Communist War Plan - Sun Tzu Strategy
13 years ago
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Friday, July 30, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Friday, July 16, 2010
Fiction and Reality
In text, the shared border between fiction and reality is long, undefined and unprotected. There are many infiltrators on both sides. Non-fiction is saturated with falsehoods and works of fiction can reveal the truth.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
U.S. Tomahawk Missiles Deployed Near China Send Message
At least we still have our subs -
U.S. Tomahawk Missiles Deployed Near China Send Message
TIME - By MARK THOMPSON / WASHINGTON – Fri Jul 9, 12:20 pm ET
http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/08599200237800
According to TIME - "Four of the 18 ballistic-missile subs no longer carry nuclear-tipped Trident missiles. Instead, they hold up to 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles each, capable of hitting anything within 1,000 miles with non-nuclear warheads."
What TIME left out was the fact that the Navy also has nuclear Tomahawks.
From the following - http://www.thefreelibrary.com/The+US+Navy&...or...-a08530213
The Tomahawk Family
To ensure optimal coverage of the various targets it might be called upon to attack, the US Navy has developed the following four versions of the BGM-109 family. * BGM-109A Tomahawk Land Attack Missile - Nuclear (TLAM-N)...
...Raising the Nuclear Threshold
With its family of BGM-109s the US Navy possesses a highly flexible weapon system whose wide operational capabilities have opened up totally new offensive capabilities. Some specialists maintain that the deployment of the Tomahawk is an additional deterrent effect to utilization of nuclear weapons. They point out in particular that the putting into service of the BGM-109 onboard US Navy surface ships and submarines gives the US Navy the means of reacting with measured response to any given threat worldwide and at any time.
Three subs off the coast, each armed with 154 potentially nuclear tomahawks is an imposing force.
U.S. Tomahawk Missiles Deployed Near China Send Message
TIME - By MARK THOMPSON / WASHINGTON – Fri Jul 9, 12:20 pm ET
http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/08599200237800
According to TIME - "Four of the 18 ballistic-missile subs no longer carry nuclear-tipped Trident missiles. Instead, they hold up to 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles each, capable of hitting anything within 1,000 miles with non-nuclear warheads."
What TIME left out was the fact that the Navy also has nuclear Tomahawks.
From the following - http://www.thefreelibrary.com/The+US+Navy&...or...-a08530213
The Tomahawk Family
To ensure optimal coverage of the various targets it might be called upon to attack, the US Navy has developed the following four versions of the BGM-109 family. * BGM-109A Tomahawk Land Attack Missile - Nuclear (TLAM-N)...
...Raising the Nuclear Threshold
With its family of BGM-109s the US Navy possesses a highly flexible weapon system whose wide operational capabilities have opened up totally new offensive capabilities. Some specialists maintain that the deployment of the Tomahawk is an additional deterrent effect to utilization of nuclear weapons. They point out in particular that the putting into service of the BGM-109 onboard US Navy surface ships and submarines gives the US Navy the means of reacting with measured response to any given threat worldwide and at any time.
Three subs off the coast, each armed with 154 potentially nuclear tomahawks is an imposing force.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Google says China has renewed its license
Search giant's local partner pledges to ‘provide no lawbreaking contents’ -
Even if Web surfers in mainland China click on Google.cn to get to the Hong Kong search engine, China's government can still block results by using technology controls commonly known as its "Great Firewall."
Losing the Chinese license would have been a significant setback for Google, even though China will only account for a fraction of the company's projected $28 billion in revenue this year. China already has emerged as the Internet's most populous market with nearly 400 million Web surfers, and usage is expected to rise for years to come.
The downside of compromise The latest compromise threatens to curtail Google's growth in China simply because it requires hundreds of millions of users to take an extra step to get to Google's search engine. The single additional click could diminish traffic and send Web surfers to more convenient options, such as the homegrown Baidu.com.
If that happens, Google will have fewer opportunities to show the ads that bring in virtually all its revenue.
Still, investors were relieved that Google get did not get kicked out of China's rapidly growing Internet market. Google shares edged up on the news, gaining $10.93, or 2.4 percent, to close Friday at $467.49. The stock remains down by about 25 percent so far this year, partly because of fallout from the company's stand against China's stringent censorship rules.
If that happens, Google will have fewer opportunities to show the ads that bring in virtually all its revenue.
Still, investors were relieved that Google get did not get kicked out of China's rapidly growing Internet market. Google shares edged up on the news, gaining $10.93, or 2.4 percent, to close Friday at $467.49. The stock remains down by about 25 percent so far this year, partly because of fallout from the company's stand against China's stringent censorship rules.
Read the entire story here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38163331/ns/technology_and_science/
In March Google was reported 99.9% certain to shutter China search engine.
Ten Ways We Are Being Tracked, Traced, and Databased
For a taste of face recognition - have a look at Google's Picasa-
DEBKAfile - Russian spy capture and swap likely negotiated for months.
Like most other experts, DEBKAfile's intelligence sources have no doubt that what the public saw was only a fragment of the full story. For instance, why if the White House was briefed in February about a possible deal to swap 11 Russian agents, was all the hoopla over their capture staged only six months later - or at all?
It would have been more normal for the eleven "moles" to be quietly picked up, tried behind closed doors and sent back to Moscow in a swap before the affair was published.
The Russians must have been sounded out on an exchange deal some time ago and its details negotiated well ahead, such as which agents the FBI would detain, the severity or lenience of the charges against them and, most importantly, which American agents the Russians would release in return. It does not stand to reason that this transaction was put in place as claimed only three or four days before the actual trade.
