Tuesday, March 31, 2009

ontario california tent city residents required to wear wristbands

ontario california tent city residents required to wear wristbandsfrom latimes: Tent City residents gather as the city of Ontario starts the process of sorting out who may stay and who must leave... The aim is to reduce the number of people living there from over 400 to 170... Officials begin thinning out the encampment, saying the city can provide space only for those who once lived there and can prove it... Dozens of Ontario police and code enforcement officers descended upon the homeless encampment known as Tent City early Monday, separating those who could stay from those to be evicted. Large, often confused, crowds formed ragged lines behind police barricades where officers handed out color-coded wristbands. Blue meant they were from Ontario and could remain. Orange indicated they had to provide more proof to avoid ejection, and white meant they had a week to leave.

Monday, March 30, 2009

ron paul debates 'war on drugs' supporter

from raw replay: Rep. Ron Paul debates the failure of the war on drugs with Heritage Foundation’s Ernest Istook. This video is from CNN’s Campbell Brown, broadcast Mar. 26, 2009.

update1: media getting high on pot legalization
from nbc washington: It may be too soon to call it a movement. But when two of the nation's most revered columnists write columns on the same day advocating for the legalization of marijuana there's definitely something in the air.

update2: marijuana helps in battle against cancer
from afp: The main chemical in marijuana appears to aid in the destruction of brain cancer cells, offering hope for future anti-cancer therapies, researchers in Spain wrote in a study released Thursday. The authors from the Complutense University in Madrid, working with scientists from other universities, found that the active component of marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), causes cancer cells to undergo a process called autophagy - the breakdown that occurs when the cell essentially self-digests. The research, which appears in the April edition of US-published Journal of Clinical Investigation, demonstrates that THC and related "cannabinoids" appear to be "a new family of potential antitumoral agent." The authors wrote that the chemical may prove useful in the development of future "antitumoral agents." The scientists conducted their research on mice, first stimulating the growth of cancer in the lab animals, then injecting them with a daily dose of THC near the site of their tumors. The researchers also analyzed the tumors of two patients in an experimental trial looking at the effects of THC on a highly aggressive form of brain tumor, and saw findings "in line with the preclinical evidence" first observed in the laboratory mice.

arrests & protests in advance of london g20

5 activists arrested in g20 'bomb plot' as london goes into lockdown for the arrival of anglo-american oligarchs & banksters
5 activists arrested in g20 'bomb plot' as london goes into lockdown for the arrival of anglo-american oligarchs & bankstersfrom daily mail: Five people suspected of terrorist offences are being questioned by police today in connection with an alleged plot to target the G20 summit. Three men and two women have been arrested under the Terrorism Act in Plymouth over the last three days after officers uncovered a cache of weapons and suspected extremist material during a house search. They are being questioned over claims they planned to target the meeting of the world's most powerful political leaders in London later this week. The five were held after officers found weapons, imitation weapons, suspicious devices and 'material relating to political ideology' during a house search, a police spokesman said.

5 held over suspected plot to disrupt g20 summit with explosives
from cryptogon: How will you know the difference between false flag operations and war? False flag operations are symbolic. The main goal is to create fear and obedience to state authorities through the use of propaganda in the aftermath of the event. The driving propaganda, after the fact, is the main payload, not the event itself. While it is possible that imbeciles will target individual executives for assassination or use improvised explosives to create work for janitors in corporate lobbies, these types of attacks are likely to be acts of state because of their utility for propaganda purposes. Think about it: Who benefits from attacks like these? The stoned white Rastafarian, soy people with Bozo the Clown wigs and Fair Trade hacky sacks will get the blame. It’s all “the terrorists,” right? War, on the other hand, targets critical infrastructure. Examples: Financial transaction clearing is shut down. Stock markets are shut down. Communications systems are damaged or destroyed. Energy distribution systems are damaged or destroyed. While it’s possible that attacks of this nature could be false flag, it’s not likely because unmanageable, cascading effects could result. So, as the situation continues to devolve, expect corporate states to try to short circuit street level activists with false flag operations and heavy follow on propaganda linking them with “the terrorists.”

