Fred Griffin
ISPs are the New Secret Police

Amplify’d from www.pcworld.com

ISPs Are the New Secret Police, Says Report

More and more European Union member states are delegating online policing to private companies and Internet service providers, according to a report released Wednesday.

Where law enforcement agencies would traditionally have tackled the problem of illegal online content, more powers are being given to ISPs in the name of industry self-regulation, according to a study by the organization European Digital Rights (EDRI). That trend is likely to become stronger with increasing “extra-judicial sanctions” against consumers, EDRI said

“The European Commission appears far from perturbed by the dangers for fundamental rights of this approach and appears keen to export the approach. This process is gradually strangling the openness that is at the core of the Internet. This openness has enhanced democracy, has shaken dictatorships and has boosted economies worldwide. This openness is what we will lose through privatized policing of the Internet by private companies,” said Joe McNamee, Advocacy Coordinator at European Digital Rights.

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10 Ways That Google Rules the World

Amplify’d from www.infowars.com
Steve Watson & Paul Watson
Don’t Be Evil? 10 Ways In Which Google Runs The World 190810top2

As far as mega corporations in bed with the government go, Google sits somewhere close to the top of the tree. The company was seeded with CIA money and is literally an a corporate arm of the intelligence community.

#2Google is one of the corporations at the forefront of the government’s drive to use cybersecurity as a pretext for restricting the openness of the Internet.

#3 – Googleis reported to have jointly invested with the CIA in an Internet monitoring project that scours Twitter accounts, blogs and websites for all sorts of information, and can also “predict the future”.

#4 – The recent scandal involving the company’s street view roaming vehicles accessing the wi-fi details of internet users and mapping their online activities has also raised serious questions.

#5 – Outgoing Google CEO Eric Schmidt, a regular special guest of the Bilderberg kingmakers, has on several occasions displayed a complete lack of respect for the right to privacy and the Fourth amendment.

#6 – Google is activelyhelping the communist Chinese government suppress dissent while simply blacklisting free speech it dislikes in the United States altogether.

#7 – Google is changing its algorithm to reduce the status of alternative media websites to “spammers” in an attempt to control the flow of information on the Internet. The company is planning to weaken the search-ability of websites it refers to as “content farms.”

#8 – During the recent uprising in Egypt, Google took the opportunity to insert itself into key news stories about the mass protests. Eric Schmidt noted that the company was “very, very proud” of cyberactivist Wael Ghonim, a young executive at the company who played a significant role in stoking up and organising the protests via Facebook and Twitter.

#10 -Youtube recently implemented measures to allow its users to flag content that allegedly supports terrorism. Google claims to have instituted this policy after receiving complaints.

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The Internet Kill Switch is Coming to the USA

The Internet Kill Switch – One Of The Favorite New Tools Of Tyrannical Governments All Over The Globe

This past week was a perfect example of how the “Internet kill switch” is rapidly becoming one of the favorite new tools of tyrannical governments all over the globe.
legislation has been introduced once again in Congress that would give the president of the United States an “Internet kill switch”

It has been widely reported that approximately 88 percent of the Internet in Egypt was shut down at one point.  Jim Cowie, the chief technology officer of an Internet monitoring firm known as Renesys, described on his blog just how complete and total this Internet shutdown in Egypt actually was….

So how was this all done?  How could such a large section of the Internet be taken offline so rapidly? 

According to David Clark, an MIT computer scientist whose research focuses on Internet architecture and development, a government’s ability to control the Internet depends on its control of Internet Service Providers (ISPs), the private sector companies that grant Internet access to customers.

U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman made the following statement to CNN’s Candy Crowley….

“Right now China, the government, can disconnect parts of its Internet in case of war and we need to have that here too.”

U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman wants Chinese-style Internet censorship to come to the United States.

giving the government an “Internet kill switch” would create opportunities for tremendous government abuse.

In the same manner, the Obama administration is now proposing the introduction of a “universal Internet ID” for Americans.  The program is being touted as “voluntary”, but how long do you think it would be before a whole host of government agencies started to use these universal Internet IDs to watch, monitor, track and control the Internet activities of tens of millions of Americans?

Eventually you will probably need a government-issued license to put up websites such as this one, and in fact someday you will probably need a government-issued license before you can even log on to the Internet.

If you live in the United States or another nation where there is still at least a limited amount of liberty and freedom, it is going to be important to let your representatives know that you do not want Internet censorship and you certainly do not want any sort of an Internet kill switch.

Liberties and freedoms are incredibly precious, and once they are taken away they are very difficult to get back.

Read more at theeconomiccollapseblog.com
 

Why Your Dishes Won’t Come Clean Anymore

Amplify’d from www2.tbo.com

Why your dishes won’t come clean anymore

Consumers are turning to a list of remedies now that many dish detergent makers have eliminated a key ingredient.
Consumers are turning to a list of remedies now that many dish detergent makers have eliminated a key ingredient.

