Police state files

"Two releases of local law enforcement files in recent days have shed new light on just how far the Bush administration, federal, and local law enforcement are going to suppress political dissent in the aftermath of 9-11."

This article was first published back in late March, so this isn't exactly new, but still relevant. This highlights two cases of abuse of power under the guise of fighting terrorism. What they reveal is growing intolerance of political activism and dissent, and makes clear that terrorism played no part in the actions of authorities, other than to create it themselves. Far from combating any terrorists, they're intent is to stiffle any opposition to government policy. The lesson being taught is that "if you have a problem with the way government is being run, then you'd better just stay home, keep quiet, and get over it, because we won't tolerate any peaceful anti-government activites anymore".

And we're supposed to believe we still live in a free country? Bullshit!

Nobody has a problem with cracking down on known violent people or groups, but we should all have a problem when simple acts of free speech are considered acts of terrorism, only because they run counter to the ruling powers. We have the right to speak out, and must continue to do so, whatever the cost, otherwise we will have betrayed the trust of the countless numbers who've fought for and given their lives over the centuries to preserve the freedoms and principles of this country. There have been many setbacks in the past, and no matter how long or short-lived they lasted, it was necessary for people to fight to restore the balance. That time has come again.

This Democratic Republic cannot possibly stand if we all just meekly accept everything the government tells us, and behave only in a manner that praises our government under any and all circumstances.

To acquiesce, is to commit treason.

20 Amazing Facts About Voting In The United States

1. 80% of all votes in America are counted by only two companies: Diebold and ES&S.

2. There is no federal agency with regulatory authority or oversight of the US voting machine industry.

3. The vice-president of Diebold and the president of ES&S are brothers.

4. The chairman and CEO of Diebold is a major Bush campaign organizer and donor who wrote in 2003 that he was "committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year."

5. 35% of ES&S is owned by Republican Senator Chuck Hagel, who became Senator based on votes counted by ES&S machines.

These are a few little details every American should know, regarding the most vital process of our republic. As with the ones quoted above, all the others on the list involve the two companies that control the machines that we're now forced to use, whether we like it or not.

The fact that both these companies are clearly politically biased should raise a stink, but for some reason it hasn't. Voting has become such a fraud, yet we don't even seem to notice.

Despite a troubled history, police across the nation are keeping tabs on ordinary Americans

"Good or bad, intelligence gathering by local police departments is back. Interviews with police officers, homeland security officials, and privacy experts reveal a transformation among state and local law enforcement."

Among the changes:

"Since 9/11, the U.S. Departments of Justice and Homeland Security have poured over a half-billion dollars into building up local and state police intelligence operations. The funding has helped create more than 100 police intelligence units reaching into nearly every state."

"To qualify for federal homeland security grants, states were told to assemble lists of "potential threat elements"--individuals or groups suspected of possible terrorist activity. In response, state authorities have come up with thousands of loosely defined targets, ranging from genuine terrorists to biker gangs and environmentalists."

"Guidelines for protecting privacy and civil liberties have lagged far behind the federal money. After four years of doling out homeland security grants to police departments, federal officials released guidelines for the conduct of local intelligence operations only last year; the standards are voluntary and are being implemented slowly."

Some probably think this is a good thing. Some probably say it's necessary to "make us safe". Some say: "if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to worry about". The trouble with that line of reasoning is that it goes against everything America is supposed to stand for.

Once upon a time, the activities that are being forced upon us by authorities at every level of government, where all the things that distingushed us from most all other countries in the world. Now, we meekly accept the kind of monitoring and invasive police actions that used to make us glad and above all, proud, that we didn't live in other places that controlled their populations through fear and intimidation. Those days are long gone.

We've been so conditioned to live in a constant state of fear for our safety, that we just accept all efforts to minimize our civil rights, just to keep us safe and warm from all the dark forces that lurk in every shadow, and around every corner. That fear has led us to completely forget (assuming we were ever attentive enough to know) about exactly how the roads to dictatorship were constructed in countless other countries, over countless eons. We still proudly proclaim our freedoms to be the greatest in the world, while totally ignoring the fact that those freedoms are being stolen right out from under us, all in the name of freedom.