Our sources believe that hard bargaining was tough and spread over weeks, if not months, because what Moscow really wanted from the deal were not just the 11 semi-dormant moles who had done nothing important except living it up in the US, but two real heavyweights, the two most damaging Russian moles ever to undermine the CIA. Aldrich Ames was finally caught in the mid-1990s after climbing its ranks to become a senior officer and betraying the secrets of most US secret agencies to the KGB; and the FBI's Robert Hanssen, who was believed to have taken over from Ames as Moscow's top illegal agent in America. Both were sentenced to life without parole. Russia has never given up on securing the release of these two master-spies and most probably initiated the swap with the United States for this goal, our intelligence sources believe.
http://www.debka.com/article/8904/
It would have been more normal for the eleven "moles" to be quietly picked up, tried behind closed doors and sent back to Moscow in a swap before the affair was published.
The Russians must have been sounded out on an exchange deal some time ago and its details negotiated well ahead, such as which agents the FBI would detain, the severity or lenience of the charges against them and, most importantly, which American agents the Russians would release in return. It does not stand to reason that this transaction was put in place as claimed only three or four days before the actual trade.
Our sources believe that hard bargaining was tough and spread over weeks, if not months, because what Moscow really wanted from the deal were not just the 11 semi-dormant moles who had done nothing important except living it up in the US, but two real heavyweights, the two most damaging Russian moles ever to undermine the CIA. Aldrich Ames was finally caught in the mid-1990s after climbing its ranks to become a senior officer and betraying the secrets of most US secret agencies to the KGB; and the FBI's Robert Hanssen, who was believed to have taken over from Ames as Moscow's top illegal agent in America. Both were sentenced to life without parole. Russia has never given up on securing the release of these two master-spies and most probably initiated the swap with the United States for this goal, our intelligence sources believe.
http://www.debka.com/article/8904/
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Yesterday, God led me to this message.
Yesterday, in my search for answers to specific questions, God led me to this article from Union Church of LaHarpe, IL. Some of my questions were answered, some still remain.
"The Life That Pleases God"
Colossians 1:9-14
Rev. Bruce Goettsche . . . March 22, 1998
What does it mean to live a life that pleases God? If you are like most people, that simple question may leave you tongue-tied. It's likely that you never thought about the question in such simple form. But, if you were pressed for an answer, you would probably list a number of external behaviors as those things necessary to please God:
- Certain experiences (manner of conversion, mode of baptism, secondary experiences)
- The absence of certain vices (don't smoke, don't dance, don't watch "R" rated movies, don't play cards)
- The affirmation of certain theological litmus test issues (abortion, view of the end times, stance on spiritual gifts, particular theological grid which is affirmed...even the version of the Bible you like best.)
These are all externals. In fact, if we listen closely to our list we are really saying: the one who pleases God is the one who is most like me! I believe the reason this is so is because we want to live lives that please God. So, we seek to define pleasing God by our experience and beliefs.
But this morning I suggest a better approach. I suggest we turn to the Apostle Paul to give us some ideas on what a life that pleases God looks like. We see four characteristics of a life pleasing to the Lord. They are revealed by four participles in verses 10-12. They are: "bearing fruit"; "growing in knowledge"; "being strengthened"; and "giving thanks". Let's look at them more closely.
The Life That Pleases God Bears Fruit
The idea of "bearing fruit" is not that foreign to us. If we purchased a fruit tree, planted it, and took care of it we would expect to be getting fruit from that tree in a matter of years. If after many years the tree was not yielding fruit, we would feel that the tree was defective or really not a fruit tree at all. We might return to the Nursery where we purchased the tree and complain. The tree did not live up to the advertising.
Jesus says the same is true of people who profess faith. He says, "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit." (Matt. 7:15-17)
How can we tell if someone is professing to be a believer, but isn't a believer? We can tell by watching their lives. If there is not a change in their living then we can conclude there is no change in their soul. Our heart and our lives go together - they are not separate.
Now it is important that we remember that fruitfulness takes time. You don't get any good fruit the first year you plant a fruit tree. It takes time for the tree to mature. The same is true for followers of Christ. The change might not be immediately discernable. However, over time we should be seeing a difference in the way people live.
Listen to these words of Paul to the Galatians. In this passage Paul contrasts the life of the sinful nature (the life that doesn't please God) and the "fruit (or life) of the Spirit." Listen to the New Living Translation,
When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Here there is no conflict with the law.
The person who is living to please God will begin to see a change in their values and we will see a change in their behavior.
- those living together outside of marriage will get married
- those cheating others will begin dealing honestly
- those who have been abusive in their speech will move toward kindness
- those who were known for using others will begin serving others
- those who relished tearing down others in their whispering will now seek to build them up
- those who had hoarded their resources will begin investing their resources in the work of the Lord.
Listen to prescription of Jesus is: "Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me." Did you hear what He was saying? We don't go out to bear more fruit . . . we seek to draw closer to Him and the fruit will come naturally. It's not a matter of trying harder but drawing closer.
How do we know if our church is doing a good job? It's not how people behave when they are in the church building . . . it's whether or not they are different in the day to day world. The life that pleases God is the one that glorifies God in our daily life: in how we do our job; how we treat our co-workers; the tactics we use and won't use to make a profit; the way we handle our mistakes; the way we treat our families.
The Life That Pleases God is One that Yearns to Know God Better
The life that pleases God is the one that "keeps on growing in knowledge." it is continually seeking to know God better. But in order to understand the force of what is being said here let me state two negatives,
First, growing in the knowledge of God is not the same as seeking to learn how to get more from God. Many of us are only concerned with how we can tap into God's resources. We want to know how to get God to answer our prayers. We want to know how to get God to meet our needs and banish our problems.
