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May 26, 2012 1:28 pm
PEACE OFFICERS GATHER FOR THE NATO MEETING, 2012. Land of the Free, yup.

PEACE OFFICERS GATHER FOR THE NATO MEETING, 2012.

Land of the Free, yup.

May 25, 2012 10:28 pm
The Terrifying Ways Google Is Destroying Your Privacy

Google appears to have morphed from a corporation that proclaims, “Don’t be evil” to one insisting that users “Join the Borg.”

via AlterNet

May 20, 2012 In 1999, Scott McNealy, the former head of Sun MicroSystems, reportedly declared, “You have zero privacy anyway….Get over it.” He unintentionally let the proverbial cat out of the bag of the digital age. 

In 2009, McNealy’s assessment was confirmed by Google’s CEO, Eric Schmidt. In an interview with NBC’s Mario Bartiromo, he proclaimed, “If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place.” Schmidt’s words have become Google’s new mantra. Welcome to 21st-century corporate morality. 

Now, a decade-plus later, McNealy’s prophetic words have take on a far more sinister significance than he probably intended. They are increasingly becoming the operating assumption of the digital corporate state. Whether going online, using a PC, smartphone, tablet or digital TV, users can no longer assume they have any privacy. In fact, users should assume they have absolutely no privacy.

Every time you enter a term into Google’s search engine, check out a video on YouTube, send or receive an email through Gmail (including key words in the message) or even make a call or download information on an Android-based phone, even using a third party’s phone from AT&T or Verizon, your input will be captured, stored and processed by Google. Google users can’t opt out of its data harvesting procedure; the company reports that the new procedure does not apply to Google Wallet, the Chrome browser and Google Books.

Google has been accused of hacking both Apple’s and Microsoft’s operating systems to further its data-capture practice. Jonathan Mayer, a Stanford researcher, discovered that Google could track a person’s usage of Apple’s Safari browser on an iPhone and an iPad, undercutting privacy settings. In addition, Microsoft engineers report finding that Google could bypass the privacy settings on its Internet Explorer browser. Google denies both accusations.

8:29 pm
May 23, 2012 11:02 pm
Hours to Save the Amazon - Please sign petition and pass it on.

The Brazilian Congress has just passed a catastrophic forestry bill that gives loggers and farmers free rein to cut down huge swaths of the Amazon. Nowonly President Dilma can stop it.

Fortunately, the timing is on our side — in weeks Dilma will host the world’s biggest environmental summit and insiders say she cannot afford to open it as the leader who approved the destruction of the rainforest. She’s facing mounting domestic pressure, with 79% of Brazilians rejecting this new bill. Now, if we join them we can turn up the global heat and push her to axe the bill, not the rainforest.

12:34 pm
That’s the truth!

That’s the truth!

May 21, 2012 9:12 pm
Wisconsin Dems furious with DNC for refusing to invest big money in Walker recall

Top Wisconsin Democrats are furious with the national party — and the Democratic National Committee in particular — for refusing their request for a major investment in the battle to recall Scott Walker, I’m told.

The failure to put up the money Wisconsin Dems need to execute their recall plan comes at a time when the national Republican Party is sinking big money into defending Walker, raising fears that the DNC’s reluctance could help tip the race his way.

“We are frustrated by the lack of support from the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Governors Association,” a top Wisconsin Democratic Party official tells me. “Scott Walker has the full support and backing of the Republican Party and all its tentacles. We are not getting similar support.”

“Considering that Scott Walker has already spent $30 million and we’re even in the polls, this is a winnable race,” the Wisconsin Dem continues. “We can get outspent two to one or five to one. We can’t get spent 20 to one.”

According to the Wisconsin Dem, the party has asked the DNC for $500,000 to help with its massive field operation. While the DNC has made generally supportive noises, the money has not been forthcoming, the official says — with less than a month until the June 5th recall election. The DNC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Obama’s political operation is providing volunteers with info on how to get involved in the recall battle and how to register to vote, but isn’t investing any money in the race, according to officials. Labor unions are expected to invest sizable sums in the ground game, but the top Wisconsin Dem Party official says it won’t be enough.

“This idea that labor has unlimited resources is a fantasy,” the Wisconsin Dem says. “Our needs go well beyond that.”

Polls suggest that very few Wisconsin voters are persuadable at this point — after huge pro-Walker ad expenditures, the numbers have barely budged — which means that the race will likely be decided by turnout. So the investment in the ground operation could be pivotal to the outcome; Wisconsin Dems are counting on their field operation — with more than 40 offices — to carry the day and offset Walker’s advantage on the air, but it needs more money.

