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December 23, 2011

The Spirit of Revolution

17-year-old Andrew Barrows invokes the spirit of the Founding Fathers to question America’s current direction.

I want to start with some quotes from past presidents of the United States Of America, as well as important activists who discussed freedom and oppression.

Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves. - Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)

The will of the people is the only legitimate foundation of any government, and to protect its free expression should be our first object. - Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)

True individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made. - Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945)

Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.

Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968)

The law will never make men free, it is men that have to make the law free. - Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter. - George Washington (1732-1799)

In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility — I welcome it. - John F. Kennedy (1917-1963)

I think to myself, all these people — historical leaders who will be talked about for as long as American history exists, had such wonderful views on freedom, and great ideas about how the country should be run. In fact, they are so wonderful we still talk about them hundreds of years later.

Now I think to myself, all these people — historical leaders who will be talked about for as long as American history exists, had such wonderful views on freedom, and great ideas about how the country should be run. In fact, they are so wonderful we still talk about them hundreds of years later.

I think about the American Revolution, and how many people have fought and died to make America, and what the American Revolution was all about. I constantly ponder the thought of, “I really wonder how past presidents would react to the way America is now.” I can imagine Abraham Lincoln or George Washington being brought back to life to experience modern America for just a day. But I can’t begin to imagine his facial expression when I would tell him:

Yeah, since all of your wonderful truth speaking, caring about the people, and doing what is right and fair to give people extraordinary documents dedicated to freedom…America has really gone down hill…and I mean…really down hill.

Being a president today actually means who’s the best liar on the stage. It is like a highschool talent show. Each person goes on stage and tries to convince the audience to like them, and whoever lies the most wins. They are just puppets who can’t really do anything. Congressional approval is 8% and WE the people don’t actually get a say in what happens. The mega rich call the shots and huge companies actually control what the government does while the middle class and poor get robbed blind.

After I would study his confusion…I would continue…

The Patriot Act

(After explaining what a phone and the Internet is). Gives the government the power to read my emails, my text messages, track my phone, follow me, tap my phone calls, install a tracking device under my car to know my exact location. In short…violate my privacy completely.

Then I would discuss the SOPA/PROTECT IP ACT.

A bill that has been introduced in the Senate and the House and is moving quickly through Congress. It gives the government and corporations the ability to censor the Net, in the name of protecting “creativity”. The law would let the government or corporations censor entire sites — they just have to convince a judge that the site is “dedicated to copyright infringement.”

Next of course, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

The bill grants power to the military to arrest U.S. citizens on American soil and detain them in military prisons forever without offering them the right to legal counsel or even a trial. This isn’t a totally new thing: “dirty bomb” plotter Jose Padilla spent three-and-a-half years as an “enemy combatant” until he was finally charged. But Padilla’s detention was unusual and sparked a huge outcry; the new provisions would standardize his treatment and enable us all to become Jose Padillas.

Than I would probably make him watch this video on YouTube: “A Time-Lapse Map of Every Nuclear Explosion Since 1945″ by Isao Hashimoto

 

 

Than I would explain having a gun, missing fingers, or 7 days of food at your house = YOU ARE A TERRORIST

You know, at this point he would probably be on his knees with a huge headache.

I’m sure eventually he would say something like “Why are the people allowing this to happen? And what happened to people fighting for what is right?”

Than I would explain the Anonymous Internet group and the Occupy movement and protests. I think he would be pretty happy and would get up off his knees.

BUT than I would show him videos of what is happening when people are trying to protest and spread truth. I would start probably with this video:

or this video:

 

It’s really hard to choose which video of police attacking innocent protesters expressing their Constitutional rights I would show because, honestly, YouTube is filled with them. So I would probably just let him browse around for a while.

Now at this point I would imagine he would pretty much scream or yell that everything that past Americans had fought for to create has been literally bashed by the people who are supposed to enforce it, and has been turned around and used against the people instead of protecting them.

