No Agenda 481 - Intelligence Product

No Agenda Episode 481 - Intelligence Product
  Intelligence Product
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  Intelligence Product
  Executive Producers: Sir Spitzer, Sir Melancon
  Associate Executive Producers: Sir Hans Jšrg-Shultz, Sir Sean Conneley, Sanford Staab
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  2 Obamas
    Presidential Proclamation -- National Day of Hope and Resolve, 2013
      Link to Article
      Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed
      Wed, 23 Jan 2013 20:42
      The White House
      Office of the Press Secretary
      For Immediate Release
      January 21, 2013
      NATIONAL DAY OF HOPE AND RESOLVE, 2013
      - - - - - - -
      BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICAA PROCLAMATION
      Four years ago, the American people came together to chart a new course through an uncertain hour. We chose hope over fear and hard work during hardship, confident that the age-old values that had guided our Nation through even its darkest days would be sufficient to meet the trials of our time.
      Together, we have brought a decade of war toward a responsible end. We have saved our economy from collapse and fought for a future where everyone has an equal chance at opportunity. Millions of men, women, and children have made service their mission, reaffirming that America's greatest strength lies not in might or wealth, but in the bonds we share with one another.
      Today, I have sworn an oath to preserve the fundamental freedoms and protections that are the lasting birthright of all who call this land home. I stand humbled by the responsibilities entrusted to me by our people, and I pray God's grace will see us through the tests we will surely face in the days ahead. But even as I assume once more the solemn duty of this Presidency, let us also remember that the oath I spoke shares much in common with those taken by every service member and every immigrant, and with the pledge we make before our flag. These are the words of America's citizens, and they represent our greatest hope.
      On the opposite end of the National Mall from where I delivered my address, a preacher once told us "we cannot walk alone." Empowered by our faith in each other and united by the purpose that binds our fates as one, let us learn again that most enduring lesson. Let us renew our resolve to meet the challenges of our age together. And when our grandchildren reflect on the history we leave, let them say we did what was required of us, that our words were true to our Founders' dreams for a young Republic and our actions foretold the dawn of a new and brighter day.
      NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 21, 2013, a National Day of Hope and Resolve. I call upon all Americans to join together in courage, in compassion, and in purpose to more fully realize the eternal promises of our founding and the more perfect Union that must remain ever within our reach.
      IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-first day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.
      BARACK OBAMA
    This is BUSGATE
      Link to Article
      Source: Lame Cherry
      Tue, 22 Jan 2013 09:54
      I never watched the Obama Bible swearing election theft inauguration as I did not want to vomit as the thought nauseates me in watching America finished as a nation.Mom though had on the broadcast news to torture me and something bizarre caught my attention in there was nothing but black folks there.
      Granted they all had the holiday off we are all paying for costing billions, but seeing all those people there in an Obama Super Depression just is puzzling as where in the hell did they get all that money as that is like a 1000 dollar trip and it is cold as hell there so travel was not easy.......they certainly could not have driven a million more cars there as traffic jams would have shut it all down.
      So I started wondering about this fraudulent show, which said fewer people showed up for Obama houses this time and turkeys and found the headlines:
      Sold out: N.J. group bound for Obama inauguration has no bus...www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/.../all_sold_out_nj_group_bound_fo.ht...1 day ago '' The sold-out bus departs Newark from Lincoln Park Monday at 6 a.m.. ... said Lawrence Hamm, state chairman for the People's Organization for Progress. ...Obama's historic inauguration, Hamm's group chartered 11 buses to ...Memphis OBAMA INAUGURATION Bus Trip | Facebookwww.facebook.com/events/168177899993978/Jan 19 - Jan 22 - Inauguration 2013Sign UpConnect and share with the people in your life. Memphis OBAMA INAUGURATION Bus Trip. Export á Report á Memphis OBAMA INAUGURATION Bus...Community organizers who taught Obama the ropes get an ...1 day ago '' Related; Obama inauguration excitement underway á Obama ... friends and donors, and average people who put up with an overnight bus ride.Last-minute options for inauguration travel - Sun-Sentinel3 days ago '' For the 2009 presidential inauguration, Mitchell arranged a similar bus trip with about 54 people who wanted to see Obama sworn in as the first ...Kelly: For teen, a bus ride to history at Obama inauguration - Omaha ...www.omaha.com/article/20130120/NEWS/701209919/16852 days ago '' As with four years ago, the people on the bus come from an array of ... D.C., for the inauguration Monday of President Barack ObamaHundreds from N.C. to attend Obama inauguration :: WRAL.comwww.wral.com/news/local/story/4229447/1 day ago '' Hundreds from N.C. to attend Obama inauguration... The 30 buses are expected to carry about 1,700 people.That is just a sample......30 buses contracted for?I never heard of the GOP ever doing that for Reagan or Bush.
      How about this:
      President Obama's inauguration still a draw second time around2 days ago '' Hubbard chartered three buses for people who want to see the president's second inaugural on Monday, and every seat is reserved.Apparently Obama's folks chartered every fricking bus in America, and I will guess gave away tickets and probably some damn travel stipend we tax payers are paying for to feed this mob, and I'm betting that is how Obama filled Washington with all those blacks as they called SOOEY and the hogs came a runnin'.
      Obama desperately wanted the illusion along with the liberal media that he was popular, TO MATCH HIS ELECTION THEFT in flipping votes. That is what was behind all of this and no one but this blog in another Lame Cherry matter anti matter exclusive has exposed this.
      I listened to that crowd and they were bored. I listened to those stupid Afroids in interviews and it was like, "Yeah Obama is uniting all us......blacks........and uh whites."......."Yeah, I ah.....never thought I would see this".Those people had no enthusiasm in the least. This inauguration theft was smoke and mirrors in a hog call, and that mob was shipped in pokers meant to fill the seats to reinforce that this mysterious mob actually voted for Obama in mass, instead of his proven election theft in 2013.
      This apparent hog call was nationwide in urban centers in community organized goons all getting the call. I repeat Obama loaded buses with blacks to give the illusion on camera that masses of people really did vote for him in November, so no one would question why only more press showed up on January 21 than people.
      More proof of the Obama election theft. Obama faked the crowds by a coordinated effort to ship people in by bus.
      This is BUSGATE and dimes to dollars, that money was filtered through those Obama green grants to all those bankrupt corporations that made millionaires of Obama cronies before the money was dumped back to Obama......you remember how that Obama donation scheme was running in cuts to certain states.
      This is BUSGATE another Lame Cherry matter anti matter exclusive.
      Tulsans travel to D.C. for inauguration | Tulsa Worldwww.tulsaworld.com/site/articlepath.aspx?articleid=20130121...10 hours ago '' She's going to be one of the 500,000 to 800,000 people expected to fill the ... the bus trip as she did in 2009 for the first Obama inauguration.They already had the numbers contracted for in what the regime was planning for this show.
      Obama Inauguration Sponsors Spent Millions Influencing Governmenttruth-out.org/.../14037-obama-inauguration-sponsors-spent-millions- ...6 hours ago '' At Obama's Second Inauguration, How Emancipated Are We Really? ... Chief among corporate inaugural donors: AT&T Inc., Microsoft Corp., energy giant Southern Co., .... By Will Potter, Green Is the New Red | News Analysis ...Inaugural donations from corporations: Not okay in 2009, totally cool ...hotair.com/.../inaugural-donations-from-corporations-not-okay-in-20...5 hours ago '' In 2008/2009, President Obama's inaugural committee (amidst much self- promoted fanfare, I might add) ... This year, Obama is taking unlimited donations, including corporate cash. Bingo Bango Bongo and Obama......I told you this was a paid for sham propaganda event to cover up the Obama 2012 election theft and in USA TODAY they printed it.
      D.C. hotels have availability for inaugurationwww.usatoday.com/.../travel/...obama-inauguration.../1707...Obama gave out FREE TRAVEL VOUCHERS TO MAKE THIS BOGUS CROWD.
      The reality is that Google lists that in the story, but it has been wiped from the USA TODAY story and is only a story about 1000 dollar a night hotels in DC......yeah all these black folks could afford that in like a 2500 dollar junket they paid for.The retail on this is if 900,000 people were bused in, that at two people to a room, that is 450 million dollars these poor bus riders would have had to have shelled out.
      You know they did not. This was money laundering and graft from Obama.
      Obama just was exposed in another Lame Cherry matter anti matter exclusive. You children wanted proof, so there is the proof of this sham.
      BUSGATE Busted here on the Lame Cherry blog.
      agtG 249Y
    MLK
      Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. - Drum Major Instinct Pt. 1 - [VIDEO]
      Much-criticized 'drum major' quote on Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial to be removed - U.S. News
      Cornel West Explains Why It Bothers Him That Obama Will Be Taking The Oath With MLK's Bible - [VIDEO]
      "The Drum Major Instinct"**
    Broken viewing screen frustrates thousands on the National Mall
      Link to Article
      Tue, 22 Jan 2013 10:03
      Tens of thousands of people who flocked to the Mall to watch Monday's inaugural ceremony will have to watch a replay to hear what President Obama said.
      A television set up just north of the Washington Monument was streaming terribly, sending a garbled signal '-- both audial and visual '-- that left observers west of 15th Street having to guess half of what Obama was saying.
      Many in the crowd '-- perhaps thinking there was another big screen on the south side of the monument '-- trudged that way only to find nothing, and were forced to loop back into the north-end throng that was trying its best to be upbeat despite the malfunctioning screen.While most endured the glitch with smiles '-- taking cues from the cheers much closer to the Capitol '-- hundreds, perhaps thousands, wandered away long before Obama's speech was through, many of them dismayed.
      "This is terrible," grumbled one man, joined by his family, who did not want to be identified.
      '-- This story was updated at 2:00 p.m.
      More from The Hill:'... Obama presses for gay rights in speech'... Climate change features prominently in Obama inaugural'... GOP contenders have no regrets as they watch inaugural'... Polls show dampening enthusiasm as Obama inaugurated'... House GOP unveils bill to suspend debt-limit until May 19'... Few details on Senate Dem budget plan'... Grounded 787s could land Boeing in financial trouble
  Shut Up Slave!
    NYPD's new radiation scanners can identify concealed weapons from afar
      Link to Article
      Thu, 24 Jan 2013 13:29
      The New York Police Department this week unveiled new radiation scanners capable of identifying concealed weapons from a distance. As the New York Daily News reports, the scanners are small enough to be installed in police vans or on notoriously violent street corners, thereby allowing police to identify carriers of illegal guns without going through the traditional pat-down procedure.
      Developed in conjunction with the London Metropolitan Police, the devices are designed to pick up on the terahertz radiation naturally emitted by both humans and inanimate objects. Anything blocking that radiation '-- including a gun '-- will be prominently highlighted, as evidenced by the NYPD's demonstration, embedded below.
      "We're talking to our legal staff about this."
      Wednesday's announcement comes amid heightened debate over gun control, both on the national and state level. Earlier this month, the New York state legislature approved strict new measures that make it more difficult for people to purchase high capacity gun magazines. The laws also call for tighter, real-time background checks that will allow authorities to quickly identify high-volume buyers.
      Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly says the NYPD has already begun testing its new scanners, which were first announced last year, and that it hopes to deploy them in the near future. Civil rights groups have raised concerns over the legality of so-called "virtual pat-downs," though Raymond insists that the NYPD will take every precaution to use them responsibly.
      "We still have a number of trials to run before we can determine how best to deploy this technology," Kelly said. "We're also talking to our legal staff about this. But we're very pleased with the progress we've made over the past year."
    Hillary Clinton tries to silence Bindi Irwin on population growth | News.com.au
      Link to Article
      Thu, 24 Jan 2013 05:08
      Terri, Bindi and Robert Irwin are all passionate about wildlife conservation.Source: Supplied
      Bindi Irwin (pictured caring for Muggles the baby echidna), is speaking up about population growth and how it should be managed. Picture: Ben Beaden/Australia ZooSource: Supplied
      PASSIONATE wildlife campaigner Bindi Irwin has gotten into a biff with one of the world's most powerful women.
      The 14-year-old has stood her ground after an essay she was invited to write for US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's e-journal was drastically edited before it was to be published.
      The young conservationist, daughter of the late "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin, was asked to write 800-1000 words on why she had chosen to devote her life's work to wildlife conservation. The piece was supposed to be published in the December issue titled Go Wild Coming Together for Conservation as part of Secretary Clinton's endangered species initiative.
      But after writing exactly 1000 words urging society to address overpopulation, the former first lady's department returned it for final approval with most of it edited out.Bindi used the simple analogy of throwing a party and having too many guests turn up to explain her point of view.
      "How is it possible that our fragile planet can sustain these masses of people?" Bindi wrote.
      "Think of it this way. Pretend for a moment that I'm having a party, inviting 15 of my closest friends. I've rented a room big enough to fit 15 people, I've bought 15 sandwiches for each of my friends to eat, and I have put together 15 party bags, one for each friend.
      "My party is about to start, and I hear a knock at the door. My friends are here! Only, when I open the door, 70 of my friends are standing there wanting to come to the party!
      "What do I do? My room is only big enough to fit 15, with 70 we won't have any room to move and dance. I don't have enough food. Do I divide the sandwiches among the 70 people? But then everyone will still be hungry. What about the party bags? Do I only give the party bags out to my closest friends? Isn't that unfair to everyone else?
      "That is the crisis facing mother earth today."
      Click here to read the essay in full
      Terri Irwin, who is raising Bindi and her nine-year-old brother Robert at their Australia Zoo on the Sunshine Coast, said her daughter was less than impressed with the response from the US State Department.
      "It's interesting that she was asked to write an essay about the environment and included the consideration of population (growth) and they returned her essay edited and completely edited that out," she said.
      "So Bindi wrote to Hillary Clinton's organisation and said 'what happened to freedom of speech? This is my opinion and I don't want that edited out'."
      The tough-talking teen '' who onscreen has freed Willy, fought pirate animal poachers and hosted Bindi's Boot Camp '' pulled the essay from the publication in anticipation of a response.
      Hillary Clinton's organisation edited out huge sections of an essay they asked Bindi Irwin to submit.Source: AP
      "The edited version was not published per Bindi's request," Mrs Irwin said."She said 'that's not what I wrote', so that's where we're at with it."
      Secretary Clinton's department then told Bindi there was not enough time for her to do a re-write, which the Queensland teen refused to do anyway.
      "Bindi just respectfully said that she's not willing to go with the edited version of the story," a zoo spokeswoman said.
      "She said that while it was a good message that they were trying to convey in the publication, she just wanted her whole essay to be printed rather than just a snippet of it without the other points she wanted included."So that's how it's ended."
      Mrs Irwin said Bindi, who is following in her father's footsteps in promoting nature conservation and helping preserve the planet, had become increasingly passionate about the cause in recent years.
      "In fact Bindi is so passionate about it that she became very interested in what Dick Smith was talking about," she said.
      "Dick Smith did a documentary called Population Puzzle and Bindi watched that.
      "Bindi became so passionate about the issue that she talked to Dick about it and helped launch his book Population Crisis and has become a real advocate."
      Terri Irwin is supporting her daughter Bindi's views on population growth.Source: AAP
      The mother-of-two said population growth was an unpopular topic."It's astounding that in just over 100 years we've gone from 1.5 billion people on the planet to 7 billion so you think 'what do we do in the next 100 years?' We're going to be warring over water and space and food," she said.
      "I just think it's fascinating that when Bindi does an interview and talks about population, more than 50 per cent of the time it's edited out.
      "It's something we do need to talk about or the ship's going to sink man."
      Mrs Irwin said she had visited communities in Australia which were in desperate need of family planning support.
      "Certainly when Bindi, Robert and I were in South Africa four years ago filming a movie we saw a lot of that in Africa as well. It's a global problem but we recognise it in Africa and we forget it's something that's in our own back yard," she said.
      "Everyone talks about recycle and manage your resources but how do you do that when we've got so many people?
      "It's not terribly popular but I'm not trying to insult anyone's ability to decide how many kids they want '... but I continue to meet children in foster care and people living on the poverty line who did not chose to have so many children and for who options weren't made readily available."
      News.com.au has requested a response from the US State Department.
      Follow Kristin Shorten on Twitter @itsKShort
  Gang$ters
    Treasury Identifies Eight Gangsters - Business Insider
      Link to Article
      Wed, 23 Jan 2013 18:35
      On Wednesday morning, the US Treasury announced sanctions against the members of three international crime syndicates in an effort to crack down on organized crime.President Obama had previously named the Camorra, Yakuza, and Brothers' Circle as TCOs, or transnational criminal organizations, in July 2011, and instructed the Treasury to follow up with sanctions.
      The release is that it actually identifies and provides brief background information on eight gangsters from the Yakuza, Camorra, and Brothers' Circle, as well as an overview of each syndicate.
      The Treasury has frozen these gangsters' assets and prohibited any U.S. citizen from engaging in business with them.
      Read the full release from the Treasury Department below. The gangsters are listed at the bottom:
      Treasury Targets Leading Figures of Transnational Criminal Organizations
      WASHINGTON '' The U.S. Department of the Treasury today took action against three transnational criminal organizations (TCO), the Camorra, the Yakuza, and the Brothers' Circle. Today's designations include four members of the Camorra, one of Europe's largest criminal organizations; the Inagawa-kai, the third-largest clan within the Japanese Yakuza criminal network; and an individual providing support to a key member of the Brothers' Circle, a large multi-ethnic Eurasian criminal network. These designations were imposed under Treasury's authority targeting transnational organized crime.