london protest sparks fears of riots
london protest sparks fears of riotsfrom russia today: Some 35,000 protesters have marched in London prior to next week's G-20 economic summit in the city. They're demanding that world leaders protect workers' rights, improve aid for developing countries and take more action on climate change. The Put People First march was organised by the Rainbow Alliance of more than 100 trade unions, church groups and charities. Armed with banners and flags, demonstrators marched for several hours through the heart of London. The colorful procession ended up in Hyde Park at a peaceful afternoon rally. Tony Robinson, one of the participants, addressed the crowd: “We won’t accept the old politics – we won’t accept the old financial institutions! From now on we are going to put people first!

Sunday, March 29, 2009

corbett report: episode081 - surviving the collapse

corbett report: episode081 - surviving the collapsefrom corbett report: We all know that the economy is falling apart and we all know we're in for a summer of discontent, but now what? Is there anything we can do to prepare ourselves for what is coming? Join us this week on The Corbett Report as we explore the three G's of self-sufficiency, talk to international forecasters and backyard warriors, and re-learn the old verity that forewarned is forearmed.

download episode081 [54.8mb mp3]

dhs & predator drones are fighting the red river flood

dhs & predator drones are fighting the red river floodfrom star tribune: The flood fighters in the Red River have added a high-tech weapon to their arsenal this year. A Predator unmanned drone aircraft, on loan from the Department of Homeland Security, is being used to survey the valley for the first time and give officials a quicker assessment than ever before of the flood's effects on the ground. "We think it will help the emergency management folks pinpoint the areas they have to pay the most attention to," said Juan Munoz-Torres, a spokesman for the department. An initial aerial survey of the valley was flown last weekend from south of Fargo to the Canadian border - before the flood caused any substantial damage. A second flight will be launched as soon as this weekend.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

ground zero tower loses 'freedom'; will be 'one world trade center'

ground zero tower loses 'freedom'; will be 'one world trade center'from ap: The Freedom Tower is out. One World Trade Center is in. The agency that owns ground zero confirmed Thursday that the signature skyscraper replacing the towers destroyed on Sept. 11 will be more commonly known as One World Trade Center. The building under construction at the site was named the Freedom Tower in the first ground zero master plan. Officials at the time said the tallest, most symbolic of five planned towers at the site would demonstrate the country's triumph over terrorism. Port Authority of New York and New Jersey chairman Anthony Coscia says the agency refers to the building as One World Trade Center. He says it's the building's legal name and "the one that's easiest for people to identify with."

Friday, March 27, 2009

media monarchy episode116

listen live to the revere radio network



some of the clouds are not clouds on episode116 of media monarchy & it's coming around as we're watching chicago cops & the private police, dark knight debts, death & destruction, lucky larry & the continuing coverups of 9/11, wamu truth & the econocrash crisitunity, obamessiah & the apostles of war, budgets, drugs, cyberwar videogames & the uk x-files + artificially sweetened music from superdrag and tons more...

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listen live to the portland radio authoritymedia monarchy is originally broadcast live on the portland radio authority & revere radio network every friday at 10am pacific/1pm eastern...

plus, you can always get podcasts of previous episodes thanks to itunes, radio4all.net & archive.org

Thursday, March 26, 2009

interview w/ spencer thayer of chicagocopwatch.org

interview w/ spencer thayer of chicagocopwatch.org'to observe & protect' is our motto on this special interview episode from media monarchy featuring a conversation with spencer thayer of chicago cop watch... the possible privatization of the police, parking meter rage, blue light cameras, m4 carbines & the coming summer of class/rage are discussed with disgust as we look for ways to get involved & work together because 'these streets are watching'.