Than I would get Paul Revere out of my time machine/life regeneration thing and Paul Revere would jump on his horse and ride through the city streets of Boston yelling “The British aren’t coming; they are already here!

“Would our Founding Fathers be disgraced at what America has become? Is everything they fought for now becoming useless?

Would they call for a revolution?

 

Source: https://www.activistpost.com/2011/12/spirit-of-revolution.html#more

Morocco: Seven People Were Burned In Protests Against Oppression In 2011.

Friday 09/12/2011, the Moroccan authorities reported the death of Muhammed Suleiman street vendor Rushd hospital in Casablanca, having burned his own body to protest the heavy police oppression.

The Arab world has been at the limit of endurance, with respect to heavy repression that you receive from your government. Execute arbitrary laws and almost no convictions that the accused has the right to defense.

The example of Tunisia in January a street vendor had their goods taken by the security forces have seen no alternative to support her four children and wife. burned his body in front of the courthouse to protest the abuse of power and lack of government investment in economic leveling of the population.

Yesterday, the Moroccan authorities reported the death of Muhammed Suleiman street vendor Rushd hospital in Casablanca, having burned his own body to protest the heavy police oppression.

According to the “February 20 Movement, which represents the popular revolution of Morocco, the boy was selling smuggled gasoline (a common activity in the country), and he was pressured by police who threatened to take his goods if they pay a small “rate”.

Another reference is the website ”lakome“ who said the boy found himself depressed and angry, threw gasoline on his body while arguing with police who threatened to confiscate petrol prohibited until fired. According to sources, the young man died on Friday 09 December because of injuries, despite receiving medical attention.

National crisis

According to the February 20th Movement, a grassroots movement of opposition to the current Moroccan regime, even after the last elections, which were also considered “a success”, this is already the 7th incident in the country. All these desperate people, their bodies incinerated after not finding any more support in law or in society, or to consider that, through the police force, no one would care to hear their problems.

The average suicide has been between 20 and 32 years. Among these, there is a young, 20. While the population seeks to draw the attention of authorities for their needs, only the rich life and improve more and more people are living without rights. A crisis worsens and the apparent efforts to alleviate the suffering of the Moroccan people has not been sufficiently implemented, is what describes the “February 20 Movement.” According to testimony from members of the movement, most of the suicides came as a result of heavy police repression and abuse of authority. There are cases like Kamal Amri, who was killed by the system, so that seemed to suicide by fire.

The list of martyrs courtesy Ratoune Mourad political activist of Moroccan popular organization “Youth Movement February 20“:

Deaths by suicide

  • Judge Emad, 18
  • Bnkaddor horse, 25
  • Salmi beauty, 24
  • Samir Albuazawa, 17
  • Fadwa Laroui, 20
  • Shayeb Karim, 21
  • Kamal Al-Amari, 30
Killings by security forces.
  1. Alknona Hamid, 26
  2. Mohammed Bodroh
  3. Kamal al-Hassani, 28

Source: https://bloghumans.blogspot.com/2011/12/marrocos-7-pessoas-se-incendiaram-em.html?spref=fb

Rioters Beware: Police Set To Deploy £25,000 James Bond-Style Laser That Temporarily Blinds

  • Shoulder-mounted device temporarily impairs the vision of anyone looking towards its laser
  • Originally invented to deter pirates from vulnerable cargo ships
  • Resembles a rifle and can hit targets 500m away with a wall of light up to four metres wide

Police may be given a laser weapon that could repel rioters with a blinding wall of light.

The shoulder-mounted device, which resembles a rifle, temporarily impairs the vision of anyone looking towards it.

Developed by a former Royal Marine commando, the £25,000 laser can dazzle and incapacitate targets up to 1,640ft away by creating a 13ft wall of light.

Government scientists have been impressed by initial trials and are preparing to ask police to test it as potential weapon in a growing armoury of equipment aimed at preventing a repeat of the August riots.

The Home Office said it had to be tested further and guidelines drawn up for its use.

Paul Kerr, of Photonic Security Systems, the UK-based firm behind it, said the effect was like looking into a low sun on a bright winter day. He added: ‘It is horrible. It makes you look away.

