The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either. – Benjamin Franklin
Infinite – The Only ‘Chart’ That Main Street Cares About (ZeroHedge, Aug 16, 2013):
Presented with little comment aside to note that while every night we are told by how much the Dow closed green, many await the day the chart below flashes anything but red.
And as an added bonus, here it is again, this time alongside the Fed’s ever rising “assets”… on an inverted axis. Luckily, correlation is not causation and all that.
– Egypt Security Forces Fire On Mosque To End Siege (ZeroHedge, Aug 17, 2013)
– Gold Or Tungsten? Here’s How To Know (ZeroHedge, Aug 16, 2013):
We hope the Bundesbank, and certainly the German people, will be using one of these in the near-term (up to and including 2020 ) future.
…
The real situation at the Fukushima nuclear plant is of course much more dire than we are told.
Closer to the truth:
– Fallout Researcher: Fukushima Worst Case Scenario Could Result In BILLIONS Of DEATHS
– Radioactive Water Leaks from Fukushima: What We Know (Scientific American, Aug 13, 2013):
The lingering questions include how the radioactivity might contaminate ocean life that humans eat
Here is what you need to know about the radioactive water leaking from Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean.
Scientists on both sides of the Pacific have measured changing levels of radioactivity in fish and other ocean life since the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami triggered a nuclear meltdown at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. On Aug. 2, 2013, when Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) gave its first estimate of how much radioactive water from the nuclear plant has flowed into the ocean since the disaster, the company was finally facing up to what scientists have recognized for years.
“As an oceanographer looking at the reactor, we’ve known this since 2011,” said Ken Buesseler, a marine chemist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Woods Hole, Mass. “The news is TEPCO is finally admitting this.”
TEPCO estimated that between 20 trillion and 40 trillion becquerels (units of radioactivity representing decay per second) of radioactive tritium have leaked into the ocean since the disaster, according to the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun. The Fukushima plant is still leaking about 300 tons of radioactive water into the ocean every day, according to Japanese government officials. [Infographic: Inside Japan’s Nuclear Reactors]
Read moreRadioactive Water Leaks From Fukushima: What We Know (Scientific American)
YouTube Added: 15.08.2013
– NSA revelations of privacy breaches ‘the tip of the iceberg’ – Senate duo (Guardian, Aug 16, 2013):
Leading critics of NSA Ron Wyden and Mark Udall say ‘public deserves to know more about violations of secret court orders’
Two US senators on the intelligence committee said on Friday that thousands of annual violations by the National Security Agency on its own restrictions were “the tip of the iceberg.”
“The executive branch has now confirmed that the rules, regulations and court-imposed standards for protecting the privacy of Americans’ have been violated thousands of times each year,” said senators Ron Wyden and Mark Udall, two leading critics of bulk surveillance, who responded Friday to a Washington Post story based on documents provided by whistleblower Edward Snowden.
“We have previously said that the violations of these laws and rules were more serious than had been acknowledged, and we believe Americans should know that this confirmation is just the tip of a larger iceberg.”
– Police Seizing Cash And Property From Citizens Without Charges (Off The Grid News, Aug 16, 2013):
Police in many parts of the United States are routinely seizing cash and valuables from citizens without arrest or trial. Worst of all, police officers in Texas and Virginia have actually been stopping motorists and seizing their cash.
Having a large amount of cash on you or in your car is now apparently a crime in some parts of the United States. Worse, laws set up to seize cash from drug dealers are being used to seize money from people stopped for minor traffic violations.
A disturbing article in The New Yorker magazine mentions several instances of police seizing cash from citizens. The cops used a legal doctrine called forfeiture to seize the cash. The frightening thing is that the cash and valuables can be taken without an arrest or even criminal charges. They can simply seize it on probable cause and in many cases that have nothing to do with drugs.
Read morePolice Seizing Cash And Property From Citizens Without Charges
– Micro-Chipped Pharmaceuticals Given Green Light by Medical Totalitarians (Waking Times, Aug 15, 2013):
Proteus Digital Health which recently changed their name from Proteus Biomedical has been given approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to dose you with a micro-chipped pill. The company has been working with the FDA since 2008, at its own admission, to ‘determine the regulatory pathway for this new technology.’ Just weeks ago, this ‘technology’ application was processed ‘in accordance with the de novo provisions of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act for low-risk devices that have no predicate on the market.’