If your children came to you only when they wanted something, would you feel that they loved you? If your children spent their life studying how they could get you to give them what they wanted would you feel loved? Of course not. You would feel used. When our concern in seeking to know God better is to be able to "experience more of His blessing." We are not loving God . . .we are using Him.
Second, growing in the knowledge of God is not the same as growing in knowledge ABOUT God. We can spend all our time mastering information about God and not have a relationship WITH God. Warren Wiersbe writes,
In my pastoral ministry, I have met people who have become intoxicated with "studying the deeper truths of the Bible." Usually they have been given a book or introduced to some teacher's tapes. Before long, they get so smart they become dumb! The "deeper truths" they discover only detour them from practical Christian living. Instead of getting burning hearts of devotion to Christ (Luke 24:32), they get big heads and start creating problems in their homes and churches.
There is always a danger of substituting facts for a relationship. The life that pleases God is the one that yearns to know more about God so that they can know God better. I think this kind of person,
- Reads the Bible not primarily for factual information but to discern the heart of God. They look for direction not merely information.
- Their prayer is not totally consumed with requests. They take time to work on their relationship with God.
- They are eager to learn of God. They want to read or to be taught anything that might help them know God better. They are like a boyfriend or girlfriend who enjoys looking at family pictures and hearing stories of the past. They want to learn anything they can that will help them know the one they love better.
- They are careful to make sure they are seeking truth and not just seeking ammunition to defend their own perceptions of God. I have to remind myself that I am to read the Bible not for primarily for sermon ideas, or for arguments to defend my theological convictions . . . I am to read the Bible because I want to know God better!
The Life That Pleases God Endures Troubled Times and is Patient with Difficult People
Paul tells the Colossians that a life that pleases God is one that is "being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might . . . ". But notice the purpose of this power: it is given so we might "have great endurance and patience."
The Word for endurance (or perseverence) literally means to "remain under". We'd say "it means to hang in there." It is a strength that helps us endure the troubled times of life. The word for patience has reference to our dealing with difficult people. God gives us the strength to be patient with those people who annoy us, disturb us, and make us want to scream.
In my experience I have seen that God enables us to endure by giving us the strength of His Holy Spirit, the promises of His Word and by reminding us,
- He is in control (Circumstances and people cannot overthrow His plan)
- He only does what is good (I may not understand what is happening but I know it is purposeful)
- He never makes a mistake. (Never).
- This world is not our home. (Don't let the happenings in the world get you down)
So in hard times we don't complain . . . we trust. We don't walk away . . we listen and try to learn. We don't despair . . . we hang on tighter.
Being strong in the times of trouble is difficult. But it may not be as difficult as the concept of patience with difficult people. There is nothing that tries my patience like someone annoying. But do you see? That's the point. People naturally react to difficult people negatively. When we are in Christ He begins to give us a different perspective. God teaches me patience with others by reminding me,
- that I was (and sometimes am) a difficult person
- that every one needs the benefit of the doubt (they may just be having a bad day)
- that most difficult people are people who are hurting.
- judging a person's heart and motives is something that is God's job, not mine.
- God has a history of transforming people I would have written off.
The Life That Pleases God is The Life Lived Gratefully
Have you ever noticed how much we complain?
- We complain about the weather (when we should be grateful to be alive)
- We complain about our income (or our taxes which take away our income) when we should be grateful that we have an income.
- We complain about the government (though we should be grateful we don't live in anarchy)
- We complain about how our food is cooked (or how long the waitress takes) when we should be grateful we have food.
- We complain about other believers (they aren't as spiritual as we! We're the only ones doing it right) When we should be thanking God that all members do not have the same function.
- We complain about traffic when we should be glad we can travel with such ease.
- We complain about crowds in the store (when we should be glad we are able to shop).
You get the idea. We thank God for what He's given while at the same time feeling he should have given more. We seem to think that if God really loved us we would have: less problems, more money, more stuff, more influence, less illness, more good times, less difficult times. But we tell God we're grateful. If you were God, would you believe us?
Gratitude begins when we realize we do not deserve the inheritance that has been reserved for us. We should spend every waking moment being grateful that God by His Spirit has pulled us from the jaws of Hell. The Lord has taken our dead end life and set it on the course for eternity. We must think often of where we would be if He had not drawn us to Him.
An attitude of gratitude grows as we learn to open our eyes to the blessings we take for granted. When was the last time you thanked God for the breath you were able to take, or the blue sky, or the song of a robin? When did you last thank Him for the Bible, for fellow believers, for the music that lifts your soul? When did you last thank Him for a warm home and conveniences we consider "rights". When did you last thank Him for your family? When did you last thank Him for the diversity that exists that keeps us honest? Or the trials that give us perspective?
We also grow in our gratefulness as we see how wonderful our Savior is. Over the years I have been in LaHarpe and I have gotten to know you better I have found that I have come to appreciate, cherish and thank God for you (most of you) more and more. This is even more true of Christ. We have so little idea of His greatness. As we study His words, His actions, and as we become more attuned to His character, we will naturally grow in our gratitude that we are united with one who is so magnificent.
Conclusions
I hope this quick survey has been helpful to you. We have not exhausted the subject. But I do want to caution you. If you take these characteristics and use them to measure your own life I would think you would feel that your life is not very pleasing to God. I know I feel that way. But instead of getting depressed, please remember two things: First, Paul is pointing to the goal. This is what we are working toward, not where we should already be. Second, we need to remember that we cannot bear fruit apart from Christ. These are not traits we can produce in ourselves by greater effort. We must remember that the key is not to work harder . . . it is to draw closer.
