Posts
(Analyst's note: Just received this note from a friend. It is an absolutely must read item.)
To all, something to be aware of in this world of stealing identities.
(PLEASE NOTE: I really think you should take a GOOD,HARD look at this. I was contacted by phone by the Census Bureau some time ago & I asked enough questions to ascertain that it was indeed the Census Bureau plus it said on my pho. ID that the # calling was from the Census Bureau in our County seat. I had a difficult time persuading them that I was suspicious since this was the FIRST time in 25 years that I had been contacted by any method from them~~Lee)
This information is being distributed by the Dallas / Ft. Worth IBMer Organization to warn it's thousands of members of fraud associated with the 2010 Census (some pre-census activity is already underway). However, this warning is for ALL citizens so you may want to pass it on to everyone you know.
2010 Census Cautions
by Susan Johnson - August 3, 2009 12:07 pm
Be Cautious About Giving Info to Census Workers With the U.S. Census process beginning, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) advises people to be cooperative, but cautious, so as not to become a victim of fraud or identity theft. The first phase of the 2010 U.S. Census is under way as workers have begun verifying the addresses of households across the country. Eventually, more than 140,000 U.S. Census workers will count every person in the United States and will gather information about every person living at each address including name, age, gender, race, and other relevant data. The big question is - how do you tell the difference between a U.S. Census worker and a con artist? BBB offers the following advice:
** If a U.S. Census worker knocks on your door, they will have a badge, a hand held device, a Census Bureau canvas bag, and a confidentiality notice. Ask to see their identification and their badge before answering their questions. However, you should never invite anyone you don?t know into your home.
** Census workers are currently only knocking on doors to verify address information. Do not give your Social Security number, credit card or banking information to anyone, even if they claim they need it for the U.S. Census. While the Census Bureau might ask for basic financial information, such as a salary range, it will not ask for Social Security, bank account, or credit card numbers nor will employees solicit donations.
Eventually, Census workers may contact you by telephone, mail, or in person at home. However, they will not contact you by Email, so be on the lookout for Email scams impersonating the Census.
Never click on a link or open any attachments in an Email that are Supposedly from the U.S. Census Bureau.
For more advice on avoiding identity theft and fraud, visit www.bbb.org
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Letter to Senator McCain - just received
Dear Senator McCain:
First of all, please allow me to express my gratitude for your service to your Country; your ordeal while under captivity by the Socialist/Communist Vietnamese, is illustrative of the violent nature of ideological Socialism. The terrible injuries that were inflicted upon you by those socialists, is a horror story in and of itself!
Which gives me pause Senator! It is no secret that Obama is a socialist, a Marxist Socialist, a Saul Alinsky-trained Marxist/ Socialist "Community Organizer", who is taking this Nation down the road through Fascism/Socialism, to the inevitable eventuality of Communism! It puzzle me then, why you would want to help a socialist, when you suffered so much personal agony at socialist hands?
Obama's Health Care is a death warrant for many veterans as yourself, who fought socialist regimes for our freedom! Our WWII Veterans fought Hitler's "National Socialism", and Bonito Mussolini's "Fascism", while our Korean veterans fought Korean/Chinese Communism; in short, this Nations' veterans have fought those ideologies, and many have died in the process! And now, because they are old, some Obama-appointed bureaucrat will evaluate their "worth", and determine whether or not they are "entitled" to life extending, and life saving treatment and procedures! There is much more "wrong" with this socialized Health Care Legislation, but the systematic annihilation of our old people, because they committed the "crime" of merely growing old, is particularly heinous, because of its impact on those veterans!
Why then Senator, did you throw Obama a "Life Line" for his socialized medicine, rather than attempting to save those veterans, by working to absolutely defeat it? Obama made no bones about how he feels about our veterans, when he intended to have them pay for the treatment of their own war injuries! How calloused were his remarks, that "they were volunteers weren't they?", and they "knew what they were getting into!"
And, you actually helped this man! That Senator is reason for you to apologize to all of our living veterans, and the rest of the non-socialist Nation, your conduct is simply shameful sir!
Robert DiStefano
First of all, please allow me to express my gratitude for your service to your Country; your ordeal while under captivity by the Socialist/Communist Vietnamese, is illustrative of the violent nature of ideological Socialism. The terrible injuries that were inflicted upon you by those socialists, is a horror story in and of itself!
Which gives me pause Senator! It is no secret that Obama is a socialist, a Marxist Socialist, a Saul Alinsky-trained Marxist/ Socialist "Community Organizer", who is taking this Nation down the road through Fascism/Socialism, to the inevitable eventuality of Communism! It puzzle me then, why you would want to help a socialist, when you suffered so much personal agony at socialist hands?
Obama's Health Care is a death warrant for many veterans as yourself, who fought socialist regimes for our freedom! Our WWII Veterans fought Hitler's "National Socialism", and Bonito Mussolini's "Fascism", while our Korean veterans fought Korean/Chinese Communism; in short, this Nations' veterans have fought those ideologies, and many have died in the process! And now, because they are old, some Obama-appointed bureaucrat will evaluate their "worth", and determine whether or not they are "entitled" to life extending, and life saving treatment and procedures! There is much more "wrong" with this socialized Health Care Legislation, but the systematic annihilation of our old people, because they committed the "crime" of merely growing old, is particularly heinous, because of its impact on those veterans!
Why then Senator, did you throw Obama a "Life Line" for his socialized medicine, rather than attempting to save those veterans, by working to absolutely defeat it? Obama made no bones about how he feels about our veterans, when he intended to have them pay for the treatment of their own war injuries! How calloused were his remarks, that "they were volunteers weren't they?", and they "knew what they were getting into!"
And, you actually helped this man! That Senator is reason for you to apologize to all of our living veterans, and the rest of the non-socialist Nation, your conduct is simply shameful sir!
Robert DiStefano
Shock horror: Pakistan abandons plans for military push against Taliban
by Robert Spencer
"Pakistan: No Military Campaign Against the Taliban," by Bobby Ghosh for Time, August 28 (thanks to John):
Despite strenuous entreaties by top U.S. officials, Pakistan has abandoned plans to mount a military offensive against the terrorist group responsible for a two-year campaign of suicide bombings across the country. Although the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has been in disarray since an Aug. 5 missile strike from a CIA-operated drone killed its leader, Baitullah Mehsud, the Pakistani military has concluded that a ground attack on its strongholds in South Waziristan would be too difficult....
Chairman of tax-writing committee failed to report millions...
WASHINGTON -- Rep. Charles Rangel failed to report as much as $1.3 million in outside income -- including up to $1 million for a Harlem building sale -- on financial-disclosure forms he filed between 2002 and 2006, according to newly amended records. ....
UAE Seizes North Korean Weapons Shipment to Iran (Update2)
(Bloomberg) -- The United Arab Emirates has seized a ship carrying North Korean-manufactured munitions, detonators, explosives and rocket-propelled grenades bound for Iran in violation of United Nations sanctions, diplomats said. ....
A Radical Approach to Restoration
Larry Schweikart
The problem is not the Constitution – the problem is that government's nature is to grow, and unless actively, deliberately checked at all times, it will grow. It’s time to rethink strategy. ....
CDC States H1N1 Vaccine May Maim and Kill 30,000 Americans.
(Analyst's note: This is certainly troubling.)
