Leon Panetta Calls Pakistan Doctor's Treason Sentence 'Disturbing'

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said it was "disturbing" and "difficult to understand" Pakistan's 33-year prison sentence for a doctor who aided the United States in finding terrorist leader Osama bin Laden.

Shakil Afridi, a 48-year-old Pakistani doctor, was convicted last week of high treason by a Pakistani tribal court for working with the CIA by running a fake vaccination program near the al Qaeda leader's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in an attempt to collect DNA samples from bin Laden's relatives to try to confirm his location.

"It is so difficult to understand and it's so disturbing that they would sentence this doctor to 33 years for helping in the search for the most notorious terrorist in our times," Panetta told me in a "This Week" interview.

"This doctor was not working against Pakistan. He was working against al Qaeda," Panetta added. "And I hope that ultimately Pakistan understands that, because what they have done here … does not help in the effort to try to reestablish a relationship between the United States and Pakistan."

Afridi's conviction was met with harsh criticism by U.S. officials, amid already-strained relations with Pakistan after the discovery that bin Laden had hidden in the country for more than five years, before Navy SEALs raided his Abbottabad compound and killed him last May.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Afridi's treatment "unjust and unwarranted" on Thursday, while Congress proposed cutting aid to Pakistan by $33 million - $ 1 million for each year of Afridi's sentence.

When asked if Pakistan can still be considered a U.S. ally, Panetta acknowledged the "complicated" relationship with the country.

"This has been one of the most complicated relationships that we've had, working with Pakistan," Panetta said. ""It's an up-and-down relationship. There have been periods where we've had good cooperation and they have worked with us. And there have been periods where we've had conflict."

"So our responsibility here is to keep pushing them to understand how important it is for them to work with us to try to deal with the common threats we both face," Panetta added. "And what they did with this doctor doesn't help in the effort to try to do that."

Afridi's sentencing could also complicate negotiations over the re-opening of land supply routes through Pakistan for use by U.S.-led NATO forces in Afghanistan. After once charging $250 per truck, Pakistan is now pushing for $5,000 for each truck that passes through Pakistan carrying supplies.

"We're going to pay a fair price. They're negotiating what that price ought to be," Panetta said of the deadlocked discussions. "We're not about to get gouged in the price. We want a fair price. "

Pakistanis for their part have criticized the U.S. for its drone strike campaign in their country, with the U.S. using unmanned aerial drones to target potential terrorist targets - but sometimes leading to civilian casualties that spur resentment towards the U.S.

Panetta, however, called drone strikes "one of the most precise weapons that we have in our arsenal," and said that protecting U.S. security by leveling terrorist targets in countries like Pakistan and Yemen takes priority.

"Our responsibility is to defend and protect the United States of America," Panetta said. "And using the operations that we have, using the systems that we have, using the weapons that we have, is absolutely essential to our ability to defend Americans. That's what counts, and that's what we're doing."

By Jake Tapper | ABC OTUS News

Scientist: Evolution debate will soon be history

Leakey insists he has no animosity toward religion.

"If you tell me, well, people really need a faith ... I understand
that," he said.

"I see no reason why you shouldn't go through your life thinking if
you're a good citizen, you'll get a better future in the afterlife
...."

NEW YORK (AP) — Richard Leakey predicts skepticism over evolution will
soon be history.

Not that the avowed atheist has any doubts himself.

Sometime in the next 15 to 30 years, the Kenyan-born
paleoanthropologist expects scientific discoveries will have
accelerated to the point that "even the skeptics can accept it."

"If you get to the stage where you can persuade people on the
evidence, that it's solid, that we are all African, that color is
superficial, that stages of development of culture are all
interactive," Leakey says, "then I think we have a chance of a world
that will respond better to global challenges."

Leakey, a professor at Stony Brook University on Long Island, recently
spent several weeks in New York promoting the Turkana Basin Institute
in Kenya. The institute, where Leakey spends most of his time,
welcomes researchers and scientists from around the world dedicated to
unearthing the origins of mankind in an area rich with fossils.

