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North Korea: Ready to go to war with U.S., South Korea By Paula Hancocks, CNNFebruary 27, 2012 -- Updated 0713 GMT (1513 HKT) This undated photo shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, with a senior military officer at an undisclosed location.Seoul (CNN) -- North Korea said it's ready to fight a war with the United States and South Korea, as the two allies kicked off their annual joint military drills Monday, according to state-run media. "Hundreds of thousands of troops are poised for a war carrying nuclear war equipment," North Korea's KCNA news agency reported, saying Pyongyang considers the drills to be practice for a preemptive strike on the North. The international community has been negotiating with North Korea over its nuclear program for years. The most recent talks between North Korea and the United States ended Friday with little visible progress. They were the first high-level talks since the death of North Korea's longtime leader, Kim Jong Il, in December and the subsequent transition of power to his youngest son, Kim Jong Un. Kim's death threw into flux U.S. plans for renewed diplomacy with North Korea, including formal talks on ending Pyongyang's nuclear program and possible resumption of U.S. food assistance. The North Korea government was expected to suspend its uranium enrichment in exchange for food assistance as part of a deal that was to be announced around the time of Kim's death. The annual Key Resolve military drills that began Monday involve 2,100 U.S. troops with their South Korean counterparts. Washington insists the exercises are defensive in nature and unrelated to any geopolitical events. The current military drills are scheduled through March 9, with a second set of overlapping exercises beginning March 1 and running through the end of April. South Korea and the United States regularly hold military drills, and just as often North Korea denounces them as a provocation. KCNA reported Saturday that Kim Jong Un, the new North Korean leader, visited military units in the southwest of the country, including one that fired upon a South Korean island in November 2010, killing two civilians and two marines. North Korea said its forces were responding to a South Korean military drill in the area. While visitng the troops, Kim Jong Un "ordered them to make a powerful retaliatory strike at the enemy, should the enemy intrude even 0.001 mm into the waters of the country where its sovereignty is exercised," KCNA reported.

Martin Bernard Springer is accused of fondling two students LOS ANGELES (AP) – A veteran elementary school teacher was arrested on horrifying child molestation charges after a film processor gave police photos showing blindfolded children with their mouths taped and cockroaches on their faces, authorities said Tuesday. Los Angeles Sheriff's Department via AP Former Los Angeles teacher Mark Berndt, 61, was arrested for felony molestation of 23 kids after photos surfaced. Enlarge Berndt, 61, was arrested Monday at his Torrance home and remained jailed on $2.3 million bail, according to a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department statement. The charges involve 23 boys and girls ages 6 to 10 between 2008 and 2010. The investigation started when the film processor gave authorities some 40 photographs depicting blindfolded children in a classroom with their mouths taped shut. Berndt worked for more than 30 years at Miramonte Elementary School in an unincorporated area of South Los Angeles before being fired as a result of the investigation. Miramonte serves a poor, mainly Hispanic neighborhood. More than half of its approximately 1,400 students are still learning English, according to the school's website. Some of the photos showed Berndt with his arm around children or with his hand over their mouth. Other pictures depicted girls with what appears to be a spoon up to their mouths as if they were going to ingest a clear-white liquid. Sheriff's Lt. Carlos Marquez of the Special Victims Bureau said it was determined the children were given semen on a spoon or on a cookie. A blue plastic spoon and container found in trash in Berndt's classroom tested positive for semen, the sheriff's statement said. None of the photos showed the students actually eating the semen, but Marquez said the children reported they didn't like the taste. Authorities are recommending the children be tested for sexually transmitted diseases. Some of the children's mouths and faces had large, live Madagascar-type cockroaches on them, according to the statement. The incidents occurred during school hours but not all the children were students of Berndt, Marquez said. None of the alleged victims told anyone about the incidents and photos, Marquez said. "They didn't know they were being violated in that manner. They just thought it was a game," Marquez said. The lieutenant said Berndt was placed under surveillance and it's believed he had no contact with children during the investigation. Berndt is unmarried, has no children and there's no indication of a previous arrest record, authorities said. "I am sickened and horrified by the behavior of Mark Berndt," Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent John Deasy said in a statement. The teacher was immediately removed when the Sheriff's Department informed the district, and he was fired, Deasy said. More than 80 current and former students and school employees were interviewed for the investigation. Searches of the classroom and Berndt's home turned up about 390 photographs depicting children, and at least 10 youngsters in them have not yet been identified, Marquez said. In addition, A DVD depicting adult sexual bondage activity "which mirrored the bondage-type photos of the children" was also found during the search, the department said, noting that the adults in that video were not identified and those images are not a crime.

(Reuters) - Anti-government extremists opposed to taxes and regulations pose a growing threat to local law enforcement officers in the United States, the FBI warned on Monday. These extremists, sometimes known as "sovereign citizens," believe they can live outside any type of government authority, FBI agents said at a news conference. The extremists may refuse to pay taxes, defy government environmental regulations and believe the United States went bankrupt by going off the gold standard. Routine encounters with police can turn violent "at the drop of a hat," said Stuart McArthur, deputy assistant director in the FBI's counterterrorism division. "We thought it was important to increase the visibility of the threat with state and local law enforcement," he said. In May 2010, two West Memphis, Arkansas, police officers were shot and killed in an argument that developed after they pulled over a "sovereign citizen" in traffic. Last year, an extremist in Texas opened fire on a police officer during a traffic stop. The officer was not hit. Legal convictions of such extremists, mostly for white-collar crimes such as fraud, have increased from 10 in 2009 to 18 each in 2010 and 2011, FBI agents said. "We are being inundated right now with requests for training from state and local law enforcement on sovereign-related matters," said Casey Carty, an FBI supervisory special agent. FBI agents said they do not have a tally of people who consider themselves "sovereign citizens." J.J. MacNab, a former tax and insurance expert who is an analyst covering the sovereign movement, has estimated that it has about 100,000 members. Sovereign members often express particular outrage at tax collection, putting Internal Revenue Service employees at risk. (Reporting By Patrick Temple-West; Editing by (Kevin Drawbaugh) http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/07/us-usa-fbi-extremists-idUSTRE81600V20120207

U.S. Bridges, Roads Being Builthttp://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/us-bridges-roads-built-chinese-firms-14594513 by Chinese Firms Cities hire Chinese instead of American workers for building projects.