FDA guidelines for the novel H1N1 vaccine only require that it work in 3 out of every 10 recipients.
"Last Saturday, I attended one of 10 “public engagement” meetings the CDC is holding across the country, utilizing a new model of public engagement designed to provide a public viewpoint or societal perspective on the topic at hand (mass vaccination) to the sponsor (in this case, the CDC). We were asked to accept several assumptions in considering the topic." [Isn't this frightening?.........being asked to assume certain hypotheses in matters affecting your life........or your death?]
Senator: U.S. 'almost reaching a revolution'
(Chickasha Express-Star, Oklahoma) "People are not buying these concepts that are completely foreign to America," Inhofe said. "We're almost reaching a revolution in this country" ...
Did White House green light Lockerbie bomber's release?
(Ken Blackwell) The recent events in Scotland show the futility of treating a war as a criminal justice issue. Did Gordon Brown get a green light from the Obama administration ...
Soviet files show Kennedy sought deal with Andropov to undermine Reagan
Cheney: Obama Team Should Be Debriefing CIA Interrogators, Not Investigating Them
Former Vice President Dick Cheney said Friday the Obama administration should be debriefing CIA interrogators about keeping the country safe rather than trying to punish them for doing their jobs. ....
Click here to see the video.Bill would give president emergency control of Internet
Internet companies and civil liberties groups were alarmed this spring when a U.S. Senate bill proposed handing the White House the power to disconnect private-sector computers from the Internet.
They're not much happier about a revised version that aides to Sen. Jay Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat, have spent months drafting behind closed doors. CNET News has obtained a copy of the 55-page draft of S.773 (excerpt), which still appears to permit the president to seize temporary control of private-sector networks during a so-called cybersecurity emergency.
The new version would allow the president to "declare a cybersecurity emergency" relating to "non-governmental" computer networks and do what's necessary to respond to the threat. Other sections of the proposal include a federal certification program for "cybersecurity professionals," and a requirement that certain computer systems and networks in the private sector be managed by people who have been awarded that license.
"I think the redraft, while improved, remains troubling due to its vagueness," said Larry Clinton, president of the Internet Security Alliance, which counts representatives of Verizon, Verisign, Nortel, and Carnegie Mellon University on its board. "It is unclear what authority Sen. Rockefeller thinks is necessary over the private sector. Unless this is clarified, we cannot properly analyze, let alone support the bill."
Representatives of other large Internet and telecommunications companies expressed concerns about the bill in a teleconference with Rockefeller's aides this week, but were not immediately available for interviews on Thursday.....
Team Obama denies politicizing homeland security. Insert laugh track.
By Michelle Malkin
Props to the Associated Press for stepping outside its traditional role as Obama water-carriers and shedding light on the none-too-surprising politicization of border security funding under DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano.
Props to the Associated Press for stepping outside its traditional role as Obama water-carriers and shedding light on the none-too-surprising politicization of border security funding under DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano.
She’s in a state of denial.
The White House is desperately undermining transparency.
And maybe it’s finally dawning on the media stenographers that the Era of HopeNChangeyness ain’t all it was cracked up to be.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Thursday that politics did not influence the decision to spend millions of dollars in stimulus money on little-used border checkpoints while passing over higher-priority projects.
Members of Congress have asked for answers after The Associated Press showed that the Obama administration did not follow its internal priority list when handing out money to repair border stations nationwide.
Two Montana senators have taken credit for securing money for projects in their state, including $15 million for a border crossing that sees about three travelers a day. Democratic Sen. John Tester said he and colleague Max Baucus personally appealed to Napolitano to make that and other Montana projects happen.
At a Dallas news conference Thursday, Napolitano said the AP story “was just wrong and I’ll say that because there was no kind of political issues involved there.”
The AP reviewed the department’s priority list, which showed that some low-priority projects were being funded ahead of more pressing needs. Officials would not allow AP to keep or publish the list and would not provide justifications for deviating from it.
Obama's health rationer-in-chief
(Betsy McCaughey)
White House health-care adviser Ezekiel Emanuel blames the Hippocratic Oath for the 'overuse' of medical care.
Dr. Emanuel is part of a school of thought that redefines a physician's duty, insisting that it includes working for the greater good of society instead of focusing only on a patient's needs ....President Obama's terror strategy puts U.S. at risk
(Michael Goodwin) Pull together the loose threads of recent events and President Obama's vision for fighting the war on terror becomes one very scary picture. Scary, that is, for innocent Americans ...
Defense officials prepare for H1N1 flu
While the Health and Human Services Department works out plans for immunizing millions of Americans against the H1N1 flu virus, Defense officials are working on a parallel track to protect service members and mitigate the flu's effect on military operations. ....
For Intelligence Officers, A Wiki Way to Connect Dots
By Steve Vogel
Intellipedia, the intelligence community's version of Wikipedia, hummed in the aftermath of the Iranian presidential election in June, with personnel at myriad government agencies updating a page dedicated to tracking the disputed results. .....
Intellipedia, the intelligence community's version of Wikipedia, hummed in the aftermath of the Iranian presidential election in June, with personnel at myriad government agencies updating a page dedicated to tracking the disputed results. .....
CIA Probe Reignites a Partisan Battle Over Spy Agency's Activities
A partisan battle has erupted following Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to investigate CIA interrogators for possible abuses against high-level terror detainees and House Democratic leaders' charge that the CIA misled them on Bush-era anti-terror policies. ....
A chilling effect on CIA agents?
Will investigating possible abuses by agency interrogators damage their ability to do their jobs? Robert Alt and David Kaye debate. ....
Contractor reports of violations flowing into Defense IG's office
Since a controversial rule requiring contractors to disclose their own criminal contracting violations went into effect in mid-December, the Defense Department's inspector general has received more than 50 disclosures. ....
The secret deal behind Megrahi’s release
By Wayne Madsen
British intelligence sources report to WMR that a series of high-level financial deals between Libya, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling, Business Secretary Peter Mandelson, former Speaker of the House of Commons Michael Martin, and Scottish First Minister Alexander Salmond resulted in the release from a Scottish prison of Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, the Libyan Arab Airlines officials convicted of planting the bomb on board Pan Am 103 that killed 281 people on the plane and in the village of Lockerbie in 1988. Megrahi’s colleague, Lamen Khalifa Fhimah, was acquitted of charges in the terrorist attack.
In fact, according to the British intelligence sources, the Libyans were never responsible for the bombing of PanAm 103, which was carried out by the Iranians and their Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) proxies in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley in retaliation for the shooting down by the USS Vincennes of an Iran Air Airbus-300 over the Persian Gulf in July 1988 that killed all 290 passengers and crew.
WMR discovered from Cypriot authorities that the bomb intended for PanAm 103 arrived at Larnaca International Airport on a private plane from Lebanon, was placed on a flight to Frankfurt and then transferred to a feeder flight from Frankfurt to London Heathrow and, ultimately, on the ill-fated PanAm Boeing 747 bound for New York.
National Security Agency (NSA) and Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) intercepts of Iranian and Greek banking communications proved the Iranian connection but the U.S., British, and Israeli governments saw fit to blame Libya’s Muammar Qaddafi for the attack.