      President Obama identified the Camorra, the Yakuza, and the Brothers' Circle along with the Zetas, as significant TCOs in the Annex to Executive Order 13581 (Blocking Property of Transnational Criminal Organizations) on July 24, 2011, and charged the Treasury Department with pursuing additional sanctions against its members and supporters to undermine and interdict their global criminal operations.
      Today's action freezes any assets these persons may have within the jurisdiction of the United States and generally prohibits any transactions with them by U.S. persons.
      ''The individuals designated today are key members of criminal organizations who engage in serious crimes around the world,'' said David S. Cohen, Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. ''Treasury will continue to target additional members and supporters of these groups, as well as other significant TCOs, as we systematically expose their criminal operations and protect the U.S. financial system from their illicit activity.
      The Camorra
      The Camorra operates internationally and is involved in serious criminal activity, such as money laundering, extortion, alien smuggling, robbery, blackmail, kidnapping, political corruption, and counterfeiting. In 2012 Italian law enforcement conducted multiple operations to seize Camorra assets, including 800 million euro seized from the Casalesi clan in July. To date, Treasury has identified five individuals affiliated with the Camorra under E.O. 13581, including their most prominent leaders Michele Zagaria and Antonio Iovine.
      In August 2012 the Treasury Department designated Michele Zagaria, a leader of the Camorra Casalesi clan, who is serving a life sentence for conspiracy, murder, extortion, and robbery. The Camorra members designated today are all members of the immediate family of Michele Zagaria: his brothers Pasquale Zagaria, Carmine Zagaria, Antonio Zagaria, and his father Nicola Zagaria. Each of these four individuals is designated for acting for or on behalf of, or providing support to, Michele Zagaria and/or the Camorra. All the brothers have led the Caselasi clan at one point while other siblings were serving jail sentences. All are involved in the family's criminal enterprises. This network has been involved in extortion, kidnapping, money laundering, and bribery.
      The Yakuza
      The Yakuza, reputedly the world's largest criminal organization with over 70,000 members, is involved in serious criminal activities, including weapons trafficking, prostitution, human trafficking, drug trafficking, fraud, and money laundering. The Treasury Department designated the Yamaguchi-gumi and the Sumiyoshi-kai, in February and September 2012, respectively. The Inagawa-kai, designated today, is the third-largest of the Yakuza organizations, and the Department of the Treasury is targeting it today for acting for or on behalf of the Yakuza. The top three clans account for approximately 72.4 percent of the Yakuza membership. To date, Treasury has identified four individuals and two entities affiliated with the Yakuza under E.O. 13581, including their most prominent leaders Kenichi Shinoda and Shigeo Nishiguchi.
      Today's action also imposes sanctions on Jiro Kiyota, the top Inagawa-kai leader, as well as the Inagawa-kai's second-in-command, Kazuo Uchibori, for acting for or on behalf of the Inagawa-kai. As leaders of Inagawa-kai, Kiyota and Uchibori play key roles in directing the syndicate's policies and settling disputes with other Yakuza syndicates. Under the leadership of Kiyota and Uchibori, the Inagawa-kai has become increasingly aligned with the Yamaguchi-gumi.
      The Brothers' Circle
      The Brothers' Circle is a multi-ethnic criminal group composed of leaders and senior members of several Eurasian criminal groups largely based in countries of the former Soviet Union but extending to Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. To date, Treasury has identified 15 individuals affiliated with the Brothers' Circle and their associates under E.O. 13581, including their most prominent members Gafur Rakhimov and Zakhariy Kalashov. The Brothers' Circle serves as a coordinating body for several national level criminal networks, mediating disputes between the individual criminal networks and directing global criminal activity.
      On December 20, 2012, the Treasury Department designated Zakhariy Kalashov, a key member of the Brothers' Circle and a prominent Eurasian organized crime figure with extensive connections to criminal groups in Russia and countries throughout Eurasia. His criminal activities include money laundering, extortion, criminal protection, and drug trafficking. He is currently incarcerated, serving a nine year sentence for money laundering in Spain. Marina Kalashova, who has been designated today, is a key part of Zakhariy Kalashov's network. Kalashov communicates with Kalashova to pass messages on his behalf to his organization.
      Identifying Information:
      Name: Zagaria, Carmine
      DOB: 27 May 1968
      POB: San Cipriano D'Aversa, Italy
      Name: Zagaria, Antonio
      DOB: 29 June 1962
      POB: San Cipriano D'Aversa, Italy
      Name: Zagaria, Pasquale
      DOB: 5 January 1960
      POB: San Cipriano D'Aversa, Italy
      Name:Zagaria, Nicola
      DOB: 10 October 1927
      POB: San Cipriano D'Aversa, Italy
      Entity: Inagawa-kai
      Address: 7-8-4 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan
      Name: Kiyota, Jiro
      AKA: Sin, Byon-Gyu
      DOB: 1940
      POB: Japan
      Name: Uchibori, Kazuo
      AKA: Uchibori, Kazuya
      DOB: 1952
      POB: Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
      Name: Goldberg, Marina Samuilovna
      AKA: Kalashov, Marina
      AKA: Kalashova, Marina
      Address: Burj Khalifa, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
      DOB: 15 September 1979
      ID: Passport 514763020 (Russia)
  Hillary on the Hill
    Insider sez:
      EVERY F-CKING QUESTION WAS AGREED TO BEFOREHAND. Hillary had notes for every question. Watch her look down every time a question is asked. She sucks at hiding it. ThatÕs the tell. They negotiated the terms of the questioning weeks ago. She was prepared. There is no real investigation by the Senate. There is no real search for justice here. None. Zero. Zip. Nada. Complete bullsh-t.
    Scripted table read
  Techno Experts
    Cyber Readiness Challenge
      Link to Article
      Wed, 23 Jan 2013 18:42
      Recruiting Security Experts Worldwide!!
      Join the Symantec Cyber Readiness Challenge!! An interactive competition taking place online and at live events around the world where IT security experts will have the chance to test their skills and knowledge in exciting scenarios inspired by real-life security issues.The competition will take the form of a 'capture the flag' style cyber attack simulation, with players competing against each other to solve IT security problems. Players have the opportunity to win prizes and gain points PLUS the best players from the worldwide events will take part in the Cyber Readiness Championship!
      Register now for the Symantec Readiness Challenge!
      Click here to learn More About the Events
      TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2013
      DALLAS, TEXASFlight Museum6911 Lemmon AvenueDallas, TX
      Agenda:5:00pm '' Check-In & Open Bar5:45pm '' Keynote Presentation6:45pm '' Cyber Readiness Challenge Begins!10:30pm '' Event Concludes
      Note: Appetizers will be served until 5:45pm. Buffet Style Dinner will follow the Keynote.
      TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2013
      CHICAGO, ILLINOISUniversity of Illinois at ChicagoStudent Center East750 S. Halsted StreetChicago, IL 60607
      (parking is available in the ramp located at 760 West Taylor Street)
      Agenda:4:30pm '' Registration & Reception5:00pm '' Keynote Presentation6:00pm '' Cyber Readiness Challenge Begins!10:30pm '' Event Concludes
      Executive Roundtable will take place from 6-7pm, following keynote. Host TBD.Refreshments and dinner available thru the evening.
      WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6, 2013
      MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTAMcNamara Alumni CenterUniversity of Minnesota200 Oak St. SEMinneapolis, MN 55455
      (parking is available in the ramp located at 1926 University Avenue S.E.)
      Agenda:4:30pm '' Registration, Buffet Dinner & Player Setup5:30pm '' Opening Remarks and Keynote Presentation6:15pm '' Review Rules of the Challenge6:30pm '' Cyber Readiness Challenge Begins!10:00pm '' Challenge Closes and Review of the Results10:30pm '' Event Concludes
      WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6, 2013
      MILAN, ITALYPolitecnico di MilanoPiazza Leonardo da Vinci32 Milano, Italy
      Agenda:TBD
      WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13, 2013
      MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIAComputer History Museum1401 N. Shoreline Blvd.Mountain View, CA 94043
      Agenda:5:00pm '' Check-In & Open Bar/Buffet5:45pm '' Keynote Presentation6:45pm '' Cyber Readiness Challenge Begins!10:30pm '' Event Concludes
      WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013
      NEW YORK, NEW YORKGreenwich Village Country Club110 University PlaceNew York, NY 10003
      Agenda:5:30pm '' Registration, cocktails and networking6:00pm '' Global Threat Landscape Update7:00pm '' Private Executive Roundtable and Dinner7:00pm '' Cyber Readiness Challenge10:00pm '' Cyber Readiness Challenge Winners announced - event concludes
      WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013
      BRUSSELS, BELGIUMInfosecurity.be, Brussels ExpoPalace 8, Place de Belgique 1B-1020 Brussels, Belgium
      Agenda:TBD
  Chiners
    Does China Plan To Establish ''China Cities'' And ''Special Economic Zones'' All Over America? :
      Link to Article
      Wed, 23 Jan 2013 22:33
      What in the world is China up to? Over the past several years, the Chinese government and large Chinese corporations (which are often at least partially owned by the government) have been systematically buying up businesses, homes, farmland, real estate, infrastructure and natural resources all over America.
      In some cases, China appears to be attempting to purchase entire communities in one fell swoop. So why is this happening?
      Is this some form of ''economic colonization'' that is taking place? Some have speculated that China may be intending to establish ''special economic zones'' inside the United States modeled after the very successful Chinese city of Shenzhen.
      Back in the 1970s, Shenzhen was just a very small fishing village, but now it is a sprawling metropolis of over 14 million people.
      Initially, these ''special economic zones'' were only established within China, but now the Chinese government has been buying huge tracts of land in foreign countries such as Nigeria and establishing special economic zones in those nations.
      So could such a thing actually happen in America? Well, according to Dr. Jerome Corsi, a plan being pushed by the Chinese Central Bank would set up ''development zones'' in the United States that would allow China to ''establish Chinese-owned businesses and bring in its citizens to the U.S. to work.''
      Under the plan, some of the $1.17 trillion that the U.S. owes China would be converted from debt to ''equity''. As a result, ''China would own U.S. businesses, U.S. infrastructure and U.S. high-value land, all with a U.S. government guarantee against loss.''
      Does all of this sound far-fetched? Well, it isn't. In fact, the economic colonization of America is already far more advanced than most Americans would dare to imagine.
      So how in the world did we get to this point? A few decades ago, the United States was the unchallenged economic powerhouse of the world and China was essentially a third world country.
      So what happened?
      Well, we entered into a whole bunch of extremely unfavorable ''free trade'' agreements, and countries such as China began to aggressively use ''free trade'' as an economic weapon against us.
      Over the past decade, we have lost tens of thousands of businesses and millions of jobs to China. When the final numbers for 2012 come out, our trade deficit with China for the year will be well over 300 billion dollars, and that will be the largest trade deficit that one country has had with another country in the history of the world.
      Overall, the U.S. has run a trade deficit with China over the past decade that comes to more than 2.3 trillion dollars. That 2.3 trillion dollars could have gone to U.S. businesses and U.S. workers, and in turn taxes would have been paid on all of that money. But instead, all of that money went to China.
      Rather than just sitting on all of that money, China has been lending much of it back to us '' at interest. We now owe China more than a trillion dollars, and our politicians are constantly pleading with China to lend more money to us so that we can finance our exploding debt.
      Today, the U.S. government pays China approximately 100 million dollars a day in interest on the debt that we owe them. Those that say that the U.S. debt ''does not matter'' are being incredibly foolish.
      So thanks to our massive trade deficit and our exploding national debt, China is systematically getting wealthier and the United States is systematically getting poorer.
      And now China is starting to use a lot of that wealth to aggressively expand their power and influence around the globe.
      But isn't it more than a bit far-fetched to suggest that China may be planning to establish Chinese cities and special economic zones in America?
      Not really.
      Just look at what has already happened up in Canada. It is well-known that the Chinese population of Vancouver, Canada has absolutely exploded in recent years. In fact, the Vancouver suburb of Richmond is now approximately half Chinese. The following is an excerpt from a BBC article'...
      Richmond is North America's most Asian city '' 50% of residents here identify themselves as Chinese. But it's not just here that the Chinese community in British Columbia (BC) '' some 407,000 strong '' has left its mark. All across Vancouver, Chinese-Canadians have helped shape the local landscape.
      A similar thing is happening in many communities along the west coast of the United States. In fact, Chinese citizens purchased one out of every ten homes that were sold in the state of California in 2011.
      But in other areas of the United States, the Chinese are approaching things much more systematically.
      For example, as I have written about previously, a Chinese group identified as ''Sino-Michigan Properties LLC'' has purchased 200 acres of land near the town of Milan, Michigan. Their stated goal is to build a ''China City'' that has artificial lakes, a Chinese cultural center and hundreds of housing units for Chinese citizens.
      In other instances, large chunks of real estate in major U.S. cities that are down on their luck are being snapped up by Chinese investors. Just check out what a Fortune article from a while back says has been happening over in Toledo, Ohio'...
      In March 2011, Chinese investors paid $2.15 million cash for a restaurant complex on the Maumee River in Toledo, Ohio. Soon they put down another $3.8 million on 69 acres of newly decontaminated land in the city's Marina District, promising to invest $200 million in a new residential-commercial development. That September, another Chinese firm spent $3 million for an aging hotel across a nearby bridge with a view of the minor league ballpark.
      Toledo is being promoted to Chinese investors as a ''5-star logistics region''. From Toledo it is very easy to get to Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Columbus and Indianapolis'...
      With a population of 287,000, Toledo is only the fourth largest city in Ohio, but it lies at the junction of two important highways '-- I-75 and I-80/90. ''My vision is to make Toledo a true international city,'' Toledo's Mayor Mike Bell told the Toledo Blade.
      But some of these deals appear to be about far more than just making ''investments''. According to the Idaho Statesman, a Chinese company known as Sinomach (which is actually controlled by the Chinese government) was actually interested in developing a 50 square mile self-sustaining ''technology zone'' south of the Boise airport'...
      A Chinese national company is interested in developing a 10,000- to 30,000-acre technology zone for industry, retail centers and homes south of the Boise Airport.
      Officials of the China National Machinery Industry Corp. have broached the idea '-- based on a concept popular in China today '-- to city and state leaders.
      The article suggested that this ''technology zone'' would be modeled after similar projects that already exist in China, and that Chinese officials were conducting similar negotiations with other U.S. states as well'...
      Sinomach is not looking only at Idaho.
      The company sent delegations to Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania this year to talk about setting up research and development bases and industrial parks. It has an interest in electric transmission projects and alternative energy as well.
      The technology zone proposal follows a model of science, technology and industrial parks in China '-- often fully contained cities with all services included.
      Thankfully the deal in Idaho appears to be stalled for now, but could we soon see China establish special economic zones in other communities all around America?
      The Chinese certainly do seem to be laying the groundwork for something. They have been voraciously gobbling up important infrastructure all over the country. The following comes from a recent American Free Press article'...
      In addition to already owning vital ports in Long Beach, Calif. and Boston, Mass., the China Ocean Shipping Company is eyeing major ports on the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico. China also owns access to ports at the entry and exit points of the Panama Canal.
      And due to fiscal woes plaguing many American cities and states, U.S. legislators have been actively seeking out Chinese investors. In one of the worst cases, Baton Rouge, La., Mayor Kip Holden offered the Chinese government ownership and operating rights to a new toll way system if the Chinese would provide the funding to build it.
      Does it make sense for the Chinese to own some of our most important ports?
      Isn't there a national security risk?
      Sadly, there isn't much of anything that our politicians won't sell these days as long as someone is willing to flash a lot of cash.
      The Chinese have also been busy buying up important real estate on the east coast as a recent Forbes article explained'....
      According to a recent report in the New York Times, investors from China are ''snapping up luxury apartments'' and are planning to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on commercial and residential projects like Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn. Chinese companies also have signed major leases at the Empire State Building and at 1 World Trade Center, the report said.
      But it is not only just land and infrastructure that the Chinese have been buying up.
      They have also been purchasing rights to vital oil and natural gas deposits all over the United States.
      There have been two Chinese companies that have been primarily involved in this effort.
      The first is the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC). According to Wikipedia, CNOOC is 100 percent owned by the Chinese government'...
      CNOOC Group is a state-owned oil company, fully owned by the Government of the People's Republic of China, and the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC) performs the rights and obligations of shareholder on behalf of the government.
      The second is Sinopec Corporation. Sinopec Group is the largest shareholder (approx. 75% ownership) in Sinopec Corporation. And as the Sinopec website tells us, Sinopec Group is fully owned by the Chinese government'...
      Sinopec Group, the largest shareholder of Sinopec Corp., is a super-large petroleum and petrochemical group incorporated by the State in 1998 based on the former China Petrochemical Corporation. Funded by the State, it is a State authorized investment arm and State-owned controlling company.
      So whenever you see CNOOC or Sinopec, you can replace those names with the Chinese government. The Chinese government essentially runs both of those companies.
      And as you can see from the following list compiled by the Wall Street Journal, those two companies have been extremely aggressive in buying up rights to oil and natural gas all over the nation'...
      Colorado: Cnooc gained a one-third stake in 800,000 acres in northeast Colorado and southeast Wyoming in a $1.27 billion pact with Chesapeake Energy Corp.
      Louisiana: Sinopec has a one-third interest in 265,000 acres in the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale after a broader $2.5-billion deal with Devon Energy.
      Michigan: Sinopec gained a one-third interest in 350,000 acres in a larger $2.5 billion deal with Devon Energy.
      Ohio: Sinopec acquired a one-third stake in Devon Energy's 235,000 Utica Shale acres in a larger $2.5 billion deal.