His friend, Paul Simon, performed at a May 2 fundraiser for the
institute in Manhattan that collected more than $2 million. A National
Geographic documentary on his work at Turkana aired this month on
public television.

Now 67, Leakey is the son of the late Louis and Mary Leakey and
conducts research with his wife, Meave, and daughter, Louise. The
family claims to have unearthed "much of the existing fossil evidence
for human evolution."

On the eve of his return to Africa earlier this week, Leakey spoke to
The Associated Press in New York City about the past and the future.

"If you look back, the thing that strikes you, if you've got any
sensitivity, is that extinction is the most common phenomena," Leakey
says. "Extinction is always driven by environmental change.
Environmental change is always driven by climate change. Man
accelerated, if not created, planet change phenomena; I think we have
to recognize that the future is by no means a very rosy one."

Any hope for mankind's future, he insists, rests on accepting existing
scientific evidence of its past.

"If we're spreading out across the world from centers like Europe and
America that evolution is nonsense and science is nonsense, how do you
combat new pathogens, how do you combat new strains of disease that
are evolving in the environment?" he asked.

"If you don't like the word evolution, I don't care what you call it,
but life has changed. You can lay out all the fossils that have been
collected and establish lineages that even a fool could work up. So
the question is why, how does this happen? It's not covered by
Genesis. There's no explanation for this change going back 500 million
years in any book I've read from the lips of any God."

Leakey began his work searching for fossils in the mid-1960s. His team
unearthed a nearly complete 1.6-million-year-old skeleton in 1984 that
became known as "Turkana Boy," the first known early human with long
legs, short arms and a tall stature.

In the late 1980s, Leakey began a career in government service in
Kenya, heading the Kenya Wildlife Service. He led the quest to protect
elephants from poachers who were killing the animals at an alarming
rate in order to harvest their valuable ivory tusks. He gathered 12
tons of confiscated ivory in Nairobi National Park and set it afire in
a 1989 demonstration that attracted worldwide headlines.

In 1993, Leakey crashed a small propeller-driven plane; his lower legs
were later amputated and he now gets around on artificial limbs. There
were suspicions the plane had been sabotaged by his political enemies,
but it was never proven.

About a decade ago, he visited Stony Brook University on eastern Long
Island, a part of the State University of New York, as a guest
lecturer. Then-President Shirley Strum Kenny began lobbying Leakey to
join the faculty. It was a process that took about two years; he
relented after returning to the campus to accept an honorary degree.

Kenny convinced him that he could remain in Kenya most of the time,
where Stony Brook anthropology students could visit and learn about
his work. And the college founded in 1957 would benefit from the
gravitas of such a noted professor on its faculty.

"It was much easier to work with a new university that didn't have a
200-year-old image where it was so set in its ways like some of the
Ivy League schools that you couldn't really change what they did and
what they thought," he said

Earlier this month, Paul Simon performed at a benefit dinner for the
Turkana Basin Institute. IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond and his wife, Peggy
Bonapace Gelfond, and billionaire hedge fund investor Jim Simons and
his wife, Marilyn, were among those attending the exclusive show in
Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood.

Simon agreed to allow his music to be performed on the National
Geographic documentary airing on PBS and donated an autographed guitar
at the fundraiser that sold for nearly $20,000.

Leakey, who clearly cherishes investigating the past, is less
optimistic about the future.

"We may be on the cusp of some very real disasters that have nothing
to do with whether the elephant survives, or a cheetah survives, but
if we survive."

Right To Bare Arms May Soon Be Taken Away (Updated Apr 26 2013)

Our rights will not be taken away in America as long as we our feared by our government. If the people lose their liberty, it's because they give away their rights. Manipulation, misdirection, and brain wash could be used to gradually take our rights away, but force is not an option yet. In America there has been a rise in gun violence and violence in general, this is a tragic reality. The root of the problem is being avoided though, and vain attempts at trying to take care of the symptoms will not fix the problem.