Biden calls Iraqi leaders as bloodshed worsens By the CNN Wire Staffupdated 6:24 PM EST, Sat January 28, 2012 Iraqi men check the debris after a suicide bomber targeted a funeral procession in Baghdad Friday.STORY HIGHLIGHTSVice President Biden calls two leaders as Iraq prepares to hold a national conference He discusses "resolving outstanding issues through the political process" Violence is worsening, analysts say New bloodshed comes a month after the U.S. military withdrawal Baghdad (CNN) -- As recent bloodshed raises fears of renewed sectarian violence in Iraq, U.S. Vice President Biden has been calling Iraqi leaders in an apparent attempt to soothe political tensions, the White House said Saturday. Biden telephoned Iraqi Council of Representatives Speaker Osama Nujaifi on Saturday and, a day earlier, spoke with Dr. Ayad Allawi, a leader of the Sunni-backed Iraqiya political bloc. "The two Iraqi leaders described deliberations under way among all Iraqi political factions and parties in the run-up to a proposed national conference led by President Jalal Talabani," the White House statement said. "The vice president discussed with both leaders the importance of resolving outstanding issues through the political process. The vice president and Iraqi leaders agreed to stay in close touch as events unfold." In the latest in a series of attacks this year, a suicide car bomber killed at least 31 people and injured 60 more in a Shiite funeral procession in Baghdad on Friday, two police officials said. The bombing occurred as mourners were heading toward a hospital in Baghdad's Zafarniya district to recover the bodies of relatives shot the night before, officials said. The bombing has raised fears of a return to the sectarian violence of the previous decade when the Sunni-Shiite hostilities engulfed Iraq at the height of the war. The bloodshed has generated uncertainty about the ability of Iraqi security forces to ensure order, particularly after the United States withdrew troops at the end of 2011, as well as fear about the future. Analysts painted a disturbing trend in Iraq. "The situation is worsening," said Hamit Dardagan, co-founder and principal analyst of the London-based Iraq Body Count, a group that tracks civilian deaths. Ramzy Mardini, research analyst at the Institute for the Study of War, said, "Sectarian politics in Iraq is setting the stage for armed conflict." Most of those killed in recent weeks were Shiite pilgrims marking Arbaeen, the end of a 40-day mourning period, officials said. Mardini said Iraqi security forces have also been targeted. Those forces stationed in Baghdad have a large Shiite presence. According to Iraq Body Count, civilian deaths reached their peak in 2006 and 2007, with 28,250 and 25,063, respectively. They dropped to 9,385 in 2008 and then plateaued the next three years -- 4,713 in 2009, 4,045 in 2010 and 4,087 in 2011. In the past five months, there have been 398 deaths in August, 394 in September, 355 in October, 272 in November and 371 in December. Dardagan said Friday's attack would bring January's deaths to more than 400. "It's not like a radical, huge jump," he said. "It sort of shows a constant level of violence that doesn't seem to let up. Just recently, it's been worsening." He added, "One thing we are seeing recently is the rise in the kind of large-scale bombings that are very difficult to control. You can't search the boot of every car." As for the political unrest, Iraq's Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish leaders have squared off in recent weeks over an arrest warrant for Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, who is accused of organizing his security detail into a death squad that targeted government and military officials. The arrest warrant was issued shortly after the vice president's Sunni-backed Iraqiya party announced it would boycott Parliament, saying Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki was cutting it out of the decision-making process. Al-Hashimi has denied the charges, saying the accusations are politically motivated amid the rivalry between his political bloc and al-Maliki's Shiite majority bloc. The situation has been further inflamed with a political bloc loyal to radical anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr calling for the dissolution of Parliament and early elections. Mardini, the Institute for the Study of War analyst, said the violence appears to have reached a point "where casualties may go up or down in a given period but stay within an expected range." He said the security environment is deteriorating amid a challenging "political crisis," the departure of U.S. troops and rivalries in Iraq among regional powers such as Turkey, Iran and Sunni Arab countries. "It's not a pretty scenario. There doesn't seem to be a stabilizing presence or force," such as a regional power or a credible mediator to resolve the crisis. "Iraq has entered a new era of post-Saddam politics," Mardini said. He said the United States is trying to help foster political stability, but "its leverage has been largely decapitated." "The U.S. presence on the ground had performed a critical psychological function over the state of affairs in Iraq," Mardini said, and it "provided space for politics to stabilize." Mardini said he expects sectarian sentiment to "get worse." CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq, Joe Sterling and Michael Martinez contributed to this report. <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/28/world/meast/iraq-biden/index.html?eref=igoogledmn_topstories">http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/28/world/meast/iraq-biden/index.html?eref=igoogledmn_topstories

News > LAPD And Special Forces Conduct Military Maneuvers In The Skies Above Downtown LA LAPD And Special Forces Conduct Military Maneuvers In The Skies Above Downtown LA tweet 143 Print Molly Chance, CBS Local - Los Angeles-1 day ago Images have been resized. Originals at CBS Local - Los Angeles LOS ANGELES (CBS) — The Los Angeles Police Department teamed with military special operation forces Wednesday evening to conduct multi-agency tactical exercises in the skies above downtown LA. Many questioned what was going on Wednesday night as a Black Hawk helicopter and four OH-6 choppers – or “Little Birds” – flew over the city, at one point hovering just above the US Bank building downtown and later flying low over the Staples Center as the Lakers played inside. Someone could be seen sitting inside an open chopper with his legs hanging off the side. Sky9 spotted the Black Hawk in the dark, making what appeared to be a drop off at a park before quickly ascending back into the air. Throughout the exercise, the five rotorcrafts were staged at Dodgers Stadium. The LAPD said the purpose of the training was in part to ensure the military’s ability to operate in urban environments. Chief Warrant Officer David Duran was a U.S. Army aviator for 12 years. He now flies Blackhawk helicopters for the National Guard in California. Duran says what KCAL9 saw Wednesday night could be a dry run for a future mission. “They do a lot of mockup training,” said Duran. “But it’s always best to get the closest terrain layout to what the objective is.” Duran said the military chooses training environments based on what they might be facing in the near future. “If it’s a mountainous terrain, they go to the mountains; if it’s a desert terrain, they use the desert; if they’re in a coastal terrain, they use the coast,” said Duran. “If it’s an urban terrain, you know, whatever’s needed.” In a release Monday, the LAPD said training exercises would take place at various sites around the greater Los Angeles area through Thursday. The exercises were coordinated with local authorities and owners of the training sites, according to the release. Many wondered Thursday night about the safety of such drastic maneuvers being conducted over an urban area. The LAPD said safety precautions were taken to prevent risk to the general public, as well as the military personnel involved. Similar exercises have been seen in Miami and Boston. http://beta.local.yahoo.com/news-lapd-special-forces-conduct-military-maneuvers-skies-above-downtown-la

'India to buy Iran oil in gold not dollars'Tue Jan 24, 2012New Western sanctions seek to prevent other countries from importing Iran's crude oil.India has agreed to pay the price of crude oil it imports from Iran in gold, which makes it the first country to drop the US dollar for purchasing the Iranian oil. According to a report published by DEBKAfile news website, unnamed sources have stressed that China is also expected to follow suit. India and China take about one million barrels per day (bpd), or 40 percent of Iran's total exports of 2.5 million bpd and both of them have huge reserves of gold. The report added that by trading in gold, New Delhi and Beijing enable Tehran to bypass the upcoming freeze on its Central Bank's assets and the oil embargo which the European Union's foreign ministers agreed to impose on Monday, January 23. The EU currently buys around 20 percent of Iran's oil exports. On the other hand, experts say the vast sums involved in these transactions are expected to boost the price of gold and depress the value of the dollar on world markets.“An Indian delegation visited Tehran last week to discuss payment options in view of the new sanctions. The two sides were reported to have agreed that payment for the oil purchased would be partly in yen and partly in rupees. The switch to gold was kept [in the] dark,” the report stated.India is Iran's second largest customer after China, and purchases around USD 12-billion-a-year worth of Iranian crude, or about 12 percent of its consumption. Delhi is to execute its transactions, the report said, through two state-owned banks: the Calcutta-based UCO Bank, whose board of directors is made up of the Indian government, the Reserve Bank of India representatives, and Halk Bankasi (Peoples Bank) -- Turkey's seventh largest bank which is owned by the government. US President Barack Obama signed into law, on December 31, 2011, new sanctions which seek to penalize other countries for importing Iran's oil or doing transaction with Islamic Republic's Central Bank. Foreign ministers of the European Union also imposed sanctions on Iran's oil imports over the country's peaceful nuclear program during their Monday meeting in Brussels. The sanctions involve an immediate ban on all new oil contracts with Iran and a freeze on the assets of the country's Central Bank within the EU. Tehran has warned that the embargo will have negative consequences, such as increasing the oil price. SS/PKH/IS