      Oklahoma: Sinopec has a one-third interest in 215,000 acres in a broader $2.5 billion deal with Devon Energy.
      Texas: Cnooc acquired a one-third interest in Chesapeake Energy's 600,000 acres in the Eagle Ford Shale in a $2.16-billion deal.
      Wyoming: Cnooc has a one-third stake in 800,000 acres in northeast Colorado and southeast Wyoming after a $1.27 billion pact with Chesapeake Energy. Sinopec gained a one-third interest in Devon Energy's 320,000 acres as part of a larger $2.5 billion deal.
      Gulf of Mexico: Cnooc Ltd. separately acquired minority stakes in some of Statoil ASA's leases as well as six of Nexen Inc.'s deep-water wells.
      So why is the U.S. government allowing this?
      That is a very good question.
      For a nation that purports to be pursuing ''energy independence'', we sure do have a funny way of going about things.
      Unfortunately, the sad truth is that China is absolutely mopping the floor with the United States on the global economic stage. China is rising and America is in an advanced state of decline. Global economic power has shifted dramatically and most Americans still don't understand what has happened.
      The following are 44 more signs of how dominant the economy of China has become'...
      1. A Chinese firm recently made a $2.6 billion offer to buy movie theater chain AMC.
      2. A different Chinese firm made a $1.8 billion offer to buy aircraft maker Hawker Beechcraft.
      3. In December it was announced that a Chinese group would be purchasing AIG's plane leasing unit for $4.23 billion.
      4. It was recently announced that the Federal Reserve will now allow Chinese banks to buy up American banks.
      5. A $190 million bridge project up in Alaska was awarded to a Chinese firm.
      6. A $400 million contract to renovate the Alexander Hamilton bridge in New York was awarded to a Chinese firm.
      7. A $7.2 billion contract to construct a new bridge between San Francisco and Oakland was awarded to a Chinese firm.
      8. The uniforms for the U.S. Olympic team were made in China.
      9. 85 percent of all artificial Christmas trees are made in China.
      10. The new World Trade Center tower is going to include glass that has been imported from China.
      11. The new Martin Luther King memorial on the National Mall was made in China.
      12. In 2001, American consumers spent 102 billion dollars on products made in China. In 2011, American consumers spent 399 billion dollars on products made in China.
      13. The United States spends about 4 dollars on goods and services from China for every one dollar that China spends on goods and services from the United States.
      14. According to the New York Times, a Jeep Grand Cherokee that costs $27,490 in the United States costs about $85,000 in China thanks to all the tariffs.
      15. The Chinese economy has grown 7 times faster than the U.S. economy has over the past decade.
      16. The United States has lost a staggering 32 percent of its manufacturing jobs since the year 2000.
      17. The United States has lost an average of 50,000 manufacturing jobs per month since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001.
      18. Overall, the United States has lost a total of more than 56,000 manufacturing facilities since 2001.
      19. According to the Economic Policy Institute, America is losing half a million jobs to China every single year.
      20. Between December 2000 and December 2010, 38 percent of the manufacturing jobs in Ohio were lost, 42 percent of the manufacturing jobs in North Carolina were lost and 48 percent of the manufacturing jobs in Michigan were lost.
      21. In 2010, China produced more than twice as many automobiles as the United States did.
      22. Since the auto industry bailout, approximately 70 percent of all GM vehicles have been built outside the United States.
      23. After being bailed out by U.S. taxpayers, General Motors is currently involved in 11 joint ventures with companies owned by the Chinese government. The price for entering into many of these ''joint ventures'' was a transfer of ''state of the art technology'' from General Motors to the communist Chinese.
      24. Back in 1998, the United States had 25 percent of the world's high-tech export market and China had just 10 percent. Ten years later, the United States had less than 15 percent and China's share had soared to 20 percent.
      25. The United States has lost more than a quarter of all of its high-tech manufacturing jobs over the past ten years.
      26. China's number one export to the U.S. is computer equipment.
      27. The number one U.S. export to China is ''scrap and trash''.
      28. The U.S. trade deficit with China is now more than 28 times larger than it was back in 1990.
      29. Back in 1985, the U.S. trade deficit with China was just 6 million dollars for the entire year. For the month of November 2012 alone, the U.S. trade deficit with China was 28.9 billion dollars.
      30. China now consumes more energy than the United States does.
      31. China is now the leading manufacturer of goods in the entire world.
      32. China uses more cement than the rest of the world combined.
      33. China is now the number one producer of wind and solar power on the entire globe.
      34. Today, China produces nearly twice as much beer as the United States does.
      35. Right now, China is producing more than three times as much coal as the United States does.
      36. China now produces 11 times as much steel as the United States does.
      37. China produces more than 90 percent of the global supply of rare earth elements.
      38. China is now the number one supplier of components that are critical to the operation of U.S. defense systems.
      39. A recent investigation by the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services found more than one million counterfeit Chinese parts in the Department of Defense supply chain.
      40. 15 years ago, China was 14th in the world in published scientific research articles. But now, China is expected to pass the United States and become number one very shortly.
      41. China now awards more doctoral degrees in engineering each year than the United States does.
      42. According to one study, the Chinese economy already has roughly the same amount of purchasing power as the U.S. economy does.
      43. According to the IMF, China will pass the United States and will become the largest economy in the world in 2016.
      44. Nobel economist Robert W. Fogel of the University of Chicago is projecting that the Chinese economy will be three times larger than the U.S. economy by the year 2040 if current trends continue.
      Without the ''globalization'' of the world economy, none of this would have ever happened. But instead of admitting our mistakes and fixing them, our politicians continue to press for even more ''free trade'' and even more integration with communist nations such as China.
      In fact, according to Dr. Jerome Corsi, the U.S. government has already set up 257 ''foreign trade zones'' all over America. These ''foreign trade zones'' are apparently given ''special U.S. customs treatment'' and are used to promote ''free trade'''...
      Corsi noted that the U.S. government has created 257 foreign trade zones, or FTZs, throughout the United States, designed to extend special U.S. customs treatment to U.S. plants engaged in international-trade-related activities.
      The FTZs tend to be located near airports, with easy access into the continental NAFTA and WTO multi-modal transportation systems being created to move free-trade goods cheaply, quickly and efficiently throughout the continent of North America.
      ''There is nothing in the U.S. government's description of FTZs that would prevent a foreign government, like China, from operating a shell U.S. company that is in reality owned and financed by the Chinese government and operated through a Chinese government-owned corporation,'' Corsi wrote.
      Sadly, we are probably going to see a whole lot more of this in the years ahead.
      According to Corsi, a professor of economics at Tsighua University in Beijing named Yu Qiao has suggested the following plan as a way to transform the debt that the United States owes China into something more ''tangible'''...
      China would negotiate with the U.S. government to create a ''crisis relief facility,'' or CRF. The CRF ''would be used alongside U.S. federal efforts to stabilize the banking system and to invest in capital-intensive infrastructure projects such as high-speed railroad from Boston to Washington, D.C.China would pool a portion of its holdings of Treasury bonds under the CFR umbrella to convert sovereign debt into equity. Any CFR funds that were designated for investment in U.S. corporations would still be owned and managed by U.S. equity holders, with the Asians holding minority equity shares ''that would, like preferred stock, be convertible.''The U.S. government would act as a guarantor, ''providing a sovereign guarantee scheme to assure the investment principal of the CRF against possible default of targeted companies or projects''.The Federal Reserve would set up a special account to supply the liquidity the CRF would require to swap sovereign debt into industrial investment in the United States.Apparently the Bank of China really likes this plan and would like to see something like this implemented.
      In the years ahead, perhaps many of you will end up working in a ''special economic zone'' for a Chinese company on a project that is being financially guaranteed by the U.S. government.
      If that sounds like a form of slavery to you, the truth is that you are probably not too far off the mark.
      The borrower is the servant of the lender, and we should have never allowed ourselves to get into so much debt.
      Now we will pay the price.
      To get an idea of how much the world has changed in recent years, just check out this incredible photo which contrasts the decline of Detroit over the years with the amazing rise of Shanghai, China.
      Things did not have to turn out this way. Unfortunately, we made decades of incredibly foolish decisions and we wrecked the greatest economic machine that the world has ever seen.
      Now the future for America looks really bleak.
      Or could it be that I am being too pessimistic? Please feel free to post a comment with your thoughts below'...
  Obama Nation
    Renowned author: Obama wants military leaders who will fire on U.S. citizens - National Policy & Issues | Examiner.com
      Link to Article
      Wed, 23 Jan 2013 16:04
      On Monday, Dr. Jim Garrow, a renowned author and humanitarian who was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2009, sparked a firestorm of controversy when he wrote on Facebook that President Obama wants military leaders who will fire on U.S. citizens. In an exclusive interview with Examiner.com, Dr. Garrow said the man who told him this is a military hero who is known by everybody in the country.
      "I have just been informed by a former senior military leader that Obama is using a new 'litmus test' in determining who will stay and who must go in his military leaders. Get ready to explode folks," he wrote.
      "The new litmus test of leadership in the military is if they will fire on US citizens or not," the unnamed military officer reportedly said. Dr. Garrow also wrote that those who do not meet this litmus test are being removed.
      On Tuesday, Dr. Garrow said that officers who know about this cannot come forward without endangering themselves and facing possible retaliation from the administration.
      According to Dr. Garrow, the officer who made the allegation learned about the litmus test from the person who got him interested in military service. That person, Dr. Garrow added, was forced out for failing to meet the criteria.
      Dr. Garrow said he promised to keep the officer's name from the public, adding that he stands behind what he was told regardless of the consequences.
      "I would stake my full reputation on this gentleman," he said.
      "If people want to throw things at me, fine," he added, calling it "an honor" to come under fire for keeping his promise to the officer.
      Dr. Garrow told Examiner that there are people in the administration who are paid to "attack those who raise doubts" about anyone who criticizes the Obama administration.
      As numerous sites have mentioned, Dr. Garrow is no conspiracy theorist or "random crackpot on Facebook." Not only is he the author of "The Pink Pagoda: One Man's Quest to End Gendercide in China," he is a highly-regarded human rights activist who has rescued thousands of young girls from certain death in China and currently owns over 250 schools in that country.
      Examiner's Dave Gibson said the shocking claim comes on the heels of a Washington Free Beacon report that says Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis will leave his post as Commanding General of Central Command in March, several months earlier than anticipated.
      The Free Beacon described his dismissal as a "bum's rush."
      A post at the blog Nice Deb reminds readers that a paper issued by a West Point think tank warns of so-called ''far right'' groups like the ''anti-federalist'' movement, that supports ''civil activism, individual freedoms and self-government.''
      According to an article at the Washington Times, the report describes "anti-federalists" as those who "espouse strong convictions regarding the federal government, believing it to be corrupt and tyrannical, with a natural tendency to intrude on individuals' civil and constitutional rights. Finally, they support civil activism, individual freedoms, and self government. Extremists in the anti-federalist movement direct most their violence against the federal government and its proxies in law enforcement.''
      Given today's political climate, that definition could encompass much of the Tea Party and those who espouse conservatism.
      ----------------------------------------------------------------
      If you like this article, you can follow Joe on Twitter @jnewby1956, visit and like his Facebook page, or subscribe to receive email updates when a new article is published.
      For hard-hitting conservative commentary, please visit Joe's blog, the Conservative Firing Line. You can also find Joe's articles at Right News Now, Liberty Unyielding and PolitiCollision.
    A Military Coup In America?
      Link to Article
      Source: Real Jew News
      Wed, 23 Jan 2013 22:52
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  Mali
    France does not need Mali's uranium despite all conspiracy stories to the contrary
      Link to Article
      Thu, 24 Jan 2013 13:04
      There is a meme circulating on web claiming that France's intervention in Mali can be traced to a desire to capture the country's uranium resources. That idea is complete and utter rubbish that can only be believed by people who have done no math and no research to recognize whether such a theory can be supported by facts and logic.
      There is a certain set of facts that would lead gullible people to believe the theory that the conflict in Mali has something to do with uranium. It is true that France obtains roughly 80% of its electricity supply from the output of 59 nuclear reactors. It is also true that reactors operate by fissioning uranium. It is also true that nations, especially former colonial powers like France, have a long history of engaging in war over resources. In fact, the notion that resource conflicts underly many of society's deadliest conflicts is one of the concepts that motivates me to do what I do every day.
      However, a curious person who is willing to do a little research and math needs more information before jumping to conclusions about France's motivations for intervening in Mali. Here is a set of relevant questions that are not hard to answer; those answers determine if the theory holds any water.
      How much uranium does Mali have?How much uranium does France need?How much would it cost France to buy the material? (Stated another way, how much is Mali's uranium worth on the open market?)Is there an adequate supply of uranium from other sources?How much will intervention cost in the short term?The World Nuclear Association has two relevant web pages, one titled Supply of Uranium and one titled World Uranium Mining. Mali does not appear on either page, indicating that it has neither world leading uranium resources, nor any substantial uranium production.
      Digging a little deeper into the sources claiming that uranium is the key to understanding the motives for the Mali conflict, I found a site published by a firm called Consultancy Africa Intelligence that has a page about Mali's mining industry and natural resources. Buried in the discussion about gold and diamonds, I found the following statement:
      Several companies in Mali are currently carrying out uranium exploration in the Falea and Gao regions, where the uranium potential is estimated to be 5,200 tonnes.
      Going back to those pages from the World Nuclear Association, I found that the world's uranium mining industry produced 54,000 tonnes of uranium in 2011 and that the world's known recoverable resources were 5.3 million tonnes as of the end of 2011. Next to those numbers, a speculative, ''potential'' resource of 5,200 tonnes is trivial.
      Aside: Unlike many people who might be taken in by the false story, the numbers I already knew about uranium were very close to the numbers I found from that credible source. I have been actively researching and covering the topic for years. I have been engaged in a discussion about a uranium deposit that is less than an hour from my house that has been fully explored to determine that it contains 119 million pounds (54,000 tonnes).
      That single, well characterized resource is ten times the speculative total attributed to the entire country of Mali. Many people oppose the mine and believe that its value is not worth the effort and extremely low risk associated with the potential for causing damage to distant neighbors. However, according to conspiracy theorists who want to put nuclear energy and uranium resources into the same category as oil and gas (with limitations on supply and delivery systems that are sufficient to motivate fighting), France should be making plans to invade Virginia. End Aside.
      Once again, I turned to the World Nuclear Association for my data. France uses approximately 10,500 tonnes of uranium each year. About 45% of that total is mined in Canada and 32% is mined in Niger (a neighbor of Mali) by Areva, a company whose major stockholder is the French government. It purchases its remaining needs, mostly under long term contracts with suppliers in Australia, Kazakhstan and Russia. In addition, France has a stockpile of 220,000 tonnes of depleted uranium, a recycling program and a fast reactor research, development, and demonstration program. It has no long term supply problems.
      If France wanted more uranium, it could turn to the open market for spot purchases. According to UxC, a consulting firm that tracks uranium deals, the current market price is $42 per pound of U3O8, which is roughly $52 per pound of uranium. Purchasing an amount equal to Mali's entire speculative resources would only cost $600 million. It is a huge stretch to believe that any country, especially one as large and as wealthy as France would decide to go to war over a speculative resource that would be worth that tiny amount of money (in the big scheme of things) even if it was able to be fully extracted.
      One more variation on the story that is almost not worth mentioning is the idea that France is fighting in Mali to protect its supply lines to Niger, where Areva currently produces about 3,200 tonnes of uranium every year. Since it would be shipped in the form of yellowcake (U3O8) and not uranium, France needs to move about 4,000 tonnes of material from Niger each year.
      A document that I downloaded from the Uranium Council Transport Working Group provides a depth of information about methods for shipping uranium oxide. A typical means of packaging the material for shipment is to seal the yellowcake into drums and then pack those drums into a standard 20 TEU shipping container. Full containers contain about 19 tonnes of U3O8 concentrate. Shipping 4,000 tonnes would thus require about 210 containers each year. That is not much more than one truck every 2 days.
      Do you really believe that small of a transportation requirement would justify fighting over supply lines?
      Hat tip to No Agenda show 480 for introducing me to this false meme that needed some immediate debunking. I enjoy listening to Adam Curry and John C. Dvorak assassinating the way that the commercial media covers stories, so I was a little disappointed to hear that John was taken in by the notion that France might be fighting so that it could take Mali's uranium. Adam thought there might be an oil, gas or pipeline angle to the story '' I have not done enough research to confirm or deny that theory.
    France orders special forces to protect Niger uranium: source
      Link to Article
      Source: Reuters: World News
      Thu, 24 Jan 2013 13:53
      PARIS | Thu Jan 24, 2013 7:57am EST
      PARIS (Reuters) - France has ordered special forces to protect uranium sites run by state-owned Areva in Niger as the threat of attacks on its interests rises after its intervention against rebels in Mali, a military source said on Thursday.
      Areva has been mining uranium in Niger for more than five decades and provides much of the raw materials that power France's nuclear power industry, the source of 75 percent of the country's electricity.
      Paris launched air strikes and sent hundreds of soldiers into Niger's neighbor Mali this month to drive back al-Qaeda-linked rebels it said could turn the West African country into a base for international attacks.
      The insurgents have threatened to hit French targets across the Sahel region in revenge and, days after the French assault, militants stormed a desert gas plant in Algeria and took hostages.
      The military source confirmed a report in weekly magazine Le Point that special forces and equipment would be sent to Areva's uranium production sites in Imouraren and Arlit, but declined to go into further details.
