The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either. – Benjamin Franklin
– “Shock & Outrage”: Japan TV host reveals being told he cannot discuss nuclear power until pivotal Tokyo election ends — “Somebody needs to bring these issues into the media” — #2 in trending news (ENENews, Jan 23, 2014):
TokyoReporter’s tweet, Jan. 22, 2014: Radio host Peter Barakan says broadcasters told him to avoid nuclear issues till after poll
– U.S. Military: Baby wipes and tape used to clean up Fukushima radioactive material — Soldiers working with contamination not given protective gear because “we don’t want to alarm public” (ENENews, Jan 23, 2014):
Initial Impressions Report: Operation Tomodachi (pdf), Center for Army Lessons Learned:
One platoon used duct tape and paper towels to decontaminate vehicles and aircraft. Another platoon used hot water and paper towels to decontaminate vehicles and aircraft […]
The TTP [tactics, techniques, and procedures] for decontamination, as well as the level of personal protective equipment (PPE), was based upon an effort not to alarm the civilian population. Another example of an attempt to not alarm local civilians occurred on the airfield where Soldiers were monitoring aircraft for radiation exposure. On one occasion, a pilot asked, “If we’re supposedly contaminated with radiation, why are you guys out here with just a pair of latex gloves?” One of the Airmen working with the Soldiers replied, “You guys have civilians on the aircraft with you also, and we don’t want to alarm the civilians.”
Insights and Lessons Learned:
– Stamping Chinese banknotes with censorship-busting QR codes (Boing Boing, Jan 21, 2014):
An anonymous anti-censorship group is stamping Chinese banknotes with a QR code and the message “Scan and download software to break the Internet firewall.” The stamps encode a URL for Freegate, a firewall-busting service. The stamps are widely suspected to be the work of Falun Gong, an outlawed religious sect that has a long history of supplying anti-censorship technology inside of mainland China, both to supply access to its own censored websites and to advertise the virtues of its belief-system to Chinese Internet users who are more interested in beating censorship than religion.
Read moreActivists Stamp Banknotes With Freegate QR Codes To Circumvent China’s Great Firewall
– The Ukrainian Government is Now Mass Texting Protestors with Warning Messages (Liberty Blitzkrieg, Jan 22, 2014):
Earlier today, I highlighted the ingenious use of mirrors by Ukrainian protestors to utilize non-violent, creative tactics to make powerful political statements. With violence escalating in the past 24 hours, it appears the Ukrainian government is now breaking out technological Big Brother by sending mass text messages to protestors warning them that they are being watched.
Remember: Your Government Loves You.
From CNET:
Your government wants to protect you. Because your government cares. Because your government works for you.
Read moreThe Ukrainian Government Is Now Mass Texting Protestors With Warning Messages
– Warfare, Welfare, and Wonder Woman: How Congress Spends Your Money (Ludwig von Mises Institute, Jan 21, 2014):
by Ron Paul
Supporters of warfare, welfare, and Wonder Woman cheered last week as Congress passed a one trillion dollar “omnibus” appropriation bill. This legislation funds the operations of government for the remainder of the fiscal year. Wonder Woman fans can cheer that buried in the bill was a $10,000 grant for a theater program to explore the comic book heroine.
That is just one of the many outrageous projects buried in this 1,582-page bill. The legislation gives the Department of Education more money to continue nationalizing education via “common core.” Also, despite new evidence of Obamacare’s failure emerging on an almost daily basis, the Omnibus bill does nothing to roll back this disastrous law.
Read moreRon Paul: ‘Warfare, Welfare, And Wonder Woman: How Congress Spends Your Money’
– Kyodo News: Fukushima raises concerns over “viability of Japan’s future” — Former Prime Minister: Reactor restarts “a criminal act toward future generations”; “Fate of country” at stake; “Myth that nuclear power clean and safe has collapsed” (ENENews, Jan 22, 2014):
Wall St. Journal, Jan. 22, 2014: “Restarting nuclear reactors while we still have no place to dispose nuclear waste is a criminal act toward future generations,” [Former Prime Minister Morihiro] Hosokawa said during a news conference where he laid out his campaign promises for the Feb. 9 election.
Bloomberg, Jan. 22, 2014: “The myth that nuclear power is clean and safe has collapsed,” Hosokawa told reporters in Tokyo today. “We don’t even have a place to store nuclear waste. Without that, restarting the plants would be a crime against future generations.”
Kyodo News, Jan. 22, 2014: “Nuclear power is out of date and the most costly source of energy,” Hosokawa said. “The severity of risks associated with nuclear power is high. We have to switch to renewable and environmentally friendly energies, and lead the world in that field.”
Reuters, Jan. 22, 2014: “I foolishly once believed the myth that nuclear energy is clean and safe,” he told a news conference. “That myth has completely broken down.”