Doctors and residents blame US weapons for catastrophic levels of birth defects in Fallujah's newborns.Dahr Jamail Last Modified: 06 Jan 2012 11:25 Congenital abnormalities have mushroomed in the wake of devastating US sieges in Fallujah in 2004 [EPA]Fallujah, Iraq - While the US military has formally withdrawn from Iraq, doctors and residents of Fallujah are blaming weapons like depleted uranium and white phosphorous used during two devastating US attacks on Fallujah in 2004 for what are being described as "catastrophic" levels of birth defects and abnormalities. Dr Samira Alani, a paediatric specialist at Fallujah General Hospital, has taken a personal interest in investigating an explosion of congenital abnormalities that have mushroomed in the wake of the US sieges since 2005. US invasion leaves lasting Iraq scars"We have all kinds of defects now, ranging from congenital heart disease to severe physical abnormalities, both in numbers you cannot imagine," Alani told Al Jazeera at her office in the hospital, while showing countless photos of shocking birth defects. As of December 21, Alani, who has worked at the hospital since 1997, told Al Jazeera she had personally logged 677 cases of birth defects since October 2009. Just eight days later when Al Jazeera visited the city on December 29, that number had already risen to 699. "There are not even medical terms to describe some of these conditions because we've never seen them until now," she said. "So when I describe it all I can do is describe the physical defects, but I'm unable to provide a medical term." 'Incompatible with life' Most of these babies in Fallujah die within 20 to 30 minutes after being born, but not all. Four-year-old Abdul Jaleel Mohammed was born in October 2007. His clinical diagnosis includes dilation of two heart ventricles, and a growth on his lower back that doctors have not been able to remove. Four-year-old Abdul Jaleel Mohammed has birth defects and health problems that his family blames on depleted uranium exposure from the 2004 US military attacks on Fallujah [Dahr Jamail/Al Jazeera]Abdul has trouble controlling his muscles, struggles to walk, cannot control his bladder, and weakens easily. Doctors told his father, Mohamed Jaleel Abdul Rahim, that his son has severe nervous system problems, and could develop fluid build-up in his brain as he ages, which could prove fatal. "This is the first instance of something like this in all our family," Rahim told Al Jazeera. "We lived in an area that was heavily bombed by the Americans in 2004, and a missile landed right in front of our home. What else could cause these health problems besides this?" Dr Alani told Al Jazeera that in the vast majority of cases she has documented, the family had no prior history of congenital abnormalities. Alani showed Al Jazeera hundreds of photos of babies born with cleft palates, elongated heads, a baby born with one eye in the centre of its face, overgrown limbs, short limbs, and malformed ears, noses and spines. She told Al Jazeera of cases of "thanatophoric dysplasia", an abnormality in bones and the thoracic cage that "render the newborn incompatible with life". Rahim said many of his relatives that have had babies after 2004 are having problems as well. "One of them was born and looks like a fish," Rahim said. "I also personally know of at least three other families who live near us who have these problems also." For now, the family is worried how Abdul will fare in school when he is enrolled next year. Maloud Ahmed Jassim, Abdul's grandfather, added, "We've seen so many miscarriages happen, and we don't know why." "The growth on his back is so sensitive and painful for him," Rahim said. "What will happen in school?" Jassim is angered by a lack of thorough investigations into the health crisis. "Why is the government not investigating this," he asked. "Western media seem interested, but neither our local media nor the government are. Why not?" In April 2011, Iraqi lawmakers debated whether the US attacks on the city constituted genocide. Resolutions that called for international prosecution, however, went nowhere. Scientific proof Alani, along with Dr Christopher Busby, a British scientist and activist who has carried out research into the risks of radioactive pollution, collected hair samples from 25 parents of families with children who have birth defects and sent them to a laboratory in Germany for analysis. Alani and Busby, along with other doctors and researchers, published a study in September 2011 from data obtained by analysing the hair samples, as well as soil and water samples from the city. Mercury, Uranium, Bizmuth and other trace elements were found. The report's conclusion states: "Whilst caution must be exercised about ruling out other possibilities, because none of the elements found in excess are reported to cause congenital diseases and cancer except Uranium, these findings suggest the enriched Uranium exposure is either a primary cause or related to the cause of the congenital anomaly and cancer increases. Questions are thus raised about the characteristics and composition of weapons now being deployed in modern battlefields." "As doctors, we know Mercury, Uranium and Bismuth can contribute to the development of congenital abnormalities, and we think it could be related to the use of prohibited weapons by the Americans during these battles," Alani said. "Findings suggest the enriched Uranium exposure is either a primary cause or related to the cause of the congenital anomaly and cancer increases," says a recent scientific report on the incidence of birth defects in Fallujah [Dr Samira Alani]"I made this link to a coroner's inquest in the West Midlands into the death of a Gulf War One veteran... and a coroner's jury accepted my evidence," he told Al Jazeera. "It's been found by a coroner's court that cancer was caused by an exposure to depleted uranium," Busby added, "In the last 10 years, research has emerged that has made it quite clear that uranium is one of the most dangerous substances known to man, certainly in the form that it takes when used in these wars." In July 2010, Busby released a study that showed a 12-fold increase in childhood cancer in Fallujah since the 2004 attacks. The report also showed the sex ratio had declined from normal to 86 boys to 100 girls, together with a spread of diseases indicative of genetic damage similar to but of far greater incidence than Hiroshima. Dr Alani visited Japan recently, where she met with Japanese doctors who study birth defect rates they believe related to radiation from the US nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. She was told birth defect incidence rates there are between 1-2 per cent. Alani's log of cases of birth defects amounts to a rate of 14.7 per cent of all babies born in Fallujah, more than 14 times the rate in the affected areas of Japan. A contaminated country? In Babil Province in southern Iraq, the head of the Babil Cancer Centre, Dr Sharif al-Alwachi, said cancer rates have been escalating at alarming rates since 2003, for which he blames the use of depleted uranium weapons by US forces during and following the 2003 invasion. "The environment could be contaminated by chemical weapons and depleted uranium from the aftermath of the war on Iraq," Dr Alwachi told Al Jazeera. "The air, soil and water are all polluted by these weapons, and as they come into contact with human beings they become poisonous. This is new to our region, and people are suffering here." The US and UK militaries have sent mixed signals about the effects of depleted uranium, but Iraqi doctors like Alwachi and Alani, and along with researchers, blame the increasing cancer and birth defect rates on the weapon. Abdulhaq Al-Ani, author of Uranium in Iraq, has been researching the effects of depleted uranium on Iraqis since 1991. He told Al Jazeera he personally measured radiation levels in the city of Kerbala, as well as in Basra, and his Geiger counter was "screaming" because "the indicator went beyond the range". Alani explained that she is the only doctor in Fallujah registering cases of congenital abnormalities. Dr Samira Alani, who has been working as a pediatrician at Fallujah General Hospital since 1997, has registered 699 cases of birth defects in Fallujah babies since late 2009 [Dahr Jamail/Al Jazeera]"We have no system to register all of them, so we have so many cases we are missing," she said. "Just yesterday a colleague told me of a newborn with thanatophoric dysplasia and she did not register it. I think I only know of 40-50 per cent of the cases because so many families have their babies at home and we never know of these, and other clinics are not registering them either." The hospital where Alani does her work was constructed in the Dhubadh district of Fallujah in 2008. According to Alani, the district was bombed heavily during the November 2004 siege. "There is also a primary school that was built nearby, and from that school alone three teachers developed breast cancer, and now two of them are dead," Alani said. "We get so many cases from this area, right where the hospital is." Even with a vast amount of anecdotal evidence, the exact cause of the health crisis in Fallujah is currently inconclusive without an in-depth, comprehensive study, which has yet to be carried out. But despite lack of governmental support, and very little support from outside Iraq, Alani is determined to continue her work. "I will not leave this subject", she told Al Jazeera. "I will not stop." http://www.aljazeera...6394859797.html

What are the chances the U.S. economy could eventually trigger violence in our country? FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty: For the first time maybe since the Vietnam War or certainly since the civil rights movement, there are some darkening storm clouds on the civility horizon. A growing number of voices are continuing to suggest that if this economy doesn't turn around, and people can't start feeling optimistic about their futures again, we could be headed for some ugly scenarios. A new CNN poll says 48 percent of Americans think the country is headed for another Great Depression in the next twelve months. That is a stunning number. James Carville, who in 1992 told Bill Clinton, "It's the economy stupid," says the current economy is so bad, there is a heightened risk of civil unrest. And unless things start changing for the better, it's a distinct possibility. Our country is bankrupt and our government refuses to do anything about it. Unemployment is stuck above 9 percent. Millions of Americans are out of work, some for a number of years now. The value of peoples' homes is sinking below the break-even line. In the most recent jobs report, more than half of the private sector jobs that were added were at McDonald's. For young people coming out of the nation's colleges and universities, their families having invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in their education, the outlook is grim. Add in the early record breaking heat in the cities in the East and we might not even have to wait until 2012. It could become a long, hot, ugly summer. Here’s my question to you: What are the chances the U.S. economy could eventually trigger violence in our country? Interested to know which ones made it on air? The chances are getting better everyday. Deficit spending, uncontrolled illegal immigration, sky high unemployment, billions being sent to countries that hate us, out of touch government and the list goes on. It won't be long, Jack, and We the People will revolt. Obama better forget about that money pit called Iraq-Afghanistan and start focusing on getting those public works jobs that Mark in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: he promised, or he will need those troops over here to maintain order in the streets. People are only going to put up with his economic incompetence for just so long. Wilhelm: Did the concentration of wealth among the aristocracy trigger violence during the French Revolution, Jack? How about the Russian Revolution or Germany in the 1930's? So yes, if it gets to the point where average working Americans feel totally hopeless and can't feed their families, it could lead to violence. It happened more than people know during the "Great Depression". Michelle in Dover, Delaware: If prices of gas, groceries and necessary items don't come down soon and if people can't get jobs to support their families then violence is definitely a possibility. We are a crumbling nation. Our politicians need to spend a month living on our wages and have to pay for groceries and gas and pay bills on OUR salaries and not theirs. They have NO idea what we working class citizens have to go through on a daily basis. I am surprised that American's haven't converged on Capitol Hill in protest already. It’s coming. Ralph in Corpus Christi, Texas: It already has triggered violence. I curse out loud and pound the dashboard every time I see gas prices go up. Bull:Jack, I'm 70 yrs. old and I fully believe that I will see violence in this country before I'm gone and it will not only be the economy that causes it. Just look what is going on along our borders. The American people have had enough. Mark my words. http://caffertyfile.blogs.cnn.com/2011/06/08/what-are-the-chances-the-u-s-economy-could-eventually-trigger-violence-in-our-country/