      Defence ministry officials declined to comment on the report and Areva said it did not talk about security issues.
      Seven workers, including five French nationals, were kidnapped in Arlit by al Qaeda's north African arm AQIM in September 2010. It later released three of the hostages but four French citizens are still being held.
      Areva, Niger's biggest single investor, has about 2,700 workers in Niger and is planning to start up a third mine in Imouraren.
      The planned startup of production in Imouraren was delayed to 2013 or 2014 from 2012, following the kidnappings and a labor dispute.
      An Areva spokeswoman said this month the French government had not asked the company to reduce staffing in Niger. She added Areva has an extensive security plan for its employees and that the plan has been reviewed by the French authorities.
      (Reporting By John Irish, Geert de Clercq, Muriel Boselli and Michel Rose; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
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    ALGERIA ATTACK - INSIDE JOB
      Link to Article
      Source: aangirfan
      Wed, 23 Jan 2013 22:50
      Attack 'mastermind' Mokhtar Belmokhtar, who worked for the CIA in Afghanistan.Was the January 2013 Algerian hostage crisis an 'inside job', designed to get more NATO troops into Africa, to control the mineral wealth?1. Some of the so-called Al Qaeda terrorists 'were working for BP'.(BP has very close connections to MI6)2. Witnesses have described one terrorist as speaking with a 'perfect English accent'.3. A report in Norway's Aftenposten said one of the attackers was tall and white with blue or green eyes.Dailymail - Algeria-Al-Qaeda-terrorists-working-BP
      4. Professor Jeremy Keenan of the School of Oriental And African Studies told The Huffington Post UK that Mokhtar Belmokhtar has very close links to the secret intelligence services.
      Algeria Hostage Crisis: Terror Attack 'Inside Job ... - Huffington PostSir mark Allen of BP, worked for MI6
      The UK prime minister has heralded the start of a decades-long struggle involving (CIA-run) Islamist terrorism in Algeria and beyond.David Cameron warns of decades-long struggle against Islamist ...
      Cameron said the attack was a ''stark reminder'' of the continuing (CIA-NATO-run) terrorism and vowed to use Britain's chairmanship of the G8 to ensure that it was right at the top of the international agenda.''This is a global struggle (to grab mineral wealth) and it will require a global response. It will require a response that is about years, even decades, rather than months,'' he said.
      ''What we face is an extremist, Islamist, (CIA-linked) terrorist group. Just as we had to deal with that in Afghanistan (source of our heroin) so the world needs to come together to deal with this threat in north Africa (where there is lots of oil and gas)."
      According to Tony Cartalucci (By Design: French Mali Invasion Spills into Algeria)
      Algeria, which has lots of oil, is now being targeted by NATO.
      "As far back as August of 2011, Bruce Riedel out of the corporate-financier funded think-tank, the Brookings Institution, wrote Algeria will be next to fall, where he gleefully predicted success in Libya would embolden radical elements in Algeria, in particular AQIM.
      "Between extremist violence and the prospect of French airstrikes, Riedel hoped to see the fall of the Algerian government.
      "Ironically Riedel noted:
      "Algeria has expressed particular concern that the unrest in Libya could lead to the development of a major safe haven and sanctuary for al-Qaeda and other extremist jihadis.
      "And thanks to NATO, that is exactly what Libya has become '' a Western sponsored sanctuary for Al-Qaeda.
      "AQIM's headway in northern Mali and now French involvement will see the conflict inevitably spill over into Algeria.
      "It should be noted that Riedel is a co-author of ''Which Path to Persia?'' which openly conspires to arm yet another US State Department-listed terrorist organization (list as #28), the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) to wreak havoc across Iran and help collapse the government there '' illustrating a pattern of using clearly terroristic organizations, even those listed as so by the US State Department, to carry out US foreign policy"....
      Image: The French Empire at its height.
      "The regions that are now Libya, Algeria, Mali, and the Ivory Coast all face reconquest by the French and Anglo-Americans, with French troops literally occupying the region and playing a pivotal role in installing Western-friendly client regimes.
      "Also notice Syria too, was a French holding '' now under attack by US-British-French funded, armed, and backed terrorists '' the same terrorists allegedly being fought in Mali and now Algeria.
      "Meanwhile, these very same terrorist forcescontinue to receive funding, arms, covert military support, and diplomatic recognition in Syria, by NATO, and specifically the US and France who are both claiming to fight the ''Free Syrian Army's'' ideological and very literal allies in North Africa.
      "In reality, Al Qaeda is allowing the US and France to intervene and interfere in Algeria, after attempts in 2011 to trigger political subversion was soundly defeated by the Algerian government.
      "Al Qaeda is essentially both a casus belli and mercenary force, deployed by the West against targeted nations. It is clear that French operations seek to trigger armed conflict in Algeria as well as a possible Western military intervention there as well, with the Mali conflict serving only as a pretense."
  ARAB SPRING-BOARD
    Bill Gates Group Invests $1 Billion in Orascom Construction- Bloomberg
      Link to Article
      Tue, 22 Jan 2013 09:35
      Bill Gates Group Invests $1 Billion in Orascom Construction
      By Alaa ShahineJanuary 19, 2013 11:46 AM EST
      Bill Gates is leading a group of U.S. investors committing $1 billion for a stake in construction and fertilizer company OCI NV in one of Egypt's largest foreign currency inflows since the 2011 uprising.
      OCI will absorb all local stock and global depositary receipts of Orascom Construction Industries under a share exchange offer that has attracted more than $2 billion in commitments, said the company, which is relocating from Cairo to Amsterdam. Its shares will be traded in both locations.
      Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) co-founder Gates' Cascade Investment LLC joins Southeastern Asset Management and Davis Selected Advisers in helping fund expansion in Egyptian infrastructure projects as well as other activities. The Sawiris family and Dubai-based buyout firm Abraaj Group, which together owned 60 percent of Orascom, will take part in the tender.
      ''The transaction underpins genuine investor appetite to invest in Egypt,'' said Nassef Sawiris, who was chief executive of Orascom and will be an executive director of OCI. ''Unlike local shareholders who monitor events on a daily basis, sophisticated investors see the evolution of democracy having a long-term positive impact on the economy.''
      Laura Berger, a spokeswoman for Davis Selected Advisers, declined to comment on why the firm invested in OCI. Michael Larson, who manages Cascade for Gates, and Lee Harper, a spokeswoman for Southeastern, didn't immediately return calls.
      A listing on the NYSE Euronext Amsterdam will allow OCI ''deeper access to capital markets such as the Eurobond market,'' it said in a statement today. ''In addition, the company expects to attain higher credit ratings from global rating agencies facilitating its debt financing.''
      Orascom Constructions Industries' third-quarter net income declined 31 percent to $126.8 million after booking provisions linked to several projects.
      The Egyptian economy has struggled to recover from the chaos that followed the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak as foreign direct investments tumbled. The government is in talks with the International Monetary Fund for a $4.8 billion loan to help stem the decline in foreign-currency reserves.
      Gross domestic product may expand 3 percent in the fiscal year that ends in June 2013, according to the median estimate of 11 economists on Bloomberg. The economy expanded about 5 percent in the year preceding the uprising.
      Orascom is Egypt's biggest publicly traded company. After exchanging their GDRs for OCI shares, the Sawiris family and Abraaj Group expect to at least maintain their holdings relative to their Orascom stakes, according to a statement.
      The deal includes a mandatory offer to exchange all Orascom Construction's Cairo-listed shares for OCI stock or 280 Egyptian pounds each, according to the filing.
      OCI plans first to trade on NYSE Euronext in Amsterdam and will follow with a U.S. depository receipts program in New York. The company is ''committed to an active listing in Egypt, either directly or through Egyptian depository receipts,'' Sawiris said in a telephone interview.
      Allen & Co, Barclays Plc, Citigroup Inc. (C), Rabobank International acted as international advisers, while Cairo-based CI Capital Investment Banking was the exclusive local financial adviser, according to the filing.
      Michael Bennett, former CEO of Terra Industries, will serve as chairman of OCI. Jan Alberts Ter Wisch, former partner at Allen & Overy LLP, and Abraaj founder Arif Naqvi will act as non-executive independent directors. Sawiris and Salman Butt, Orascom's chief finance officer, will be executive directors.
      ''As you can see from the number of bankers and advisers, this has been a process that took quite a few months,'' Sawiris said.
      To contact the reporter on this story: Alaa Shahine in Dubai at asalha@bloomberg.net
      To contact the editors responsible for this story: Simon Thiel at sthiel1@bloomberg.net; Alaa Shahine at asalha@bloomberg.net
  EUROLand
    LowLands Pensions and Tax Havens
      Hi Adam,
      Screw those Dutch Slaves....
      [yday] 1.1 million pensions will be cut in April, says central bank -- Around 75
      Dutch corporate pension funds will have to reduce payouts this year, and 40 of them
      will have to make a further cut in 2014, the central bank said in its latest report
      on the pension sector on Tuesday. Five funds cut their pensions at the end of 2014
      and the other 70 will follow in April, the central bank said. It did not say which
      funds will have to make cuts or how big the changes are. By the end of this year,
      all the country's pension funds are supposed to have brought their buffers back up
      to the required 105%. But 40 of the funds may miss this deadline, forcing a second
      round of reductions next year. The cuts will affect some 5.6 million pensions,
      including 1.1 million people who have already retired. There is some duplication in
      this, because some people have paid into several pension funds over their career
      history. The average cut will be around 1.9%, the central
        bank said in its statement. The number of funds being forced to cut pay-outs is
      down slightly on September's estimate. Then the central bank said 81 funds would be
      affected. A year ago, the figure was put at 103. The improvement is due to
      'favourable developments in the equity markets' and a 'new calculation method for
      long-term liabilities,' the central bank said. (DutchNews)
      followed by;
      Yahoo Joins Dell Swelling $13 Trillion Netherlands Haven: Taxes
      regards Trevor.
    No more ''Dutch Sandwich''? The Netherlands reviews its role in tax avoidance | Ars Technica
      Link to Article
      Thu, 24 Jan 2013 05:39
      Bloomberg reported on Tuesday: ''Multinational companies routed '­Â10.2 trillion ($13.586 trillion) in 2010 through 14,300 Dutch 'special financial units,' according to the Dutch Central Bank.''
      In recent years, governments have become increasingly aware of the fact that lots of major corporations'--notably tech companies including Apple, Google, Yahoo, Dell, and many others'--are using shady, albeit legal techniques to shift income in ways that drastically minimize a company's tax burden. A trick known as the ''Dutch Sandwich,'' in which companies move money through the Netherlands, has become one of the preferred ways of reducing a firm's financial liability.
      On Wednesday, a Dutch parliamentary committee met to consider the fairness of its own tax system, and re-evaluate its role as part of a legal financial chain that allows companies to reduce the amount of tax that they pay.
      In December 2012, Google was found to have moved $10 billion from Ireland, via the Netherlands to Bermuda'--avoiding huge sums of taxes in Ireland, the Netherlands, and its real home country, the United States.
      ''We should not be a tax haven,'' Ed Groot told Bloomberg's correspondent, Jesse Drucker, who has been reporting on this issue for years and has become the de facto expert on the issue. Groot is a parliament member from the Dutch Labor Party, the Netherlands' ruling faction.
      ''If they go somewhere else we are not sorry at all because they spoil the name of Holland,'' Groot added. ''Otherwise you can wait for retaliation measures and this we don't want.''
      Experts agree that part of why tax law'--usually a fairly dry and obscure issue'--is coming to the fore in recent months has to do with austerity measures worldwide, particularly in Europe.
      "Everywhere you look, governments are cutting back on spending for teachers, police, fireman'--things that the citizenry generally wants more of," Robert Goulder, the editor-in-chief of Tax Analysts' international publications, told Ars. "That's tough for a lot of people to absorb when corporate profits aren't being taxed in a meaningful way."
      Moving trillions each yearAs these techniques gain more public attention, company executives have faced newfound scrutiny from Ireland, France, the United Kingdom'--which is set to hold its second hearing on the issue at the end of January'--and now, the Netherlands.
      As Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, tech companies including Google and Dell employ the Netherlands' tax laws to their advantage'--saving likely billions of dollars for the companies that employ this technique.
      ''Multinational companies routed '­Â10.2 trillion ($13.586 trillion) in 2010 through 14,300 Dutch 'special financial units,' according to the Dutch Central Bank,'' the news agency wrote. ''Such units often only exist on paper, as is allowed by law.''
      Here's how it works: as Bloombergalso reported in 2010, a company sells or licenses its foreign rights to intellectual property developed in the United States to a subsidiary in a country with lower tax rates. That means that in many cases, companies will license their own IP to one of their own foreign subsidiaries (often based in Ireland), whose profits then stop over in the Netherlands. In turn, those profits finally settle in Bermuda, a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic, and a notorious tax haven.
      The empty Dutch subsidiariesBloomberg also reported Tuesday that Yahoo cut its taxes by $42.8 million in 2011 using such financial shenanigans.
      ''Records show that the Yahoo unit reported Dutch income taxes in 2009 of '­Â1.28 million ($1.7 million)'--out of the '­Â101.5 million ($135 million) in royalties it funneled through the subsidiary that year,'' the news agency reported. ''That's a small price to pay. In return, Yahoo can move profits to virtually any destination without paying a withholding tax.''
      Dell, similarly, uses the Netherlands'--and its tax treaty with the United States'--to avoid paying taxes either at home or abroad. Its Dutch subsidiary, Dell Global BV, only paid 0.10 percent on profits of $2 billion in 2011.
      ''That means the unit took credit for almost three quarters of Dell's worldwide income,'' Bloomberg added. ''That subsidiary had no actual employees in the Netherlands as of 2009, filings show. The Dutch company conducts its business through a branch in Singapore, where it designs and sells laptops and other equipment for the US, European, and Asian markets.''
      In response to inquiries by Bloomberg and others, companies often say they are merely following the law'--which is true.
      Waiting for BrusselsDespite the newfound pressure from various governments, it seems highly unlikely that national governments'--or the European Union, whose proposed Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (PDF) continues to languish in Brussels'--will pass any meaningful tax reform anytime soon.
      "That would end intra-EU transfer pricing by rejecting the arm's length standard and adopting formulary apportionment," Goulder, of Tax Analysts, told Ars by e-mail.
      "Ultimately that's the answer, but it's difficult to do unilaterally. It only takes one EU member state to veto the CCCTB. At the end of the day, it will take a major financial crisis to realign the factors that now dictate the status quo. In the meantime Europe will continue to shift the tax burden to VAT and the US will continue to run up huge deficits, so long as the bond market indulges us."
      Other tax law experts agree noting that if there were a better way to reduce tax liability other than via the Double Irish and the Dutch Sandwich, financial wizards would have found it by now.
      ''Smart people will still work on [tax evasion], but it will presumably require more work,'' Samuel Brunson, a law professor and tax law expert at Loyola University Chicago, told Ars.
      ''If there were something more effective out there now, people would be doing that. My guess is that [corporate tax departments] are looking really closely at what their other options would be. They're not super scared yet, but it could have a real impact on the way they do business and the way they structure. I don't know that it will create real business change, but it could cause them to pay more taxes in some country'--being an American, I would vote for us.''
  Drone Nation
    Seven dead in Yemen drone strike
      Link to Article
      Source: BBC News - Home
      Thu, 24 Jan 2013 13:54
      24 January 2013Last updated at07:12 ETA US drone strike in Yemen has killed seven suspected al-Qaeda militants, according to Yemeni officials.
      Wednesday's strike targeted a vehicle near the town of Khawlan, around 30km (20 miles) from the capital, Sanaa.
      There have been several US drone strikes against militants in Yemen in recent days.
      Yemen is considered a stronghold of al-Qaeda in the Arabian peninsula (AQAP). Militants have gained ground because of the weakness of the central government.
      A US-backed military offensive last year pushed the militants back from some of its strongholds in the south, but AQAP is viewed by the US as as the most active and deadly wing of al-Qaeda's terror network.
      Wednesday's strike completely destroyed the car it targeted, with the bodies burnt inside the wreckage, eyewitnesses said.
      On Tuesday, five people were killed in a strike near the border with Saudi Arabia and on Monday another four people died in a strike in the centre of the country.
      At least six more are reported to have been killed in strikes over the weekend.
      Earlier this week, Yemeni human rights minister Huriyah Mashhur was quoted as criticising US drone strikes in Yemen, calling for an "alternative strategy".
  Agenda 21
    It's snowing, and it really feels like the start of a mini ice age - Telegraph
      Link to Article
      Thu, 24 Jan 2013 05:28
      But I am also an empiricist; and I observe that something appears to be up with our winter weather, and to call it ''warming'' is obviously to strain the language. I see from the BBC website that there are scientists who say that ''global warming'' is indeed the cause of the cold and snowy winters we seem to be having. A team of Americans and Chinese experts have postulated that the melting of the Arctic ice means that the whole North Atlantic is being chilled as the floes start to break off '-- like a Martini refrigerated by ice cubes.
      I do not have the expertise to comment on the Martini theory; I merely observe that there are at least some other reputable scientists who say that it is complete tosh, or at least that there is no evidence to support it. We are expecting the snow and cold to go on for several days, and though London transport has coped very well so far, with few delays or cancellations, I can't help brooding on my own amateur meteorological observations. I wish I knew more about what is going on, and why. It is time to consult once again the learned astrophysicist, Piers Corbyn.
