Finally, An Apocalypse-Proof Bunker House

Finally, An Apocalypse-Proof Bunker House

 

Drunken Ben Bernanke Tells Everyone At Neighborhood Bar How Screwed U.S. Economy Really Is

Drunken Ben Bernanke Tells Everyone At Neighborhood Bar How Screwed U.S. Economy Really Is

August 3, 2011 | ISSUE 47•31

 The intoxicated Federal Reserve chairman informs bar patrons of the dangers of reckless spending.

SEWARD, NE—Claiming he wasn’t afraid to let everyone in attendance know about “the real mess we’re in,” Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke reportedly got drunk Tuesday and told everyone at Elwood’s Corner Tavern about how absolutely fucked the U.S. economy actually is.

Bernanke, who sources confirmed was “totally sloshed,” arrived at the drinking establishment at approximately 5:30 p.m., ensconced himself upon a bar stool, and consumed several bottles of Miller High Life and a half-dozen shots of whiskey while loudly proclaiming to any patron who would listen that the economic outlook was “pretty goddamned awful if you want the God’s honest truth.”

“Look, they don’t want anyone except for the Washington, D.C. bigwigs to know how bad shit really is,” said Bernanke, slurring his words as he spoke. “Mounting debt exacerbated—and not relieved—by unchecked consumption, spiraling interest rates, and the grim realities of an inevitable worldwide energy crisis are projected to leave our entire economy in the shitter for, like, a generation, man, I’m telling you.”

Enlarge ImageA drunken Bernanke attempts to find the Aerosmith song “Back In The Saddle” on the bar jukebox.

“And hell, as long as we’re being honest, I might as well tell you that a truer estimate of the U.S. unemployment rate is actually up around 16 percent, with a 0.7 percent annual rate of economic growth if we’re lucky—if we’re lucky,” continued Bernanke, nearly knocking a full beer over while gesturing with his hands. “Of course, if everybody knew that, it would likely cripple financial markets across the entire fucking globe, even in various emerging economies with self- sustaining growth.”

After launching into an extended 45-minute diatribe about shortsighted moves by “those bastards in Congress” that could potentially exacerbate the nation’s already deeply troublesome budget imbalance, the Federal Reserve chairman reportedly bought a round of tequila shots for two customers he had just met who were seated on either side of him, announcing, “I love these guys.”

Numerous bar patrons slowly nodded in agreement as Bernanke went on to suggest the United States could pass three or four more stimulus packages and “it wouldn’t even matter.”

“You think that’s going to create long-term economic growth, let alone promote job creation?” Bernanke said. “We’re way beyond that, my friend. There are no jobs, okay? There’s nothing. I think that calls for another drink, don’t you?”

While using beer bottles and pretzel sticks in an attempt to explain to the bartender the importance of infusing $650 billion into the bond market, the inebriated Fed chairman nearly fell off his stool and had to be held up by the patron sitting next to him.

Another bargoer confirmed Bernanke stood about 2 inches from her face and sprayed her with saliva, claiming inflation was going to “totally screw” consumer confidence and then asking if he could bum a smoke.

“Sure, we could hold down long-term interest rates and pursue a program of quantitative easing, but c’mon, we all know that’s not going to make the slightest bit of difference when it comes to output, demand, or employment,” Bernanke said before being told to “try to keep [his] voice down” by the bartender. “And trust me, with the value of the U.S. dollar in the toilet, import costs going through the roof, and numerous world governments unprepared for their own substantial debt burdens, shit’s not looking too good for us abroad, either.”

“God, I’m so wasted,” added Bernanke, resting his head on the bar.

Later in the evening, Richard Kampman, a truck driver who was laid off in 2010, said Bernanke approached him in the men’s restroom and attempted to strike up a conversation about various factors contributing to the current financial crisis.

“He stumbled up to the urinal and started mumbling on about the depressed housing sector or something,” said Kampman, who claimed Bernanke had to use both hands on the wall to steady himself. “Then after a while he just sort of stopped and I couldn’t tell if he was laughing or crying.”

“Then he puked all over the sink and the mirror,” Kampman added.

Customers at the bar told reporters the “shitfaced” and disruptive Bernanke refused to pay for his drinks with U.S. currency, claiming it was “worthless.” Witnesses also confirmed that near the end of the evening, Bernanke put money into the jukebox and selected Dire Straits’ “Money For Nothing” to play five times in a row.

“This is what it’s all about,” said Bernanke, who reportedly danced alone in the middle of the dark tavern. “Fucking love this song.”


http://www.theonion.com/articles/drunken-ben-bernanke-tells-everyone-at-neighborhoo,21059/

YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS

OUTLINE

1.  PART I: YOUR RIGHTS WHEN AN SSN IS REQUESTED

1.1 Question: Do I have to get my newborn Child a social security number?

1.2 Question: Can I claim a tax deduction for dependents without using Social security numbers?

1.3. Question: Can I give some other number when I am asked to provide an SSN?

1.4. Question: Can I get a TIN?

1.5. Question: Can I rescind my social security number?

1.5.1  Rescinding Numbers Assigned to Children At Birth:

1.5.2 Applying to Have the SSN Application Removed From an Adult:

1.5.3  The Social Security Administration May Not Remove The Record of Some SSNs:

1.5.4.  Rescinding an SSN:

1.6 Social Security is Not a Contract:

2.  PART II OBJECTING TO REQUESTS FOR SSNs 

2.1  BUSINESSES REQUESTING SSNs

2.1.1 Do I have to give my SSN to “XYZ” Company in order to get [some service or goods]?

2.1.2. Do I have to give my employer my SSN?

2.2  GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES REQUESTS FOR SSNs

2.2.1. Do I have to give the State my SSN to get a driver’s license?

2.2.2 State Driver’s License Laws:

2.2.3 Religious Objections to Requirements for a SSN as a Condition for Licensing:

2.3 QUASI-GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES REQUESTS FOR SSNs

2.3.1 Banks (Financial Institutions):

2.3.2 U.S. Post Office:

2.3.3 Universities:

2.3.4 Airlines:

2.3.5 Utilities:

3.  PART III NEW FEDERAL FUNDING CONTINGENT REQUIREMENTS

3.1. What new requirements were imposed by the recently enacted federal laws?

3.2 Conclusion Regarding New Federal Funding Requirements for SSNs:

4.  PART IV ADDENDUM – WHO NEEDS A SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER

4.1  Assignment of Social Security Numbers:

4.2  Treaties and Social Security

4.3  Social Security Number Court Cases

4.4 Further reading:


Your Rights Regarding Social Security Numbers

1.  PART I YOUR RIGHTS WHEN AN SSN IS REQUESTED

1.1. Question: Do I have to get my newborn child a social security number?

Answer: No. There is no law that requires parents to get a social security number for their newborn children. The Social Security Administration was recently asked this very question. In their response the Assistant Commissioner of Social Security stated:

“The Social Security Act does not require a person to have a Social Security number (SSN) to live and work in the United States, nor does it require an SSN simply for the purpose of having one.”Many hospitals automatically generate social security number application forms (Form SS-5) for newborns before they leave the hospital. This is done under the “enumeration at birth” program instituted under the GATT legislation. But hospital personnel are required to ask the parent if they want to get a SSN for their child. The parent can simply decline the service. Many people, such as those who give birth at home, never deal with this hospital paperwork at all. Once a number is assigned to a child it is difficult if not impossible to get it expunged from the SSA records. (See “5. Can I rescind my social security number?” below.)

Subsequent to the “Family Support Act of 1988” (Pub. L. 100-485) some States now require parents to give their Social Security numbers in order to get a birth certificate for a newborn.As amended, Title 42 U.S.C. 405(c)(2)(C)(ii) includes the following:”In the administration of any law involving the issuance of a birth certificate, each State shall require each parent to furnish to such State (or political subdivision thereof) or any agency thereof having administrative responsibility for the law involved, the social security account number (or numbers, if the parent has more than one such number) issued to the parent unless the State (in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Commissioner of Social Security) finds good cause for not requiring the furnishing of such number. The State shall make numbers furnished under this sub clause available to the agency administering the State’s plan under part D of subchapter IV of this chapter in accordance with Federal or State law and regulation. Such numbers shall not be recorded on the birth certificate.”The federal law (another federal funding-contingent requirement) allows the SSN requirement to be waived for “good cause.” There is no definition included in the Act for “good cause.” And more importantly, there is absolutely NO PENALTY imposed on anyone for refusing to provide the “required” [requested] SSNs.

1.2. Question: Can I claim a tax deduction for dependents without using Social security numbers?

Answer: Probably not. In 1994 Congress enacted “Uruguay Round Agreements Act,” (H.R.5110, Public Law: 103-465), to implement certain requirements imposed upon the member nations that signed on to the NAFTA and GATT treaties. The GATT implementing legislation includes the following provision: “TITLE VII–

REVENUE PROVISIONS, Subtitle E – (amendments to the U.S. Code)”SEC. 742.
TAXPAYER IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS REQUIRED AT BIRTH.
“(b) DEPENDENCY EXEMPTION- Subsection (e) of section 6109 is amended to read as follows:
“`(e) FURNISHING NUMBER FOR DEPENDENTS- Any taxpayer who claims an exemption under section 151 for any dependent on a return for any taxable year shall include on such return the identifying number (for purposes of this title) of such dependent.'”

During floor discussion on passage of this treaty-implementing legislation, the following exchange took place between Senators Moynihan and Domenici:

“Mr. DOMENICI: A final question of special concern is that GATT requires that every United States citizen receive an identification number at birth, and that this matter is unrelated and irrelevant to matters of trade. The answer is that this requirement is included in the implementing language of GATT; it is not part of the GATT itself. This language was included in the implementing legislation because to ensure accurate assessments of income taxes, improper deductions on tax returns must be minimized.

“Mr. MOYNIHAN: It is the Social Security number.

“Mr. DOMENICI: The Social Security number, that is right. As a consequence, this section is designed to reduce tax cheating by people who claim children they do not have, which has the effect of reducing their taxes. This is important because it has a significant effect on the amount of tax revenue collected, which directly correlates with the overall net cost of the agreement to the U.S. Treasury. Therefore, the United States has decided that it is critical to maintain an accurate accounting of its taxable population.” [Congressional Record, 1994, Page: S15275]

Additionally, in 1997 Congress passed the “Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997” –

(HR2014, Public Law: 105-34). Section 101 of the Act entitled “Child Tax Credit” amended the Internal Revenue Code, Title 26, section 151, subpart A of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1, (regarding deductions for dependents), by adding Section (24), so as to now read:

“(e) No credit shall be allowed under this section to a taxpayer with respect to any qualifying child unless the taxpayer includes the name and taxpayer identification number of such qualifying child on the return of tax for the taxable year.”

Recently, the following letter was sent by the IRS to a family claiming their children on their tax return without supplying their social security number:

“Dear Taxpayer:
“This letter is your legal notice that we have disallowed your claim(s). We can’t allow your claim(s) for refund or credit for the period(s) shown above for the reason(s) listed below.

“PER SECTION 151(e) STATES THAT EACH DEPENDENT MUST HAVE AN IDENTIFICATION NUMBER IF THEY ARE BEING CLAIMED AS A DEPENDENT ON THE TAX RETURN. SECTION 152(e) HAS BEEN CORRECTLY APPLIED. (emphasis added)

“If you want to sue to recover tax, penalties, or other amounts, you may file a lawsuit with the United States District Court having jurisdiction or with the United States Court of Federal Claims. These courts are independent bodies and have no connection with the Internal Revenue Service.

“The law permits you to do this within 2 years from the mailing date of this letter. If you decide to appeal our decision first, the 2-year period still begins from the mailing date of this letter.

“However, if you signed an agreement that waived your right to the notice of disallowance (Form 2297), the period for filing a lawsuit began on the date you filed the waiver.”

The IRS Code states that the “taxpayer identification number, (TIN)” in certain cases is a social security number. Claims for dependent children without associated SSNs may be disallowed. (See also “4. Can I get a TIN?” included in this FAQ.) The 1998, Form 1040 instructions state, regarding dependents, “If you do not enter the correct SSN, at the time we process your return, we may disallow the exemption claimed for the dependent.”

1.3. Question: Can I give some other number when I am asked to provide an SSN?

Answer: Yes, with caveats.

Government Agencies:
Giving ANY false information to a government agency for any reason may result in prosecution, fines, and even imprisonment. Title 42 U.S. Code, section 408 imposes fines and penalties for misuse of social security numbers. Title 18 U.S.
Code, section 1028 imposes criminal penalties and fines for misuse of government documents. It is a violation of one or more federal laws to make a misrepresentation to a federal agency.

Private Businesses:
A person may arrange by agreement with a private concern, business, or enterprise to use a substitute number other than a social security number, but it should be made clear that the number being used is not an SSN.

1.4. Question: Can I get a TIN?

Answer: Only if you are an “alien.” A “TIN” (an IRS “Taxpayer Identification Number”) may be assigned ONLY to “alien” individuals who are not eligible to work in the United States. Additionally, TINs are issued by the Internal Revenue Service, unlike the SSN which is the only number issued by the SSA. A TIN is not an alternative or a “substitute” for a SSN.
The Code of Federal Regulations, Title 26 – Internal Revenue, ChapterI, Sec. 301.6109-1 titled “Identifying Numbers” states that:
“(a)(1)(i) [T]here are generally three types of taxpayer identifying numbers:
social security numbers, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) individual taxpayer identification numbers, and employer identification numbers. Social security numbers take the form 000-00-0000, IRS individual taxpayer identification numbers take the form 000-00-0000 but begin with a specific number designated by the IRS, and employer identification numbers take the form 00-0000000. Both social security numbers and IRS individual taxpayer identification numbers identify individual persons… For the definition of IRS individual taxpayer identification number, see paragraph (d)(3) of this section.”
“(d)(3)(i) The term IRS individual taxpayer identification number means a taxpayer identifying number issued to an alien individual by the Internal Revenue Service… the term alien individual means an individual who is not a citizen or national of the United States.”

1.5. Question: Can I rescind my social security number?

Answer: You can only file a request for the SSA to delete the record of your SSN “application,” they will not rescind a SSN once assigned. The Social Security Act Does Not Require Anyone to Obtain a SSN: It should be first noted that the Social Security Act does not require anyone to obtain a Social Security number.

The Social Security Administration has consistently stated as follows:

“The Social Security Act does not require a person to have a Social Security number (SSN) to live and work in the United States, nor does it require an SSN simply for the purpose of having one.”

The SSA only says that if someone works without a SSN the agency cannot correctly credit the person’s account for the period in which they work without a number.

1.5.1  Rescinding Numbers Assigned to Children At Birth:

As stated earlier, many hospitals have (relatively recently) begun filling out social security number application forms (SSA form SS-5) for newborn children under the enumeration at birth program. The Social Security Administration can remove the record of a number being assigned to a child, however they will resist doing so. In fact, the SSA office will likely try to intimidate a parent into keeping a number once one has been assigned. A parent requesting to have a number removed from their child will be treated in accordance with SSA Policy RM00205.95, as indicated below:—

SSN ASSIGNED THROUGH ENUMERATION AT BIRTH RM 00205.95 Parent Objects to Assignment of SSN to Child Under the Enumeration at Birth (EAB) Program 

A. POLICY – SSA does not change, void or cancel SSNs. In special situations, SSA will delete the applicant information from the SSN record.

B. PROCEDURE – PARENT OBJECTS TO SSN
– A parent may object when a child is assigned an SSN via the EAB program. If a child is issued an SSN card via the EAB program (the online Numident shows “FMC:6” for Enumeration at Birth items) and the mother states she answered “no” to the enumeration question when providing birth information for the newborn, assume that either the hospital made an error or the State inadvertently keyed “yes”. Explain that the child will need an SSN eventually if he/she will be listed as a dependent on an income tax return. If the parent accepts this explanation and will keep the SSN card, stop. If this explanation is not acceptable explain that on SSA’s records, the record will remain dormant, unless earnings are posted. If the parent accepts this explanation and will keep the SSN card, stop. If the parent accepts the explanation but does not want the SSN card:
– repossess and destroy the card (RM 00201.060).
– explain that if the parent later applies for an SSN card for the child, the same number will be assigned.

C. PROCEDURE – REQUEST FOR DELETION
If the parent insists that we delete the applicant information from the SSN record, explain that the deletion action may take several months:

– Document the parent’s objection and advise the parent that the case must be sent to the central office (C0) for review.- Explain to the parent that if we delete the applicant information from the SSN record, a subsequent SSN request (likely before the child is age one) will result in a different SSN. In addition, if and when the parent files for an SSN for the child in the future, he/she should enter “no” in item 10 on the SS-5.
– Forward all material pertinent to the situation (including F0 observation and recommendation) to the CO at:
Social Security Administration OPBP, DE, E&E 3-E-26 Operations Building, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 21235
– Request CO review of the case and take action concerning the parent’s request for deletion of the data from the SSN record. – – Send a copy of the entire file to the appropriate regional office staff so that they can discuss ongoing problems with the involved State.


[End of Policy Statement]

The Social Security Administration will remind the parent that, (as stated elsewhere in this FAQ) a parent can no longer claim their child for a “child tax credit” on IRS tax forms without identifying their child using a SSN. The SSA representative may also say that the child will need a SSN to enroll in school and in order to work. Although schools often do ask for a SSN when a child enrolls there is no requirement that the child must have one in order to go to school. (The issue of working without a SSN is addressed in this FAQ under Part II, Number 2: “Do I have to provide a social security number to my employer?”)
With persistence a SSN assigned to a child will likely be removed under the above procedure.

1.5.2 Applying to Have the SSN Application Removed From an Adult:

If a person decided they do not need or want an SSN, they may request that SSA delete the record of their SSN application. Since the SSA policy states that in special situations, SSA will delete the “application information from the SSN record,” the agency should honor all such requests.

1.5.3  The Social Security Administration May Not Remove The Record of Some SSNs:

A question was recently posed to the Social Security Administration regarding rescinding an adult’s Social Security number. The Agency’s response indicates that once payments have been made under an assigned account number, the record of the Social Security number — and all information about the person it was assigned to — will never be removed from SSA files.

The Social Security Administration policy manual, “RM 00205.095,” addresses this issue; it states:

“SSA does not change, void or cancel SSNs. In special situations, SSA will delete the application information from the SSN record.” This specific SSA policy statement is in regard to numbers assigned to children at birth.

However, the statement appears to be a “blanket” policy. Apparently this is the SSA policy with regard to all assigned SSNs. Accordingly, it appears that the SSA does not delete or remove SSNs from their records under any circumstance. All indications are that once a SSN has ever been assigned, the record is permanently maintained by the Administration.

According to the Social Security Regulations, a person must use a SSN if they apply for public benefits. An applicant for government benefits who does not have, or does not use, a SSN will be denied.

In conclusion, once a person has ever been assigned a SSN – and paid into the Social Security system – they will ALWAYS HAVE A SSN in the records maintained by the SSA. This fact alone should be enough to make people choose to NOT get Social Security numbers assigned to their children. If they do, however, the SSN will remain associated with them forever. Only in certain cases – and then, only with persistence – will the SSA remove the record of the “application” for a SSN.

1.5.4.  Rescinding an SSN:

Some people have sent letters to the Social Security Administration stating that they were “rescinding” their social security number. They publicly “give it back” so to speak. However, the Social Security Administration continues to maintain a record pertaining to each person using their social security account number. It’s sort of analogous to the theme of the pop song “Hotel California” by the Eagles band where it says, “you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave.” We are not aware of any cases where the SSA agreed to expunge an adults records. Neither are we aware of any occasion where the SSA refunded any amount of contributions.

