Three Strange Theories You Might Believe After Attending Arizona’s International UFO Congress

February 23, 2012

Phoenix New Times

By Bob Beard

“If you can make it to Phoenix for the UFO Congress – do it. It’s the biggest UFO event of the year.” –KTRN

If you can, you should sneak away from your comparatively corporate gig sometime this week for the 2012 meeting of the International UFO Congress. The group, based here in Phoenix has held this annual conference since 1991 and has seen attendance climb every year.

The 2012 session starts tomorrow at Fort McDowell Resort and Casino and will present notable researchers and witnesses of alien activity like Whitley Strieber, Stanton Friedman and Arizona’s own Travis Walton, subject of the book and film Fire in The Sky, which told of the logger’s 1975 abduction in the White Mountains.

As Web-dwelling fanboy, I am usually pre-loaded with a fistful of snark and self righteousness, but I’m doing my best to keep it at bay this week. I enjoy the annual confab of the IUFOC and fully support their proselytizing for crop-circles, close encounters other contact with extraterrestrial entities. Stranger things have happened – after all, the fat kid from Superbad may soon be known as “Academy-Award Winner Jonah Hill,” so who are we to say what’s impossible?

Click here for the full report.

Gold Futures Edge Higher As Dollar Pulls Back

February 23, 2012

Market Watch

By Claudia Assis and Barbara Kollmeyer

Gold futures rose Thursday, boosted by a weaker dollar and expectations that central banks will maintain loose monetary policies for some time to come.

Gold for April delivery GCJ2 +0.84% advanced $4.90, or 0.3%, to $1,776.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. A day earlier, the metal settled at $1,771.30 an ounce, the highest since mid-November.

Bargain hunters stepped in to buy gold durinh the prior session as the metal eased following disappointment over Chinese data and fading optimism about Greece’s bailout deal.

Wednesday’s move higher for gold “was a reminder, if markets needed it, that central banks are set to remain in accommodative mode for some time to come,” said Michael Hewson, senior market analyst with CMC Markets.

He said the dovish tone from the Bank of England on Wednesday, last week’s stimulus from the Bank of Japan and a new long-term refinancing operation from the European Central Bank next week will increase money supply and underpin gold prices “for some time to come against most [Group of 10] currencies.
Upside targets: $1,800, then $2,000

“The key level on the upside lies at the November highs at $1,801 and if we can push above here, then the record highs last year will come back into view, with the likelihood we could well see levels above $2,000 an ounce within the next 12 months,” said Hewson, in e-mailed comments.

With Fitch Ratings earlier this week lowering Greece’s credit rating, ratings agencies are debating whether to take the same step of further downgrading Greece and rate it as a “selective default,” analysts at Commerzbank said in a note to clients.

Greek lawmakers also need to “swiftly rubber-stamp” reform measures, while at the same time it isn’t clear how many private bondholders will agree to the country’s agreed haircut, they added.

Click here for the full report.

The Enduring Popularity of Gold

February 23, 2012

321 Gold

By Frank Holmes

The World Gold Council (WGC) reaffirmed the power of the Love Trade in its 2011 Gold Demand Trends report released this week. Gold demand grew 0.4 percent in 2011 despite a 28 percent year-over-year increase in bullion’s average price.

After flirting with the top spot for some time, China emerged as the world’s largest gold market for jewelry and investment during the fourth quarter of 2011 as demand in India weakened. This is the first time China’s demand outpaced India’s in 11 quarters. However, India did retain the gold demand crown for the entire year, purchasing 933 tons compared to China’s demand of 770 tons.

I always say the trend is your friend, and I believe China’s increasing demand for gold is one trend that is just getting started. Although gold imports from Hong Kong were cut in half in December, HSBC Global Research reports that overall gold imports from Hong Kong were 10 times the historical average from January through November 2011. HSBC expects a continued rise in Chinese incomes will keep demand at a robust pace. The WGC sees domestic demand for gold jewelry and investment driving 20 percent growth in Chinese gold demand during 2012.

China should consider its leadership as the No. 1 gold market a short-term position, though. While China’s presence in the bullion market is strong and growing for jewelry and investment, India’s ancient relationship with the yellow metal is such that “domestic drivers of demand are largely independent of outside forces,” says the WGC. The WGC does not see India’s role in the gold market diminishing over the long term.

Ajay Mitra, the WGC’s managing director for the Middle East and India, recently expressed India’s strong ties with gold in a 60 Minutes feature. Gold has always been a part of India’s history, culture and tradition. I have witnessed firsthand the strength of this bond many times over the years. As the famous saying goes, “no gold, no wedding.”