Negotiations on the deal to free Megrahi, who stood to embarass the British and U.S. governments with new evidence of his innocence if the appeal of his conviction had gone forward, began last October after two major Scottish banks, Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), collapsed. After HSBC and Barclays made overtures to the Bank of England to buy HBOS and RBS, the proposals were rejected by what is known in Whitehall as the “Larnarkshire Mafia” -- Brown, Darling, and Martin -- that intervened in the Scottish financial crisis and ordered that public money via commercial funds be used to prop up HBOS and RBS. Eventually, Lloyds TSB bought HBOS creating Lloyds Banking Group, which was, itself, later bailed out by the British government.
The word from Whitehall is that, although Parliament is in summer recess, senior staffers know that a major secret deal was worked out between Number 10 and Number 11 Downing Street (the residences of the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer, respectively) and Qaddafi and sealed after a meeting two weeks ago between Mandelson and Qaddafi’s son, Saif al Islam Qaddafi, at a Rothschild family-owned villa on Corfu.
The deal worked out is that profits realized from future oil and gas deals between Britain and Libya will be used to bail out the Scottish banks. As for speculation that Labor wants to use the Scottish financial crisis to prove that current plans by the ruling Scottish National Party (SNP) government to move Scotland toward independence and that Scotland cannot fare on its own without London. Brown and Salmond, a former RBS senior economist who negotiated Scotland North Sea oil revenue spending plans between RBS and the government while working for the bank, are on very close terms, according to our sources. Brown, a former British Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Salmond knew exactly what they were getting in return from Qaddafi and his son when they hammered out the “bailout-for-Megrahi” agreement -- the financial bailout of Scotland’s two largest banks that were riddled with toxic bad loans by sweetheart oil and gas deals with Libya. Qaddafi was celebrating more than Megrahi’s release at the public ceremony in Libya -- the mercurial Libyan leader, once considered a pariah, is now one of the most influential business moguls in Great Britain -- on both sides of Hadrian’s Wall.
Previously published in the Wayne Madsen Report.
Are you an Islamophobe?
from Robert Spencer
Do you suffer from this malady that is the worst form of terrorism?
Take this simple test. Consult your local Reeducation Camp Supervisor to discuss results. And don't worry. There is a cure. You, too, can learn to love Big Brother.
"Are You An Islamophobe?," by Phyllis Chesler in Pajamas Media, August 26:
Are you an Islamophobe? Here is a simple test.
Lorna Saltzman’s Test
Do you favor equal rights and treatment of women and men?
Do you oppose stoning of women accused of adultery?
Do you favor mandatory education of girls everywhere?
Do you oppose slavery and child prostitution?
Do you support complete freedom of expression and the press?
Do you support the right of an individual to worship in her chosen religion?
Do you oppose government- and mosque-supported anti-Semitic publications, radio, TV and textbooks?
Do you oppose the wearing of burqas in public places, schools and courts?
Do you oppose segregation of the sexes in public places and houses of worship?
Do you oppose the death penalty for non-Muslims and Muslims who convert to another religion?
Do you oppose “honor” killings?
Do you oppose female genital mutilation?
Do you oppose forced sexual relations?
Do you oppose discrimination against homosexuals?
Do you support the right to criticize religion?
Do you oppose polygamy?
Do you oppose child marriage, forced or otherwise?
Do you oppose the quranic mandate to kill non-Muslims and apostates?
Do you oppose the addition of sharia courts to your country’s legal system?
Do you disagree with the quran which asserts the superiority of Islam to all other religions?
If you answered most or all of these affirmatively, you are a vile Islamophobe and deserve to be beheaded as the quran instructs.
If you answered one third or more of them affirmatively, you are a borderline Islamophobe and need to receive brainwashing to become a full-fledged dhimmi.
If you answered a quarter or fewer affirmatively, you need a few private lessons in dhimmitude to scrub yourself clean of those remnants of Islamophobia.
If you answered affirmatively to NONE of these, Congratulations! You are a worthy observant (radical–PC addition) Muslim and have a bright future vilifying Jews, torturing women or, inshallah, becoming a suicide bomber.”
Thank you Lorna for laying it all out.
FYI: Lorna Saltzman has been a environmental writer, lecturer and organizer since the early 1970s and was a candidate for the US Green Party’s presidential nomination in 2004. Her articles on evolution, energy, Green politics and secularism can be found on her website:
www.lornasalzman.com
The War on Terror Is Over Lawyers are about to smother the war on terror.
(Analyst's note: Must read.)
By DANIEL HENNINGER
Shakespeare wrote, “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.” As we know, that didn’t happen. Four hundred years later, they’re killing us with the smothering pillow of hyper-proceduralism. Now the lawyers are about to smother the war on terror.
This Monday, the same day that Attorney General Eric Holder named a special prosecutor to investigate persons who conducted the CIA's interrogations in the war on terror, Scotland's Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill stood before his parliament and gave this defense for releasing convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdel Basset Ali Megrahi:
"It was not based on political, diplomatic or economic considerations. . . . My decision was made following due process, and according to the law of Scotland. I stand by the law and values of Scotland."
Faced with a similarly fastidious assertion of the law's triumphal self-regard in "Oliver Twist," Mr. Bumble replied: "If the law supposed that, the law is a ass—a idiot." Mr. Bumble added something acutely relevant to what is happening to the war on terror: "The worst I wish the law," said Mr. Bumble, "is that his eye may be opened by experience—by experience."
The experience of a world beset by terror eludes the eyes of a Kenny MacAskill, Eric Holder and others in the Obama administration. The rest of us may suffer for it. ....
Saudi Arabia: An Attack on the Deputy Interior Minister
Saudi Arabia's deputy interior minister has survived a suicide bombing.
Court orders Christian child into government education 10-year-old's 'vigorous' defense of her faith condemned by judge
(Analyst's note: Absolutely must read. Yes -- this story is happening within these United States. Our Founding Fathers are turning over in their graves.)
By Bob Unruh
A 10-year-old homeschool girl described as "well liked, social and interactive with her peers, academically promising and intellectually at or superior to grade level" has been told by a New Hampshire court official to attend a government school because she was too "vigorous" in defense of her Christian faith.
The decision from Marital Master Michael Garner reasoned that the girl's "vigorous defense of her religious beliefs to [her] counselor suggests strongly that she has not had the opportunity to seriously consider any other point of view."
The recommendation was approved by Judge Lucinda V. Sadler, but it is being challenged by attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund, who said it was "a step too far" for any court.
The ADF confirmed today it has filed motions with the court seeking reconsideration of the order and a stay of the decision sending the 10-year-old student in government-run schools in Meredith, N.H.
The dispute arose as part of a modification of a parenting plan for the girl. The parents divorced in 1999 when she was a newborn, and the mother has homeschooled her daughter since first grade with texts that meet all state standards.
In addition to homeschooling, the girl attends supplemental public school classes and has also been involved in a variety of extra-curricular sports activities, the ADF reported. ....
Obama adviser's reply to 9/11: Solidarity with U.S. 'victims' White House 'rowdy communist' held vigil for Muslims
By Aaron Klein
 Van Jones |
WND previously reported Van Jones, special adviser for green jobs, enterprise and innovation to the White House Council on Environmental Quality, is an admitted black nationalist and radical communist.
Jones was the leader and founder of a radical group, the communist revolutionary organization Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement, or STORM.
STORM's official manifesto, titled, "Reclaiming Revolution," has surfaced on the Internet.
A WND review of the 97-page treatise found a description of a vigil that Jones' group held Sept. 12, 2001, at Snow Park in Oakland, Calif. The event drew hundreds and articulated an "anti-imperialist" line, according to STORM's own description. ....