By RICHARD MULLINS | The Tampa Tribune

TAMPA - Charles Yezak keeps a secret stash hidden in the kitchen. He can’t buy any more. It’s illegal in many states now. So he only dips into his stockpile on special occasions.

Not fine wine. Not Cuban cigars. It’s dish detergent. Not just any dish detergent.

“This is the stockpile I bought before the changeover,” Yezak confesses with a hushed voice while shopping the cleaning supply aisle at a Walmart Neighborhood store in Tampa. “It actually works – not like the new stuff.”

Turns out, they really don’t make dish detergent like they used to. And that’s causing something of a disaster for everyone who gets stuck doing the dishes.

It began last July when Cascade and most other detergent brands eliminated a key ingredient from their formulas, phosphate.

Now people are finding their dishes covered in a white gunk that just won’t come off, and some are tossing out sets of dishes and replacing their dishwashers – only to find the gunk appear again in a few days. PTA meetings, cul-du-sacs and soccer practice fields are abuzz with the calamity, and sales are skyrocketing of any product that promises to fix the problem.

Phosphates work fabulously in dish detergent, experts say, helping soap break up grease and suspending the naturally occurring minerals found in hard water so the minerals flush away.

Unfortunately, phosphate is also a wonderful fertilizer for agriculture. That means every load of dishes also poured phosphates into the drain water, ultimately reaching lakes and oceans and encouraging huge algae blooms that plagued sea life.

With that in mind, detergent companies years ago eliminated phosphates from laundry detergents. Last July, 16 states jumped on board and banned phosphates in dish detergent. Even though Florida didn’t join the ban, it must use phosphate-free detergent since manufacturers eliminated the substance in all their products.

Shortly thereafter, consumers began to notice.

On Cascade’s own online forum, one customer vented. “I had 20 guests in my home from a wedding, and was embarrassed with glasses, dishes, pans and silverware, all covered with white film.”

Another consumer posted “Cascade is ruining my silverware and coffee cups – huge residue. FIX IT!!!”

That white film on dishes is mainly made up of magnesium, calcium and aluminum – the elements that help make water “hard.” The stains don’t easily rub off, even with soap. Over time, that gunk can build up in dishwashers, DiChristopher said, clogging motors, sprayers and bearings. Given enough time, a dishwasher can become useless.

While those minerals are common in many foods, Cascade officials published an online FAQ about the problem and said “we always recommend that consumers wash any residue on dishes before using them again.” In other words, rewash the dishes you just washed.

While Cascade officials say dishwashing represents just 3 percent of the phosphate in the environment, “Cascade is doing its part,” and removing it.
anies aren’t likely to go back to including phosphates unless current l

Detergent companies aren’t likely to go back to including phosphates unless current laws change.

But in another layer of irony, the phosphate ban doesn’t apply to commercial facilities like restaurants or hotels, so bulk packages of detergent are available at supply companies. Restaurant Depot in Tampa sells a box of professional detergent with phosphate, for $7.95, or a case of six boxes for $45.31.

Read more at www2.tbo.com
 

10 Things That Would Be Different Without The Federal Reserve Bank

10 Things That Would Be Different If The Federal Reserve Had Never Been Created

The vast majority of Americans, including many of those who believe that they are “educated” about the Federal Reserve, do not really understand how the Federal Reserve really makes money for the international banking elite. 
Rather, the “magic” of the Federal Reserve system is that it took the power of money creation away from the U.S. government and gave it to the bankers.  Now, the only way that the U.S. government can inject more money into the economy is by going into more debt. 

Every single year, hundreds of billions of dollars in profits are made lending money to the U.S. government.

But why in the world should the U.S. government be going into debt to anyone?

Why can’t the U.S. government just print more money whenever it wants?

Well, that is not the way our system works.  The U.S. government has given the power of money creation over to a consortium of international private bankers.

Not only is this unconstitutional, but it is also one of the greatest ripoffs in human history.

The U.S. national debt problem simply cannot be fixed under the current system.  U.S. government debt has been mathematically designed to expand forever.  It is a trap from which there is no escape.

#1 If the U.S. government had been issuing debt-free money all this time, the U.S. government could conceivably have a national debt of zero dollars.  Instead, we currently have a national debt that is over 14 trillion dollars.

#2 If the U.S. government had been issuing debt-free money all this time, the U.S. government would likely not be spending one penny on interest payments.  Instead, the U.S. government spent over 413 billion dollars on interest on the national debt during fiscal 2010.  This is money that belonged to U.S. taxpayers that was transferred to the U.S. government which in turn was transferred to wealthy international bankers and other foreign governments.  It is being projected that the U.S. government will be paying 900 billion dollars just in interest on the national debt by the year 2019.

