely one center of authority, one center of force, one center of decision-making.' It's a world with 'one master, one sovereign. And at the end of the day this is pernicious not only for all those within this system, but also for the sovereign itself because it destroys itself from within. And this certainly has nothing in common with democracy. Because, as you know, democracy is the power of the majority in light of the interests and opinions of the minority. Incidentally, Russia – we – are constantly being taught about democracy. But for some reason those who teach us do not want to learn themselves.'He categorically rejected unipolarity.
Today we are witnessing an almost uncontained hyper use of force – military force – in international relations, force that is plunging the world into an abyss of permanent conflicts. We are seeing a greater and greater disdain for the basic principles of international law. One state and, of course, first and foremost the United States, has overstepped its national borders in every way.He "unequivocally" advocates "non-proliferation." He opposes imperial wars. He favors international cooperation, not confrontation.

He seeks "responsible and independent partners" for peace in a "fair and democratic world order that (will) ensure security and prosperity not only for a select few, but for all."

He's out of sync with warrior NATO states.

His remarks didn't go down well in Washington. At the time, Bush was still president. Since 2009, Obama exceeded his worst policies. He threatens global war. Putin and other leaders are concerned. So are tens of thousands protesting on Chicago streets.

On May 18, The New York Times headlined "Chicago Protests Draw Thousands Before NATO Event," saying:
On Friday, they filled a downtown city plaza. Throughout the weeked, other protests and marches will follow. Police lined downtown streets. Busloads of out-of-town participants arrived. Police confirmed 13 arrests. Protest groups added another nine seized earlier in the week. Police declined 'to comment or even confirm additional arrests, saying the case is continuing.'On May 18, the Chicago Sun Times said three protesters were "charged with conspiracy to commit terrorism."

They're accused of three felony crimes.

They include alleged possession of an explosive or incendiary device, conspiracy to commit terrorism, and providing material support to terrorism.

No evidence whatever proved it.

According to National Lawyers Guild (NLG) attorney Sarah Gelsomino:
We cannot say enough that we believe that these charges are absolutely....very trumped up charges. (They're) clearly an attempt to continue this intimidation campaign on activists. Charging these people who are here to peacefully protest against NATO for terrorism, when in reality the police have been terrorizing activists in Chicago, is absolutely outrageous.Accusations claimed Molotov cocktail preparations. Gelsomino added:
Police 'provided no evidence of criminal intent or wrongdoing on the part of the activists.'The men were driving. Police squad cars stopped them. They were "detained for no apparent reason and asked questions about why they were in Chicago and what they planned to do during the NATO summit."

Other arrests were made. On Friday, some were released. Police had no comment. They prepared months before NATO's arrival. Crowd control training using special equipment is involved.

Sound cannon use is planned. They emit ear-splitting chirping noise. Called LRAD (long range acoutic device), it's able to cause permanent hearing loss and other ill effects. The Illinois ACLU and other groups protested against using military technology on peaceful civilian demonstrators.

Chicago's version mounts mid-sized satellite dishes on vehicles or atop high poles. They focus intense sound beams on targets. They cover a 30 degree arc up to 1,600 feet away. They reach 150 decibels.

According to the National Institute of Deafness, noise above 85 decibels can cause permanent hearing loss. University of Missouri Professor Karen Piper participated in an earlier G20 protest. LRAD sound cannons were used. She partially lost hearing and sued. She said:
The intensity of being hit at close range by a high-pitched sound blasts....is indescribable. The sound vibrates through you and casues pain throughout your body, not only in the ears. I thought I might die. It is shocking that (this) device is being promoted for use on American citizens and the general public.Police deny clear dangers. Official statements call LRAD a "risk management tool."

Cops are also equipped with new armor, shields, "hippie-beaters," surveillance cameras, and other devices and equipment.

On Friday, thousands marched through downtown streets. NLG lawyer Ben Meyer denounced what he called an excessive police presence. Dozens of officers milled through crowds. Some videotaped activities.
'It's frustrating that the state needs to come out and show this much force,' he said. At issue was a nurses' rally. Occupy Chicago and other OWS activists joined them. 'They have everyone from from the superintendent on down there. It's just ridiculous.'Dozens of protesters blocked Michigan Avenue traffic peacefully. It’s close to where this writer lives. Confrontations with police followed. One or more arrests were made for "aggravated battery of a police officer."

Bogus charges like this occur often. Cops commit violence. Victims are blamed. Justice is denied. The Chicago Tribune called Friday a "peaceful start to NATO protests."

In fact, scattered confrontations occurred. Roads were blocked. Demomstrators chanted "these are our streets (and) parks."

Larger-scale Saturday rallies and marches followed. Others are planned for Sunday. NLG's Gelsomino said arrests made are done to scare protesters. "This is playbook. (It's) "shoddy police work. It's a fear campaign."

The Chicago Sun Times headlined "What does an anarchist look like - or stand for?" saying:

They "don't conform to dress codes." They resemble "ordinary" people.

They oppose war and resent being called anarchists.

The Sun Times also published a "NATO Survival Guide." It advised staying home. For those traveling around the city, it said "good luck."

Expect traffic, bus and train delays. Some roads are closed. Open ones will be congested. Expect patdowns, searches and other screenings. Forget about local museums and other downtown attractions.

Stay far away from McCormick Place NATO headquarters. Avoid the South Side entirely. Major arteries will be closed. Even side streets north of the Chicago River in this writer's neighborhood are affected.

To accommodate heads of state entourages, Kennedy Expressway to O'Hare airport will experience unannounced "rolling closures" over its entire route.

Through Monday, expect delays, discomfort, disruptions, and unprovoked police confrontations. Hopefully peaceful rallies and marches won't become battlegrounds.

Given Chicago PD's odious reputation, odds are long against avoiding what some longtime residents fear.

NATO doesn't arrive anywhere peacefully. Why should Chicagoans expect otherwise?

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book is titled How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized Banking, Government Collusion and Class War

Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.

http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/

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Dees Illustration Susanne Posel, Contributor
Activist Post

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has drafted a recommendation that ALL Baby Boomers (people born between 1945 and 1965) be tested for the hepatitis C virus and subsequently vaccinated.

The CDC estimates 800,000 people are infected and being vaccinated could save 120,000 lives.

The Baby Boomers are being targeted because of the rampant drug use in the '80s with needles, as well as blood transfusions that were in great use during the '90s; before blood screening was common place.

The CDC says this “generational epidemic” will claim more Baby Boomers unless they are vaccinated.

“Two out of every three hepatitis C cases are in that generation,” said Ryan Clary, public policy director with Project Inform, the national HIV and hepatitis C advocacy organization based in San Francisco.

Bill Remak, chairman of the California Hepatitis C Task Force, is also supporting the targeting of the Baby Boomer generation for the next "silent epidemic" that can only be answered through mass vaccination.


Currently, there is no vaccine specifically designed to combat hepatitis C. The vaccine used is for hepatitis A and B. Through a combination vaccine, the CDC is using conjecture to justify massive amounts of people being vaccinated.

The ingredients and compounds used in vaccines make them more harmful than the virus they purport to safeguard us from.

Thimerosal, a mercury based preservative, is used in the majority of vaccines . Thimerosal has been linked to causing neurological problems such as attention deficit disorder (ADD), autism, and degenerative brain function issues.

