News Items

Welcome to Guantanamo: Obama’s Hunger Striking, Force Feeding Torture Camp

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What’s happening in Guantanamo Bay right now is bad, very bad.  For those of you who aren’t paying attention, 100 of the 166 prisoners at Gitmo are engaged in a hunger strike and some of them are in such dire straights they are being brutally force fed.  No big deal you say? Well the American Medical Association (AMA) disagrees and they are concerned that such treatment is contrary to medical ethics.  In fact, the AMA’s president sent a letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel asking him “to address any situation in which a physician may be asked to violate the ethical standards of his or her profession.”

And yes, this is on Obama. While he blames Congress (as usual) for not closing the facility, in reality all he ever wanted to do was just move it to the United States. The man is a pathological liar.  From Reuters:

(Reuters) – The Navy sent extra medical personnel to the Guantanamo detention camp because of a growing hunger strike, and the American Medical Association questioned whether doctors were being asked to violate their ethics by force-feeding prisoners.

He said 100 of the 166 detainees had joined a hunger strike that began in February to protest their continued detention at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base in eastern Cuba. Twenty-one of those had lost enough weight that they were being fed liquid supplements via tubes inserted in their noses and down into their stomachs, House said.

On Thursday, the president of the American Medical Association sent a letter to U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel reiterating its long-held position that it is a violation of medical ethics to force-feed mentally competent adults who refuse food and life-saving treatment. 

It urged the defense secretary “to address any situation in which a physician may be asked to violate the ethical standards of his or her profession.”

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Political Activists May be Banned from San Francisco’s Public Transportation System

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This article seems innocuous enough…until you keep reading.  At first it appears entirely reasonable that the BART system (Bay Area Rapid Transit) might look to ban riders for a year who act violently while using the service. However; as is becoming increasingly typical these days, what sounds reasonable at first tends to be awful upon deeper inspection.  For example, according to ABC News in San Francisco:

AB 716 won’t only target violent behavior. It can be applied to protestors who have been arrested during free-speech movements.

I mean this is beyond outlandish and absolutely unacceptable in a free society. It seems to open up a Pandora’s box to punish anyone who publicly expresses dissent against the oligarch controlled society we live in.  Why should anyone who gets into trouble at a protest have their right to public transportation stripped?  It’s one thing if BART wants to ban someone for a year if they cause problems on the BART system itself, it is a whole other issue to ban them from it because of protest activity that has nothing to do with the public transportation system.  If this report is accurate, it is an awful development and a surreptitious attack on free speech.

From ABC News:

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) — BART is rolling out a new plan that will allow it to ban passengers who don’t behave. The process started more than a year ago, when state legislators passed a law giving BART that power.

BART already has something called a “stay-away” order that the transit agency can issue, but that needs to go through local prosecutors’ offices and can take a long time. This new plan gives BART the power to make a decision and act right away.

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CME President on Gold: “They Don’t Want Certificates, They Want the Real Product”

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What’s interesting about gold, when we had that big break two weeks ago we saw all the gold stocks trade down significantly, we saw all the gold products trade down significantly, but one thing that did not trade down, was gold coins, tangible real  gold.  That’s going to show you, people don’t want certificates, they … Read more

How the CIA Enriches Warlords, Drug Dealers and the Taliban in Afghanistan

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This article from the New York Times further solidifies the notion that we clearly have no idea what we are doing anywhere, whether it relates to the domestic economy or foreign policy. While the American citizenry remains unemployed and increasingly on food stamps, we are paying tens of millions of dollars to Afghan warlords and drug dealers so that they can build their “dream homes.”  My favorite line is: “the cash has fueled corruption and empowered warlords, undermining Washington’s exit strategy from Afghanistan.”   Makes sense.  We are simply exporting our domestic economic model abroad.  From the New York Times:

KABUL, Afghanistan — For more than a decade, wads of American dollars packed into suitcases, backpacks and, on occasion, plastic shopping bags have been dropped off every month or so at the offices of Afghanistan’s president — courtesy of the Central Intelligence Agency.

“We called it ‘ghost money,’ ” said Khalil Roman, who served as Mr. Karzai’s deputy chief of staff from 2002 until 2005. “It came in secret, and it left in secret.”

Kind of like Corzine at MF Global!

Moreover, there is little evidence that the payments bought the influence the C.I.A. sought. Instead, some American officials said, the cash has fueled corruption and empowered warlords, undermining Washington’s exit strategy from Afghanistan.

Payments ordinarily range from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars, the officials said, though none could provide exact figures. The money is used to cover a slew of off-the-books expenses, like paying off lawmakers or underwriting delicate diplomatic trips or informal negotiations.