“The problem isn't guns , or knives (killing more people than guns): it's people. As a society, we have lost the skill of parenting: being self absorbed, and letting the children raise themselves. Letting them grow up on the streets and on the video game has created a generation with no moral compass: and now that generation is spawning yet another generation that focus on Me instead of We.”

From Yahoo

User Name

On a Mission

http://gma.yahoo.com/giffords-kelly-enough-gun-violence-2nd-anniversary-tucson-202159123--abc-news-topstories.html

There have been horrible acts of violence this past year and guns were used to bring about the tragedies, however the root of the problem is not guns. Most violence induced by guns is by those who illegally possess their weapons. Gang violence involving guns will not be eliminated if there is a ban of fire arms.

"People say that the overall number of assault weapon deaths is small but you know what? Please don't tell that to the people of Tucson or Aurora or Columbine or Virginia Tech, and don't tell that to the people in Newtown. Don't tell that to the people in Newtown. This is a tipping point. This is a tipping point and this is a public health issue. Please make the right decision."

Dr. William Begg, a physician who made it to the emergency room the day of the Newtown shooting.

Trying to ban guns will not fix the problem, and the threat of banning certain guns increases the sales of those weapons. "Just the threat of a ban has been a boom to the gun business." "When you tell the American public that they're not going to have something, they want it," says vendor George Mazzant, from On the Square Gun & Pawn.

The root of the problem is where we should always go to solve the problem. How do we help prevent future attacks? An assault weapon did not come to life and kill these poor children, a psychopath killed them.

(Ever wonder why our great leaders closed the mental institutions in America? Is guns the root of the problem? You know damn well it's not.)

The majority of psychopaths were physically and sexually abused as children.

Child abuse is a National Epidemic. "It is truly an epidemic," said Shay Bilchik, president and chief executive of Child Welfare League of America. "And we've seen the tremendous increase over the last 20 years."

Many social workers say they are stunned by an increase in abuse in the middle class, putting additional strain on a system already under pressure.

"It covers across the socioeconomic spectrum," Bilchik said. "So this isn't about just impoverished families."

If we want to prevent the emergence of future psychopaths we should make the punishment more severe against molesters and those physically abusive to children. Personally I feel that those who destroy the spirit and mind of a child should be tied to a post and shot down with an assault weapon.

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/rise-child-abuse-called-national-epidemic/story?id=701293

A false rumor is spreading claiming the 2nd Amendment was made to protect white slave owners from slave revolts and from uprisings by Native Americans. There is nothing more dangerous than the spreading of a false and dangerous ideology. As was recognized during the rise of Nazi Germany, large groups of children from single parent homes are quite easily manipulated and intimidated by authoritative figures. The theory that the "Second Amendment was included in the Bill of Rights to put down slave rebellions was recently resurrected by bestselling author and radio host Thom Hartmann, who said Virginia wouldn’t ratify the Constitution without a guarantee that it would have some way to keep slaves in check."

http://news.yahoo.com/lethal-weapon-actor-tells-students-second-amendment-intended-051717897.html

“I don’t know if you know the genesis of the right to bear arms,” Glover said on Thursday. “The Second Amendment comes from the right to protect themselves from slave revolts and from uprisings by Native Americans.” Political Activist & Actor Danny Glover said this to a group of students at a Texas A&M University. “A revolt from people who were stolen from their land or revolt from people whose land was stolen from, that’s what the genesis of the Second Amendment is,” he added... Even if unintentional by Mr. Glover, this is brainwashing.

Stallone said, "I know people get (upset) and go, 'They're going to take away the assault weapon.' Who ... needs an assault weapon? Like really, unless you're carrying out an assault. ... You can't hunt with it. ... Who's going to attack your house, a (expletive) army?" 

This is exactly why the civilian population should be allowed to own assault weapons, and our political leaders should understand this if they pay attention to history.