Video -- 'You're the imposter!'
(Breitbart.com) Democratic Rep. Jim Moran of Virginia demanded to see his constituent's ID before allowing a town hall question ...
Students' take-home assignment: Census kits
(USA Today) "It's great to reach the children because children are such strong voices in their homes," says Renee Jefferson-Copeland, chief of the Census schools program ...
Judge strikes 'Almighty God' from anti-terror law
(McClatchy Newspapers) A judge struck down a state law that required Kentucky Homeland Security to stress "dependence on Almighty God as being vital to the security of the commonwealth" ...
The War on Terror Is Over Lawyers are about to smother the war on terror.
(Daniel Henninger) The message of Scotland's release and the Holder decision is that the will born in the wake of 9/11 is waning. The terror war is being down-graded to not much more than tough talk ...
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Video: Pro-Obama Apollo Alliance Advised By A Left-Wing Terrorist
(Analyst's note: Must read - see)
Yesterday the TV audience of Glenn Beck heard that an ex-member of the Weather Underground terrorist group is a co-founder of the Apollo Alliance, an influential left-wing environmentalist group that helped write President Obama's stimulus legislation. The $60 billion in funding which the legislation provides for "green jobs," a utopian fantasy not taken seriously by economists, was inserted at the request of the Apollo Alliance, which began as a project of Campaign for America's Future.
Inquest of CIA None Too Smart
by Peter Brookes
It isn’t by chance that we haven’t been attacked in nearly eight years, so where is the logic in prosecuting those who kept us safe? ....
When Citizens are Ready, Leaders Appear
Tom McLaughlin
We’re witnessing a grassroots uprising of people telling government “Stop! We want to do it ourselves!” They’re sick of intellectuals arranging everything for everybody with their money. .... It’s true that when the student is ready the teacher appears. It’s also true that when citizens are ready, leaders appear. The 2010 elections are going to be very interesting indeed.
Glenn Beck on All the President’s Men
The Editors of Family Security Matters
How many times do we have to find a Marxist, communist, socialist, a revolutionary or a simple anti-capitalist near, around or advising the president of the United States before we ask the question? ....
Everything You Need to Know About the H1N1 Vaccine
By Marrecca Fiore
Safety questions are being raised about the rush to get an H1N1 vaccine into the hands of doctors before the virus re-emerges this fall, possibly more dangerous and widespread than it was last spring.
And, those questions are brewing concern among many Americans wondering whether to risk putting off being vaccinated, or take a shot at beating the bug before it gains the upperhand.
Related: Your H1N1 Survival Guide
"They’re pushing it as fast as they can, but they still have to meet good manufacturing standards," said Dr. Peter Gross, senior vice president and chief medical officer at Hackensack University Medical Center.
"It will be tested to make sure it’s safe and contains the proper amounts of protective antibodies," said Gross, who tested flu vaccines for 20 years for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. ....
Lockerbie bomber's diagnosis 'in doubt'
(The Scotsman) The doctor who gave the prognosis Megrahi had just three months to live may have been employed by the Libyan government ...
Feds: Stimulus money sent to 4,000 cons
By Laura Crimaldi
One day after the Herald reported some surprised Bay State inmates - including murderers and rapists - were cashing in $250 stimulus checks, federal officials revealed the same behind-bars bonus was mailed to nearly 4,000 cons nationwide.
A federal watchdog is now probing how the cons were cut the checks. The same cash also may have been sent to fugitive felons, people kicked out of the country and even individuals now deceased. ....
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Glenn Beck's fear of Obama: Seize power overnight Rush: 'Most dangerous time in my life for freedom and liberty in this country'
By Joe Kovacs
Will President Obama "seize power overnight" in a move to consolidate White House control of the U.S. government?
That's the fear of Fox News anchor Glenn Beck who discussed the issue at length today with another broadcasting powerhouse, radio's Rush Limbaugh.
"I fear this government, this administration has so much framework already prepared, that they will seize power overnight before anybody even gives it a second thought," Beck said.
His comment came as he was analyzing the changing nature of the media since Obama's election, citing the administration's close ties with the NBC network, owned by corporate giant General Electric:
If you watch what could only be called the administration's organ – anything involved with GE or NBC – you've got [GE CEO] Jeffrey Immelt on the board of the Federal Reserve, you have him in the Oval Office consulting not only on health care, but the financial situation, and they are an organ.If you watch MSNBC, I contend that you will see the future because they are laying the ground for a horrible event ... anything from the right, there's some awful event and I fear this government, this administration has so much framework already prepared, that they will seize power overnight before anybody even gives it a second thought.
Limbaugh responded, "I don't think they're going to be able to seize it overnight without anybody knowing about it." ....
Obama: Much worse than I had predicted
By Roger Runningen and Brian Faler
.... “While the danger of the economy immediately falling into a deep recession has receded, the American economy is still in the midst of a serious economic downturn,” the White House report said. “The long-term deficit outlook remains daunting.”
.... “While the danger of the economy immediately falling into a deep recession has receded, the American economy is still in the midst of a serious economic downturn,” the White House report said. “The long-term deficit outlook remains daunting.”
The budget shortfall for 2010 would mark the second straight year of trillion-dollar deficits. Along with the unemployment numbers, the deficit may complicate President Barack Obama’s drive for his top domestic priority, overhauling the U.S. health care system. ....
Obama: Boys from Brazil better than U.S. President blocks oil drilling at home, funds exploration abroad
A controversy developed when it was revealed the Obama administration is willing to spend billions of dollars to fund offshore drilling in Brazil while blocking U.S. development of oil and natural gas resources by continuing environmental objections to opening U.S. offshore drilling, Jerome Corsi's Red Alert reports.
Underlying the controversy was the disclosure that Obama-supporter and billionaire hedge-fund manager George Soros bought a $811 million stake in Petroleo Brasileiro SA in the second quarter, making the Brazilian state-controlled oil company his investment fund's largest holding. ....
Files prove Pentagon is profiling reporters
from Stars and Stripes
WASHINGTON — Contrary to the insistence of Pentagon officials this week that they are not rating the work of reporters covering U.S. forces in Afghanistan, Stars and Stripes has obtained documents that prove that reporters’ coverage is being graded as “positive,” “neutral” or “negative.”
Moreover, the documents — recent confidential profiles of the work of individual reporters prepared by a Pentagon contractor — indicate that the ratings are intended to help Pentagon image-makers manipulate the types of stories that reporters produce while they are embedded with U.S. troops in Afghanistan. ....
Congressional Research Service: Illegal Aliens Could Receive Benefits Under Health Care Bill
House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Representative Lamar Smith (R-Texas) challenged President Barack Obama's radio address from the weekend where the President said that the proposed health care legislation won't cover illegal aliens. Citing a report from the Congressional Research Service that identifies several loopholes in H.R. 3200, Rep. Smith released a statement urging the inclusion of a verification mechanism into the bill. ....
To torture or not to torture
by Jim Kouri
In response to news reports that the US Attorney General Eric Holder will appoint a special prosecutor to investigate allegations of CIA operatives torturing suspects, Congressman Trent Franks (R -AZ) today released a statement on the Obama Administration's reversal of his promise not to seek retribution against CIA officials.