geopolitikal updates: pretending, posturing & provocations

putin pretends to be tourist during reagan '88 visit to moscow*
putin pretending to be a tourist during reagan’s 1988 visit to moscowrussian planes again fly over US navy*
china to launch joint antiterror drill w/ russia*
making a killing: china tops execution list*
100 american soldiers arriving in philippines for wargames*
milosevic death squad leader 'was top cia agent'*
peres contradicts obama, urges iranians to ‘topple’ their govt*
france to compensate nuclear test victims*
bangladesh orphanage run by uk charity trained jihadis*
north korea readies missile, makes new threat*
japan has decided to shoot down north korea missile*
north korea warns against un action on rocket*
US deploys warships as north korea prepares to launch missile*

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

econocrash: crisitunity!

will US financial woes lead to new world order?

convicted inside trader & elite finance oligarch george soros says: i'm having a very good crisis
convicted inside trader & elite finance oligarch george soros says: i'm having a very good crisisfrom daily mail: A hedge fund manager who predicted the global credit crunch has said the financial crisis has been 'stimulating' and the culmination of his life's work. George Soros, who predicted the global financial crisis twice before, was one of the few people to anticipate and prepare for the current economic collapse. Mr Soros said his prediction meant he was better able to brace his Quantum investment fund against the global storm. But other investors failed to take notice of his prediction and his decision to come out of retirement in 2007 to manage the fund made him $US2.9 billion. And while the financial crisis continued to deepen across the globe, the 78-year-old still managed to make $1.1 billion last year. "It is, in a way, the culminating point of my life’s work," he told national newspaper The Australian.


audio: peter schiff: you're better off as a renter

china voices support for new global currency to replace dollar
china voices support for new global currency to replace dollarfrom paul joseph watson: China has expressed support for Russia’s proposal to hand the IMF the power to create a new supra-national global currency in response to the call for an alternative to the U.S. dollar as the world reserve currency. Last week the Kremlin called for the “creation of a supranational reserve currency to be issued by international institutions as part of a reform of the global financial system.” The Russian proposal stated that the IMF should take the lead in establishing a “superreserve currency accepted by the whole of the international community.” China today expressed support for the initiative and said it was ready to discuss the proposal at the upcoming G20 meeting in London on April 2.

video: how the markets really work

geithner pressed on goldman sachs connections
from raw replay: Rep. Maxine Waters asked Secretary Geithner about his connections to Goldman Sachs at a House banking hearing today. Goldman Sachs is known to have received bailout money given to A.I.G. Goldman may have participated in the government decision to provide the original bailout money to A.I.G.

ron paul predicts 15yr depression

stiglitz: geithner plan will rob US taxpayers
from reuters: The U.S. government plan to rid banks of toxic assets will rob American taxpayers by exposing them to too much risk and is unlikely to work as long as the economy remains weak, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz said on Tuesday. "The Geithner plan is very badly flawed," Stiglitz told Reuters in an interview during a Credit Suisse Asian Investment Conference in Hong Kong. U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's plan to wipe up to US$1 trillion in bad debt off banks' balance sheets, unveiled on Monday, offered "perverse incentives", Stiglitz said. The U.S. government is basically using the taxpayer to guarantee against downside risk on the value of these assets, while giving the upside, or potential profits, to private investors, he said. "Quite frankly, this amounts to robbery of the American people. I don't think it's going to work because I think there'll be a lot of anger about putting the losses so much on the shoulder of the American taxpayer."

flashback: stiglitz: crisis as bad or worse as great depression

derivities 'godfather' says blow 'em all up'
derivities 'godfather' says blow 'em all up'from webster tarpley: Myron Scholes, the creator of the infamous Black-Scholes model for pricing derivatives which won the Nobel Prize and then almost destroyed the world banking system with the Long Term Capital Management bankruptcy of 1998, has now partially understood that his derivative creations are a Frankenstein monster. He recommends wiping out the current crop of toxic cds derivatives. The only hope of world economic recovery is indeed by wiping out, freezing, deleting, shredding, and otherwise destroying ALL of the $1.5 quadrillion derivatives bubble. Otherwise, the London G-20 will repeat the failure of the 1932 Lausanne conference, which needed to wipe out reparations and war debts left over from World War I in order to end the First World Depression. To end the Second World Depression, wipe out and permanently ban derivatives now!