Quick Facts: 26 Signs that the United States is being turned into a giant prison If you live in the United States of America, you live in a giant prison where liberty and freedom are slowly being strangled to death. The following are 26 signs that the United States of America is being turned into a giant prison.... #1 A new bill that is going through the U.S. Senate would allow the U.S. military to arrest American citizens and hold them indefinitely without trial. U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham is a big supporter of the bill, and he says that it would "basically say in law for the first time that the homeland is part of the battlefield.” The new law would explicitly authorize the federal government to indefinitely imprison without charge or trial American citizens and others picked up inside and outside the United States. #2 U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman is asking Google to install a "terrorist button" on all Blogger.com blogs so that readers can easily flag "terrorist content" for authorities. #3 Most Americans have no idea how sophisticated the "Big Brother" prison grid has become. For example, in Washington D.C. the movements of every single car are tracked using automated license plate readers (ALPRs). More than 250 cameras in the District and its suburbs scan license plates in real time, helping police pinpoint stolen cars and fleeing killers. But the program quietly has expanded beyond what anyone had imagined even a few years ago. #4 In some American schools, RFID chips are now being used to monitor the attendance and movements of children while they are at school. #5 In the United States today, police are trained to respond to even the smallest crimes with extreme physical force. For example, one grandfather in Arizona was recently filmed laying unconscious in a pool of his own blood after police rammed his head into the floor inside a Wal-Mart on Black Friday night. It was thought that he was shoplifting, but it turns out that he says that he was just trying to tuck a video game away so other crazed shoppers would not grab it out of his hands. #6 Did you know that the government actually sets up fake cell phone towers that can intercept your cell phone calls? #7 U.S. border agents are allowed by law to search any laptop being brought into the United States without even needing any reason to do so. #8 In the United States of America, everyone is a "potential terrorist". According to FBI Director Robert Mueller, "homegrown terrorists" represent as big a threat to American national security as al-Qaeda does. #9 Most Americans are not that concerned about the Patriot Act, but that might change if they understood that the federal government has a "secret interpretation" of what the Patriot Act really means. U.S. Senator Ron Wyden says that the U.S. government interprets the Patriot Act much more "broadly" than the general public does.... “ We're getting to a gap between what the public thinks the law says and what the American government secretly thinks the law says." #10 The FBI is now admittedly recording Internet talk radio programs all over the United States. The FBI has awarded a $524,927 contract to a Virginia company to record as much radio news and talk programming as it can find on the Internet. #11 The federal government has decided that what you and I share with one another on Facebook and on Twitter could be a threat to national security. According to a recent Associated Press article, the Department of Homeland Security will soon be "gleaning information from sites such as Twitter and Facebook for law enforcement purposes". #12 What you say on your cell phone is never private. The truth is that that the FBI can demand to see your cell phone data whenever it wants. In addition, according to CNET News the FBI can remotely activate the microphone on your cell phone and listen to whatever you are saying.... #13 In some areas of the country, law enforcement authorities are pulling data out of cell phones for no reason whatsoever. According to the ACLU, state police in Michigan are now using "extraction devices" to download data from the cell phones of motorists that they pull over. This is taking place even if the motorists that are pulled over are not accused of doing anything wrong. #14 The federal government has become so paranoid that they have been putting GPS tracking devices on the vehicles of thousands of people that have not even been charged with committing any crimes. The Justice Department has said that law enforcement agents employ GPS as a crime-fighting tool with “great frequency,” and GPS retailers have said that they've sold thousands of the devices to the feds. #15 New high-tech street lights that are being funded by the federal government and that are being installed all over the nation can also be used as surveillance cameras, can be used by the DHS to make "security announcements" and can even be used to record personal conversations. #16 If you choose to protest in the streets of America today, there is a good chance that you will be brutalized. All over the United States law enforcement authorities have been spraying pepper spray directly into the faces of unarmed protesters in recent weeks. #17 In many areas of the United States today, you will be arrested if you do not produce proper identification for the police. In the old days, "your papers please" was a phrase that was used to use to mock the tyranny of Nazi Germany. But now all of us are being required to be able to produce "our papers" for law enforcement authorities at any time. #18 The federal government has decided to invest a significant amount of time, money and energy raiding organic farms. #19 It is an absolute disgrace that all of us (including grandmothers and young children) must either go through body scanners that reveal the intimate details of our naked bodies or endure "enhanced pat-downs" during which our genitals will be touched before we are allowed to get on an airplane. #20 Invasive TSA security techniques are not just for airports anymore. Now, TSA "VIPR teams" are actively conducting random inspections at bus stations and on interstate highways all over the United States. TSA "VIPR teams" now conduct approximately 8,000 "unannounced security screenings" a year at subway stations, bus terminals, ports and highway rest stops. #21 More than a million hotel television sets all over America are now broadcasting propaganda messages from the Department of Homeland Security promoting the "See Something, Say Something" campaign. In essence, the federal government wants all of us to become "informants" and to start spying on one another constantly. #22 Certain "types" of American citizens are being labeled as potential threats in official U.S. government documents. An unclassified Department of Homeland Security report published a couple years ago claims that a belief in Bible prophecy "could motivate extremist individuals and groups to stockpile food, ammunition and weapons." The report goes on to state that such people are potentially dangerous. #23 Back on February 20, 2009, the State of Missouri issued a report entitled "MIAC Strategic Report: The Modern Militia Movement". That report warned that the following types of people may be potential terrorists.... *anti-abortion activists *those that are against illegal immigration *those that consider "the New World Order" to be a threat *those that have a negative view of the United Nations #24 As I have written about previously, a very disturbing document that Oath Keepers has obtained shows that the FBI is now instructing store owners to report many new forms of "suspicious activity" to them. According to the document, "suspicious activity" now includes the following.... *paying with cash *missing a hand or fingers *"strange odors" *making "extreme religious statements" *"radical theology" *purchasing weatherproofed ammunition or match containers *purchasing meals ready to eat *purchasing night vision devices, night flashlights or gas masks #25 Soon you may get labeled as a "potential terrorist" if you are just feeling a little nervous. A new "pre-crime" technology system that is currently being tested by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will soon be in use all over the nation. It is called "Future Attribute Screening Technology" (FAST), and it is very frightening. It monitors breathing patterns, eye movements, blink rate and alterations in body heat, which are used to assess an individual's likelihood to commit a crime. #26 The truth is that nobody puts more people into prison than America does. The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world and the largest total prison population on the entire globe. endoftheamericandream.com