1.6 Social Security is Not a Contract:

Some people argue that when they applied for a SSN, they “unknowingly” entered into a “contract” with SSA and that by rescinding their number they absolve themselves of any commitment they may have unknowingly made. But the simple fact is, Social Security is not a contract. This very important point is clearly brought out by Larry Becraft in his brief entitled “Comment Upon Voluntary Nature of Social Security.” Therein, he states:

“Is Social Security a contract? A private insurance policy is clearly a contract because the policyholder makes a promise to pay money to the insurance company, which in turn agrees to likewise pay the policyholder if certain contingencies arise. These “promise to pay” elements are essential for a contract, but they simply are not present with Social Security. First, Social Security “payments” are not premium payments, but are taxes instead.

“Secondly, there is no corresponding and enforceable ‘promise to pay’ from the Social Security Administration to its ‘beneficiaries.’ [G]overnment contracts are very special and require an appropriation from Congress before money can be expended and a contract made. Regarding Social Security, the only ‘beneficiaries’ who have any claim against the public treasury are those for whom Congress has already made an appropriation, which can last no longer than a year. The rest of the Social Security claimants in America have no enforceable claim on public funds, and all they possess is a ‘political promise,’ upon which Congress can renege at any moment. If Congress decided tomorrow to cut off all Social Security, nobody would have any claim for payment. Thus, Social Security has never been and is not now a contract.”

Simply applying for (and receiving) a Social Security number does not constitute the making of a contract. And additionally, the Social Security Administration has never asserted that Social Security was a “contractual” agreement.

2.  PART II OBJECTING TO REQUESTS FOR SSNs 

2.1  BUSINESSES REQUESTING SSNs

2.1.1 Do I have to give my SSN to “XYZ” Company in order to get [some service or goods]?

Answer: No, but you may be denied the service or goods.

When an individual and a private company engage in any business transaction they are actually entering into a contractual agreement – whether written, stated, or implied. The contractual “terms and conditions” (which may be included in a written contract or may simply be a “policy”) may include a requirement for a social security number as a condition to conducting business. In such case it is totally up to the individual to decide whether or not they want to conduct business according to the contractual terms. If the person does not agree to the terms, they will notbe able to conclude the transaction. It’s that simple. There is no “law” specifically requiring a private company to conduct business with a person who refuses to comply with their contractual terms – even if it includes a requirement for a SSN.

The Social Security Administration in their publication “SSA Publication No. 05-10064”, July 1997, regarding business requests for social security numbers states:

“If a business or other enterprise asks for your Social Security number, you can refuse to give it to them. They may have another method of keeping their records. However, this may mean doing without the benefit or service for which your number was requested. Giving your Social Security number is voluntary, even when you are asked for the number directly.

“If requested, you should ask- “- why your Social Security number is needed; “- how your Social Security number is going to be used; “- what law requires you to give your Social Security number; and “- what are the consequences if you refuse to give your Social Security number. “Answers to these questions will help you decide whether you want to give your Social Security number to get the benefit or service. The decision is yours.”

The Social Security Administration recognizes and acknowledges the fact that in some cases individuals may not be able to “buy or sell” if they refuse to give out their social security number. However, many businesses will agree to use a number other than a social security number if asked to do so.

If you decide to resist giving out your social security number to a private company but you would like to do business with them anyway, you need to determine why they want your number. The two most likely answers are: 1) They simply want a unique nine digit number to enter into a computer database so that they can identify and distinguish you from other customers within their record keeping system; or, 2) They want to obtain a “consumer credit report” for use in determining whether they want to extend you credit. In the latter case, the business may have a contract with a credit-reporting agency to “exchange” information about you and your account, typically using a SSN. Both of these “reasons” can be satisfied, upon agreement, without necessitating the use of a SSN. A credit report can be obtained without using a SSN.

Once it is determined exactly why the business wants to obtain a SSN, then determine whether an alternative arrangement can be worked out.

The “simple” answer to the question as to whether a person must give their social security number to engage in some business transaction is “NO”. But the business may refuse to conduct business with the resistor. The options here are to either: 1) give out your social security number; 2) do without the goods, benefit, service, or access; 3) persuade the other party to amend or modify the contractual terms and conditions; or, 4) sue the other party in court – the grounds for such suit would have to be determined by tort merits of the complaint (perhaps discrimination).

2.1.2. Do I have to give my employer my SSN?

Answer: No. Employment is a form of contractual agreement. Generally, the same points made in the previous answer regarding contractual agreements also apply here.

If the terms of employment include a requirement that the employee must supply their social security number then there are basically four options available: 1) supply the requested SSN; 2) ask to work out another arrangement where the SSN isn’t required; 3) don’t work for that company; or, 4) sue the business in court.

An employee or job applicant may be able to receive protection from coerced submission of a SSN for employment purposes by relying on federal anti-discrimination laws. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 Section 703(a)(1), Title VII, 42 U.S.C. Section 2000e-2(a)(1) makes it unlawful to discriminate against any employee or perspective employee on the bases of his or her religion. (This is in addition to the basic Constitutional First Amendment protection of the free exercise of religion.)

In 1992 a complaint was filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEOC) by a Mr. Hanson, wherein he claimed as a “Christian Fundamentalist” he could not obtain or use a SSN. The EEOC filed suit against the business that fired Mr. Hanson on his behalf. The suit claimed that firing Mr. Hanson due to his not having or getting a SSN constituted discrimination due to his religious belief. The business claimed that they were required to either force Mr. Hanson to get a SSN or fire him because they were required by certain IRS Code sections and regulations to report all employees’ SSNs on certain IRS forms. The business also responded that it was required by federal law to report all employees’ SSNs to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS).

The EEOC countered that the only requirement imposed upon a businesses by the various tax laws was that employers must “request” an employee’s or potential employee’s taxpayer identification number, and that there was be no penalty for a business not succeeding in obtaining one. The EEOC, itself a federal government agency, stated in its “Plaintiff’s Response to Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss” that:

“the Internal Revenue Code and the regulations promulgated pursuant to the code do not contain an absolute requirement that an employer provide an employee social security number to the IRS.”

The EEOC further argued that employers were permitted to use any one of several acceptable forms of identification and employment eligibility verification other than a SSN and still comply with the Immigration Reform Act requirements.
The Court denied the employer’s motion to dismiss the complaint. A settlement was later reached in which Mr. Hanson was awarded back pay. The Court’s final decree setting out the terms of the settlement stated that: “The [employer] shall be permanently enjoined from terminating an employee for failure to provide a social security number because of religious beliefs.”

A sincerely held religious belief may serve as a valid basis for objecting to requirements for a social security number for employment purposes. A business could be found guilty of discrimination for taking adverse action against an employee or applicant due to their refusal to use or obtain a SSN.

2.2  GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES REQUESTS FOR SSNs

2.2.1. Do I have to give the State my SSN to get a driver’s license?

See the following URL to read what the Social Security Administration says about this subject:

 http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/ssa.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_refno=001101-000011&p_created=973082930

(The answers addressed in this section apply equally to State “Voter Registration” and “Blood Banks,” in that the same sections of law reviewed herein are worded similarly for these two additional State administered functions.)

Answer: No, but you may be unlawfully denied the license depending on the particular State you live in. Driver licensing, voter registration, and blood donation laws vary from state to state. Federal, state, and local laws regulate what information may or may not obtained from individuals by governmental agencies. These laws govern how and when information may be requested as well as what uses may or may not be made of the personal information collected by government agencies.

By far the most common “governmental” request for social security numbers comes from state driver’s licensing agencies.

When someone applies for a driver’s license and objects to giving out their SSN the license administrator will often respond, “Federal law requires that we must get it,” or “Federal law authorizes us to get it.” So, to answer the questions regarding use of SSNs by government agencies we must first look at the controlling “Federal” laws.

Title 42 of the United States Code, Section 405(c)(2)(C)(i) “PERMITS” States to use social security numbers in the administration of their driver licensing programs. However, this is not a federal “requirement” that States must obtain social security numbers when issuing driver’s licenses. Therefore, Title 42 U.S.C. 405(c)(2)(C)(i) is not an “authority” for states to require SSNs. The Social Security Administration addressed this fact in their publication “SSA Publication No. 05-10002”, October 1996, which states:

“You should not use your Social Security card as an identification card.
However, several other government agencies [other than SSA] are permitted by law to use Social Security numbers, but there is no law either authorizing or prohibiting their use.”

As shown in the above quoted publication, several government agencies are “PERMITTED” by law to use social security numbers, but THERE IS NO LAW “AUTHORIZING” such use. An important recent U.S. Supreme Court decision reaffirmed the fact that the federal government cannot compel [force] states to enforce a federal regulatory program – such as requiring SSNs. In the case “Sheriffs Mack and Printz v. The United States,” June 27, 1997, the nation’s highest court stated:

“We held in “New York” that Congress cannot compel the States to enact or enforce a federal regulatory program. Today we hold that Congress cannot circumvent that prohibition by conscripting the State’s officers directly. The Federal Government may neither issue directives requiring the States to address particular problems, nor command the States’ officers, or those of their political subdivisions, to administer or enforce a federal regulatory program. It matters not whether policymaking is involved, and no case-by-case weighing of the burdens or benefits is necessary; such commands are fundamentally incompatible with our constitutional system of dual sovereignty.”

Under the Printz line of U.S. Supreme Court cases the federal government cannot, even if it wanted to, force states to obtain a social security numbers as a condition to getting a driver’s license. To do so would constitute a federal subjugation of each State law-making lawmaking authority in direct violation of the fundamental and historical legal principle of “dual sovereignty”.

However, Congress HAS enacted a multitude of new laws (all connected to federal funding) which do require states to comply with federal “guidelines” in order to receive federal money. Several of these new laws include “requirements” that the states must enact state laws requiring their licensing agencies to obtain social security numbers. Funding contingent type laws are so relatively new that the U.S. Supreme Court has not ruled on their constitutionality. The U.S. Supreme Court did, however, comment on this very issue in Printz, and the Court indicated that the practice of enacting federal funding contingent laws is as unconstitutional as the direct commands themselves. (More on these type laws can be found below in Part III of this FAQ in the section entitled: NEW FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS.) We can safely conclude that Title 42 U.S. Code, Section 405(c)(2)(C)(i) does not, and cannot impose a requirement that the states must obtain social security numbers from driver’s license applicants.

The next point to consider then is whether there are any federal regulatory requirements which “regulate” the use of social security numbers when a State is “permitted” or “allowed” to obtain them for any purpose.Then we must determine whether or not the “regulatory” law is “inconsistent,” with section 405(c)(2) clause (i).

This brings us to the Privacy Act. The Privacy Act of 1974 By far the most significant Federal law regulating the uses that may be made of social security numbers is the “Privacy Act of 1974” (Pub. L. 93-579, Section 7). The Privacy Act clearly “regulates” the use of social security numbers by federal, state, and local government agencies. Section 7 of the Act states:

”(a)(1) It shall be unlawful for any Federal, State or local government agency to deny to any individual any right, benefit, or privilege provided by law because of such individual’s refusal to disclose his social security account number.

and,

”(b) Any Federal, State, or local government agency which requests an individual to disclose his social security account number shall inform that individual whether that disclosure is mandatory or voluntary, by what statutory or other authority such number is solicited, and what uses will be made of it.” 

An adjacent section of the Privacy Act found at 7(a)(2) states:

”(a)(2) [The] provisions of paragraph (1) of this subsection shall not apply with respect to… any disclosure which is required by Federal statute…”

As can be seen here, The Privacy Act at Section 7(a)(2) provides an exception to the prohibitive statement in paragraph (1), (the absolute prohibition against any federal, state, or local agency denying to any individual a benefit, right, or privilege due to their refusal to disclose their social security number). The key words used in the exception are found in the phrase “required by federal statute.” As we saw in “Printz,” the federal government cannot enact laws “compelling” (or requiring) a State to obtain SSNs. Which means that federal law cannot “require” a state agency to obtain social security numbers. Therefore, the “exception” found at 7(a)(2) does not, (and cannot), apply to state requests for SSNs.

Title 42 U.S.C. section 405(c)(2)(C)(v) also states:

“(v) If and to the extent that any provision of Federal law heretofore enacted is inconsistent with the policy set forth in clause (i), such provision shall, on and after October 4, 1976, be null, void, and of no effect.”

Paragraph, “(i)” is the permissive clause of Section 405 reviewed earlier which “allows” or “permits” the states to use a social security number for their driver’s licensing programs. There is nothing “inconsistent” with the above interpretation. In fact, any other interpretation would create inconsistencies. Hence, there is nothing “inconsistent” with the federal regulatory provisions of the Privacy Act with regards to the “permissive” clause found in 42 U.S.C. section 405(c)(2)(C)(i). It follows then that while 42 U.S.C. section 405(c)(2)(C)(i) does permit states to use social security numbers in the administration of their driver licensing programs, they must comply with the Privacy Act requirements and prohibitions. Unfortunately, many states are not complying. (It must be assumed that since the SSN is a federally assigned number, federal laws can be used to regulate and restrict its use.)

Are there any penalties for misuse of a person’s social security number by a state agency? In fact, there are.

Title 42 U.S. Code, section 408(a)(8) states:
“[Whoever] discloses, uses, or compels the disclosure of the social security number of any person in violation of the laws of the United States; shall be guilty of a felony and upon conviction thereof shall be fined under title 18 or imprisoned for not more than five years, or both.”

2.2.2 State Driver’s License Laws:

Some States have enacted State laws requiring social security numbers as a condition for being issued a driver’s license. Some states even use a person’s social security number as the driver’s license number. Most of these states, (but not all), have policies or laws which allow the use of alternative numbers when requested. In either case, when states require a social security number under the authority of state law, they are supposed to be regulated by the requirements and prohibitions contained within the Federal Privacy Act of 1974, Section 7.

Currently, a person living in a state with laws requiring a social security number as a condition to getting a driver’s license may have only one recourse – should they decide to force the issue they may have to file a lawsuit. As of this writing (2/0/99) two such suits are pending on appeal in both California and Alabama. (See “Religious Objections to Social Security Number Requirements” below.)

Of special note: A few states recently passed legislation which actually PROHIBITS the use of social security numbers for purposes related to the issuance of a driver’s licenses. Most notably, Georgia and Louisiana in 1997, both enacted State laws prohibiting their State’s licensing agency from obtaining a SSN from driver’s license applicants.

The answer to the driver’s license question is: No federal law “compels,” “authorizes,” or directly “requires” states to obtain social security numbers from driver’s license applicants. Even if such a federal law did exist – based upon recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions – states would be in violation of fundamental, court adjudicated constitutional principles should they decide to enforce it. All requirements for social security numbers by state government agencies, for any purpose, must comply with the regulatory requirements stipulated in the federal Privacy Act of 1974 prohibiting states from denying any right, benefit, or privilegebecause of an individual’s refusal to disclose his social security account number. Whenever a state does request a SSN it must provide the Privacy Act “notice” identifying: the uses that will be made of the number; whether supplying the SSN is mandatory or voluntary; and, the statutory authority for the request.

2.2.3 Religious Objections to Requirements for a SSN as a Condition for Licensing:

Several people have already won court cases objecting on religious grounds to State requirements for a SSN as a condition to receiving a driver’s license. In “Leahy v. District of Columbia” Circuit Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg, (now a U.S. Supreme Court Justice), wrote the Court’s opinion upholding John C. Leahy’s religious objection to providing his social security number in order to get a driver’s license. Also, as recently as October 1997, five plaintiffs sued the City of Los Angeles, on religious objection grounds, objecting to the State’s requirement that driver’s license applicants must provide a social security number as a condition to getting a license. They won the case in the State Superior Court but the State is currently appealing. A similar case is pending in Alabama on appeal.

2.3 QUASI-GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES REQUESTS FOR SSNs

4.Do I have to give banks and non-governmental entities a social security number?
Answer: No (For the purpose of this FAQ, entities such as banks and utility companies are classified as “quasi-governmental” entities. Public schools and universities, banks, utility companies, libraries, and even airlines are also grouped in this class. All of these entities generally provide social services and are typically regulated by federal, state, or local laws. The Postal Service is also classified in this group because they are regulated under the banking laws when issuing postal money orders.)
As publicly regulated entities these “quasi-governmental” entities must also comply with the requirements and prohibitions of the Privacy Act. However, here again, not all of them do. (See “Yeager v. Hackensack under “Social Security Number Related Court Cases” in the FAQ Addendum.) Each “misuse” of a social security number by one of these entities must be challenged on a case-by case basis. This may necessitate a lawsuit.

2.3.1 Banks (Financial Institutions):

Banks may deny service or resist opening an account or transferring funds for an individual who does not provide a social security number when requested. Banks are required by federal regulations to make and file certain reports on the purchase of money orders and other transfers of funds. This requirement is in furtherance of the federal Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) laws. As of January 16, 1996, Title 31 USC Sec. 5325, Subtitle IV – Chapter 53 – Subchapter II, imposes a requirement upon financial institution for the filling of reports for certain financial transactions.

Title 31 USC Sec. 5325 Section 5325, titled “Identification required to purchase certain monetary instruments” states that:
“(a) No financial institution may issue or sell a bank check, cashier’s check, traveler’s check, or money order to any individual in connection with a transaction or group of such contemporaneous transactions which involves United States coins or currency… in amounts or denominations of $3,000 or more unless the individual has a transaction account with such financial institution… or the individual furnishes the financial institution with such forms of identification as the Secretary of the Treasury may require in regulations…”

The regulations state that banks must request a social security number when establishing a bank account for an individual and from anyone that does not have an established account seeking to obtain “bank checks, cashier’s checks, traveler’s checks, or money orders.” Pursuant to Title 31, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 103.34, banks are required to ask for the Social Security number when opening a bank account or issuing a certificate of deposit for a new customer. But “in the event that a bank has been unable to secure, within the 30-day period specified, the required identification, it shall nevertheless not be deemed to be in violation of this section if (i) it has made a reasonable effort to secure such identification, and (ii) it maintains a list containing the names, addresses, and account numbers ofthose persons from whom it has been unable to secure such identification, and makes the names, addresses, and account numbers of those persons available to the Secretary as directed by him.” This provision applies also to purchases of bank checks, cashier’s checks, traveler’s checks, or money orders without providing a SSN.

Under the federal regulations (with the exception of casinos and the Postal Service) financial institutions are required to file “reports” for all financial transactions in amounts of $10,000.00 or more. And all institutions which issue or sell “bank checks and drafts, cashier’s checks, money orders and traveler’s checks” must file a report on all purchases made by a single person totaling $3,000.00 or more.

The Code of Federal Regulations, Title 31, section 103, states that(as of July 1, 1997):

“Subpart A – Definitions “Sec. 103.11 Meaning of terms.

“(l) Established customer. A person with an account with the financial institution, including a loan account or deposit or other asset account, or a person with respect to which the financial institution has obtained and maintains on file the person’s name and address, as well as taxpayer identification number (e.g., social security or employer identification number) or, if none, alien identification number or passport number and country of issuance, and to which the financial institution provides financial services relying on that information.”
“Subpart B–Reports Required To Be Made “Sec. 103.20 Determination by the Secretary.
“The Secretary hereby determines that the reports required by this subpart have a high degree of usefulness in criminal, tax, or regulatory investigations or proceedings.”

“Sec. 103.22 Reports of currency transactions.

“(a)(1) Each financial institution other than a casino or the Postal Service shall file a report of each deposit, withdrawal, exchange of currency or other payment or transfer, by, through, or to such financial institution which involves a transaction in currency of more than $10,000.”