#5 If the Federal Reserve did not exist, we would not be on the verge of national insolvency.  The Congressional Budget Office is projecting that U.S. government debt held by the public will reach a staggering 716 percent of GDP by the year 2080.  Remember when I used the term “debt spiral” earlier?  Well, this is what a debt spiral looks like….

#7 If the Federal Reserve did not exist, it is theoretically conceivable that we would have an economy with little to no inflation.  Of course that would greatly depend on the discipline of our government officials (which is not very great at this point), but the sad truth is that our current system is always going to produce inflation.  In fact, the Federal Reserve system was originally designed to be inflationary.  Just check out the inflation chart posted below.  The U.S. never had ongoing problems with inflation before the Fed was created, but now it is just wildly out of control….

There is a reason why so many of the most prominent politicians from the early years of the United States were so passionately against a central bank.  The following is a February 1834 quote by President Andrew Jackson about the evils of central banking….

I too have been a close observer of the doings of the Bank of the United States. I have had men watching you for a long time, and am convinced that you have used the funds of the bank to speculate in the breadstuffs of the country. When you won, you divided the profits amongst you, and when you lost, you charged it to the Bank. You tell me that if I take the deposits from the Bank and annul its charter I shall ruin ten thousand families. That may be true, gentlemen, but that is your sin! Should I let you go on, you will ruin fifty thousand families, and that would be my sin! You are a den of vipers and thieves. I have determined to rout you out and, by the Eternal, (bringing his fist down on the table) I will rout you out.

But we didn’t listen to men like Andrew Jackson.

We allowed the Federal Reserve to be created in 1913 and we have allowed it to develop into an absolute monstrosity over the past century.

Now we are drowning in debt and we are on the verge of national bankruptcy.

Read more at theeconomiccollapseblog.com
 

llinois Democrats Pass Huge Tax Increase - via Britta Rivera

Amplify’d from brittaj17.wordpress.com

IL STATE TAX APPROVED, 66% INCREASE-and I’m pissed!

CAN WE FIRE THEM ALL NOW!  The votes are in, and we will pay the new 5% state tax for individuals, and 7% state tax, for business owners, in the upcoming year.  Are they all crazy?  THIS IS THE LARGEST INCREASE IN HISTORY.  While I understand the state in a serious crisis, and owe billions of dollars, don’t they realize the public is in a crisis of their own?  We have also gone through a “recession” and are feeling the pinch.  We just made adjustments to our spending, we did not ask for a raise.  Why can’t they cut spending, and stop paying huge salaries to useless family members, and city worker’s on the payroll for pretend jobs?

GIVE ME MY MONEY BACK!

Rejecting pleas that Illinois is headed down a destructive path, the Illinois House has approved one of the largest tax hikes in state history, boosting the individual income tax from 3% to 5%, and the corporate rate from 4.8% to 7%.

   The action by the lame-duck House sent the bill to the Senate, which is expected to approve it and send it to Gov. Pat Quinn for his signature before the new Legislature takes office at noon on Wednesday.

   But Republicans focused on the fact that, though the bill also includes spending caps, state spending would still rise at least from $36.8 billion in fiscal 2012 to $39.1 billion in fiscal 2015. They unanimously voted no.

   ”We’ll be right back where we are now,” said Rep. David Reis, R-Willow Hill.

Read more at brittaj17.wordpress.com
 

Florida Governor Scott Prepares to Take On Obscene Florida Pensions

Amplify’d from www.orlandosentinel.com

Public employees’ pension plan scams taxpayers

Mike Thomas
Rich Crotty may be out of a job, but don’t look for him in the free-food line at Lake Eola.
Our former mayor is entitled to a lump sum payout of $365,584 from the state pension fund. That’s on top of an annual pension of about $120,000.
He has won the public employee pension sweepstakes.
And his payout is peanuts compared to what Lawson Lamar and his cronies are bilking taxpayers for over in the State Attorney’s Office
Florida is home to what may be the biggest public employee pension scam in America.
Legislators eliminated the requirement that employees — including themselves — contribute to the pension fund. They boosted pensions for administrators by creating a senior management class with an increased accrual rate.
Cops, firefighters and correctional workers got their accrual rate bumped to 3 percent, so they could retire after 25 years with 75 percent of their salaries.
Actually, they could retire with a lot more than. The state lets them include overtime pay and unused annual leave into their salaries. So as their careers draw to a close, they pile up both. They could end up earning more in retirement than they did on the job.
The reason is simple. Public safety unions are very organized and scream very loudly, particularly the firefighters. They have lots of time on their hands to work on campaigns, making them a very potent political force.
You may notice that when some legislators leave office, they wind up in cushy government jobs or they run for higher-paying local offices. There is a reason for this. Pensions are based on their five highest-salaried years. So if they spend eight years in the Legislature making about $30,000 a year, and then get on the county commission for eight years at an average salary of $75,000 a year, they will have an extra $36,000 a year to get them through retirement.
Gov. Rick Scott has promised to fix pensions.
“What I want to understand is why there are all these different classes,” he said. “How did this even get set up? And then we want to do what’s fair.”
Read more at www.orlandosentinel.com
 