      Now Piers has a very good record of forecasting the weather. He has been bang on about these cold winters. Like JMW Turner and the Aztecs he thinks we should be paying more attention to the Sun. According to Piers, global temperature depends not on concentrations of CO2 but on the mood of our celestial orb. Sometime too bright the eye of heaven shines, said Shakespeare, and often is his gold complexion dimmed. That is more or less right. There are times in astronomical history when the Sun has been churning out more stuff '-- protons and electrons and what have you '-- than at other times. When the Sun has plenty of sunspots, he bathes the Earth in abundant rays.
      When the solar acne diminishes, it seems that the Earth gets colder. No one contests that when the planet palpably cooled from 1645 to 1715 '-- the Maunder minimum, which saw the freezing of the Thames '-- there was a diminution of solar activity. The same point is made about the so-called Dalton minimum, from 1790 to 1830. And it is the view of Piers Corbyn that we are now seeing exactly the same phenomenon today.
      Lower solar activity means '' broadly speaking '' that there is less agitation of the warm currents of air from the tropical to the temperate zones, so that a place like Britain can expect to be colder and damper in summer, and colder and snowier in winter. ''There is every indication that we are at the beginning of a mini ice age,'' he says. ''The general decline in solar activity is lower than Nasa's lowest prediction of five years ago. That could be very bad news for our climate. We are in for a prolonged cold period. Indeed, we could have 30 years of general cooling.''
      Now I am not for a second saying that I am convinced Piers is right; and to all those scientists and environmentalists who will go wild with indignation on the publication of this article, I say, relax. I certainly support reducing CO2 by retrofitting homes and offices '' not least since that reduces fuel bills. I want cleaner vehicles.
      I am speaking only as a layman who observes that there is plenty of snow in our winters these days, and who wonders whether it might be time for government to start taking seriously the possibility '-- however remote '-- that Corbyn is right. If he is, that will have big implications for agriculture, tourism, transport, aviation policy and the economy as a whole. Of course it still seems a bit nuts to talk of the encroachment of a mini ice age.
      But it doesn't seem as nuts as it did five years ago. I look at the snowy waste outside, and I have an open mind.
  New Bills
    A bill to promote freedom, fairness, and economic opportunity by repealing the income tax and other taxes, abolishing the Internal Revenue Service, and enacting a national sales tax to be administered primarily by the States. (S. 122)
      Link to Article
      Thu, 24 Jan 2013 13:44
      Click a format for a citation suggestion:
      S. 122--113th Congress: A bill to promote freedom, fairness, and economic opportunity by repealing the income tax and .... (2013). In www.GovTrack.us. Retrieved January 24, 2013, from http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/s122?utm_campaign=govtrack_feed&utm_source=govtrack/feed&utm_medium=rss
      ''S. 122--113th Congress: A bill to promote freedom, fairness, and economic opportunity by repealing the income tax and ....'' www.GovTrack.us. 2013. January 24, 2013 <http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/s122?utm_campaign=govtrack_feed&utm_source=govtrack/feed&utm_medium=rss>
      {{cite web|url=http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/s122?utm_campaign=govtrack_feed&utm_source=govtrack/feed&utm_medium=rss|title=S. 122 (113th)|accessdate=January 24, 2013|author=113th Congress (2013)|date=January 23, 2013|work=Legislation|publisher=GovTrack.us|quote=A bill to promote freedom, fairness, and economic opportunity by repealing the income tax and ...}}
    A bill to prohibit authorized committees and leadership PAC's from employing the spouse or immediate family members of any candidate or Federal office holder connected to the committee. (S. 64)
      Link to Article
      Thu, 24 Jan 2013 13:43
      Click a format for a citation suggestion:
      S. 64--113th Congress: A bill to prohibit authorized committees and leadership PAC's from employing the spouse or immediate .... (2013). In www.GovTrack.us. Retrieved January 24, 2013, from http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/s64?utm_campaign=govtrack_feed&utm_source=govtrack/feed&utm_medium=rss
      ''S. 64--113th Congress: A bill to prohibit authorized committees and leadership PAC's from employing the spouse or immediate ....'' www.GovTrack.us. 2013. January 24, 2013 <http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/s64?utm_campaign=govtrack_feed&utm_source=govtrack/feed&utm_medium=rss>
      {{cite web|url=http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/s64?utm_campaign=govtrack_feed&utm_source=govtrack/feed&utm_medium=rss|title=S. 64 (113th)|accessdate=January 24, 2013|author=113th Congress (2013)|date=January 23, 2013|work=Legislation|publisher=GovTrack.us|quote=A bill to prohibit authorized committees and leadership PAC's from employing the spouse or immediate ...}}
    A bill to provide for the establishment, on-going validation, and use of an official set of data on the historical temperature record, and for other purposes. (S. 106)
      Link to Article
      Thu, 24 Jan 2013 13:42
      Click a format for a citation suggestion:
      S. 106--113th Congress: A bill to provide for the establishment, on-going validation, and use of an official set .... (2013). In www.GovTrack.us. Retrieved January 24, 2013, from http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/s106?utm_campaign=govtrack_feed&utm_source=govtrack/feed&utm_medium=rss
      ''S. 106--113th Congress: A bill to provide for the establishment, on-going validation, and use of an official set ....'' www.GovTrack.us. 2013. January 24, 2013 <http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/s106?utm_campaign=govtrack_feed&utm_source=govtrack/feed&utm_medium=rss>
      {{cite web|url=http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/s106?utm_campaign=govtrack_feed&utm_source=govtrack/feed&utm_medium=rss|title=S. 106 (113th)|accessdate=January 24, 2013|author=113th Congress (2013)|date=January 23, 2013|work=Legislation|publisher=GovTrack.us|quote=A bill to provide for the establishment, on-going validation, and use of an official set ...}}
    To terminate the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. (H.R. 352)
      Link to Article
      Thu, 24 Jan 2013 13:41
      Click a format for a citation suggestion:
      H.R. 352--113th Congress: To terminate the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.. (2013). In www.GovTrack.us. Retrieved January 24, 2013, from http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr352?utm_campaign=govtrack_feed&utm_source=govtrack/feed&utm_medium=rss
      ''H.R. 352--113th Congress: To terminate the Internal Revenue Code of 1986..'' www.GovTrack.us. 2013. January 24, 2013 <http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr352?utm_campaign=govtrack_feed&utm_source=govtrack/feed&utm_medium=rss>
      {{cite web|url=http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr352?utm_campaign=govtrack_feed&utm_source=govtrack/feed&utm_medium=rss|title=H.R. 352 (113th)|accessdate=January 24, 2013|author=113th Congress (2013)|date=January 23, 2013|work=Legislation|publisher=GovTrack.us|quote=To terminate the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.}}
    To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide penalties for counterfeiting or selling Presidential inauguration tickets, and for other purposes. (H.R. 336) - GovTrack.us
      Link to Article
      Wed, 23 Jan 2013 15:38
      Click a format for a citation suggestion:
      H.R. 336--113th Congress: To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide penalties for counterfeiting or selling Presidential .... (2013). In www.GovTrack.us. Retrieved January 23, 2013, from http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr336?utm_campaign=govtrack_feed&utm_source=govtrack/feed&utm_medium=rss
      ''H.R. 336--113th Congress: To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide penalties for counterfeiting or selling Presidential ....'' www.GovTrack.us. 2013. January 23, 2013 <http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr336?utm_campaign=govtrack_feed&utm_source=govtrack/feed&utm_medium=rss>
      {{cite web|url=http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr336?utm_campaign=govtrack_feed&utm_source=govtrack/feed&utm_medium=rss|title=H.R. 336 (113th)|accessdate=January 23, 2013|author=113th Congress (2013)|date=January 22, 2013|work=Legislation|publisher=GovTrack.us|quote=To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide penalties for counterfeiting or selling Presidential ...}}
    A bill to require face to face purchases of ammunition, to require licensing of ammunition dealers, and to require reporting regarding bulk purchases of ammunition. (S. 35) - GovTrack.us
      Link to Article
      Wed, 23 Jan 2013 15:37
      Click a format for a citation suggestion:
      S. 35--113th Congress: A bill to require face to face purchases of ammunition, to require licensing of ammunition .... (2013). In www.GovTrack.us. Retrieved January 23, 2013, from http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/s35?utm_campaign=govtrack_feed&utm_source=govtrack/feed&utm_medium=rss
      ''S. 35--113th Congress: A bill to require face to face purchases of ammunition, to require licensing of ammunition ....'' www.GovTrack.us. 2013. January 23, 2013 <http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/s35?utm_campaign=govtrack_feed&utm_source=govtrack/feed&utm_medium=rss>
      {{cite web|url=http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/s35?utm_campaign=govtrack_feed&utm_source=govtrack/feed&utm_medium=rss|title=S. 35 (113th)|accessdate=January 23, 2013|author=113th Congress (2013)|date=January 22, 2013|work=Legislation|publisher=GovTrack.us|quote=A bill to require face to face purchases of ammunition, to require licensing of ammunition ...}}
    To approve the Keystone XL pipeline project permit. (H.R. 334) - GovTrack.us
      Link to Article
      Wed, 23 Jan 2013 15:37
      House Democratic Caucus SummaryThe House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.
      So, yes, we display the House Republican Conference's summaries when available even if we do not have a Democratic summary available. That's because we feel it is better to give you as much information as possible, even if we cannot provide every viewpoint.
      We'll be looking for a source of summaries from the other side in the meanwhile.
    A bill to restore Americans' individual liberty by striking the Federal mandate to purchase insurance. (S. 40) - GovTrack.us
      Link to Article
      Wed, 23 Jan 2013 15:36
      Click a format for a citation suggestion:
      S. 40--113th Congress: A bill to restore Americans' individual liberty by striking the Federal mandate to purchase insurance.. (2013). In www.GovTrack.us. Retrieved January 23, 2013, from http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/s40?utm_campaign=govtrack_feed&utm_source=govtrack/feed&utm_medium=rss
      ''S. 40--113th Congress: A bill to restore Americans' individual liberty by striking the Federal mandate to purchase insurance..'' www.GovTrack.us. 2013. January 23, 2013 <http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/s40?utm_campaign=govtrack_feed&utm_source=govtrack/feed&utm_medium=rss>
      {{cite web|url=http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/s40?utm_campaign=govtrack_feed&utm_source=govtrack/feed&utm_medium=rss|title=S. 40 (113th)|accessdate=January 23, 2013|author=113th Congress (2013)|date=January 22, 2013|work=Legislation|publisher=GovTrack.us|quote=A bill to restore Americans' individual liberty by striking the Federal mandate to purchase insurance.}}
    To amend the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 to encourage States to provide records to the National Instant Background Check System. (H.R. 329) - GovTrack.us
      Link to Article
      Wed, 23 Jan 2013 15:36
      Click a format for a citation suggestion:
      H.R. 329--113th Congress: To amend the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 to encourage States to provide records .... (2013). In www.GovTrack.us. Retrieved January 23, 2013, from http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr329
      ''H.R. 329--113th Congress: To amend the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 to encourage States to provide records ....'' www.GovTrack.us. 2013. January 23, 2013 <http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr329>
      {{cite web|url=http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr329|title=H.R. 329 (113th)|accessdate=January 23, 2013|author=113th Congress (2013)|date=January 22, 2013|work=Legislation|publisher=GovTrack.us|quote=To amend the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 to encourage States to provide records ...}}
  Fiscal Cliff
    H.R. 325: To ensure the complete and timely payment of the obligations of the United States Government until May 19, 2013, and for other purposes.
      Link to Article
      Source: Watching Congress
      Wed, 23 Jan 2013 20:42
      Ahahahahaha. I love this part:
      "SEC. 2. HOLDING SALARIES OF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS IN ESCROW UPON FAILURE TO AGREE TO BUDGET RESOLUTION."
      YES. BECAUSE CONGRESS WILL TOTALLY SHOOT THEMSELVES IN THE FACE. The idea isn't even politically sound, as it encourages getting outside funds and thus increases political manipulation. Worse, it gives whatever side has the most power even more power to push whatever they want in to such a bill. Horrible idea.
  Vaccine$
    GEN | News Highlights:Novartis Ends Nicotine Addiction Vaccine Project
      Link to Article
      Thu, 24 Jan 2013 05:14
      Three years after the release of disappointing Phase II results, Novartis is discontinuing the NIC002 project, which focused on a therapeutic vaccine candidate for the treatment of nicotine addiction. As a result of the discontinuation, Novartis will terminate the license granted in 2007 and will return to Cytos Biotechnology the licensed rights.
      In a Phase II study from November of 2005, NIC002 (formerly CYT002-NicQb) was found in a study by Cytos to promote and sustain continuous abstinence from smoking from week 8 to 52 after start of treatment in participants who achieved high antibody levels upon vaccination versus those participants who received only counseling and a placebo. However, in October 2009, Novartis released results from a Phase II study with NIC002 that showed formation of nicotine-specific antibodies in patients but did not meet its primary endpoint of increased smoking cessation, which was defined as a difference in continuous abstinence from smoking from weeks 8 to 12 after start of treatment compared to placebo.
      Under the original agreement's terms, Novartis was granted worldwide exclusive rights for NIC002 and was responsible for late-stage clinical development, manufacturing, and commercialization of the vaccine. Cytos would have been eligible to receive up to CHF 600 million (near $646 million) in up-front and potential development, regulatory approval, and sales milestone payments based on the successful development and commercialization of NIC002. The up-front payment by Novartis was CHF 35 million (around $37.7 million). Cytos Biotechnology would have also received royalty payments on net sales of products.
      However, all is not lost for the vaccine yet: in November of 2010, Duke University, in collaboration with Wake Forest University, commenced a Phase II clinical pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic study with NIC002 performed with 65 smokers that aims to assess how nicotine antibodies, induced by vaccination, affect the pharmacokinetics of nicotine during cigarette smoking. The study is being conducted in the United States with funding from the NIH.
    Insight: Evidence grows for narcolepsy link to GSK swine flu shot | Yahoo! Health
      Link to Article
      Wed, 23 Jan 2013 15:10
      STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Emelie is plagued by hallucinations and nightmares. When she wakes up, she's often paralyzed, unable to breathe properly or call for help. During the day she can barely stay awake, and often misses school or having fun with friends. She is only 14, but at times she has wondered if her life is worth living.
      Emelie is one of around 800 children in Sweden and elsewhere in Europe who developed narcolepsy, an incurable sleep disorder, after being immunized with the Pandemrix H1N1 swine flu vaccine made by British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline in 2009.
      Finland, Norway, Ireland and France have seen spikes in narcolepsy cases, too, and people familiar with the results of a soon-to-be-published study in Britain have told Reuters it will show a similar pattern in children there.
      Their fate, coping with an illness that all but destroys normal life, is developing into what the health official who coordinated Sweden's vaccination campaign calls a "medical tragedy" that will demand rising scientific and medical attention.
      Europe's drugs regulator has ruled Pandemrix should no longer be used in people aged under 20. The chief medical officer at GSK's vaccines division, Norman Begg, says his firm views the issue extremely seriously and is "absolutely committed to getting to the bottom of this", but adds there is not yet enough data or evidence to suggest a causal link.
      Others - including Emmanuel Mignot, one of the world's leading experts on narcolepsy, who is being funded by GSK to investigate further - agree more research is needed but say the evidence is already clearly pointing in one direction.
      "There's no doubt in my mind whatsoever that Pandemrix increased the occurrence of narcolepsy onset in children in some countries - and probably in most countries," says Mignot, a specialist in the sleep disorder at Stanford University in the United States.
      30 MILLION RECEIVED PANDEMRIX
      In total, the GSK shot was given to more than 30 million people in 47 countries during the 2009-2010 H1N1 swine flu pandemic. Because it contains an adjuvant, or booster, it was not used in the United States because drug regulators there are wary of adjuvanted vaccines.
      GSK says 795 people across Europe have reported developing narcolepsy since the vaccine's use began in 2009.
      Questions about how the narcolepsy cases are linked to Pandemrix, what the triggers and biological mechanisms might have been, and whether there might be a genetic susceptibility are currently the subject of deep scientific investigation.
      But experts on all sides are wary. Rare adverse reactions can swiftly develop into "vaccine scares" that spiral out of proportion and cast what one of Europe's top flu experts calls a "long shadow" over public confidence in vaccines that control potential killers like measles and polio.
      "No-one wants to be the next Wakefield," said Mignot, referring to the now discredited British doctor Andrew Wakefield who sparked a decades-long backlash against the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) shot with false claims of links to autism.
      With the narcolepsy studies, there is no suggestion that the findings are the work of one rogue doctor.
      Independent teams of scientists have published peer-reviewed studies from Sweden, Finland and Ireland showing the risk of developing narcolepsy after the 2009-2010 immunization campaign was between seven and 13 times higher for children who had Pandemrix than for their unvaccinated peers.
      "We really do want to get to the bottom of this. It's not in anyone's interests if there is a safety issue that needs to be addressed," said GSK's Begg.
      LIFE CHANGED
      Emelie's parents, Charles and Marie Olsson, say she was a top student who loved playing the piano, taking tennis lessons, creating art and having fun with friends. But her life started to change in early 2010, a few months after she had Pandemrix. In the spring of 2010, they noticed she was often tired, needing to sleep when she came home from school.
      But it wasn't until May, when she began collapsing at school, that it became clear something serious was happening.
      As well as the life-limiting bouts of daytime sleepiness, narcolepsy brings nightmares, hallucinations, sleep paralysis and episodes of cataplexy - when strong emotions trigger a sudden and dramatic loss of muscle strength.
      In Emelie's case, having fun is the emotional trigger. "I can't laugh or joke about with my friends anymore, because when I do I get cataplexies and collapse," she said in an interview at her home in the Swedish capital.