“Sec. 103.28 Identification required (for filing reports).

“Before concluding any transaction with respect to which a report is required under Sec. 103.22, a financial institution shall verify and record the name and address of the individual presenting a transaction, as well as record the identity, account number, and the social security or taxpayer identification number, if any, of any person or entity on whose behalf such transaction is to be effected…”

“Sec. 103.29 Purchases of bank checks and drafts, cashier’s checks,money orders and traveler’s checks.
“(a) No financial institution may issue or sell a bank check or draft, cashier’s check, money order or traveler’s check for $3,000 or more in currency unless it maintains records of the following information: (2) If the purchaser does not have a deposit account with the financial institution: (i)

(A) The name and address of the purchaser; (B) The social security number of the purchaser, or if the purchaser is an alien and does not have a social security number, the alien identification number…”

2.3.2 U.S. Post Office:

The U.S. Postal Service has implemented a policy (again to implement the requirements of the federal Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) laws) requiring Postal employees to report “suspicious activities” when selling Postal Money Orders. Anyone attempting to purchase a Postal Money Order in amounts over $3,000.00 is requested to provide a SSN which is to be included on their Form 8105A. Anyone who resists or is reluctant about providing their SSN will be reported on Postal Form 8105B. A Money Order purchased without supplying an SSN is considered “suspicious activity” according to the new Postal guidelines.

2.3.3 Universities:

Universities are regulated by the Privacy Act. Furthermore, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in “Plyler v. Doe”, [457 U.S.202 (1982)] that requiring SSNs from students was discriminatory. The ruling must be enforced “equally,” which means that the prohibition against universities requiring social security numbers from students applies to all students. Most universities still expect students to have and to use an SSN. Some schools will even try to coax new students into filling out an SSN application form, but most schools and universities will accommodate an alternative proposal. And none may deny admittance based on the lack of an SSN.

2.3.4 Airlines:

Title 14 CFR 121.693(e), administered by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), requires operators of large aircraft to collect passenger names for each flight. In recent years, air carriers have begun to routinely check identification for every passenger. Currently, there is no requirement that airlines collect, record, or copy information from identification documents.
Section 203 of Public Law 101-604 (49 USC 44909) provides that the Secretary of Transportation shall require all United States air carriers to provide passenger manifests for flights. The statute further notes that the Secretary of Transportation shall consider the necessity and feasibility of requiring United States carriers to collect passenger manifest information as a condition for passenger boarding of any flight subject to the passenger manifest requirements.

On September 9, 1996, Vice President Al Gore submitted an initial report to President Clinton from the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security with recommendations regarding passenger manifests. Recommendation 15 states: The Commission believes that Section 203 of the 1990 Aviation Security Improvement Act, which requires airlines to keep a comprehensive passenger manifest for international flights, should be implemented as quickly as possible. While Section 203 does not apply to domestic flights, the Commission urges the Department of Transportation to explore immediately the costs and effects of a similar requirement on the domestic aviation system. The Final Report of the Congress, issued February 12, 1997, contained the same recommendation.

On March 13, 1997 the Department of Transportation entered an “Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM)(Volume 62, Number 49) for the purpose of requesting information concerning operational and cost issues related to U.S. air carriers collecting basic information (e.g., full name, date of birth and/or social security number, emergency contact and telephone number) from passengers traveling on flights within the United States. This proposal is being issued pursuant to the Aviation Disaster Family Assistance Act of 1996. As of the date of this writing, the proposed rule which would require airlines to collect SSN from domestic passengers has not been finally adopted. Under present laws and regulations the airlines are not required to get social security numbers from passengers, but policy appears to be trending in that direction.

2.3.5 Utilities:

On June 25, 1985, a group of residential customers filed a complaint against the Hackensack New Jersey water company alleging violations of their constitutionally and statutorily protected privacy rights. Specifically, the plaintiffs claimed that the information sought by the water company, (which included the customer’s social security number), was protected by the Privacy Act of 1974, Pub.L. No. 93-579, section 7. In the final order the court ruled that in this particular case the Privacy Act did regulate the actions of the privately operated water company, Hackensack, to the extent that it functioned under State or Local regulations.

3.  PART III NEW FEDERAL FUNDING CONTINGENT REQUIREMENTS

3.1. What new requirements were imposed by the recently enacted federal laws?

Answer: Several. [see below] Although, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in “Printz” that the federal government may not “compel” states to enforce federal regulatory programs, Congress has nevertheless recently engaged in a practice of “strong-arming” the states by threatening to withhold federal funding if the they do not conform to federal funding guidelines. Examples of the federal strong-arm tactics are widespread.

Public Law 104-193 (“The Contract With America, Welfare Reform Act”):

Title 42 U.S. Code, section 666 entitled ” Child Support and Establishment of Paternity” is a prime example of federal “enticement” legislation. This section of federal law was amended by Public Law 104-193, “The Welfare Reform Act of 1996,” and further amended by the “Balanced Budget Act of 1997,” (H.R.2015) so as to now read as follows:

“42 U.S. Code Section 666.

“(a) In order to satisfy section 654(20)(A) [the funding contingentrequirements] of this title, each State must have in effect laws requiring the use of the following procedures…:
“(13) Procedures requiring that the social security number of-

“(A) any applicant for a professional license, driver’s license, occupational license, or marriage license be recorded on the application…”

The above section appears to impose a requirement upon the states to obtain SSNs from applicants for, among other things, driver’s licenses. But, remember that this is a “funding contingent” requirement. And remember also that the Privacy Act regulates the uses that may be made of SSNs by local and state agencies.

Another clause within 42 U.S. Code section 666(a) (as most recently amended by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997) requires that states must have in place: “(16) Procedures under which the State has (and uses in appropriate cases) authority to withhold or suspend, or to restrict the use of driver’s licenses, professional and occupational licenses, and recreational licenses of individuals owing overdue support or failing… to comply with subpoenas or warrants relating to paternity or child support proceedings.”

In order to locate individuals and suspend their licenses, states will typically “key” on social security numbers (since Child Support Enforcement agencies use SSNs in the administration of their payment program).
Section 666 also requires that states must have provisions in place which allow the state’s Child Support Enforcement Agency to attach an individual’s financial holdings. This also is accomplished using an individual’s social security number.
Even private utilities such as, electric, cable television, and phone service providers must make customer records and information available to each state’s Child Support Enforcement agency. This information will be accessed using a customer’s SSN if they have one on file.

Public Law 104-193 also established the “New Hires Directory” – yet another imposition upon the states as a condition to receiving federal funding. Under the New Hires program states must establish and maintain a database directory known as the “State Directory of New Hires.” Each state must enact laws requiring every employer to report each newly hired employee – along with their social security number – to the state’s New Hires Directory.

Public Law 104-208 (Immigration Reform Act):
Another law passed in 1996, Public Law 104-208, imposes an unprecedented “threat” to the states regarding driver’s licenses. Section 656 provides that after October 1, 2000, federal agencies may not accept for any identification-related purpose a driver’s license issued by a state unless the license contains a social security account number that can be read visually or by electronic means. The only exception for this requirement is if the State does not require the license or document to contain a social security account number but requires that: “every applicant for a driver’s license, or identification document, must submit their social security account number; and an agency of the state verifies the number withthe Social Security Administration.” Due to strong public objections, as part of the 1999 budget legislation Congress placed a one-year moratorium on implementation of this provision.

Public Law 104-208 included several new enactments intended to crackdown on illegal immigration and unlawful employment of illegal immigrants. PL104-208 established what’s known as the “Employment Eligibility Confirmation System”.
And, the law provided for the establishment of the “Machine Readable Document” pilot program as part of the Employment Eligibility Confirmation System. The Machine Readable Document pilot program requires that the documents used to confirmemployment eligibility must be machine-readable and must contain the individual’s social security number. Only a few States are presently participating in this pilot program.

3.2 Conclusion Regarding New Federal Funding Requirements for SSNs:

State requirements for SSNs – based on funding contingent federal enactments – are very new. States may take the position that they are not bound by the Privacy Act prohibitions regarding the use of social security numbers because, they will argue: “federal law requires” or “authorizes” them to obtain social security numbers. However, none of the above cited sections of recently enacted federal law constitute “authority” for the states to demand social security numbers. Court challenges will likely be necessary in order to settle the matter regarding these relatively new types of federally implemented “coercion” laws.

4.  PART IV ADDENDUM – WHO NEEDS A SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER

4.1  Assignment of Social Security Numbers:

The section of federal law that addresses issuance and assignment of social security numbers is found at Title 42 U.S. Code, Section 405(c)(B)(i), (Pub. Law 92-603, 86 Stat. 1329, Section 137 of the Social Security Amendments of 1972).
Here, it states that the Commissioner of Social Security is to take affirmative measures to assure that social security account numbers will, “to the maximum extent practicable,” be assigned to all members of the appropriate groups or categories ofindividuals who m ay be assigned numbers.

The law provides that the “appropriate” classes of individual to whom the Commissioner may assign social security numbers are: aliens; individuals who want to receive federal benefits; (including children who fall into either of those two classes); and the children of members of either of those two classes.

Code of Federal Regulations

301.6109-1 “(d) Obtaining a taxpayer identifying number-

“(1) Social security number.”Any individual required to furnish a social security number pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section shall apply for one, if he has not done so previously, on Form SS-5… Individuals who are ineligible for or do not wish to participate in the benefits of the social security program shall nevertheless obtain a social security number if they are required to furnish such a number pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section.

“(2) Employer identification number- [snip] “(3) IRS individual taxpayer identification number-

“(i) Definition.

“The term IRS individual taxpayer identification number means a taxpayer identifying number issued to an alien individual by the Internal Revenue Service, upon application, for use in connection with filing requirements under this title. The term IRS individual taxpayer identification number does not refer to a social security number…”

“(iii)An applicant for an IRS individual taxpayer identification number must submit such documentary evidence as the Internal Revenue Service may prescribe in order to establish alien status and identity.”
Note that individual “Taxpayer Identification Numbers, TINs” may only be issued to “alien individuals” who may not be issued a social security number as you will see below. The application for a “TIN,” the W-7, plainly states on the face and in the instructions that only “aliens” may apply for a TIN.
If you apply for a social security number for yourself or for your child, you must either file under the “alien” status, or otherwise it is assumed that you are, or expect to be, a recipient of some federal benefit.
In fact, if a person not qualified to receive a social security number and nevertheless applies for one, they may in violation of Title 42 U.S. Code Section 408 for falsely claiming eligibility, or Title 18 U.S. Code, section 1028 for misuse of government documents.
Federal Requirements for Social Security Numbers:Applicants for public benefits must have and use a social security number in order to receive the benefit.
Title 42 U.S. Code, Section 405(c)(F) states:
“(F) The Commissioner of Social Security shall require, as a condition for receipt of benefits under this subchapter, that an individual furnish satisfactory proof of a social security account number assigned to such individual by the Commissioner of Social Security or, in the case of an individual to whom no such number has been assigned, that such individual make proper application for assignment of such a number.”

Courts have ruled that in order to receive government benefits from any federally funded benefit program – even if the funds are State administered – a person must use a social security number when applying. In the case of “PEISTER v. STATE of Colorado, DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES,” Peister objected, based on freedom of religion grounds, to using a social security number in order to get Colorado’s Old Age Pension benefits. The court ruled that a person must use their social security number in order to receive benefits under the State’s Old Age Pension Benefits Program.

4.2  Treaties and Social Security

A reference to social security is included in the United Nation’s “UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS” treaty. Article 22 of the treaty declares that: “Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.”

Another treaty, the UN’s “INTERNATIONAL COVENANT ON CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS,” Article 24 states:
“2. Every child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall have a name.”
Social Security is Global As a consequence of various international treaties, every industrialized nation has instituted a national “social security” program. Under the GATT agreements, every signatory country is required to “register” (number) all child at birth.

Presently, over 170 countries currently have a social security system in place. The list includes every major country in the world. In terms of population, the world’s 10 largest countries which have a social security system are:

1. China
1,210,000,000
2. India
968,000,000
3. United States
268,000,000
4. Indonesia
210,000,000
5. Brazil
165,000,000
6. Russia
148,000,000
7. Pakistan
132,000,000
8. Japan
126,000,000
9. Bangladesh
125,000,000
10. Nigeria
107,000,000

Followed by the next 15 largest countries: Germany, Mexico, Italy, France, Philippines, Turkey, Thailand, Egypt, Spain, South Korea, Poland, Iran, Burma, El Salvador, and Ethiopia, each with a population of between 30 and 80 million people.

The complete list of Countries with existing Social Security programs includes:

Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Antigua-Barbuda, Argentina,Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burma (Myanmar), Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Congo (Brazzaville),Congo (Kinshasa), Costa Rica, Cote d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guernsey, Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy,Jamaica, Japan, Jersey, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Korea-South, Kuwait, Kyrgystan, Latvia, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius,Mexico, Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Monaco, Morocco, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua, New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia and Montenegro, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Western Samoa, Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe [http://www.ssa.gov/statistics/ssptw97.html]

4.3  Social Security Number Court Cases

  • Callahan v. Woods 1981 religious objection to requirement that a minor must obtain a social security number to receive federal benefits.
  • Callahan v. Woods 1984 again Callahan objected to a requirement that he get a social security number for his minor daughter.
  • Yeager v. Hackensack 1985 case based on constitutional and Privacy Act objections to a New Jersey independent water company requirement for SSN.
  •  Leahy v. District of Columbia 1987 religious objection to the required use of social security number.
  • Greidinger v. Davis 1993 objection to requirement to divulge a SSN as a condition to vote.

The Privacy Act The privacy Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-579) Section 7 states that:

”(a)(1) It shall be unlawful for any Federal, State or local government agency to deny to any individual any right, benefit, or privilege provided by law because of such individual’s refusal to disclose his social security account number.

”(2) the (The) provisions of paragraph (1) of this subsection shallnot apply with respect to –

”(A) any disclosure which is required by Federal statute, or ”(B) the disclosure of a social security number to any Federal, State, or local agency maintaining a system of records in existence and operating before January 1, 1975, if such disclosure was required under statute or regulation adopted prior to such date to verify the identity of an individual.

”(b) Any Federal, State, or local government agency which requests an individual to disclose his social security account number shall inform that individual whether that disclosure is mandatory or voluntary, by what statutory or other authority such number is solicited, and what uses will be made of it.” END

4.4 Further reading:

World’s Largest Jeweler Embraces Augmented Reality

DeBeers, the world’s largest jeweler, is letting its customers try on diamonds without ever leaving home.

The company’s new “My Forevermark Fitting” software uses augmented reality to test drive earrings, necklaces, engagement rings and more. All you need is a webcam and a printer.

Once you print out DeBeers’ special marker, the software detects the mark and virtually “places” the selected jewelry on your body using your webcam. The effect is much like looking at yourself in a mirror, only with the big engagment rock you’ve been pining after.

DeBeers is just the latest company to take advantage of augmented reality tech. Do you think this is the next big trend in online shopping — or just a fad?

 

Wall Street Journal Secrecy

To: "Whalen, Jeanne" <Jeanne.Whalen[at]wsj.com>
From: John Young <jya[at]pipeline.com>
Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2010 12:45 +0600
Subject: RE: from the WSJ

Jeanne,

Following up our telephone exchange on Friday:

1. You said the WSJ editor turned down the use of Rupert Murdoch's
penthouse for an inteview because editorial and business are kept
separate and Murdoch is business. That is hoarily disingenuous for
no media keeps editorial and business separate, the two are
inseparable with business always in control.

2. I said there is no need for me to comment further on Wikileaks, 
the story is now a churn of publicity stunts by Wikileaks, its
supporters and detractors.

3. You said there was interest in reporting on Cryptome in addition
to Wikileaks. I said that is another story, not related to Wikileaks.

To amplify 3, Cryptome shares with Wikileaks and many others
older and newer, the aim of reducing secrecy in government,
business, organizations, institutions and individuals.

Pervasive secrecy corrupts as an essential protector of those who
want control and manipulate the citzenry and subjects. Those who 
advocate secrecy always justify it by claims of threats that require 
secrecy to prevent or fight.

In truth, secrecy protects and empowers those who use it and 
weakens those for whom it is invoked to protect.

Secrecy hides privilege, incompetence and deception of
those who depend on it and who would be disempowered
without it.

The very few legitimate uses of secrecy have served as the
seed for unjustified expanded and illegitimate uses.

A vast global enterprise of governments, institutions, organizations,
businesses and individuals dependent up the secrecy of abuse
of secrecy has evolved into an immensely valuable practice whose
cost to the public and benefits to its practitioners are concealed
by secrecy.

Secrecy has led to a very large undergournd criminal enterprise
dealing with stolen, forged, faked, and planted "secret" information
involving governments, businesses, NGOs, institutions and
individuals. Its value likely exceeds that of the drug trade, with 
which it works in concert to hide assets, procedures and operators
that is keep the secrets in emulation of the secretkeepers.

Ex-secretkeepers are involved in this undergroung enterprise
as beneficiares, informants, facilitators of exchanges with
the agoveground secretkeepers and as spies for hire.

Secrecy is the single most threatening practice against democracy
and democratic procedures such that it is highly likely that there is
no democracy or democratic institutions unsullied by secrecy.

Secrecy poses the greatest threat to the United States because
it divides the poplulation into two groups, those with access to
secret information and those without. This asymmetrial access
to information vital to the United States as a democracy will
eventually turn it into an autocracy run by those with access
to secret informaton, protected by laws written to legitimate
this privileged access and to punish those who violate these
laws.

Those with access to secret information cannot honestly
partake in public discourse due to the requirement to lie
and dissumlate about what is secret information. They can
only speak to one another never in public. Similarly those
without access to secret information cannot fully
debate the issues which affect the nation, including
alleged threats promulagsted by secretkeepers who
are forbidden by law to disclose what they know.

Senator Patrick Moynihan, among others, has explored
the damaging consequences of excessive secrecy. Attempts
to debate these consequences have been suppressed
or distorted by secrecy practices and laws.

Efforts, governmental and private, to diminish secrecy
have had modest effects, and the amount of secret information
continues to grow virtually unchecked and concealed by
the very means questioned, secrecy itself.

These secrecy-reduction efforts are continually being attacked 
by the secrets enterprise by secrecy-wielding oveseers, including 
presidents, legislators and the courts. 

While some of the privileged media challenge these practices, 
most do not and thereby reinforce the unsavory.

It should not be surprising that this leads to an increase in 
efforts to challenge secrecy practices by those excluded, 
including such initiatives as, among many others around
the globe, Cryptome and Wikileaks.

Cryptome disagrees with the use of secrecy by Wikileaks
and its monetization of secret information which mimics
those it ostensibly opposes, say, Rupert Murdoch, among
untold others.

 

http://cryptome.org/0002/wsj-secrecy.htm

UNITED STATES CODE

UNITED STATES CODE

Title 28 3002 (15)

(A) (B) (C).

The UNITED STATES is a corporation

U.S. Code

3002. Definitions
.
.
(15) “United States” means- a Federal corporation;

Obama is the President of the Corporation, and the citizens are the employees of the corporation

America is a British Colony. (THE UNITED STATES IS A CORPORATION, NOT A LAND MASS AND IT EXISTED BEFORE THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR, AND THE TROOPS DID NOT LEAVE UNTIL 1796.)
Republica v. Sweers 1 Dallas 43, Treaty of Commerce 8 Stat 116, V. New Haven 8 Wheat 464, Treaty of Peace 8 Stat 80, IRS Publication 6209, Articles of Association October 20, 1774

The King of England financially Backed Both Sides fo the Revolutionary war.
(Treaty at Versailles, July 16 1782, Treaty of Peace 8 Stat 80)

The United States Corporation did not declare independence from Great Britain or King George.