1933 Again - Will the US Government Confiscate Your Gold ?

Written by Jeff Nielson
Tuesday, 04 January 2011 12:48

Executive Order 6102”, issued by the Roosevelt administration on April 5, 1933 commanded U.S. citizens to turn over all of their bullion holdings, with a few limited exceptions. The official exchange rate for all gold confiscated was $20.67 US, which was the official, fixed price for gold at that time.

Here, we must remember that the global monetary system was firmly tied to a gold standard at that time. Thus the only way in which the U.S. government could rapidly increase its money supply to finance its military without shattering the gold standard (as Nixon did in 1970) was to find a way to significantly (and quickly) increase its gold reserves.

Confiscating the gold of its own citizens was clearly the easiest way to accomplish this. A very nice article on this period by Bullion Vault points out another interesting aspect to this episode. Immediately after confiscation, the U.S. government “revalued” gold against the dollar (i.e. it devalued the dollar) to $35/ounce – netting the U.S. government an immediate 50% profit on the gold it had taken from its citizens. But that was literally only half the plan.

Certainly the U.S. is experiencing severe economic problems, indeed its economy is hopelessly insolvent – with the key word here being “hopeless”. Some readers have feared that gold confiscation would be seen by the U.S. government as a means to “stop the bleeding” of the U.S. economy. Such fears are misguided.

With the U.S. federal government having $14 trillion in current debt, plus another $70 trillion in “unfunded liabilities” (which now must be funded), the $100’s of billions it could net by making another clean-sweep of its domestic gold holdings are totally irrelevant in economic terms. Thus, if the U.S. government were still to engage in gold confiscation, it would be nothing less than a blatant act of theft by the U.S. government.

Read more at www.bullionbullscanada.com
 

FCC Bureaucrats Will Seize The Internet Tomorrow

It wasn’t long ago that bipartisan and international consensus centered on insulating the Internet from regulation. The call for more Internet regulation became imbedded into a 2008 presidential campaign promise by Barack Hussein Obama.

Amplify’d from www.wallstreetjournal.com

The FCC’s Threat to Internet Freedom

‘Net neutrality’ sounds nice, but the Web is working fine now. The new rules will inhibit investment, deter innovation and create a billable-hours bonanza for lawyers.

Tomorrow morning the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will mark the winter solstice by taking an unprecedented step to expand government’s reach into the Internet by attempting to regulate its inner workings. In doing so, the agency will circumvent Congress and disregard a recent court ruling.

mcdowell

Analysts and broadband companies of all sizes have told the FCC that new rules are likely to have the perverse effect of inhibiting capital investment, deterring innovation, raising operating costs, and ultimately increasing consumer prices. Others maintain that the new rules will kill jobs. By moving forward with Internet rules anyway, the FCC is not living up to its promise of being “data driven” in its pursuit of mandates—i.e., listening to the needs of the market.

In May, the FCC leadership floated the idea of deeming complex and dynamic Internet services equivalent to old-fashioned monopoly phone services, thereby triggering price-and-terms regulations that originated in the 1880s. The announcement produced what has become a rare event in Washington: A large, bipartisan majority of Congress agreeing on something. More than 300 members of Congress, including 86 Democrats, contacted the FCC to implore it to stop pursuing Internet regulation and to defer to Capitol Hill.

Facing a powerful congressional backlash, the FCC temporarily changed tack and convened negotiations over the summer with a select group of industry representatives and proponents of Internet regulation. Curiously, the commission abruptly dissolved the talks after Google and Verizon, former Internet-policy rivals, announced their own side agreement for a legislative blueprint. Yes, the effort to reach consensus was derailed by … consensus.

To date, the FCC hasn’t ruled out increasing its power further by using the phone monopoly laws, directly or indirectly regulating rates someday, or expanding its reach deeper into mobile broadband services. The most expansive regulatory regimes frequently started out modest and innocuous before incrementally growing into heavy-handed behemoths.

On this winter solstice, we will witness jaw-dropping interventionist chutzpah as the FCC bypasses branches of our government in the dogged pursuit of needless and harmful regulation. The darkest day of the year may end up marking the beginning of a long winter’s night for Internet freedom.

Mr. McDowell is a Republican commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission.
Read more at www.wallstreetjournal.com
 

Why Government is Bankrupting America: This Fire Chief was forced to Resign due to Sexual Harassment, Verbal Abuse, and Racist Emails. Still, he walks away with $256,000 in Cash as a “Relatively Inexpensive” settlement.