      Narcolepsy is estimated to affect between 200 and 500 people per million and is a lifelong condition. It has no known cure and scientists don't really know what causes it. But they do know patients have a deficit of a brain neurotransmitter called orexin, also known as hypocretin, which regulates wakefulness.
      Research has found that some people are born with a variant in a gene known as HLA that means they have low hypocretin, making them more susceptible to narcolepsy. Around 25 percent of Europeans are thought to have this genetic vulnerability.
      When results of Emelie's hypocretin test came back in November last year, it showed she had 15 percent of the normal amount, typical of heavy narcolepsy with cataplexy.
      The seriousness of her strange new illness has forced her to contemplate life far more than many other young teens: "In the beginning I didn't really want to live any more, but now I have learned to handle things better," she said.
      TRIGGERS?
      Scientists investigating these cases are looking in detail at Pandemrix's adjuvant, called AS03, for clues.
      Some suggest AS03, or maybe its boosting effect, or even the H1N1 flu itself, may have triggered the onset of narcolepsy in those who have the susceptible HLA gene variant.
      Angus Nicoll, a flu expert at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), says genes may well play a part, but don't tell the whole story.
      "Yes, there's a genetic predisposition to this condition, but that alone cannot explain these cases," he said. "There was also something to do with receiving this specific vaccination. Whether it was the vaccine plus the genetic disposition alone or a third factor as well - like another infection - we simply do not know yet."
      GSK is funding a study in Canada, where its adjuvanted vaccine Arepanrix, similar to Pandemrix, was used during the 2009-2010 pandemic. The study won't be completed until 2014, and some experts fear it may not shed much light since the vaccines were similar but not precisely the same.
      It all leaves this investigation with far more questions than answers, and a lot more research ahead.
      WAS IT WORTH IT?
      In his glass-topped office building overlooking the Maria Magdalena church in Stockholm, Goran Stiernstedt, a doctor turned public health official, has spent many difficult hours going over what happened in his country during the swine flu pandemic, wondering if things should have been different.
      "The big question is was it worth it? And retrospectively I have to say it was not," he told Reuters in an interview.
      Being a wealthy country, Sweden was at the front of the queue for pandemic vaccines. It got Pandemrix from GSK almost as soon as it was available, and a nationwide campaign got uptake of the vaccine to 59 percent, meaning around 5 million people got the shot.
      Stiernstedt, director for health and social care at the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions, helped coordinate the vaccination campaign across Sweden's 21 regions.
      The World Health Organization (WHO) says the 2009-2010 pandemic killed 18,500 people, although a study last year said that total might be up to 15 times higher.
      While estimates vary, Stiernstedt says Sweden's mass vaccination saved between 30 and 60 people from swine flu death. Yet since the pandemic ended, more than 200 cases of narcolepsy have been reported in Sweden.
      With hindsight, this risk-benefit balance is unacceptable. "This is a medical tragedy," he said. "Hundreds of young people have had their lives almost destroyed."
      PANDEMICS ARE EMERGENCIES
      Yet the problem with risk-benefit analyses is that they often look radically different when the world is facing a pandemic with the potential to wipe out millions than they do when it has emerged relatively unscathed from one, like H1N1, which turned out to be much milder than first feared.
      David Salisbury, the British government's director of immunization, says "therein lies the risk, and the difficulty, of working in public health" when a viral emergency hits.
      "In the event of a severe pandemic, the risk of death is far higher than the risk of narcolepsy," he told Reuters. "If we spent longer developing and testing the vaccine on very large numbers of people and waited to see whether any of them developed narcolepsy, much of the population might be dead."
      Pandemrix was authorized by European drug regulators using a so-called "mock-up procedure" that allows a vaccine to be authorized ahead of a possible pandemic using another flu strain. In Pandemrix's case, the substitute was H5N1 bird flu.
      When the WHO declared a pandemic, GSK replaced the mock-up's strain with the pandemic-causing H1N1 strain to form Pandemrix.
      GSK says the final H1N1 version was tested in trials involving around 3,600 patients, including children, adolescents, adults and the elderly, before it was rolled out.
      The ECDC's Nicoll says early warning systems that give a more accurate analysis of a flu strain's threat are the best way to minimize risks of this kind of tragedy happening in future.
      Salisbury agrees, and says progress towards a universal flu vaccine - one that wouldn't need last-minute changes made when a new strain emerged - would cuts risks further.
      "Ideally, we would have a better vaccine that would work against all strains of influenza and we wouldn't need to worry about this ever again," he said. "But that's a long way off."
      With scientists facing years of investigation and research, Emelie just wants to make the best of her life.
      She reluctantly accepts that to do so, she needs a cocktail of drugs to try to control the narcolepsy symptoms. The stimulant Ritalin and the sleeping pill Sobril are prescribed for Emelie's daytime sleepiness and night terrors. Then there's Prozac to try to stabilize her and limit her cataplexies.
      "That's one of the things that makes me feel most uncomfortable," she explains. "Before I got this condition I didn't take any pills, and now I have to take lots - maybe for the rest of my life. It's not good to take so many medicines, especially when you know they have side effects."
      (Reporting by Kate Kelland; Editing by Will Waterman)
  Pedo Bear
    "Update From Across The Pond"
      Link to Article
      Thu, 24 Jan 2013 13:37
      At last, I have received my UK visa -- a visa that will last me two full years!And you, my wonderful friends, are the reason for this amazing victory.I want to confide that at the final moment, the visa was held up by the UK Border Agency in New York, but Member of Parliament for Birmingham Yardley John Hemming put in a parliamentary question to Immigration Minister Damian Green about the delay and, presto, my visa arrived a few days later. (The magic of ministerial questioning.)I also want to acknowledge the efforts of Jersey Immigration, which did a fantastic job of working with us once we were all able to fully communicate. (One of them actually contacted us late on a Sunday night to make sure all was in order.) In the final analysis, they had to overcome a struggle too.I will be writing much more in the days to come, but for now I just want to say I am so grateful.Let's show the world that the power of numbers (with a little help from social media) can bring justice to those in need. This is a new era and the Internet can accomplish much -- especially for those on a small island.As I continue my work, I will be writing about what I find in my travels atleahmcgrathgoodman.com. Hope to see you there.While you're at it, please also check out the blog of Trevor Pitman, the courageous man who launched this petition and a member of Jersey's Parliament. He can be found at:http://thebaldtruthjersey.blogspot.comWe're also on Twitter guys! But we don't want to deluge you.Next month, Jersey legislators will be voting on whether a Committee of Inquiry will be allowed to do a comprehensive vetting of the island's handling of its decades of child abuse. Will the committee be permitted to do a real investigation? This is an important time for eyes to remain on the island.This is only the beginning, so please keep in touch. Remember, without your witnessing these events as they unfolded -- and, now, as they continue to unfold -- little would have changed. A thousand thanks to you.P.S. Your excellent notes of support have been passed on to the victims' advocacy group in Jersey, so those who still suffer every day know that people care for them. Because of your comments, they will not feel so alone.
  Out There
    Russia Orders Obama: Tell World About Aliens, Or We Will
      Link to Article
      Thu, 24 Jan 2013 13:31
      A stunning Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) report on Prime Minister Medvedev's [photo top right] agenda at the World Economic Forum (WEF) this week states that Russia will warn President Obama that the ''time has come'' for the world to know the truth about aliens, and if the United States won't participate in the announcement, the Kremlin will do so on its own.
      The WEF (The Forum) is a Swiss non-profit foundation, based in Cologny, Geneva and describes itself as an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.
      The Forum is best known for its annual meeting in Davos, a mountain resort in Graub¹nden, in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland. The meeting brings together some 2,500 top business leaders, international political leaders, selected intellectuals and journalists to discuss the most pressing issues facing the world, including health and the environment.
      Medvedev is scheduled to open this years Forum where as many as 50 heads of government, including Germany's Angela Merkel and Britain's David Cameron, will attend the five-day meeting that begins on 23 January.
      Critical to note about this years Forum is that the WEF, in their 2013 Executive Summary, scheduled for debate and discussion a number of items under their X Factors from Nature category, and which includes the ''discovery of alien life'' of which they state: ''Proof of life elsewhere in the universe could have profound psychological implications for human belief systems.''
      Equally critical to note is that Medvedev, after completing a 7 December 2012 on-camera interview with reporters in Moscow, continued to respond to reporters and made some off-air comments without realizing that his microphone was still on. He was then asked by one reporter if ''the president is handed secret files on aliens when he receives the briefcase needed to activate Russia's nuclear arsenal,'' Medvedev responded:
      ''Along with the briefcase with nuclear codes, the president of the country is given a special 'top secret' folder. This folder in its entirety contains information about aliens who visited our planet'... Along with this, you are given a report of the absolutely secret special service that exercises control over aliens on the territory of our country'... More detailed information on this topic you can get from a well-known movie called Men In Black'... I will not tell you how many of them are among us because it may cause panic.''
      Western news sources reporting on Medvedev's shocking reply about aliens stated that he was ''joking'' as he mentioned the movie Men In Black, which they wrongly assumed was a reference to the 1997 American sci-fi adventure comedy about two top secret agents battling aliens in the US.
      Medvedev, however, wasn't referring to the American movie but was, instead, talking about the famous Russian movie documentary Men In Black which details many UFO and alien anomalies. [Full MIB length movie in Russian with English subtitles can be viewed HERE.]
      Where Western news sources quoted Medvedev as saying ''More detailed information on this topic you can get from a well-known movie called 'Men In Black,''' his actual answer was, ''You can receive more detailed information having watched the documentary film of the same name.''
      The reason(s) for Western propaganda news outlets deliberately distorting Medvedev's words become apparent after his shocking statement, and as evidenced in just one example of their so called reporting on this disclosure of alien life already being on our planet where the title of one such article was ''Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev makes a crack about aliens, and conspiracists promptly lose their minds.''
      If anyone is ''losing their minds'' about aliens, it must be pointed out, it is certainly not Russia, but the Vatican, which in November 2009 announced it was ''preparing for extraterrestrial disclosure''.
      Equally, and apparently, ''losing their minds'' are US government officials themselves, such as former Pentagon consultant Timothy Good, and author of Above Top Secret: The Worldwide U.F.O. Cover-Up, who in February 2012 stated that former President Dwight Eisenhower had three secret meetings with aliens who were 'Nordic' in appearance and wherein a 'Pact' was signed to keep their agenda on Earth secret.
      With the recent discovery in the Russian city of Vladivostok of a 300-million-year-old UFO tooth-wheel, and scientists, astronauts and YouTube users reporting increasingly strange happenings on the moon, the European Space agency reporting their discovery of a 1,000 ancient river on Mars, and UK and Sri Lanka scientists saying they now have ''rock solid proof of alien life'' after finding fossilized algae inside meteorite, the only ones who seem to be truly ''losing their minds'' are the Western, especially American, propagandists who for decades have covered up one of the most important stories in all of human history that ''we are not alone.''
      To if Medvedev will be able to convince the Obama regime to tell the truth about UFO and aliens at the WEF this week it is not in our knowing. What is in our knowing, though, is that with or without the US, the Kremlin will surely begin the process of telling the truth about that which we already know to be true.
      Source
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  VIDEO
    Campus to reopen Wednesday
    Marketplace Morning American dream
    VIDEO-Hillary Chokes Up | The Weekly Standard
      Link to Article
      Wed, 23 Jan 2013 15:08
      Secretary of State Hillary Clinton choked up at a Benghazi hearing today on Capitol Hill:
      "For me, this is not just a matter of policy, it's personal," said Clinton, holding back tears. "I stood next to President Obama as the Marines carried those flag-draped caskets off the plane at Andrews. I put my arms around the mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, sons and daughters. It has been one of the greatest honors of my life to lead the men and women of the State Department and USAID. Nearly 70,000 serving here in Washington and at more than 275 posts around the world. They get up and go to work every day -- often in difficult and dangerous circumstances thousands of miles from home -- because they believe the United States is the most extraordinary force for peace and progress the earth has ever known."
      Browse 15 Years of the Weekly Standard
    Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jay Carney, 1/23/2013
      Link to Article
      Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed
      Wed, 23 Jan 2013 22:19
      The White House
      Office of the Press Secretary
      For Immediate Release
      January 23, 2013
      James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
      12:57 P.M. EST
      MR. CARNEY: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for being here on day two -- (laughter) -- of the second term. I have no announcements to make so we'll go straight to the Associated Press.
      Q Thank you. Secretary Clinton on the Hill today, when asked about the initial administration explanation on Benghazi, said, ''What difference does it make?'' Does it not make a difference whether the administration's initial accounting of the Benghazi incident or any other incident is accurate?
      MR. CARNEY: Here's what the Secretary of State was saying and the clear point that she was making -- and it's one that I have made and others have made repeatedly -- which is that no one took more seriously the fact that we lost four American lives in Benghazi than the President of the United States and the Secretary of State of the United States.
      And whatever was said, based on information provided by the intelligence community on a series of Sunday shows, bears no relevance on the ultimate questions of what happened in Benghazi, who was responsible, and what we must do to ensure that it never happens again and that we bring to justice those who killed our diplomats and other Americans.
      So that is clearly a point that we have been making for a long time. And there has been an obvious political obsession over a series of talking points that, again, bears no relevance on the essential issues here, as I just enumerated. The fact is I and Ambassador Rice and others provided to you and through you, to the American people, the information that we had available at the time, making clear that it was preliminary, making clear that it would evolve as investigations continued and more information became available.
      And nothing about that process in any way changes what happened in Benghazi or what needs to be done to prevent a tragedy like that happening again.
      Q One of the other things that the Secretary mentioned in her testimony was that the threat of al Qaeda-affiliated groups in North Africa is growing, is a threat to U.S. interests in the region, and perhaps ultimately to the homeland. How can the administration continue to say that al Qaeda has been decimated when the Secretary is saying that al Qaeda-affiliated groups are growing?
      MR. CARNEY: Well, what the Secretary also said -- because she was asked specifically the question about whether or not it is true, as many have said, including the President and myself, that al Qaeda central has been decimated -- there is no question that that is the case, and any intelligence assessment would reinforce that point.
      I mean, we have taken the fight to al Qaeda, both in its core location -- Afghanistan and Pakistan -- as well as to those affiliates that represent a threat to the United States and to Americans around the world. Our vigilance does not end there. And we have been very clear about the threat posed by AQAP and by AQIM.
      What is also true is that, to this point, AQIM has not represented a direct threat to the homeland, but you can tell by our support of the mission that the French have undertaken and by our overall efforts to go after, and contain and defeat extremists who would do harm to our interests, that we are very serious about this.
      Q So you could square those two saying al Qaeda central command has been decimated even as al Qaeda-affiliate groups may be growing?
      MR. CARNEY: I think you can square it stating it clearly, which Secretary of State Clinton did and which President Clinton has, and I have and others --
      Q President Obama.
      MR. CARNEY: I mean, sorry, President Obama has, Secretary of State Clinton, President Obama -- (laughter) -- Press Secretary Carney. (Laughter.) Thank you.
      Q I thought you weren't going to speculate much. (Laughter.)
      Q Was that a lip-sync? (Laughter.)
      MR. CARNEY: You stole my thunder. I was going to make a lip-sync joke later. (Laughter.)
      Q Follow-up? (Laughter.)
      MR. CARNEY: Darn it, Knoller.
      The absolute fact is that the President took office four years ago with a very clear objective, and that was to refocus our efforts on the war in Afghanistan, which was an essential war, because from Afghanistan al Qaeda had been allowed to establish a safe haven, and from that safe haven had launched an attack against the United States that took 3,000 lives.
      He has been relentless in the pursuit of al Qaeda since he took office. And I think the evidence of that is very clear, including the elimination of Osama bin Laden. But as the President and Secretary Clinton and Secretaries Gates and Panetta and others -- John Brennan -- have consistently made clear, al Qaeda continues to represent a threat. Its affiliates in various parts of the region and the world represent a threat, and this is something that we are enormously vigilant about. And Secretary Clinton said as much today.
      Q The Pentagon has now cleared General John Allen of the allegations of misconduct. Does the President now plan to lift that hold that he had put upon the nomination? And if so, how does he plan to advance it? When does he plan to advance it to the Senate?
      MR. CARNEY: As you noted, the investigation is now complete and General Allen's nomination, rather, to serve as the next Supreme Allied Commander Europe will proceed. We hope the Senate will consider it in a timely manner and we will press the Senate to do just that.
      Q So when will you send it to the Senate? When will the White House send it to the Senate?
      MR. CARNEY: I don't have a specific timetable, but as you noted, the DOD Investigator General's investigation of that matter is now complete and we welcome its finding. And therefore, we intend for the nomination to proceed.
      Q If I might follow up, the President last week spoke to Prime Minister David Cameron and said, I believe, that he wanted to see a strong U.K. and a strong EU. So I'm wondering what the White House makes of the announcement today that there will be a referendum on that issue, and what the United States has at stake in the U.K. staying part of the EU.
      MR. CARNEY: We welcome the Prime Minister's call for Britain to remain in the EU and to retain a leading role in Europe's institutions. And as the President told the Prime Minister when they spoke last week, the United States values a strong United Kingdom and a strong European Union.
      We value our essential relationship with the U.K., as well as our relationship with the European Union, which makes critical contributions to peace, prosperity, and security in Europe and around the world.
      We believe that the United Kingdom is stronger as a result of its European Union membership, and we believe the European Union is stronger as a result of having the United Kingdom in the EU. So that's -- our views on this are very clear. The internal processes by which these matters are considered within the U.K. or any other country are obviously the province of those countries and those governments.
