Month: June 2013

Before It’s News

Even with the most cursory examination, lending can be seen as mostly a no-risk, ‘asset-secured’ business, in its simplest form seeing borrowers liable only for the original loan, which is secured against the borrower’s assets, plus interest.

When the loan is payed back, the bank profits in the accepted perception of what a bank does for a living – it gives low interest to depositors and takes a slightly higher interest from borrowers, their profit being the difference in interest rates.   Continue reading “A Short, Sharp, Close Look at Ordinary Commercial Banking Profits”

JB Campbell: Extremism Online

That used to be the question.  Today, the answer’s pretty obvious, due to admissions by the IRS’ top extortionists:  “No mas.”  The main admission, other than that the 5th Amendment is for the protection of innocent people, was that the income tax is voluntary.

I’m sorry to admit that I did volunteer to file and pay one time, back in ’76 for the year 1975.  That was my first year as a drilling foreman with ARCO, starting out in Hobbs, New Mexico.  I’d made pretty good money as a longshoreman and diver in Texas in the early ‘70s before two years of working for nothing in Rhodesia, but it had never occurred to me to file a tax return, since taxes were withheld from my paycheck and I just figured, Keep it, you rat bastards.  I’m not going to okay you robbing me by asking for some of it back.  While I did “volunteer,” I didn’t know it.  I’d figured I had a gun to my head.   Continue reading “To Pay or Not to Pay”

Buzz Flash – by Mark Karlin

As reported in a Thursday evening, June 27, BuzzFlash at Truthout update to the chilling San Diego (SD) city attorney prosecution of Jeff Olson, an SD Judge placed an unprecedented gag order on a misdemeanor trial — in particular muzzling Olson. But it also apparently included witnesses, the jury and others.

Judge Howard Shore also chastised the Mayor of San Diego, Bob Filner. Filner apparently in the judge’s eyes had the temerity to call the trial of Olson a waste of time and taxpayer money. According to the San Diego Reader, Filner sent out a memorandum on June 20 that read in part:   Continue reading “San Diego Judge Puts Unprecedented Gag Order on Sidewalk Chalk Protestor Trial”

Freedom Outpost – by Dean Garrison

Looking away won’t make this problem disappear. Your government is in bed with terrorists. If you can look at this picture without wanting to vomit then you are obviously tougher than most. The Facebook Page Syrian Truth posted this picture on June 21st. Here is a translation of the verbiage with the photo courtesy of Raymond Ibrahim:

According to Syrian Truth’s Facebook page, the above photo is of a toddler living in the Deir ez-Zor Governate in eastern Syria, bordering Iraq. Continue reading “Toddler Forced To Watch Execution Of Parents While Chained By Obama-Backed Syrian Rebels”

Oath Keepers – by Elias Alias

Our man in South-West Oregon is Tom McKirgan. I have enjoyed speaking with, and working with, Tom this year as he pushes the envelope for freedom in his neck of the woods. Right now, Tom is working in tandem with PANDA Oregon’s State Team Leader Shane Ozbun of Eugene, Oregon, to fight at the Coos County Commission for a resolution banning the NDAA-2012 in Coos County. Of the three Commissioners, one is friendly to the cause of rejecting/nullifying NDAA-2012, but the other two are opposed to such a resolution.   Continue reading “PANDA and OATH KEEPERS Under Fire In Oregon”

New York Daily News

South Africans protesting a visit to their country by U.S. President Barack Obama rallied on Friday a few blocks from well-wishers at a hospital in Pretoria where anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela is critically ill.

Obama, on a three-nation tour of Africa, was due to arrive in South Africa on Friday with White House officials saying they will defer to Mandela’s family on whether the first African-American president of the United States will visit South Africa’s first black president.   Continue reading “Protesters rally against Obama’s South Africa visit near hospital where critically ill Nelson Mandela is receiving treatment”

The Journal – by Michael Holz

In a recent column, columnist Sean O’Leary angrily derides several West Virginia county sheriffs whom he claims have announced that they will not enforce federal gun control laws. He states that “their oaths require the enforcement of laws that are legally enacted and that have not been found to be unconstitutional by the courts.” I suppose prohibition would fall into this category.