gay bars change acts to appeal to straight customers

more women needing cash go from jobless to topless
more women needing cash go from jobless to toplessfrom ap: As a bartender and trainer at a national restaurant chain, Rebecca Brown earned a couple thousand dollars in a really good week. Now, as a dancer at Chicago's Pink Monkey gentleman's club, she makes almost that much in one good night. The tough job market is prompting a growing number of women across the country to dance in strip clubs, appear in adult movies or pose for magazines like Hustler. Employers across the adult entertainment industry say they're seeing an influx of applications from women who, like Brown, are attracted by the promise of flexible schedules and fast cash. Many have college degrees and held white-collar jobs until the economy soured.

audio: army platoon hires day laborers to fill out patrols

more young people lining up for govt jobs

police state int'l: embedded empires, mass graves & inciting mcveighs

is america already a police state?

737 US military bases = global empire
from global research: With more than 2,500,000 U.S. personnel serving across the planet and military bases spread across each continent, it's time to face up to the fact that our American democracy has spawned a global empire.

schenectady mayor considers martial law over police woes

schenectady mayor responds to martial law report

marines embedded at los angeles county coroner's office
marines embedded at los angeles county coroner's officefrom latimes: Marine Corps Reserve Lance Cpl. Matthew Barlow rides along with Los Angeles County coroner's personnel to retrieve the body of a homeless man found in Hazard Park in Boyle Heights. He is among 14 Marines who were embedded at the coroner's office for three weeks to learn how to collect bodies and personal belongings and identify the dead. The troops are in a special unit that soon will deploy to Iraq, where they will receive the bodies of fallen troops and prepare them for the flight home to the United States.

why the end of america is closer than you think

maher says talk of fema camps could incite the mcveighs

'wonder woman' says 'right wing' is 'spreading hate'

guardsmen train for urban conflict
guardsmen train for urban conflictfrom nevada daily mail: More than 200 soldiers from the newly formed 1st Battalion, 138th Infantry Regiment of the Missouri Army National Guard came to Camp Clark from across the state on Saturday, March 14, to take part in training in several different combat scenarios. This is the first time Missouri has had an infantry unit in more than 35 years. The new unit, headquartered in Kansas City, has companies and detachments across the state and will have more than 800 soldiers when it reaches full strength, according to a Missouri Army National Guard press release.

mass graves being prepared in arizona?
(update: video footage of 'phoenix mass grave site')

britain trains civilian anti-terror force
from presstv: Britain has launched a clandestine alliance that recruits citizens and trains them to act as undercover agents against terror suspects. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the initiative is vital for safety in the UK. According to him, tens of thousands of civilians have already been trained for the purpose. Brown said Sunday that the individuals range "from security guards to store managers" who know how to "deal with an incident and know what to watch for as people go about their daily business in crowded places such as stations, airports, shopping centers and sports grounds." British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said the strategy, called Contest Two, would be more open than past counter-terrorism efforts.

cia has 3,000 docs on torture tapes

dozens in cps have criminal records
from sacbee: Drug possession, domestic violence, repeatedly driving drunk, assault with a deadly weapon – any one of these charges or convictions could lead child protective services workers to remove children from a home or force a parent into counseling. But all of those crimes and many others appear in the backgrounds of employees of Sacramento County's Child Protective Services, a Bee investigation has found. A review of the agency's 969 workers employed as of Oct. 1 found that at least 68 individuals – 7 percent of the work force – have criminal records in Sacramento County alone. The number is likely to be even higher because some names were too common to retrieve all criminal complaints linked to them, and records in other counties were not searched.

the public is 'finally waking up' to the fascist 'one-party govt'
(but thinkprogress says it like it's a bad thing)


giant shipment of weapons seized at airport
giant shipment of weapons seized at airportfrom local12: Customs and Border Protection now say a paperwork error may be partly to blame for guns it confiscated at the international airport. The weapons were seized on Monday. Officers say the shipment was listed as "toys" from Turkey. It contained sixty 12-gauge shotguns and 177 pistols. Federal agents say they tested a shotgun and it fired live ammo. The pistols are designed for theatrical use. No charges have been filed, because the investigation is on-going.