A recent federal case showed that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) not only know about thimerosal, but endorse its use in vaccines.

Coalition for Mercury-Free Drugs (CMFD), a coalition of citizens advocating for federal regulation of safer vaccines, filed the lawsuit against the FDA.

In court testimony, the FDA admitted its endorsement of thimerosal and approval for utilization in vaccines. Disregarding the American public’s health, the FDA chose to support vaccine manufacturers that use the preservative.

The propaganda the FDA promotes on their website concerning thimerosal states:
While the use of mercury-containing preservatives has declined in recent years with the development of new products formulated with alternative or no preservatives, thimerosal has been used in some immune globulin preparations, anti-venins, skin test antigens, and ophthalmic and nasal products, in addition to certain vaccines. For most children, the reaction to the vaccine is more damaging than the risk of contracting the virus.

In 1996, 54 cases of the hepatitis B were reported to the CDC (Center for Disease Control) in the 0-1 age group. Considering that there were 3.9 million births that year, the likelihood of Hepatitis B in that age group was 0.001%. In the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), there were 1,080 total reports of adverse reactions from Hepatitis B vaccinations in the same year and age group. Forty-Seven deaths were officially attributed to the vaccine.

The manufacturers of the Hepatitis B vaccine are paid $1 billion a year for this vaccine which harms so many children. With that money, they can sway a lot of opinions, and they do.

A manufacturer of the vaccine was asked at a 1997 Illinois Board of Health hearing to cite his evidence that the vaccine is safe for a 1-day old infant. The representative replied: “We have none. Our studies were done on 5- and 10-year-olds.”

The CDC’s claim that the Baby Boomers must suddenly subject themselves to a proven dangerous vaccine with unsafe effects is irresponsible. The only explanation is that the CDC, in collaboration with other forces, are purveying an agenda to conduct mass vaccinations of specific age groups.

This is coerced endangerment of the public by way of intended depopulation through the false declaration of a regulatory agency.

Susanne Posel is the Chief Editor of Occupy Corporatism. Our alternative news site is dedicated to reporting the news as it actually happens; not as it is spun by the corporately funded mainstream media. You can find us on our Facebook page .


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BUY BOOK HERE J.G. Vibes
Activist Post

Throughout the course of history people have fought against tyranny and authority of various forms only to be thrown back into subjugation when someone else came along to claim what we call “power”. There have been countless battles to overthrow these established powers, but none of them resulting in freedom for humanity in the long term, because all of these struggles were playing out on the wrong battlefield.

All this time the oppressed thought that they were fighting against people, when they really should have been fighting against ideas.

Sure it is true that our ancestors and even everyone alive now are enslaved by some really nasty people, but even if all of those people were to disappear, the ideas that allowed them to commit their crimes without consequence would still remain, leaving the door open for future authoritarians to repeat the process.

Sadly this concept is still not understood by many, who have the understandable but misguided tendency to think that violence is going to solve any of their problems.

The whole reason why people have always rejected authority is because of the widespread use of violence that it leads to, and the violence that is inflicted upon those within its grasp. With that being the case it should be safe to assume that violence should not be used to solve the problem of violence.

For far too long our species has used violence as a tool. Violence has been at the very basis of social organization and problem solving for the better part of history. This is most likely why people are so quick to resort to violence in any conflict, and this is also one of the reasons why so many fail to see the violence that is forced into their everyday life by the various state institutions and mercantilist corporations that they come in contact with.


One of Albert Einstein’s most famous quotes is: “Problems cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them.” This quote definetly applies to the situation we are discussing today and sheds some light onto why the violent revolutions of the past were never able to achieve their goal of setting the human race free from authority.

Throughout our lives we have been fed lie after lie by the establishment, and unfortunately even when someone discovers the violent nature of that establishment they are still met with the task of sifting through everything they have ever been told to see what was a lie and what was not. When that backtracking doesn’t take place it is common for people to get caught up in the vengeful mentality that comes along with learning about one’s own enslavement. When lies about “human nature” or the capabilities of our species are still not recognized and addressed then it is very hard for people to wrap their minds around nonviolent solutions to today’s problems that lie completely outside the realm of politics.

The state and all of its predatory appendages like the corporate and military industrial complexes, are not groups of people with weapons who need to be overthrown, they are just bad ideas that can very easily be rendered obsolete with the right combination of good ideas. The only battlefield that the revolution can be won on is in the mind. To destroy the problems that were created with violence the most effective weapons are good ideas and nonviolent solutions, not violence and politics.

This article originally appeared at Alchemy of the Modern Renaissance

Feel free to email me at jgvibes@aotmr.com with any tips, suggestions or disagreements.
J.G. Vibes is an author, and artist — with an established record label. In addition to featuring a wide variety of activist information, his company Good Vibes Promotions hosts politically charged electronic dance music events. You can keep up with him and his new book Alchemy of the Modern Renaissance, at his website www.aotmr.com and facebook page.

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Image Source Phillip Farruggio
Activist Post

In 1935, a book was published, War Is a Racket, by retired Marine General Smedley Butler. In this brief book Butler embellishes his belief that our nation’s foreign policy was controlled and manipulated by private corporate interests, all in the name of greed.

Wars, invasions and occupations by our military, according to General Butler, were all predicated on the desire for profit by corporations. He, himself, called his past life as a Marine General as being a gangster for these private industrial interests.

He used WW1 as an example of who made the profits for our military being sent ‘over there’. Apparently, most of our American public at that time could not care less for what Smedley Butler was selling.

In January of 1961, retiring President Dwight Eisenhower gave his famous farewell address. In it, this cold warrior made a sort of indirect mea culpa as to the “vast military industrial complex” as he put it. Ike knew just how diabolical this network of war making corporations could be.

As president he did many dirty deeds in the name of ‘fighting communism’. A whole list of countries that the United States pushed our sabers into, whether overtly or most often covertly, defines how we will be recorded by truthful historians however few and far between they may be.

Our current position as the world’s superpower is the bastard child of this greedy and corrupting military industrial complex, more simply known to many as an empire.


This writer stands with sign in hand each week to once again sound the alarm bells that General Butler and President Eisenhower rang. I join with many others who want to finally curtail and pullback this military industrial empire. Many of us are progressives and libertarians politically but it does not matter. The truth of it all is that if this obscene and financially disastrous military spending is not cut drastically, our great nation will crumble from within. No terrorist attack could do as much damage as that!

There is a movement nationwide to get the Congress to cut this tragically high spending by a minimum of 25%. Since 2001, military spending has almost doubled! It now hovers at over $560 billion a year, or 56 cents of every tax dollar we each send to Uncle Sam. Imagine if even one half of that savings went back to each state and its cities’ budgets?

The city of Daytona Beach nearby, for example, would receive 35 million dollars a year. That amount would wipe out all of the cuts in services for that community with just half of the savings from the 25% cuts in military spending.

We could then shut down our 800+ overseas military bases and hundreds of thousands of our troops would return home, at even more savings. With our powerful navy and our satellite technology, America would still be safer than it is now. Why? Well, when you take your boot off of the throat of someone, they can breathe easier, yes?