Kyodo News, Jan. 22, 2014: “Nuclear power is out of date and the most costly source of energy,” Hosokawa said. “The severity of risks associated with nuclear power is high. We have to switch to renewable and environmentally friendly energies, and lead the world in that field.”
Kyodo News, Jan. 18, 2014: Many voters, however, may cast ballots for anti-nuclear candidates because the man-made Fukushima disaster, triggered by the massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, raised questions about the viability of Japan’s future. Naoto Kan of the DPJ, also a former prime minister, is urging Tokyo residents in his blog to concentrate on backing Hosokawa if they think Japan should phase out nuclear power, calling Hosokawa’s run “a nightmare for the LDP.” “Japan has faced many problems, and the issue of nuclear power generation leads to the fate of this country,” Hosokawa said after securing Koizumi’s support.
Mainichi, Jan. 15, 2014: […] former prime minister [Hosokawa] said the issue of nuclear power will determine the fate of Japan. […] Despite the outbreak of the unprecedented disaster at the tsunami-ravaged Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant, the nuclear power policy was not sufficiently debated in the two post-disaster national elections. […] As Koizumi points out, the outcome of the election will have a huge impact on the direction of national politics.
– Mexican Citizens Topple Cartels And Are Rewarded With Government Retaliation (Alt-Market, Jan 22, 2014):
There is one rule to citizen defiance that, in my opinion, surpasses all others in strategic importance; and it is a rule that I have tried to drive home for many years. I would call it the “non-participation principle” and would summarize it as follows:
– Obamacare Strikes Again: Target Drops Part-Timers From Healthcare Plan (And Fires Others Just In Case) (ZeroHedge, Jan 22, 2014):
Effective April 1st, Target announced to day that it would no longer offer healthcare coverage to its part-time employees. As The Hill reports, Target’s HR executives ‘spun’ the decision as good for the employees…”by offering them insurance, we could actually disqualify many of them from being eligible for newly available subsidies that could reduce their overall health insurance expense.” The company will provide a $500 cash payment to “minimize disruption,” and specifically calls out Obamacare as “providing new options… that we believe our part-time members may prefer.”Of course, just for good measure, Target is cutting 475 jobs and chooing not to fill a further 700 open positions – again, we presume, to minimize disruption (to their bottom line).
– Venezuela Devalues Bolivar By Another 44% For Some, Still 600% Higher Than Black Market Due To 50% Inflation (ZeroHedge, Jan 22, 2014):
Less than a year ago, Venezuela shocked the world when it launched the “first nuke” in the ongoing currency wars (which despite having dropped off the front pages, have certainly not ended), by devaluing its currency, the Bolivar from 4.30 to the USD to 6.30, in the process crushing the profits of many companies that operate(d) in the TP-deprived socialist paradise (which as we reported earlier is about to experience food shortages).
Earlier today, Venezuela Oil Minister and Economy Vice President Rafael Ramirez announced on state television that the country just devalued the official Bolivar exchange rate again by another whopping 45%, for some.
Specifically, Venezuelans traveling abroad and airlines will use Sicad FX rate which was last 11.36 bolivars per dollar. Those spared from the most recent devaluation, for now, are students abroad, pensioners, retirees, consular and diplomatic services who will continue using 6.3 bolivars/USD rate. This follows comparable steps taken in late December, when the Bolivar was devalued by the same amount for any non-residents and tourists entering the nation, as the nation unrolled its centrally-planned currency regime in which the Bolivar is offered through a dollar-auction system called Sicad.
The WSJ reported at the time:
– Halliburton Manager Gets One Year Probation For Destroying Evidence Of 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon Disaster (Business Insider, Jan 22, 2014):
A former Halliburton manager was sentenced to one year of probation on Tuesday for destroying evidence in the aftermath of BP’s fatal 2010 Deepwater Horizon blowout, which claimed 11 lives.
Anthony Badalamenti, former cementing technology director for Halliburton, which was BP’s cement contractor on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, had faced a maximum of one year in prison. The 62-year-old pleaded guilty in October to one count of destruction of evidence.
See also:
– RECOVERY: U.S. Workforce-Participation Rate At 35-Year Low
– The Real Unemployment Rate In The U.S. Is At Least 30%
– Fake Employment Numbers – And 5 More Massive Economic Lies The U.S. Government Is Telling You
– Wall Street adviser: Actual Unemployment is 37.2%, ‘Misery Index’ Worst in 40 Years (Government Slaves, Jan 21, 2014):
Don’t believe the happy talk coming out of the White House, Federal Reserve and Treasury Department when it comes to the real unemployment rate and the true “Misery Index.” Because, according to an influential Wall Street advisor, the figures are a fraud.
In a memo to clients provided to Secrets, David John Marotta calculates the actual unemployment rate of those not working at a sky-high 37.2 percent, not the 6.7 percent advertised by the Fed, and the Misery Index at over 14, not the 8 claimed by the government.