missouri apologizes to paul, barr & baldwin over miac report & missouri retracts police memo which labeled activists as 'militia'

despite protests, dekalb goes with marines school
from ajc: DeKalb County school officials are forging ahead with plans to open a first-of-its-kind military-style public high school, despite a growing campaign by activists upset at the involvement of the U.S. Marines. “It’s the worst thing that’s ever happened in Georgia education,” said Michael Burke, a DeKalb resident and spokesman for the Georgia Veterans Alliance, a group that aligns itself with the work of the Georgia Peace and Justice Coalition, among others. “The whole thing is just a ploy” to help the Marines recruit, Burke said. “We expect to fight it tooth and nail.” That response irritated DeKalb school system officials. They said it stereotypes the proposed Marine school and students who may be interested in it. The protests — mounted largely through e-mails and letters — have not deterred them, they said.

force congress to end the 'state of emergency'...
norad move raises concerns*
15 more cities on homeland security terror-risk list*
nashville mayor pushes new 'emergency volunteer initiative'*
americans largely silent as their nation is systematically destroyed*

9/11 victims' kin seek release of secret documents

9/11 victims' kin seek release of secret documentsfrom boston herald: Three families who lost loved ones in the 9/11 terrorist attacks head to court today to plead with a federal judge to release a million pages of documents detailing the mass murder of nearly 3,000 Americans. Those secret papers, one Bay State family member told the Herald, are “so bad you won’t believe it... It was out control,” Paul Keating, 45, said of security on Sept. 11, 2001, including at Logan International Airport in Boston where two ill-fated jets left on a collision course with infamy. “My mother went through the most public murder you could imagine... and I’ve been putting up with this crap for seven years,” Keating said of his refusal to settle his case out of court. Keating’s 72-year-old mother, Barbara, a Framingham native, died aboard American Airlines Flight 11. Keating is making legal history today, along with the families of Mark Bavis, 31, and Sara Low, 28, by asking Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein in Federal District Court in Manhattan to lift the order keeping all the evidence hidden. Low was a Boston-based flight attendant on Flight 11; Bavis of West Newton, a passenger on United Airlines Flight 175. Both jets left Logan with hijackers on board and were slammed into the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers. “Sept. 11 should not have happened,” said attorney Donald A. Migliori, whose firm represents all three families. He said the secret papers include depositions of former Massport Executive Director Virginia Buckingham and former Logan security chief Joe Lawless. If the documents are released, plans are in the works to make a public archive. As for the three families, they vow to hold out for public trials next year - refusing any share of $7 billion in secret settlements to expose how 19 terrorists brought a nation to its knees.

kin lose bid for release of 9/11 info
from nydailynews: A Manhattan judge on Wednesday dealt a blow to families of 9/11 victims seeking the release of documents they say will reveal how the 19 terrorists slipped past airport security. Judge Alvin Hellerstein rejected three families' request to create a public trove of documents turned over by airlines and security companies during the course of litigation. Hellerstein said forcing the turnover of the documents would bog down efforts to bring to trial suits filed by the families who've refused to accept a monetary settlement of their claims. "Right now, I want to move these cases to trial," Hellerstein said. "That's my goal." There remain just three holdout families out of nearly 100 who chose to pursue litigation rather than accept a settlement from the Sept. 11th Victim Compensation Fund. Hellerstein did not issue a ruling but indicated to the families' lawyer Donald Migliori that he likely would rule against them. Hellerstein's decision stung Mike Low, 66, whose flight attendant daughter Sara died aboard American Airlines Flight 11. He hopes the documents will help others learn more about their loved ones' final moments. Two months ago, Low learned that his daughter relayed the seat numbers of the hijackers to the ground so that federal agents could identify them.

obamessiah updates: secrets, lies and the give & take act

obama swaps teleprompters for giant tv monitor

obama is a 'manchurian candidate' because he uses a teleprompter

o'reilly: if cheney really had an 'executive assassination squad,' he would have killed seymour hersh a long time ago