It's possible that you have listened today and realize that you don't have this kind of relationship with Jesus Christ. It's possible that you have just been "playing along" every Sunday. Friend, before you can live a life that is pleasing to God, you must receive the salvation that God offers. Today I encourage you to acknowledge that Jesus died in your stead. I invite you to tell the Lord that you are willing to trust Him for your eternal destiny. You are willing to rely on His provision for you. I encourage you to let Him know that you are willing to let Him build a new life in you . . . the life you were created to live. That's the first step . . . take that step today.
This is also a good time for those who profess faith in Christ to evaluate our lives too. We need to be shaken from our complacency so that we will be spurred to a deeper relationship. So here are some "So What" questions for you.
- I have no doubt that you talk about faith but the question to ask is: do they see that faith in your living?
- Do they see it in the way you handle tough times?
- Do they see it in the way you deal with difficult people?
- Do they see it in the way you talk about those who are different from you?
- Do they see it in the way you talk about other Christians? (Ouch!)
- Do they see it in your business ethics?
- Look at your life . . . What do YOU see?
- Are you doing anything to grow in the knowledge of God?
- Are you reading your Bible?
- Are you spending time alone with God?
- Are you reading anything that stretches you?
- Are you listening to those who disagree with you?
- Are you living gratefully?
- Have you thanked God today for the blessing that surrounds you?
- Do you appreciate the nature of your salvation in Christ?
- Are you working to get better acquainted with Him so you can love Him more fully?
This passage is a call to a Christianity that is more than religious mumbo-jumbo. It's a summons to a relationship with Christ that will transform us. It's an invitation to a life that will invigorate us. It's the doorway to a lifestyle that will make the world stop and wonder. If you will step out of the pretend and dreary world of superficial faith and into a genuine, humble relationship with the Lord who calls us to Himself . . . wouldn't it be nice if someone could point at us and say, "Now, that's what it's like to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord? May God lead us to that end. Amen.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Heroes of the Vietnam Generation
James Webb says: Mr. Brokaw, Mr. Matthews, Mr. Bennett, Mr. Spielberg, meet my Marines - Heroes of the Vietnam Generation
...We moved through the boiling heat with 60 pounds of weapons and gear, causing a typical Marine to drop 20 percent of his body weight while in the bush. When we stopped we dug chest-deep fighting holes and slit trenches for toilets. We slept on the ground under makeshift poncho hootches, and when it rained we usually took our hootches down because wet ponchos shined under illumination flares, making great targets. Sleep itself was fitful, never more than an hour or two at a stretch for months at a time as we mixed daytime patrolling with night-time ambushes, listening posts, foxhole duty, and radio watches. Ringworm, hookworm, malaria, and dysentery were common, as was trench foot when the monsoons came. Respite was rotating back to the mud-filled regimental combat base at An Hoa for four or five days, where rocket and mortar attacks were frequent and our troops manned defensive bunkers at night.
Which makes it kind of hard to get excited about tales of Woodstock, or camping at the Vineyard during summer break.
We had been told while in training that Marine officers in the rifle companies had an 85 percent probability of being killed or wounded, and the experience of "Dying Delta," as our company was known, bore that out. Of the officers in the bush when I arrived, our company commander was wounded, the weapons platoon commander was wounded, the first platoon commander was killed, the second platoon commander was wounded twice, and I, commanding the third platoon, was wounded twice. The enlisted troops in the rifle platoons fared no better. Two of my original three squad leaders were killed, the third shot in the stomach. My platoon sergeant was severely wounded, as was my right guide. By the time I left my platoon I had gone through six radio operators, five of them casualties.
These figures were hardly unique; in fact, they were typical...
Found on The Marine Patriot
...We moved through the boiling heat with 60 pounds of weapons and gear, causing a typical Marine to drop 20 percent of his body weight while in the bush. When we stopped we dug chest-deep fighting holes and slit trenches for toilets. We slept on the ground under makeshift poncho hootches, and when it rained we usually took our hootches down because wet ponchos shined under illumination flares, making great targets. Sleep itself was fitful, never more than an hour or two at a stretch for months at a time as we mixed daytime patrolling with night-time ambushes, listening posts, foxhole duty, and radio watches. Ringworm, hookworm, malaria, and dysentery were common, as was trench foot when the monsoons came. Respite was rotating back to the mud-filled regimental combat base at An Hoa for four or five days, where rocket and mortar attacks were frequent and our troops manned defensive bunkers at night.
Which makes it kind of hard to get excited about tales of Woodstock, or camping at the Vineyard during summer break.
We had been told while in training that Marine officers in the rifle companies had an 85 percent probability of being killed or wounded, and the experience of "Dying Delta," as our company was known, bore that out. Of the officers in the bush when I arrived, our company commander was wounded, the weapons platoon commander was wounded, the first platoon commander was killed, the second platoon commander was wounded twice, and I, commanding the third platoon, was wounded twice. The enlisted troops in the rifle platoons fared no better. Two of my original three squad leaders were killed, the third shot in the stomach. My platoon sergeant was severely wounded, as was my right guide. By the time I left my platoon I had gone through six radio operators, five of them casualties.
These figures were hardly unique; in fact, they were typical...
Found on The Marine Patriot
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Monday, July 5, 2010
50 Random Facts That Make You Wonder What In The World Has Happened To America
Source: Pravda.Ru
Our world is changing at a pace that is so staggering these days that it can be really hard to fully grasp the significance of what we are witnessing. Hopefully the collection of random facts below will help you to "connect the dots" just a little bit. On one level, the facts below may not seem related. However, what they all do have in common is that they show just how much the United States has fundamentally changed. Do you ever just sit back and wonder what in the world has happened to America? The truth is that the America that so many of us once loved so much has been shattered into a thousand pieces. The "land of the free and the home of the brave" has been transformed into a socialized Big Brother nanny state that is oozing with corruption and has accumulated the biggest mountain of debt in the history of the world. The greatest economic machine that the world has ever seen is falling apart before our very eyes, and even when our politicians actually try to do something right (which is quite rare) the end result is still a bunch of garbage. For those who still love this land (and there are a lot of us) it is heartbreaking to watch America slowly die.