"The Obama Administration's decision to look into the possibility of prosecuting CIA officials who helped interrogate captured terrorists can do nothing but harm the efforts of our intelligence community. From now on, those government employees who seek to protect the American people by extracting high-value, potentially life-saving information from active terrorists will have to wonder whether they will be subject to lawsuits filed by their very own Commander-in-Chief," said Rep. Franks. ....
In response to news reports that the US Attorney General Eric Holder will appoint a special prosecutor to investigate allegations of CIA operatives torturing suspects, Congressman Trent Franks (R -AZ) today released a statement on the Obama Administration's reversal of his promise not to seek retribution against CIA officials.
"The Obama Administration's decision to look into the possibility of prosecuting CIA officials who helped interrogate captured terrorists can do nothing but harm the efforts of our intelligence community. From now on, those government employees who seek to protect the American people by extracting high-value, potentially life-saving information from active terrorists will have to wonder whether they will be subject to lawsuits filed by their very own Commander-in-Chief," said Rep. Franks. ....
U.S. to monitor detainees' foreign protection
A day after it unveiled new recommendations on handling terrorism suspects, the Obama administration struggled to explain how it would be able to send detainees to countries with poor human rights records and prevent them from being tortured. ....
Taliban confirm leader's death
DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan | Pakistani Taliban commanders acknowledged Tuesday that the militants' top leader, Baitullah Mehsud, was dead, ending weeks of claims and counterclaims over his fate following a U.S. missile strike on his father-in-law's home this month. ....
$1,000 per day, 30 days jail for refusing swine flu shot?
(Analyst's note: What? Things will surely get interesting when the reality of this one hits home.)
A new law just passed in Massachusetts imposes fines of up to $1000 per day and up to a 30 day jail sentence for not obeying authorities during a public health emergency. So if you are instructed to take the swine flu vaccine in Massachusetts and you refuse, you could be facing fines that will bankrupt you and a prison sentence on top of that.
A new law just passed in Massachusetts imposes fines of up to $1000 per day and up to a 30 day jail sentence for not obeying authorities during a public health emergency. So if you are instructed to take the swine flu vaccine in Massachusetts and you refuse, you could be facing fines that will bankrupt you and a prison sentence on top of that.
The YouTube video below is of a news report about this disturbing new law. In particular, pay attention at the 1:40 mark when the anchor and reporter discuss the new penalties for not obeying the health authorities during an emergency.....
If you have not realized it yet, the controversy over swine flu vaccinations is about to get very, very real. The authorities know that a lot of people are extremely concerned about the safety of the swine flu vaccine, and they are putting the infrastructure in place to deal with those dissenters.
Let us hope that the worst case scenario with the swine flu does not take place, but the reality is that health authorities across the United States are gearing up for the biggest vaccination campaign in the nation's history. It looks like this fall could be very, very interesting.
Probe of CIA Imperils Interagency Trust
(Analyst's note: More troubling insight. Are we trying to "train" these CIA officers to "always take the safe road" in their efforts to protect our nation? They necessarily work in a murky world at best, so that we do not have to live in such day-to-day. The message here seems to be that no one “has their backs” when they are asked to charge directly into the face of our enemies. As said by Sultan Knish "war is an ugly thing, that it must be fought hard and relentlessly to achieve victory.")
By SIOBHAN GORMAN and GARY FIELDS
WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department's decision to investigate CIA interrogation practices increased tension between the agencies and prompted a sense of betrayal among some CIA officers, current and former officials said.
Rivalries had raged since the early days of the Central Intelligence Agency's World War II-era forerunner, the Office of Strategic Services, and the trust built in the wake of the 9/11 attacks could be shattered by the investigation, these people said.
Many CIA officers were stunned by Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to launch a probe. Some were deeply angered by what they consider a selective declassification of documents describing the acts at issue, former agency officials said Tuesday.
.... "Their view is, they policed themselves and they turned themselves in," he said. Now, "they have to fight al Qaeda and the U.S. government at the same time."
.... federal law-enforcement agent said he and his colleagues also fear the cooperation and information-sharing born of necessity after the 2001 attacks will dry up. The relationship could regress to the point when two of the hijackers were allowed to slip into the U.S. even though the CIA had spotted them at a terror summit in Malaysia in 2000, the agent said.
"We need the information-sharing to be successful to do our jobs," the law-enforcement agent said. ....
Global Insights: Russia Refines Cyber Warfare Strategies
(Analyst's note: These findings are most interesting and certainly troubling.)
by Richard Weitz
The U.S. Cyber-Consequences Unit has recently issued a report documenting how Russia supplemented its conventional war against Georgia last August with a massive, well-integrated and pre-planned information warfare campaign against Georgia's Internet structure. The techniques were so successful that the unit has restricted distribution of the full report to U.S. government and certain other Internet security professionals. Only the executive summary (pdf) has been made available to the public.
The U.S. Cyber-Consequences Unit is independent, non-profit research institute affiliated with the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. The report's main author, John Bumgarner, directs research at the unit. He and his team conducted a year-long investigation of the Russian campaign using a variety of sources, including monitored Internet traffic, Web site caches, and debriefings of Georgian victims.
According to the report, from Aug. 7 to Aug. 16, 2008, Russian citizens and their sympathizers launched a coordinated offensive that disabled dozens of important Georgian websites, including those of the country's president and defense minister, as well as the National Bank of Georgia and major news outlets. Initially, the main targets were the Internet pages of the country's main government institutions and new media, which would have played a central role in informing the Georgian public and the international community of the Russian attack. The target list subsequently expanded to include other government and media sites as well as Georgian business, education, and financial institutions. The combined effect of these attacks was to degrade the effectiveness of Georgia's national response to the Russian attack.
The techniques used by the Russian attackers suggest they had developed a detailed campaign plan against the Georgian sites well before the conflict. The attackers did not conduct any preliminary surveying or mapping of sites, but instead immediately employed specially designed software to attack them. The graphic art used to deface one Georgian Web site was created in March 2006 but saved for use until the August 2008 campaign. The attackers also rapidly registered new domain names and established new Internet sites, further indicating they had already analyzed the target, written attack scripts, and perhaps even rehearsed the information warfare campaign in advance.
Although the fighting that broke out on Aug. 7 of last year appears to have caught the parties by surprise, Russian cyber planners were undoubtedly aware that a war between Russia and Georgia was a viable option given protracted bilateral tensions. When the fighting did begin, this core group was able to use Russian-language social networking sites and other virtual mechanisms to recruit additional hackers as well as to supply them with malicious code and other tools. For example, they posted suggested targets and means of attack on public websites that could be employed even by people with limited computer knowledge. Social networking companies such as Facebook and Twitter typically do not monitor communications on their sites unless they receive complaints from users.
The most common attack techniques employed malign modifications of publicly available commercial software designed for administrators of computer networks. For example, the attackers amplified the intensity of certain "stress tests" designed to assess the capacity of servers to handle waves of HTTP packets. They also modified one program intended to add functions to Web sites so that the affected sites would request nonexistent Internet addresses chosen at random.
The report concludes that the timing of the Russian attacks and the nature of the targets indicate that the hackers, even if civilians, probably coordinated their operations with the Russian military even if no conclusive evidence exists of such collaboration. For example, the campaign began before the media had reported the start of the Russian offensive into Georgia.