The reason our right to bare arms is so important is because of potential martial law. If the civilians have no right to bare arms then they'll be less likely to start a civil war. This isn't to say such a thing would happen, but a dictator can rise up in any generation, and this is less likely to happen if the public is armed. Our nation is safe from a tyrannical government, but as long as we have the weapons necessary to protect us the government will be far less likely to become dictatorial.

Sen. Rand Paul’s recent filibuster involved questions about the possible use of drones against targets in the United States.

Being a critic of Obama's drone policy, Senator Paul started his filibuster just before noon Wednesday March 6^th. He demanded the president or Attorney General Eric Holder issue a statement assuring that the drones would not be used in the United States to kill terrorism suspects who are U.S. citizens. But by the time he left the Senate floor, Paul said he'd received no response.

Senator Paul asked if the Senate would vote on his resolution, stating that the use of the unmanned, armed aircraft on U.S. soil against American citizens violates the Constitution. Democrats rejected the offer. Senator Paul said he was "alarmed" at how difficult it has been to get the administration to clearly define what qualifies as a legitimate target of a drone strike.

 "It's not a Republican question. It's not a conservative question. It's a constitutional question."

Sen. Marco Rubio

Our right to bare arms is not what is killing our children today, this is completely false. Most children in America are killed by themselves and in most cases a gun is not involved. When a gun is involved the youth have purchased the gun illegally; in gang related deaths. People kill people, and yes guns make this easier, but as long as our police force and the military bare arms, so should the civilian population. Also, just like with drugs, if guns are banned the worst kind of people will have them still illegally, and when they rob your house you won't have a right to carry a gun legally so as to defend yourself or prevent your wife and children from being raped. Sadly humanity is not civilized enough, at this time, so that we can live without guns.

Gun control will not be forced on the American people. The means necessary is not by force, for this would be crazy as long as civilians have guns available. The means of taking away Americans right to bare arms will be through the use of manipulation, misdirection, and brain wash; methods which have been proven to work on the people, more so these last couple generations.

(Update-April 26th 2013)

It's a slow fade: 

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/08/29/obama-announces-new-gun-control-measures-targets-military-surplus-imports/ 

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/run-guns-ar-15-sales-172644423.html
http://news.yahoo.com/god-help-us-don-t-senators-defend-background-192814301.html
http://news.yahoo.com/senator-uses-old-style-filibuster-cia-nominee-084152362--politics.html

Milgram Obedience Experiment

http://psychology.about.com/od/historyofpsychology/a/milgram.htm

http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE59E0Q920091015 U.S. reverses stance on treaty to regulate arms trade

There is a reason incidents involving gun violence have been more publicised...

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/high-school-shooting-taft-california-183012601.html



Contributing author: L.L. Brunk
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/legatum-l-l-brunk/1027196042?ean=2940015421125

http://betweenshadowandlight.com/

http://www.amazon.com/Between-Revised-Expanded-Edition-ebook/dp/B0093044DW/ref=dp_kinw_strp_1

The Successful Domestication of Man

 

 

A dog is usually happy with life and loyal to his or her Master, not even seeming to recognize their lack of freedom. The dog has been bred to serve man for thousands of years, and the Master takes the dog for granted. The dog expects the Master is watching, waiting to give praise, orders, or reprimand, and the dog is grateful. The dog doesn't know how to survive in Mans' world without him, for Man knows what's best, and he provides purpose. The Master is accepted with adoration, respect, and appreciation. For the dog the Master gives meaning to life, and for the dog ignorance is truly bliss.

What enslaves Humanity? What can people not live without? How can we be free? These questions are very important but for many the answers are not so simple.

"Sure must be a great consolation to the poor people who lost their stock in the late crash to know that it has fallen in the hands of Mr. Rockefeller, who will take care of it and see it has a good home and never be allowed to wander around unprotected again. There is one rule that works in every calamity. Be it pestilence, war, or famine, the rich get richer and poor get poorer. The poor even help arrange it."