9:42 am
My work table today

My work table today

9:34 am
[Flash 10 is required to watch video]
May 20, 2012 3:51 pm
This made more sense in 2008, when McCain was the PC…but even though that ad campaign is no longer on the air, I think it’s still funny with Romney… [BTW - those commercials were so good that if I was fast-forwarding through the commercials, and I passed one of those ads, I would actually rewind to see what the newest one said…]

This made more sense in 2008, when McCain was the PC…but even though that ad campaign is no longer on the air, I think it’s still funny with Romney…

[BTW - those commercials were so good that if I was fast-forwarding through the commercials, and I passed one of those ads, I would actually rewind to see what the newest one said…]

3:47 pm
SECRET SERVICE THREATENS COUPLE FOR STAMPING ONE DOLLAR BILLS

As regards the altering of US currency, (In my case, blacking out the “In God We Trust” motto), and whether or not it is illegal, I found the following on the Hemp News website, dated 1995:


09/11/95
WOODSTOCK, New York — A couple who habitually brand their one dollar bills with a marijuana leaf and the quote: “I grew hemp,” were recently contacted by Woodstock police acting on behalf of the Secret Service. Joy Beckerman and James Horn, owners of the Heaven On Earth Hemp Store, report that the police came to them with Xerox copies of stamped dollar bills and a written warning from the secret service specifying that the practice of defacing United States currency was a federal crime. Although Horn admits that the local officers were laid back about the whole issue, he claims that the notice stated that the U.S. Attorney General would be contacted and charges would be pressed if the couple didn’t immediately stop the stamping.
While Horn fully admits to stamping many of his dollar bills with the pro-hemp message, he is alarmed that the federal government seems to be targeting him alone. Since Heaven On Earth sells the “I grew hemp” stampers, the couple argues that the government has no way of proving that the bills in question were defaced by them.
Horn says that he will continue to both sell stampers and stamp some of his one dollar bills despite the warning. The couple see their action as a way of informing the community of hemp’s industrial uses and its historical background as an integral American crop.
For more information, please contact either Joy Beckerman or James Horn of Heaven On Earth @ (914) 679-4990.

If any of your other readers are aware of similar incidents, I would like to know about them. I just ordered an “Atheist Money’ stamp from United States Atheists. I wonder how long before Big Brother comes for me!

Bobbi

Graphic Rule

From: “Positive Atheism” <editor@positiveatheism.org> To: “Bobbi Needham”
Subject: Re: Positive_Atheism_Letters_Section
Date: Friday, July 14, 2000 5:30 AM

I’d like to see the law.

Even if there is a law, I’d like to see it pitted against an atheist’s First Amendment right to speak out against government irresponsibility and against what many Americans see as an illegal act (promoting religion).

This sounds fishy, considering that the Secret Service is deputized to protect the First Family. I didn’t know their authority extended beyond that.

Cliff Walker
“Positive Atheism” Magazine

From: “Bobbi Needham”
To: “Positive Atheism” <editor@positiveatheism.org>
Subject: Defacing US currency, “In God We Trust”
Date: Sunday, July 16, 2000 8:37 AM

Hi again Cliff,

I just found this on one of the web pages of the Bureau of Engraving and printing.

Defacement of currency is a violation of Title 18, Section 333 of the United States Code. Under this provision, currency defacement is generally defined as follows: Whoever mutilates, cuts, disfigures, perforates, unites or cements together, or does any other thing to any bank bill, draft, note, or other evidence of debt issued by any national banking association, Federal Reserve Bank, or Federal Reserve System, with intent to render such item(s) unfit to be reissued, shall be fined not more than $100 or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.

Defacement of currency in such a way that it is made unfit for circulation comes under the jurisdiction of the United States Secret Service. Their address is: United States Secret Service, 1800 G Street, N. W., Washington, DC 20223.

You can find the page at:
http://www.bep.treas.gov/allfacts.htm

What’s of particular interest to me are the words “with intent to render such item(s) unfit to be reissued”. Am I wrong in assuming that the government would then need to prove intent to render the bill unfit to be reissued in order to successfully prosecute for defacement of currency?

My intent is to remove (or blot out) the offensive phrase “In God We Trust” from the currency I earn and spend, with the hopes that as many persons as possible see the change and know that there are those who are offended by and oppose this phrase appearing on our currency.

It is not my intent to see the altered bills destroyed and replaced with crisp new bills that bear the same repugnant phrase.

The hundred dollar fine I could handle, but 6 months in jail would be tough. Still, if I don’t have the courage of my convictions, what do I have?

