The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either. – Benjamin Franklin
– Berlin protests focus on farming and food safety (CBC News, jan 21, 2013):
Thousands of people braved the cold and demonstrated in the streets of Berlin as politicians and policymakers met to discuss changes to global agricultural policies.
Under the slogan, “We are fed up,” the protesters called for an end to food scandals, genetic engineering and animal cruelty in industrial livestock farming.
– 37 Statistics Which Show How Four Years Of Obama Have Wrecked The U.S. Economy (Economic Collapse, Jan 21, 2013):
The mainstream media covered the inauguration of Barack Obama with breathless anticipation on Monday, but should we really be celebrating another four years of Obama? The truth is that the first four years of Obama were an absolute train wreck for the U.S. economy. Over the past four years, the percentage of working age Americans with a job has fallen, median household income has declined by more than $4000, poverty in the U.S. has absolutely exploded and our national debt has ballooned to ridiculous proportions. Of course all of the blame for the nightmarish performance of the economy should not go to Obama alone. Certainly much of what we are experiencing today is the direct result of decades of very foolish decisions by Congress and previous presidential administrations. And of course the Federal Reserve has more influence over the economy than anyone else does. But Barack Obama steadfastly refuses to criticize anything that the Federal Reserve has done and he even nominated Ben Bernanke for another term as Fed Chairman despite his horrific track record of failure, so at a minimum Barack Obama must be considered to be complicit in the Fed’s very foolish policies. Despite what the Obama administration tells us, the U.S. economy has been in decline for a very long time, and that decline has accelerated in many ways over the past four years. Just consider the statistics that I have compiled below. The following are 37 statistics which show how four years of Obama have wrecked the U.S. economy…
1. During Obama’s first term, the number of Americans on food stamps increased by an average of about 11,000 per day.
2. At the beginning of the Obama era, 32 million Americans were on food stamps. Today, more than 47 million Americans are on food stamps.
3. According to one calculation, the number of Americans on food stamps now exceeds the combined populations of “Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming.”
– The Sovereign Debt Bubble Will Continue To Expand Until – BANG – The System Implodes (Economic Collapse, Jan 20, 2013):
Why are so many politicians around the world declaring that the debt crisis is “over” when debt to GDP ratios all over the planet continue to skyrocket? The global economy has never seen anything like the sovereign debt bubble that we are experiencing today. The United States, Japan, and nearly every major nation in Europe are absolutely drowning in debt. We have heard a lot about “austerity” over in Europe in recent years, but debt to GDP ratios continue to rise in Greece, Spain, Italy, Ireland and Portugal. In general, most economists consider a debt to GDP ratio of 100% to be a “danger level”, and most of the economies of the western world have either already surpassed that level or are rapidly approaching it. Of course the biggest debt offender of all in many ways is the United States. The U.S. debt to GDP ratio has risen from 66.6 percent to 103 percent since 2007, and the U.S. government accumulated more new debt during Barack Obama’s first term than it did under the first 42 U.S. presidents combined. This insane sovereign debt bubble will continue to expand until a day of reckoning arrives and the system implodes. Nobody knows exactly when that moment will be reached, but without a doubt it is coming.
Read moreThe Sovereign Debt Bubble Will Continue To Expand Until – BANG – The System Implodes
FYI.
– Obama’s College Classmate: ‘The Obama Scandal Is at Columbia’ (Townhall, Aug 6, 2012):
Normally I don’t give a rip about the “I know something you don’t know about Obama” story, but this one is absolutely fascinating. Wayne Root over at the Blaze penned this beauty. Here’s a how he concludes:
Why are the college records, of a 51-year-old President of the United States, so important to keep secret? I think I know the answer.
If anyone should have questions about Obama’s record at Columbia University, it’s me. We both graduated (according to Obama) Columbia University, Class of ’83. We were both (according to Obama) Pre-Law and Political Science majors. And I thought I knew most everyone at Columbia. I certainly thought I’d heard of all of my fellow Political Science majors. But not Obama (or as he was known then- Barry Soetoro). I never met him. Never saw him. Never even heard of him. And none of the classmates that I knew at Columbia has ever met him, saw him, or heard of him.
But don’t take my word for it. The Wall Street Journal reported in 2008 that Fox News randomly called 400 of our Columbia classmates and never found one who had ever met Obama.