While these initial observances of the micro-chip scanning pill seem fairly benign, there are people with concerns that these micro-chips will be used for more nefarious reasons.
While swallowing a micro-chip-filled pill which is approximately the size of a grain of rice may have no physical risk (though this is obviously debatable since the body usually tries to purge anything that doesn’t belong in it), it certainly brings up important ethical questions about the right to privacy and the valid concern that this precedent setting allowance by the FDA will allow other micro-chipped ‘medicines’ to be used to control the masses.
Read moreMicro-Chipped Pharmaceuticals Given Green Light By FDA
– Water leaks at Fukushima could contaminate entire Pacific Ocean (RT, Aug 8, 2013):
Two and a half years after the Fukashima tragedy Japan does not want to admit how serious it is, but it is obvious the drastic environmental implications are to follow, Harvey Wasserman, journalist and advocate for renewable energy, told RT.
RT: Japanese officials have admitted a leak at Fukushima has been happening for two years and is worse than earlier thought. Why did it take so long to evaluate the actual repercussions of the tragedy and take decisive measures to tackle them?
HW: The Japanese authorities have been covering up the true depth of the disaster because they don’t want to embarrass themselves and the global nuclear industry and they are trying to open up another nuclear plant in Japan. When the Japanese people now find out that the accident is worse than we thought and they have been leaking many tons of radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean for almost two and a half years, this is a catastrophe. Tokyo Electric has no idea how to control this accident. This is absolutely terrifying after two and a half years. To find out that these reactors have been out of control, now that they can’t control this they don’t know what’s going on. This is not a primitive backward country; this is Japan with advanced technology. It has very serious implications for nuclear power all over the world.
Read moreRadioactive Water Leaks At Fukushima Could Contaminate Entire Pacific Ocean
FYI.
– Pump and pray: Tepco might have to pour water on Fukushima wreckage forever (RT, Aug 7, 2013):
Professor Christopher Busby from the European Committee on Radiation Risks for RT
Fukushima is a nightmare disaster area, and no one has the slightest idea what to do. The game is to prevent the crippled nuclear plant from turning into an “open-air super reactor spectacular” which would result in a hazardous, melted catastrophe.
On April 25, 2011 – one month after the explosions at the Fukushima nuclear plant and the anniversary of Chernobyl – I was interviewed by RT and asked to compare Chernobyl and Fukushima. The clip, which you can find on YouTube, was entitled, “Can’t seal Fukushima like Chernobyl – it all goes into the sea.” Since then, huge amounts of radioactivity have flowed from the wrecked reactors directly into the Pacific Ocean. Attempts to stop the flow of contaminated water from Fukushima into the sea were always unlikely to succeed. It is like trying to push water uphill. Now they all seem to have woken up to the issue and have begun to panic.
Read moreProf. Chris Busby: Tepco Might Have To Pour Water On Fukushima Wreckage Forever
– Greenacres man accused of decapitating roommate, tells cops things got ‘a little carried away’ (The Palm Beach Post, Aug 15, 2013):
Gerard Longo once described Scott Tobiassen as a violent man who brags about his fighting ability and just how “bad” he is.
Longo said Tobiassen owns knives, axes, machetes and switch blades. He sharpens his knives as a hobby, and shows other just how sharp the weapons are by using them to shave his own legs. That information was in court documents, in which Longo asked a judge in 2011 to grant him a restraining order against Tobiassen.
The order was dismissed, and Tobiassen, a crane operator, and Longo, a handyman, became roommates.
Today, Tobiassen, 49, is in the Palm Beach County Jail, accused of killing Longo, 48, and then removing his head and limbs from his torso.
Judge Caroline Shepherd on Thursday morning ordered Tobiassen, who is facing a murder charge, be held in jail without bail. Tobiassen’s attorney Jennifer Marshall entered a plea of not-guilty on his behalf.