HomeLast Updated: Sun Dec 18, 2011 10:08 am (KSA) 07:08 am (GMT) Police issue arrest warrant against Iraqi vice president for the recent parliament blast Saturday, 17 December 2011 Iraqi police issued an arrest warrant against the Tariq al-Hashimi, the country’s vice president, for his alleged involvement in the November 28 parliament blast incident. (File Photo) By AL ARABIYA DUBAI An arrest warrant has been issued against the Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi late Saturday for being the mastermind behind the recent bombing targeting the parliament, spokesman of Baghdad police operations said. The car bombing which took place on November 28, was an attempt to assassinate one of the members of the parliament, he added. According to the Iraqi government, evidence pointed at al-Hashimi’s embroilment in the parliament blast incident after deriving confessions from four arrested Islamic Party members. An official from the interior ministry announced earlier Saturday on al-Iraqiya TV channel that they will show confessions indicating the involvement of a higher rank official in terrorist activities. Hashimi was the head of the Islamic Party, a political party representative of the Muslim Brotherhood in Iraq, in 2004, but in 2009 he announced that he is no longer a member of the party. Instead, he created the Tajdeed movement, which is considered to be one of the political parties component of the secular Iraqiya block. Meanwhile, the allegations against Hashimi came hours after the Iraqiya bloc which won most of the votes of Iraq’s disenchanted Sunni Arab minority, walked out of parliament. The bloc, led by former premier Iyad Allawi, said it was suspending its participation in parliamentary business in protest at what it charged was Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s monopolization of all decision-making. “We can no longer remain silent about the way the state is being administered, as it is plunging the country into the unknown,” said the bloc, which holds 82 of the 325 seats in parliament, second only to Maliki’s National Alliance. The bloc accused the Maliki government of “placing tanks and armored cars in front of the homes of Iraqiya leaders in the Green Zone,” the heavily fortified central Baghdad district that houses the official residences of leading politicians and government ministers as well as the British and U.S. embassies. Meanwhile, a spokesman from Iraqiya said that the allegations against Hashimi is an attempt by the Maliki to create a one-party system, thwart opposition and to gradually target and defile national Iraqi figures. http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/12/17/183118.html

Congress isn't interested in the rest of us. The truth is that millionaires want IN for a reason. If we were to make Congress a draft of intellectuals, pay them the AVERAGE US salary, and disallow lobbying bribes, we'd have millionaires fighting to stay OUT of Congress, instead!

I agree 110%.... Time For Real Change.

Over 146 millions live in poverty in USA man looks through the trash in New York City. (file photo)Nearly 1 in 2 Americans have now fallen into poverty or are scraping by on earnings that classify them as low income, a report by the US Census Bureau says.Based on a new supplemental measure by the Census Bureau more than ninety seven million Americans are considered to have low-income, defined as between 100 and 199 percent of the poverty level. Another 49.1 million Americans live below the poverty line, meaning 146.4 million Americans, or 48 percent are considered low-income or poor, Associated Press reported on Thursday.The new measure of poverty takes into account medical, commuting and other living costs. The new method raised the number of people below 200 percent of the poverty level up from 104 million, or 1 in 3 Americans that was officially reported in September.The new data shows that children were most likely to be poor or low-income - about 57 percent, followed by seniors over 65. Meanwhile Hispanics topped the list at 73 percent, followed by blacks, Asians and non-Hispanic whites. Among low-income families, about one-third was considered poor while the remainder - 6.9 million - earned income just above the poverty line. The US recession began in 2007. More than a year after the recession officially ended in 2009, the US unemployment rate remains above 9 percent, and the poverty rate rose to 15.3 percent in 2010 from 14.3 percent in 2009. The “incredibly unequal top-down distribution of wealth” in the US has formed an elite group who controls most aspects of the country's affluence, according to analysts. The Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement emerged on September 17 in the financial district of New York City to protest at a number of issues including the wars in the Middle East, US financial crisis, rising poverty, soaring unemployment, and high bonuses for Wall Street executives. http://www.presstv.i...ail/215860.html

Census shows 1 in 2 people are poor or low-income HOPE YEN | December 15, 2011 09:23 PM EST | WASHINGTON — Squeezed by rising living costs, a record number of Americans – nearly 1 in 2 – have fallen into poverty or are scraping by on earnings that classify them as low income. The latest census data depict a middle class that's shrinking as unemployment stays high and the government's safety net frays. The new numbers follow years of stagnating wages for the middle class that have hurt millions of workers and families. "Safety net programs such as food stamps and tax credits kept poverty from rising even higher in 2010, but for many low-income families with work-related and medical expenses, they are considered too `rich' to qualify," said Sheldon Danziger, a University of Michigan public policy professor who specializes in poverty. "The reality is that prospects for the poor and the near poor are dismal," he said. "If Congress and the states make further cuts, we can expect the number of poor and low-income families to rise for the next several years." Congressional Republicans and Democrats are sparring over legislation that would renew a Social Security payroll tax reduction, part of a year-end political showdown over economic priorities that could also trim unemployment benefits, freeze federal pay and reduce entitlement spending. Robert Rector, a senior research fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, questioned whether some people classified as poor or low-income actually suffer material hardship. He said that while safety-net programs have helped many Americans, they have gone too far. He said some people described as poor live in decent-size homes, drive cars and own wide-screen TVs. "There's no doubt the recession has thrown a lot of people out of work and incomes have fallen," Rector said. "As we come out of recession, it will be important that these programs promote self-sufficiency rather than dependence and encourage people to look for work." Mayors in 29 cities say more than 1 in 4 people needing emergency food assistance did not receive it. Many formerly middle-class Americans are dropping below the low-income threshold – roughly $45,000 for a family of four – because of pay cuts, a forced reduction of work hours or a spouse losing a job. States in the South and West had the highest shares of low-income families, including Arizona, New Mexico and South Carolina, which have scaled back or eliminated aid programs for the needy. By raw numbers, such families were most numerous in California and Texas, each with more than 1 million. The struggling Americans include Zenobia Bechtol, 18, in Austin, Texas, who earns minimum wage as a part-time pizza delivery driver. Bechtol and her 7-month-old baby were recently evicted from their bedbug-infested apartment after her boyfriend, an electrician, lost his job in the sluggish economy. After an 18-month job search, Bechtol's boyfriend now works as a waiter and the family of three is temporarily living with her mother. "We're paying my mom $200 a month for rent, and after diapers and formula and gas for work, we barely have enough money to spend," said Bechtol, a high school graduate who wants to go to college. "If it weren't for food stamps and other government money for families who need help, we wouldn't have been able to survive." About 97.3 million Americans fall into a low-income category, commonly defined as those earning between 100 and 199 percent of the poverty level, based on a new supplemental measure by the Census Bureau that is designed to provide a fuller picture of poverty. Together with the 49.1 million who fall below the poverty line and are counted as poor, they number 146.4 million, or 48 percent of the U.S. population. That's up by 4 million from 2009, the earliest numbers for the newly developed poverty gauge. The new measure of poverty takes into account medical, commuting and other living costs as well as taxes. Doing that pushed the number of people below 200 percent of the poverty level, up from the 104 million, or 1 in 3 Americans, that was officially reported in September. Kathleen Short, research economist at the Census Bureau, said the number of people who are poor or low income increases to 1 in 2 because of added living costs on middle-class Americans. She described those living below 200 percent of poverty as a broad group, ranging from the poorest poor to those who may have modest amounts of income. "We do see a bigger percentage of people below 200 percent of poverty than with the official measure," she said. "This is a group that represents the low end of the income distribution." Broken down by age, children were most likely to be poor or low-income – about 57 percent – followed by seniors 65 and over. By race and ethnicity, Hispanics topped the list at 73 percent, followed by blacks, Asians and non-Hispanic whites. Even by traditional measures, many working families are hurting. Following the recession that began in late 2007, the share of working families who are low income has risen for three straight years to 31.2 percent, or 10.2 million. That proportion is the highest in at least a decade, up from 27 percent in 2002, according to a new analysis by the Working Poor Families Project and the Population Reference Bureau, a nonprofit research group based in Washington. Among low-income families, about one-third were considered poor while the remainder – 6.9 million – earned income just above the poverty line. Many states phase out eligibility for food stamps, Medicaid, tax credit and other government aid programs for low-income Americans as they approach 200 percent of the poverty level. The majority of low-income families – 62 percent – spent more than one-third of their earnings on housing, surpassing a common guideline for what is considered affordable. By some census surveys, child-care costs consume close to another one-fifth when a mother works. Paychecks for low-income families are shrinking. The inflation-adjusted average earnings for the bottom 20 percent of families have fallen from $16,788 in 1979 to just under $15,000, and earnings for the next 20 percent have remained flat at $37,000. In contrast, higher-income brackets had significant wage growth since 1979, with earnings for the top 5 percent of families climbing 64 percent to more than $313,000. A survey of 29 cities conducted by the U.S. Conference of Mayors released Thursday points to a gloomy outlook for those on the lower end of the income scale. Many mayors cited the challenges of meeting increased demands for food assistance, expressing particular concern about possible cuts to federal programs such as food stamps and WIC, which assists low-income pregnant women and mothers. Unemployment led the list of causes of hunger in cities, followed by poverty, low wages and high housing costs. Across the 29 cities, about 27 percent of people needing emergency food aid did not receive it. Kansas City, Mo.; Nashville, Tenn.; Sacramento, Calif.; and Trenton, N.J., were among the cities that pointed to increases in the cost of food and declining food donations. Mayor Michael McGinn in Seattle cited an unexpected spike in food requests from immigrants and refugees, particularly from Somalia, Burma and Bhutan. Among those requesting emergency food assistance, 51 percent were in families, 26 percent were employed, 19 percent were elderly and 11 percent were homeless. "People who never thought they would need food are in need of help," said Mayor Sly James of Kansas City, Mo., who co-chairs a mayors' task force on hunger and homelessness. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20111215/us-low-income-america/