In 1604, a corporation called the Virginia Company was formed in anticipation of the iminent influx of white europeans, mostly British at first, into the North American continent. Its main stockholder was King James I, and the original charter for the company was completed by April 10th 1606.

The Virginia Company owned most of the land of what we now call the USA. The Virginia Company (the British Crown and bloodline families) had rights to50% of all gold and silver mined on its lands, plus percentages of other minerals and raw materials, and 5% of all profits from other ventures.

The lands of the Virginia Company were granted to the colonies under a Deed of Trust (on lease) and therefore they could not claim ownership of the land. They couild pass on the perpetual use of the land to thier heirs, but they could never own it. Ownership was retained by the British Crown.

MONSTER: Human Being by birth, but in some part resembling a lower animal.  A monster hath no inhertable blood and cannot be heir to any land.

You own no property, slaves can’t own property. Read the Deed to the property that you think is yours.  You are listed as Tenant. (Senate Document 43, 73rd Congress 1st Session)

After the first 21 years from the formation fo the Virginia Company, all ‘duties, imposts, and excises’ paid on trading activities in the colonies had to be paid directly to the British Crown through the Crown treasurer.

Queen Elizabeth controls and has amended U.S. Social Security.
(S.I. 1997 NO.1778 The Social Security)

A 1040 form is for tribute paid to Britain. (IRS Publication 6209)

Americans are slaves to the Queen and own absolutely nothing.
(Tillman v.Roberts 108 So. 62, Van Koten v. Van Koten 154 N.E. 146, Senate Document 43 & 73rd Congress 1st Session, Wynehammer v. People 13 NY REP 378, 481)

Social Security is not insurance or a contract, nor is there a Trust Fund.
(Helvering v. Davis 301 US 619, Steward Co. V. Davis 301 US 548.)

The criminal courts on the lands of the Virginia Company were operated under Admiralty Law, the law of the sea, and the civil courts were under Common Law, the law of the land. This is relevant moving forward.

The United States of America is not a country, it is a corporation owned by the same Brotherhood bloodlines who owned the Virginia Company, because the USA is the Virginia Company!

You can not use the Constitution to defend yourself because you are not a party to it.
(Padelford Fay & Co. v. The Mayor and Alderman of The City of Savannah 14 Georgia 438, 520)

“The People” does not include U.S. Citizens.
(Barron v. Mayor & City Council of Baltimore. 32 U.S. 243)

The Act of 1871 also created a separate form of government for the District of Columbia, which is a ten mile square parcel of land, and is governed with British Admiralty Law, U.C.C. “Acts of the Forty-First Congress,” Section 34, Session III, chapters 61 and 62. “An Act To Provide A Government for the District of Columbia.”

When Americans Agree to have a social security number the citizens of the united states surrender their sovereighnty and agree to become franchises of the United States (The Virginia Company of th British Crown). Americans are led to believe that there is only one United States and the Federal government is the rightful government.

THE use of  lower/upper case, is make a legal statement. Have you noticed that when you recive correspondence relating to the government, law and anything to do with finance, including taxation, your name is always spelt in upper case? Check your Drivers Licsense, Stock Portfolio, Speeding Ticket, etc.

But your upper case name is not you. It is a corporation/trust set up by the ‘government’ Corporation through the treasury department at your birth. Every time a child is born, a trust/corporation is created using his or her namein all upper case.

Law Dictionary:
person
n. 1.) a human being. 2) a corporation treated as having the rights and obligations of a person

natural person
n. a real human being, as distinguished from a corporation, which is often treated at law as a ficticious person.

corporation
n. an organization formed with state governmental approval to act as an artificial person to carry on business (or other activities), which can sue or be sued, and ….

Everything in the “United States” is For Sale: roads, bridges, schools, hospitals, prisons, airports, etc. (Executive Order 12803)

Americans are Human capital.  (Executive Order 13037)

The U.S. has two flags, a military flag and a civil flag for peacetime.
(the recognizable flag is the military version)

“MILITARY. Pertaining to the war of to the army; concerned with war.
See Note:
The Amendatory Act to the Trading with the Enemy Act of October 6,1917–namely the Emergency Banking Relief Act of March 9, 1933– defined the American people as the enemy, legally, of the United States Government because of the bankruptcy, through which the private, international FederalReserve System ‘became the Government’ (Creditor of the United States). See ‘Ramifications of the Bankruptcy — The Nature of the Federal Reserve Notes’.

The national flag of the United States always has a gold fringe when displayed in court or federa buildings, and this is also the case in federally funded schools and on the uniforms of US troops. Under the International Law of the Flags, a gold fringe indicates the jurisdiction of the commercial law, also known as the British Maritime Law, and, in the US, as the Uniform Commercial Code, UCC.

Bush launched a ‘war on terrorism’ on behalf of a private corporation to further the goals of that Corporation.  It had nothing to do with ‘America’ or ‘Americans’, because these are very different legal entities. It is the United States Corporation that owns the United States military and everything else that comes under the term ‘federal’.

It is not the duty of the U.S. police to protect Americans. Their job is to protect the  Corporation and arrest the code breakers.
Sapp v. Tallahasee, 348 So. 2nd. 363, Reiff v. City of Philadelphia, 477 F.Supp 1262, Lynch v. N.C. Dept of Justice 376 S.E 2nd 247.

There are no Judicial courts in America and there has not been since 1789. Judges do not enforce statutes and Codes. Executive Administrators enforce Statutes and Codes.
(FRC v. GE 281 US 464, Keller v. PE 261 US 428, 1 Stat. 138-178)

Sexual Intercourse:
Commerce is a term of the largest import. It comprehends intercourse for the purpose of trade in any and all its forms.

The most powerful court in America is not the United States Supreme Court, but the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. (42 Pa.C.S.A. 502)

Pennsylvania is the keystone state.

The FCC, CIA, FBI, NASA and all the alphabet gangs were never part of the United States government. Even though the “US Government” held shares of stock in the various Agencies. (U.S. V. Strang, 254 US 491, Lewis v. US, 680 F.2d, 1239)

Americans may think that their government and legal system is pegged in some way to the Constitution, but it is not. The United States, like Britain and elsewhere, is ruled by commercial law to overcome the checks and balances of common law. Its another monumental fraud.

Britain is owned by the Vatican. (Treaty of 1213)

The Pope can abolish any law in the United States. (Elements of Ecclesiastical Law Vol. 1 53-54)

The Popes laws are obligatory on everyone. (Bened. XIV., De Syn. Dioec, lib, ix., c. vii.,n. 4. Prati, 1844) (Syllabus, prop 28, 29, 44)

Americans are the cows, the IRS is the company that milks the cows. The UNITED STATES corporation is the Veterinarian who takes care of the herd, and the British Crown is the Owner of all the farm.  The farm is held in allodium by the pope.

All this is founded on Roman law, which goes back to the babylon and Sumerian law. The Illuminati bloodlines have been playing thies same game trhoughout the centuries. It was brought into england in 1066 and has been enforced by the Pope, Kings and the Christian churches ever since. It is the total and relentless mind control, people are taught to believe in things that do not exist.

How to Terminate Your Social Security Number

I saw this in a bulletin and thought I’d pass it along…

How to Terminate Your Social Security Number

Interesting call to the Social Security Administration

So I’ve been contemplating turning in my social security number, in order to stop being a Federal United States employee, so I called the SSA today just to see what they would say.

SSA: Hello this is Dorothy, how may I help you?

ME: Hello Dorothy, I recently learned that Social Security is a voluntary insurance program, and that I may terminate my SS number at any time and get out of it, my question is, do I get all of my money back that I payed in when I turn in my number?

SSA: (pissy) No

ME: So I’d probably have to file suit for that?

SSA: Probably

ME: one more question, is there a SSA form that I fill out to cancel my number?

SSA: hold on let me check…

(2 minutes)

SSA: sir?

ME: Im here

SSA: we dont have a form for that, you would have to send in a letter and your card.
(much nicer attitude for some reason)

ME: O.K., I was surprised to find out it was voluntary, I always thought it was mandatory to have a number.

SSA: Are you in the United States

ME: do you mean in the United States as defined as the District of Columbia, or do you just mean one of the states?

SSA: one of the states (no hesitation or surprise in her voice)

ME: oh, one of the states

SSA: yeah it actually is mandatory to have one if your not paying into another pension program to the federal or state government.

ME: Oh, you mean if Im a state or Federal Employee?

SSA: Yes

ME: Oh, ok, yeah, I’m not a State or Federal employee, ok, thanks for your time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For anyone else interested in doing so, tthe SSA can be reached at 1-800-772-1213.

Edward, ID Number DELTED, my SSA customer service rep looked into the termination section of their manual to verify the procedure for terminating my social security number.

He gave me the office address and number of my local office and told me to send it in with a letter describing the fact that I wish to terminate my number as it is voluntary.

He asked why I wish to terminate my number and I stated that I wished to stop contibuting to the program voluntarily.

“Well,” he said, “You can just tell your employer to stop withholding the money from your paycheck. That way you can still get the benefits that you have paid into so far.”

I explained to him that I tried to do so with my employer, but my employer believes that he is required to continue withholdings.

He then went on to say that if I did terminate my social security number through the process he described that I would receive a letter stating that I have terminated the number and withholdings can terminate as well.

Brilliant!!!! Absolutely brilliant.

More Links

[link to famguardian.org]

Payroll Withholding Form-Short Form Instructions…

[link to www.sedm.org]

How to Open a Bank Account with NO SSN

I did a google search, and came across this MOST USEFUL INFORMATION regarding banking with NO SSN! The only way this has ANY MEANING WHATSOEVER, IS IF WE GET OUT THERE AND USE THIS INFORMATION FOLKS! And be sure to fill us in on how it’s working out there on the front lines! I am going to try this as soon as possible!

Opening a Bank Account Without a SSN Compliments of
Craig Burkholder, Harrisonburg, VA

Hi, Just wanted to drop you a line to let you know about a recent small victory in the no-SSN corner.

I recently tried to open a bank account with my local bank , and when they asked for a SSN, I informed them that I didn’t have one. They flatly refused and said that without a SSN that they absolutely could NOT open an account of any kind. I then proceeded thus to convince them that they were in the wrong: 1) I informed them that I had terminated my SSN legally in accordance with 20 CFR 3 A7 404.1905 and 2) I informed them that the bank could not be held legally responsible by anyone for failing to obtain a SSN from me pursuant to 31 CFR 103.34(a)(1) and 3) I informed them that under the Internal Revenue Code Section 6041, that they were not even required to provide any taxpayer identification numbers on the Form 1099 that they file with the IRS at the end of the year, and 4) I informed them that pursuant to 26 CFR 301.6109-1(c) that they were under no legal obligation to obtain a SSN from me, and 5) I informed them that 42 USC 408 makes it a FELONY to use threat, duress, or coercion to try to force a person by fear or deceit to provide his SSN in an unlawful manner. After a brief meeting with the banks controller and legal counsel, I received a phone call stating that I would be allowed to open a checking account. Please pass this information along to your readers, in hopes that it may help someone else who may find themselves in this situation.

Some questions that arise:

What happens to that other voluntary program that uses your SSN? You know income taxes…

And what happens to your old SSN that people already have; like your employer or bank? What happens when they file IRS related items with that number?

Since the SSN is what is used to collect income taxes, how could the Feds track and collect taxes without it?

Does one ‘super-corporation’ run the global economy?

Does one ‘super-corporation’ run the global economy?

Research found that 147 companies formed a ‘super entity’ within group, controlling 40 per cent of its  wealth
By Rob Waugh

A University of Zurich study ‘proves’ that a small group of companies – mainly banks – wields huge power over the global economy.

The study is the first to look at all 43,060 transnational corporations and the web of ownership between them – and created a ‘map’ of 1,318 companies at the heart of the global economy.

The study found that 147 companies formed a ‘super entity’ within this, controlling 40 per cent of its  wealth. All own part or all of one another. Most are banks – the top 20 includes Barclays and Goldman Sachs. But the close connections mean that the network could be vulnerable to collapse.

The 1,318 transnational corporations that form the core of the globalised economy – connections show partial ownership of one another, and the size of the circles corresponds to revenue. The companies ‘own’ through shares the majority of the ‘real’ economy

‘In effect, less than one per cent of the companies were able to control 40 per cent of the entire network,’ says James Glattfelder, a complex systems theorist at the Swiss Federal Institute in Zurich, who co-wrote the research, to be published in the journal PLoS One.

Some of the assumptions underlying the study have come in for criticism – such as the idea that ownership equates to control. But the Swiss researchers have no axe to grind: they simply applied mathematical models usually used to model natural systems to the world economy, using data from Orbis 2007, a database listing 37 million companies and investors.

 

Economists such as John Driffil of the University of London, a macroeconomics expert, told New Scientist that the value of its study wasn’t to see who controlled the global economy, but the tight connections between the world’s largest companies.

The financial collapse of 2008 showed that such tightly-knit networks can be unstable.

‘If one company suffers distress,’ Glattfelder says, ‘This propagates.’

Protest against global capitalism outside St Paul’s cathedral, London: But it seems unlikely that the 147 corporations at the heart of the world economy could wield real political power – they represent too many interests

The research requires more analysis, but it could be used to look for the weaknesses in the network of global wealth, and prevent future financial disaster.

Looking at ‘connectedness’ also puts paid to conspiracy theories about the world’s wealth – companies connect to highly connected companies for business reasons, rather than world domination.

The ‘core’ of 147 companies also represents too many interests to wield real political power – but it could act ‘as one’ to defend common interests. Sadly for market reformers, resisting change may be one such common interest.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2051008/Does-super-corporation-run-global-economy.html#ixzz1kdnAGHeH


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2051008/Does-super-corporation-run-global-economy.html

Organizations Funded Directly by George Soros and his Open Society Institute

By Discover The Networks
July 2007

Organizations that, in recent years, have received direct funding and assistance from George Soros and his Open Society Institute (OSI) include the following. (Comprehensive profiles of each are available in the “Groups” section of DiscoverTheNetworks.org):

·        Alliance for Justice: Best known for its activism vis a vis the appointment of federal judges, this group consistently depicts Republican judicial nominees as “extremists.”

·        America Coming Together: Soros played a major role in creating this group, whose purpose was to coordinate and organize pro-Democrat voter-mobilization programs.

·        America Votes: Soros also played a major role in creating this group, whose get-out-the-vote campaigns targeted likely Democratic voters. 

·        American Civil Liberties Union: This group opposes virtually all post-9/11 national security measures enacted by U.S. government. It supports open borders, has rushed to the defense of suspected terrorists and their abetters, and appointed former New Left terrorist Bernardine Dohrn to its Advisory Board.

·        American Constitution Society for Law and Policy: This Washington, DC-based think tank seeks to move American jurisprudence to the left by recruiting, indoctrinating, and mobilizing young law students, helping them acquire positions of power. It also provides leftist Democrats with a bully pulpit from which to denounce their political adversaries. 

·        American Family Voices: This group creates and coordinates media campaigns charging Republicans with wrongdoing.

 

·        American Friends Service Committee: This group views the United States as the principal cause of human suffering around the world. As such, it favors America’s unilateral disarmament, the dissolution of American borders, amnesty for illegal aliens, the abolition of the death penalty, and the repeal of the Patriot Act.

·        American Immigration Law Foundation: This group supports amnesty for illegal aliens, on whose behalf it litigates against the U.S. government.

·        American Library Association: This group has been an outspoken critic of the Bush administration’s War on Terror — most particularly, Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act, which it calls “a present danger to the constitutional rights and privacy rights of library users.”

·        The American Prospect, Inc.: This corporation trains and mentors young leftwing journalists, and organizes strategy meetings for leftist leaders.

·        Amnesty International: This organization directs a grossly disproportionate share of its criticism for human rights violations at the United States and Israel.

·        Arab American Institute Foundation: The Arab American Institute denounces the purportedly widespread civil liberties violations directed against Arab Americans in the post-9/11 period, and characterizes Israel as a brutal oppressor of the Palestinian people. 

·        Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now: This group conducts voter mobilization drives on behalf of leftist Democrats. These initiatives have been notoriously marred by fraud and corruption. 

·        Bill of Rights Defense Committee: This group provides a detailed blueprint for activists interested in getting their local towns, cities, and even college campuses to publicly declare their opposition to the Patriot Act, and to designate themselves “Civil Liberties Safe Zones.” The organization also came to the defense of self-described radical attorney Lynne Stewart, who was convicted in 2005 of providing material support for terrorism.

·        Brennan Center for Justice: This think tank/legal activist group generates scholarly studies, mounts media campaigns, files amicus briefs, gives pro bono support to activists, and litigates test cases in pursuit of radical “change.”

·        Brookings Institution: This organization has been involved with a variety of internationalist and state-sponsored programs, including one that aspires to facilitate the establishment of a U.N.-dominated world government. Brookings Fellows have also called for additional global collaboration on trade and banking; the expansion of the Kyoto Protocol; and nationalized health insurance for children. Nine Brookings economists signed a petition opposing President Bush’s tax cuts in 2003.

·        Campaign for America’s Future: This group supports tax hikes, socialized medicine, and a dramatic expansion of social welfare programs.

·        Campus Progress: A project of the Soros-bankrolled Center for American Progress, this group seeks to “strengthen progressive voices on college and university campuses, counter the growing influence of right-wing groups on campus, and empower new generations of progressive leaders.”

·        Catholics for a Free Choice: This nominally Catholic organization supports women’s right to abortion-on-demand.

·        Center for American Progress: This leftist think tank is headed by former Clinton chief of staff John Podesta, works closely with Hillary Clinton, and employs numerous former Clinton administration staffers. It is committed to “developing a long-term vision of a progressive America” and “providing a forum to generate new progressive ideas and policy proposals.”

·        Center for Community Change: This group recruits and trains activists to spearhead leftist “political issue campaigns.” Promoting increased funding for social welfare programs by bringing “attention to major national issues related to poverty,” the Center bases its training programs on the techniques taught by the famed radical organizer Saul Alinsky.

·        Center for Constitutional Rights: This pro-Castro organization is a core member of the open borders lobby, has opposed virtually all post-9/11 anti-terrorism measures by the U.S. government, and alleges that American injustice provokes acts of international terrorism.

·        Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: Reasoning from the premise that tax cuts generally help only the wealthy, this organization advocates greater tax expenditures on social welfare programs for low earners. 

·        Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington: This group litigates and brings ethics charges against “government officials who sacrifice the common good to special interests” and “betray the public trust.” Almost all of its targets are Republicans.

·        Coalition for an International Criminal Court: This group seeks to subordinate American criminal-justice procedures to those of an international court.

·        Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund: Defenders of Wildlife opposes oil exploration in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It condemns logging, ranching, mining, and even the use of recreational motorized vehicles as activities that are destructive to the environment.

·        Democracy Alliance: This self-described “liberal organization” aims to raise $200 million to develop a funding clearinghouse for leftist groups. Soros is a major donor to this group.

·        Democracy 21: This group is a staunch supporter of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, also known as the McCain-Feingold Act.

·        Democratic Party: Soros’ funding activities are devoted largely to helping the Democratic Party solidify its power base. In a November 2003 interview, Soros stated that defeating President Bush in 2004 “is the central focus of my life” … “a matter of life and death.” He pledged to raise $75 million to defeat Bush, and personally donated nearly a third of that amount to anti-Bush organizations. “America under Bush,” he said, “is a danger to the world, and I’m willing to put my money where my mouth is.” Claiming that “the Republican party has been captured by a bunch of extremists,” Soros accuses the Bush administration of following a “supremacist ideology” in whose rhetoric he claims to hear echoes of “Nazi slogans.”