He also attacks delegates Eric Householder and John Overington for introducing state legislation that will “declare null and void, all federal gun control legislation” (Householder) and “declares (Obamacare) unconstitutional and makes enforcement of its provisions a felony.” (Overington)   Continue reading “Delegates are defending rights”

Washington’s Blog – by H. Michael Sweeney, May 21, 2011

Preface: This handy set of rules covers most of the games which disinformation artists play on the Internet (and offline). When you know the tricks, you’ll be able to spot the games. Even if you’ve read this list before, you might be surprised at how useful it is to brush up on these tricks.

1. Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil. Regardless of what you know, don’t discuss it — especially if you are a public figure, news anchor, etc. If it’s not reported, it didn’t happen, and you never have to deal with the issues.   Continue reading “Twenty-Five Rules of Disinformation”

Fox News

The U.S. Park Police has lost track of a huge supply of handguns, rifles and shotguns, according to a report released Thursday on the law enforcement agency responsible for safeguarding the National Mall and critical American landmarks.

In the scathing report, the inspector general’s office of the Department of Interior faults staff at the agency for having no idea how many weapons they control and says the department has no clear policies or procedures for investigating missing weapons. The office said top managers, including the police chief, have shown a “lackadaisical attitude toward firearms management.”   Continue reading “US Park Police lost track of huge supply of weapons, report says”

Huffington Post

TEXARKANA, Texas — A Texas woman was indicted Friday on charges that she sent ricin-laced letters to President Barack Obama and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg in an attempt to frame her estranged husband, federal prosecutors said.

Shannon Richardson, 35, is charged with two counts of mailing a threatening communication and one count of making a threat against the president of the United States, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas said in a news release.   Continue reading “Obama Ricin Letters: Shannon Richardson, Texas Woman, Indicted For Threatening Mailings”

The Daily Caller – by Robby Soave

A Texas teenager who has been in jail since March faces an eight-year prison sentence because of a threatening joke he made while playing an online video game.

In February, Justin Carter was playing “League of Legends” — an online, multiplayer fantasy game — when another player wrote a comment calling him insane. Carter’s response, which he now deeply regrets, was intended as joke.   Continue reading “Texas teen makes violent joke during video game, is jailed for months”

Salina – by DIDI TANG and GILLIAN WONG

BEIJING (AP) — A tense minority region in China’s far west erupted in violence Friday for the second time in three days, barely hours after the government called the earlier unrest a “terrorist attack” and raised the death toll to 35.

State media gave few details in a brief dispatch about Friday’s unrest, saying it was “a violent attack” that took place on a pedestrian street in Hotan, a city in Xinjiang, a region that has seen China’s minority Uighurs clash with the ethnic Han majority. No details on casualties were released.   Continue reading “China’s west erupts in violence 2nd time in 3 days”

Medscape – by Leigh Page

It’s been a year since the US Supreme Court delivered its surprising 2-part decision on the Affordable Care Act, and physicians are just beginning to feel the effects.

While the justices upheld the individual mandate to buy health insurance, they weakened the ACA’s plans to expand Medicaid by some 16 million people. The June 28, 2012, decision ruled that the federal government could not force states to accept the Medicaid expansion.   Continue reading “Supreme Court ACA Ruling at 1 Year: Many States Fleeing Medicaid Expansion”

Gothamist – by Christopher Robbins

Executive Order 12333 and the National Security Act of 1947 prohibit the CIA from engaging in domestic spying. But according to a recently declassified report from the CIA’s inspector general, four CIA operatives were embedded with the NYPD in the years after 9/11, and one of them “believed he had ‘no limitations’ as far as what he could or could not do.”

According to the report, that agent, who was on unpaid leave from the CIA, worked for the NYPD at the request of Commissioner Ray Kelly and led “NYPD investigations, operations, and surveillance activities directed at US persons and non-US persons.” Another agent interviewed for the report stated he received “unfiltered” NYPD reports containing information lacking any foreign intelligence.   Continue reading “CIA Agent Had “No Limitations” Working With NYPD After 9/11″