No people will tamely surrender their Liberties, nor can any be easily subdued, when knowledge is diffusd and Virtue is preservd. On the Contrary, when People are universally ignorant, and debauchd in their Manners, they will sink under their own weight without the Aid of foreign Invaders. Samuel Adams, letter to James Warren, 1775 The 2nd American Revolution has Started (The Civilians Military)

You obviously don't understand the times we live in and live in Lala land. Are you willing to make the ultimate sacrifice??? As these brave Men and Women?? Meet our Wounded Warriors Listed below are a few of our wounded warriors and their stories. Aaron Mankin on MSNBC, Video courtesy Willie GeistMarine Corporal Aaron P. Mankin was Operation Mend's first patient in August 2007. He is currently living in Texas and has two beautiful children. On May 11th, 2005, he was wounded when the 26-ton amphibious assault vehicle he was traveling in rolled over an improvised explosive device and was propelled 10 feet in the air. Four Marines died in the attack and 11 others were injured. In addition to the damage sustained to his throat and lungs from smoke inhalation, Cpl. Mankin suffered intense burns on over 25 percent of his body. His ears, nose and mouth were essentially gone and he lost two fingers on his right hand. Cpl. Mankin shares his story: FLASH VIDEO - WINDOWS MEDIA VIDEO Army Sergeant Darron Mikeworth is active duty living in North Carolina and is stationed at Fort Bragg with his wife Dea and two young boys. In April of 2005, as a Humvee gunner on the way to Balad Air Base in Iraq, he saw a suicide bomber approach his convoy. The attack nearly killed Sgt. Mikeworth and left him terribly disfigured. It broke every bone in his face. He lost his nose, left eye, and almost lost his right arm. He is in the process of a series of operations with Christopher A. Crisera, M.D. that include constructing a lower eyelid in which a prosthetic eye can be placed, reconstructing his nose and reforming his lips. He is slowly regaining his face and his life. Octavio Sanchez on MSNBC, Video courtesy Willie GeistMarine Staff Sergeant Octavio Sanchez is a married father of four and is currently retired and living in California. In July 2005 he was the victim of a makeshift roadside bomb in Ramadi and suffered third-degree burns over 70 percent of his face and body. Before arriving at the V.A.-Greater Los Angeles, he was told there was nothing more that could be done for him. Timothy A. Miller, M.D. was able to construct a nose, using skin from Sgt. Sanchez's forehead. Once the blood supply was in place, a piece of one of his ribs was implanted to provide structure to the nose. Nostrils were fashioned out of remaining ear cartilage and his lips and cheeks were rebuilt. He has undergone several surgeries and now enjoys a more natural and normal appearance. Marine Staff Sergeant Sanchez featured on The American Veteran: FLASH VIDEO -WINDOWS MEDIA VIDEO Marine Corporal Diane Cardile was awarded a Purple Heart after she was injured in Iraq in June 2005. Her Humvee that was filled with 13 other female Marines was hit by a suicide car bomb while driving in a convoy back to Camp Fallujah. She sustained serious burns around her mouth and her hands. Army Captain James Barclay is currently living in Alabama with his wife and three children. While serving as an infantry platoon leader for the 10th Mountain Division, Captain Barclay was wounded in Afghanistan by a roadside bomb on August 19, 2006. Three soldiers died that day and Captain Barclay and his driver were the only soldiers who survived. Forty-seven percent of his body was burned; 35 percent were third-degree burns. The enormous amount of scarring disfigured his face and limited his ability to fully open his mouth. The surgeries he has undergone with Dr. Timothy Miller at UCLA have restored much of his mobility and function and reduced the scarring tremendously. Army Sergeant Salvador Trujillo-Lopez is currently living in Oregon with his wife, and three children. He was injured on June 23, 2006 suffering second and third degree burns over 40 percent of his body when his Bradley fighting vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in Iraq. Salvador has undergone several surgeries on his face and hands as well as medical tattooing. His scars do not stop him from spending as much time with his kids as possible and snowboarding whenever he can. He is very happy with the results of his surgeries. Marine Gunnery Sergeant Blaine Scott is Operation Mend's 7th patient and the first to have surgery at UCLA on his ankle as an Operation Mend participant. He is married and a father of three. In August 2006 he was hit with an improvised explosive device in Iraq. Three of his comrades died and three were injured. He ended up at Brooke Army Medical in San Antonio, Texas with burns to his head, face, arms and legs. He had a severely broken ankle and foot. He remains active duty and recently returned from another deployment in Afghanistan after several very successful surgeries. He and his family have recently relocated to Texas for his new position in the Marine Corps. Marine Corporal Joseph Piram is retired and living in Minnesota with his family. Joe joined the Marine Corps after graduating from high school in 2004. He served two, seven-month tours in Iraq and was injured in Afghanistan only two months away from completing his service in the Marine Corps. On June 20, 2008, an improvised explosive device hit his Humvee. Joe was burned over 35 percent of his body and broke his back in the incident. He has extensive scarring on the right side of his face and has lost his right ear. Joe continues to stay positive and is back in school to become a police officer. Army Sergeant Richard (Rick) Yarosh currently lives in Binghamton, New York. He was deployed to Iraq in December 2005 (then a PFC) as a driver of a Bradley Fighting Vehicle and then moved to the gunner position. On September 1, 2006, Sgt. Yarosh and his fellow soldiers were on patrol in the Abu Ghraib region of Iraq when their Bradley vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb. The explosion ruptured the vehicle's fuel cell and engulfed the entire crew and vehicle in flames. Sgt. Yarosh's face and body were on fire when he jumped from the top of the Bradley's turret. His jump broke his right leg, severing an artery, which resulted in an amputation (below the knee). He suffered burns over 60 percent of his body, lost partial digits and full use in both hands, lost both of his ears and part of his nose. Marine Corporal Oyoana Allende is married, studying occupational therapy, and living in New York City for the summer. She was injured on June 23, 2005 when a suicide bomber rammed his car, wired with explosives into her Marine convoy truck. Fourteen female Marines were riding in the bed of the truck at the time, being dropped off at various military checkpoints where they helped search Iraqi women for weapons and explosives. Three female Marines were killed in the incident, plus the driver of her vehicle, the gunner and a rescuer. She sustained extensive burns to her face, hands and knees. Despite the events of this tragedy, Oyoana keeps a smile on her face and makes the world around her glow. Marine Sergeant Christopher Gray, currently living in North Carolina with his wife and two beautiful daughters was in an Abrams tank in Fallujah, Iraq, on February 17, 2007, when two rocket-propelled grenades hit his vehicle causing the ammunition inside to explode directly behind Gray's head. Everyone inside the tank was injured when it became engulfed in flames. Gray suffered third-degree burns on 53 percent of his body. Since then, he has been through multiple skin grafts and other surgeries, including a cornea transplant. About 125 centimeters of his small intestine was removed. He has undergone the beginning stages of the forehead flap procedure with Dr. Miller. Army Sergeant Jason March is retired and living in San Antonio Texas with his wife and stepson. On August 27, 2006 while leading a platoon near Fallujah he was hit by a sniper's bullet in the back of the head near his right ear while standing in the gun turret of a Bradley. The right side of Sgt. March's head, ear, jaw and brain received the direct impact of the wound. His motor control has improved, most of his memories of past events is intact and his personality, sense of humor and love of life and family are as strong as ever. Army Staff Sergeant Michael Mills is retired and living in Minnesota with his wife and two children. He was injured in Kirkuk, Iraq on June 14, 2005 by an improvised explosive device that burned over 31% of his body and broke his scapula, clavicle and 4 bones in his left foot. His left hip was badly broken. He had his left little finger and thumb amputated, has 13 pins and a plate in his hip, he's missing a portion of his left ear and nose. He is currently undergoing the beginning stages of reconstruction with Dr. Miller. TSGT. Israel Del Toro currently living in San Antonio Texas with his wife and son. He was severely injured while on tour of duty in Afghanistan in 2005. Originally his job was to call in air strikes, but that December, his Humvee hit a massive IED. Del Toro was burned over 80 percent of his body. Doctors gave Del Toro a 20 percent chance of survival. He has undergone over 100 surgeries since his accident. Israel’s positive outlook on life continues to inspire everyone that has the pleasure of meeting him. Navy Chief Petty Officer Robert Bruce was recently promoted to Chief Petty Officer, Robert Bruce is currently living in San Antonio Texas and was one of eight sailors injured Dec. 1, 2006 when a steam pipe ruptured aboard the Guam-based submarine tender USS Frank Cable. The steam line ruptured during a safety-valve check while the ship was docked at Guam’s Apra Harbor sending hot steam into the fire room where Bruce was one of 14 sailors acting as technicians, standing watch or observing the safety check. Two sailors have since died of their injuries. Marine Corporal Ronny Porta is currently living in San Antonio Texas with his new puppy. While he was in Al Asad Iraq on May 5, 2007, his Humvee hit a roadside IED killing two of the marines he was with instantly and severely burning Ronny. His prognosis was devastating: 3rd, 4th and 5th degree burns over 35% of his body. He had to have his right arm amputated and suffered facial disfigurement, the loss of his nose, damage to ears and eye sockets, and loss of fingers on his left hand. Ronny’s soft hearted approach to everyone he encounter’s is a reminder of the strength and courage he posses. Army Specialist Joseph (Joey) Paulk is retired and living back in his hometown of Vista, California with his girlfriend and two dogs. On July 5, 2007 he was injured in Afghanistan when his tactical vehicle was hit by 3 anti-tank mines, flipping it over and igniting the fuel tank. Tragically, his team leader lost his life during the attack, and Joey was left with significant injuries. He suffered 40% burns to his body and face, smoke inhalation, paralysis of his vocal cords and complete amputation of all 10 fingers. He had to re-learn how to walk, talk, swallow, and cope without the use of his hands. Joey is a changed man after only three surgeries with Operation Mend. U.S ARMY SSG Juan A Amaris is originally from Cali Colombia. He moved to the United States in 1999, and joined the Military on February of 2001. He did his basic training at Fort Sill Oklahoma, then he was sent to Fort Benign for Airborne School and finally to Fort Bragg North Carolina. He served under the 1-377 Field Artillery Air assault Battalion, Unit with which he deployed to Mosul Iraq at the beginning of 2003 and return earlier 2004. After he got back he was sent to Fort Wainwright Alaska to be part of the new striker brigade. SSG Amaris deployed in the middle of August of 2005 with this unit to Iraq where he was injured in theater on June 20 of 2006. He was burned over 77% of his body and lost the use of both hands. SSG Amaris is currently living in San Antonio Texas, with his wife and two children. His motto to this day is "I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you... YOU are in charge of your attitude." CPL. Louis Dahlman is an active duty soldier living in San Antonio Texas with his wife and newborn daughter. After three months on tour in Iraq in 2007, he was hit by an EFP (roadside bomb). His jaw was blown off and he lost all of his bottom teeth as well as a lot of soft tissue and bone. He is currently having reconstructive plastic surgery with Dr. Jarrahy at UCLA, to repair his jaw. Marine Corporal Jacob Tabora from Queens New York City was deployed to Iraq in 2007. After 9 months overseas he returned to the states and began rigorous training to be redeployed in the summer of 2008. During a live fire training event on base at 29 Palms a defective 120mm tank round exploded inside of his tank setting it on fire and trapping Jacob inside. He suffered 55% total surface body burns-36% of which were 3rd degree. After receiving a year of exceptional treatment at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio Texas, Jacob will also be having reconstructive plastic surgery with Dr. Miller at UCLA, December 1st, 2009. SPC. Francesca Duke is currently living in San Antonio Texas with her family. Her job as a Military Police Officer was to train and maintain an Iraqi Police station in Ramadi, Iraq. On August 21, 2006 the IP station she was assigned to was blown up by a VBIED carrying propane tanks and explosives. She was burned on her legs, arms, banc, trunk, and face. She will be having her first surgery at UCLA at the end of this year and is home celebrating the new birth of her beautiful daughter. http://operationmend.../body.cfm?id=34