The following are 50 random facts that show just how dramatically America has changed....
#50) A new report released by the United Nations is publicly calling for the establishment of a world currency and none of the major news networks are even covering it.
#49) Arnold Schwarzenegger has ordered California State Controller John Chiang to reduce state worker pay for July to the federal minimum allowed by law -- $7.25 an hour for most state workers.
#48) A police officer in Oklahoma recently tasered an 86-year-old disabled grandma in her bed and stepped on her oxygen hose until she couldn't breathe because they considered her to be a "threat".
#47) In early 2009, U.S. net national savings as a percentage of GDP went negative for the first time since 1952, and it has continued its downward trend since then.
#46) Corexit 9500 is so incredibly toxic that the UK's Marine Management Organization has completely banned it, so if there was a major oil spill in the North Sea, BP would not be able to use it. And yet BP has dumped over a million gallons of dispersants such as Corexit 9500 into the Gulf of Mexico.
#45) For the first time in U.S. history, more than 40 million Americans are on food stamps, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture projects that number will go up to 43 million Americans in 2011.
#44) It has come out that one employee used a Federal Emergency Management Agency credit card to buy $4,318 in "Happy Birthday" gift cards. Two other FEMA officials charged the cost of 360 golf umbrellas ($9,000) to the taxpayers.
#43) Researchers at the State University of New York at Buffalo received $389,000 from the U.S. government to pay 100 residents of Buffalo $45 each to record how much malt liquor they drink and how much pot they smoke each day.
#42) The average duration of unemployment in the United States has risen to an all-time high.
#41) The bottom 40 percent of all income earners in the United States now collectively own less than 1 percent of the nation’s wealth.
#40) In the U.S., the average federal worker now earns about twice as much as the average worker in the private sector.
#39) Back in 1950 each retiree's Social Security benefit was paid for by 16 workers. Today, each retiree's Social Security benefit is paid for by approximately 3.3 workers. By 2025 it is projected that there will be approximately two workers for each retiree.
#38) According to a U.S. Treasury Department report to Congress, the U.S. national debt will top $13.6 trillion this year and climb to an estimated $19.6 trillion by 2015.
#37) The federal government actually has the gall to ask for online donations that will supposedly go towards paying off the national debt.
#36) The Cactus Bug Project at the University Of Florida was allocated $325,394 in economic stimulus funds to study the mating decisions of cactus bugs.
#35) A dinner cruise company in Chicago got nearly $1 million in economic stimulus funds to combat terrorism.
#34) It is being reported that a 6-year-old girl from Ohio is on the "no fly" list maintained by U.S. Homeland Security.
#33) During the first quarter of 2010, the total number of loans that are at least three months past due in the United States increased for the 16th consecutive quarter.
#32) According to a new report, Americans spend twice as much as residents of other developed countries on healthcare, but get lower quality and far less efficiency.
#31) Some experts are warning that the cost of bailing out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could reach as high as $1 trillion.
#30) The FDA has announced that the offspring of cloned animals could be in our food supply right now and that there is nothing that they can do about it.
#29) In May, sales of new homes in the United States dropped to the lowest level ever recorded.
#28) In 1950, the ratio of the average executive's paycheck to the average worker's paycheck was about 30 to 1. Since the year 2000, that ratio has ranged between 300 to 500 to one.
#27) Federal border officials recently said that Mexican drug cartels have not only set up shop on American soil, they are actually maintaining lookout bases in strategic locations in the hills of southern Arizona.
#26) The U.S. government has declared some parts of Arizona off limits to U.S. citizens because of the threat of violence from Mexican drug smugglers.
#25) According to the credit card repayment calculator, if you owe $6000 on a credit card with a 20 percent interest rate and only pay the minimum payment each time, it will take you 54 years to pay off that credit card. During those 54 years you will pay $26,168 in interest rate charges in addition to the $6000 in principal that you are required to pay back.
#24) According to prepared testimony by Goldman Sachs Chief Operating Officer Gary Cohn, Goldman Sachs shorted roughly $615 million of the collateralized debt obligations and residential mortgage-backed securities the firm underwrote since late 2006.
#23) The six biggest banks in the United States now possess assets equivalent to 60 percent of America's gross national product.
#22) Four of the biggest U.S. banks (Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup) had a "perfect quarter" with zero days of trading losses during the first quarter of 2010.
#21) 1.41 million Americans filed for personal bankruptcy in 2009 - a 32 percent increase over 2008.
#20) BP has hired private security contractors to keep the American people away from oil cleanup sites and nobody seems to care.
#19) Barack Obama is calling for a "civilian expeditionary force" to be sent to Afghanistan and Iraq to help overburdened military troops build infrastructure.
#18) On June 18th, two Christians decided that they would peacefully pass out copies of the gospel of John on a public sidewalk outside a public Arab festival in Dearborn, Michigan and within 3 minutes 8 policemen surrounded them and placed them under arrest.
#17) It is being reported that sales of foreclosed homes in Florida made up nearly 40 percent of all home purchases in the first part of this year.
#16) During a recent interview with Larry King, former first lady Laura Bush revealed to the world that she is actually in favor of legalized gay marriage and a woman's "right" to abortion.
#15) Scientists at Columbia University are warning that the dose of radiation from the new full body security scanners going into airports all over the United States could be up to 20 times higher than originally estimated.