Read moreWall Street Adviser: Actual Unemployment Is 37.2%, ‘Misery Index’ Worst In 40 Years
– Inside the secret Chinese camps curing internet addiction (news.com.au, Jan 21, 2014)
CHINA is the first country to label internet addiction a clinical disorder. But instead of shutting the laptop and going for a stroll, in China there are guarded boot camps intended to deprogram hooked teens.
We use the internet daily. We rely on it. But there are some who are so addicted to it they shun the tangible realm of reality for an online existence, exploring digital worlds and living a digital life to such an extent the lines of what’s real and what isn’t become a blur.
Read moreChina: Guarded Military-Style Boot Camps To Cure Internet Addiction
– Here Are 350 Billion Reasons Why Banks Want You To Ignore Turkey’s Turbulence (ZeroHedge, Jan 21, 2014):
Despite Erdogan’s paranoia over “an interest rate” lobby or blaming the Lira’s collapse on the Fed, as Gavekal’s Nick Andrews notes, Turkey is showing no signs of stabilization. As the sell-side scrambles to explain how this is all priced in and “contained,” it is very apparent from the following chart just how vulnerable to contagion the world is if Turkey defaults. The country’s liabilities have multipled dramatically in recent years with over $350 billion of foreign bank exposure to Turkey on an ultimate risk basis.
Fragile and Complacent… (and in denial)
Read more350 Billion Reasons Why Banks Want You To Ignore Turkey’s Turbulence
From the article:
“In eight years, Utah has quietly reduced homelessness by 78 percent, and is on track to end homelessness by 2015.
How did Utah accomplish this? Simple. Utah solved homelessness by giving people homes. In 2005, Utah figured out that the annual cost of E.R. visits and jail says for homeless people was about $16,670 per person, compared to $11,000 to provide each homeless person with an apartment and a social worker. So, the state began giving away apartments, with no strings attached. Each participant in Utah’s Housing First program also gets a caseworker to help them become self-sufficient, but the keep the apartment even if they fail. The program has been so successful that other states are hoping to achieve similar results with programs modeled on Utah’s.”
– Utah is Ending Homelessness by Giving People Homes (Nation Of Change, Jan 18, 2014):
Earlier this month, Hawaii State representative Tom Bower (D) began walking the streets of his Waikiki district with a sledgehammer, and smashing shopping carts used by homeless people. “Disgusted” by the city’s chronic homelessness problem, Bower decided to take matters into his own hands — literally. He also took to rousing homeless people if he saw them sleeping at bus stops during the day.
FYI.
– Syrian regime document trove shows evidence of ‘industrial scale’ killing of detainees (Guardian, Jan 20, 2014):
Senior war crimes prosecutors say photographs and documents provide ‘clear evidence’ of systematic killing of 11,000 detainees
This …
“In other instances, priests were promoted, despite knowledge of abuse charges.”
… is missing in the ‘updated’ version of the article down below.
– Files Show Chicago Archdiocese Hid Decades Of Child Sex Abuse (CBS News, Jan 21, 2014):
CHICAGO (CBS/AP) – After a 13-year-old boy reported in 1979 that a priest raped and threatened him at gunpoint to keep quiet, the Archdiocese of Chicago assured the boy’s parents that, although the cleric avoided prosecution, he would receive treatment and have no further contact with minors.
But the Rev. William Cloutier, who already had been accused of molesting other children, was returned to ministry a year later and went on to abuse again before he resigned in 1993, two years after the boy’s parents filed a lawsuit.
Read moreFiles Show Chicago Archdiocese Hid Decades Of Child Sex Abuse
– CIA-connected Terror Group Issues Threat Ahead of Russian Olympic Games (Infowars, Jan 20, 2014):
Group loyal to Shamil Basayev, a Chechen warlord trained by the CIA in Afghanistan
Vilayat Dagestan, a Salafist terror group loyal to Shamil Basayev, has taken credit for the Volgograd bombing in late December that claimed the lives of 34 people. A video posted on the group’s website shows two men, identified as the suicide bombers it says are responsible for the Russian attack, wearing explosive belts and posing with assault rifles.
The men warn terrorists will attack the Winter Olympics, scheduled to begin on February 6 in Sochi, a Russian resort city on the Black Sea.
“We have prepared a… present for you, for you (President Putin) and all those tourists who will come over,” the men say in a statement.