‘The system would give police an intimidating visual deterrent. If you can’t look at something you can’t attack it.

‘If police spot someone trying to do something untoward, painting them with this would certainly make them think twice about it.’

Developed by a former Royal Marine commando, the £25,000 laser resembles a rifle and can dazzle and incapacitate targets up to 500m away.

James Bond-style: The SMU 100 temporarily impairs the vision of anyone looking towards its source with a wall of lightSet for approval: Government scientists have been impressed by initial tests and a preparing to ask one force to trial its use

It creates a wall of light up to four metres wide and comes with an infrared scope to spot looters in poor visibility.

Those behind the invention believe it has many uses, from deterring rioters to aiding high-risk hostage rescues.

The Home Office has been considering new forms of non-lethal equipment since a wave of looting and arson rocked the country.

The Metropolitan Police is considering buying three water canon at a cost of up to £4million but senior officers remain divided over how effective they would be.

The force is also increasing the number of officers trained to fire plastic bullets and has warned they could be used.

It has already deployed an imposing new portable metal fence in Whitehall during a recent anti-cuts demonstration.

The trailer-mounted fence, complete with spy-holes and police signs, was donated by the Government last year and is similar to those used in European cities.

A Home Office spokesman said the technology must be tested to ensure it does not cause any permanent ill effects and guidelines drawn up for its use.

He added: ‘Laser dazzle technology is one we have recognised as holding some merit.

‘However, prior to any police deployment a number of things need to be done to assess the technology’s suitability.’

Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2072771/Police-set-deploy-25-000-James-Bond-style-laser-temporarily-blinds.html#ixzz1gJ3AMbaj

GBTV: Investor Jim Rogers Gives Dire Warning ‘That Will Lead to the End of the World as We Know It’

For those unfamiliar with Beck’s guest, Jim Rogers is a famous American investor who, along with George Soros, founded the Quantum Fund, one of the world’s first international funds.

Also, he is the creator of the Rogers International Commodities Index.

 

Top US General Worries About Euro, Potential Unrest

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Top US military officer General Martin Dempsey admitted he was “extraordinarily concerned” about the euro’s survival Friday, pointing to potential civil unrest and the breakup of the European Union.

“The eurozone is at great risk,” the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told reporters, giving the strongest indication yet about the depth of Washington’s concerns over Europe’s financial tumult.

“We are extraordinarily concerned by the health and viability of the euro because in some ways we’re exposed literally to contracts but also because of the potential of civil unrest and breakup of the union that has been forged over there,” Dempsey said.

The unusually frank comments came hours after EU leaders banded together to back tighter budget enforcement, with 26 of the 27 members signaling their willingness to join a “new fiscal compact” to resolve the crisis.

But a Franco-German drive to enshrine new budget rules in a modified EU treaty failed, when non-euro Britain refused to go along, raising the prospect of a two-speed Europe or fully fledged EU breakup.

Dempsey said it was still unclear whether measures taken so far “will be the glue that holds it together.

His remarks echo those of some economists, who have warned the collapse of the eurozone would reverberate well beyond the financial sector.

Prominent Citigroup economist and former central banker Willem Buiter warned Thursday that a fully blown breakup of the eurozone could spell a global depression and “pandemonium.”

Defaults and eurozone exits by Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain “would drag down not just the European banking system, but the north Atlantic financial system and the internationally exposed parts of the rest of the global banking system as well.”

The former Bank of England official said the result would be “a global depression that would last for years” with gross domestic product falling by more than 10 percent and unemployment in the West reaching 20 percent or more.

The case for keeping the Euro Area show on the road would seem to be a strong one: financially, economically, and politically, including geopolitically,” he concluded.

US President Barack Obama and his Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner — who returned from Europe this week — have repeatedly urged Europe to move quickly to solve the crisis.

But both the White House and Treasury Department have been careful to preface their concern with expressions of confidence in Europe’s ability to pull through in the end.