It is time for the dedicated Occupy movement members and the labor union movement to get on board with but one focus: Pullback this military empire! All the other peripherals such as a greedy Wall Street, terrible foreclosures, viable and real health care reform, layoffs, etc. are all connected to this overzealous military empire.

It is time for we who ‘know better’ to be role models for the majority of Americans who still buy into the mainstream media’s hype and spin. There is no major difference, so far as this military industrial empire goes, between the two major political parties. Yes, the Republicans seem more caustic, but the Democrats are more diabolical by their hypocrisy.

It's time to come together like libertarian conservative like Ron Paul and lifelong progressive like Ralph Nader to call war what it is a "racket".

Philip A Farruggio is a free lance columnist, an environmental products sales rep and an activist. Philip is a spokesperson for the 25% Solution Movement to Save Our Cities by cutting military spending 25%. Philip can be reached at paf1222@bellsouth.net

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Flow of Wisdom Radio Activist Post

Writer and activist Heather Callaghan will appear on Flow of Wisdom Radio with Sean Anthony, Sunday May 20th from 9 am - 10 am EST.  Heather will be reviewing the ongoing attack on food and health freedom in America.  She will cite many of her recent articles, as well as offer solutions about what can be done to combat health tyranny. Tune in to the live stream HERE. You can also read Heather's wide range of articles in our archive section HERE.

Sean Anthony The Motivator is an award-winning veteran Radio One media personality with experience in top markets Columbus, OH, Detroit, Washington D.C., and Richmond, VA, consistently delivering #1 rankings in each city. Sean Anthony has been featured in The Source Magazine and on popular blog sites AllHipHop.com, ThisIs50.com, and NecoleBitchie.com.

Flow Of Wisdom Radio with Sean Anthony The Motivator is a syndicated, ground-breaking talk show with insightful interviews, controversial guests, and a platform for alternative news, current national and global affairs. Notable Flow Of Wisdom Radio interviews include guests Brandon Turbeville, Dr. Nick Begich, Madison Ruppert, Anthony Hilder, Steve Cokely, Professor Griff (of rap Group Public Enemy) and Doc Marquis. Plus rap superstars David Banner, Immortal Technique, Nas, Malice of The Clipse, and an exclusive radio interview with “Transformers 3” actor Tyrese Gibson.

The mission of Flow of Wisdom Radio is to inspire, motivate, entertain and inform the listeners.
The show airs live at 9am EST on WCDX iPower 92.1 and streams live on iPowerRichmond.com. Also on WYTT 95.5 Jamz Weldon, North Carolina Saturdays at 6am and Sundays at 8am. On the West Coast, UrbanSoulRadio.fm Wednesdays 7pm-9pm. Podcasts are available on FlowofWisdom.com and Blahtalkradio.com.


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Listen HERE Activist Post

Author and Activist Post Writer Brandon Turbeville will appear on The Unsolicited Opinion with host Maggie Roddin and special guest Katerina Jeleva.  Katerina is a Utah woman who had her son stolen by "family services." Her son is still in custody despite a declaration of innocence by the court and social services.

You can read her story HERE. Please tune in for important updates, as well as other news coverage with Brandon Turbeville. The live stream can be found at Republic Broadcasting Network HERE.

For Brandon Turbeville's most recent articles, visit his archive page HERE.

Brandon Turbeville is an author out of Mullins, South Carolina. He has a Bachelor's Degree from Francis Marion University and is the author of three books, Codex Alimentarius -- The End of Health Freedom, 7 Real Conspiracies, and Five Sense Solutions and Dispatches From a Dissident. Turbeville has published over one hundred articles dealing with a wide variety of subjects including health, economics, government corruption, and civil liberties. Brandon Turbeville is available for podcast, radio, and TV interviews. Please contact us at activistpost (at) gmail.com.


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Congressmen Seek To Lift Propaganda Ban
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mhastings/congressmen-seek-to-lift-propaganda-ban

Pushing back against tyranny: Judge rules indefinite detention sections of NDAA unconstitutional
http://EndtheLie.com/2012/05/18/pushing-back-against-tyranny-judge-rules-inde...

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Dees Illustration Stephen Lendman, Contributor
Activist Post

Ready or not, NATO has officially arrived on May 19 and 20. Chicago's in virtual lockdown. Residents feel occupied. Building occupants got special instructions.

This writer's residence advised "leaving town between May 18 - 22." Otherwise limit city travel. Have essentials on hand, including food and water. Consider working at home. Avoid certain parts of the city. Observe curfew and other mandates.

No large deliveries will be allowed. Special precautions are being taken. Visitors must have verifying photo IDs. Vehicular restrictions will be enforced. Portions of the building will be locked and inaccessible. Avoid large gatherings if at all possible. Stay close to home.

In early May, CBS local affiliate Channel 2 reported that "the government is informing small plane pilots that if they enter (a restricted) no-fly zone during the summit, they might be shot down."

"This is no joke," the report continued. "It will be enforced from May 19 to May 21."

The FAA established flight advisory rules. Non-commercial aircraft are prohibited from flying within 10 nautical miles of downtown at altitudes below 18,000 feet.


Restrictions also include an outer perimeter extending 10 - 30 miles around Chicago. All aircraft violating flight restrictions will be intercepted. The advisory states:
The United States Government may use deadly force against the airborne aircraft, if it is determined that the aircraft poses an imminent security threat. Be advised that noncompliance with the published may result in the use of force.Violators face criminal penalties. For three days, no-fly zone enforcement extends from Lake County, IN to Lake County, IL. It includes Cook and DePage Counties as well as portions of Lake Michigan.

O'Hare and Midway Airports are affected. So are small suburban ones. Around a dozen overall face restrictions. When Obama arrives, he'll be well protected downtown. So will other heads of state and their entourages.

Security is extremely tight. F-16s, Blackhawk helicopters, and drones patrol Chicago area skies. Elaborate barricades were erected in preparation.

Police may confront protesters violently. Local residents were warned to stay away. For many, conducting normal activities will be nightmarish. With dozens of motorcades coming, so will traffic.

Secret Service operatives head Operation Red Zone enforcement. They'll direct federal, state and local law enforcement.

Militarized May Day was dress rehearsal preparation. Police patrolled streets in battle dress. McCormick Place is summit headquarters. Nonetheless, virtually the entire Loop and surrounding areas are locked down.

High police visibility began May 1. Protest groups were briefed. Marches require permits. Strict restrictions apply.

Occupy Chicago, other OWS participants, Veterans against War, immigrants and environmental rights groups, National Nurses United, CANG8, unions, and other organizations marched on May 1 under the slogan:
We are Workers. We are Students. We are Documented. We are Undocumented. We are Occupiers. They are Detaining Us. They are Shutting Down our Clinics. They are Closing our Schools. They are Taking our Wealth. They are Busting our Unions. Come May 1st. We are on the March! Join Us!From May 19 - 21, they're back.

On Monday, May 14, protesters began "A Week without Capitalism." Dozens of Catholic Worker movement members demonstrated outside Obama's campaign headquarters. Several were arrested.

On Tuesday, an anti-capitalist march took place near downtown from 6:30-PM to midnight. A same day Trinity Episcopal Church meeting discussed ways to stop police brutality and help victims recover.