      Yes, Dan.
      Q You talked about -- with Benghazi, you talked about the obsession with talking points. Are you suggesting that the American people should not care about the fact that they were told one thing and it turned out not to be the case?
      MR. CARNEY: Dan, as you know, we've discussed this matter repeatedly, and I'm happy to do so again. We provided assessments of what happened in Benghazi based on information provided by the intelligence community which -- and information that was, as we acknowledged, evolving based on investigations and more facts that were coming to light.
      It has been clear for a long time now, as we saw during the campaign, that there has been an effort underway to make this a political issue when the fundamental fact here is that four Americans were killed; those who are responsible for their deaths must be brought to justice; and actions must be taken to ensure that the tragic events of Benghazi do not happen again.
      That is why, at the President's direction, the Secretary of State set up the ARB, the Accountability Review Board, which was chaired by two very prominent, nonpartisan leaders -- Admiral Mullen and Ambassador Pickering. And their report was unsparing I think by any account, and its recommendations were accepted in their entirety by the Secretary of State, and they are being implemented under her leadership. I think that reflects how seriously we take this issue and how serious the substance of this issue is.
      What is not serious is the repeated attempts to try to make this a political matter, because it's not. And the fact of the matter is, back at the time, we were dealing with a situation that was not just limited to Libya and Benghazi, but where there was a series of events and unrest around the region. And we were providing information to you and to the American public through you that was based on the best assessments at the time, and those assessments evolved as more facts became clear. A lot of the allegations about this matter that have been cast forward over the intervening months have proven to be false as the Accountability Review Board made clear.
      Our interest, as an administration, and the President's interest is in the fundamental issue of bringing to justice those who are responsible, and taking the necessary actions to ensure that the tragedy of Benghazi is not repeated while -- and I paraphrase Secretary Clinton here -- we always acknowledge the fact that the important work our diplomats do around the world has to often take place in risky environments, and that they serve our country bravely, just as our men and women in uniform do, and take risks in order to fulfill their functions.
      Q It just seems when you use the word "obsession with talking points,'' it seems to almost diminish the fact that -- the facts that are there, which is wrong information was given at the time.
      MR. CARNEY: What is it that you -- or speaking for those who are concerned about this -- believe that we are diminishing? The fact of the matter is the facility was attacked; four Americans were killed. The President took immediate action to ensure that our diplomats and diplomatic facilities around the world were reinforced and secured as necessary; that everything was done that could be done to provide assistance to our personnel in Benghazi and in Tripoli. That has all been borne out by the Accountability Review Board.
      What is at issue here is essentially a phrase about whether or not there was a spontaneous demonstration, which was an early assessment that turned out not to be the case. But the fundamental facts about what happened there and the results of those actions and that attack have not changed. And no question has been brought legitimately, or that hasn't been proven untrue, about the actions that the administration took to respond appropriately.
      So again, we fundamentally are talking here about a series of talking points that were provided to the administration as well as to members of Congress on Capitol Hill that acknowledged within them that this was preliminary information that everyone who spoke on the issue made clear might change, as is often the case here in situations like this. And that's how we view it.
      Q Did the President watch any of the hearings this morning?
      MR. CARNEY: I don't believe he did. I haven't asked him.
      Q And then one more point on -- the President has talked about and other administration officials have talked about engaging the public in putting pressure on Congress to move the President's agenda forward in his second term. What can we expect from the President? Are we going to see a campaign-style effort where he hits the road a lot more to push whether it's gun policy or immigration?
      MR. CARNEY: The President will travel. You can expect that. He will, as he does, make the case to the American people for the vision he laid out in his inaugural address, and the specifics that he will lay out at his State of the Union address on February 12.
      I think you can fully expect that his commitment to engaging the American people in these important discussions about our future will continue. He believes very strongly that even when we're talking about seemingly arcane matters of budget policy -- things like debt ceilings and spending in the out-years, and budget caps and deficit or debt to GDP ratios -- that when distilled into common language, these are the essential matters that Americans care about because they affect their livelihoods; they affect their capacity to find work and then find higher-paying work. Growth of the economy, growth in job creation is essential to the President's vision. It is the core goal that informs everything he does on domestic policy and international policy.
      So he believes that not only is it the right strategy to engage the American people, it is essential as a reflection of why he's in this to begin with, to explain to them his vision and to listen to them about what their hopes are and the direction that they hope the country will move in.
      Q And when is the first trip and where is he going?
      MR. CARNEY: I have no scheduling announcements to make today, but I can assure you he will be hitting the road throughout his second term.
      Q Today marks one of the last times we will see Clinton on the public stage as Secretary. We heard her receive a lot of praise from members of the Senate this morning for her work in the administration. What do you think her legacy is as Secretary of State?
      MR. CARNEY: I think as every member of this administration, this team here at the White House and more broadly within the national security apparatus would admit as a starting point, I'm biased in saying this but I think she has been, and history will show her to have been, one of the great Secretaries of State.
      She came in office at a time when we were dealing with a diminished reputation worldwide, where our alliances were frayed; where we were engaged in two wars for which there were not strategies to end in a way that was in the interest of the United States; where we had unmet interests in places like Asia and elsewhere -- Africa and Latin America -- that we needed to pay attention to, and she did extraordinary work in advancing the President's agenda on all those matters. And I know the President feels that very strongly.
      Q And a question on Algeria -- has the President spoken with the families of the three Americans killed in the attack?
      MR. CARNEY: I do not have -- as you know, I think it was yesterday those names were released, but I don't have any calls or conversations of the President to read out today.
      Q Revisiting climate change from yesterday, in talking to environmental groups, Democrats on the Hill, they don't have an expectation of a refit or reintroduction of the cap and trade bill from 2010. But what they really are looking at is the EPA to soon release or formalize, finalize its carbon-based pollution regulations for future power plants and then to get quickly on the task of putting together some of the regulatory rules under the Clean Air Act for existing power plants. Is this what we can expect the President's emphasis since he brought it up so conspicuously in the inaugural address, refocused on dealing with climate change here in this country?
      MR. CARNEY: I can certainly confirm that the President intends to continue progress on the new national standard for harmful carbon pollution from new power plants and to implement that standard. I can't comment on any specific future actions that he might take except that he has demonstrated in his record during his first term that we can together take action that is not only helpful to our environment in that it addresses the issue of climate change, but is also helpful to our long-term economic vitality by insuring that we make investments in new energy technology and that we develop new forms of energy, as well as traditional forms of energy here at home so that we are less dependent on foreign imports of energy.
      That's a strategy that enhances our national security, improves the environment, addresses climate change, and very importantly helps our economy by allowing industries to develop here in the United States that if they don't develop here will develop elsewhere -- industries that provide good jobs and will be very sustainable in the future.
      Q Those who look at this issue say dealing with existing power plants would be the best way, most effective way to reduce carbon emissions and advance what the President said at the inaugural. Does he agree with that?
      MR. CARNEY: Again, I'm not going to talk about --
      Q I mean philosophically.
      MR. CARNEY: Well, ''philosophically'' is an adverb that is somewhat synonymous with ''speculatively,'' and I will not speculate on future --
      Q But he does have --
      MR. CARNEY: Sure.
      Q -- and he did identify in the inaugural address, and those who look at this issue believe if you're not going to do something legislatively, this is the most effective way to do it. I'm asking is that something the White House --
      MR. CARNEY: Again, I don't have any information to impart about specific future actions the President may or may not take. He is committed to continuing and building on the progress that was made in the first term, in his first term.
      And we'll look at a variety of things that we can do together as a nation to address this challenge, and to address it in a way that provides the benefits that I talked about, that is not -- that there is the important goal of dealing with climate change, which is a real issue. There is the opportunity that actions we take to deal with that challenge present to us economically when it comes to clean energy and developing domestic energy alternatives to the import of foreign energy.
      Q On Social Security, is there anything inconsistent with what the President said in the inaugural address with his negotiating posture with Speaker Boehner that he would put chain CPI on the table?
      MR. CARNEY: The President, at the end of the year -- and the premise of your question I think acknowledges this -- put forward a very serious proposal to Speaker Boehner that by any measure met the Republicans halfway, that included within it very tough choices with regards to entitlement reform, and it demonstrated his good faith in trying to achieve a compromise that would attain that goal that he has espoused for a long time, which is an overall package that reduces our deficit by over $4 trillion over a decade and thereby -- going back to ratios -- establishes a ratio of debt to GDP and deficit to GDP that is sustainable, puts us on a fiscally sustainable path. He is still committed to that.
      His approach to these issues has always been that we need to strengthen those programs upon which so many Americans depend -- Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid -- and so the reforms that we need to introduce have to strengthen them for the long term. What we don't need to do is eliminate them as we know them, or slash benefits simply to protect the benefits of wealthy individuals or corporations. That's not a choice the President believes we have to make.
      And that's why we have to have balanced deficit reduction. And in the name of balanced deficit reduction, he put forward the proposal that, unfortunately, even though it was widely recognized to have been made in good faith and to have represented an effort to meet the Republicans halfway, the Republicans walked away from, which is a shame.
      Q Is that offer still on the table or has it been rescinded?
      MR. CARNEY: We absolutely look forward to working with Congress to continue the effort to reduce our deficits in a balanced way. That offer that, unfortunately, the Republicans walked away from remains the President's position.
      It is absolutely essential that as we move forward we continue to build on the $2.5 trillion in deficit reduction this President has already signed into law, and with Congress brought into effect, but we have to do it in a balanced way. And what was true late last year is true today -- that the President will not entertain proposals that say, okay, now moving forward all of the burden is on seniors, or all of the burden is on middle-class families trying to send their kids to college or families who have disabled children. That's not an approach he will embrace. I think you have heard him say that.
      What he is willing to do is continue this important work of deficit reduction in a balanced way, including revenues, including spending cuts, that helps our economy grow and create jobs. Because deficit reduction, with the exception of a few esoteric groups -- most of them inside Washington -- is not a desirable goal unto itself, it is a goal in service of a bigger goal, which is economic growth, stability for the middle class, more and better job creation.
      Q And since you inadvertently opened the door on 2016 by saying ''President Clinton,'' there is --
      MR. CARNEY: Let me just be clear, I had a nice long conversation with President Clinton, Bill Clinton, the other day, and that's -- he was in my head.
      Q Okay. Well, inadvertent as it was, it's still out there. (Laughter.) And there's a piece today talking about the Vice President, who you know very well, being intoxicated, possibly, by the idea of running in 2016. And the question I had -- because I know you're not going to speculate on it --
      MR. CARNEY: Whose words were those? The Onion?
      Q No, no, no. (Laughter.) This is a very fine -- supposedly -- news organization that reports this. I just want to bring this up, not to speculate on it, but do you think there is anything about the Vice President's role in the second term that can or should be viewed through any sort of prism other than working for the administration or his record so far of being evaluated in the context of 2016? Because you know it's going to happen.
      MR. CARNEY: I don't doubt it will happen. And I think the Vice President in an interview addressed this -- got this question and addressed it. And his focus -- and I know this because I do know him and I worked for him and I've spoken to him recently. He is focused on the job of helping this President and helping this administration achieve the goals that the President has put forward. That is his work and he is very committed to it. I think you saw that demonstrated most recently in his exceptional effort in a very short period of time to put forward to the President the recommendations on how to reduce gun violence in this country, an effort that he led and that his staff led on the President's behalf.
      And that's the Vice President's focus, in his own words. And I think he's -- it was when I worked for him, it was throughout the first term, it is now. And I think, as he said, other considerations are for the future. He's focused on his work as Vice President, as the President's partner.
      Q Who has the better legacy, the Vice President or the Secretary of State?
      MR. CARNEY: I think that the legacy here that we're concerned about is how the American people are situated four years from now compared to how they were four years ago. How is the middle class faring four years from now compared to where they were four years ago? How is our economy poised four years from now compared to where it was four years ago? Is our stature around the globe enhanced four years from now compared to four years ago? Are we safer four years from now compared to four years ago?
      Those are issues that are not just about the President's legacy; it's for everybody who serves this President and this administration and this country at this time -- and including members of Congress. And I think that members who just got here this month, freshmen in the House and the Senate, I think will have that same measuring -- they want to -- they will look four years from now and say, did what I do in those four years improve the prospects of this country, help the economy grow, help the middle class, make us more secure or not?
      And that's how I think the President looks at it. I know that's how the Secretary of State looked at it when she -- in her four years that are coming to an end. That's how we all look at it.
      Q So they're tied. (Laughter.)
      MR. CARNEY: Those kinds of assessments I'm sure will be made repeatedly in the future, not just with those two individuals. I think for the sake and sanity of all involved, it's worth taking a little bit of a break from presidential election-year politics.
      Yes, sir.
      Q Jay, if I can please clear something up from yesterday -- I made a mistake. I asked you a question and said -- suggested there was an e-mail the White House sent out, picking out individual issues from the inaugural address. I had received an e-mail that had White House tweets about individual issues. I was asking you the question about -- because you had suggested a reporter should not pick it out into individual pieces -- I did not mean to imply that the White House had some strategy through e-mail to do that. I just want to correct that. I don't --
      MR. CARNEY: I really appreciate that. And, yes, I was -- I think when I took that question I was a little flummoxed because it was news to me.
      Q I was referring to Twitter.
      MR. CARNEY: Right, and as you know, this administration did not and probably would not have set the 140-character limit to tweet. (Laughter.) So when I or the New Media Office tweets on a speech, we have to do it in increments.
      Q I just wanted to be clear, though, you did say that the speech should be looked at holistically, in toto, not necessarily in 140 characters. That was all.
      MR. CARNEY: Thank you, sir.
      Q I wanted to be clear.
      On Benghazi, Secretary Clinton testified today that on the night of September 11, 2012, she participated in a secure videoconference with people from the Defense Department and from the White House, which would make sense in any crisis situation. My question is, did the President participate in that? If not, who from the White House participated?
      MR. CARNEY: Well, I'm sure -- I know members of his national security team participated. I believe we've been quite open about the President being initially informed of this and being constantly updated on what was happening in Benghazi, what we knew about what was happening, and immediately ordering his Secretary of Defense to take all necessary action to provide assistance and to ensure that measures were taken to enhance security around our diplomatic facilities in the region and in the world.
      Q Was he on that secure videoconference?
      MR. CARNEY: I would have to take the question. I don't know.
      Q Will you take the question and let us know?
      MR. CARNEY: Sure.
      Q Okay, thank you. She also said that she spoke later that night to the President. Was that the only time they spoke? Can you just --
      MR. CARNEY: Again, I don't know. I don't think -- I'm not sure --
      Q Senator McCain and others were asking about the President's role, and Senator McCain --
      MR. CARNEY: Right, and Senator McCain and others have made a huge issue out of what I have made clear is our view is the non-issue, which is the talking points that were provided to senators, members of the House, and to members of the administration -- the non-classified talking points -- which have no bearing on what happened in Benghazi and the immediate reaction of this administration in response to it. As Secretary Clinton made clear today in her testimony -- or at least her initial round of testimony -- and as was made clear in the Accountability Review Board report, there was no delay in response, every asset was brought to bear to try to provide assistance. No requests were denied.
      A lot of the reporting around this has proven to be wrong -- or the speculation around it has proven to be wrong on the fundamental issues here about what happened, who was responsible, the response and reaction to it, and now the investigations that have taken place and are continuing at the President's direction.
      So the purpose served in pursuing this line of questioning is unclear to me beyond an attempt to continue to try to score political points.
      Q Okay. So on the question of what you call speculation, and in answer to Dan's question about the talking points, you said that you always made clear it was preliminary information and that's what Susan Rice did as well. I want to quote directly from you, September 18th, one week after the attacks, at this podium, you said, ''I'm saying that based on the information that we -- our initial information'' -- you did say ''initial information'' -- ''and that includes all information, we saw no evidence to back up claims by others that this was a preplanned or premeditated attack; that we saw evidence that it was sparked by the reaction to this video.'' And then you said, ''And that is what we know thus far based on the evidence, concrete evidence, not supposition, concrete evidence that we have thus far.''
      MR. CARNEY: Sure.
      Q So my question is --
      MR. CARNEY: I think that's pretty good. Based on the evidence we had at the time, the initial evidence, the facts that we had then that were concrete as opposed to speculation about it. And I -- so I think --
      Q So the question is, what was the concrete evidence you had that said it was the video, not a preplanned attack?
      MR. CARNEY: I would take you back to the time and the events that were happening in Karachi and elsewhere, and other -- I believe it was Karachi -- but other -- Cairo, certainly. I would note that subsequent reporting by notable news organizations have shown that participants in the attack said that they were inspired in part by the protests outside of Cairo. So if it wasn't directly because of the video, it was because of protests in Cairo because of the video.
      All of this is to say that these were assessments made by the intelligence community based on the information they had and based on -- they obviously and have spoken to this themselves -- but based on what we knew about what was happening around the world, not just in Libya.
      And, again, I thank you for reading that because I think it represents the effort that we made, that Ambassador Rice made, and others made to make clear that these were initial assessments and that they were subject to change as more clarity became available on what exactly happened, who was responsible, who they were affiliated with or not, and why four Americans died as a result.
      Q Yes, but you're saying that because there were protests elsewhere in places like Cairo, which is an absolute fact, that that was concrete evidence that in fact the video --
      MR. CARNEY: Again, I didn't make these assessments, the intelligence community did, and the intelligence community has spoken to this. And, again, based on what we, the U.S. government, knew at the time and the assessments that we had at the time, we made those assessments available to the American people through you. As more information became available, we provided that to you.