By Will Rogers
Diary of America

 

If the poor can be guided in a particular direction, they can be trained to unknowingly provide the means of making the rich richer, and even be thankful for this. There was an evangelical preacher whose soul message was "money is good and God intended for all Christians to be rich", this was the message in a nut shell. The preacher paced himself when delivering his message, and he even had intense music being played with which his preaching seemed to keep rhythm. By the end of the message he seemed to have everyone there convinced that the more money they brought up to the stage for him and his ministry the more money God would bless them with for giving out of the goodness of their hearts. People rushed to the stage and soon there were piles of cash at the preachers' feet. The whole process seemed so simple... How much more is this simple method applied to the masses on a far greater scale? A society full of sheep naturally entices the wolves. What this preacher did is being done by those who have been wealthy for generations. There are those who know the game quite well, and they have even made the rules for how the game is played. Those who do not know the rules of the game may live a happy life spent with family and friends. They openly accept the label of being middle class or blue collared as a stamp of honor, and they live faithful lives at times being thankful for what they do have.

"People will try to convince you of their beliefs and convictions because it reinforces their beliefs and convictions. If a belief and conviction needs something to reinforce it, then it can't stand on its own. Choose to remove erroneous beliefs and temper your convictions with facts and NOT supposition. Then, and only then, will you be able to understand Divine truth."

Professor Dean A. Banks

Some of the elite in society will try to convince us of certain beliefs and convictions which they do not believe in. They will do this so as to reinforce their agenda. If they can persuade you into seeing things in the way they want you to, then you can be led by them willingly and unknowingly. By habit, or ritual people are more likely to listen to what the wealthy have to say before they'll listen to someone who is poor or middle class; because of this mindset certain beliefs are allowed to form which shouldn't be able to stand. The fact that we cannot survive right now and provide for a family without oil, electricity, and plenty of money is the evidence in how the wealthy control the masses. "If we choose to remove erroneous beliefs and temper our convictions with facts and not supposition, then, and only then, will we be able to understand Divine truth."

To solve any problem or to discover the cause, the proven method is to go to the foundation of the quandary. What commodity do people feel they need much of today, which in reality we shouldn't need at all?

 

... (Please read whole article here http://www.articlesbase.com/culture-articles/the-successful-domestication-of-man-5820538.html or continue onto the next excerpt.)

 

Many people looked up to John Rockefeller, many admired him and saw him as a generous person, and many felt they needed him in their lives. He knew what the world needed, or so this is what many believed. He cared for the betterment of humanity, and was one of the most generous philanthropists the world has known. He provided thousands with jobs, eventually millions, and he provided oil to all who needed this. Eventually people were more dependent on oil than any other commodity. After a few generations the habit was ingrained into humanity, almost to the point where one might say they seemed to need oil, (and what oil provided), as much as one needed water.

Was in 1911, the U.S. Supreme Court had Rockefellers' monopoly dissolved into about three dozen companies. Many of these oil companies are household names today like Chevron (Standard Oil California), Amoco (Standard Oil Indiana), Mobil (Standard Oil New Jersey) and Exxon, (Standard Oil New Jersey). Rockefeller still profited from this change and the loss of his monopoly, and his decedents still profit today. Today oil is the number one source of profit for the most wealthy and elite in society. Even though we have the technological means of running vehicles and other machines on something other than fossil fuel we do not. In the year 2012 humans still rely on oil, but the only reason this is still the case is because the rich are not ready for change, not as long as they still profit.

People are bred to feed the greed of a select few; we were domesticated thousands of years ago. Before the rise of the Rockefeller dynasty and the prevailing commodity of oil there were others like John Rockefeller, those who used the rules of the game to change the way the masses reasoned. They planted the seeds of persuasion, which grew from generation to generation. The game had been used before with bronze, silver, gold, and other precious stones and minerals, where even the Ages of man were defined by the reining commodity of the time. The idea of these commodities being of immense value and greatly desired was a seed planted by the Masters, something the wolves used to enslave humanity.