On Wednesday, National Lawyers Guild and StreetMedics representatives held a nonviolence training seminar. Occupy Chicago and Communities United against Foreclosure and Eviction protested downtown. A Daley Plaza rally concluded it.

On Thursday, healthcare demonstrations were held. In addition, a protest march proceeded to Mayor Rahm Emanuel's home.

On Friday, National Nurses United and Rage Against the Machine rallied downtown in Daley Plaza. At issue are medical service cuts and demands to tax Wall Street.

A same day Arts to Oppose NATO featured an evening of poetry, songs, information, and resistance against NATO war crimes. David Rovics and Outernational Unplugged participated.

Planned weekend events are numerous. Local groups, students, environmental activists, bikers, Planet over War, and other planned demonstrations will march, hold rallies, and feature local speakers. Participants have been briefed to maintain nonviolence no matter what confronts them.

The Chicago Tribune and Sun Times provide detailed coverage. On May 18, the Tribune headlined "Ready, set: Here comes NATO summit weekend," saying that Chicagoans are braced for
a little pomp, a little circumstance, a lot of inconvenience, a splash of spring colors, a maze of barricades, street and museum closings, and a loud exercise of that most American of rights guaranteed by the First Amendment.Some will take part in planned activities. Others will protest against a laundry list of crimes, abuses, and neglect nonviolently. Until Friday, demonstrations were small.

Through the weekend, the dynamic will change markedly. Tens of thousands on both sides converge on city streets, parks and plazas. Secret Service contingents were out in force. So were state police, National Guard forces, and thousands of Chicago cops.

America's First Amendment will be sorely tested. It guarantees free expression and assembly rights.

Article I, Section 4 of Illinois' Constitution affirms "FREEDOM OF SPEECH," saying:
All persons may speak, write and publish freely, being responsible for the abuse of that liberty. In trials for libel, both civil and criminal, the truth, when published with good motives and for justifiable ends, shall be a sufficient defense.Section 5 affirms the "RIGHT TO ASSEMBLE AND PETITION," saying:
The people have the right to assemble in a peaceable manner, to consult for the common good, to make known their opinions to their representatives and to apply for redress of grievances.Previous global justice, G8, G20, IMF, World Bank, and other protests elsewhere produced serious rights violations. Throughout the weekend, Chicago may replicate them.

During the 1968 Democrat national convention, extreme Chicago police violence confronted anti-war demonstrators. Chilling images still resonate.

A Los Angeles Police Department observer said:
There is no question but that many officers acted without restraint and exerted force beyond that necessary under the circumstances. The leadership at the point of conflict did little to prevent such conduct and the direct control of officers by first line supervisors was virtually non-existent.Residents with long memories fear weekend police violence may replicate that type extreme harshness. Played out on national television, millions watched and cringed. Brutality replaced restraint.

Mayor Richard J. Daley ordered police to "shoot to kill arsonists and shoot to maim looters....As long as I am mayor of this city, there's going to be law and order in Chicago."

On August 22, an unarmed protester was shot to death. Brutal beatings occurred all week. Journalists as well as protesters were attacked. Many dozens were treated at local hospitals. Hundreds were arrested.

Senator Abe Ribicoff interrupted his George McGovern nominating speech to denounce "Gestapo tactics on the streets of Chicago." If anti-NATO violence occurs, expect no leading politician to replicate him.

Days after the convention ended, local residents remember Daley's freudian slip, saying:
The policeman isn't there to create disorder. The policeman is there to preserve disorder.Chicago cops specialize in doing it violently. Their reputation is ugly and notorious.

On May 18, Chicago Sun Times columnist Lynn Sweet headlined "Whose drone is it? US Military providing support for Chicago NATO Summit," saying:
Defense Department spokesman George Little said US military support will help summit security. NORTHCOM will be present, perhaps in force. Details weren't provided.Following the Camp David G8 Summit, Obama arrives Saturday night. On Sunday, meetings follow. War, occupation, and other strategies will be discussed. Expect Afghanistan, Syria, and Iran to get considerable attention.

On May 17, a National Lawyers Guild (NLG) press release condemned preemptive police raids and lawless searches, saying that on Thursday, a preemptive police raid took place at approximately 11:30pm Wednesday in the Bridgeport neighborhood, and instances of harassment on the street, in which Chicago police are unlawfully detaining, searching, and questioning NATO protesters. The Bridgeport raid was apparently conducted by the Organized Crime Division of the Chicago Police Department and resulted in as many as 8 arrests.Witnesses said cops burst into a six-unit apartment building violently with no search warrant. Doing so is illegal. They entered an apartment guns drawn. One tenant was tackled in his kitchen. Two were handcuffed for two hours in their living room while police searched their apartment and a neighboring one.

Repeatedly they called one tenant a "Commie faggot." A search warrant produced four hours later had no judicial authorizing signature. Beer-making supplies and one or more cell phones were seized.

NLG attorney Sarah Gelsomino said:
Preemptive raids like this are a hallmark of National Special Security Events. The Chicago police and other law enforcement agencies should be aware that this behavior will not be tolerated and will result in real consequences for the city.Expect lawsuits to follow. What's next is uncertain. Settlements may include monetary payments to plaintiffs.

In another downtown incident, three plainclothes cops lawlessly stopped, handcuffed, searched, detained, and interrogated a NATO protester. No probable cause justified it. The subject refused to answer all questions. Hours later he was released.

NLG got reports of at least 20 other arrests. Some remain in custody. Los Angeles immigrant rights activist Danny Johnson was accused of assaulting a police officer during a protest rally and arrested. Witnesses contradicted police accusations.

Throughout the weekend, NLG staff remain on call to provide legal services for anyone mistreated or arrested. Scores of NLG observers are deployed on streets. They'll record police misconduct firsthand.

Past experience suggests considerable police violence before summit activities end. Committing it should make NATO participants feel right at home.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book is titled How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized Banking, Government Collusion and Class War

Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.

http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/

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image credit: ACLU Joe Wright
Activist Post

Once again the War on Drugs threatens the fundamental rights of ordinary Americans.

Despite protections afforded under the U.S. Constitution, the federal DEA is trying to initiate a blanket sweep of all license plates traveling along Interstate 15 in Utah, with the intent to store the information in a centralized database.

Furthermore, as noted by the ACLU which attended a recent hearing about the rollout, this federal agency is employing a scanning technology called ALPR to collect data from "unspecified other sources and sharing it with over ten thousand law enforcement agencies around the nation."

The deployment of any personal data collection technology by a federal agency carries with it additional responsibilities under the Privacy Act of 1974, but is the DEA adhering to those guidelines?

The Privacy Act of 1974 requires any federal agency engaged in the collection of personal data to disclose to the American people exactly what will be collected, how it will be stored, and whether that information will be shared. It makes this quite clear under "conditions of disclosure":
No agency shall disclose any record which is contained in a system of records by any means of communication to any person, or to another agency, except pursuant to a written request by, or with the prior written consent of, the individual to whom the record pertains.
This is followed by 12 conditions which enable an expansion of scope and function, but detail very specific controls and scenarios for establishing just cause and the accounting of any disclosure.

Currently, the DEA appears to be sidestepping the requirements of the Privacy Act altogether by arguing that no personal data is being collected, only the tag of the vehicle. This argument is clearly grasping at straws, as it implies that the car must have registered itself, as well as having the capability to drive itself.