The specific people involved in a cyber attack are typically difficult to identify since the Internet makes its easy to conceal identities through the use of proxy Web addresses and other means. The groups of computers attacking the Georgian sites were typically directed to do so from a computer at another location, creating malicious "botnets." The unit's report nevertheless concludes that, while some of the hijacked computers and virtual recruiting networks were hosted in the United States and other countries, the main servers that directed the attacks throughout the campaign consisted of 10 Web sites registered in Russia and Turkey. These sites are also heavily used (and presumably controlled) by Russian organized crime groups. According to the Wall Street Journal identification and credit-card information stolen from Americans were used to register nine of these sites, while one site was established using information stolen from a French citizen. It is possible that the cyber criminals, who typically attempt to extort payments from the commercial targets they attack, were seeking to advertise their contribution to the war to gain the gratitude (and ideally protection) of Russian government and military leaders.
Interestingly, the report concludes that some central controller probably instructed the attackers to limit the damage they inflicted. The attacks aimed merely to disable the Web sites through denial-of-service and Web site defacement attacks. They did not attempt to inflict physical damage, which might have occurred if they had, for instance, attempted to instruct the target's computers to take destructive actions such as erasing key data or overriding safety mechanisms protecting power, energy, or transportation systems. Yet, the effectiveness of the attacks that did occur indicates that some of the attackers probably could have conducted such destructive attacks. Ironically, the ability of the Russian attackers to disable important Georgian institutions through cyber attacks may have spared them from being destroyed by bombs and missiles, as the United States and allies did with Iraq's and Serbia's critical infrastructure to disrupt those countries' defenses in earlier wars.
Nonetheless, the moderation might have sought to demonstrate that Russia, if provoked, could destroy much of Georgia's critical civilian infrastructure. The Russian military might have aimed to convey that point as well by, for example, bombing targets near Georgia's vital Baku-Ceyhan oil pipeline without actually striking it. By demonstrating dominance in the cyber and military domains, as well as the inability of Tbilisi's Western allies to defend Georgia, Russian strategists might have aimed to underscore Moscow's security dominance within the former Soviet space as well as deter the Georgian government, and perhaps the leaders of the other former Soviet republics, from taking future actions that could threaten Russian interests.
Russian hackers were reportedly active again earlier this month when they attacked a Tbilisi computer user who posted web entries critical of Moscow's policies towards Georgia. From Aug. 6 and 7, the one-year anniversary of the Russian-Georgia War, his Facebook, Google Blogger, LiveJournal, Twitter, and YouTube accounts experienced a massive and simultaneous denial-of-service attack apparently aimed to prevent the Georgian from posting critical blog entries to mark the anniversary. The assault was so intense, involving networks of unsuspecting third-party computers that were instructed to flood the Web sites with traffic to deny access to others, that it caused the entire Twitter network to crash.
The Georgia campaign showed that Russia's offensive information operations have improved considerably since the April-May 2007 conflict with Estonia. Russians will likely seek to strengthen their cyber campaign plans even further based on what they have learned. Cyber warriors in other countries such as China are likely to borrow techniques from the Russian campaign. Investigators have found evidence that Chinese hackers have conducted pre-attack mapping of U.S. critical infrastructure such as commercial power networks and, most disturbingly, have already deployed software programs that they could employ to disrupt the networks.
The report concludes with three insightful recommendations. First, an international organization should be established to monitor the risks of cyber wars and provide early warning before attacks occur, allowing potential victims to prepare their defenses better. Second, the report calls for a global cyber response force that can rapidly assist countries under attack. Finally, states need to conduct more frequent cyber response exercises involving key public and private sector institutions with at least some foreign participation.
Meanwhile, the United States and other potential targets have been given yet another warning about the need to bolster their cyber defenses. The European Union finally convened its first ministerial meeting devoted to cyber security of critical infrastructures in late April of this year, while the U.S. military only authorized the establishment of a dedicated cyber command in June. The new CYBERCOM is not expected to become fully operational until at least a year from now. The White House continues to experience difficulties in establishing an effective policy for coordinating the diverse federal, state, and private sector computer networks associated with America's critical national infrastructures. One lesson of the Georgia War is that U.S. and NATO defenders need to accelerate their preparedness efforts.
by Richard Weitz
The U.S. Cyber-Consequences Unit has recently issued a report documenting how Russia supplemented its conventional war against Georgia last August with a massive, well-integrated and pre-planned information warfare campaign against Georgia's Internet structure. The techniques were so successful that the unit has restricted distribution of the full report to U.S. government and certain other Internet security professionals. Only the executive summary (pdf) has been made available to the public.
The U.S. Cyber-Consequences Unit is independent, non-profit research institute affiliated with the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. The report's main author, John Bumgarner, directs research at the unit. He and his team conducted a year-long investigation of the Russian campaign using a variety of sources, including monitored Internet traffic, Web site caches, and debriefings of Georgian victims.
According to the report, from Aug. 7 to Aug. 16, 2008, Russian citizens and their sympathizers launched a coordinated offensive that disabled dozens of important Georgian websites, including those of the country's president and defense minister, as well as the National Bank of Georgia and major news outlets. Initially, the main targets were the Internet pages of the country's main government institutions and new media, which would have played a central role in informing the Georgian public and the international community of the Russian attack. The target list subsequently expanded to include other government and media sites as well as Georgian business, education, and financial institutions. The combined effect of these attacks was to degrade the effectiveness of Georgia's national response to the Russian attack.
The techniques used by the Russian attackers suggest they had developed a detailed campaign plan against the Georgian sites well before the conflict. The attackers did not conduct any preliminary surveying or mapping of sites, but instead immediately employed specially designed software to attack them. The graphic art used to deface one Georgian Web site was created in March 2006 but saved for use until the August 2008 campaign. The attackers also rapidly registered new domain names and established new Internet sites, further indicating they had already analyzed the target, written attack scripts, and perhaps even rehearsed the information warfare campaign in advance.
Although the fighting that broke out on Aug. 7 of last year appears to have caught the parties by surprise, Russian cyber planners were undoubtedly aware that a war between Russia and Georgia was a viable option given protracted bilateral tensions. When the fighting did begin, this core group was able to use Russian-language social networking sites and other virtual mechanisms to recruit additional hackers as well as to supply them with malicious code and other tools. For example, they posted suggested targets and means of attack on public websites that could be employed even by people with limited computer knowledge. Social networking companies such as Facebook and Twitter typically do not monitor communications on their sites unless they receive complaints from users.
The most common attack techniques employed malign modifications of publicly available commercial software designed for administrators of computer networks. For example, the attackers amplified the intensity of certain "stress tests" designed to assess the capacity of servers to handle waves of HTTP packets. They also modified one program intended to add functions to Web sites so that the affected sites would request nonexistent Internet addresses chosen at random.
The report concludes that the timing of the Russian attacks and the nature of the targets indicate that the hackers, even if civilians, probably coordinated their operations with the Russian military even if no conclusive evidence exists of such collaboration. For example, the campaign began before the media had reported the start of the Russian offensive into Georgia.