The wild is free, and the wild is balanced. Back in the days when we were walking alongside other humanoids like Neanderthal and Homo-Erectus, we were aggressive creatures, but physically and intellectually superior to modern day humans. Although we were struggling to survive in a harsh environment and times could be hard, we were free... Today we're more like dogs.

The Dog is a different creature today than his ancestors were over forty thousand years ago. You can see this by looking at the modern Gray Wolf, for based on genetic evidence this is the animal the dog once was. When the wolf was domesticated quite a few physical or morphological changes occurred. The most significant changes happened within only several generations; changes in coat coloration and markings, reduction in overall size, a shorter jaw initially with crowding of the teeth and the shrinking in size of the teeth; a reduction in brain size resulting in changes to cranial capacity (affecting the areas of the brain relating to alertness and sensory processing. The wolf, once becoming a tamed dog, had lost the skills necessary for survival in the wild).

A recent experiment done by the Russian Scientist Dmitry Belyaev has proven just how quickly an animal can evolve under the right circumstances. His research and methods have helped us better understand the domestication of our most loyal servant, the dog. Dmitry wanted to reenact how domestication may have occurred and he did this through the "farm fox" experiment. Wild silver foxes were selectively bred for forty years and the result was more dog-like animals that were friendly towards humans. The domestic elite foxes actually sought out human attention and indulged in human affection after only a human generation. The most fascinating observation by Dmitry Belyaev was the change in physical traits which paralleled the selection for tameness, even though the physical traits were not originally selected for. The once wild silver foxes were giving birth to foxes with floppy ears, spotted or black-and-white coats, tails that curled, and even the barking vocalization and earlier sexual maturity was noticeable; the silver fox was literally turning into a dog.

It was reported by those involved in the experiment, "On average, the domestic foxes respond to sounds two days earlier and open their eyes one day earlier than their non-domesticated cousins. More striking is that their socialization period has greatly increased. Instead of developing a fear response at 6 weeks of age, the domesticated foxes don't show it until 9 weeks of age or later. The whimpering and tail wagging is a holdover from puppyhood, as are the foreshortened face and muzzle. Even the new coat colors can be explained by the altered timing of development. One researcher found that the migration of certain malanocytes (which determine color) was delayed, resulting in a black and white 'star' pattern." The wild was bred out of the silver fox in such a short time, and the physical changes show a far more vulnerable looking creature; an animal dependent on humanity.

The Cro-Magnon man was different than the modern day man, he even looked different, and like the farm fox in the experiment Man started out wild and free. Cro-Magnon had more meat on his bones; he had broader shoulders and massive muscles. As a general rule science says to control massive muscle blocks, the more brain you need. This may also be partially why the burly Neanderthal had larger brains than modern day Homo-Sapiens. Twenty thousand to thirty thousand years ago the Homo-Sapiens with the biggest brains lived; with his broad chest, larger teeth and strong jaws, Cro-Magnon Man was also brilliant. "Recent studies of human fossils suggest the brain shrank more quickly than the body in near-modern times." Scientists discovered that as the human population rose and societies became more complex the brain started to shrink. When humans didn't have to be as smart to stay alive and they could depend on others supplies to provide for them; their intelligence decreased. The Cro-Magnon man became the Homo-Sapiens we are today because we've domesticated ourselves, according to Richard Wrangham, a primatologist at Harvard University. He notes on how every domesticated animal has lost about ten to fifteen percent of brain volume when compared with their wild progenitors. Wrangham also points out the physical changes. Homo-Sapiens today have slighter builds than the Cro-Magnon, as well as smaller teeth, and smoother faces; equivalent of the floppy ears and curled tails on the transformed foxes or gray wolves. The humans who live today have had much of the aggression from the wild bred out of them, leaving us more susceptible to others ruling over us. Today the modern man depends on the wealthier, thus supposed more intelligent individuals to rule over us, instead of the larger and strongest of humans like in ancient times. Ironically the bigger and stronger Cro-Magnon was probably more intelligent than those we consider wise today. What many people today don't realize though is that the wealthiest people today are not always the more intelligent; they simply follow the simple rules to a game which has been passed down to them by their wealthy elders. They rely on the fact that ultimately people today are stupid, and usually not too aggressive to be deemed as threatening.