A license plate contains a vast amount of personal information about who exactly is responsible for that vehicle, regardless of who is driving it at the time.  Moreover, people have a right to privacy under the 4th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, as well as additional rights pertaining to data collection afforded by the Privacy Act.

Regardless, the ACLU has noted that:
we were not able to find a Privacy Act notice anywhere in the Federal Register in which the DEA describes any collection of license plate data. (The two recent DEA Privacy Act notices we found do not mention the practice.) [source] The truth of the matter is that the DEA has been working closely with the Department of Homeland Security for some time, and has implemented license plate readers at border checkpoints and key corridors in California and Texas.  However, in addition to reading license plates, the ACLU refers to testimony where Justice Dept. officials point to the ability to take photos of drivers and compare all data collected with various databases in order to ascertain true identity.  Until now, this has been justified by what the ACLU has labeled the Constitution-Free Zone; a 100-mile swath that encircles the country and includes 2/3 of the U.S. population.


The problem is that many types of "border control" technologies are now being applied throughout America without even passing consideration to the above-mentioned zone, as is clearly the case with this latest proposal in Utah.

State resistance to this type of federal intrusion has been extremely limited. The Secure Communities biometrics program began as a border control operation, and is now present in nearly 30 states, despite outright lies by ICE about scope and intent of the program.  Unmanned drones began by patrolling the borders of Mexico and Canada and now are embraced by Congress to fly throughout America under FAA control.  DNA collection has been in use by the DEA and Federal Marshals along the border, but is now being proposed for anyone fingerprinted anywhere, including children.

It is important to note that with all of these technologies, their use has rapidly expanded from apprehending "dangerous criminals" to simply anyone and everyone included in the ever-widening dragnet of total surveillance. Under the guise of "public safety" i.e. catching criminals, finding missing children, deporting illegal aliens, combating gun and drug trafficking -- federal authorities continue to get their way and invade the lives of everyday Americans by using fear to trump the wider (and more proven) danger of an out-of-control federal government that continues to misapply the technology and direct it toward average, innocent Americans.

It is the federal government itself where these anti-crime technologies should be directed, as every new revelation about their involvement in drug and weapons trafficking, child kidnapping, and worse, proves that on average they are infested with many more dangerous criminals than the public they target.

Read other articles by Joe Wright HERE
You can support this information by voting on Reddit HERE.


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Alexander Higgins

Yeah, this looks like natural market movements during the worst time of news the Euro has ever faced:


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Eric Blair
Activist Post

Google is making a big change to how it displays results in its dominant search engine.  It is rolling out a new feature called the Knowledge Graph which breaks from the traditional practice of matching keywords with webpages.

According to an article on Blog Tips about Google's Knowledge Graph, immediate answers or "facts" from pre-selected sources like the CIA Factbook, Wikipedia, and the World Bank will be provided in search results along side the organic results:
Instead of using the typical search strength of a particular answer, this new feature will draw 'facts' from places like Wikipedia for historical information, CIA World Factbook for geopolitical answers, the World Bank for economic facts, Freebase for information about people and other predetermined sources. Google image
This move by Google seems eerily similar to Orwell's Ministry of Truth in that search results, or "answers and facts", will no longer be gathered based on the algorithmic popularity of content, but rather selected by Google.

Sure, most would argue that Wikipedia does a pretty good job through its open-source format to nail down basic facts.  However, the CIA and the World Bank are organizations with agendas sometimes counter to the truth, and making them the authority on facts gives them tremendous power to shape public knowledge.


Google also explains how it will collect data on you using the Knowledge Graph:



Google-owned Freebase will also be used in the Google Knowledge Graph.  Freebase is a massive database, which according to Singularity Hub already "has data on over 24 million people, places, and things."

Google then combines its Freebase with Metaweb algorithms to connect everything and everyone.  For the purposes of improving searches, this may be wonderful, but it's the exact type of software that can easily build and organize a profile on all Internet users.

Watch how they're already connecting your data points below:



So besides relying on the CIA and the World Bank to force feed Internet users "facts", they will also construct and display how each person appears in these new searches.

Please share this and comment below with how you think this will affect the organic search for information.

See more articles by Eric Blair here.
You can help support this information by voting on Reddit HERE.

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Brandon Turbeville
Activist Post

Over the past few months, the dismal financial state of the United States Postal Service has been the subject of much derision and contempt in the mainstream media. The massive debt held by the USPS has been the bloody sheet waived by both reactionary Republicans and Wall Street Democrats in order to justify the privatization or even the elimination of such an important service from oversight and administration by the Federal government.

The large debt held by USPS, coupled with exaggerations of wait times and other aspects involved in shipping services, are constantly highlighted as the latest example of how “government is incapable of running anything effectively.” The general public is then subjected to a barrage of “free market” solutions which are, as is almost always the case, nothing more than the fleecing of the taxpayer who will inevitably end up paying more and receiving less while benefiting crony corporations.

The most immediate solutions proposed by the reactionaries are, of course, austerity measures which take the form of closing thousands of rural post office branches, ending Saturday delivery, increasing prices, and downsizing staff.

Initially the plan proposed by the more savvy austerity ghouls, as well as the Postmaster General himself, would have resulted in the closing of more than 3,700 post office locations all across the country, with the vast majority of those offices in rural areas. Thankfully, there was enough community opposition to derail these disastrous plans. That is, at least for the moment.


The new plan, however, now involves the reduction of staff at over 13,000 rural post office locations as well as a reduction in hours of operation down to as little as two hours in some offices. Estimates of potential job losses run over 100,000.

But because the Post Office intends to seek approval for its plans from the public and the relevant regulatory agencies before moving forward on any “cost-cutting” plans, the process may take several months.

Nevertheless, the Post Office is not only facing a battle from without. Many within the administrative and directional wing are lobbying for programs such as the one mentioned above that will result in the closing of offices and an end to Saturday mail delivery. In fact, it has been the Post Office itself that has pushed Congress to pass legislation allowing these cuts to take place.

Yet to lay all the blame, even on the feet of the Postmaster General is not entirely fair. After all, the Post Office has been dealt a bad hand in terms of its financial solvency due to the psychosis of austerity and hatred of public services pushed by reactionary politicians and corporate competitors. It has essentially been given an impossible task in terms of its own continued existence as an institution.

The real financial problems come not from decreased traffic or even mismanagement, but from the reactionaries themselves. Due to the constant barrage of criticism and mockery hurled at USPS from the mainstream media, as well as the gullibility of the average American, little is known about the 2006 mandate which has done more to bankrupt the Post Office than any other factor.

This mandate, a provision of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006, requires the Post Office to fund the health care benefits of future retirees as far out as 75 years into the future – all within a 10-year window. Previously, as in every other business (and the United States Government), the health care of retirees was a pay-as-you-go system. Thanks to the reactionaries and Wall Street tools like Dennis Hastert, this is no longer the case for the Post Office.

Indeed, the ridiculous mandate now costs the Post Office over $5.5 billion per year (about 2 weeks of Afghan war costs), with the federal government actually holding billions of dollars of overpayments made to the pension accounts by USPS. According to FireDogLake, all of the Post Office’s losses over the past four years have come from this mandate.