'give' act strips 1st amendment from 'volunteers'
'give' act strips 1st amendment from 'volunteers'from kurt nimmo: On March 18, Rep. George Miller, a Democrat from California, tacked an amendment on H.R. 1388, entitled “Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education Act,” or GIVE (to government), Obama’s plan to require mandatory service for all able young people. Miller’s amendment will “prohibit organizations from attempting to influence legislation; organize or engage in protests, petitions, boycotts, or strikes; and assist, promote, or deter union organizing,” according to GovTrack.us, a site that tracks Congress. In other words, Obama’s “volunteer corps” act, passed by the House with a 321-105 margin and requiring the government to develop a plan for indentured servitude, would deny millions of people their right to oppose and organize against government legistation under the First Amendment. “This is as close to a sedition act, a violation of 1st Amendment rights, as has been proposed in recent history. A basic right as a part of our natural, inalienable rights, is to resist government. Our founders not only knew it was a right but it was a responsibility. This legislation begins to break that down significantly,” writes Gary Wood for the Examiner.

obama puts 'immigration reform' on docket
(or, more 'retroactive immunity'...)


obama's approach to protecting 'state secrets' at issue
obama's approach to protecting 'state secrets' at issuefrom washington post: Civil liberties advocates are accusing the Obama administration of forsaking campaign rhetoric and adopting the same expansive arguments that his predecessor used to cloak some of the most sensitive intelligence-gathering programs of the Bush White House. The first signs have come just weeks into the new administration, in a case filed by an Oregon charity suspected of funding terrorism. President Obama's Justice Department not only sought to dismiss the lawsuit by arguing that it implicated "state secrets," but also escalated the standoff - proposing that government lawyers might take classified documents from the court's custody to keep the charity's representatives from reviewing them. The suit by the al-Haramain Islamic Foundation has proceeded further than any other in challenging the use of warrantless wiretaps, threatening to expose the inner workings of that program. It is the second time the new Justice Department has followed its predecessors in claiming the state-secrets privilege, which would allow the government to exclude evidence in a civil case on grounds that it jeopardizes national security.

is 'war on terror' being retired? no! gordon brown says "we are about to take the war against terror to a new level!"

update: US officials say no ban on 'global war on terror' as 4,000 more US troops to be sent to afghanistan as 'trainers'

obama doesn’t talk like bush, he just acts like him
from ted rall: You can’t blame Dick Cheney for being annoyed at Barack Obama. Obama is closing Guantánamo. He’s ordering the CIA to interrogate prisoners according to the rules written in the Army Field Manual, which doesn’t allow torture. He’s even phasing out such classic Bushian phrases as “enemy combatant” and “war on terror.” But the dark prince of neoconservatism should relax. Obama’s inaugural address may have promised to “reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals,” but — in all the ways that matter — he’s keeping all of Bush’s outrageous policies in place. Sure, he talks a good game about “moving forward.” But nothing has really changed. From reading your e-mails to asserting the right to assassinate American citizens to bailing out companies whose executives pay themselves big bonuses, Obama’s changes are nothing but toothless rhetoric.

nsc's jim jones: 'i take my daily orders from dr kissinger'

obama nominates former freddie exec as 'housing commissioner'
from cnsnews: President Barack Obama has named a former Freddie Mac executive to head the federal housing commission. The White House on Monday named David Stevens as assistant secretary at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The position requires Senate confirmation and would put Stevens in charge of the government's housing mortgage-insurance program. Stevens now is the head of Long and Foster Companies, a real estate and mortgage firm. He previously worked at World Savings bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. At Freddie Mac, Stevens was a senior vice president in charge of affordable lending, sales and marketing.

scotus watches 'hillary: the movie' (and you can, too)

obama opens secret laboratories to germany
(like truman & the paperclip nazis?)