      On the fundamental issue of -- I mean, we talked about militants. The President talked about an act of terror. I mean, the narrowness of the charge here has no bearing on what happened or what the reaction was, the response was, or on the essential work that's being undertaken to this day to bring to justice those responsible.
      Yes, Kristen.
      Q Jay, Secretary Clinton said today in talking about the spreading Jihadist threat, ''We have to recognize this is a global movement. We can kill leaders, but until we help establish strong democratic institutions, until we do a better job of communicating our values and building relationships, we're going to be faced with this level of instability.'' So what is the President's plan specifically to better communicate the United States' values and build relationships? And where more broadly does this fall in his list of priorities and his agenda? In his inaugural address, he seemed to focus largely on domestic issues.
      MR. CARNEY: Well, it has been a priority of this President in his first term and will continue to be a priority. I think that we have seen in the last four years, in the last two years in particular, enormous change in the region, historic change in the region. And that change is continuing, and the effects of that change continue.
      And it is absolutely in our interest as a nation to engage with those in the region who believe that there is a better future for the people of the Middle East and North Africa if they pursue democracy than the alternative, than the -- if they embrace the tyrannical ideology of al Qaeda, for example.
      This is epical change and it is unfolding, and has been unfolding, over the course of this administration and in the last two years in particular, and it will continue to unfold. But it is an enormous focus as a security challenge and as a challenge to the expression of and -- of our values around the world. And the President has spoken to this many times.
      Q And so what specifically is his plan?
      MR. CARNEY: His plan for?
      Q For building relationships, better communicating the United States' values?
      MR. CARNEY: Well, I'm not sure if you're looking for -- I mean, he has spoken to this many times and he will continue with that effort. And we engage with countries, governments, movements that espouse greater democracy, greater tolerance, a greater embrace of economic freedom as well as civil rights, and we will continue to do that. And we will also do it in a way that focuses on the President's primary responsibility when it comes to foreign policy, which is the safety and security of the United States and the American people.
      Q Jay, do you have a reaction to Congressman Paul Ryan saying that the President used a "straw man" argument in his inaugural address when he talked about the fact that the United States is not a nation of takers? Congressman Ryan has said that the President misconstrued what he meant, what Ryan meant when he used that term, "nation of takers."
      MR. CARNEY: Well, I'm not sure that President mentioned Chairman Ryan, but that phrase has been used by a number of Republicans, including Paul Ryan.
      The President's point was that these programs -- Social Security and Medicare in particular -- have been enormously valuable to seniors in our country and to providing the security that has allowed for stronger economic growth and stronger job creation and a stronger middle class. I mean, the facts and figures on what the plight of the nation's seniors was prior to Social Security are well known.
      The insecurity that seniors face or would face if Medicare were voucherized and the costs were shifted to them if they had a limited amount of money to spend on health care and the rest was up to them, I think would not be good for the country. The President doesn't believe it's good for the country.
      Q And just one more -- on Syria. There is a bipartisan call urging the President to expedite delivery of U.S. humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people, including the Syrian Opposition Council, coming from senators Ayotte and Kirsten Gillibrand. What is the President's reaction? Will he do that? And if so --
      MR. CARNEY: Well, the President would say, as I will say now, that the United States is the single-largest bilateral donor of humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people. In coordination with our international humanitarian partners, we are supporting and complementing the generous efforts of Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq, whose governments and communities are hosting refugees fleeing the violence in Syria.
      The United States is providing $210 million in humanitarian assistance to help millions of people inside Syria as well as to assist nearly 670,000 Syrians who have fled beyond that country's borders. The American people are funding the provision of lifesaving food, medical care, blankets, and essential winter supplies, which are reaching children, women and men in all 14 governorates inside Syria as well as refugees in neighboring countries.
      And let's be clear, the responsibility for the humanitarian crisis in Syria lies with Bashar al-Assad and his regime. Every day, the regime's hold on power weakens, territory slips from its grasp, and the opposition becomes more capable and confident. Syrians are taking back their dignity, and the United States will continue to lead international efforts to assist the Syrian people and to provide the kind of humanitarian aid that we have thus far.
      Margaret.
      Q I have a foreign policy question, but first I just wanted to ask for the administration's response -- the House has now passed the three-month suspension of the U.S. debt ceiling. What's your comment from the podium?
      MR. CARNEY: That, just in case you were curious, that was what --
      Q Yeah, we figured.
      MR. CARNEY: It's the same as it was yesterday, which is the President believes that we need to as a country do the responsible thing and without drama or delay pay our bills, meet our commitments. Ideally, we would extend or raise the debt ceiling for a long period of time so that this is not a question, so that the uncertainty that has surrounded this issue of late -- because of the political strategy that House Republicans have taken -- will be removed, or would be removed.
      It is certainly important to recognize that the bill that passed the House today, the position that House Republicans took beginning late last week, represents a fundamental change from a strategy that they pursued up until that point, which is to try to link the debt ceiling to a specific ideological agenda of spending cuts in which the choice presented to the American people was either face dramatic cuts in Social Security or Medicare, or we'll default on our obligations and wreck the American economy and throw the financial system into crisis. Not much of a choice.
      We are glad to see that that strategy is not being pursued anymore, so this is a welcome development. And as I said yesterday, the President will not stand in the way of this bill becoming law. His interest is in resolving our budget and fiscal issues for the long term. And he looks forward to engaging with Congress and building on the accomplishments achieved so far in deficit reduction, the $2.5 trillion achieved so far in a balanced way.
      Q Foreign policy. So now that the votes are in in Israel, I'm wondering if you would give us some comment about the President's reaction to Netanyahu's reelection -- not only his reelection, but sort of the weakened state of his reelection; what you think both the outcome and the backdrop of the outcome may mean for U.S.-Israel foreign policy going forward, for the Middle East peace process, for dealings with Iran.
      And although you have not announced any calls to read out, has the President spoken with Mr. Netanyahu and has the President spoken with Yair Lapid?
      MR. CARNEY: First of all, we congratulate the Israeli people on their election. And as I said yesterday, and it remains true today, I do not want to get ahead of the Israeli political process. Elections are a stage in a process in Israel, and the final results themselves are not yet in, and I'm not going to speculate on the government formation process, which I think goes to some of the questions that you asked.
      I think it's very likely the President will be speaking with Prime Minister Netanyahu. I don't have a call to read out to you at this time, but when appropriate I'm sure that call will take place.
      In terms of the peace process, I would say the same thing I said yesterday, which our views are clear. We believe that what needs to take place is direct negotiations between the two parties that address the final status issues and that result in a two-state solution that provides a sovereignty that the Palestinian people deserve, and the security that the Israeli people and Israel deserves.
      Q As for Yair Lapid, do you know whether the President is very likely to call?
      MR. CARNEY: Again, I don't have anything more on potential calls the President might make.
      Q And any comment just on the impact of Yair Lapid's rise and --
      MR. CARNEY: Again, I won't -- I'll resist being a commentator on another country's political process at this time.
      Q So regardless of what government emerges or who is going to lead that government, yesterday a big, much larger than expected turnout of moderate Israeli voters went to the polls and voted for parties that, at least in principle, support the two-state solution. President Obama often says elections matter. He's talked about it since his own reelection quite a bit in terms of specific policies. I mean, what does the administration believe that Israeli voters were saying yesterday in terms of the way they want their country to go?
      MR. CARNEY: I don't want to get ahead of the process. And I think that, as you know in particular, given your expertise in the field, this process is not complete in Israel. What is important is that we recognize that Israelis should be congratulated on their election, on their democracy. What also should be recognized is that our relationship with Israel and our unshakeable commitment to Israel's security will continue regardless; and our position on the peace process and our pursuit of peace will not change, no matter the result of the government formation process.
      As for the effect that these elections have on that, I wouldn't speculate. We're going to deal with the process itself with the government and press forward on what we firmly believe is a process that has as its goal a result that is good for the Palestinians and for the Israelis.
      Stephen.
      Q Just to follow on Israel -- the administration often says that there has not been a White House with a closer strategic relationship with Israel than this one. But it's also no secret that sometimes the relationship with Prime Minister Netanyahu has been a little contentious. How important is personality and the personal ties between leaders in this as compared to the strategic sense? And do you expect now that the elections here and in Israel have taken place, there might be a little bit of leeway for the two leaders to perhaps seek a different relationship?
      MR. CARNEY: I would answer by pointing out that no leader has met more often with or spent more time on the phone with President Obama than Prime Minister Netanyahu. That relationship is strong and it is a relationship that allows for a free and open discussion of ideas and positions. And that's good for U.S.-Israeli relations.
      I think that the underlying foundation of the relationship is very important to understanding the approach that this administration takes and the approach that prior administrations have taken. And that is that we are committed to Israel's security, and we have demonstrated that commitment in the actions that we've taken, that the President has taken in his first term. And that will not change.
      Bill, and then Susan.
      Q Jay, I want to take one for the team and ask the lip-sync question. (Laughter.) Did the President know she was lip-syncing, and does he care?
      MR. CARNEY: I have not had the discussion with him. I'm not sure that I understand the variety and contradictory reports on the matter, and I would refer you to JASIC or PIC. (Laughter.)
      Q But even the Marine Band say that they were faking it, they were not actually playing the Star-Spangled Banner. Doesn't that --
      MR. CARNEY: Again, what I know about this I mostly know from what I've read and, shockingly, it has not all been consistent. But my understanding -- and this was as I recall from the inauguration in 2009 -- that as a precaution recordings are made. But I actually have no idea what's true and what's not about what happened here, and I don't think it's really a particularly important issue to address from the podium here.
      Q I'm curious, though -- he hasn't said whether or not he realized she was not actually performing?
      MR. CARNEY: I have not had that discussion with him.
      Q When he invited her, did he expect that she was going to sing live?
      MR. CARNEY: I'm glad you guys are focused on the important issues of the day here. (Laughter.) Again, I would point you to history here that includes what happened in 2009. There are issues -- again, I have no idea whether this bears on what happened in this inauguration or not, but as I think everyone knows, in 2009, it was so cold that Yo-Yo Ma could not play. I just -- as powerful as this office is, we don't control the weather, and as many issues as we deal with here, we still have to choose what we don't deal with and this is one of those issues.
      Yes, in the back. Sorry, Susan, I owe you.
      Q Two questions, one on Benghazi and then on climate change. The first one, we haven't seen really a tick-tock of what happened and what the President was doing that night and how he was apprised of the developments that were going on in Benghazi such like we saw during the OBL raid. We've seen that sort of -- a lot of information about what happened that night. But we didn't see like -- what you said earlier to Ed, you seemed like you were saying that the President was giving Panetta carte blanche to do whatever it took --
      MR. CARNEY: The President spoke to the Secretary of Defense, who was in the Oval Office when the President learned about initial reports about the attack, to do everything possible to ensure that assistance -- whatever assistance could be provided was provided, and that action was taken to secure our facilities in the region and around the world, because, as you know, there was unrest taking place in a variety of places at the time. So I think we've been very clear about that.
      And, as is the case with developments of this kind, he is routinely updated by his national security team -- Tom Donilon, Denis McDonough, John Brennan and others, as well as Secretaries Clinton and Panetta. And that was certainly the case here.
      Q So when there was a decision made, we've heard -- and our publication has reported as well as others -- that their Special Forces guys could not get into Benghazi and do any real good in time. Was that decision made by Panetta? Or who made that decision?
      MR. CARNEY: Again, there has been a lot of false reporting, and I would point you to the Accountability Review Board on this issue that I think addresses it very directly. Speculation about this has been often wrong, and the ARB report makes that clear.
      Q Thanks, Jay.
      Q On the domestic issue, on climate change -- Bernie Sanders now has introduced legislation today, and he is saying that he hopes the President -- he's calling on the President to support this on climate change. The legislation would put some penalties on fossil fuel companies that emit carbon. And I'm wondering, is this something that the President could get behind? Is this Bernie Sanders just going off on his own? Is this something that -- is there any legislation that the White House and the President can get behind on climate change?
      MR. CARNEY: I mean, that's an enormously speculative question. Is there any legislation?
      Q Well, you're not being specific on --
      MR. CARNEY: I mean, again, you haven't even described the legislation that Senator Sanders may have put forward. I haven't seen it.
      Q I described it as his press release described it, saying that he's going to put --
      MR. CARNEY: Penalties.
      Q -- penalties on --
      MR. CARNEY: What I can tell you is that we have not proposed and have no intention of proposing a carbon tax. Beyond that, I haven't seen the legislation that you've talked about.
      Thank you all very much.
      END1:49 P.M. EST
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      Tue, 22 Jan 2013 10:06
    Gun Control DISTRACTION: Legislation about Mental Health
      Link to Article
      Source: Uploads by ARSONomics
      Wed, 23 Jan 2013 20:43
    Networks Swoon for Hillary's 'Indignation' and 'Tears,' Champion 'Riveting' Testimony from 'Political Pro'
      Link to Article
      Source: MRCTV - News & Politics
      Thu, 24 Jan 2013 04:34
      Mark January 23rd as the launch date for the news media's fresh campaign to have Hillary Clinton replace Barack Obama in the Oval Office in 2017. ABC and NBC, and CBS to a lesser extent, on Wednesday night treated Secretary of State Clinton's appearances before Senate and House committees not as an chance to explore Obama administration dissembling on Benghazi, but as an opportunity to boost Clinton's supposed brilliant performance.
      ''The indignation. And then, the tears in her eyes,'' ABC anchor Diane Sawyer announced before trumpeting: ''It was a valedictory that showed her indignation and emotion as she ends this tenure on the public stage. ABC's chief global affairs correspondent Martha Raddatz brings us the riveting encounter today.''
      An impressed Raddatz exclaimed: ''What a way to end her four-year tenure as Secretary of State,'' recalling how ''a month ago, she was flat on her back with a nasty concussion,'' but ''today, this woman who has traveled the world as America's top diplomat, came to the Hill ready for a fight.''
      Raddatz touted: ''It was a riveting drama. Secretary of State Clinton seen in rare public form, at times angry, aggressively on the defense. At another point, choking up over her four lost colleagues.''
      More in the cross-post on the MRC's NewsBusters site.
    NBC Panel Scolds Prince Harry: 'Why Do You Need to Antagonize the Taliban?'
      Link to Article
      Source: MRCTV - News & Politics
      Wed, 23 Jan 2013 22:15
      During a panel discussion on Wednesday's NBC Today, attorney Star Jones and the network's chief medical editor Nancy Snyderman hyperventilated over Britain's Prince Harry revealing in interviews that he killed Taliban fighters during combat in Afghanistan. Jones fretted: "Why do you need to antagonize the Taliban?"
    Should We Change Constitution So Obama Can Run for Third Term?
      Link to Article
      Source: MRCTV - News & Politics
      Wed, 23 Jan 2013 20:16
      Many Americans see the United States Constitution as being a document under assault, particularly as a result of the policies of the current administration.
      But, while asking questions at the Inauguration ceremony on Monday, MRCTV confirmed that if many of Barack Obama's supporters had their way, they would alter the nation's founding document so that their beloved president could run for a 3rd and possibly 4th, 5th and 6th term.
      Follow Dan on Twitter
    North Korea Says New Nuclear Test Will Be Aimed At The United States
      Link to Article
      Source: Uploads by MOXNEWSd0tC0M
      Thu, 24 Jan 2013 13:46
Clips and Stuff
  2 Obamas
    BREAKING-Beyonce lipsynched.mp3
    Cornel West Rant on#82A41CB.mp3
    Innaugural food talk.mp3
    James Taylor Live.mp3
    MLK Drum Major Instinct.mp3
    NPR-Obamas American Dream.mp3
    Obama-stateeeess.mp3
    Obamabots 3d term.mp3
    Obamas Al Roker idiot.mp3
    Obamas walk blitzer waves.mp3
  Bird is the word.mp3
  Chiners
    Pres Carter on fuck chiners.mp3
  Elite$
    Prince H killing machine.mp3
    Prince h-NBC protec#82A420B.mp3
  Hillary on the Hill
    Hillary Africa-home#82A4110.mp3
    Hillary Africa-only#82A410D.mp3
    Hillary Africa-Rand#82A4111.mp3
    Hillary at Johnson.mp3
    Hillary chokes up.mp3
    Hillary Diane Sawyer swoons.mp3
    Hillary I never sai#82A4107.mp3
    Hillary on Mali.mp3
    Hillary seals dad filmmaker.mp3
    Hillary Sept 14 cli#82A410B.mp3
  JCD Clips
    AMY GOODMAN GUSHING.mp3
    classic kiss ass.mp3
    dirty wars beyond bush.mp3
    FULL CLIP OF HILLARY.mp3
    gwen ifel blows chance.mp3
    Hillary CIA under bus.mp3
    horrid respponse to#82A4097.mp3
    Joe Kennedy.mp3
    Lanza and his pisto#82A409F.mp3
    LEGAL CASE FOR DRONES.mp3
    nothing can be further from.mp3
    Pat robertson brouhaha.mp3
    two broke girls.mp3
  Mali
    Carney-President Clinton.mp3
  NA-481-Art-BIG.png
  Obama Nation
    obama not the truth.3.mp3
  Shut Up Slave
    780226-bindi-essay.pdf
    Sex offenders allow#82A424D.mp3
  Squirrel
    North Korea Aims for the US.mp3
  Vaccine$
    Piers Flu Shot-oz-yoakim.mp3
  War on Ammo
    Texas shooting Drill.1.mp3