We're constantly being told that people hate us for our freedoms, so the solution; just eliminated them, and we'll all be safe.

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Disease Mongering Collection

This page gives a list of links leading to articles about how the pharmaceutical industry has created a number of new "diseases" and hyped up some obscure ones. This is why just about everyone I know is on some kind of extremely expensive meds. This "trend" has pissed me off since the day drug companies began marketing their prescription products directly to the public, instead of just to healthcare workers like they used to. Here are a few of the offerings:

Medicine Goes to School: Teachers as Sickness Brokers for ADHD

The Latest Mania: Selling Bipolar Disorder

Pharmaceutical Marketing and the Invention of the Medical Consumer

Cholinesterase Inhibitors: Drugs Looking for a Disease?

State Would Outlaw Mandatory Microchip Implants

RFID microchips implanted in humans? Who would think of such a thing? Here are a few examples:

* VeriChip RFID Tag Patient Implant Badges Now FDA Approved
* U.S. Company Implants Chips in Workers
* RFID Tags Proposed to Halt Blackmarket Cadaver Trade

You're not even safe from being 'chipped when you're dead.

But you'll be safe in Wisconsin, if State Representative Marlin Schneider, D-Wisconsin Rapids, gets his bill passed. A proposal moving through the Wisconsin Legislature would prohibit anyone from requiring people to have the tiny RFID chips embedded in them or doing so without their knowledge. Violators would face fines of up to $10,000.

Here's something I'd like to see grow and take root in every state in the union. No one under any circumstances should be forced to become implanted. And that includes criminals. If any one group can be forced into it, eventually we all could.

DEPLETED URANIUM - FAR WORSE THAN 9/11

"In 1979, depleted uranium (DU) particles escaped from the National Lead Industries factory near Albany, N.Y.,which was manufacturing DU weapons for the U.S military. The particles traveled 26 miles and were discovered in a laboratory filter by Dr. Leonard Dietz, a nuclear physicist. This discovery led to a shut down of the factory in 1980, for releasing morethan 0.85 pounds of DU dust into the atmosphere every month, and involved a cleanup of contaminated properties costing over 100 million dollars."

"Imagine a far worse scenario. Terrorists acquire a million pounds of the deadly dust and scatter it in populated areas throughout the U.S. Hundreds of children report symptoms. Many acquire cancer and leukemia, suffering an early and painful death. Huge increases in severe birth defects are reported. Oncologists are overwhelmed. Soccer fields, sand lots and parks, traditional play areas for kids, are no longer safe. People lose their most basic freedom, the ability to go outside and safely breathe. Sounds worse than 9/11? Welcome to Iraq and Afghanistan."

These are the weapons being used by the U.S. military every day. They know full well the dangers posed to anyone in the area where these weapons are used, yet they still use them. In my book, this is a crime against humanity. Read on, and decide for yourself.

How to spot a terrorist

"I really had no idea how to spot a terrorist until I studied the manuals published by the Phoenix FBI, the state employees of Virginia, and the Texas Department of Public Safety. Now that I have absorbed these manuals, I not only know how to spot a terrorist, but I have discovered that I probably am a terrorist."

This article shows how U.S. agencies have targeted practically every U.S. citizen as being a terrorist. The criteria is so broad that it would be difficult for most to avoid being considered a terrorist. As you read them, it will become clear that the primary targets are meant less to catch actual terrorist, then to stiffle anyone who dares exercise their constitutional rights. Here are a few examples:

Phoenix FBI manual

Defenders of the U.S. Constitution against federal government and the UN.
Those who make numerous references to the U.S. Constitution.
Those who attempt to police the police.

Virginia manual

Property rights activists.
Environmental and animal rights activists.

Texas manual

Focused and committed.
Team-oriented and disciplined.
Familiar with their physical environments.
Employ a variety of vehicles and communicate by cell phone, email, or text messaging.

There's a little more to those lists, and some, arguably, could be debatable, but the message is clear; if you stand up for your constitutional rights, you will be considered a terrorist in the eyes of authorities.