Pentagon - POLITICS U.S. Military Sources: Iran Has Missing U.S. Drone Published December 05, 2011 Print Email Share Comments A U.S. super-secret spy plane believed to be in Iranian possession could be a major loss for the U.S. military -- and a major gain for Iran. According to a senior U.S. military source with intimate knowledge of the Sentinel drone, the aircraft likely "wandered" into Iranian air space after losing contact with its handlers and is presumed to be intact since it is programmed to fly level and find a place to land, rather than crashing. "This is a big prize in terms of technology," a senior U.S. military source told Fox News. The spy plane uses the same stealth technology as the drone used to monitor the compound during the raid that killed Usama bin Laden, U.S. military sources told Fox News on Monday. Military sources confirmed that the Iranians have the RQ-170 drone, which is so advanced that the U.S. Air Force has not distributed even a photo of it. However, they did not say that the Iranians shot down the spy plane, as was reported by Iran's official IRNA news agency. IRNA quoted an unidentified Iranian military official saying Sunday that the spy plane was shot down by Iran's armed forces and suffered minor damage.. The official also warned of strong and crushing response to any violations of the country's airspace by American drone aircraft. Earlier, the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan issued a statement saying the aircraft may have been a drone that operators lost contact with last week while it was flying a mission over neighboring western Afghanistan. A U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the classified nature of the incident, said the U.S. had "absolutely no indication" that the drone was shot down. Iran is locked in a dispute with the U.S. and its allies over Tehran's disputed nuclear program, which the West believes is aimed at developing nuclear weapons. Iran denies the accusations, saying its nuclear program is entirely peaceful and that it seeks to generate electricity and produce isotopes to treat medical patients. Iran said in January that two pilotless spy planes it had shot down over its airspace were operated by the United States and offered to put them on public display. In July, Iranian military officials showed Russian experts several U.S. drones they said were shot down in recent years. Also in July, Iranian lawmaker Ali Aghazadeh Dafsari said Iran's Revolutionary Guard shot down an unmanned U.S. spy plane that was trying to gather information on an underground uranium enrichment site. The RQ-170 Sentinel is made by Lockheed Martin and is equipped with stealth technology. The $6 million stealth aircraft manufactured by Lockheed Martin has an RQ in its name to indicate it is unarmed. Neither the Air Force nor manufacturer Lockheed Martin has released much information about the plane, dubbed "The Beast of Kandahar" in 2007 when its existence was finally confirmed. "The RQ-170 Sentinel, a low observable UAV, was built by Lockheed Martin's Advanced Development Programs," Major Cristin L. Marposon, a public affairs officer for the USAF at the Pentagon, finally told FoxNews.com in 2009. Sources said that the plane was designed for surveillance, not for attack. Little is known about the plane beyond its intended goals, however, with no official images released or details about its composition. Leaked photographs purportedly of the craft depict a sleek, biwing design, intended to present a stealthier, harder to hit profile that other drones or other aircraft. "The USAF has not issued any public release photos of the RQ-170," Melissa Dalton of Lockheed Martin told FoxNews.com Early reports suggested that plane -- which supposedly has a wingspan of about 65 feet and can fly at around 50,000 feet -- would be made almost entirely without metal to help it dodge radar, and special paint provides additional stealth. Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., told Fox News on Monday that "it's less likely than not" that the Iranians did not shoot down the plane, but it had a mechanical or computer malfunction that caused it to go down. The Iranians then used it "for propaganda purposes." "In the past, they have claimed these shoot-downs and been unable to produce any pieces of the drone, and currently, they have not exhibited any piece of the RQ-170 yet," he said. FoxNews.com's Jeremy A. Kaplan contributed to this report. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/12/05/us-military-sources-iran-has-missing-us-drone/ Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/12/05/us-military-sources-iran-has-missing-us-drone/#ixzz1fj3kHRMD