Click here for the full report.

Ron Paul Highlights from 2/22/2012 Debate

February 23, 2012

CNN

Document Proves DHS Is Monitoring Social Media For Government Criticism

February 23, 2012

Info Wars

By Paul Joesph Watson

“You might want to think twice before you post an anti-government comment on your Facebook page. Apparently, the government doesn’t have anything better to do than read social media. What are they afraid of? The answer is you and me. Hooray for freedom.” –KTRN

A Homeland Security training manual belies claims made by DHS representatives during a Congressional hearing last week that the federal agency is only monitoring social media outlets for “situational awareness,” and proves the fact that Bis Sis is also tracking online criticism of government, including discussion of airport body scanners.

“Analysts for a Department of Homeland Security program that monitors social networks like Twitter and Facebook have been instructed to produce reports on policy debates related to the department, a newly disclosed manual shows,” reports the New York Times.

The manual, entitled Department of Homeland Security National Operations Center Media Monitoring Capability Desktop Reference Binder, was obtained by the Electronic Privacy Information Center via a FOIA request.

The controversy over DHS spying on social media erupted last month following the release of 300 documents which detailed how DHS had hired an outside contractor, General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, to monitor social media outlets along with a list of websites, on a “24/7/365 basis,” in order to uncover “any media reports that reflect adversely on the U.S. Government and the Department of Homeland Security.”

During a subsequent Congressional hearing on the matter, DHS representatives Mary Callahan and Richard Chávez denied the fact that tracking criticism of government agencies formed any part of the program, and that the effort was merely aimed at developing “situational awareness” of potential threats, mostly related to extreme weather events.

However, the 2011 manual makes it abundantly clear that the program was a backdoor effort to keep tabs on what the American people were saying about not just the DHS, but a whole host of federal agencies, including the CIA, the ATF, the TSA, FEMA, as well as organizations outside of the U.S. government such as the United Nations and the Red Cross.

Click here for the full report.

McCain To Introduce Cybersecurity Legislation Giving Even More Domestic Control To NSA, Military

February 23, 2012

End The Lie

By Madison Ruppert

“John McCain in an evil man. Let’s not forget he was one of the major players at getting the NDAA signed. Please vote this man out of office.” –KTRN

During the Senate’s major hearing on cybersecurity last week, Senator John McCain, a Republican from Arizona, announced that the Republicans in the Senate would introduce a bill to compete with S. 2105, also known as the Cybersecurity Act of 2012.

McCain seeks to give the NSA and the military previously unimaginable powers over civilian networks, even further expanding the ludicrous power over American citizens given to the military under the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (NDAA).

This is similar to the conclusions drawn by a study conducted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which unsurprisingly had a long list of corporate “advisers” who would directly benefit from such a centralization.

Although, even the legislation as it is currently being considered follows the study’s recommendations by putting the power in the hands of DHS. McCain would apparently rather see that power in the military’s hands.

The Cybersecurity Act of 2012 is currently being supported by the chairmen of not only the Senate’s Homeland Security committee but also the chairs of the commerce and intelligence committees as well.

The current bill is cosponsored by Senators Joseph Lieberman, a Connecticut Independent, Jay Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat and Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat from California.

McCain spoke out against rushing the debate on this legislation and instead called for widening the role of the National Security Agency (NSA) in cybersecurity matters domestically.

On the February 16 hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee McCain said that the fact that similar legislation has been introduced in the past by Lieberman and Senator Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, in the past does not mean that this new bill should be rushed to a vote.

“To suggest that this bill should move directly to the Senate floor because it has ‘been around’ since 2009 is outrageous,” McCain said.

“First, the bill was introduced two days ago. Secondly, where do Senate Rules state that a bill’s progress in a previous congress can supplant the necessary work on that bill in the present one?”

Click here for the full report.

Tennessee Begins To Push Back Against NDAA Tyranny

February 23, 2012

End The Lie

By Madison Ruppert

“People in Tennessee should ‘volunteer’ to protest their state for using the TSA in traffic stops.”  –KTRN

Tennessee, the Volunteer State, has begun to push back against the tyranny that is the indefinite detention provisions contained in the National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2012, better known simply as the NDAA.

The state bills currently being considered could be one of the most significant steps taken against the atrocious assault on our most essential liberties embodied by the indefinite detention provisions of the NDAA.

The Tenth Amendment Center (TAC), a group promoting state’s rights (something which I think is an honorable cause in these dire times in which we have an increasingly centralized, authoritarian federal government) reports that two bills are to be considered in the Tennessee legislature.