obama opens secret laboratories to germanyfrom spiegel: The Americans have always kept their research into anti-terrorism technologies top secret - until now. A new treaty between Germany and the US will give German scientists access to highly restricted laboratories. It was a productive start to the week for US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and German Research Minister Annette Schavan. The two women met at 7:15 a.m. on Monday for breakfast at a five-star hotel in Berlin to discuss one of the most explosive issues in the era of international terrorism: How can the population and infrastructure be protected against catastrophic attacks without Western democracies being turned into Orwellian regimes? ... The research offensive began after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 and has been fueled with huge sums of money ever since. Universities, companies and secret laboratories are carrying out research into highly sensitive surveillance cameras, bomb detectors, biometric analysis software and vaccines against biological weapons, among other things. Until now, neither the general public nor the governments of the US's Western allies have learned much about the contents of that research.

obama secretly ends program that let pilots carry guns (or did he?)

is there anything obama can do about US collapse?

US 2010 apocalypse avoidable

new 'ufo secrets' are revealed in uk defense files

new 'ufo secrets' are revealed in uk defense filesfrom telegraph: Declassified government files have revealed how Ministry of Defence (MoD) officials launched a top-level probe into a diamond shaped aircraft seen hovering above a Scottish village. Officials were so alarmed by the object, which was captured on camera, that they broke with established procedures and referred the sighting to ministers. They also overrode rules prohibiting investigations into UFO sightings not considered an immediate threat to national security, and spent more than a year trying to crack the still unexplained mystery. The disclosure about the incident is contained in more than 1,000 pages of official documentation, detailing hundreds of UFO sightings between 1987 and 1993, which has been made available publicly at the National Archives in Kew for the first time today. Their release comes at a time of increased reports of UFO activity in Britain.

start w/ the highlights guide to help navigate your way through the files: DEFE 24/1938, DEFE 31/176, DEFE 31/177, DEFE 31/178, DEFE 31/179, DEFE 31/180, DEFE 31/181

harvard economist: legalize all drugs to stop border violence

from raw replay: A Harvard economist says that legalizing marijuana would not go far enough to stop border violence. Jeffrey Miron told CNN’s Kiran Chetry that all drugs should be legalized. “A lot of the violence we’re seeing and a lot of the underground market is not related to marijuana but related to the other drugs. If we only did marijuana we would only have a small impact on the violence and corruption and disruption of other countries that is caused by U.S. prohibition of drugs and the U.S. forcing prohibition of drugs on other countries,” he said. This video is from CNN’s American Morning, broadcast Mar. 24, 2009.

obama plans anti-drug effort on border to aid mexico
obama plans anti-drug effort on border to aid mexicofrom washington post: President Obama is finalizing plans to move federal agents, equipment and other resources to the border with Mexico to support Mexican President Felipe Calderón's campaign against violent drug cartels, according to U.S. security officials. In Obama's first major domestic security initiative, administration officials are expected to announce as early as this week a crackdown on the supply of weapons and cash moving from the United States into Mexico that helps sustain that country's narco-traffickers, officials said. The announcement sets the stage for Mexico City visits by three Cabinet members, beginning Wednesday with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and followed next week by Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

video update1: obama opposes marijuana legalization
from raw replay: President Obama told a virtual town hall on Thursday that legalizing marijuana is the wrong economic strategy for the country. The White House press corps pressed Robert Gibbs if Obama meant to suggest that he was open to marijuana legalization. Gibbs was quick to say that Obama opposed legalization. “He doesn’t think that is the right plan for America,” he said.

video update2: legalizing pot would take away 70% of drug cartel profits
from russia today: Legalizing marijuana would eliminate the huge profits taken in by the Mexican drug cartels, which are threatening the stability of Mexico and the U.S., said Aaron Houston, a pro-pot advocate in Washington.

obamessiah says we don't need a one world currency

from raw replay: President Obama told Fox’s Major Garrett that he does not believe that there is a need for a world currency. This video is from MSNBC, broadcast Mar24, 2009.