Iraq cabinet okays 2012 budget at $100 billion Aseel Kami BAGHDAD | Mon Dec 5, 2011 9:49am EST (Reuters) - Iraq's cabinet approved a draft 2012 budget of 117 trillion Iraqi dinars ($100 billion) with a deficit of 17 trillion dinars ($14.5 billion), Iraq's cabinet secretary said on Monday. The 2012 budget, which still needs parliamentary approval, is based on an oil price of $85 a barrel and oil exports of 2.625 million barrels a day next year, Cabinet Secretary Ali al-Alaq, a top aide to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, told Reuters. The new budget forecasts total government expenditure at $68 billion, including $31.6 billion set for investment spending in 2012, Alaq said in an interview. "The cabinet approved the budget today ... It will be sent to parliament in the next two or three days." The projected oil exports include 175,000 bpd from the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan, he said. The OPEC member, which is trying to rebuild its battered economy after years of war and sanctions, depends mainly on oil revenue which funds about 95 percent of its budget. Baghdad has signed a series of deals with international oil companies in a bid to boost its oil production capacity to 12 million barrels per day by 2017 from 2.95 million bpd. That could vault Iraq into the top echelon of producers. But many analysts have been skeptical that Iraq would reach its ambitious target due to infrastructure constraints. Iraqi Oil Minister Abdul-Kareem Luaibi said in September a production capacity target of 8-8.5 million bpd was "more suitable". Alaq said the 2012 deficit of $14.5 billion will be mainly covered by the surplus of the Development Fund of Iraq (DFI) account at the New York Federal Reserve. The DFI was established after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in order to direct oil revenue to reconstruction and food programs for the Iraqis. Iraq holds the bulk of proceeds from its oil export sales in the DFI. "We have a surplus in the DFI, it will cover the main part of this deficit ... We have agreed with the IMF to use around $10 billion from the fund," Alaq said. Iraq's 2011 budget was $82.6 billion, based on an average oil price of $76.50 per barrel and 2.2 million bpd in crude exports. In November, Iraq oil exports were 2.135 million bpd. (Reporting by Aseel Kami; editing by Patrick Markey and Stephen Nisbet) http://www.reuters.c...E7B411S20111205

Hard Times Generation: Families living in cars November 27, 2011 12:45 PM http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7389750n&tag=pop;videos Scott Pelley brings "60 Minutes" cameras back to central Florida to document another form of family homelessness: kids and their parents forced to live in cars. Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7389750n&tag=pop;videos#ixzz1fEoD325H

Posted by Chris Anders, Washington Legislative Officeat 10:46am DETENTION Senators Demand the Military Lock Up American Citizens in a “Battlefield” They Define as Being Right Outside Your Window While nearly all Americans head to family and friends to celebrate Thanksgiving, the Senate is gearing up for a vote on Monday or Tuesday that goes to the very heart of who we are as Americans. The Senate will be voting on a bill that will direct American military resources not at an enemy shooting at our military in a war zone, but at American citizens and other civilians far from any battlefield — even people in the United States itself. Senators need to hear from you, on whether you think your front yard is part of a “battlefield” and if any president can send the military anywhere in the world to imprison civilians without charge or trial. The Senate is going to vote on whether Congress will give this president—and every future president — the power to order the military to pick up and imprison without charge or trial civilians anywhere in the world. Even Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) raised his concerns about the NDAA detention provisions during last night’s Republican debate. The power is so broad that even U.S. citizens could be swept up by the military and the military could be used far from any battlefield, even within the United States itself. The worldwide indefinite detention without charge or trial provision is in S. 1867, the National Defense Authorization Act bill, which will be on the Senate floor on Monday. The bill was drafted in secret by Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) and passed in a closed-door committee meeting, without even a single hearing. I know it sounds incredible. New powers to use the military worldwide, even within the United States? Hasn’t anyone told the Senate that Osama bin Laden is dead, that the president is pulling all of the combat troops out of Iraq and trying to figure out how to get combat troops out of Afghanistan too? And American citizens and people picked up on American or Canadian or British streets being sent to military prisons indefinitely without even being charged with a crime. Really? Does anyone think this is a good idea? And why now? The answer on why now is nothing more than election season politics. The White House, the Secretary of Defense, and the Attorney General have all said that the indefinite detention provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act are harmful and counterproductive. The White House has even threatened a veto. But Senate politics has propelled this bad legislation to the Senate floor. But there is a way to stop this dangerous legislation. Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) is offering the Udall Amendment that will delete the harmful provisions and replace them with a requirement for an orderly Congressional review of detention power. The Udall Amendment will make sure that the bill matches up with American values. In support of this harmful bill, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) explained that the bill will “basically say in law for the first time that the homeland is part of the battlefield” and people can be imprisoned without charge or trial “American citizen or not.” Another supporter, Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) also declared that the bill is needed because “America is part of the battlefield.” The solution is the Udall Amendment; a way for the Senate to say no to indefinite detention without charge or trial anywhere in the world where any president decides to use the military. Instead of simply going along with a bill that was drafted in secret and is being jammed through the Senate, the Udall Amendmentdeletes the provisions and sets up an orderly review of detention power. It tries to take the politics out and put American values back in. In response to proponents of the indefinite detention legislation who contend that the bill “applies to American citizens and designates the world as the battlefield,” and that the “heart of the issue is whether or not the United States is part of the battlefield,” Sen. Udall disagrees, and says that we can win this fightwithout worldwide war and worldwide indefinite detention. The senators pushing the indefinite detention proposal have made their goals very clear that they want an okay for a worldwide military battlefield, that even extends to your hometown. That is an extreme position that will forever change our country. Now is the time to stop this bad idea. Please urge your senators to vote YES on the Udall Amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act. Learn more about detention: Sign up for breaking news alerts, follow us on Twitter, and like us on Facebook. http://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/senators-demand-military-lock-american-citizens-battlefield-they-define-being/

To answer your question. The core values that you have listed sound realistic. But these same issue's plagued the United States long before Obama was elected President. Yet I do not recall the Tea Party pushing the line against prior Presidents. WE know the real reason why the Tea Party was Organized. You had a segment of the US population who was point blank was unhappy with a Mulatto being elected President. This is why the majority of the Tea Party dwells on the issue of Obama's Birth Certificate and African Heritage. But I recall when Arnold Schwarzenegger, ran for the Governor of California, the California Constitution at the time, did not allow a person who was not born in the United States ( California) to hold the office of Governor. Schwarzenegger was born in Austria. The same like group who oppose Obama rallied and had the California Constitution changed to accommodate, one that was like them. Old money that was passed down from good old boy's from yesteryear runs this country. Until People put forth a real effort to apply Real Change to this system. Things will remain the same in Washington D.C. with the same old people, faces and places and empty rhetoric. I also notice that with the white right, when a person does not agree with your band of politics you like to hit the red button. You can stick both your thumbs up your arse and walk on your elbows. Because when it comes down to the real deal, most of you are all mouth. And wont bust a grape in a fruit fight.

Just Like The Tea Party Protesters. Talking Loud Saying Nothing.

Inside the bag were six assault rifles, a grenade launcher, a rocket launcher, 20 ammunition magazines for various-sized weapons and three packages of what appeared to be C-4 plastic explosives I wonder how many bags the Border Patrol did not find? Seems like that C-4 was heading North, instead of Southbound?