·        Earthjustice: This group seeks to place severe restrictions on how U.S. land and waterways may be used. It opposes most mining and logging initiatives, commercial fishing businesses, and the use of motorized vehicles in undeveloped areas.

·        EMILY’s ListThis political network raises money for Democratic female political candidates who support unrestricted access to taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand.

·        Feminist Majority: Characterizing the United States as an inherently sexist nation, this group focuses on “advancing the legal, social and political equality of women with men, countering the backlash to women’s advancement, and recruiting and training young feminists to encourage future leadership for the feminist movement in the United States.”

·        Free Press: This “media reform” organization has worked closely with many notable leftists and such organizations as Media Matters for America, Air America Radio, Global Exchange, Code Pink, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, the Revolutionary Communist Party, Mother Jones magazine, and Pacifica Radio.

·        Funding Exchange: Dedicated to the concept of philanthropy as a vehicle for social change, this organization pairs leftist donors and foundations with likeminded groups and activists who are dedicated to bringing about their own version of “progressive” change and social justice. Many of these grantees assume that American society is rife with racism, discrimination, exploitation, and inequity and needs to be overhauled via sustained education, activism, and social agitation.

·        Gamaliel Foundation: Modeling its tactics on those of the radical Sixties activist Saul Alinsky, this group takes a strong stand against current homeland security measures and immigration restrictions.

·        Human Rights First: This group supports open borders and the rights of illegal immigrants; charges that the Patriot Act severely erodes Americans’ civil liberties; has filed amicus curiae briefs on behalf of terror suspect Jose Padilla; and deplores the Guantanamo Bay detention facilities.

·        Human Rights Watch: This group directs a disproportionate share of its criticism at the United States and Israel. It opposes the death penalty in all cases, and supports open borders and amnesty for illegal aliens.

·        Immigrant Legal Resource Center: This group claims to have helped gain amnesty for some three million illegal immigrants in the U.S., and in the 1980s was part of the sanctuary movement which sought to grant asylum to refugees from the failed Communist states of Central America.

·        Independent Media Institute: This group provides leftist organizations with “strategic communications consulting, training, coaching, networking opportunities and concrete tools” to help them “achieve their social justice goals.”

·        Institute for Policy Studies: This think tank has long supported Communist and anti-American causes around the world. Viewing capitalism as a breeding ground for “unrestrained greed,” IPS seeks to provide a corrective to “unrestrained markets and individualism.” Professing an unquestioning faith in the righteousness of the United Nations, it aims to bring American foreign policy under UN control. 

·        Institute for Women’s Policy Research: This group views the U.S. as a nation rife with discrimination against women, and publishes research to draw attention to this alleged state of affairs. It also advocates unrestricted access to taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand, stating that “access to abortion is essential to the economic well-being of women and girls.”

·        International Crisis Group: One of this organization’s leading figures is its Mideast Director, Robert Malley, who was a President Bill Clinton’s Special Assistant for Arab-Israeli Affairs. His analysis of the Mideast conflict is markedly pro-Palestinian. 

·        Joint Victory Campaign 2004: Founded by George Soros and Harold Ickes, this group was a major fundraising entity for Democrats during the 2004 election cycle. It collected contributions (including large amounts from Soros personally) and disbursed them to two other groups, America Coming Together and the Media Fund, which also worked on behalf of Democrats.

·        Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law: This group views America as an unremittingly racist nation; uses the courts to mandate race-based affirmative action preferences in business and academia; has filed briefs against the Department of Homeland Security’s efforts to limit the wholesale granting of green cards and to identify potential terrorists; condemns the Patriot Act; and calls on Americans to “recognize the contribution” of illegal immigrants.

·        League of United Latin American Citizens: This group views America as a nation plagued by “an alarming increase in xenophobia and anti-Hispanic sentiment”; favors racial preferences; supports the legalization of illegal Hispanic immigrants; opposes military surveillance of U.S. borders; opposes making English America’s official language; favors open borders; and rejects anti-terrorism legislation like the Patriot Act.

·        League of Women Voters Education Fund: The League supports taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand; supports “motor-voter” registration, which allows anyone with a driver’s license to become a voter, regardless of citizenship status; and supports tax hikes and socialized medicine.

·        Lynne Stewart Defense Committee: IRS records indicate that Soros’s Open Society Institute made a September 2002 grant of $20,000 to this organization. Stewart was the criminal-defense attorney who was later convicted for abetting her client, the “blind sheik” Omar Abdel Rahman, in terrorist activities connected with his Islamic Group.

·        MADRE: This international women’s organization deems America the world’s foremost violator of human rights. As such, it seeks to “communicat[e] the real-life impact of U.S. policies on women and families confronting violence, poverty and repression around the world,” and to “demand alternatives to destructive U.S. policies.” It also advocates unrestricted access to taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand.

·        Malcolm X Grassroots Movement: This group views the U.S. as a nation replete with racism and discrimination against blacks; seeks to establish an independent black nation in the southeastern United States; and demands reparations for slavery.

·        Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition: This group calls for the expansion of civil rights and liberties for illegal aliens; laments that illegal aliens in America are commonly subjected to “worker exploitation”; supports tuition-assistance programs for illegals attending college; and characterizes the Patriot Act as a “very troubling” assault on civil liberties.

·        Media Fund: Soros played a major role in creating this group, whose purpose was to conceptualize, produce, and place political ads on television, radio, print, and the Internet.

·        Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund: This group advocates open borders, free college tuition for illegal immigrants, lowered educational standards to accommodate Hispanics, and voting rights for criminals. In MALDEF’s view, supporters of making English the official language of the United States are “motivated by racism and anti-immigrant sentiments,” while advocates of sanctions against employers reliant on illegal labor seek to discriminate against “brown-skinned people.”

·        Meyer, Suozzi, English and Klein, PC: This influential defender of Big Labor is headed by Democrat operative Harold Ickes.

·        Midwest Academy: This entity trains radical activists in the tactics of direct action, targeting, confrontation, and intimidation.

·        Migration Policy Institute: This group seeks to create “a North America with gradually disappearing border controls … with permanent migration remaining at moderate levels.”

·        Military Families Speak Out: This group ascribes the U.S. invasion of Iraq to American imperialism and lust for oil.

·        MoveOn.org: This Web-based organization supports Democratic political candidates through fundraising, advertising, and get-out-the-vote drives.

·        Ms. Foundation for Women: This group laments what it views as the widespread and enduring flaws of American society: racism, sexism, homophobia, and the violation of civil rights and liberties. It focuses its philanthropy on groups that promote affirmative action for women, unfettered access to taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand, amnesty for illegal immigrants, and big government generally.

·        NARAL Pro-Choice America: This group supports taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand, and works to elect pro-abortion Democrats.

·        NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund: The NAACP supports racial preferences in employment and education, as well as the racial gerrymandering of voting districts. Underpinning its support for race preferences is the fervent belief that white racism in the United States remains an intractable, largely undiminished, phenomenon.

·        The Nation Institute: This nonprofit entity sponsors leftist conferences, fellowships, awards for radical activists, and journalism internships.

·        National Abortion Federation: This group opposes any restrictions on abortion at either the state or federal levels, and champions the introduction of unrestricted abortion into developing regions of the world.

·        National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy: This group depicts the United States as a nation in need of dramatic structural change financed by philanthropic organizations. It overwhelmingly promotes grant-makers and grantees with leftist agendas, while criticizing their conservative counterparts.

·        National Council for Research on Women: This group supports big government, high taxes, military spending cuts, increased social welfare spending, and the unrestricted right to taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand.

·        National Council of La Raza: This group lobbies for racial preferences, bilingual education, stricter hate-crime laws, mass immigration, and amnesty for illegal aliens.

·        National Council of Women’s Organizations: This group views the United States as a nation rife with injustice against girls and women. It advocates high levels of spending for social welfare programs, and supports race and gender preferences for minorities and women in business and academia.

·        National Immigration Forum: Opposing the enforcement of present immigration laws, this organization urges the American government to “legalize” en masse all illegal aliens currently in the United States who have no criminal records, and to dramatically increase the number of visas available for those wishing to migrate to the U.S.  The Forum is particularly committed to opening the borders to unskilled, low-income workers, and immediately making them eligible for welfare and social service programs.

·        National Immigration Law Center: This group seeks to win unrestricted access to government-funded social welfare programs for illegal aliens.

·        National Lawyers Guild: This group promotes open borders; seeks to weaken America’s intelligence-gathering agencies; condemns the Patriot Act as an assault on civil liberties; rejects capitalism as an unviable economic system; has rushed to the defense of convicted terrorists and their abetters; and generally opposes all U.S. foreign policy positions, just as it did during the Cold War when it sided with the Soviets.

·        National Organization for Women: This group advocates the unfettered right to taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand; seeks to “eradicate racism, sexism and homophobia” from American society; attacks Christianity and traditional religious values; and supports gender-based preferences for women.

·        National Priorities Project: This group supports government-mandated redistribution of wealth — through higher taxes and greater expenditures on social welfare programs. NPP exhorts the government to redirect a significant portion of its military funding toward public education, universal health insurance, environmentalist projects, and welfare programs.

·        National Security Archive Fund: This group collects and publishes declassified documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act to a degree that compromises American national security and the safety of intelligence agents.

·        National Women’s Law Center: This group supports taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand; lobbies against conservative judicial appointees; advocates increased welfare spending to help low-income mothers; and favors higher taxes for the purpose of generating more funds for such government programs as Medicaid, food stamps, welfare, foster care, health care, child-support enforcement, and student loans.

·        Natural Resources Defense Council: One of the most influential environmentalist lobbying groups in the United States, the Council claims a membership of one million people.

·        Pacifica Foundation: This entity owns and operates Pacifica Radio, awash from its birth with the socialist-Marxist rhetoric of class warfare and hatred for capitalism.

·        Peace and Security Funders Group: This is an association of more than 50 foundations that give money to leftist anti-war and environmentalist causes. Its members tend to depict America as the world’s chief source of international conflict, environmental destruction, and economic inequalities.

·        People for the American Way: This group opposes the Patriot Act, anti-terrorism measures generally, and the allegedly growing influence of the “religious right.”

·        Physicians for Human Rights: This group is selectively and disproportionately critical of the United States and Israel in its condemnations of human rights violations.

·        Physicians for Social Responsibility: This is an anti-U.S.-military organization that also embraces the tenets of radical environmentalism.

·        Planned Parenthood: This group is the largest abortion provider in the United States and advocates taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand.

·        Ploughshares Fund: This public grantmaking foundation opposes America’s development of a missile defense system, and contributes to many organizations that are highly critical of U.S. foreign policies and military ventures.

·        Prison Moratorium Project: This initiative was created in 1995 for the express purpose of working for the elimination of all prisons in the United States and the release of all inmates. Reasoning from the premise that incarceration is never an appropriate means of dealing with crime, it deems American society’s inherent inequities the root of all criminal behavior.

·        Project Vote: This is the voter-mobilization arm of the Soros-funded ACORN. A persistent pattern of lawlessness and corruption has followed ACORN/Project Vote activities over the years.

·        Proteus Fund: This foundation directs its philanthropy toward a number of radical leftwing organizations.

·        Public Citizen Foundation: Public Citizen seeks increased government intervention and litigation against corporations — a practice founded on the notion that American corporations, like the capitalist system of which they are a part, are inherently inclined toward corruption.

·        Sentencing Project: Asserting that prison sentencing patterns are racially discriminatory, this initiative advocates voting rights for felons.

·        Sojourners: This evangelical Christian ministry preaches radical leftwing politics. During the 1980s it championed Communist revolution in Central America and chastised U.S. policy-makers for their tendency “to assume the very worst about their Soviet counterparts.” More recently, Sojourners has taken up the cause of environmental activism, opposed welfare reform as a “mean-spirited Republican agenda,” and mounted a defense of affirmative action.

·        Thunder Road Group: This political consultancy, in whose creation Soros had a hand, coordinates strategy for the Media Fund, America Coming Together, and America Votes.

·        Tides Foundation and Tides Center: Tides is a major funder of the radical Left.

·        Urban Institute: This research organization favors socialized medicine, expansion of the federal welfare bureaucracy, and tax hikes for higher income-earners.

·        USAction Education Fund: USAction lists its priorities as: “fighting the right wing agenda”; “building grassroots political power”; winning “social, racial and economic justice for all”; supporting a system of taxpayer-funded socialized medicine; reversing “reckless tax cuts for millionaires and corporations” which shield the “wealthy” from paying their “fair share”; advocating for “pro-consumer and environmental regulation of corporate abuse”; “strengthening progressive voices on local, state and national issues”; and working to “register, educate and get out the vote … [to] help progressives get elected at all levels of government.”

·YWCA World Office, Switzerland: The YWCA opposes abstinence education; supports universal access to taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand; and opposes school vouchers.


http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/Articles/orgsfundeddirectly%20.html

Revised ‘Net censorship bill requires search engines to block sites, too

Revised ‘Net censorship bill requires search engines to block sites, too

By | Published 8 months ago

Surprise! After months in the oven, the soon-to-be-released new version of a major US Internet censorship bill didn’t shrink in scope—it got much broader. Under the new proposal, search engines, Internet providers, credit card companies, and ad networks would all have cut off access to foreign “rogue sites”—and such court orders would not be limited to the government. Private rightsholders could go to court and target foreign domains, too.

As for sites which simply change their domain name slightly after being targeted, the new bill will let the government and private parties bring quick action against each new variation.

Get ready for the “PROTECT IP Act.”

Targeting Google

A source in Washington provided Ars with a detailed summary of the PROTECT IP Act, which takes its acronym from “Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property.” This beats the old acronym, COICA; who can be against protection? The actual legislation should be introduced shortly.

The bill is an attempt to deal with foreign sites which can be difficult for US enforcement to reach, even when those sites explicitly target US citizens.

The PROTECT IP Act makes a few major changes to last year’s COICA legislation. First, it does provide a more limited definition of sites “dedicated to infringing activities.” The previous definition was criticized as being unworkably vague, and it could have put many legitimate sites at risk.

But what the PROTECT IP Act gives with one hand, it takes away with the other. While the definition of targeted sites is tighter, the remedies against such sites get broader. COICA would have forced credit card companies like MasterCard and Visa to stop doing business with targeted sites, and it would have prevented ad networks from working with such sites. It also suggested a system of DNS blocking to make site nominally more difficult to access.

The PROTECT IP Act adds one more entity to this list: search engines. Last week, when the Department of Homeland Security leaned on Mozilla to remove a Firefox add-on making it simple to bypass domain name seizures, we wondered at the request. After all, the add-on only made it easier to do a simple Google search, and we wondered “what the next logical step in this progression will be: requiring search engines to stop returning results for seized domain names?”

Turns out that’s exactly what’s being contemplated. According to the detailed summary of the PROTECT IP Act, this addition “responds to concerns raised that search engines are part of the ecosystem that directs Internet user traffic and therefore should be part of the solution.”

Rightsholders also score a major victory with the new legislation, which grants them a private right of action—something Google publicly trashed as a terrible idea earlier this year. Copyright and trademark holders don’t have to badger the government into targeting sites under the new bill; they are allowed to seek court orders directly, though these orders would only apply to payment processors and advertising networks (not to ISPs or search engines).

Help us out, please

The emphasis here is on forcing intermediaries to get involved in policing such sites. Rightsholders have had difficulty suing the millions of end users engaged in infringement, and they have had difficulty suing the sites themselves when they are based abroad. But MasterCard and Google? Those are easy, US-based targets who will comply will any law Congress passes.

The PROTECT IP Act goes even further than forcing these intermediaries to take action after a court order; it actively encourages them to take unilateral action without any sort of court order at all. The bill summary makes clear that ad networks and payment processors will be protected if they “voluntarily cease doing business with infringing websites, outside of any court ordered action.” If a search engine decides that the next YouTube is a copyright infringer—and rightsholders have often sued sites like Veoh and YouTube in the past—it can simply cut off advertising for that reason and be immunized under the law. So can Visa.

The bill also encourages everyone—domain name registries, search engines, payment processors, and ad networks—to cut off access to infringing sites that “endanger the public health.” That is, online pharmacies (which are often hotbeds of counterfeiting).

Given the strong opinions elicited by the earlier COICA, the expansion of powers here is a bit surprising, but the continued presence of the legislation is not. That’s because, no matter how much power and money Congress devotes to intellectual property, rightsholders are back every couple of years for more—as the NET Act, DMCA, Sonny Bono Term Extension Act, PRO-IP Act, and Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) remind us. Each is “essential”—but somehow never quite enough.

 

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/05/revised-net-censorship-bill-requires-search-engines-to-block-sites-too.ars

Obama Signed Secret Libya Order Authorizing Support For Rebels

Obama Signed Secret Libya Order Authorizing Support For Rebels

First Posted: 3/30/11 05:21 PM ET Updated: 5/30/11 06:12 AM ET

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama has signed a secret order authorizing covert U.S. government support for rebel forces seeking to oust Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, government officials told Reuters on Wednesday.

(SCROLL DOWN FOR LIVE UPDATES)

Obama signed the order, known as a presidential “finding”, within the last two or three weeks, according to four U.S. government sources familiar with the matter.

Such findings are a principal form of presidential directive used to authorize secret operations by the Central Intelligence Agency. The CIA and the White House declined immediate comment.

News that Obama had given the authorization surfaced as the President and other U.S. and allied officials spoke openly about the possibility of sending arms supplies to Gaddafi’s opponents, who are fighting better-equipped government forces.

The United States is part of a coalition, with NATO members and some Arab states, which is conducting air strikes on Libyan government forces under a U.N. mandate aimed at protecting civilians opposing Gaddafi.

In interviews with American TV networks on Tuesday, Obama said the objective was for Gaddafi to “ultimately step down” from power. He spoke of applying “steady pressure, not only militarily but also through these other means” to force Gaddafi out.

Obama said the U.S. had not ruled out providing military hardware to rebels. “It’s fair to say that if we wanted to get weapons into Libya, we probably could. We’re looking at all our options at this point,” the President told ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer.

U.S. officials monitoring events in Libya say that at present, neither Gaddafi’s forces nor the rebels, who have asked the West for heavy weapons, appear able to make decisive gains.

While U.S. and allied airstrikes have seriously damaged Gaddafi’s military forces and disrupted his chain of command, officials say, rebel forces remain disorganized and unable to take full advantage of western military support.

SPECIFIC OPERATIONS

People familiar with U.S. intelligence procedures said that Presidential covert action “findings” are normally crafted to provide broad authorization for a range of potential U.S. government actions to support a particular covert objective.

In order for specific operations to be carried out under the provisions of such a broad authorization — for example the delivery of cash or weapons to anti-Gaddafi forces — the White House also would have to give additional “permission” allowing such activities to proceed.

Former officials say these follow-up authorizations are known in the intelligence world as “‘Mother may I’ findings.”
In 2009 Obama gave a similar authorization for the expansion of covert U.S. counter-terrorism actions by the CIA in Yemen. The White House does not normally confirm such orders have been issued.

Because U.S. and allied intelligence agencies still have many questions about the identities and leadership of anti-Gaddafi forces, any covert U.S. activities are likely to proceed cautiously until more information about the rebels can be collected and analyzed, officials said.