#14) 43 percent of Americans have less than $10,000 saved for retirement.
#13) The FDIC's deposit insurance fund now has negative 20.7 billion dollars in it, which represents a slight improvement from the end of 2009.
#12) The judge that BP is pushing for to hear an estimated 200 lawsuits on the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster gets tens of thousands of dollars a year in oil royalties and is paid travel expenses to industry conferences.
#11) In recent years the U.S. government has spent $2.6 million tax dollars to study the drinking habits of Chinese prostitutes and $400,000 tax dollars to pay researchers to cruise six bars in Buenos Aires, Argentina to find out why gay men engage in risky sexual behavior when drunk.
#10) U.S. officials say that more than three billion dollars in cash (much of it aid money paid for by U.S. taxpayers) has been stolen by corrupt officials in Afghanistan and flown out of Kabul International Airport in recent years.
#9) According to a report by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the baggage check fees collected by U.S. airlines shot up 33% in the first quarter of 2010 to $769 million.
#8) Three California high school students are fighting for their right to show their American patriotism - even on a Mexican holiday - after they were forced to remove their American flag T-shirts on Cinco de Mayo.
#7) Right now, interest on the U.S. national debt and spending on entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare are somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 to 15 percent of GDP. By 2080, they are projected to eat up approximately 50 percent of GDP.
#6) The total of all government, corporate and consumer debt in the United States is now about 360 percent of GDP.
#5) A 6-year-old girl was recently handcuffed and sent to a mental facility after throwing temper tantrums at her elementary school.
#4) In Florida, students have been arrested by police for things as simple as bringing a plastic butter knife to school, throwing an eraser, and drawing a picture of a gun.
#3) School officials in one town in Massachusetts are refusing to allow students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
#2) According to one new study, approximately 21 percent of children in the United States are living below the poverty line in 2010.
#1) Since 1973, more than 50 million babies have been murdered in abortion facilities across the United States.
Michael Snyder
Economic Collapse
50 Random Facts That Make You Wonder What In The World Has Happened To America - Pravda.Ru
http://www.michaelsavage.wnd.com/
Our world is changing at a pace that is so staggering these days that it can be really hard to fully grasp the significance of what we are witnessing. Hopefully the collection of random facts below will help you to "connect the dots" just a little bit. On one level, the facts below may not seem related. However, what they all do have in common is that they show just how much the United States has fundamentally changed. Do you ever just sit back and wonder what in the world has happened to America? The truth is that the America that so many of us once loved so much has been shattered into a thousand pieces. The "land of the free and the home of the brave" has been transformed into a socialized Big Brother nanny state that is oozing with corruption and has accumulated the biggest mountain of debt in the history of the world. The greatest economic machine that the world has ever seen is falling apart before our very eyes, and even when our politicians actually try to do something right (which is quite rare) the end result is still a bunch of garbage. For those who still love this land (and there are a lot of us) it is heartbreaking to watch America slowly die.
The following are 50 random facts that show just how dramatically America has changed....
#50) A new report released by the United Nations is publicly calling for the establishment of a world currency and none of the major news networks are even covering it.
#49) Arnold Schwarzenegger has ordered California State Controller John Chiang to reduce state worker pay for July to the federal minimum allowed by law -- $7.25 an hour for most state workers.
#48) A police officer in Oklahoma recently tasered an 86-year-old disabled grandma in her bed and stepped on her oxygen hose until she couldn't breathe because they considered her to be a "threat".
#47) In early 2009, U.S. net national savings as a percentage of GDP went negative for the first time since 1952, and it has continued its downward trend since then.
#46) Corexit 9500 is so incredibly toxic that the UK's Marine Management Organization has completely banned it, so if there was a major oil spill in the North Sea, BP would not be able to use it. And yet BP has dumped over a million gallons of dispersants such as Corexit 9500 into the Gulf of Mexico.
#45) For the first time in U.S. history, more than 40 million Americans are on food stamps, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture projects that number will go up to 43 million Americans in 2011.
#44) It has come out that one employee used a Federal Emergency Management Agency credit card to buy $4,318 in "Happy Birthday" gift cards. Two other FEMA officials charged the cost of 360 golf umbrellas ($9,000) to the taxpayers.
#43) Researchers at the State University of New York at Buffalo received $389,000 from the U.S. government to pay 100 residents of Buffalo $45 each to record how much malt liquor they drink and how much pot they smoke each day.
#42) The average duration of unemployment in the United States has risen to an all-time high.
#41) The bottom 40 percent of all income earners in the United States now collectively own less than 1 percent of the nation’s wealth.
#40) In the U.S., the average federal worker now earns about twice as much as the average worker in the private sector.
#39) Back in 1950 each retiree's Social Security benefit was paid for by 16 workers. Today, each retiree's Social Security benefit is paid for by approximately 3.3 workers. By 2025 it is projected that there will be approximately two workers for each retiree.
#38) According to a U.S. Treasury Department report to Congress, the U.S. national debt will top $13.6 trillion this year and climb to an estimated $19.6 trillion by 2015.
#37) The federal government actually has the gall to ask for online donations that will supposedly go towards paying off the national debt.
#36) The Cactus Bug Project at the University Of Florida was allocated $325,394 in economic stimulus funds to study the mating decisions of cactus bugs.
#35) A dinner cruise company in Chicago got nearly $1 million in economic stimulus funds to combat terrorism.
#34) It is being reported that a 6-year-old girl from Ohio is on the "no fly" list maintained by U.S. Homeland Security.
#33) During the first quarter of 2010, the total number of loans that are at least three months past due in the United States increased for the 16th consecutive quarter.