Look, Europe is wealthy enough that there’s no reason why they can’t solve this problem,” Obama said on Thursday.

Yet Dempsey’s comments are not the first time US security officials have waded into economic waters.

In 2009 Dennis Blair, then America’s top spy, warned Congress that the global economic crisis could eclipse terrorism as the greatest threat to US national security.

 

Source: https://www.activistpost.com/2011/12/top-us-general-worries-about-euro.html

U.S. Says Americans Are MILITARY Targets in the War on Terror … And Says that Only the White House – and Not the Courts – Gets to Decide Who Is a Legitimate Target

American Citizens on U.S. Soil May be Indefinitely Detained, Sent to Guantanamo or Assassinated

As everyone realizes by now, Congress’ push for indefinite detention includes American citizens on American soil. As Huffington post notes:

The debate also has left many Americans scratching their heads as to whether Congress is actually attempting to authorize the indefinite detention of Americans by the military without charges. But proponents — led by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) and Carl Levin (D-Mich.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee — say that is exactly what the war on terror requires. They argued that the bill simply codifies precedents set by the Supreme Court and removes uncertainty, which they said would better protect the country.

Here is John McCain justifying sending Americans to Guantanamo:

 

(As Emptywheel and Glenn Greenwald note, the White House has believed for many years that it possessed the power to indefinitely detain Americans)

But that’s not all.

The government can also kill American citizens. For more than a year and a half, the Obama administration has said it could target American citizens for assassination without any trial or due process.

But now, as shown by the debates surrounding indefinite detention, the government is saying that America itself is a battlefield.

AP notes today:

U.S. citizens are legitimate military targets when they take up arms with al-Qaida, top national security lawyers in the Obama administration said Thursday.

***

The government lawyers, CIA counsel Stephen Preston and Pentagon counsel Jeh Johnson … said U.S. citizens do not have immunity when they are at war with the United States.

Johnson said only the executive branch, not the courts, is equipped to make military battlefield targeting decisions about who qualifies as an enemy.

The courts in habeas cases, such as those involving whether a detainee should be released from the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba, make the determination of who can be considered an enemy combatant.

You might assume – in a vacuum – that this might be okay (even though it trashes the Constitution, the separation of military and police actions, and the division between internal and external affairs).

But it is dangerous in a climate where you can be labeled as or suspected of being a terrorist simply for questioning war, protesting anything, asking questions about pollution or about Wall Street shenanigans, supporting Ron Paul, being a libertarian, holding gold, or stocking up on more than 7 days of food.

And it is problematic in a period in which FBI agents and CIA intelligence officials, constitutional law expert professor Jonathan Turley, Time Magazine, Keith Olbermann and the Washington Post have all said that U.S. government officials “were trying to create an atmosphere of fear in which the American people would give them more power”, and even former Secretary of Homeland Security – Tom Ridge –admits that he was pressured to raise terror alerts to help Bush win reelection.

And it is counter-productive in an age when the government – instead of doing the things which could actually make us safer – are doing things which increase the risk of terrorism.

And it is insane in a time of perpetual war.

And when the “War on Terror” in the Middle East and North Africa which is being used to justify the attack on Americans was planned long before 9/11.

And when Jimmy Carter’s National Security Adviser told the Senate in 2007 that the war on terror is “a mythical historical narrative”. And 9/11 was entirely foreseeable, but wasn’t stopped. Indeed, no one in Washington even wants to hear how 9/11 happened, even though that is necessary to stop future terrorist attacks. And the military has bombed a bunch of oil-rich countries when it could have instead taken out Bin Laden years ago.

As I noted in March:

The government’s indefinite detention policy – stripped of it’s spin – is literally insane, and based on circular reasoning. Stripped of PR, this is the actual policy:

  • If you are an enemy combatant or a threat to national security, we will detain you indefinitely until the war is over
  • But trust us, we know you are an enemy combatant and a threat to national security

See how that works?