“The whole issue on (providing rebels with) training and equipment requires knowing who the rebels are,” said Bruce Riedel, a former senior CIA Middle East expert who has advised the Obama White House.

Riedel said that helping the rebels to organize themselves and training them how use weapons effectively would be more urgent then shipping them arms.

According to an article speculating on possible U.S. covert actions in Libya published early in March on the website of the Voice of America, the U.S. government’s broadcasting service, a covert action is “any U.S. government effort to change the economic, military, or political situation overseas in a hidden way.”

ARMS SUPPLIES

The article, by VOA intelligence correspondent Gary Thomas, said covert action “can encompass many things, including propaganda, covert funding, electoral manipulation, arming and training insurgents, and even encouraging a coup.”

U.S. officials also have said that Saudi Arabia and Qatar, whose leaders despise Gaddafi, have indicated a willingness to supply Libyan rebels with weapons.

Members of Congress have expressed anxiety about U.S. government activates in Libya. Some have recalled that weapons provided by the U.S. and Saudis to mujahedeen fighting Soviet occupation forces in Afghanistan in the 1980s later ended up in the hands of anti-American militants.

There are fears that the same thing could happen in Libya unless the U.S. is sure who it is dealing with. The chairman of the House intelligence committee, Rep. Mike Rogers, said on Wednesday he opposed supplying arms to the Libyan rebels fighting Gaddafi “at this time.”

“We need to understand more about the opposition before I would support passing out guns and advanced weapons to them,” Rogers said in a statement.

(Additional reporting by Susan Cornwell; Editing by David Storey)

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions.

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8:09 AM – 04/02/2011

Deaths In Misrata

BreakingNews @ BreakingNews : Anti-Gadhafi fighters in Misurata say 28 people had died in the city in the past three days – Al Jazeera http://bit.ly/ecR130
4:10 AM – 04/02/2011

Wife Of Former Foreign Minister Who Defected Reportedly Seized

Gaddafi forces have reportedly captured the wife of Moussa Koussa, the former Foreign Minister who defected while in England. Reports the Telegraph:

The wife of the Libyan foreign minister who defected to Britain earlier this week has been seized by Colonel Gaddafi and is being interrogated by his “internal security” officials, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.She is thought to have been captured amid eyewitness reports of a fierce gunfight at Col Gaddafi’s central Tripoli compound as the regime stepped in to stop further defections.

Yesterday, local residents recalled how the most fierce firefight yet seen in central Tripoli had erupted within hours of the regime confirming that the Foreign Minister had defected.

Read the entire report here.

4:06 AM – 04/02/2011

U.S. Military Combat Missions To End

NBC’s Ann Curry tweets that the U.S. will move to support missions only:

AnnCurry @ AnnCurry : NBCNews: US military will stop flying COMBAT missions over Libya, only SUPPORT missions incl reconnaissance, starting April 2.
3:31 AM – 04/02/2011

Gaddafi Wants Talks To ‘Stop The Killing’

Channel Four correspondent Jonathan Rugman spoke with Libya’s former Prime Minister Abdul Ati al-Obeidi, who said that Gaddafi is trying to set up talks to stop the killing. During the interview, Obeidi told Rugman, “We are trying to talk to the British, the French and the Americans to stop the killing of people. We are trying to find a mutual solution.”

Watch a report from Channel Four on the Libya talks below:

3:21 AM – 04/02/2011

Fact Check: Senate Did Approve No Fly Zone

Despite complaints to the contrary, the U.S. Senate actually did support a no-fly zone over Libya. The AP reports:

Some lawmakers are grousing loudly that President Barack Obama sent the nation’s military to Libya without Congress’ blessing. They’re ignoring a key fact: The Senate a month ago voted to support imposing a no-fly zone to protect civilians from attacks by Col. Moammar Gadhafi’s forces.

With no objections, the Senate on March 1 backed a resolution strongly condemning “the gross and systematic violations of human rights in Libya” and urging the U.N. Security Council to take action, “including the possible imposition of a no-fly zone over Libyan territory.”

There was no recorded vote. It was simply approved by unanimous consent.

1:18 AM – 04/02/2011

Government Rejects Rebels’ Ceasefire

Reuters reports:

Reuters @ Reuters : FLASH: Libyan government rejects rebels’ conditions for ceasefire, says troops will not leave Libyan cities

Reuters adds:

“They are asking us to withdraw from our own cities. …. If this is not mad then I don’t know what this is. We will not leave out cities,” said Mussa Ibrahim, the government spokesman.

Read more here.

0:32 AM – 04/02/2011

‘Don’t Arm The Rebels, Train Them’

Robert Haddick, writing at Foreign Policy, argues that the rebels need combat skills much more than they need heavy artillery. He writes:

On March 30, it was reported that CIA officers were in Libya with the rebels, making an assessment of their situation and possibly directing airstrikes in support of their fighters. We can gather from open sources much of what these intelligence officers are likely to report. As a military force, Libya’s rebels are a disorganized rabble and seem incapable of preparing and holding defensive positions or maneuvering effectively against rudimentary enemy resistance. The rebels need boot camp, fundamental infantry training, and the development of some battlefield leaders, not a new stockpile of weapons.Those Western leaders whose plan currently consists of hoping that Qaddafi will be spontaneously overthrown need to think again. Absent a Western invasion of the country, the rebel force is the only means of removing Qaddafi, and the rebels will need many months or even years of training before they are capable of defeating loyalist ground units and marching all the way to Tripoli.

Read the entire piece here.

0:29 AM – 04/02/2011

Gunfire In Gaddafi’s Compound

Gunfire has been reported in Gaddafi’s compound. Reuters reports:

Sustained gunfire rang out near Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s heavily fortified compound in Tripoli on Friday and residents said they saw snipers on rooftops and pools of blood on the streets.

It was not clear what triggered long bursts of machinegun and automatic gunfire that echoed around the city center for about 20 minutes and stopped before dawn.

Cars were heard speeding along central Tripoli streets, their tires screeching on the asphalt. Distant shouting or chanting also was heard.

9:32 PM – 04/01/2011

Journalist Describes His Ordeal In Libya

A journalist who was picked up by Libyan security details his ordeal. Here’s an excerpt of his story from Reuters:

We sat quietly. I turned to Chris, a London-based Canadian I had worked with in Iraq. I said I thought they would kill us.

A soldier opened the lock and the rear door swung open again. We looked down at the back of a station wagon which had been opened up to reveal some blankets. I thought they would perhaps drive us away. Maybe they were going to free us?

But a closer look showed feet poking under the blankets.

Soldiers then pulled aside the coverings and hauled three handcuffed young men up and in beside us. When we were locked in again, they told us they were Libyan university students.

Later, several soldiers came in. “Who are you?” one asked me. We are Reuters journalists, I said. He is our driver. We have permission. We were invited here by your government.

The soldier shook his head. “Bad time to be a journalist in Libya.” Reporters were part of a foreign conspiracy against Libya, he said. But then he made it clear that if they decided we were not journalists but spies, that would be worse.

“If you tell us the truth, it should be fine, God willing. But if we catch you lying, oh we will show no mercy. None.”

Read the rest here.

9:07 PM – 04/01/2011

Rebels Make Oil Deal With Qatar

Libyan rebels have made a deal to sell oil to Qatar. Reports the AP:

A plan to sell rebel-held oil to buy weapons and other supplies has been reached with Qatar, a rebel official said Friday, in another sign of deepening aid for Libya’s opposition by the wealthy Gulf state after sending warplanes to help confront Moammar Gadhafi’s forces.

It was not immediately clear when the possible oil sales could begin or how the arms would reach the rebel factions, but any potential revenue stream would be a significant lifeline for the militias and military defectors battling Gadhafi’s superior forces.

7:26 PM – 04/01/2011

Gaddafi Forces Attack Homes In Misrata

Gaddafi forces are attacking home in Misrata, according to rebels. Reuters reports:

Forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi are mounting an intense artillery bombardment of rebel-held Misrata and pro-Gaddafi troops are attacking shops and homes in the city center, a rebel spokesman said.

Misrata is the last big rebel stronghold in western Libya but after weeks of shelling and encirclement, government forces appear to be gradually loosening the rebels’ hold on the city, despite Western air strikes on pro-Gaddafi targets there.

6:22 PM – 04/01/2011

Libyan Opposition Set Conditions For Cease-Fire

The Associated Press reports:

Libya’s rebels will agree to a cease-fire if Moammar Gadhafi pulls his military forces out of cities and allows peaceful protests against his regime, an opposition leader said Friday.Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, head of the opposition’s interim governing council based in Benghazi, said the rebels’ condition for a cease-fire is “that the Gadhafi brigades and forces withdraw from inside and outside Libyan cities to give freedom to the Libyan people to choose and the world will see that they will choose freedom.”

Read more here.

6:11 PM – 04/01/2011

Rebels Move On Oil Town

Libyan rebels moved towards the key oil town of Brega on Friday, as conditions drifted towards a stalemate. Reuters reports:

Libyan rebels moved heavier weaponry toward the oil town of Brega on Friday and sought to marshal rag-tag units into a more disciplined force to regain momentum against Muammar Gaddafi’s regular army.

While military action appeared to drift toward stalemate, coalition diplomatic efforts focused on breaking Gaddafi’s hold on power in Tripoli. London urged Gaddafi loyalists to abandon him, following the defection of Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa.

Rebels said neither side could claim control of Brega, one of a string of oil towns along the Mediterranean coast that have been taken and retaken several times by each side in recent weeks. The insurgents have failed to hold gains, even when helped by Western air strikes.

12:47 PM – 04/01/2011

German Foreign Minister Calls For Libya Cease-Fire

From Al Jazeera:

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle says Libya’s crisis cannot be resolved through military means and all sides must get to work on a political resolution.Westerwelle said on a visit to China that a first step must be a cease-fire that is heeded by Gaddafi.

More details here.

4:05 AM – 04/01/2011

Senators Kerry And McCain Draft Legislation Authorizing Use Of Force In Libya

BBC News reports that U.S. senators are drafting legislation that would authorize the use of force in Libya. The senators include John Kerry and John McCain.

The 1973 War Powers Act says US armed forces must start to withdraw after 60 days unless explicitly authorised to fight by Congress. In the case of Libya, that mark would fall on 20 May, Mr Kerry said.

More here.

3:44 AM – 04/01/2011

Is Involvement In Libya A Slippery Slope?

The National Journal reports that the U.S. may be on a slippery slope when it comes to the Libyan mission:

It’s an old question, but we’ve been through enough of these interventions now –from Vietnam to Kosovo to Afghanistan–to insist on asking it once again: Is the United States on a slippery slope in Libya, one that will lead to American military involvement on the ground? The evidence, on balance, is that under President Obama the U.S. presence is going to expand quickly—but covertly.

Read the full article here.

3:36 AM – 04/01/2011

Libyan Oil Official Denies Reports That He Fled The Country

Reuters reports that Libya’s top oil official, Shokri Ghanem, has denied rumors that he left the country.

Al Jazeera television listed Ghanem as one the figures who had left Libya, but Ghanem said in a phone call, “This is not true, I am in my office and I will be on TV in a few minutes.”

More here.

3:17 AM – 04/01/2011

London Mayor: We May Be Inadvertently ‘Entrenching Support For The Mad Colonel’

BBC News reports that London Mayor Boris Johnson, a Conservative, offers his concerns about involvement in Libya:

“I am worried that what we may be doing inadvertently is entrenching support for the mad colonel… I do worry that if we get into a stalemate, if the rebels don’t seem to be making the progress we hope they would make, then we should be brave enough to say to ourselves our policy isn’t working.”

More here.

3:05 AM – 04/01/2011

Second Top Libyan Official Defects, Government Cracks Down To Prevent Officials From Leaving

The New York Times reports that as a second top Libyan official, Ali Abdussalam el-Treki, defects from the Gaddafi government, fears mount within the regime.

The capital of Tripoli was alive with rumored defections on Thursday, with the prime minister and the speaker of Parliament, among other top figures, said at various times to be quitting the country. None of those reports could be verified. But the authorities were taking no chances, assigning guards to senior officials to assure they cannot leave, a former Libyan official said.

More here.

3:00 AM – 04/01/2011

U.S. Admiral Claims Bad Weather Hampered Air Strikes

BBC News reports that, according to U.S. Admiral Mike Mullen, international air strikes have been hampered by bad weather over the past few days.

According to AFP, Mullen says that they have not been able to see through the weather to identify targets. “And that has more than anything else reduced the impact… reduced the effectiveness, and has allowed the regime forces to move back to the east.”

More here.

2:46 AM – 04/01/2011

WATCH: At Least Four Senior Figures Reportedly Plan To Defect From Gaddafi Gov’t

Al Jazeera reporter Anita McNaught discusses the defections in Libya:

“We got word from sources outside of Tripoli that there were at least four senior figures from the Gadaffi administration who were perhaps in Tunisia, or certainly outside the country and not intending to go home. These were, last night as we understood it, the current head of the Intelligence Service, the Oil Minister (and I’ll mark a question mark with that in a minute), the Secretary of the General People’s Congress, and the Deputy Foreign Minister.”

 

2:35 AM – 04/01/2011

Libyan TV: Pro-Gaddafi Protestor Threatens To Become An ‘Explosive Bomb’

BBC News reports on apparent threats in London by a pro-Gaddafi protestor:

Libyan state television has broadcast footage showing a pro-Gaddafi protestor in London yanking open his jacket and vowing to turn himself an “explosive bomb”, a video on YouTube shows. The incident is said to have occurred at the protest near the Foreign Office in Whitehall on 29 March. In the clip, which has been circulated widely on social media, the man refers to anti-Gaddafi protestors as “traitors and rats”, and exhorts Libyans to “return to the Koran.”

More here.

2:29 AM – 04/01/2011

Senior Aide To Gaddafi’s Son Travels To London, Possibly Seeking Exit Strategy

The Guardian reports that Mohammed Ismail, a senior aide to Gaddafi’s son Saif al-Islam, has traveled to London for confidential talks with British officials.

It is suggested that the regime may be looking for an exit strategy. There is speculation that Gaddafi’s sons, namely Saif al-Islam, Saadi and Mutassim, are looking for a way out.

Although he has little public profile in either Libya or internationally, Ismail is recognised by diplomats as being a key fixer and representative for Saif al-Islam.According to cables published by WikiLeaks, Ismail has represented the Libyan government in arms purchase negotiations and acted as an interlocutor on military and political issues.

“The message that was delivered to him is that Gaddafi has to go and that there will be accountability for crimes committed at the international criminal court,” a Foreign Office spokesman told the Guardian , declining to elaborate on what else may have been discussed.

More here.

2:20 AM – 04/01/2011

Nation Of Islam Minister Defends Gaddafi

The Associated Press/Huffington Post report:

Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan continued his defense of embattled Libyan strongman Moammar Gaddafi during a press conference in Chicago Thursday, and slammed the United States’ decision to get involved in the conflict.

The 78-year-old leader of the Chicago-based organization spoke at Mosque Maryam, the Nation of Islam headquarters, according to the Chicago Tribune.

“It is a terrible thing for me to hear my brother called all these ugly and filthy names when I can’t recognize him as that,” Farrakhan said of Gaddafi, according to the Tribune. “Even though the current tide is moving against him … how can I refuse to raise my voice in his defense? Why would I back down from those who have given so much.”

Farrakhan has publicly defended Gaddafi a number of times since the Libyan uprising began. He reportedly visited the Libyan leader in the 1980s, and told attendees of a Nation of Islam convention in February that the United States should stay out of Libya’s affairs.

Full report here.

1:33 AM – 04/01/2011

More Possible Defections?

Breaking News reports on Twitter that according to the UK Independent, Britain is in talks with ten more Gaddafi officials about possible defection.

0:20 AM – 04/01/2011

Tripoli Witness: Iman al Obeidi ‘Is Not The First Case Of Rape’

BBC News provides the account of a witness in Tripoli.

According to the witness, any anti-government dissidents who spoke out publicly were deemed by officials as mentally ill and thus detained indefinitely. Because of this, the witness is not surprised that Iman al-Obeidi was immediately described as mentally ill last week.

She is not the first case of rape we have heard of here.I have heard of two other cases in recent weeks. One of them was of a Moroccan housekeeper who was left behind by her employers as they fled to a safe house because half their family members had been detained.

The story that circulated through word-of-mouth was that security forces stormed the house she was staying in with the intention of detaining the rest of the family. Finding her alone there instead, they raped her.

Read the full account here.

11:49 PM – 03/31/2011

Libyan Diplomat: Most High-Ranking Officials Are Trying To Defect But Struggle To Leave

AP reports:

A top Libyan diplomat now supporting the opposition says most high-rank Libyan officials are trying to defect but are under tight security and having difficulty leaving the country.

Ibrahim Dabbashi, Libya’s deputy U.N. ambassador, told The Associated Press on Thursday that Libya’s U.N. Mission, which now totally supports the opposition, knew two days in advance that Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa planned to defect.

“This is a big blow to the regime,” Dabbashi said.

He said the mission had been waiting for about 10 days for Ali Abdessalam Treki, a former foreign minister and U.N. General Assembly president named by Moammar Gadhafi to be the new U.N. ambassador, to defect. Treki announced his defection Thursday in Cairo.

More here.

11:35 PM – 03/31/2011

Transitional Council: Fully Committed To Resolutions On Al-Qaeda Sanctions

Libya’s Transitional National Council has released a statement on counter-terrorism. The council says that it condemns and will combat all forms of terrorism.

Regarding al-Qaeda, the council states:

It emphasizes also its full commitment to the implementation of the relevant Security Council resolutions on Counter-Terrorism, including the resolutions on the Sanctions concerning al-Qaeda and Taliban, with the full commitment to all measures and sanctions concerning any individual or entity associated with al-Qaeda and Taliban as determined by the Sanctions Committee.

The council pledges to help the United Nations and cooperate with it’s counter-terrorism task forces.

Read the full statement here.

11:18 PM – 03/31/2011

Why Gaddafi’s Hometown Matters In The Fight For Libya

HuffPost’s Saki Knafo reports:

Earlier this week, rebel forces in Libya fought their way to the outskirts of Sirte, a seafront city about the size of Tallahassee. The day before, pushing westward along the coast from Ajdabiya, they’d recaptured the oil towns of Brega and Ras Lanuf — Sirte, experts said, was the last major obstacle standing in the rebels’ path to the capital city of Tripoli.

Sirte. Before Sunday, few outside Libya had heard of it. Now it’s being portrayed as the key to Libya’s hopes for democracy, the fulcrum on which the nation’s fate would turn. Its importance can be explained partly by location, its proximity to the capital. But it mattered for other reasons, too, reasons that reveal a lot about a conflict with complexities outsiders are only beginning to grasp.

Read the full story here.

11:13 PM – 03/31/2011

Moussa Koussa Was Reportedly Not Offered Immunity, ICC Listed Him Second In Controlling Forces

According to The New York Times, U.K. Foreign Secretary William Hague denies that Moussa Koussa was offered any immunity to lure him to leave Gaddafi’s regime. Hague reports that he is voluntarily speaking with British officials.

The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, said on March 3 that he would investigate “alleged crimes against humanity committed in Libya since 15 February, as peaceful demonstrators were attacked by security forces.” He placed Mr. Koussa second after Colonel Qaddafi on a list of “some individuals with formal or de facto authority, who commanded and had control over the forces that allegedly committed the crimes.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/30/obama–secret-order-libya-signed-rebel-support_n_842734.html

 

 

Jeremy Scahill: Monsanto Engaged in Science of Death

A report by Jeremy Scahill in The Nation (Blackwater’s Black Ops, 9/15/2010) revealed that the largest mercenary army in the world, Blackwater (now called Xe Services) clandestine intelligence services was sold to the multinational Monsanto. Blackwater was renamed in 2009 after becoming famous in the world with numerous reports of abuses in Iraq, including massacres of civilians. It remains the largest private contractor of the U.S. Department of State “security services,” that practices state terrorism by giving the government the opportunity to deny it.