If you've yet to question the motivation behind the war on terror, start paying attention!

The Corporate Control Of Society And Human Life

"Large transnational corporations are clearly the dominant institution of our time. They're preeminent throughout the world but especially in the Global North and its epicenter in the US. They control or greatly influence what we eat and drink, where we live, what we wear, how we get most of our essential services like health care and even what we're taught in schools up to the highest levels. They create and control our sources of information and greatly influence how we think and our view of the world and them. They even now own patents on our genetic code, the most basic elements of human life, and are likely planning to manipulate and control them as just another commodity to exploit for profit in their brave new world that should concern everyone. They also carefully craft their image and use catchy slogans to convince us of their benefit to society and the world, like: "better things for better living through chemistry" (if you don't mind toxic air, water and soil), "we bring good things to life" for them, not us), and "all the news that's fit to print" (only if you love state and corporate friendly disinformation and propaganda). The slogans are clever, but the truth is ugly."

This piece goes into why multi-nationals cannot be trusted to have the consumers best interests at heart. In spite of the promises of "globalization", it means no good for the average person. Many of the economic problems now plaguing the U.S. and others, can be traced directly to corporate greed and the corruption it's brought to political processes. Their campaigns to bring about their own version of the U.S. militarys' "full spectrum dominance" has so deluded the publics' perception of what they're actually doing, that many of those who are being driven to economic ruin by globalization, still believe that globalization, or a completely free trade economy, is the only road to prosperity. These same people still fail to notice that the gap between the top percent and the rest of us is growing wider and wider every single day.

One hundred years ago, this very same threat to the economic security of the average citizen was recognized, confronted, and combated, yet today, all the progress of the previous century has been eroded away by the politicians who've been bought and paid for by the mega-corporations. "Monopoly" was once a bad word, but within the last 25 years all the restraints placed upon corporations have been reversed, and now companies that had been broken up to stop monopolies are once again consolidating at an alarming rate, and gathering so much power with the aide of their political flunkies, that neither politicians nor the public are even mentioning the word "monopoly" any more, and worse, they're now welcoming the dawning of global coporate empires, many of whom already wield more power than most countries in the world.

Far too many people are simply blinded by all the sparkling baubles dangled in front of their eyes.

Project for the New American Century

"The Project for the New American Century is arguably the most influential right-wing advocacy group since the Committee on the Present Danger in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Established in 1997 by two leading neocon figures, William Kristol and Robert Kagan, PNAC aims to put the United States back on a course toward "global leadership" and to promote a "Reaganite policy of military strength and moral clarity." It is located in a warren of offices in the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) building in Washington, DC, that are also home to the Weekly Standard and various other Kristol brainchildren. More than an advocacy outfit, PNAC serves as a revolving door for administration officials, congressional aids, up-and-coming neoconservative wonks, and corporate players from such esteemed institutions as Lockheed Martin."

This page gives a short summary of activities of the group that currently controls the actions of the U.S government. You'll also find a list of its' members and contributors. This is the group that has pushed American onto the road towards "total spectrum dominance", and shows why simply impeaching Bush will have absolutly no impact on diverting our course away from what must inevitably result in our downfall. It doesn't matter if they're successful in the begining, there's no precedent in history that would lead any intelligent human to believe that this New American Century will last. All empires eventually fail, and there's no reason to think it won't happen again. History is filled with examples of what happens to imperial powers once they spread themselves too thin. In our case, the collapse will be devastating for all our succeeding generations, unless reversed in time.

Bush Brandishes Jail Time at Critics

"Over the past five-plus years, the American people have gotten a taste of what a triumphant George W. Bush is like, as he basked in high approval ratings and asserted virtually unlimited powers as Commander in Chief. Now, the question is: How will Bush and his inner circle behave when cornered?"

"So far, the answer should send chills through today’s weakened American Republic. Bush and his team – faced with plunging poll numbers and cascading disclosures of wrongdoing – appear determined to punish and criminalize resistance to their regime."

This article chronicles the responses of the administration and their media and party henchmen towards those true patriots who understand their duty is to their country first, and to their criminal leaders last. It shows that whenever misdeeds are exposed, it is the messenger who gets attacked, from all sides, to change the issue from possible criminal activity by the government, to accusations of treason and sedition on those who dare refuse to allow anti-American principals used by our government to go unspoken and unchallenged.

Those who lived through, or grew up in the shadow of World War II will remember just how adamant the victorious allies were, that "just following orders", used by the Germans, was no excuse!! We all need to remember that now, more that ever, and support and encourage anyone with knowledge of ANY government crimes, to do their duty to the American people. We already know exactly where blind loyalty and submissive obedience to ones' leaders can take us. Let's not go there without one hell of a fight.

New Plans Foresee Fighting Terrorism Beyond War Zones

"Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has approved the military's most ambitious plan yet to fight terrorism around the world and retaliate more rapidly and decisively in the case of another major terrorist attack on the United States, according to defense officials."

"The long-awaited campaign plan for the global war on terrorism, as well as two subordinate plans also approved within the past month by Rumsfeld, are considered the Pentagon's highest priority, according to officials familiar with the three documents who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about them publicly."

"Details of the plans are secret, but in general they envision a significantly expanded role for the military -- and, in particular, a growing force of elite Special Operations troops -- in continuous operations to combat terrorism outside of war zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan. Developed over about three years by the Special Operations Command (SOCOM) in Tampa, the plans reflect a beefing up of the Pentagon's involvement in domains traditionally handled by the Central Intelligence Agency and the State Department."

Keep in mind that nothing the government has said, has been true, and so none of their activities are taking place for the reasons they give. It should be understood that after more than four years of abiding by no ones' rules but our own (that we're making up as we go along), that if we haven't caught up to "the terrorists" by now, that catching them isn't really on the agenda, and never was. Think about it. As long as those phantom still run free, our government has a ready made excuse to continue on track towards "full spectrum dominance" of the globe, along with the growing authority to suppress through intimidation, any meaningful dissent here at home.

The CIA "Wehrmacht"

"This former senior officer said there “seems to be a quiet conspiracy by rational people” at the agency to avoid involvement in some of the particularly nasty tactics being employed by the administration, especially "renditions"—the practice whereby the CIA sends terrorist suspects abroad to be questioned in Egypt, Syria, Uzbekistan, and other nations where the regimes are not squeamish about torturing detainees. My source, hardly a softie on the topic of terrorism, said of the split at the CIA: "There's an SS group within the agency that's willing to do anything and there's a Wehrmacht group that is saying, 'I'm not gonna touch this stuff'."

I don't like the comparison of the Wehrmacht and SS, to that of the competing forces within our government agencies. It's an old fallacy that the Nazi war crimes were primarily committed by the SS. While it's true that the SS could be counted upon to commit any despicable act at the drop of a hat, the Wehrmacht certainly committed its' fair share.

Aside from that bad analogy, the rest of the article points to some good news, namely that some of the very people tasked with committing the current set of crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, are not simply remaining quiet and "just following orders", though most apparently still are. There hasn't been this much dissent since the heat of the Vietnam war. Now, if we can just get past talking, and start doing something.....

Debunking conspiracy theorists' paranoid fantasies about Sept. 11

"Astute observers of history are aware that for every notable event there will usually be at least one ,often several wild conspiracy theories which spring up around it. "The CIA killed Hendrix" " The Pope had John Lennon murdered ", "Hitler was half Werewolf", "Space aliens replaced Nixon with a clone" etc,etc. The bigger the event, the more ridiculous and more numerous are the fanciful rantings which circulate in relation to it. So its hardly surprising that the events of Sept 11 2001 have spawned their fair share of these ludicrous fairy tales. And as always, there is - sadly - a small but gullible percentage of the population eager to lap up these tall tales, regardless of facts or rational analysis.

One of the wilder stories circulating about Sept 11, and one that has attracted something of a cult following amongst conspiracy buffs is that it was carried out by 19 fanatical Arab hijackers, masterminded by an evil genius named Osama bin Laden, with no apparent motivation other than that they "hate our freedoms."

Ok, that last paragraph should clue you in on where this is all headed. I found this page while following links for another post I'll get to later, and just had to post this first. It was the title that caught my eye, and by the time I'd read as far as what I've quoted above, I was trying not to laugh out loud. It's not that it was really funny, but it caught me off guard and i started laughing at myself.

This is another one of those topics I'll be posting on once in a while that will take you back to the day when not a single shred of truth was uttered by a single federal official. It's been four and a half years, and we're still faced with the official lies and cover-ups of everything that happened that day. When it's clearly understood by all that nothing happened the way the government said it did, then people can begin to understand that nothing that's happened since (wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, wars on terror, and civil liberties), has happened for the reasons they gave. Only when you understand you're being manipulated for the goals of a few power-hungry elitists, and that your sons, daughters, uncles, aunts, brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, and friends, are shedding their blood for liars who have no intention of sharing with anyone the massive profits of war.

Normally, to the victors go the spoils, but not anymore. The puppet masters will reap all the rewards, and all we'll get are perpetual fear-mongering, fewer decent jobs, rising prices with the accompanying economic hardships, a severe loss of constitutional rights, and a government that will increasingly forego the pretense of being public servants, and act more like what they really are; corporate employees. We're all expendable to these people, and when you realize just how much of 9/11 was covered-up, and how much the government had to be involved with fore-knowledge, you can no longer pretend we were hit by outsiders alone, who caught us unaware.

It's time to awaken, and get really pissed.

America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq

"The invasion of Iraq in 2003 was not an isolated episode. It was the culmination of a 110-year period during which Americans overthrew fourteen governments that displeased them for various ideological, political, and economic reasons."

So writes author Stephen Kinzer in his new book "Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq."

Kinzer writes that "The "regime change" in Iraq seemed for a time -- a very short time -- to have worked. It is now clear, however, that this operation has had terrible unintended consequences. So have most of the other coups, revolutions, and invasions that the United States has mounted to depose governments it feared or mistrusted."

In this Democracy Now interview (which you can stream) you'll get a sense of the true nature of our government. The author explains that our history of interventions are directly tied to business interests, and not out of any sense of humanitarianism that's used as a public excuse for military action.

Only by understanding our history can you understand that our military is not used to help nor defend people of other nations, but to help and defend our business interests in other countries. Making the world safe for democracy is what you're always told, yet in truth, we make the world safe for corporate and banking profits.

Save the Internet

"Congress is pushing a law that would abandon Network Neutrality, the Internet’s First Amendment. Network neutrality prevents companies like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast from deciding which Web sites work the best — based on who pays them the most. Your local library shouldn’t have to outbid Barnes & Noble for the right to have its Web site open quickly on your computer."

"Net Neutrality allows everyone to compete on a level playing field and is the reason that the Internet is a force for economic innovation, civic participation and free speech. If the public doesn’t speak up now, Congress will cave to a multi-million dollar lobbying campaign by telephone and cable companies that want to decide what you do, where you go, and what you watch online."

You may have been hearing rumors about the 'net beoming caste-based, where your ability to pay, will determine the quality of your access. This is the other side of the same coin, where companies will be coerced into paying extortion, to be able to get quality access to you. If you want to put a stop to this telecom greed, now's the time to speak up.

Research links digital images and cameras

"Child pornographers will soon have a harder time escaping prosecution thanks to a stunning new technology in development at Binghamton University, State University of New York, that can reliably link digital images to the camera with which they were taken, in much the same way that tell-tale scratches are used by forensic examiners to link bullets to the gun that fired them."

They've found another tool for the arsenal of the surveillance society we're all being trained to accept. Like all the other methods, this one too is promoted as being for your own good, to protect the children. Like all the other methods, this one too will be used in many other ways to identify law-abiding citizens who may be participating in legal activities that the government may consider subversive. Just as in all the other methods, this one would also be hard to stop as well, since to even protest it will get you nothing but accusations of being a child molester. Just as in all the other methods, this same pacifist statement applies;"if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to worry about", right?