Greenacres Police were first notified of Longo’s murder Tuesday night after Tobiassen’s longtime friend Alexandra Peirce called for help and reported seeing Longo’s body. Tobiassen brought her to the apartment in the Seven Springs community, which he shared with Longo and Longo’s grandmother, who was not harmed. He showed her Longo’s body, which was placed in the shower. The man’s head, which was still attached to the body, was covered with something, which Tobiassen removed. Peirce saw the bloody head and thought her friend was playing a joke on her, according to a probable-cause affidavit.
“Can you believe I did this? He deserved it,” Peirce said Tobiassen told her.
Read moreMan Accused Of Decapitating Roommate, Tells Cops Things Got ‘A Little Carried Away’
– China gets $1 trillion boost from dodgy data: Report (CBC News, Aug 16, 2013):
China may be exaggerating the size of its economy to the tune of $1 trillion by releasing “willfully fraudulent” inflation and GDP [gross domestic product] data, according to a study out this week.
Numbers from the world’s second largest economy are treated with skepticism by some economists, but this latest report has attempted to quantify the scale of discrepancy.
“There is strong evidence indicating that the rate of real Chinese GDP growth, and ultimately total real GDP, may be significantly over stated,” said Christopher Balding, associate professor at Peking University’s HSBC Business School, and the report’s author.
– Retired Marine Colonel to New Hampshire City Council: “We’re Building a Domestic Army” (Liberty Blitzkrieg, Aug 16, 2013):
We’re building a domestic army and we’re shrinking the military, because the government is afraid of its own citizens. The last time more than 10 terrorists were in the same place at one time was September 11th, and all these vehicles in the world wouldn’t have prevented it, nor would it have helped anybody. So I don’t know where we are going to use this many vehicles and this many troops…We’re building an army over here and I can’t believe people aren’t seeing it. Is everybody blind?
– Retired Marine Colonel Peter MartinoThe above quote is taken from a powerful 4 minute video taken at a Concord, NH council meeting to discuss whether or not the city should proceed with a request to obtain a BearCat G3 armored vehicle. I reported on the controversy behind this vehicle request earlier in the week, after the city’s application was made public and showed officials explained it was needed to deal with “domestic terrorists,” which included libertarians and Occupy New Hampshire.
Colonel Martino warns us that the gear being worn by domestic law enforcement is the same combat gear that they worse in Iraq, except with a slightly different color. He receives a well deserved raucous applause at the end, and finishes with:
“There’s always free cheese in the mouse trap.”
Indeed.
– Egypt Military Prepares To Crush Islamist March Of Millions “Day Of Rage” (ZeroHedge, Aug 16, 2013):
If there is one day when the pent up tensions on both sides resulting from the Egyptian coup over a month ago may boil over and lead to an all out civil war (still unclear how John Kerry would “define” that one) today may be that day, as Cairo is braced for what may be the most violent confrontations yet with supporters of the deposed president Mursi calling for “day of rage” protests after Friday prayers, and the Egyptian polic (now using live ammo) and army set to crush any such “illegal” protests. Since millions are set to hit the streets, there is no way this will have a peaceful outcome.
As Egypt faces the gruesome aftermath of clashes that left hundreds dead, demonstrators plan to defy an emergency order and take to the streets to mark “Friday of anger.”
The Muslim Brotherhood promised huge protests, and Egypt’s military government showed no sign of easing its crackdown, setting the stage for what could become another catastrophic encounter of security forces and protesters.
Read moreEgypt Military Prepares To Crush Islamist March Of Millions ‘Day Of Rage’
– What The Fed Owns: Complete Treasury Holdings Breakdown (ZeroHedge, Aug 16, 2013):
As everyone knows (since the data is public), in the most recent week the Fed’s balance sheet rose to a record $3.646 trillion, an increase of $61 billion in the past week, and a record increase of $813 billion over the past year, a whopping 30% rise in the balance sheet in 12 short months. What may not be known is the exact distribution of Fed Treasury holdings by maturity. So without further ado, here it is. Of note, observe that what once was a predominantly ‘short-end’ balance sheet (consisting mostly of no-coupon, money equivalent Bills), has become almost entirely a “5 and over” current coupon carry affair. Which also is why the Fed now takes over the entire bond market at a rate of 0.25% per week.