Bobbi

1:46 pm
George Washington grew hemp.  In fact, it used to be ACCEPTED as SO IMPORTANT to the economy that every farmer was REQUIRED to grow HEMP, and could even PAY THEIR TAXES WITH IT! So, when we talk about &#8220;Legalization&#8221;, the correct term would actually be &#8220;RE-Legalization&#8221;&#8230; Just in case you didn&#8217;t know&#8230;here&#8217;s some more HEMP INFO&#8230; (CLICK the PHOTO - it links to a different HEMP FACT site)

George Washington grew hemp.  In fact, it used to be ACCEPTED as SO IMPORTANT to the economy that every farmer was REQUIRED to grow HEMP, and could even PAY THEIR TAXES WITH IT!

So, when we talk about “Legalization”, the correct term would actually be “RE-Legalization”…

Just in case you didn’t know…here’s some more HEMP INFO…

(CLICK the PHOTO - it links to a different HEMP FACT site)

May 18, 2012 9:49 am
Why Is Autism So Drastically on the Rise? An Environmental Horror Story

If horror is your genre, environmental writer Brita Belli’s The Autism Puzzle, is the book for you. Her terrifying look at the chemicals we eat, drink and breathe is guaranteed to make your hair stand on end.

We should thank her for it.

Statistics released earlier this spring by the Centers for Disease Control revealed that one in 88 U.S. born toddlers has an autism spectral disorder—from the less severe Asperger’s Syndrome to the so-called classical form of the ailment. Worse, it’s not just a North American phenomenon; Belli also reports a 57 percent spike in Asia and Europe.

The question is why.

READ ENTIRE ARTICLE…

May 17, 2012 1:51 pm
Freedom, yeah!

Freedom, yeah!

May 16, 2012 6:37 pm
DNC is MIA in Wisconsin

The Republican National Committee has said it’ll kick in whatever it takes to keep Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker in office.

But Democrats in Washington won’t commit to spending big, even though their candidate has been out raised 25-to-1 so far. And in Wisconsin, that’s left the local activists fuming.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0512/76364.html#ixzz1v5Qq8vAx

5:09 pm

f="http://leftish.tumblr.com/post/23195928281/a-plea-to-the-occupy-movement">A Plea To The Occupy Movement

May 4, 2012

By  (about the author)

opednews.com

Stopping global warming is the signature issue of our time. If we do not reverse global warming, nothing else will matter. Not bringing the Wall Street crooks to justice or closing down the corrupt banks or stopping our government from spying on us.

A vital step is closing down our nukes. Nuclear power is not a legitimate alternative to the burning of fossil fuels because it is far more dangerous albeit in a distinctly different way. The risk of further contamination of our earth on which we depend for our survival cannot be tolerated.

In spite of the risks, powerful corporate executives are looking to use profitable nuclear plants to address problems associated with stopping global warming.

Even if CEOs refuse to do so, we have to recognize this stark fact: nuclear radiation knows no boundaries. It is incumbent on us to join other countries in ending nuclear power for it is immoral that by keeping ours running we would be putting at risk countless others around the world.

The disaster in Japan reminds us again of how dangerous this form of energy is. A molten mass of radioactive material lies at the bottom of the three reactors that experienced meltdowns shortly after the earthquake and tsunami hit northern Japan on March 11, 2011.

Structural remains of the containment vessels serve the short-term purpose of preventing radiation from leaking out into the atmosphere and contaminating not only Japan, but also much of the world. A second earthquake, predicted by seismologists to take place within the immediate future, has the potential to bring those structures tumbling down.

A hundred thousand Japanese have already been relocated within the country. There are recent reports that during negotiations over ownership of the Kuril Islands, Japanese officials told their Russian counterparts that due to Fukushima they are looking at evacuating roughly forty million people to one or more sites overseas. (See   HYPERLINK “click here“ click here)

Continued use of nuclear energy is being seen as part of a mix of alternatives to fossil fuels. A recent rebroadcast of a PBS program (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/nuclear-aftershocks/) featured several interviews with energy experts who proclaimed that our future energy needs couldn’t possibly be met without nuclear power. For this reason plans are being made to replace the ones that will be phased out.

Since there was no indication to the contrary, one can assume that this calculation about future energy needs was based on a continuation of the present way of life in industrialized countries. In other words, as economic growth, a core requirement of the capitalist system, continues, even anemically, additional power will be needed for new factories, office buildings, shopping centers, businesses, homes, schools, sports arenas, and transportation of all kinds as well as for waging war.

Even James Hansen, the premiere climate change expert, fears that closing down nukes would bring about a greater reliance on coal, increasing global warming. It’s either/or. But is it, really? The Entergy-owned Indian Point reactor on Long Island, for example, provides a quarter of the electricity used by New York City (click here). Conservation alone could easily eliminate the need for this plant.

Why not begin now to work toward making our energy-consumption commensurate with the energy that we can produce from alternative sources? Those who have run the capitalist system for the last hundred years have extravagantly and exploitively ravaged the planet’s resources for their personal gain. It has to stop.

READ ENTIRE ARTICLE…