Read moreObama’s College Classmate: ‘The Obama Scandal Is At Columbia’
Description:
A security camera records as a homeowner, armed with a shotgun, confronts a thief.
– ‘Horrific’ New Mexico shooting leaves 5 dead; investigators arrest 15-year-old (CNN, Jan 21, 2013):
Sheriff’s investigators combed through what one called a “horrific” crime scene Sunday after the shooting deaths of five people, three of them children, at a home outside Albuquerque, New Mexico.A well-known local pastor and four of his relatives were among the victims, according to those who knew him.
Each victim was shot multiple times, said Lt. Sid Covington of the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department, and one of the weapons used was what he described as an assault rifle. Sheriff Dan Houston said a 15-year-old boy, who “may be a family member,” was charged with two counts of murder and three counts of child abuse resulting in death.
– Is Mali the next Afghanistan? (McClatchy, Jan 18, 2013):
WASHINGTON — The war rages about cities with names such as Goa and Timbuktu, in a sparsely populated, mostly flat, dusty and landlocked country in northwest Africa.
The combatants include a nomadic Berber people known as Tuareg, the French Foreign Legion and a coalition of al Qaida affiliates who identify themselves with the Maghreb, the desert region of Northwestern Africa.
It sounds as if it could be the plot for a new Indiana Jones adventure. But those who study international terrorism say it would be a mistake for Americans to think of this conflict as anything but deadly serious. The war in Mali is the new front in the war on international terrorism.
– Sandy Hook Mom Says Clairvoyant Son, 5, Refused To Go To School, Saving His Life (Hollywood Life, Jan 2, 2013):
Karen Dryer‘s worst nightmare started to unravel when her young son Logan Dryer, 5, became so anxiety ridden when he went to kindergarten at Sandy Hook Elementary School that she decided to pull him out of school just two weeks before the deadly massacre.
Like any parent, Karen could not understand why her usually happy, healthy son Logan all of a sudden started having panic attacks while in school. Little did she know, that like her own late mother, her son had the gift to foresee the future.
Read moreSandy Hook Mom Says Clairvoyant 5-Year-Old Son Refused To Go To School, Saving His Life
FYI.
– The Calcium Supplement Problem: As Serious As A Heart Attack (GreenMedInfo, Jan 4, 2013):
Osteoporosis is not caused by a lack of limestone, oyster shell or bone meal. Heart attack, however, may be caused by supplementation with these exact same “elemental” forms of calcium, according to two meta-analyses published last year in the British Medical Journal.
Back in July of 2011, the British Medical Journal published the results of a high-powered meta-analysis which looked at whether or not calcium supplementation had any effect on cardiovascular disease risk. Indeed, this groundbreaking report, which was based on the results of five clinical trials conducted in the US, Britain and New Zealand, involving over 8,000 people, showed that taking elemental calcium supplements of 500 mg or more increased the relative risk of heart attack by 27%.
Read moreThe Calcium Supplement Problem: As Serious As A Heart Attack
– Hemp Growing Was Once Required By Law in the US:
Before you start growing your own hemp plants it is worthwhile to read up on the history of hemp growing in the US. At one time it was legal. Not only was it legal, the law required the growing of it.
According to the book Healthy Oils, hemp is another word for the plant Cannabis sativa L. Marijuana comes from this same plant genus – as does cauliflower and broccoli. However, the strains used in consumer and industrial products contain only a negligible amount of the intoxicating substance delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. Thus industrial grade hemp is not marijuana. Yet, since the 1950’s the growing of hemp has been effectively prohibited.
– The Coming Debt Limit Drama: Government Wins, We Lose (Ron Paul, January 21, 2013):
Last week President Obama bluntly warned Congress that he will not negotiate when it comes to raising the statutory debt limit. If Republicans attempt to use a debt ceiling vote to win concessions on spending from the White House, Mr. Obama threatens simply to raise the limit by executive order or other unilateral action.
This is business as usual in Washington. Democrats literally do not believe we have a deficit and debt problem, and reliably propose greater borrowing and spending. Republicans talk a good game when it comes to government debt, but have no credibility to argue against deficits or abuses of executive power. Brinksmanship ensues, and ugly compromises are reached at the 11th hour. We all lose as the endless borrowing and money printing further erode our dollar and our economy.