#32) According to a new report, Americans spend twice as much as residents of other developed countries on healthcare, but get lower quality and far less efficiency.
#31) Some experts are warning that the cost of bailing out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could reach as high as $1 trillion.
#30) The FDA has announced that the offspring of cloned animals could be in our food supply right now and that there is nothing that they can do about it.
#29) In May, sales of new homes in the United States dropped to the lowest level ever recorded.
#28) In 1950, the ratio of the average executive's paycheck to the average worker's paycheck was about 30 to 1. Since the year 2000, that ratio has ranged between 300 to 500 to one.
#27) Federal border officials recently said that Mexican drug cartels have not only set up shop on American soil, they are actually maintaining lookout bases in strategic locations in the hills of southern Arizona.
#26) The U.S. government has declared some parts of Arizona off limits to U.S. citizens because of the threat of violence from Mexican drug smugglers.
#25) According to the credit card repayment calculator, if you owe $6000 on a credit card with a 20 percent interest rate and only pay the minimum payment each time, it will take you 54 years to pay off that credit card. During those 54 years you will pay $26,168 in interest rate charges in addition to the $6000 in principal that you are required to pay back.
#24) According to prepared testimony by Goldman Sachs Chief Operating Officer Gary Cohn, Goldman Sachs shorted roughly $615 million of the collateralized debt obligations and residential mortgage-backed securities the firm underwrote since late 2006.
#23) The six biggest banks in the United States now possess assets equivalent to 60 percent of America's gross national product.
#22) Four of the biggest U.S. banks (Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup) had a "perfect quarter" with zero days of trading losses during the first quarter of 2010.
#21) 1.41 million Americans filed for personal bankruptcy in 2009 - a 32 percent increase over 2008.
#20) BP has hired private security contractors to keep the American people away from oil cleanup sites and nobody seems to care.
#19) Barack Obama is calling for a "civilian expeditionary force" to be sent to Afghanistan and Iraq to help overburdened military troops build infrastructure.
#18) On June 18th, two Christians decided that they would peacefully pass out copies of the gospel of John on a public sidewalk outside a public Arab festival in Dearborn, Michigan and within 3 minutes 8 policemen surrounded them and placed them under arrest.
#17) It is being reported that sales of foreclosed homes in Florida made up nearly 40 percent of all home purchases in the first part of this year.
#16) During a recent interview with Larry King, former first lady Laura Bush revealed to the world that she is actually in favor of legalized gay marriage and a woman's "right" to abortion.
#15) Scientists at Columbia University are warning that the dose of radiation from the new full body security scanners going into airports all over the United States could be up to 20 times higher than originally estimated.
#14) 43 percent of Americans have less than $10,000 saved for retirement.
#13) The FDIC's deposit insurance fund now has negative 20.7 billion dollars in it, which represents a slight improvement from the end of 2009.
#12) The judge that BP is pushing for to hear an estimated 200 lawsuits on the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster gets tens of thousands of dollars a year in oil royalties and is paid travel expenses to industry conferences.
#11) In recent years the U.S. government has spent $2.6 million tax dollars to study the drinking habits of Chinese prostitutes and $400,000 tax dollars to pay researchers to cruise six bars in Buenos Aires, Argentina to find out why gay men engage in risky sexual behavior when drunk.
#10) U.S. officials say that more than three billion dollars in cash (much of it aid money paid for by U.S. taxpayers) has been stolen by corrupt officials in Afghanistan and flown out of Kabul International Airport in recent years.
#9) According to a report by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the baggage check fees collected by U.S. airlines shot up 33% in the first quarter of 2010 to $769 million.
#8) Three California high school students are fighting for their right to show their American patriotism - even on a Mexican holiday - after they were forced to remove their American flag T-shirts on Cinco de Mayo.
#7) Right now, interest on the U.S. national debt and spending on entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare are somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 to 15 percent of GDP. By 2080, they are projected to eat up approximately 50 percent of GDP.
#6) The total of all government, corporate and consumer debt in the United States is now about 360 percent of GDP.
#5) A 6-year-old girl was recently handcuffed and sent to a mental facility after throwing temper tantrums at her elementary school.
#4) In Florida, students have been arrested by police for things as simple as bringing a plastic butter knife to school, throwing an eraser, and drawing a picture of a gun.
#3) School officials in one town in Massachusetts are refusing to allow students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
#2) According to one new study, approximately 21 percent of children in the United States are living below the poverty line in 2010.
#1) Since 1973, more than 50 million babies have been murdered in abortion facilities across the United States.
Michael Snyder
Economic Collapse
50 Random Facts That Make You Wonder What In The World Has Happened To America - Pravda.Ru
http://www.michaelsavage.wnd.com/
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Jefferson - Private Central Bank - Greater menace to liberty than a standing army
"Garfield said that whoever controls the supply of currency would to a large extent control the business and activities of all the people. The great and immortal Jefferson declared that a private central bank issuing the public currency was a greater menace to the liberties of the people than a standing army." - Mr. Crozier, p. 2904, 1913
http://books.google.com/books?id=NrYqAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA2904
Quoted directly from: Banking and Currency Hearings Before the Committee on Banking and Currency
United States Senate Sixty Third Congress First Session on H. R. 7837 (S. 2639)
A BILL TO PROVIDE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF FEDERAL RESERVE BANKS FOR FURNISHING AN ELASTIC CURRENCY AFFORDING MEANS OF REDISCOUNTING COMMERCIAL PAPER AND TO ESTABLISH A MORE EFFECTIVE SUPERVISION OF BANKING IN THE UNITED STATES AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Washington 1913
Senate Banking and Currency Hearings H. R. 7837 (S. 2639) - Direct, To the Point. | Ron Paul 2012 | Campaign for Liberty at the Daily Paul
Full Text of the original Federal Reserve Act, U.S. Congress, 1913.