Even the Washington Post has reported that, without the 2006 mandate, the Post Office would have actually realized a profit, not a loss, since 2007. Joe Davidson writes,
"The last four years’ reported losses can all be attributed to this prefunding and then some,’"Fredric V. Rolando, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, said in an interview.He is correct.

According to the USPS white papers, from 2007 to 2010, mail volume declined 20 percent while postage remained capped at the rate of inflation, "resulting in net losses over the period of just over $21 billion, including a loss in FY2010 of $8,5 billion."

During that period, the prefunding of retiree health benefits cost $21 billion. Without that congressional mandate, the USPS would have cleared $611 million.

This is quite interesting considering the fact that the overwhelming majority of the mainstream media never mentions the mandate. We do, however, continually hear the repetition of the debt owed by the Post Office which is almost always used to shore up the claim of incompetence and waste and to promote the cause of privatization.

In addition, the administrators of the Post Office, especially the Postmaster General, have been showing their true colors for some time refusing to acknowledge the root cause of the problem (the mandate). Instead, the agency is claiming that, in the case of rural offices, 80% of its costs are labor-related. It also suggests that the Internet and a decline in first-class mail volume is the reason for its financial straits.

However, this is a misleading and, I would venture, an intentionally misleading position. Labor costs are a factor in any business, particularly in harsh economic times. Yet hiring labor and/or paying them living wages does not outweigh a mandate such as the one discussed above. It is a stated plan by the Post Office administration to begin replacing full-time workers with part-time workers, in an effort to reduce wages and eliminate benefits and this mandate, along with the deleterious effects it is having on the institution as a whole, merely provides the excuse to initiate a downsizing of the workforce.

Indeed, those who have labor contracts are inevitably going to see those contracts attacked in the very near future. Undoubtedly, in another example of the American people’s often misplaced anger, when the time comes for USPS labor to be dismantled, it almost certainly will be done to the cheers of an ignorant public.  That is what the media campaign is for.

It should also be pointed out that, while the Internet may be a factor in reduced first-class mail, the world economic depression is another. Naturally, mail delivery and all other services will decrease as the vast majority of Americans are financially strained and as less and less businesses continue to exist inside the United States.

With all this in mind, it is worth noting that there is rarely, if ever, a comment made by the office of the Postmaster General regarding the 2006 mandate, even though his agency is being crushed by the burden Congress has created.

For all of the heated rhetoric spouted off by politicians and talking heads about the privatization of postal services, it should be pointed out that no other private company bears the burden of having to fund all of its retirees benefits – some of whom do not even work at the Post Office yet, others have not even been born – for a period of 75 years or anything close to that number. Certainly no private company is being forced to do so by the Federal Government.

In all fairness, shouldn’t UPS and FedEx be forced to fund retiree pension funds if there was to be fair competition? The reactionaries would say no, of course, because that is a violation of the “free market.” Only when these theories are applied to government services that actually benefit people are they acceptable.

Even the Federal Government itself, which actually did make a commitment to future generations with the Social Security program, released itself from future liabilities (in terms of trust funds) and converted to pay-as-you-go, a truly unfortunate policy in this instance. Of course, with massive police states to build, giant bureaucracies to maintain, and numerous illegal foreign wars to fight, one can clearly see the logic behind the decision.

Nevertheless, the situation is dire because the Post Office is already $13 billion in debt, largely due to the congressional mandate. Somewhere between August and September, USPS will be required to pay more than $11 billion to the U.S. Treasury yet again for the prefunding of health benefits, potentially (and almost inevitably) causing the agency to reach its $15 billion debt ceiling.

But, while the members of the general public may envision a utopia of companies competing to deliver their mail, the reality will undoubtedly be much different. For all their rhetoric about competition and lower prices, the amount of price increases for the base level of hard copy correspondence will skyrocket as soon as the Post Office ceases to exist. Just take a look at the private competition in the market now and you will easily see how much your mail delivery costs will rise if the Post Office option is no longer available. With USPS out of the picture, it is just as likely that the private companies will not only continue to gouge customers, but that prices will increase dramatically using fuel costs and anti-union sentiment as justification.

Currently, the United States Postal Service stands as a model for the rest of the world in terms of logistical capabilities, infrastructure, and especially pricing. It is, in fact, the cheapest mail shipping method available amongst Western nations and most of the rest of the world.

It is also one of the only services that reaches virtually every American and does so on a daily basis.  Besides the manufactured debt of the USPS, for all intents and purposes, it accomplishes its goals of getting the mail to you in a timely fashion.

It might be hard for many to comprehend the ramifications of the privatization of mail and shipping services currently administered by the USPS. However, one need only look to Europe to see that, invariably, prices will rise. Indeed, one need not look across the ocean when a glance at the domestic landscape would prove the same point. A glimpse of UPS and FedEx should be self-explanatory.

With this in mind, it is also worth noting that price increases will be especially true (and especially harmful) for rural areas where no competition exists.

Rising prices in shipping have long been a problem for businesses, particularly small ones. The removal of the USPS option might even be the death knell for many of them. As it stands, it is possible to put a business virtually anywhere in the country because of the availability of the USPS. However, removing those services will force a great many to move further into cities. Those unable to do so may be driven into extinction.

This plan for reduction of services to rural areas may also dovetail with the intentional increase in urbanization called for by UN plans such as Agenda 21. Removing Post Office services from rural areas would be just one more step in the designed inaccessibility of rural living.

Yet there might be one more aspect to the 2006 mandate that bears mentioning. The fact is, the USPS has many enemies who would like to see the agency destroyed and privatized whether it is indebted or not. Even if the USPS meets its commitments over the next ten years, the attacks are not likely to cease. Corporate predators and other agents of Wall Street have a vested interest in seeing the USPS dissolved due to their own interests. So, unless there is an unlikely return to reason by Congress, the fate of USPS might very well be sealed.

Thus, the 2006 mandate, seems to be a two-pronged attack: First, it is designed to handicap and precipitate the destruction of the USPS through unreasonable demands, debt and then austerity measures.

Second, it serves as a fattening of the prey for the Wall Street jackals who are now surrounding it. Let there be no doubt that a “pre-fund” stacked to the tune of billions of dollars will not be ignored at feeding time. Simply put, Wall Street agents appear to be loading the institution with debt as well as assets, waiting on the moment when large-scale asset stripping can commence.

Thus, one might assume it to be very likely that the attacks against the Post Office will soon resume and the asset stripping of the agency and its employee healthcare fund will not be far behind once the final blow has been struck.

Americans have become complacent on such a wide variety of issues that Post Office service might seem as of little consequence when faced with a worsening economic depression, foreign wars, and the prevalence of a domestic police state. Yet losing the USPS would be yet another nail in the coffin of what was once the envy of the world.

It has often been said that you never know what you have until you lose it. Austerity is coming to America starting with one of the only services that delivers.  If Americans do not soon wise up to the game, we might once again prove just how true that statement really is.