Read moreCIA-Connected Terror Group Issues Threat Ahead Of Russian Olympic Games
– The $23 Trillion Credit Bubble In China Is Starting To Collapse – Global Financial Crisis Next? (Economic Collapse, Jan 20, 2014):
Did you know that financial institutions all over the world are warning that we could see a “mega default” on a very prominent high-yield investment product in China on January 31st? We are being told that this could lead to a cascading collapse of the shadow banking system in China which could potentially result in “sky-high interest rates” and “a precipitous plunge in credit“. In other words, it could be a “Lehman Brothers moment” for Asia. And since the global financial system is more interconnected today than ever before, that would be very bad news for the United States as well. Since Lehman Brothers collapsed in 2008, the level of private domestic credit in China has risen from $9 trillion to an astounding $23 trillion. That is an increase of $14 trillion in just a little bit more than 5 years. Much of that “hot money” has flowed into stocks, bonds and real estate in the United States. So what do you think is going to happen when that bubble collapses?
– Obama Regulations To Shut Down 40 Percent Of Nation’s Electricity (Wealthy Debates, Jan 20, 2014):
Obama administration regulations could force power plants that make 40 percent of the nation’s electricity to shut down.
At issue are EPA restrictions on emissions that would close hundreds of coal-burning power plants which represent around 40 percent of the nation’s electricity.
If that wasn’t bad enough, some observers think the regulations could double electricity rates for average households. The rates would increase because utilities would have to pass the cost onto ratepayers of replacing coal burning power plants or modernizing them to comply with the regulations.
Read moreObama Regulations To Shut Down 40 Percent Of Nation’s Electricity
U.S. Constitution
Fourth Amendment
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
– Supreme Court To Decide If Warrant Needed To Search Cellphone (NPR, Jan 17, 2014):
The U.S. Supreme Court is delving into the technology-versus-privacy debate, agreeing to hear two cases that test whether police making an arrest may search cellphones without a warrant.
The court’s announcement Friday that it would take the cases came just hours after President Obama outlined his proposals to address government retention of citizen phone data as outlining reforms at the National Security Agency.
The court said it would hear arguments, likely in April, in two cases with conflicting decisions from the lower courts.
Read moreU.S. Supreme Court To Decide If Warrant Needed To Search Cellphone
Flashback:
– The Cove – Oscar Award Winner (‘Best Documentary’)
Related info:
– Government Of India Grants Dolphins Personhood
Hundreds of dolphins are killed in a remote Japanese bay during hunting season. The town argues it is an important tradition, but conservationists maintain the bloody practice is inhumane
– Taiji Cove dolphins: Japanese government defends ‘lawful’ slaughter as hunters prepare to kill 200 animals (Independent, Jan 20, 2014):
Japanese fisherman have begun the slaughter of hundreds of bottlenose dolphins this morning, campaigners said, amid an international outcry over the annual hunt.
Members of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS), which is monitoring the cull, said fisherman had begun killing the dolphins corralled into the Taiji cove earlier this week at 7.30am.
– Officials by West Coast Speak Out on Fukushima: Concerns about cancer, illness from contaminated food — ‘Low-level’ radiation being reported in fish — “We cannot sit by and watch and wait” — National gov’t appears to not be taking it seriously (ENENews, Jan 20, 2014):
The Haida Nation’s 2013 House of Assembly, Dec. 2013: With ongoing and increased concerns about the aftermath of the 2011 nuclear disaster in Japan, and considering our reliance on seafood here on Haida Gwaii, the Council of the Haida Nation will look at ways to work with the provincial and federal governments to request that the Japanese government provide open and honest updates on the nuclear waste leaching into the Pacific Ocean.
Full letter below.
– Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (Liberty Blitzkrieg, Jan 20.2014):
Back in June 2013, I was suddenly inspired to read Martin Luther King Jr.’s thoughtful, powerful and provocative “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” It struck such a chord with me that I decided to write a post on it, in which I highlighted key excerpts.
Today, January 20th, is Martin Luther King Day for those of us in these United States. With the Republic at such a crossroads, one filled with peril, but also with tremendous opportunity; it would serve us all well to heed the words this great man wrote so many years ago, during another troubled and dynamic time in our history. As such, I am reposting my piece from last summer below.
Martin Luther King: “Everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was Legal”
Even if you have read Martin Luther King’s celebrated “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” I insist you read it again. For those that have never read it, the inspired prose may very well change your life. The letter’s message is eternal and extraordinarily relevant in the current global struggle of the 99.9% against the criminality, corruption and oppression of a very small, but very powerful 0.01%. One of the key tactics this tiny minority uses is to claim that their immoral deeds are “legal.” He spends much of his time in the letter outlining the distinction between “just laws” and an “unjust laws,” and one of the key points he makes that we should all keep close to our hearts and minds in these trying times is:
We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was “legal” and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was “illegal.” It was “illegal” to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler’s Germany. Even so, I am sure that, had I lived in Germany at the time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers.
I also think it’s important to recognize that many of his contemporaries referred to his tactics as “extremist,” very similar to how the term “terrorist” is used currently to demonize public dissent in America. Below are some of the excepts I found most powerful:
