Month: December 2013

South Carolina is About to Pass a Bill to Nullify ObamaCare

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While we all know that the disaster that is ObamaCare is extremely unpopular throughout the country, South Carolina is leading the charge to actually nullify the legislation. House Bill 3101 already passed the state House back in April by a wide margin, and is set to be voted on in the state Senate in January. It is widely expected to pass and then be signed into law by Governor Nikki Haley.

If that happens, it would set up a huge states rights victory and likely encourage other states to follow suit. It will be extremely interesting to see how the feds respond to this…

From the Daily Caller:

A bill set for fast-track passage in the South Carolina Senate in January aims to eliminate Obamacare in the state. The law could become a model for other states fed up with the federal health-care law.

House Bill 3101, titled the “South Carolina Freedom of Health Care Protection Act,” passed the state House of Representatives last April by a 65-34 vote. The bill now heads to the GOP-controlled Senate with special-order priority, setting up the likelihood that South Carolina will become the first state to exempt citizens and businesses from all participation in the Affordable Care Act.

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Two Congressmen Push for Release of 28-Page Document Showing Saudi Involvement in 9/11

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I have publicly questioned the official story of 9/11 for many years. Of course, I’ve never claimed to know exactly what happened on that fateful day, but I’ve maintained that the official story stinks to high heaven. I always found it beyond bizarre that the U.S. launched a war against Iraq following the terrorist attacks, yet never really questioned the potential (and obvious) Saudi involvement, despite the glaring fact that 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi citizens.

Saudi suspicion crept even further into my mind following their anger at the U.S. for not going to war in Syria, in what now seems likely to have been a Saudi provocation to begin with.

Disturbingly, it appears the highest levels of the Bush Administration knew all too well about such a link and intentionally covered it up. The Obama Administration continues the coverup. The Saudi link is made clear in a 28-page, redacted classified document from 2002, which has now been seen by two Congressmen who were “absolutely shocked” by what they read. They are now leading a campaign to have these documents released and we must all support their efforts.

More from the International Business Times:

Since terrorists attacked the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, victims’ loved ones, injured survivors, and members of the media have all tried without much success to discover the true nature of the relationship between the 19 hijackers – 15 of them Saudi nationals – and the Saudi Arabian government. Many news organizations reported that some of the terrorists were linked to the Saudi royals and that they even may have received financial support from them as well as from several mysterious, moneyed Saudi men living in San Diego.

Saudi Arabia has repeatedly denied any connection, and neither President George W. Bush nor President Obama has been forthcoming on this issue.

But earlier this year, Reps. Walter B. Jones, R-N.C., and Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., were given access to the 28 redacted pages of the Joint Intelligence Committee Inquiry (JICI) of 9/11 issued in late 2002, which have been thought to hold some answers about the Saudi connection to the attack.

“I was absolutely shocked by what I read,” Jones told International Business Times. “What was so surprising was that those whom we thought we could trust really disappointed me. I cannot go into it any more than that. I had to sign an oath that what I read had to remain confidential. But the information I read disappointed me greatly.”

The public may soon also get to see these secret documents. Last week, Jones and Lynch introduced a resolution that urges President Obama to declassify the 28 pages, which were originally classified by President George W. Bush. It has never been fully explained why the pages were blacked out, but President Bush stated in 2003 that releasing the pages would violate national security.

Do we really need an explanation? Whenever the government wants to cover up its own crimes, or the crimes of our allies, they just yell “national security.” It’s a disgrace.

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Chinese State-Run Media Embarrasses Itself by Proclaiming “Unexpected Benefits of Smog”

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In case you weren’t aware, several of China’s major cities have experienced record-breaking, extremely dangerous levels of smog in recent days. For example, here is a shocking picture of Lianyungang, China:

Screen Shot 2013-12-11 at 11.44.18 AM
Photograph: Chinafotopress/Getty Images.

So how did China’s state-run media decide to respond to this environmental and public health disaster? With ridiculous propaganda about the “unexpected benefits” of smog of course. You have to see this to believe it.

From The Guardian:

China’s noxious air pollution has made people smarter, funnier and impervious to missile attacks, the country’s official media reported this week, as a toxic cloud covering half of the country began to lift.

On Monday the website of the state broadcaster CCTV published a list of five “unexpected benefits” brought by the smog.

It said the haze had unified Chinese people, as they found solidarity in their complaints; equalised them, as both rich and poor people were vulnerable to its effects; enlightened them, as they realised the cost of rapid growth; and “made Chinese people more humorous”, as smog-related jokes proliferated on the internet.

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Video of the Day: Pirate Party Founder Explains “Swarm Intelligence”

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Rick Falkvinge is an interesting guy. The 41-year old Swede started the Pirate Party in 2006, and then five years later stated that he had put all of his savings into Bitcoin. He is currently focused on a concept for social change that revolves around something he calls “swarm intelligence,” and he recently spent 20 … Read more

A New Political Party Emerges in India and Shocks Everyone with Strong Election Results

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Political grounds are shaking all over the world, and it seems India is the latest nation to experience such tremors.

Back in October, I highlighted the fact that the formerly “fringe” anti-euro Front National Party in France, led by Marine Le Pen, had shocked the nation by performing exceptionally well in regional elections. Not only was this a surprise because its strong anti-euro (currency) position is so outside the so-called “mainstream,” but also because it is not one of the traditional parties that shares power in France’s own version of the false left-right (Democrat/Republican) sham political paradigm.