Many military and former CIA officers work for Blackwater or related companies created to divert attention from their bad reputation and make more profit selling their nefarious services-ranging from information and intelligence to infiltration, political lobbying and paramilitary training – for other governments, banks and multinational corporations. According to Scahill, business with multinationals, like Monsanto, Chevron, and financial giants such as Barclays and Deutsche Bank, are channeled through two companies owned by Erik Prince, owner of Blackwater: Total Intelligence Solutions and Terrorism Research Center. These officers and directors share Blackwater.

One of them, Cofer Black, known for his brutality as one of the directors of the CIA, was the one who made contact with Monsanto in 2008 as director of Total Intelligence, entering into the contract with the company to spy on and infiltrate organizations of animal rights activists, anti-GM and other dirty activities of the biotech giant.

Contacted by Scahill, the Monsanto executive Kevin Wilson declined to comment, but later confirmed to The Nation that they had hired Total Intelligence in 2008 and 2009, according to Monsanto only to keep track of “public disclosure” of its opponents. He also said that Total Intelligence was a “totally separate entity from Blackwater.”

However, Scahill has copies of emails from Cofer Black after the meeting with Wilson for Monsanto, where he explains to other former CIA agents, using their Blackwater e-mails, that the discussion with Wilson was that Total Intelligence had become “Monsanto’s intelligence arm,” spying on activists and other actions, including “our people to legally integrate these groups.” Total Intelligence Monsanto paid $ 127,000 in 2008 and $ 105,000 in 2009.

No wonder that a company engaged in the “science of death” as Monsanto, which has been dedicated from the outset to produce toxic poisons spilling from Agent Orange to PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), pesticides, hormones and genetically modified seeds, is associated with another company of thugs.

Almost simultaneously with the publication of this article in The Nation, the Via Campesina reported the purchase of 500,000 shares of Monsanto, for more than $23 million by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which with this action completed the outing of the mask of “philanthropy.” Another association that is not surprising.

It is a marriage between the two most brutal monopolies in the history of industrialism: Bill Gates controls more than 90 percent of the market share of proprietary computing and Monsanto about 90 percent of the global transgenic seed market and most global commercial seed. There does not exist in any other industrial sector monopolies so vast, whose very existence is a negation of the vaunted principle of “market competition” of capitalism. Both Gates and Monsanto are very aggressive in defending their ill-gotten monopolies.

Although Bill Gates might try to say that the Foundation is not linked to his business, all it proves is the opposite: most of their donations end up favoring the commercial investments of the tycoon, not really “donating” anything, but instead of paying taxes to the state coffers, he invests his profits in where it is favorable to him economically, including propaganda from their supposed good intentions. On the contrary, their “donations” finance projects as destructive as geoengineering or replacement of natural community medicines for high-tech patented medicines in the poorest areas of the world. What a coincidence, former Secretary of Health Julio Frenk and Ernesto Zedillo are advisers of the Foundation.

Like Monsanto, Gates is also engaged in trying to destroy rural farming worldwide, mainly through the “Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa” (AGRA). It works as a Trojan horse to deprive poor African farmers of their traditional seeds, replacing them with the seeds of their companies first, finally by genetically modified (GM). To this end, the Foundation hired Robert Horsch in 2006, the director of Monsanto. Now Gates, airing major profits, went straight to the source.

Blackwater, Monsanto and Gates are three sides of the same figure: the war machine on the planet and most people who inhabit it, are peasants, indigenous communities, people who want to share information and knowledge or any other who does not want to be in the aegis of profit and the destructiveness of capitalism.

* The author is a researcher at ETC Group

Translated from the Spanish version by:

Lisa Karpova

Pravda.Ru

 

http://newspapermap.com/

Machines of War: Blackwater, Monsanto, and Bill Gates

2011 January 4
by wemustknow.koen

A report by Jeremy Scahill in The Nation (Blackwater’s Black Ops, 9/15/2010) revealed that the largest mercenary army in the world, Blackwater (now called Xe Services) clandestine intelligence services was sold to the multinational Monsanto. Blackwater was renamed in 2009 after becoming famous in the world with numerous reports of abuses in Iraq, including massacres of civilians. It remains the largest private contractor of the U.S. Department of State “security services,” that practices state terrorism by giving the government the opportunity to deny it.

Many military and former CIA officers work for Blackwater or related companies created to divert attention from their bad reputation and make more profit selling their nefarious services-ranging from information and intelligence to infiltration, political lobbying and paramilitary training – for other governments, banks and multinational corporations. According to Scahill, business with multinationals, like Monsanto, Chevron, and financial giants such as Barclays and Deutsche Bank, are channeled through two companies owned by Erik Prince, owner of Blackwater: Total Intelligence Solutions and Terrorism Research Center. These officers and directors share Blackwater.

One of them, Cofer Black, known for his brutality as one of the directors of the CIA, was the one who made contact with Monsanto in 2008 as director of Total Intelligence, entering into the contract with the company to spy on and infiltrate organizations of animal rights activists, anti-GM and other dirty activities of the biotech giant.

Contacted by Scahill, the Monsanto executive Kevin Wilson declined to comment, but later confirmed to The Nation that they had hired Total Intelligence in 2008 and 2009, according to Monsanto only to keep track of “public disclosure” of its opponents. He also said that Total Intelligence was a “totally separate entity from Blackwater.”

However, Scahill has copies of emails from Cofer Black after the meeting with Wilson for Monsanto, where he explains to other former CIA agents, using their Blackwater e-mails, that the discussion with Wilson was that Total Intelligence had become “Monsanto’s intelligence arm,” spying on activists and other actions, including “our people to legally integrate these groups.” Total Intelligence Monsanto paid $ 127,000 in 2008 and $ 105,000 in 2009.

No wonder that a company engaged in the “science of death” as Monsanto, which has been dedicated from the outset to produce toxic poisons spilling from Agent Orange to PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), pesticides, hormones and genetically modified seeds, is associated with another company of thugs.

Almost simultaneously with the publication of this article in The Nation, the Via Campesina reported the purchase of 500,000 shares of Monsanto, for more than $23 million by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which with this action completed the outing of the mask of “philanthropy.” Another association that is not surprising.

It is a marriage between the two most brutal monopolies in the history of industrialism: Bill Gates controls more than 90 percent of the market share of proprietary computing and Monsanto about 90 percent of the global transgenic seed market and most global commercial seed. There does not exist in any other industrial sector monopolies so vast, whose very existence is a negation of the vaunted principle of “market competition” of capitalism. Both Gates and Monsanto are very aggressive in defending their ill-gotten monopolies.

Although Bill Gates might try to say that the Foundation is not linked to his business, all it proves is the opposite: most of their donations end up favoring the commercial investments of the tycoon, not really “donating” anything, but instead of paying taxes to the state coffers, he invests his profits in where it is favorable to him economically, including propaganda from their supposed good intentions. On the contrary, their “donations” finance projects as destructive as geoengineering or replacement of natural community medicines for high-tech patented medicines in the poorest areas of the world. What a coincidence, former Secretary of Health Julio Frenk and Ernesto Zedillo are advisers of the Foundation.

Like Monsanto, Gates is also engaged in trying to destroy rural farming worldwide, mainly through the “Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa” (AGRA). It works as a Trojan horse to deprive poor African farmers of their traditional seeds, replacing them with the seeds of their companies first, finally by genetically modified (GM). To this end, the Foundation hired Robert Horsch in 2006, the director of Monsanto. Now Gates, airing major profits, went straight to the source.

Blackwater, Monsanto and Gates are three sides of the same figure: the war machine on the planet and most people who inhabit it, are peasants, indigenous communities, people who want to share information and knowledge or any other who does not want to be in the aegis of profit and the destructiveness of capitalism.

* The author is a researcher at ETC Group

Translated from the Spanish version by:

Lisa Karpova

Pravda.Ru

Media Ownership Chart: The Big Six

Media Ownership Chart: The Big Six

The U.S. media landscape is dominated by massive corporations that, through a history of mergers and acquisitions, have concentrated their control over what we see, hear and read. In many cases, these giant companies are vertically integrated, controlling everything from initial production to final distribution. In the interactive charts below we reveal who owns what.

Click here to learn more about our campaign to stop big media and to support local ownership, diverse voices, and truly competitive media markets that serve the public interest.

 

2011 revenues: $55 billion

In 2011, the Federal Communications Commission approved Comcast’s takeover of a majority share of NBCUniversal from General Electric. This merger combines the nation’s largest cable company and residential Internet service provider and one of the world’s biggest producers of TV shows and motion pictures. Comcast’s media holdings now reach almost every home in America. It serves customers in 39 states and the District of Columbia. In addition to its vast NBCUniversal holdings, Comcast has 23.6 million cable subscribers, 18 million digital cable subscribers, 15.9 million high-speed Internet customers and 7.6 million voice customers. Comcast recently entered into a partnership with Verizon in which each company will market and sell the other’s services.
 
TV: NBCUniversal; twenty-four television stations and the NBC television network; Telemundo; USA Network; SyFy; CNBC; MSNBC; Bravo; Oxygen; Chiller; CNBC World; E!; the Golf Channel; Sleuth; mun2; Universal HD; VERSUS; Style; G4; Comcast SportsNet (Philadelphia), Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic (Baltimore/Washington, D.C.), Cable Sports Southeast, Comcast SportsNet Chicago, MountainWest Sports Network, Comcast SportsNet California (Sacramento), Comcast SportsNet New England (Boston), Comcast SportsNet Northwest (Portland, Ore.), Comcast Sports Southwest (Houston), Comcast SportsNet Bay Area (San Francisco), New England Cable News (Boston), Comcast Network Philadelphia, Comcast Network Mid-Atlantic (Baltimore/Washington, D.C.); the Weather Channel (25 percent stake); A&E (16 percent stake); the History Channel (16 percent stake); the Biography Channel (16 percent stake); Lifetime (16 percent stake); the Crime and Investigation Channel (16 percent stake); Pittsburgh Cable News Channel (30 percent stake); FEARnet (31 percent stake); PBS KIDS Sprout (40 percent stake); TV One (34 percent stake); Houston Regional Sports Network (23 percent stake); SportsNet New York (8 percent stake)

Online Holdings: MSNBC.com (50 percent stake); Hulu (32 percent stake); DailyCandy; iVillage; Fandango

Telecom: Clearwire Communications (9 percent stake)

Other: Comcast Interactive Media; Plaxo; Universal Studios Hollywood; Wet ‘n Wild theme park; Universal Studios Florida; Universal Islands of Adventure; Philadelphia 76ers; Philadelphia Flyers; Wells Fargo Center; iN DEMAND; Music Choice (12 percent stake); SpectrumCo (64 percent stake).
 
 

2011 revenues: $40.1 billion

The Walt Disney Company owns the ABC television network; cable networks including ESPN, the Disney Channel, SOAPnet, A&E and Lifetime; 277 radio stations, music- and book-publishing companies; film-production companies Touchstone, Miramax and Walt Disney Pictures; Pixar Animation Studios; the cellular service Disney Mobile; and theme parks around the world.

TV: Eight television stations and the ABC television network; ESPN; Disney Channels Worldwide; ABC Family; SOAPnet Networks; A&E (42 percent stake); Lifetime Television (42 percent stake); the History Channel (42 percent stake); Lifetime Movie Network (42 percent stake); the Biography Channel (42 percent stake); History International (42 percent stake); Lifetime Real Women (42 percent stake); Live Well Network (42 percent stake)

Radio: ESPN Radio Network; Radio Disney

Print: ESPN The Magazine; Disney Publishing Worldwide; Juvenile Publishing; Digital Publishing; Disney Music Publishing; Marvel Publishing

Entertainment: Marvel Entertainment; ABC Studios; ABC Media Production; Pixar; Walt Disney Pictures; Walt Disney Records; Hollywood Records; Mammoth Records; Buena Vista Records; Lyric Street Records

Other: Buena Vista Concerts; Disney Mobile; Disney Theatrical Productions; the Disney Store; Disney theme parks and water parks; Disney English; Disney Interactive Media Group; Disney Games; Playdom, Inc.
 
 

2011 revenues: $33.4 billion

News Corporation’s media holdings include the FOX Broadcasting Company; television and cable networks such as Fox, Fox Business Channel, National Geographic and FX; print publications including the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post and TV Guide; the magazines Barron’s and SmartMoney; book publisher HarperCollins; film production companies 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight Pictures and Blue Sky Studios; numerous websites including MarketWatch.com; and non-media holdings including the National Rugby League.

TV: Twenty-seven television stations and FOX Broadcasting Company (FOX Network, MyNetworkTV); FOX News; FOX Business; FOX News Radio Network; FOX News Talk Channel; FSN (12 regional sports networks); FX; SPEED; FUEL TV; Fox College Sports; Fox Movie Channel; Fox Soccer Channel; Fox Soccer Plus; Fox Pan American Sports; Fox Deportes; Big Ten Network; National Geographic U.S.; Nat Geo Adventure; Nat Geo Music; Nat Geo Wild; Fox International Channels; Utilisima; Fox Crime; NEXT; FOX History & Entertainment; the Voyage Channel; STAR World; STAR Movies; NGC Network International; NGC Network Latin America; LAPTV; Movie City; City Mix; City Family; City Stars; City Vibe; the Film Zone; Cinecanal; Elite Sports Limited; BabyTV; STAR India; STAR Taiwan; ESPN STAR Sports; Shine Limited

Online Holdings: Hulu.com (32 percent minority share)

Print: HarperCollins Publishers; the New York Post; the Daily News; News International (the Times; the Sunday Times; the Sun); News Limited (146 newspapers in Australia); Dow Jones (Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, SmartMoney, Factiva, Dow Jones Newswires, Dow Jones Local Media, Dow Jones VentureSource)

Telecom: Satellite: BSkyB (39 percent minority share); SKY Italia

Entertainment: Fox Filmed Entertainment; Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment; Twentieth Century Fox Television; Twentieth Television; Fox Television Studios

Other: Marketing/advertising: News America Marketing Group; News Outdoor; Fox Library; IGN Entertainment, Inc.; Making Fun, Inc.; Wireless Generation
 
 

2011 revenues: $29 billion

Time Warner is the world’s second-largest entertainment conglomerate with ownership interests in film, television and print.

TV: One television station and the Warner Brothers Television Group; Warner Brothers Television; Warner Horizon Television; CW Network (50 percent stake); TBS; TNT; Cartoon Network; truTV; Turner Classic Movies; Boomerang; CNN; HLN; CNN International; HBO; Cinemax; Space; Infinito; I-Sat; Fashion TV; HTV; Much Music; Pogo; Mondo TV; Tabi; CNN Español

Online Holdings: Warner Brothers Digital Distribution; TMZ.com; KidsWB.com

Print: Time, Inc.; 22 magazines including People, Sports Illustrated, Time, Life, InStyle, Real Simple, Southern Living, Entertainment Weekly and Fortune

Entertainment: Warner Brothers; Warner Brothers Pictures; New Line Cinema; Castle Rock; WB Studio Enterprises, Inc.; Telepictures Productions, Inc.; Warner Brothers Animation, Inc.; Warner Home Video; Warner Premiere; Warner Specialty Films, Inc.; Warner Brothers International Cinemas

Other: Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment; DC Entertainment; DC Comics
 
 

2011 revenues: $14.9 billion

Viacom is the world’s fourth-largest media conglomerate, with interests primarily in cable television networks, programming production and distribution. Viacom controls over 160 networks that reach more than 600 million people around the globe.

TV: Viacom Media Networks (160 cable channels including MTV, VH1, CMT, Logo, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, TV Land, Spike TV, Tr3s, BET and CENTRIC)

Online Holdings: ParentsConnect.com

Entertainment: Viacom Filmed Entertainment (produces motion pictures under numerous studio brands including Paramount Pictures, Insurge Pictures, MTV Films and Nickelodeon Movies)

Other: Nickelodeon Games Group
 
 

2009 revenues: $13 billion

CBS Corporation “has operations in virtually every field of media and entertainment, including broadcast television (CBS and the CW — a joint venture between CBS Corporation and Warner Bros. Entertainment), cable television (Showtime Networks, Smithsonian Networks and CBS Sports Network), local television (CBS television stations), television production and syndication (CBS Television Studios, CBS Studios International and CBS Television Distribution), radio (CBS Radio), advertising on out-of-home media (CBS Outdoor), publishing (Simon & Schuster), interactive media (CBS Interactive), music (CBS Records), licensing and merchandising (CBS Consumer Products), video/DVD (CBS Home Entertainment), motion pictures (CBS Films) and socially responsible media (EcoMedia).”

TV: Twenty-nine television stations and CBS Television Studios; CBS Entertainment; CBS News; CBS Sports; CBS television stations; CBS Television Studios; CBS Studios International; CBS Television Distribution; the CW; Showtime; CBS College Sports Network; CBS Television Network; Smithsonian Networks

Radio: CBS Radio and 130 radio stations

Online Holdings: CBS Interactive; CNET

Print: Simon & Schuster; Watch! Magazine; Pocket Books; Scribner; Free Press (publishing house)

Entertainment: CBS Films

Other: CBS Outdoor; CBS Connections; EcoMedia

 

Author: Lockheed Martin’s “Got Their Fingers Everywhere”

Too big to fail?

That’s been the key question asked of Wall Street’s biggest banks since the September 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers, which sent shock waves through the global financial system and led to the worst recession this country has seen since the Great Depression.

But, there is another firm far from the circles of Wall Street for which that same question should be asked, says William Hartung, author of the new book Prophets of War. The subtitle of his book says it all: Lockheed Martin and the Making of the Military-Industrial Complex.

With $40 billion in annual revenue, Lockheed Martin is the single largest recipient of U.S. tax dollars. The company receives about $36 billion in government contracts per year.   In 2008, $29 billion of that was for U.S. military contracts – a dollar figure 25% higher than its competitors Boeing Co. and Northrop Grumman.

What does that mean for you, the U.S. taxpayer? According to Hartung, each taxpaying household contributes $260 to Lockheed’s coffers each year!

All evidence enough that the company is “too big to fail”, as Hartung tells Aaron in the accompanying clip.

A prime example of Washington looking out for Lockheed happened just last year when debate ensued over whether to continue the company’s grossly expensive F-22 stealth fighter program, says Hartung, who has covered the defense industry for years and is also the director of the Arms and Security Initiative at the New America Foundation.

The Pentagon eventually did suspend funds terminating Lockheed’s development of the F-22 Raptor, which has been the most costly fighter plane ever.  But, at the same time the U.S. Defense Department cut off funds for the F-22, it added an additional $4 billion to the Lockheed’s F-35 fighter plane program. The government “basically took with one hand and gave back [to Lockheed] with the other,” says Hartung of a company that is the only major contractor of fighter planes for the U.S. Airforce.

Warning from the past

Two weeks from now marks the 50th anniversary of President Eisenhower’s famous “military-industrial complex” speech cautioning against “undue influence” from large and politically powerful defense companies. According to Hartung, Lockheed Martin epitomizes the exact threat Eisenhower warned about.

By now you might be wondering where the defense contractor’s remaining $7 billion in government contract goes. “They have got their fingers everywhere now,” Hartung tells Aaron. As outlined in his book, Lockheed does way more than produce military aircraft and weaponry. From the U.S. Census Bureau to the U.S. Postal Service to the Internal Revenue Service, “pretty much name a government agency and they are involved,” he says.