Read moreRon Paul: ‘The Coming Debt Limit Drama: Government Wins, We Lose’
– Iodine Madness! Oregon’s Pre-Crime Law (Activist Post, Jan 20, 2013)
Retired Congressman Ron Paul
– Paul slams US ‘king of world’ foreign policy (PressTV, Jan 19, 2013):
Retired Congressman Ron Paul has condemned the US use of drones and the country’s ‘king of the world’ style foreign policy.
Paul, who served 36 years as a US congressman and is a three-time presidential candidate, said in a Friday interview that minding its own business instead of getting involved militarily in the internal affairs of other states could have saved the US from bankruptcy.
“What if we didn’t hate Muslims? We have to bring up a lot of hatred for us to go 6,000 miles away and kill people with drones. This is where the conflict is coming,” said Paul.
“We have to beat the drums of war in this hatred that we go over and do these things and then all of a sudden we have an epidemic of suicides of American soldiers that come back [asking], ‘What am I doing over here shooting drone missiles and little kids dying?’”
The former congressman said that the US fails to understand that there is “blowback” from its involvement overseas, and that the situation is going to get much worse, if the country does not accept to recognize the situation.
– Rogue CIA elements responsible for Swartz death: Gordon Duff (PressTV, Jan 20, 2013):
An American analyst says the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is responsible for the recent murder of the American dissident blogger Aaron Swartz, Press TV reports.
“There is no coverage in the mainstream media at all and we have found no possible excuse to this death…. We believe rogue elements within the Central Intelligence Agency are responsible,” Gordon Duff said in an interview with Press TV on Saturday.
Read moreVeterans Today’s Gordon Duff: Rogue CIA Elements Responsible For Aaron Swartz Death
– Scrap-Metal Plan Proves Radioactive (Wall Street Journal, Jan 16, 2013):
The Department of Energy is proposing to allow the sale of tons of scrap metal from government nuclear sites—an attempt to reduce waste that critics say could lead to radiation-tainted belt buckles, surgical implants and other consumer products.
The department, in a document released last month, said the recycling proposal is in line with its policy of “reusing materials whenever possible.”
The approximately 14,000 tons of metal under review for possible initial release is only a fraction of the tens of millions of tons of metal recycled annually, it said. Smaller amounts could be eligible for release in future years.
Selling the metals could bring in $10 million to $40 million a year, the DOE estimates.
While the metal would come from “radiological areas” such as research laboratories and nuclear-weapons-related facilities, any contamination would be so low that a member of the public would be exposed to a “negligible individual dose” of additional radiation, the DOE said. The allowable annual radiation dose to an individual from a given shipment of the scrap metal would be half the estimated amount of radiation a person gets flying cross-country, or even less, the document said.
Some industry and environmental groups aren’t satisfied by the government’s assurances.
Read moreU.S. Government Scrap-Metal Plan From NUCLEAR SITES Proves Radioactive
– Japan Warns It May Fire On Chinese Aircraft Over Disputed Islands; China Retorts: “There Will Be No Second Shot” (ZeroHedge, Jan 20, 2013):
A week ago we reported that following what China said was a response to counter “Japanese military aircraft disrupting the routine patrols of Chinese administrative aircraft” over the East China Sea, the world’s most populous country (and one which has the largest, 2.25 million strong, standing army) scrambled several jets and put its military on high alert. Now, it is the turn of Japan, and its brand new militant and nationalistic government, to “retaliate” and escalate tensions by one more notch, in the process crashing any hope that Chinese imports of Japanese goods may resume, and obviating the ongoing temporary plunge in the yen (which while doing nothing to boost exports to this 20% trading partner, has made imports so expensive, inflation in the past two months has already soared well above the 2% target for various key goods as previously reported).Moments ago, Japan says it may fire warning shots and take other measures to keep foreign aircraft from violating its airspace in the latest verbal blast between Tokyo and Beijing that raises concerns that a dispute over hotly contested islands could spin out of control.
Japanese officials made the comments after Chinese fighters tailed its warplanes near the islands recently. The incident is believed to be the first scrambling of Chinese fighters since the tensions began to rise last spring.
According to Chinese media, a pair of J-10 fighters was scrambled after Japanese F-15s began tailing a Chinese surveillance plane near the disputed islands in the East China Sea. China has complained the surveillance flight did not violate Japanese airspace and the F-15s were harassing it.