The specific people involved in a cyber attack are typically difficult to identify since the Internet makes its easy to conceal identities through the use of proxy Web addresses and other means. The groups of computers attacking the Georgian sites were typically directed to do so from a computer at another location, creating malicious "botnets." The unit's report nevertheless concludes that, while some of the hijacked computers and virtual recruiting networks were hosted in the United States and other countries, the main servers that directed the attacks throughout the campaign consisted of 10 Web sites registered in Russia and Turkey. These sites are also heavily used (and presumably controlled) by Russian organized crime groups. According to the Wall Street Journal identification and credit-card information stolen from Americans were used to register nine of these sites, while one site was established using information stolen from a French citizen. It is possible that the cyber criminals, who typically attempt to extort payments from the commercial targets they attack, were seeking to advertise their contribution to the war to gain the gratitude (and ideally protection) of Russian government and military leaders.
Interestingly, the report concludes that some central controller probably instructed the attackers to limit the damage they inflicted. The attacks aimed merely to disable the Web sites through denial-of-service and Web site defacement attacks. They did not attempt to inflict physical damage, which might have occurred if they had, for instance, attempted to instruct the target's computers to take destructive actions such as erasing key data or overriding safety mechanisms protecting power, energy, or transportation systems. Yet, the effectiveness of the attacks that did occur indicates that some of the attackers probably could have conducted such destructive attacks. Ironically, the ability of the Russian attackers to disable important Georgian institutions through cyber attacks may have spared them from being destroyed by bombs and missiles, as the United States and allies did with Iraq's and Serbia's critical infrastructure to disrupt those countries' defenses in earlier wars.
Nonetheless, the moderation might have sought to demonstrate that Russia, if provoked, could destroy much of Georgia's critical civilian infrastructure. The Russian military might have aimed to convey that point as well by, for example, bombing targets near Georgia's vital Baku-Ceyhan oil pipeline without actually striking it. By demonstrating dominance in the cyber and military domains, as well as the inability of Tbilisi's Western allies to defend Georgia, Russian strategists might have aimed to underscore Moscow's security dominance within the former Soviet space as well as deter the Georgian government, and perhaps the leaders of the other former Soviet republics, from taking future actions that could threaten Russian interests.
Russian hackers were reportedly active again earlier this month when they attacked a Tbilisi computer user who posted web entries critical of Moscow's policies towards Georgia. From Aug. 6 and 7, the one-year anniversary of the Russian-Georgia War, his Facebook, Google Blogger, LiveJournal, Twitter, and YouTube accounts experienced a massive and simultaneous denial-of-service attack apparently aimed to prevent the Georgian from posting critical blog entries to mark the anniversary. The assault was so intense, involving networks of unsuspecting third-party computers that were instructed to flood the Web sites with traffic to deny access to others, that it caused the entire Twitter network to crash.
The Georgia campaign showed that Russia's offensive information operations have improved considerably since the April-May 2007 conflict with Estonia. Russians will likely seek to strengthen their cyber campaign plans even further based on what they have learned. Cyber warriors in other countries such as China are likely to borrow techniques from the Russian campaign. Investigators have found evidence that Chinese hackers have conducted pre-attack mapping of U.S. critical infrastructure such as commercial power networks and, most disturbingly, have already deployed software programs that they could employ to disrupt the networks.
The report concludes with three insightful recommendations. First, an international organization should be established to monitor the risks of cyber wars and provide early warning before attacks occur, allowing potential victims to prepare their defenses better. Second, the report calls for a global cyber response force that can rapidly assist countries under attack. Finally, states need to conduct more frequent cyber response exercises involving key public and private sector institutions with at least some foreign participation.
Meanwhile, the United States and other potential targets have been given yet another warning about the need to bolster their cyber defenses. The European Union finally convened its first ministerial meeting devoted to cyber security of critical infrastructures in late April of this year, while the U.S. military only authorized the establishment of a dedicated cyber command in June. The new CYBERCOM is not expected to become fully operational until at least a year from now. The White House continues to experience difficulties in establishing an effective policy for coordinating the diverse federal, state, and private sector computer networks associated with America's critical national infrastructures. One lesson of the Georgia War is that U.S. and NATO defenders need to accelerate their preparedness efforts.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Investors 'don't stop believin' that a recovery is coming
by Jonathan Berr
.... U.S. stock markets are poised to rise Monday on -- what else? -- more positive comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. On Friday, the central banker sent stocks soaring after he was quoted as saying the economy is near a recovery. Existing home sales also posted their biggest gains in more than two years, further indication that the housing market is improving. Markets in Europe and Asia also rose.
Throwing cold water on the rally is "Dr. Doom." Writing in the Financial Times today, Nouriel Roubini said the chance of a double-dip recession is increasing because of risks related to ending global monetary and fiscal stimulus, Bloomberg News noted.
"Governments around the world have pledged about $2 trillion in stimulus measures amid the worst worldwide recession since the Great Depression," the news service said. "Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and other global policy makers have cautioned that the recovery is likely to be muted, indicating they would not soon remove all the stimulus injected into the financial system." ....
.... U.S. stock markets are poised to rise Monday on -- what else? -- more positive comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. On Friday, the central banker sent stocks soaring after he was quoted as saying the economy is near a recovery. Existing home sales also posted their biggest gains in more than two years, further indication that the housing market is improving. Markets in Europe and Asia also rose.
Throwing cold water on the rally is "Dr. Doom." Writing in the Financial Times today, Nouriel Roubini said the chance of a double-dip recession is increasing because of risks related to ending global monetary and fiscal stimulus, Bloomberg News noted.
"Governments around the world have pledged about $2 trillion in stimulus measures amid the worst worldwide recession since the Great Depression," the news service said. "Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and other global policy makers have cautioned that the recovery is likely to be muted, indicating they would not soon remove all the stimulus injected into the financial system." ....
Robbed: Obama's Trick that Could Wipe Out Your Savings
from Financial Intelligence Report
The U.S. dollar is going the way of the Mexican peso: down!
More than $10 trillion in government spending is triggering a sudden and massive devaluation.
The TARP chief told Congress the federal bailout will now total over $23 trillion! That would be over $70,000 per person.
But if you act fast, you can protect your life savings from 1970s-style mega-inflation . . . and you could DOUBLE your money . . .
Find out how you can get our latest FREE special issue of the Financial Intelligence Report on growing wealthy in the coming dollar wipeout.
Secret Government Plan
To Devalue the Dollar Could
Wipe Out Your Life Savings!
|
|
Dear Investor:
Unbeknown to most investors, the Obama administration is planning quietly to devalue the U.S. dollar even MORE. The decision has been made . . . and it’s working.
Obama adviser Warren Buffett accidentally revealed in a recent CNBC interview what the Administration REALLY has planned all along.
Buffett told the interviewer that the United States will do what
every other country has done when faced with huge obligations
and decreasing revenues — inflate (devalue) the currency!
The reason is simple.
The Democrats have waited nearly 30 years, ever since Ronald Reagan was elected, to begin spending money on social programs again.
They’re not about to let a global economic wipeout stand in their way.
Deliberately devaluing the U.S. dollar will make U.S. government debt obligations less onerous, American exports relatively cheap, and rally the stock market.
There is only one problem with their plan!
By causing inflation to soar, it will wipe out the life savings of generations . . . and destroy the U.S. economy for decades to come . . .
Dollar Devaluation Is a Done Deal
That’s why we’ve prepared a special issue of the Financial Intelligence Report called "The Coming Dollar Devaluation: 8 Factors Every Investor Must Know."
It could end up being the most important economic report you’ll read this year.
This special report gives you the inside details on what the world’s most famous economists and financial experts expect to happen in the coming six months.