http://www.scribd.com/full/33896398?access_key=key-1mhi7pu5vcg63bb4vpr1
http://books.google.com/books?id=NrYqAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA2904
Quoted directly from: Banking and Currency Hearings Before the Committee on Banking and Currency
United States Senate Sixty Third Congress First Session on H. R. 7837 (S. 2639)
A BILL TO PROVIDE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF FEDERAL RESERVE BANKS FOR FURNISHING AN ELASTIC CURRENCY AFFORDING MEANS OF REDISCOUNTING COMMERCIAL PAPER AND TO ESTABLISH A MORE EFFECTIVE SUPERVISION OF BANKING IN THE UNITED STATES AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Washington 1913
Senate Banking and Currency Hearings H. R. 7837 (S. 2639) - Direct, To the Point. | Ron Paul 2012 | Campaign for Liberty at the Daily Paul
Full Text of the original Federal Reserve Act, U.S. Congress, 1913.
http://www.scribd.com/full/33896398?access_key=key-1mhi7pu5vcg63bb4vpr1
PHOTOS: Meet the alleged Russian spies
The NYDailyNews: The story of the Russian spy ring may seem like a Bond movie, but it's very real, say Feds.The 11th suspect in an alleged Russian spy ring straight out of the Cold War has been busted in Cyprus.
Canadian citizen Robert Christopher Metsos, 54, was detained at Larnaca airport as he tried to leave the island for Budapest, police said. He was arrested and later released on bail, according to Reuters. Suspect Anna Chapman, a demure divorced 28-year-old who said she founded an online real estate company worth $2 million.
Published: 06/30/2010 01:40:49
Credits: via Facebook
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com
Learn of spies: The Art of War by Sun Tzu - Section 13 - The Use of Spies
Be subtle! be subtle! and use your spies for every kind of business.
The Tree of Life
This majestic tree has reached the end of its life yet its hangers on still survive. I wonder if the vines are aware of the condition of their long time host and friend. I wonder if they realize that their time too is short.
This photo can be viewed in hi-res on Flicker:
The Tree of Life
Originally uploaded by jnkish
Saturday, July 3, 2010
The cost of declaring our independence
"We hold these truths to be self-evident." So begins the second paragraph of our Declaration of Independence, adopted by unanimous vote of Congress on July 4, 1776, and as fine a composition as ever devised in the English language.
There are many remarkable aspects of the document, not least of which is the unanimous vote. In this day and age, it is virtually impossible to conceive of American politicians being unanimous about anything, including the sun rising in the East and setting in the West. But different times yield different breeds of politicians...
Read the rest of the article here at - The Washington Times
Photo by Techhie
There are many remarkable aspects of the document, not least of which is the unanimous vote. In this day and age, it is virtually impossible to conceive of American politicians being unanimous about anything, including the sun rising in the East and setting in the West. But different times yield different breeds of politicians...
Read the rest of the article here at - The Washington Times
Photo by Techhie
Friday, July 2, 2010
Thursday, July 1, 2010
FT.com / US & Canada - Immelt hits out at China and Obama
Jeffrey Immelt, General Electric’s chief executive, has launched a rare broadside against the Chinese government, which he accused of being increasingly hostile to foreign multinationals.
He warned that the world’s largest manufacturing company was exploring better prospects elsewhere in resource-rich countries, which did not want to be “colonised” by Chinese investors. “I really worry about China,” Mr Immelt told an audience of top Italian executives in Rome, accusing the Chinese government of becoming increasingly protectionist. “I am not sure that in the end they want any of us to win, or any of us to be successful.”
Mr Immelt also had harsh words for Barack Obama, US president, lamenting what he called a “terrible” national mood and expressing concern that over-regulation in response to the global financial crisis would damp a “tepid” US economic recovery. Business did not like the US president, and the president did not like business, he said, making a point of praising Angela Merkel, Germany’s chancellor, for her defence of German industry.
“People are in a really bad mood [in the US],” Mr Immelt said. “We [the US] are a pathetic exporter...we have to become an industrial powerhouse again but you don’t do this when government and entrepreneurs are not in synch.”
Read the rest here - FT.com / US & Canada - Immelt hits out at China and Obama
He warned that the world’s largest manufacturing company was exploring better prospects elsewhere in resource-rich countries, which did not want to be “colonised” by Chinese investors. “I really worry about China,” Mr Immelt told an audience of top Italian executives in Rome, accusing the Chinese government of becoming increasingly protectionist. “I am not sure that in the end they want any of us to win, or any of us to be successful.”
Mr Immelt also had harsh words for Barack Obama, US president, lamenting what he called a “terrible” national mood and expressing concern that over-regulation in response to the global financial crisis would damp a “tepid” US economic recovery. Business did not like the US president, and the president did not like business, he said, making a point of praising Angela Merkel, Germany’s chancellor, for her defence of German industry.
“People are in a really bad mood [in the US],” Mr Immelt said. “We [the US] are a pathetic exporter...we have to become an industrial powerhouse again but you don’t do this when government and entrepreneurs are not in synch.”
Read the rest here - FT.com / US & Canada - Immelt hits out at China and Obama
The Marine Patriot: Pentagon recommends Medal of Honor for a living soldier
"The relatively large number of potential Medal of Honor nominations emerging from this remote area of Afghanistan also reflected a war strategy that asked U.S. commanders to do too much with too few resources, military analysts said. Frequently troops were overextended in hostile terrain."
Read more at The Marine Patriot
Read more at The Marine Patriot
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