It is not clear that the United States is getting what it pays for. Mr. Karzai’s willingness to defy the United States — and the Iranians, for that matter — on an array of issues seems to have only grown as the cash has piled up. Instead of securing his good graces, the payments may well illustrate the opposite: Mr. Karzai is seemingly unable to be bought.

But the C.I.A. has continued to pay, believing it needs Mr. Karzai’s ear to run its clandestine war against Al Qaeda and its allies, according to American and Afghan officials.

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A Look into the Malware the FBI Uses to Spy Through Webcams

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Really interesting article that discusses a case in which a Texas judge decided to block the FBI from installing malware on suspect’s computer that would allow them to take over the machine’s webcam amongst other malicious things.  While it’s good news that the judge blocked its use, the author accurately points out that: “another of Smith’s reasons was that he could not justifiably issue a warrant on a computer that could be outside of that area. A federal judge may have fewer qualms with that issue.”

Indeed, which is why we should all be acutely aware of the kinds of “tools” the FBI has at its disposal against peaceful dissidents, particularly after they identified Occupy Wall Street activists as “terrorists.”  From Wired:

A Texas judge has blocked the FBI from installing malware on a laptop that would have been able to take over its webcam.

This kind of malware is extremely common elsewhere on the web, of course, but that’s the kind of nefarious, underhand tactic you’d expect from scammers, or even just perverts wanting to spy on women undressing. But the FBI is apparently learning from these techniques, and it wants to install similar malware on the computer of an unknown person they suspect of being guilty of fraud so they can track him down.

Smith described the warrant the FBI sought as “not a garden-variety search warrant”. It wouldn’t have just taken control of the laptop’s webcam — it would also have recorded a heap of personal information, including email and other web activity, personal passwords and files and the laptop’s location. It also aimed to gather “accounting entries reflecting the identification of new fraud victims”.

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Baby Taken from Parents for Wanting a Second Medical Opinion

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This is such a disturbing story on so many levels.  If we don’t start standing up for ourselves as a society, pretty soon individuals and families will not be allowed to make any decisions for themselves.  Free will be a thing of the past and “the state” will make all choices for us because, after all, they know best.  Let’s not forget the recent case of a 14 year old arrested for wearing a benign pro-gun t-shirt.  I can’t even begin to fathom how traumatized these poor parents are.  From KSDK News:

It all began nearly two weeks ago, when Anna Nikolayev and her husband Alex took their 5-month-old boy Sammy to Sutter Memorial Hospital to be treated for flu symptoms, but they didn’t like the care Sammy was getting.

For example, one day Anna asked why a nurse was giving her son antibiotics.

“I asked her, for what is that? And she’s like, ‘I don’t know.’ I’m like, ‘you’re working as a nurse, and you don’t even know what to give to my baby for what,'” Anna explained.

According to Anna, a doctor later said Sammy shouldn’t have been on the antibiotics.

Anna said Sammy suffers from a heart murmur and had been seeing a doctor at Sutter for regular treatment since he was born. After Sammy was treated for flu symptoms last week, doctors at Sutter admitted him to the pediatric ICU to monitor his condition. After a few days, Anna said doctors began talking about heart surgery.

“If we got the one mistake after another, I don’t want to have my baby have surgery in the hospital where I don’t feel safe,” Anna said.

Anna argued with doctors about getting a second opinion. Without a proper discharge, she finally took Sammy out of the hospital to get a second opinion at Kaiser Permanente.

Medical records from the doctor treating Sammy at Kaiser Permanente said the baby as clinically safe to go home with his parents. The doctor added, “I do not have concern for the safety of the child at home with his parents.”

“So police saw the report from the doctors, said, ‘okay guys, you have a good day,’ and they walked away,” Anna said.

Anna said the next day police and child protective services showed up on her doorstep. Alex Nikolayev said he met them outside a short time after they arrived.

“I was pushed against the building, smacked down. I said, ‘am I being placed under arrest?’ He smacked me down onto the ground, yelled out, ‘I think I got the keys to the house,'” Alex said.

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Welcome to Kreuzberg, Berlin: The Neighborhood with the Highest Bitcoin Concentration on Earth

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Fascinating article out today from the Guardian about the Kreuzberg area of Berlin, which has the highest density of businesses accepting Bitcoin in the world.  The associated video at the top of the article is also a must watch, as it becomes readily apparent how excited both the merchants and the customers are about using this free market currency.  I am completely convinced that the more people learn about Bitcoin and use it, the more exponential its adoption will become.  My favorite line from the video comes at the very end from Joerg Platzer, owner of the bar Room 77:

“Every day we do not start using a free currency like Bitcoin, we actually actively vote for the current system to continue.”

