Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Addendum to: Signs That the Elites in Our Gov't Have Lost It

As reported on Democracy Now! ---

1.  The FBI has deemed Ryan Shapiro's PhD Dissertation on Animal Rights to be a threat to national security.  Ryan, an Animal Rights activist, is a PhD candidate at M.I.T.  He also has submitted more Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to the Feds than any other American.  Perhaps the tagging of his Dissertation was Gov't payback for all those FOIA requests...who knows.

2.  In 2006, Dubya Bush signed into law the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA).  As a result, animal rights activists who go undercover into Big Ag factory farms and film deplorable conditions and gross mistreatment of livestock may be charged with terrorism.  Nonviolent, peaceful activists who stage sit-ins or lie-downs at such factory farms are not just practicing civil disobedience protests anymore; they may be charged with terrorism as well.

3.   The Feds have tagged the underground Animal Rights activists (not the out-in-the-open protesters) and the underground environmental protesters as the number one domestic terrorist threat.  So, if you break into, say, a fur farm at night and release all the critters, you're part of the number one terrorist threat in America.  Really?  Imagine if you stole an apple in the process.  Admittedly, a few of these eco-activists and animal rights activists who are clandestine have burned structures to the ground or otherwise damaged the property of Big Business in the past...but, the number one domestic terrorist threat?  I don't think so.  As far as I know, not one person has been injured as a result of their illegal actions.

4.  In the course of monitoring the peaceful "Occupy Houston" protest not too long ago, the FBI discovered a sniper plot against the leaders of that rally.  The FBI kept that fact from everyone.

5.  In a memo and a scenario similar to a portion of the old COINTELPRO, the FBI describes how peaceful Animal Rights activists can be neutralized by spreading false rumors that certain ones of them are FBI undercover agents.  More lies from the Fed Gov't.

6.  Ryan Shapiro (see number 1. above) is suing the NSA, FBI, and DIA (Defense Intelligence Agency) for their refusal to disclose the USA role in the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela.  Shapiro also wants to know why the Gov't kept Mandela on the Terrorist Watch List until 2008... which is another indication of how the management of all this unwieldly "terrorism" info is really beyond the capability of the sprawling Fed Gov't.  The right hand often doesn't know what the left hand is doing.  I think there's a misconception amongst the public that the central government is one big monolith.  In reality, it's thousands of semi-autonomous institutions which often are competing for turf and funding.  The result is what you see today...some of it good, much of it miserably bad.

Partly just my opinion.    Be Well

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Signs That the Elites in Our Gov't Have Lost It (Edited 3-25-14)

1. It appears that the Executive Branch is spying on the Legislative Branch because the latter is investigating the former for alleged acts of torture.

2. James Clapper, the Head of Intelligence, lied before Congress...which is a felony in this country.  There are no consequences suffered by Mr. Clapper.

3. President Obama marks terrorist suspects in various countries for death by assassination.  "Collateral damage" (the death and maiming of innocent civilians) continues---about 1400 in Pakistan so far--- despite White House claims of "precision" and "minimal loss of innocent civilians".

4. Various sections of the Constitution (e.g., the First Amendment, the Fourth Amendment, Article II Section 2, in fact---all of Article II, which is the portion dealing with the Executive Branch, and others) now mean pretty much whatever the Gov't desires them to mean.  [This is not unique to the Obama Gang...other White House Gangs have been just as guilty; so too have various Legislative and Judicial Gangs.]

5. Russia is being criticized and punished for violating International Law.  You see, when they do it, it's a crime.  When the US Gov't does it, it's "spreading democracy" or "a humanitarian mission"... or "in the interests of the security of the USA".  The US Elites never commit crimes; everyone knows that.  That's because US Elites are, you know, "exceptional", "special", and beyond question as to morality.  Besides, they have the biggest guns.  Apparently, might makes Right.

6.  It would seem, according to the actions of the US Gov't, that the Pakistani People have no sovereignty.  Their Gov't has asked the US Gov't to stop launching Hellfire missiles onto their territory.  The US essentially has said:  Frack You.  It would seem that the Big Bully US Gov't gets to decide who has sovereignty and who doesn't.  This whole scenario, of course, is not a crime...because US Elites are ordering it.

7. For decades, the US Gov't has done what it can to oppose the peace process in the Middle East.  That continues today.  I say that because the only acceptable proposals (in the Elites' eyes) are those made by the US and Israel.  Even though the overwhelming majority of people in the world believe that Israel is in the Occupied Territories illegally, that doesn't count.  Leaving is not an option.  Israel should be able to continue evicting Palestinians and bulldozing their houses...because, you know, that's how we get peace.
[NOTE:  Some people seem to have forgotten that just before Israel became a nation, when that land still was British Palestine, men like Menachem Begin were bombing hotels there...they were terrorists.  Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones at others.]

8. According to the Elites in our Gov't, inflation is low in this country.  That's because when figuring the rate of inflation, they don't count the rises in the cost of food, energy, and housing.  No wonder inflation is "low".

9. The NSA has plans to infect (using automated systems) millions of computers...and has impersonated the Facebook server...in order to gather more bulk data...on everyone.  It has done so with no probable cause, and no proper warrants.  Obama claims it's all legal, and there's "oversight".  Yes, we've seen some of that oversight---Clapper lied to Congress.  Here's how "oversight" works:  a representative of the appropriate Executive Department appears before the Congressional Oversight Committee...and tells the truth when answering questions, or lies, or both.  No one knows for sure...unless a whistleblower such as Snowden releases documents to the public.

10. Whistleblowers are being smeared and criminalized.

11. Independent journalists are being smeared, and in some cases, criminalized.

12. You now can become a "terrorist suspect" by reading the "wrong" thing on the internet.  Even if you're later cleared of suspicion, you're already in the information system in probably a thousand places.  That system is too unwieldy too manage properly.  There's a definite chance that you're screwed.  Ask Cat Stevens.

13. The Heads of mega corporations can buy their way out of Fed criminal prosecutions by paying a fine amounting to billions of dollars.  A top executive in a mega bank involved in a case recently sent an email to a colleague stating, "Just throw some money at it, it'll go away."  The Feds don't prosecute the top cronies in Big Business...the geese that lay the golden eggs...for campaign financing.

14. A Fed Gov't official recently stated, "I would gladly walk up to Edward Snowden and shoot him in the head."  As far as I know, that official is still on the job.

15. Presumption of innocence apparently no longer exists in the minds of some in our Gov'tSuspects are being assassinated overseas in the name of We the People.  At least two American citizen suspects have been so assassinated. 

16. Though we're not constitutionally at war, the Elites have propagandized us into believing that we legally are in an actual war.  They've convinced us that the War Powers Act somehow trumps the Constitution, which is impossible.  No Legislative Act trumps the Supreme Law of the Land.  They've also convinced us that the President can do pretty much as he pleases with the American military...because he's Commander-in-Chief.  To the Elites, that means he's not constrained by the constitutionally permitted uses of the military.  Hello...that's false.

17. Thanks to the misnamed PATRIOT Act, FBI Agents can write their own search warrants...a blatant violation of the Fourth Amendment.

18. Thanks to the Supreme Court decision in Kelo v. the City of New London, governments now can seize private property under Eminent Domain and sell or give that property to private developers.  Supposedly, the "public use" in that scenario are the taxes generated by the development.  Essentially that means anyone's property can be seized at any time and sold to private entities.  Incredible.

There is a better way, but first we have to stop drinking the Propaganda Kool Aid.

Be Well

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