"The story written in our bones is that we look more and more peaceful over the last 50,000 years," Wrangham says. And that is not all. If he is correct, domestication has also transformed our cognitive style. His hunch is based on studies-many done by his former graduate student Brian Hare-"comparing domestic animals with their wild relatives."

The wealthy elite may have been using the rules to the game passed down for generations but they are not of superior intellect and the evidence is there to be seen. Just looking at our present economy and our nations rising deficit, this shows how those who rule over the masses have a flawed system in place. Those of elite status who ruled over humanity in Roman times they also showed how their system was flawed, as the world fell into the Dark Ages. History is about to repeat herself once again.

In Utah the NSA (National Security Agency) is constructing a data center unlike any other. The purpose is "to intercept, decipher, analyze, and store vast swaths of the world's communications sent down through satellites and through the underground and undersea cables of international, foreign, and domestic networks. The heavily fortified $2 billion center is scheduled to be running in September 2013." Flowing through its servers and routers will be all forms of communication, including "the complete contents of private emails, cell phone calls, and Google searches, as well as all sorts of personal data trails-parking receipts, travel itineraries, bookstore purchases, and other personal information from billions will be stored in these near-bottomless databases."

 

"In the process-and for the first time since Watergate and the other scandals of the Nixon administration-the NSA has turned its surveillance apparatus on the US and its citizens. It has established listening posts throughout the nation to collect and look through billions of email messages and phone calls, whether they originate within the country or overseas. It has created a supercomputer of almost unimaginable speed to look for patterns and unscramble codes. Finally, the agency has begun building a place to store all the trillions of words and thoughts and whispers captured in its electronic net." James Bamford (Wired magazine)

Why do we allow this invasion of our privacy? This leach from the NSA is obviously destined to drain what's left of our presumed freedom in America. We are living in a time where humanity accepts such an obvious invasion of privacy and a precursor to the complete visual loss of our freedom. We allow this because the data center is supposed to protect us from future cyber attacks and other terrorist threats. "Some of the elite in society will try to convince us of certain beliefs and convictions... They will do this so as to reinforce their agenda." They feel no guilt in this; simply survival of the fittest. Their agenda is to stay in power and keep the masses feeding the rich. When people live in fear and they grow in ignorance they will desperately trust in those who have power over them. Much of the time we depend on the knowledge of others and their technology for survival in this day, instead of thinking for ourselves. So we'll accept the invasion of privacy, and we will trust those over us, because after all we're not really free today. Ultimately we'll place our trust in the wealthy elite, even though we'll gripe and complain we will depend on our Masters. We will turn to those whom are supposed to have our best interest in mind, because we've been bred to. How many times are we going to insanely stand by as the wealthy elite claim the foul smelling bitter fluid flowing over us is rain? The answer is, time and time again, even till the last of our freedom is taken away.

Some people have the dream of being like the wealthy elite, they dream of being higher on the food chain. So many people go into credit debt, and lose thousands while pretending to be more like the Masters they so admire. People have become creatures of habit and the way we have been living for several generations has proven to be self destructive. Eventually even the wealthy elite will not benefit any longer from the ignorance of man. Thousands die in wars fought in vain, wars which last for years, and only the wealthy truly benefit. People still live for the prearranged dream though, believing wealth buys happiness and peace of mind. They're unable to recognize how all of the material possessions, their dependence on the prized commodity of oil, and the wasted desperate desire of these keeps humanity enslaved.

A man or woman is usually happy with life and loyal to their Master, not even seeming to recognize their lack of freedom. They've been bred to serve a select few over them. They help the Master grow in wealth, being satisfied with the scraps thrown to them from the feast. Humanity expects the Master is watching, waiting to give praise, orders, or reprimand, and we are grateful. We don't know how to survive in the present world without the wealthy elite. We need others in power over us. We accept the Master with adoration, respect, and appreciation. For the dog the Master gives meaning to life, and for the dog ignorance is truly bliss.