Read other articles by Brandon Turbeville HERE
You can support this information by voting on Reddit HERE.
Brandon Turbeville is an author out of Mullins, South Carolina. He has a Bachelor's Degree from Francis Marion University and is the author of three books, Codex Alimentarius -- The End of Health Freedom, 7 Real Conspiracies, and Five Sense Solutions and Dispatches From a Dissident. Turbeville has published over one hundred articles dealing with a wide variety of subjects including health, economics, government corruption, and civil liberties. Brandon Turbeville is available for podcast, radio, and TV interviews. Please contact us at activistpost (at) gmail.com. 

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Susanne Posel, Contributor
Activist Post

The UK Home Office (UKHO) has British officials surveying its citizens as part of the government’s annual legislative program.

This is an extensive expansion of the current laws to allow the MI5 data securitization.

UKHO claims they are not snooping through private emails and messages, but rather deciphering where the communications are originating from, who sent it, its length and format.

The 4 billion hours of phone calls, 1 million emails and 130 billion text messages that are expected to be prime source information.

The proposed bill, if passed would place massive amounts of personal data into the hands of the British government. How they use that data is purely at their discretion.

David Davis, senior Tory backbencher said: “It is not focusing on terrorists or on criminals. It is absolutely everybody. Our freedom and privacy has been protected by using the courts by saying 'If you want to intercept, if you want to look at something, fine, if it is a terrorist or a criminal go and ask a magistrate and you’ll get your approval'".

An average Briton’s private and daily habits would be open-source to potentially be used against them.


Internet companies will have to install hardware enabling GCHQ – the Government’s electronic “listening” agency – to examine “on demand” any phone call made, text message and email sent, and website accessed in "real time".

“We’re really entering a whole new phase of analysis based on the data that we can collect,” said Gerald Kane, an information systems expert at Boston College. “There is quite a lot you can learn.”

Cell phone and service providers would be obliged to hand over customer data to the government.

Assessing location through communications gives the UK government access to information about their citizens that was previously unavailable.

Smartphones and social media can also be used to engage otherwise unknown material about whomever the authorities want to survey. All of this data is conveniently stored on most modern cell phones.

Ken Altshuler, of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers admitted that: “One name, one phone number that’s not on our client’s radar and our curiosity is piqued.” This data mining software allows previously unattainable evidence to be entered into court proceedings.

By analyzing your text messages, the government will know the sleeping habits of British citizens. “You can figure somebody’s sleep patterns, their weekly pattern of work,” said Tony Jebara, a Columbia University machine learning expert.

The information Jebara supposes has been an interest of credit card corporations for years.

By seeing when a call or text message is responded to can create a picture of how a person views others; including authority figures. Jebara, with Columbia colleges, created the term “automated social hierarchy detection” whereby they can determine who a person views other by how quickly they answer phone calls, text messages and emails.

Intelligence agencies could also use this information by creating flowcharts to understand their subject. Jebara remarked: “If you piece together the chain of influence, then you can find the central authority. You can figure that out without looking at the content.”

By using cell phone programs to determine the density of communication with specific persons, authorities can identify who are friends, family, acquaintances and classify them as such for further analysis.

The big brother style surveillance being prosed in Briton will expand authorities reach from social networking sites where users “volunteer information” to actual spying techniques where a constant flow of information is readily available.

By asserting that the UK government will implement safeguards to protect from abuse of power, they claim that the digital trails being left behind by people are shifting the rights to privacy, which legitimizes their use of that information against their own citizens.

Susanne Posel is the Chief Editor of Occupy Corporatism. Our alternative news site is dedicated to reporting the news as it actually happens; not as it is spun by the corporately funded mainstream media. You can find us on our Facebook page .



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Mike Barrett
Activist Post

Sugar sweetened beverages such as sodas have received a wide-scale bad reputation for their negative impact on health. All the while, diet sodas are falsely promoted as a healthier alternative. But artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, used in diet soda, have also been tied to numerous health complications, with one study linking artificial sweeteners to premature delivery.

Although some attest to the safety of artificial sweeteners like aspartame, these sweeteners have actually been shown to cause considerable harm.

The study looking at the relationship between soft drink consumption and pregnancy outcome found that preterm delivery risk rises 38 percent for pregnant women having 1 or more servings of artificially sweetened drinks per day. What’s more, consuming 4 or more servings daily was associated with an increased risk of 78 percent.

“There was an association between intake of artificially sweetened carbonated and noncarbonated soft drinks and an increased risk of preterm delivery…A stronger increase in risk was observed for early preterm and moderately preterm delivery than with late-preterm delivery. No association was observed for sugar-sweetened carbonated soft drinks (P for trend: 0.29) or for sugar-sweetened noncarbonated soft drinks (P for trend: 0.93),” the study states.

While the study pinpoints artificially sweetened beverages for increasing preterm delivery risk, there is other research that suggests sugar-sweetened drinks also play a role. Other studies have found that both drink types increase risk for hypertension – a known risk factor for preterm delivery. In addition, there is evidence suggesting that both drink types could affect the length of gestation since high blood glucose concentrations and low-dose methanol exposure both cause shorter gestation duration.


The leading cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality, preterm delivery is actually among the major pregnancy complications which could occur. It was also found that preterm infants suffer from impairment in the long-term, and experience inequality in adult life. These reasons alone make it extremely important for mothers to avoid substances that may trigger premature delivery.

More research was also conducted with a focus on methanol, the primary alcoholic component used in the production of aspartame, to examine potential negative health effects. A retired food scientist and Professor Emeritus of Food Science and Nutrition at the Arizona State University Dr. Woodrow Monte describes how the toxic chemical methanol and its use in the production of aspartame and other chemicals could be a main factor in causing spina bifida, preterm delivery, multiple sclerosis, cancer, and more recently, autism in young children. It is also the primary factor in other developing chronic diseases and health conditions.

Needless to say, artificial sweeteners have been shown to be far from safe, and should be avoided if you’re aiming for optimal health.

Additional sources:
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Pediatrics
PubMed

Explore More:
Methanol, Biproduct of Aspartame Linked to Autism, Preterm Delivery
How Natural Sweeteners Can Eliminate Soaring Cancer and Obesity Rates Today
Neotame: A Toxic Artificial Sweetener that May Be Lurking in Your Food
Aspartame Alert: Diet Soda Ignites Kidney Decline
Soda Damages Your Heart, Contains Carcinogenic Ingredients
The Future of Organ Printing and Artificial Biology
This article first appeared at Natural Society, an excellent resource for health news and vaccine information.



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Dees Illustration Susanne Posel, Contributor
Activist Post

The New Hampshire House of Representatives voted to ban UN Agenda 21 polices.

This legislation will prevent local, county and state governments from adopting the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) programs.

ICLEI is a UN agency that provides “local” community plans, software and training to towns and cities that pay their dues. Other private organizations in league with ICLEI are:

• National League of Cities
• International City/County Management Group
• National Governors Association
• American Planning Group

“I know it is totally against our Constitution from reading the U.N. biodiversity assessment,” Rep. Anne Cartwright (R-Alstead), the primary sponsor of the bill. “It’s through local initiative that it is being implemented in bits and pieces to erode our property rights.” Cartwright believes ICLEI is attempting to remove individual property rights through sustainable development.

Cartwright said: “They are very slowly implementing rules and regulations that have not reached a high level yet. They are implementing it through zoning, planning and regional planning things that impact our property rights.”