obama denounces global currency while creating the means for its intro
from paul joseph watson: Obama, Geithner and Bernanke yesterday publicly defended the dollar and denounced proposals by China and Russia to supplant the greenback with a new global currency, and yet the very policies of the Obama administration, the Treasury and the Federal Reserve are creating the perfect storm for the dollar’s death and its replacement with a new international reserve currency. As we reported on Monday, China has expressed support for Russia’s proposal to hand the IMF the power to create a new supra-national global currency in response to the call for an alternative to the U.S. dollar as the world reserve currency. Last week the Kremlin called for the “creation of a supranational reserve currency to be issued by international institutions as part of a reform of the global financial system.” Yesterday, Barack Obama, Timothy Geithner and Ben Bernanke all separately expressed support for the dollar and denounced the Chinese-Russian proposal for a new global currency... In the case of Obama, Geithner and Bernanke, actions certainly speak louder than words, because while publicly denouncing the demise of the dollar and the call for a new global currency, their every policy is creating the very means and justification for its introduction. Bernanke himself has vehemently supported efforts to create a global regulatory framework that would act as the vehicle for the introduction of a new global currency to replace the dollar. He has echoed the sentiments of Blair, Brown, Merkel, Sarkozy and others in calling for a new world economic order and “A strategy that regulates the financial system as a whole, in a holistic way, not just its individual components,” Bernanke told a CFR audience at a speech earlier this month.

update1: geithner says US 'quite open' to a global currency
from bloomberg: Secretary Timothy Geithner sent the dollar tumbling with comments about China’s ideas for overhauling the global monetary system, only to drive it back up by affirming that it should remain the world’s reserve currency. Geithner was asked at a Council on Foreign Relations event in New York yesterday about People’s Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan’s call for a new international reserve currency. He said while he had not read Zhou’s proposal, he understood it as a plan “designed to increase the use of the IMF’s special drawing rights. And we’re actually quite open to that.”

update2: bachmann bill would ban global currency
from the hill: Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) has introduced legislation that would "bar the dollar from being replace by any foreign currency." A statement from Bachmann's website: “Yesterday, during a Financial Services Committee hearing, I asked Secretary Geithner if he would denounce efforts to move towards a global currency and he answered unequivocally that he would," said Bachmann. "And President Obama gave the nation the same assurances. But just a day later, Secretary Geithner has left the option on the table. I want to know which it is. The American people deserve to know." On Monday, Geithner and Bernanke both rejected the idea of a global currency in Congressional testimony. But in remarks to the Council on Foreign Relations yesterday, Geithner indicated he was open to the idea.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

prague's franz kafka intl named world's most alienating airport

from onion news network: Business Week ranked the airport last in customer satisfaction due to long delays, bureaucratic employees, and overall oppressive atmosphere.

former cnn anchor moves to the onion
from the lede: In yet another sign that the line between real news and fake news is getting thinner, one of CNN’s main anchors during the 1980s and 1990s, Bobbie Battista, has taken a step through the looking glass and can now be seen anchoring reports online for ONN, The Onion News Network.

police may be privatized by foreign company in chicago

...like that crazy movie where the detroit police are run by a private corporation which values profit over people. but that's just sci-fi, it could never happen in real life...

police may be privatized by foreign company in chicagofrom cbs: They're private security guards, already on patrol, but they may soon have the powers of Chicago Police officers. As CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine reports, the private security officers now on patrol on the city's Far South Side are expected to have their powers expanded as part of a citywide ordinance now being prepared. But officials are questioning whether this means public safety is being outsourced. Mayor Richard M. Daley has already privatized many city functions. The Chicago Skyway has been leased to a Spanish conglomerate. Midway Airport is run by a Canadian company. The parking meters were sold to a firm run by Morgan Stanley, and as a result, the cost of parking in the city has skyrocketed. But the question is whether another foreign firm providing cops on patrol may be privatization gone too far.

flashbacks: chicago police to use m4 carbines, chicagocopwatch.org goes national after capturing bus incident, homeland security's 'project shield' riddled with problems & illinois gov may send natl guard into chicago to fight crime

video update: parking meter revolt in chicago
from cbs2chicago: They are taking more of your quarters every day. And Chicagoans are in revolt. While some are saying enough by avoiding them, others are taking out their frustrations on the parking meters - literally! CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine reports with the anger behind the new meter rate increases.
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