These include HB1629 and SB2669, both of which are set to be considered in the 2012 session.

The legislation could essentially nullify the troubling indefinite detention provisions in the NDAA by requiring federal agents to obtain written permission from the county sheriff before making any arrests in Tennessee for any reason.

So long as county sheriffs are actually doing their job and keeping people safe from an out of control federal government, this could be a major step forward.

On the second episode of End the Lie Radio, Bob Tuskin and I discussed how sheriffs can act as a buffer between federal tyranny and the American people, something which these bills are going to reinforce.

The actual text is quite striking and to me it is very exciting that such a thing is even being placed before a state legislature.

15 Ways Politics Steals Our Energy

February 23, 2012

Activist Post

By Dylan Charles

“This is an interesting article – especially after we just had the fifth millionth GOP debate.  Talk about a waste of energy.”  –KTRN

From grade school on we are taught to appreciate the American government and its civic processes as the cornerstone of freedom in the world, the ‘shining beacon on the hill.’ We are taught how to pledge allegiance to and revere a flag. We are told that goodness will prevail if we all just participate heartily and enthusiastically, playing by the rules.

We grow up believing that a basic responsibility of being born a human on planet earth is to participate in all of this political activity, and likewise, we are taught that non-participation is irresponsible, lazy, deplorable even. And so as good citizens do, many of us participate.

So, perhaps you’ve donated money to a political campaign or ran for public office. Maybe you’ve staffed for a political party or organized at the grass roots level. Maybe you’ve even joined the electoral process as a delegate, gone to your County or State convention, or just showed up with signs at the polls. Perhaps you’ve written your Congressman once or twice.

But is all this frenzy of well-intentioned activity doing our society any good or providing hope for a better future for our posterity?

Is it possible that our electoral system is cleverly designed to exhaust our positive, community-minded energies and to pacify our violent human will to live the prosperous and peaceful lives we deserve?

Could it be that the resources and energy we have applied to this social mechanism have been squandered in one of the greatest opportunity costs of all time?

Actually, when looking at politics as a drain on society, it becomes rather easy to conclude that we may be indeed wasting our greatest potential for societal progress in this endless game of ego satiation and public parade. Furthermore, it appears that the hidden costs of our political efforts have been quite vast, and have had many detrimental effects to our collective psyche and identity.

Consider this:

Politics devours time, energy and resources that could be spent elsewhere.

Politics creates widespread division amongst the populace by providing us with few choices and then positioning those choices as mutually exclusive enemies.

Politics nullifies the value of society’s potentially most effective members by forcing passionate, community-oriented individuals into a rigid arena that demands conformity and ultimately defers to entrenched power cliques.

Politics falsely empowers the thoughtless by providing an arena for people to believe they are positively impacting the world by simply pressing a button or checking a box when told to do so.

Click here for the full report.

Hey Rick Santorum, What’s The 4th Amendment?

February 23, 2012

We Are Change

After reminding Rick Santorum that he said he doesn’t agree that the Patriot Act violates the 4th Amendment, Luke Rudkowski of We Are Change asks Rick Santorum to tell us what exactly the 4th Amendment is.

The Fourth Amendment (Amendment IV) to the United States Constitution:
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The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Air Marshal Whistleblowers Reveal a Federal Aviation Culture of Discrimination, Abuse, and Incompetence

February 23, 2012

Activist Post

By Joe Wright

Two training supervisors, Tom Feeney and Matt Ryan, have been exposed by 5 current and former air marshals as having created a discriminatory board game that was particularly disparaging of gays, lesbians, African-Americans, and veterans.

The whistleblowers say that the board game is actually a reflection of a system-wide attitude by Federal Air Marshal management that should make fellow workers concerned, as well as the flying public.

In the words of one whistleblower who revealed his identity, Steve Theodoropoulos, the investigation was a whitewash and nothing more than a review, not a true investigation:

The general public ought to be concerned the largest federal racist discrimination case in the history of federal law enforcement is going on and it’s being covered up. (Source)

More worrisome is that the blatant discrimination is merely the tip of a very large iceberg of unimaginable proportions of corruption and abuse.

The five individuals called for an investigation by the Office of Inspector General, backed by Senators and Congressmen. After 21 months, the Office concluded that there was no evidence demonstrating a system-wide attitude, but rather was contained only to immediate training staff in one office.

Beyond the blatant discrimination, however, the whistleblowers also have pointed out the general incompetence and wastefulness that is endemic within the Air Marshal service, leading to massive cost overruns due to layers of desk bureaucrats, as well as compromised safety and service for the flying public.

Click here for the full report.

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