NH is not the only state to pass anti-Agenda 21 legislation:

• In Kansas a resolution was approved that quashed Agenda 21 from taking over the state.
• Tennessee also resolved an anti-Agenda 21 resolution that failed to receive Governor Bill Haslam’s signature.
• The Arizona House of Representatives voted down a ban that resembles the NH ban.
• Louisiana and Alabama have resolutions against Agenda 21 that are still under consideration.
• Irving, Texas Mayor Beth Van Duyne and city manager Tommy Gonzalez pushed back by withdrawing membership from ICLEI.

Agenda 21 is a comprehensive plan of action to be taken globally, nationally and locally by organizations of the UN, Governments, and Major Groups in every area in which human beings impact the environment.

The Agenda 21 plan is to assist in social and economic issues by providing maintained healthcare and vaccinations, implement controls on how to govern the populous and make decisions for the people of the world through actions taken by the UN.

Their plans are to focus on the global impact of use of land, education and depopulation through control measures.

Through the elimination of personal property rights, private education (including homeschooled children) and eugenics (forced sterility), the globalization of the planet can be achieved.

The UN plans to take over conservation and management of resources for their developmental purposes. By abolishing personal property rights, the demise of rural area living, removal of personal ownership of natural resources, they will take away the power away from individuals are place it firmly in the hands of governments who have agreed to these controls.

Financial independence will be eliminated because dependence on the government keeps the population under its grip. Through monitoring energy usage, behaviors, big brother style controls, and re-education (brainwashing with propaganda); as well as restricting local governments by installing their own leaders voted into office by a coerced consensus.

America 2050, an organization sponsored by the Rockefeller and Ford Foundations, lists 11 megaregions in the United States and Canada. A megaregion is typically defined as a chain of roughly adjacent metropolitan areas. The concept is based on the original Megalopolis model.

• Environmental systems and topography
• Infrastructure systems
• Economic linkages
• Settlement patterns and land use
• Shared culture and history

Megaregions are needed because the US will be reduced to only 11 regions that will be habitable for humans by the UN’s design. These mega-cities will be connected through railways. The general public’s access to free movement across megaregions will be severely restricted. Trains will also be used to transport the food and supplies to these areas.

Currently, federal government agencies are working with corporations like Amtrak, the housing and urban development authorizations and farm policies to connect and restrict the needs of the cities. A high-speed rail system is needed to meet the growing movement across the country. This provides freight systems to move directly to ports, pick up their goods and transport them. Truck Only Tolls are designed to discourage individual movement of goods. The need for traditional truck driving will be a distant memory. Trains are more easily controlled by the governing agencies in charge of managing the population of these areas.

As states become aware of the underlying meaning behind Agenda 21, they are putting in place legislation to prevent this takeover of our rights as Americans by the international United Nations.

President Obama, a big supporter of the UN’s Agenda 21 initiative, signed the executive order Establishing a White House Council on Strong Cities, Strong Communities where he outlined plans to partner with local communities and the US government to “provide them with comprehensive technical assistance to use and compete for Federal resources”.

The US government will then “enable them to develop and implement economic strategies to become more competitive, sustainable, and inclusive”.

Obama claims that only with regional collaboration and comprehensive planning with the US government will stabilize economic growth, create jobs, and lead to sustainable redevelopment of our American cities. This rhetoric is nearly copied directly from the Agenda 21 documents from past Earth Summits.

Obama wants to gain governance over resources and implement US government objectives under the guise of suggestive communication with state and local governments. Simply put, when the US government provides the financial backing, they can create any outcome they desire. By using the cloak of sustainability and economic growth, the Obama administration is seeking to obtain voluntary control of our towns and cities from our local governments.

As with Agenda 21, this governmental intervention will take all the power out of the local residents of towns and cities. The US government will have supreme control by way of financial manipulation. As the local level is forced to change independent strategies, the government will assist the supposed failing local governments with predetermined and sustainable economic opportunities . . . as long as the local governments do as they are told by the Obama administration.

Susanne Posel is the Chief Editor of Occupy Corporatism. Our alternative news site is dedicated to reporting the news as it actually happens; not as it is spun by the corporately funded mainstream media. You can find us on our Facebook page.



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Amanda Warren 
Activist Post

As an employee, what kind of scenario would you have to witness before intervening and enforcing your authority? What about calling the police?

UK kids like to have birthday parties at Rumble Tumble play center much like American kids at Chuck E. Cheese and other play stations.

However, as Natasha Bent tried lighting her son Oscar's candles in celebration of his third birthday, staff intervened.

The Bent family were told to move to a segregated area due to health and safety regulations. Some liability and safety precautions might be understandable; however, the staff insisted on then supervising the festivities. After an argument, the family was banished to celebrate in the parking lot. The situation only escalated from there.

After the party was interrupted twice, candles yet unlit, the police arrived on the scene of the parking party having been called by a Rumble Tumble staff member who felt threatened. Once stormed by police, the little ones started to cry and the party was effectively over.

Would almost be darkly funny if it weren't an actual story about police responding with seriousness to an alleged threatening situation surrounding candles on a birthday cake for a three year old.


This isn't just a random isolated UK incident; scenes like this have been happening enough in America to raise concerns about why police are being called in to resolve the smallest of disputes involving children.

Michael Snyder of endoftheamericandream.com has chronicled the growing absurdities of heavy crackdowns on children in the Land of the Free:

• 18 Signs comparing schools to prison depicts police raids, tickets given to children, handcuff arrests over tantrums and doodling, and yearlong suspensions over lunch bag items.
• 10 Disgusting Examples of young children hauled off by cops features five and six year olds handcuffed for "battery on an officer" and a tantrum, and other children arrested for perfume, burping, a plastic knife, and a harmless milk fight.
• 28 Signs that public schools are indoctrination camps shows other ridiculous arrests and suspensions like a student privately discussing his faith. There even has been the implementation of software to predict thought-crime.

And just when you think kids can be kids at home and use creative endeavors to raise money for charity, such as running lemonade and cookie stands, their spirits are quickly extinguished by unmoved bureaucratic, authoritative facings with "No" ready on their lips.

It's sad that we have to constantly exercise the word "No" on every front, like the father who founded Lemonade Freedom Day -- his version of "No" to the squelching of ... children's lemonade stands.

Do stories like the candle catastrophe at Rumble Tumble occur because the employees feel powerless and are perhaps addicted to using their own threats to call referees with handcuffs?

Is that mentality about trying to burn and "stick it" to anyone who challenges their authority?

Oscar's parents most likely paid a fee to use the facility and had every right to disagree to arbitrary terms of supervision, even if they did need to remain in the confines of the play center's rules for lighting candles in a designated area. But it is a birthday cake at a place known for hosting birthday parties -- lighting candles would seem to be a reasonable expectation. And do the cops actually enjoy settling unnecessary tiffs and smashing toddlers' parties?

What is motivating an increasing number of employees and school staff to cry "bully" and call the police over every little sniffle from parents and children alike? Whatever it is, it appears that Reason and Common Sense are truly dead.

Are we ready to encourage the criminalization of children for behaving like children? Are we ready to resolve every dispute with the maximum show of force? Or is this something to be expected as the police state is fully embraced and permitted to trickle down to such ridiculous conclusions.

Please leave your thoughts below.

You can share this information by voting on Reddit HERE.

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