From the Guardian:

Like Chebli, Martens, whose Kersenvlaai (cherry cake) from her native Maastricht is rated as one of the best culinary offerings of the area, says she decided to accept Bitcoins because of the ease, cheapness and transparency of its payment system.

“It’s an easier way of digital payment than credit cards, which cost me a lot of money as a business and to which I’m forced to sign up for years,” she says.

These two tradespeople are among around a dozen in the Graefekiez, a cosy neighborhood established in the 19th century in the southern Berlin district of Kreuzberg, which currently boasts the highest density of businesses accepting the currency in the world. Its growing list of Bitcoin establishments includes a restaurant, a printing shop, a bar and boutique.

“Kreuzberg is traditionally an area in which people are very politically aware, critical towards existing systems and are constantly discussing and looking for alternatives to them, which makes it the perfect breeding ground for Bitcoin,” says Joerg Platzer, a staunch Bitcoin advocate who roams the neighborhood with a missionary zeal in search of new recruits.

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Canada Goes Completely Insane with New “Anti-Terror” Laws

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I never understood the view of some Americans who somehow think Canada will be a sort of “safe haven” destination after the financial system blows up.  That it is some sort of bastion of freedom and democracy.  For those that still adhere to this view, you’d better take a close look at the new “anti-terror” legislation being jammed through at the moment, Bill S-7.

Meanwhile, how convenient was it that Canada just happened to “foil” a terrorist plot just as this bill was being voted on.  From the CBC:

A new anti-terrorism bill, which passed the House of Commons Wednesday night and received royal assent Thursday, revives provisions from the Anti-terrorism Act passed just after the Sept. 11 attacks and adds some new ones.

“Royal assent.” Sounds appropriately neo-feudal doesn’t it.

Some controversial measures, such as investigative hearings and preventive detentions, which some fear might violate civil rights, have been restored. Some new sections in the bill seem tailored to thwart the early planning stages of an act of terrorism.

Here are eight things to know about the bill passed this week:

1.  Investigative hearings are reinstated
An individual can be forced to appear at a secret hearing without any charges being laid if authorities believe he or she has knowledge of a terrorist activity. The individual must appear and answer questions or risk being jailed for up to 12 months.

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Google Transparency Report: Worldwide Government Censorship Requests Up 26%

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While I tend to focus my attention on the rampant corruption and immoral behavior pervasive in these United States, it is quite clear that similar levels of oligarch thievery and parasitism are manifest throughout the globe. Hence the worldwide bull market in government attempts to censor political speech on the internet (in Canada they like to censor scientists).

In their latest transparency report, Google has announced that total government requests to remove content, i.e. censor, increased 26% in the second half of 2012 compared to the first six months.  The chart below is not encouraging.

Google graph

From The Guardian:

Governments made a record number of requests for Google to remove political content in the last half of 2012, the search giant said on Thursday.

The number of official requests for content to be removed jumped 26% in the final six months of 2012 compared to the start of the year, according to the latest Google Transparency Report. Google received 2,285 government requests to remove 24,179 pieces of content – an increase from 1,811 requests to remove 18,070 pieces of content that the company received during the first half of 2012.

Requests were made to pull videos from YouTube, delete blog posts onGoogle’s Blogger service and to remove items from Google search, making them harder to find.

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Teen Arrested at Middle School for Wearing a Pro-Gun T-Shirt

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This story perfectly demonstrates what a totally sad society we have become.  We can’t arrest a single banker or political crook, but heaven forbid a 14 year old wears a shirt that expresses support for the Second Amendment.  Arrest that infidel immediately!  We discover that:

A West Virginia teen arrested and accused of nearly inciting a riot after a confrontation with a teacher over his National Rifle Association t-shirt has inspired dozens of students across his county to wear similar apparel in solidarity.

Jared Marcum, 14, had a confrontation Thursday with a Logan Middle School teacher over his NRA t-shirt, which bears the organization’s logo, along with an image of a hunting rifle and the phrase, “Protect your right.”

Marcum’s lawyer, Ben White, said that when the teen was told to remove the shirt or turn it inside out, he attempted to engage the teacher in a debate.

“Jared respects firearms and has training to use them, and believes in the Second Amendment,” White told ABCNews.com. “He believes it’s being threatened by current legislation. He wore [the shirt] as an expression of political speech and the need to protect the Second Amendment.”

Marcum was eventually arrested and taken away by police after refusing to remove the shirt.  White said that when police told the teen they were going to arrest him, he stuck his hands out and said, “Fine.”

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