Well now it appears the same thing is happening in India, with the sudden emergence of the AAP (Aam Admi or Common Man Party). Frustrated with the inept governance of the ruling Congress Party, and unwilling to embrace what is seen as a corporate backed Hindu-nationalist opposition BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party), many Indians, at least in Delhi, are looking to embrace something new.

From the Guardian:

Outside the headquarters of the Aam Admi (Common Man) party in central Delhi on Sunday night, hawkers sold poppadoms, bored police watched from squad cars and a crowd of excited young people sang songs dating back to the days of India’s independence movement.

“This is what we do best in this country: non-violent revolution,” said Shehshan Partak, a 25-year-old engineer and activist for Aam Admi (AAP). “And this is a revolution.”

The claim is exaggerated but perhaps not entirely unjustified. The results of recent elections in Delhi and three other Indian states, released on Sunday, indicate that change is imminent in the in the world’s biggest democracy. A general election is less than six months away.

In local assembly elections in Delhi, India’s sprawling capital, the party won 28 out of 70 seats. Kejriwal himself beat the chief minster of the city, a veteran of the ruling Congress party who had dismissed the AAP as “not even on our radar” when it was founded a year ago, by a massive 27,000-vote margin. Congress was wiped out, reduced to eight seats.

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Inaugural Interview with Miles Franklin – Gold, Bitcoin and Oligarch Theft

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Last week, I sat down for a chat with my fellow Coloradan and friend Andy Hoffman, Media Director for precious metals dealer Miles Franklin. Many precious metals focused people have taken a very aggressive, and in my opinion ignorant and short-sighted negative perspective on Bitcoin as of late. I personally feel that this is rooted … Read more

Picture of the Day: U.S. Spy Rocket’s Official Logo is of a Giant Octopus Wrapped Around the Earth

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This is unbelievable. I mean at this point these jerks are simply rubbing it in our faces. From Forbes: The Office of National Intelligence was very excited about sending a rocket into space Thursday with a bunch of new satellites and live tweeted its launch. This would usually be a cute display of social media, along the … Read more

How The Washington Post and The New Yorker Refused to Publish an Article on Obama Admin Syria Lies

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Seymour Hersh is not some guy off the street with a laptop and a head full of crazy ideas. The pulitzer prize winning journalist broke the My Lai Massacre story during the Vietnam War and also led reporting on the Abu Ghraib scandal in 2004. Well his most recent investigative reporting involves covering some of the blatant lies told by the Obama Administration earlier this year in an attempt to push the nation into a war in Syria on behalf of al-Qaeda, based on some very shaky evidence that Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons. Bizarrely enough, the publication with which Mr. Hersh is most associated, The New Yorker, refused to publish it. So did The Washington Post.

I don’t know about you, but this sure stinks of self-censopship to me. In particular, I think the Washington Post is playing defense following its reporting of the Edward Snowden leaks, and is afraid to further piss off the crony Obama Administration. It also seems likely The Post didn’t want to publish an article that would have showcased the paper’s own sloppy and irresponsible reporting on the matter. Which if true, is beyond pathetic.

From the Huffington Post:

NEW YORK — Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh accused the Obama administration Sunday of having “cherry-picked intelligence” regarding the Aug. 21 chemical attack in Syria that served as evidence for an argument in favor of striking President Bashar Assad’s government.

In his piece — titled “Whose Sarin?” — Hersh reported that al-Nusra, a jihadi group fighting in Syria’s long-running civil war, had also “mastered the mechanics of creating sarin and was capable of manufacturing it in quantity.” Therefore, he wrote, “Obama did not tell the whole story” when stating with certainty that Assad had to be responsible, crossing a so-called “red line” that would trigger U.S. retaliation.

You don’t say…

Hersh is a freelancer, but he’s best known these days for his work in The New Yorker, where he helped break the Abu Ghraib scandal in 2004. While Hersh is not a New Yorker staff writer, it was notable that his 5,500-word investigative piece landed in the London Review of Books, a London literary and intellectual magazine, rather than the publication with which he’s most closely associated.

In an email, Hersh wrote that “there was little interest” for the story at The New Yorker.

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Luxury Home Foreclosures Soar – Up 61% Versus Last Year

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I’ve always wondered what would happen once private equity players decided enough was enough and foreign oligarchs finished their real estate money laundering transactions. Well, we might be about to find out.

According to RealtyTrac, foreclosures for homes worth $5 million or more are up 61% this year despite the fact that overall foreclosures are down 23%. The question is, does this merely represent holdouts from the prior housing bubble, or is it a sign of things to come? Only time will tell. From CBS:

Foreclosures in the ultra-high-end housing market — homes worth $5 million or more — have skyrocketed 61 percent over last year.

That growth bucks the trend: Overall foreclosures are down 23 percent, according to a new report from Irvine, Calif.-based real estate information site RealtyTrac.

Until lately, that is. “Recently, we’ve been hearing from agents that they’re starting to see the high-end properties go to foreclosure and there turned out to be some data to support this notion that high-end holdouts are finally moving through the foreclosure process,” he said.

It may be a sign that lenders are now financially stable enough to start moving on ultra-high-end delinquencies and take the substantial losses these multi-million dollar homes represent.

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U.S. Military Changes Drone Rules to Make Targeting of Civilians Easier

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The drone issue is just another topic in which President Barrack Obama has proven himself to be a world-class liar and master of deception. Despite his claims that drone strikes do little damage to civilian populations, in July we discovered that “of the 746 people killed in drone strikes in Pakistan from 2006-2009, an incredible … Read more