– 40,700 Bq/Kg from ash of a household in Fukushima city (Fukushima Diary, Jan 20, 2013):
According to the radiation test of household grocery by Fukushima city government, 40,700 Bq/Kg of cesium was measured from ash.
The measurement was from 12/1 to 12/28/2012.
They also measured 2,201 Bq/Kg from copper pheasant.
http://www.city.fukushima.fukushima.jp/soshiki/29/monitaring120403.html
Must-see!
– Snowpocalypse Russia: ‘Snow tsunami’ swallows streets, cars, buildings (PHOTOS) (RT, Jan 18, 2013:
Unrelenting snowfalls have caused unprecedented chaos in Russia. Over the past week, the country has seen scores of traffic accidents, flight delays and, in some cases, the complete isolation of some remote settlements and towns.
On Friday, Moscow was on a verge of traffic collapse as more than 10 inches of snow fell on the city, which is more than half of January’s average.
Thousands of passengers were stranded overnight in the capital’s major airports, as several dozen flights were delayed.
Muscovites woke up and found their cars, driveways and houses buried under a thick layer of snow, with city workers unable to get to smaller streets.
Moscow’s Yandex app showed traffic at level 10, the highest possible, as strong winds created blizzard conditions and built imposing snow drifts.
…
Hmmh.
– German cars ‘among worst for engine failures’ (Auto Express, Jan 18, 2013):
German-made cars are not as reliable as many believe, according to new research. Warranty Direct has studied its claims data to compile a list of the manufacturers with the most reliable engines – and Audi, BMW and Volkswagen all finished in the bottom 10 out of a total 36 makers.
In fact, the only firm whose cars had a worse engine failure rate than Audi was MG Rover. MINI wasn’t much better, finishing third from bottom, while its parent company BMW came seventh from bottom. And, despite its reputation for rock-solid reliability, Volkswagen came ninth from bottom.
Read moreStudy: Audi, BMW And VW ‘Among Worst For Engine Failures’
A farmer holds a fistful of arid topsoil in Logan, Kansas.
– The current drought is a bad one, and it’s not going away (Rolling Stone, Jan 17, 2013):
Droughts, it could be argued, are the opposite of news. By definition, they represent the absence of something (namely, adequate rain) happening. And they only occur when that something has already been not-happening for a very long time. As a result, droughts tend not to make the front page. When they do – as happened last summer, when headlines trumpeted the worst U.S. drought conditions in 50 years – the public gets concerned. But soon enough, droughts begin to feel like business as usual again, invisible in their very ubiquity.
It’s time to start paying attention.
Why?
Read moreUS: The Current Drought Is A Bad One, And It’s Not Going Away
– Larry Elder goes toe-to-toe with Piers Morgan (WND, Jan 19, 2013):
Author Larry Elder, who recently released “Dear Father, Dear Son,” has tamed Piers Morgan, the leftist CNN host who has released tirade after tirade in recent interviews on the issue of gun control.
Elder, on Morgan’s show last night to discuss his book, explained the significance of having fathers in homes, noting the high crime rate in Chicago, where 75 percent of black children are born into homes without a father.
“This book that I’ve written, ‘Dear Father, Dear Son,’ is by far the most important book I’ve ever written because it’s about the centrality of fathers,” Elder said.
“The face of gun violence in this country, as horrific as Sandy Hook was, is not Newtown. It is Chicago, where 500 people last year were shot,” he said.
“Chicago is a city with about a third black, a third white and a third Hispanic. However, 75 percent of murders in Chicago were committed by blacks, usually against other blacks, most of them gang-related.
“The question is why do these boys join these gangs, and the answer is they have no fathers in the house.”
– JFK: An Open Letter to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (Veterans Today, Jan 18, 2013)
– 5 Bq/Kg from Fukushima apple juice and 5.8 Bq/Kg from Miso (Fukushima Diary, Jan 20, 2013):
According to Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, a certain amount of cesium was measured from processed food in Fukushima. They were not shipped out supposedly.
1. Apple juice
Sampling date : 1/10/2013
Cs-137 : 4.96 Bq/Kg2. Miso
Sampling date : 1/11/2013
Cs-137 : 5.78 Bq/Kg
http://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/houdou/2r9852000002sttz-att/2r9852000002sty9.pdf
– Pentagon Says Protests Are Acts of “Low Level Terrorism” (Zen Gardner, Jan 21, 2013)