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Reply to leonard brunk

Dan Rather still defends his report on George W. Bush

 

DALLAS -- It seems almost quaint to mention today, in the era of the “birther’’ movement, but we used to debate where presidential candidates were during the Vietnam War, not where they were born.

Former CBS News anchor Dan Rather was at the center of a controversy over documents he and CBS' "60 Minutes" used in a 2004 story about George W. Bush's National Guard service. (SUZANNE PLUNKETT - AP) Just eight years ago, this line of inquiry produced two spectacular efforts: Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and "Rathergate.''

It’s hard to argue the significance of the Swift Boat movement. But former CBS newsman Dan Rather is still fighting history’s judgment on his botched investigation of former President George W. Bush’s service in the Texas Air National Guard. A scathing independent report chronicled a long list of journalistic and ethical missteps.

But now Rather is pressing his case in a lengthy interview in the May issue of Texas Monthly magazine.

The thrust of Rather’s news report, for which he later issued an on-air apology, was that Bush got preferential treatment to get into the National Guard shortly before his college deferment for the draft was set to expire.

The CBS report was based largely on memos whose authenticity could not be completely verified. In the lengthy Texas Monthly interview, Rather expresses belief that someday conclusive evidence will show he was right.

Gauging initial reactions, it seems like a hard sell. (Full disclosure: CBS producer Mary Mapes, who was fired after the report aired, is married to a former colleague of mine and they were social acquaintances.)

From the magazine: “Rather says he remains “optimistic” that somebody, somewhere, will one day come forward and reveal the truth of what happened. “They’re out there,” he says. “Let’s set the record straight.’’

Having had his lawsuit against CBS thrown out of court several years ago, Rather believes his soon-to-be released memoir, Rather Outspoken, will set the record straight.

For a refresher on the entire issue, read the Washington Post clips here.

By Lori Stahl, a Texas journalist who covers politics.

An Alliance With A Devil Never Turns Out Well; Pakistans' Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI)...

Afghan security officials say they have foiled a huge attack in the
capital Kabul, as they gave details of the seizure of 10 tonnes of
explosives.

The explosives were found in a truck seized along with five militants in
an operation last Sunday, a National Directorate of Security spokesman
said.

The group was planning to attack crowded areas in the capital, he said.

He also gave reporters a video detailing plans for a separate attack on
Vice-President Mohammed Khalili.

Describing the planned bomb attack on Kabul, the spokesman, Shafiqullah
Tahiri, said the 10 tonnes of explosives were stuffed in 400 bags and
hidden under piles of potatoes.


"If this amount of explosives had been used, it could have caused
large-scale bloodshed," Mr Tahiri said.

The five suspects had confessed that the planned attack was coordinated
by two Taliban commanders with links to Pakistan's main intelligence
organisation the Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI), according to
the spokesman.

The arrests, which came during a wave of insurgent attacks around the
country, was kept quiet at the time because of the ongoing security
operation, he said.

Afghanistan has often accused the ISI of involvement in supporting
anti-government insurgents in Afghanistan - an allegation strongly
denied by Pakistan.

The BBC's Bilal Sarwary says the security forces are under criticism for
failing to anticipate the attacks, and are keen to show that they are
making progress in their investigations.

In a separate operation, security forces detained a group of fighters -
including suicide bombers belonging to the Pakistan-based Haqqani
network - planning to assassinate Afghanistan's second Vice-President,
Mohammed Khalili, Mr Tahiri said.

The Haqqani network is a mainly Afghan ethnic Pashto group operating out
of the north-western Pakistani tribal areas, and is seen as linked to,
but separate from, the Afghan Taliban.

"Her enemies grow drunk on the fruits of her adulteries..." The harlot
is stronger now, but she will fall...

Consul Nicholas Moore

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17796556