And – given that U.S. soldiers admit that if they accidentally kill innocent Iraqis and Afghanis, they then “drop” automatic weapons near their body so they can pretend they were militants – it is unlikely that the government would ever admit that an American citizen it assassinated was an innocent civilian who has nothing at all to do with terrorism.

 

Source: https://www.washingtonsblog.com/2011/12/americans-are-military-targets-in-the-war-on-terror.html

Obama and the War Criminals

The Republicans and Democrats play for the same team. It is all window dressing to keep us divided cheering for our ‘Red’ team or our ‘Blue’ team when in reality, they are of the same cloth. There is no change. It is the same basic message only it is now delivered with a new eloquence. If we are to put our wedge issues aside and listen to our conscience to what is just, what is right and if we are to judge a tree by the fruit it bears we can clearly see that our government is rotting on the branch. The players of each team will never enact any accountability on each other. The people of this country must demand it.

Visit: https://www.puppetgov.com

Music by: Trillion/Jody Lloyd
https://www.trillion.co.nz/

Two Million Strike in UK!!

 

 

Ron Paul Warns Of Coming Social And Political Chaos

UK Withdraws Diplomatic Staff From Iran After Attack

Britain is withdrawing some diplomats from Iran following the attack on its embassy in the capital, Tehran, on Tuesday, diplomatic sources say.

The Foreign Office said “some staff” were leaving “for their own safety”, but gave no further details of the numbers involved.

Norway has said it has closed its embassy, citing security concerns.

Tuesday’s attack followed Britain’s decision to impose further sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme.

It led to Iran’s parliament voting to reduce diplomatic relations with the UK.

‘Hasty’

Hundreds of protesters - whom Iran described as “students” - massed outside the embassy compound on Tuesday afternoon before scaling the walls and the gates, burning British flags and a car.

For many, an incursion into a Western embassy in Tehran triggers memories of one event - the storming by Iranian students of the US embassy in 1979.

More than 50 US diplomats and staff were held for more than 400 days. The US and Iran have yet to overcome the legacy of this event - the two countries have not restored diplomatic relations.

The British government has warned that Iran will face serious consequences. What these consequences may be is not yet clear, but Britain will want to act alongside its partners in the EU.

In April 1997, all EU countries withdrew their ambassadors for seven months because Iranian intelligence agents had been found guilty of murdering four Iranian Kurds in Germany.

Another UK diplomatic compound in northern Tehran, known locally as Qolhak Garden, was also overrun and damaged.

Iran said it regretted the incident, which it described as “unacceptable behaviour by a small number of protesters”.

According to AFP news agency, a first group of embassy staff are flying out to Dubai.

In a statement on Wednesday, the British Foreign Office said Mr Cameron and Foreign Secretary William Hague had “made clear that ensuring the safety of our staff and their families is our immediate priority”.

“In the light of yesterday’s events and to ensure their ongoing safety, some staff are leaving Tehran,” it said.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has warned of “serious consequences”, while the US, EU and UN Security Council also condemned the attack.

Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani has described the UN Security Council’s condemnation as “hasty”, according to state television.

“The hasty move in the Security Council in condemning the students’ actions was done to cover up previous crimes of America and Britain while the police did all they could to keep the peace,” Mr Larijani was quoted as saying.

Norway decided to shut its Tehran embassy due to “security concerns” after the attack on the British embassy, foreign ministry spokeswoman Hilde Steinfeld said.

But it is not evacuating its staff from Iran, she said.

Downgraded relations

The attack came a week after the US, Canada and the UK announced new sanctions against the Islamist state, including measures to restrict the activities of the Iranian central bank.

For its part, the UK said it would sever all financial ties with Iran - the first time Britain has cut off all banking relations with another state.

The move came after a new report by the UN’s nuclear watchdog (IAEA), which said Iran had carried out tests “relevant to the development of a nuclear device”.

Iran denies the accusations, saying its nuclear progamme is solely for civilian purposes.

On Sunday, Iran’s parliament voted by a large majority to downgrade diplomatic relations with the UK in response to the recent action.

Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15956946