Source: Goldman
– Egypt Unrest Live (Reuters)
– Egypt Is Descending Into Civil War, But Don’t Expect Obama To Cancel His Golf Vacation (Economic Collapse, Aug 15, 2013):
The largest Islamic nation in the Middle East is on the verge of descending into civil war, the Syrian civil war is starting to spill over into Lebanon, and the worst violence in five years has just hit Iraq, but Barack Obama is way too busy to be bothered with any of that. Right now, Obama is enjoying one of the true loves of his life – golf. According to the Washington Post, Obama has “played 18 holes of golf every day but one this week”, and without a doubt he appears to really be enjoying his time up in Martha’s Vineyard. I hear that it is absolutely beautiful up there this time of the year. And apparently he needs the rest. After all, prior to this vacation he has only had time to play 133 rounds of golf since becoming president. Between snubbing world leaders and getting the U.S. economy going again, it must be really tough for Obama to find enough time to sharpen his game.Of course I am being facetious. It is absolutely ridiculous how much time Obama takes off, and Congress is even worse. Congress is taking a five week vacation right now. Most Americans don’t get that much vacation in an entire year.
Meanwhile, as our leaders enjoy their rest, the Middle East is coming apart at the seams.
Read moreEgypt Is Descending Into Civil War, But Don’t Expect Obama To Cancel His Golf Vacation
FYI.
– If This Guy Is What The Future Of America Looks Like, We Are In BIG Trouble (Economic Collapse, Aug 14, 2013):
Should taxpayer dollars be used to buy sushi and lobster for a young man whose future plans consist entirely of surfing and partying as much as he possibly can? When I first saw the video that I am about to share with you, I was absolutely floored. Recently, Fox News interviewed a self-described beach bum named Jason Greenslate who was very open about the fact that he has no problem sponging off of all the rest of us. When he was asked if he ever had any interest in actually getting a job, his response was “not whatsoever”. Instead, he says that his job is to “make sure the sun’s up and the girls are out” and he would rather spend his days partying. Of course every American should be free to live their own lives as they see fit, but the problem is that Jason Greenslate is using food stamps to help support his lifestyle. In fact, he took Fox News into the gourmet section of a local supermarket where he purchased sushi and lobster with his EBT card. Sadly, he is just like millions of other young men in America today that seemingly have had the drive to succeed and to be independent totally sucked out of them. But what is the future of America going to look like if we continue to produce millions upon millions of young men that have absolutely no desire to make a living, get married and start a family?
Posted below is video from the Fox News interview with Jason Greenslate. If you are a taxpayer, this video should upset you greatly…
Of course the vast majority of those enrolled in the food stamp program are NOT like this. As I wrote about the other day, the economic independence of middle class Americans is being systematically destroyed. The percentage of self-employed Americans is at a record low and the percentage of Americans with a full-time job has dropped to a shockingly low level.
And the quality of our jobs continues to decline. If you can believe it, 40 percent of all workers in the United States today actually make less than what a full-time minimum wage worker made back in 1968.
As a result of our ongoing economic problems, we have seen wave after wave of Americans forced to go on food stamps. Between the year 2000 and the first inauguration of Barack Obama, the number of Americans on food stamps increased by 15 million. Since Barack Obama has been in the White House, the number of Americans on food stamps has increased by 15 million more.
At this point we have a total of 47 million Americans on food stamps, and most of them definitely need the help.
Read moreIf This Guy Is What The Future Of America Looks Like, We Are In BIG Trouble
– Chart of the Day: DuckDuckGo (Liberty Blitzkrieg, Aug 15, 2013):
A month ago, I highlighted the explosive growth in privacy focused search engine DuckDuckGo. At the time, I also stated that I would start using it for my searches to see how it goes. Well I am very pleased to report that I have now successfully conditioned myself to use this search engine for about 90% of my online queries, and I have found the results to be excellent. It appears I am not the only one, as according to website information hub Alexa, DuckDuckGo’s performance has continued to go parabolic.
This just goes to show that when people decide they are fed up and want something new, they will shift to something new. We have the power to change things, we just need to wake up and do it.
In Liberty,
Mike
– A Broken, Corrupt and Immoral Criminal Justice System (Liberty Blitzkrieg, Aug 15, 2013):
You know that the rule of law has essentially vanished when the Attorney General himself feels compelled to state: “America’s legal system, we must face the reality that, as it stands, our system is in too many respects broken.” That is precisely what Eric Holder stated earlier this week, while seemingly taking no responsibility for that fact despite being the top lawyer in the nation. Guess he was too busy protecting his banker masters from prosecution to notice.
In any event, the broken criminal justice system really took center stage earlier this year when the federal prosector Carmen Ortiz drove child prodigy Aaron Swartz to his death by piling on overzealous charges in an attempt to advance her career. Instead she drove a gentle genius to an untimely death. Kudos Ortiz.
In light of Holder’s comment, Bloomberg columnist Clive Crook wrote an excellent article outlining some of the main attributes of out increasingly Kafkaesque legal system. Here are some key excerpts:
Read moreAmerica Has A Broken, Corrupt And Immoral Criminal Justice System
NSA headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland
– Edward Snowden documents show NSA broke privacy rules (BBC News, Aug 16, 2013):
The US National Security Agency (NSA) broke privacy rules and overstepped its legal authority thousands of times in the past two years, according to documents leaked by Edward Snowden.
The incidents resulted in the unauthorised electronic surveillance of US citizens, according to documents published by the Washington Post.
“Fluoride causes more human cancer, and causes it faster, than any other chemical.”
– Dean Burk, Chief Chemist Emeritus, US National Cancer Institute
@Amazon.com: The Great Culling
Related information:
– Non Organic Foods That Contain Upwards Of 180 Times The Fluoride Level Of Tap Water
– Guinness Made In Dublin Brings You FLUORIDE!
– Dr. Paul Connett: The Case Against Water Fluoridation – The Truth About Fluoride (Video)
– 25 Studies Prove That Fluoride Reduces Your IQ
Read more‘The Great Culling: Our Water’ (Documentary – Trailers)
Nothing new here but this is an opportunityfor me to remind you of Dr. Bruce Lipton’s work:
– Dr. Bruce Lipton: The New Biology – Where Mind and Matter Meet (Video)
– Your Thoughts Can Release Abilities beyond Normal Limits (Scientific American, Aug 13, 2013):
Better vision, stronger muscles—expectations can have surprising effects, research finds
There seems to be a simple way to instantly increase a person’s level of general knowledge. Psychologists Ulrich Weger and Stephen Loughnan recently asked two groups of people to answer questions. People in one group were told that before each question, the answer would be briefly flashed on their screens — too quickly to consciously perceive, but slow enough for their unconscious to take it in. The other group was told that the flashes simply signaled the next question. In fact, for both groups, a random string of letters, not the answers, was flashed. But, remarkably, the people who thought the answers were flashed did better on the test. Expecting to know the answers made people more likely to get the answers right.
Our cognitive and physical abilities are in general limited, but our conceptions of the nature and extent of those limits may need revising. In many cases, thinking that we are limited is itself a limiting factor. There is accumulating evidence that suggests that our thoughts are often capable of extending our cognitive and physical limits.
Read moreYour Thoughts Can Release Abilities Beyond Normal Limits (Scientific American)
– GOOGLE: If You Send To Gmail, You Have ‘No Legitimate Expectation Of Privacy’ (San Francisco Chronicle, Aug 13, 2013):
If you happen to send an email to one of the 400 million people who use Google’s Gmail service, you shouldn’t have any expectation of privacy, according to a court briefing obtained by the Consumer Watchdog website.
In a motion filed last month by Google to have a class action complaint dismissed, Google’s lawyers reference a 1979 ruling, holding that people who turn over information to third parties shouldn’t expect that information to remain private.
From the filing (emphasis added):
Read moreGOOGLE: If You Send To Gmail, You Have ‘No Legitimate Expectation Of Privacy’