Plus, it outlines a realistic plan of action you can take to protect yourself from the plummeting dollar — and reveals investments that could easily DOUBLE your money if the U.S. dollar slide continues.
You’ll discover . . .
- Eight reasons why the global recovery will be stopped dead in its tracks in the United States . . .
- Why certain rising commodity prices are the canary in the mine shaft when it comes to inflation . . .
- What Obama’s plans to nationalize U.S. healthcare will do to the U.S. dollar . . .
- The REAL reason why interest rates have been rising despite everything the government tries . . .
- Why you have to become a global investor to survive the coming dollar devaluation . . .
- How Wall Street’s "bandit capitalism" is leading to "bandit socialism" . . .
- What will happen when China and other foreign investors stop buying U.S. debt . . .
- The reason why inflation is inevitable — and the steps you must take, right now, to prepare for it . . .
- and much, MUCH more!
Best of all, you can get a copy of "The Coming Dollar Devaluation: 8 Factors Every Investor Must Know" absolutely FREE. Click Here Now.
I’ll tell you how to get a copy in a moment. But first, let me explain why . . .
The Destruction of the Dollar,
And Your Portfolio, Has Started
When the market crashed more than 18 months ago, the dollar strengthened significantly. Investors worldwide fled to the greenback. Hundreds of billions of poured into the United States.
But all that ended quickly when Barack Obama took office.
Once Obama and congressional Democrats began handing out trillions of dollars in bailouts and posting record deficits, the confidence of world investors was badly shaken. The value of the U.S. dollar began plunging.
Since taking office, the Obama administration has increased the monetary base by a staggering $10 trillion (see chart below). In less than a year, it managed to DOUBLE the expected annual budget deficit to almost $2 trillion.
The result was predictable: The stock market rallied . . . but the once mighty dollar has PLUNGED against foreign currencies.
That’s WHY Warren Buffett, for the first time ever, shifted more than 20 percent of Berkshire Hathaway’s portfolio outside the country and into non-dollar assets.
This estimate does not include companies he holds, such as Coca-Cola, that draw huge portions of their earnings from abroad.
Save your wealth! Send for your FREE copy of our new report, "The Coming Dollar Devaluation: 8 Factors Every Investor Must Know," by Clicking Here Now.
Inflation Is About to Wipe Out the
Stock Market Gains of Recent Months!
These are dangerous times. If you have spent the past 10 YEARS investing in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, your investments have lost money — a lot of money. 
Since the market hit its historic 2007 high, stocks have plummeted. In March of this year, the Dow hit a new decade low of 6,547 — a drop of more than 53 percent from the high. The market has rebounded since that low but remains down nearly 40 percent.
We predicted this year’s rally-back.
David Frazier, a stock analyst who is part of the Financial Intelligence Report’s Brain Trust, stated in a Moneynews article on March 11:
There’s a bright side to the recent downturn in equities — stocks are trading at ridiculously low prices relative to their companies’ cash flows, net asset values, and future earnings capacity. Stocks are headed higher. Buy now!
But here is what should really have you worried!
The recent stock market rally was fueled almost entirely by the MASSIVE infusion of $10 trillion in borrowed government cash, according to our FIR analysts.
All that government borrowing has boosted the market but will trigger inflation that the United States hasn’t seen since the 1970s.
If the stock market during the next two years rises by more than 8 percent a year but real inflation hits the U.S. economy at more than 10 percent, investors will experience negative asset value.
The same thing has happened with the socialist-controlled Venezuelan stock market, one of the few stock markets in the world doing well now. When you factor in that country’s skyrocketing inflation rate — now averaging 30 percent! — investors in Venezuela are losing their shirts.
Don’t be fooled! Click Here Now to get your FREE copy of
"The Coming Dollar Devaluation: 8 Factors Every Investor Must Know."
Obama Is Making the Same Mistake As . . .
Twenty years ago, Japan was one of the richest countries in the world and had one of the highest standards of living. Everyone was talking about "Theory Z" and the Japanese state-controlled approach to business.
Then, in the 1990s, the Japanese asset bubble in stocks and real estate went through a crash similar to what we are experiencing now.
Rather than use free-market approaches to address the problem, Japanese policymakers did many of the same things the Obama administration is doing today, such as keeping interest rates artificially low, spending heavily — and deliberately devaluing the yen to spur exports.
The result: The Japanese economy has NEVER recovered. The Nikkei, the Japanese stock market, plummeted 86% — and is STILL down 75% from its historic high.
Today, the Japanese rank 24th in the world in per-capita income, according to the International Monetary Fund.
Like Japan, the United States could see a significant unwinding of its real wealth. You’ll learn all about it in your FREE copy of "The Coming Dollar Devaluation: 8 Factors Every Investor Must Know" — where you’ll discover . . .
- What the government DOESN’T want you to know about the rising national debt . . .
- The world’s two most powerful inflation fighting strategies . . .
- A little-known exchange-traded fund (ETF) that could skyrocket in value if the value of the dollar continues to sink . . .
- A better way to invest for inflation . . . plus, a foreign stock that could make you piles of profits . . .
- Why you can’t trust your pension fund when it comes to runaway inflation . . . and how you can take charge now . . .
- What you need to know about the exploding U.S. money supply . . .
- The No. 1 reason why the economy’s "green shoots" may be about to have battery acid thrown on them . . .
- The truth about Obama’s trillion-dollar health plan . . . and why it’s driving investors away from the United States . . .
- And MORE!
Get your FREE copy of our new report "The Coming Dollar Devaluation:
8 Factors Every Investor Must Know" by Clicking Here Now.
Imagine Making a 19% Gain During the
Past 12 Months Instead of
Taking a 17% Loss in the S&P 500!
Thus far, we have been telling you what's included in our special report "The Coming Dollar Devaluation: 8 Factors Every Investor Must Know."
But this is really just a start!
Our Financial Intelligence Report is, quite frankly, priceless.
Want proof?
Take a quick look at our performance! During the past 12 months, our model portfolio posted a net GAIN of 19% . . . while the S&P 500, even taking into account the recent market rally, has LOST 17% in the same period.
How is this possible? For one reason, the Financial Intelligence Report allows you to tap into the top financial minds from around the world.
We have shown an uncanny ability to uncover what truly is happening as it relates to the U.S. and global economies. It's easy to join the chorus line. We prefer to give you the facts before the rest.
Our reports and predictions have been so pinpoint accurate, they read like prophecy.
Here are a few examples of how the Financial Intelligence Report provided guidance and recommendations throughout the years:
- We warned members about the mortgage meltdown two years before the crash.
- We cautioned members in June 2004 about the falling dollar in: "The Dangerous Dollar Warning" issue.
- We guided members to Canadian royalty trusts that went up as much as 100% in one year, while paying up to 15% dividends.
- We revealed massive stealth inflation of more than 8% in the United States, even while the Federal Reserve was claiming 2.3% "core inflation," which conveniently excludes energy, food, taxes, and housing.
- We warned members about the housing crash in our September 2004 issue.
- We warned members about the looming baby boomer crisis, which could devastate U.S. financial and real estate markets.
- We predicted the price of gold would skyrocket back in December 2003.
- We steered members toward dividend stocks paying up to 17% a year, plus appreciation.
- We provided you with new investment recommendations in every issue, some returning more than 100% a year.
Imagine what you would have made — and saved — if you had had this kind of financial intelligence three or four years ago.
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