Despite Lockheed sheer size, its stronghold on so many government agencies is evidence enough that the company is “too big to fail.” “If the government becomes so dependent on [Lockheed], for many different activities it will be hard to hold them accountable if they underperform or if there is some sort of whiff of scandal.”

Bigger may not be better, but it’s working

Hartung’s scathing criticism of Lockheed Martin comes from his belief that “they have not done the job well, often enough,” pointing to decades of cost overruns, a corporate history littered with corruption scandals and the fact that the company was one of the first ever to receive a federal bailout back in the 1970s.

When it comes down to it, Lockheed’s dominance – even with what some might call a checkered past – has much to do with the company’s ability to influence those in power, says Hartung.  In 2009, it spent nearly $15 million on campaign contributions and lobbying fees — the second highest amount for defense contractors.

Another key factor that has helped the defense contractor secure the most U.S. military contracts is the company’s ability to exploit the revolving door between Washington, the industry and itself, says Hartung.  Not only has this led to the company having strong influence over those who hold the U.S. government’s purse stings, many who are former Lockheed employees or board members, it has allowed the company to influence foreign policy decisions like pressing for war with Iraq.

In the publicity notes for the book, Hartung claims “Lockheed Martin has also funded right-wing think tanks that have done everything from press for war with Iraq to lobby for the “Star Wars” missile defense program.” He tells Aaron that they are using these think tanks to make the points that are “embarrassing to make themselves.”

Hartung acknowledges that “we need companies like Lockheed Martin to defend the country,” but he says that a lot more can be done to regulate the industry by setting “stricter accountability rules.”

Tell us what you think!

http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/too-big-to-fail-lockheed-martin%27s-%22got-their-fingers-everywhere%22-says-author-535769.html

Internet Giants Enlisted for Government Surveillance

Just what are all of those giant Internet-based companies doing with all of the data they collect on Web users?

According to some experts, they are freely sharing the information with government entities, and perhaps even collecting additional information solely for surveillance purposes.

“Government agencies throughout the world are pushing companies to collect even more data than is needed for their business purposes. For example, we have a very controversial data retention regime which is currently under review. This requires people to store data for a period up to two years so it can easily be accessed by law enforcement agencies,” said the executive director of Poland’s Panoptykon Foundation, Katarzyna Szymielewicz.

While Microsoft and Facebook are known to provide the data to government and law enforcement agencies for free, Google seeks a $25 handling charge and Yahoo puts the price on providing user information at $20, according to the Reuters report.

In comparison to traditional law enforcement monitoring techniques, this makes tracking a large number of people not only possible, by economical for authorities. Basically, surveillance has never been easier.

“Now, one police officer from the comfort of their desk can track 20, 30, 50 people all through Web interfaces provided by mobile companies and cloud computing companies. The marginal cost of surveilling one more person is now essentially approaching zero,”  said privacy researcher Christopher Soghoian.

The question is how freely these companies should be sharing your information with authorities, and under what circumstances – such as when there has been no court oversight such as is required for a search warrant.

“When the possibility exists for information to be obtained that wasn’t possible before, it’s entirely understandable that law enforcement is interested. Then the issue would be, what’s the right policy? And that, or course, engenders a lot of debate,” said Google’s Internet evangelist Vint Cerf in a Reuters interview.

The number of requests for data has been steadily increasing, requiring companies to dedicate significant resources to manage the requests, and hence the fees charged by some.

“Every decent-sized U.S. telecoms and Internet company has a team that does nothing but respond to requests for information,” Soghoian said.

And it is not just cooperation with Western governments that has experts concerned.

SecDev Group, an international security think tank based in Canada, recently released a report that examines the ethics surrounding western technology corporations apparent collusion with the Chinese government’s oppressive censorship and unmitigated domestic surveillance operations.

The report, titled Collusion and Collision: Searching for Guidance in Chinese cyberspace, focuses on the relationship between the totalitarian Chinese regime and western-based search engine giants such as Google, Yahoo!, and Microsoft’s Bing – which account for a 94% of the worlds search engine market share.

The crux of the issue is whether or not these companies who are eager to exploit the vast and rapidly developing Chinese online marketplace should so easily concede to the Chinese government’s demands to adhere to strict censorship and monitoring requirements which are fundamentally in opposition to western democratic values and in most cases the companies’ very own policies and mission statements.

The Washington Post noted that in 2005 Yahoo! complied with a Chinese government demand to provide private email correspondence data belonging to active political dissidents, including the outspoken poet Shi Tao, who was subsequently jailed.

While Yahoo! later apologized and sold off the controlling share of their operations in China, the damage had been done, and the motivations were purely profit driven.They also point out that Microsoft similarly has provided information and also voluntarily pulled the plug on reporter Zhao Jing’s website at the behest of the Chinese government.

 

http://infosecisland.com/blogview/16991-Internet-Giants-Enlisted-for-Government-Surveillance.html

U.S. Concentration Camp Locations

U.S. Concentration Camp Locations

See Halliburton evidence.

Massive Concentration Camps are already operational within the U.S. 

These camps, like Hitler’s and Stalin’s camps are filled with political prisoners and slave labor.  The majority of prisoners in these camps have not committed any crime.  The Law in the U.S. requires three elements to be present in any crime: the Act, Intent and Damage (MENS REA – willful intent, ACTUS REUS – act or crime, CORPUS DELICTI – body of the crime, the actual damage).  It is estimated that 90% of the people prosecuted by the courts in the U.S. committed no crime.

To get an idea of what the New World Order authorities in the U.S. considers a “Terrorist” consider the actual definitions being put out by local and Federal authorities: What are Some Characteristics of Terrorists?: “Nice-guy image” “Property Rights Activists” “Environmental and Animal Rights” “Influence governmental of social policy” “Undermine confidence in the government” “Anti-government and Militia Movement” “Create an atmosphere of anxiety amongst the public” “Will employ a variety of vehicles and communicate predominantly by cell-phone, E-mail, or text messaging services” “Trained to be physically aware of their environment, whether it be a 747 jumbo jet or a court house” “May appear ‘normal’ in appearance… tourists, student, or businessperson” see Who’s a Terrorist?

While the U.S. points it’s finger at China for slave labor, the prisons in the U.S. operate slave labor camps that produce 100% Military Helmets, Ammunition Belts, Bullet-proof Vests, ID Tags, Shirts, Pants, Tents, Bags, And Canteens. 98% Equipment Assembly Services; 93% Paints and Paintbrushes; 92% Stove Assembly; 46% Body Armor; 36% Home Appliances; 30% Headphones/Microphones/Speakers; 21% Office Furniture, Airplane Parts, Medical Supplies.  See Federal Prison Industry website http://www.unicor.gov  The individuals operating these Concentration Camps at all levels, Federal, State and County, make a pretty profit from the facilities. Many privatized institutions charge the Tax Payer five-star ‘hotel’ rates for minus-five-star service. When you throw in their slave labor capabilities the Prison Industrial Complex in the U.S. is a thriving industry, just like Hitler’s was.

Concentration Camps are springing up across the U.S. like a disease.  Californian Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger sought $10.6 Billion to build MORE Concentration Camps in California alone, the Californian Legislature gave him $7.4 Billion!

Some of these sprawling Concentration Camps such as the facility outside Lancaster in the desert above Los Angeles California, include all the workshops and facilities behind massive fences and guard towers, more ominous, right next to the adult slave labor camp are “medical facilities” also with massive razor wire fences which conjure chillingly similar thoughts and images to Hitler’s medical experimentation facilities.  Also in the dessert next to the all male Concentration Camp and Medical Facility is a “Youth Facility”.


Recently a Prime-Time international TV crew approached Liberty For Life for assistance in producing a documentary on “Concentration Camps in America”.  “The irony is that US citizens are now dependant on free press in Russia to get the truth out about what’s going on in the US.” says Clive Boustred, Chairman of Liberty of Life and CopperCards pictured outside one of the Concentration Camps in the U.S. with the top team from Russia TV.

While the existing Camps throughout the US are known and operational, there are many more concerning facilities that appear to be set aside for FEMA camps.  Some of these potential locations are listed below. These locations have been sourced from various websites.  Many of the locations have, on further examination, not mustered anything close to what one would consider a Concentration Camp. However, the Halliburton contract clearly allows any FIMA / Homeland Security facility or Military Base to be rapidly converted into a Concentration Camp

The following video is of a FEMA ‘railway repair facility’ – the only problem is that the barbed wire fences are designed not to keep people out, they face inwards.  While there is no use or need for the facility, the government has been spending millions of dollars converting this facility into an ideal concentration camp along with gassing equipment.  Most people by now know that George W. Bush’s grand father funded Hitler See Bushes.  Most are not aware that the primary share holders of ‘our’ Federal Reserve Bank, the Rothschild’s, also funded both Stalin and Hitler.  Their goals and methodologies have not changed.  Fascists Socialist Nations terrified by “unseen terrorists” make ideal breeding grounds for massive financial profit.  It is also worth looking into the FBI’s programs to prepare children for living in this U.S.S.A. Police State.

The following “Railway Repair Yard”

On March 28, 2009, the satellite image below of the “Swift Luck Greens” facility in central Wyoming was “accidentally” made available by the Department of Homeland Security and pulled down within an hour:


Note security fence turned inwards.  800+ of these new facilities are empty. Built for what? Waiting for what? You?

ALABAMA
Opelika – Military compound either in or very near town.
Aliceville – WWII German POW camp – capacity 15,000
Ft. McClellan (Anniston) – Opposite side of town from Army Depot;
Maxwell AFB (Montgomery) – Civilian prison camp established under Operation Garden Plot, currently operating with support staff and small inmate population.
Talladega – Federal prison “satellite” camp.
ALASKA
Wilderness – East of Anchorage. No roads, Air & Railroad access only. Estimated capacity of 500,000 Elmendorf AFB – Northeast area of Anchorage – far end of base. Garden Plot facility.
Eielson AFB – Southeast of Fairbanks. Operation Garden Plot facility.
Ft. Wainwright – East of Fairbanks
ARIZONA
Ft. Huachuca – 20 miles from Mexican border, 30 miles from Nogales Rex ’84 facility.
Pinal County – on the Gila River – WWII Japanese detention camp. May be renovated.
Yuma County – Colorado River – Site of former Japanese detention camp (near proving grounds). This site was completely removed in 1990 according to some reports.
Phoenix – Federal Prison Satellite Camp. Main federal facility expanded.
Florence – WWII prison camp NOW RENOVATED, OPERATIONAL with staff & 400 prisoners, operational capacity of 3,500.
Wickenburg – Airport is ready for conversion; total capacity unknown. Davis-Monthan AFB (Tucson) – Fully staffed and presently holding prisoners!!
Sedona – site of possible UN base.
ARKANSAS
Ft. Chaffee (near Fort Smith, Arkansas) – Has new runway for aircraft, new camp facility with cap of 40,000 prisoners Pine Bluff Arsenal – This location also is the repository for B-Z nerve agent, which causes sleepiness, dizziness, stupor; admitted use is for civilian control. Jerome – Chicot/Drew Counties – site of WWII Japanese camps Rohwer – Descha County – site of WWII Japanese camps Blythville AFB – Closed airbase now being used as camp. New wooden barracks have been constructed at this location. Classic decorations – guard towers, barbed wire, high fences. Berryville – FEMA facility located east of Eureka Springs off Hwy. 62. Omaha – Northeast of Berryville near Missouri state line, on Hwy 65 south of old wood processing plant. Possible crematory facility.
CALIFORNIA
Vandenburg AFB – Rex 84 facility, located near Lompoc & Santa Maria. Internment facility is located near the ocean, close to Space Launch Complex #6, also called “Slick Six”. The launch site has had “a flawless failure record” and is rarely used. Norton AFB – (closed base) now staffed with UN according to some sources. Tule Lake – area of “wildlife refuge”, accessible by unpaved road, just inside Modoc County. Fort Ord – Closed in 1994, this facility is now an urban warfare training center for US and foreign troops, and may have some “P.O.W. – C.I.” enclosures. Twenty-nine Palms Marine Base – Birthplace of the infamous “Would you shoot American citizens?” Quiz. New camps being built on “back 40”. Oakdale – Rex 84 camp capable of holding at least 20,000 people. 90 mi. East of San Francisco. Terminal Island – (Long Beach) located next to naval shipyards operated by ChiCom shipping interests. Federal prison facility located here. Possible deportation point. Ft. Irwin – FEMA facility near Barstow. Base is designated inactive but has staffed camp. McClellan AFB – facility capable for 30,000 – 35,000 Sacramento – Army Depot – No specific information at this time. Mather AFB – Road to facility is blocked off by cement barriers and a stop sign. Sign states area is restricted; as of 1997 there were barbed wire fences pointing inward, a row of stadium lights pointed toward an empty field, etc. Black boxes on poles may have been cameras.
The FEMA death camp Mojave desert – Fully staffed full gassing/cremating death camp with airstrip, dedicated to the termination red/blue list under martial law. According to a DEA agent the site was reticently doubled in size to increase it’s killing capacity. Doc Marquis (Illuminati) & Elaine Kost (CIA/Luciferian), formerly high level Illuminati Luciferians independently testified to being flown to and given a tour of the Mojave death camp.
COLORADO
Trinidad – WWII German/Italian camp being renovated. Granada – Prowers County – WWII Japanese internment camp Ft. Carson – Along route 115 near Canon City
CONNECTICUT, DELAWARE
No data available.
FLORIDA
Avon Park – Air Force gunnery range, Avon Park has an on-base “correctional facility” which was a former WWII detention camp. Camp Krome – DoJ detention/interrogation center, Rex 84 facility Eglin AFB – This base is over 30 miles long, from Pensacola to Hwy 331 in De Funiak Springs. High capacity facility, presently manned and populated with some prisoners. Pensacola – Federal Prison Camp Everglades – It is believed that a facility may be carved out of the wilds here.
GEORGIA
Ft. Benning – Located east of Columbus near Alabama state line. Rex 84 site – Prisoners brought in via Lawson Army airfield. Ft. Mc Pherson – US Force Command – Multiple reports that this will be the national headquarters and coordinating center for foreign/UN troop movement and detainee collection. Ft. Gordon – West of Augusta – No information at this time. Unadilla – Dooly County – Manned, staffed FEMA prison on route 230, no prisoners. Oglethorpe – Macon County; facility is located five miles from Montezuma, three miles from Oglethorpe. This FEMA prison has no staff and no prisoners. Morgan – Calhoun County, FEMA facility is fully manned & staffed – no prisoners. Camilla – Mitchell County, south of Albany. This FEMA facility is located on Mt. Zion Rd approximately 5.7 miles south of Camilla. Unmanned – no prisoners, no staff. Hawkinsville – Wilcox County; Five miles east of town, fully manned and staffed but no prisoners. Located on fire road 100/Upper River Road Abbeville – South of Hawkinsville on US route 129; south of town off route 280 near Ocmulgee River. FEMA facility is staffed but without prisoners. McRae – Telfair County – 1.5 miles west of McRae on Hwy 134 (8th St). Facility is on Irwinton Avenue off 8th St., manned & staffed – no prisoners. Fort Gillem – South side of Atlanta – FEMA designated detention facility. Fort Stewart – Savannah area – FEMA designated detention facility
HAWAII
Halawa Heights area – Crematory facility located in hills above city. Area is marked as a state department of health laboratory. Barbers Point NAS – There are several military areas that could be equipped for detention / deportation. Honolulu – Detention transfer facility at the Honolulu airport similar in construction to the one in Oklahoma (pentagon-shaped building where airplanes can taxi up to).
IDAHO
Minidoka/Jerome Counties – WWII Japanese-American internment facility possibly under renovation. Clearwater National Forest – Near Lolo Pass – Just miles from the Montana state line near Moose Creek, this unmanned facility is reported to have a nearby airfield. Wilderness areas – Possible location. No data.
ILLINOIS
Marseilles – Located on the Illinois River off Interstate 80 on Hwy 6. It is a relatively small facility with a cap of 1400 prisoners. Though it is small it is designed like prison facilities with barred windows, but the real smoking gun is the presence of military vehicles. Being located on the Illinois River it is possible that prisoners will be brought in by water as well as by road and air. This facility is approximately 75 miles west of Chicago. National Guard training area nearby. Scott AFB – Barbed wire prisoner enclosure reported to exist just off-base. More info needed, as another facility on-base is believed to exist. Pekin – This Federal satellite prison camp is also on the Illinois River, just south of Peoria. It supplements the federal penitentiary in Marion, which is equipped to handle additional population outside on the grounds. Chanute AFB – Rantoul, near Champaign/Urbana – This closed base had WWII – era barracks that were condemned and torn down, but the medical facility was upgraded and additional fencing put up in the area. More info needed. Marion – Federal Penitentiary and satellite prison camp inside Crab Orchard Nat’l Wildlife Refuge. Manned, staffed, populated fully. Greenfield – Two federal correctional “satellite prison camps” serving Marion – populated as above. Shawnee National Forest – Pope County – This area has seen heavy traffic of foreign military equipment and troops via Illinois Central Railroad, which runs through the area. Suspected location is unknown, but may be close to Vienna and Shawnee correctional centers, located 6 mi. west of Dixon Springs. Savanna Army Depot – NW area of state on Mississippi River. Lincoln, Sheridan, Menard, Pontiac, Galesburg – State prison facilities equipped for major expansion and close or adjacent to highways & railroad tracks. Kankakee – Abandoned industrial area on west side of town (Rt.17 & Main) designated as FEMA detention site. Equipped with water tower, incinerator, a small train yard behind it and the rear of the facility is surrounded by barbed wire facing inwards.
INDIANA
Indianapolis / Marion County – Amtrak railcar repair facility (closed); controversial site of a major alleged detention / processing center. Although some sources state that this site is a “red herring”, photographic and video evidence suggests otherwise. This large facility contains large 3-4 inch gas mains to large furnaces (crematoria??), helicopter landing pads, railheads for prisoners, Red/Blue/Green zones for classifying/processing incoming personnel, one-way turnstiles, barracks, towers, high fences with razor wire, etc. Personnel with government clearance who are friendly to the patriot movement took a guided tour of the facility to confirm this site. This site is located next to a closed refrigeration plant facility. Ft. Benjamin Harrison – Located in the northeast part of Indianapolis, this base has been decommissioned from “active” use but portions are still ideally converted to hold detainees. Helicopter landing areas still exist for prisoners to be brought in by air, land & rail. Crown Point – Across street from county jail, former hospital. One wing presently being used for county work-release program, 80% of facility still unused. Possible FEMA detention center or holding facility. Camp Atterbury – Facility is converted to hold prisoners and boasts two active compounds presently configured for minimum security detainees. Located just west of Interstate 65 near Edinburgh, south of Indianapolis. Terre Haute – Federal Correctional Institution, Satellite prison camp and death facility. Equipped with crematoria reported to have a capacity of 3,000 people a day. FEMA designated facility located here. Fort Wayne – This city located in Northeast Indiana has a FEMA designated detention facility, accessible by air, road and nearby rail. Kingsbury – This “closed” military base is adjacent to a state fish & wildlife preserve. Part of the base is converted to an industrial park, but the southern portion of this property is still used. It is bordered on the south by railroad, and is staffed with some foreign-speaking UN troops. A local police officer who was hunting and camping close to the base in the game preserve was accosted, roughed up, and warned by the English-speaking unit commander to stay away from the area. It was suggested to the officer that the welfare of his family would depend on his “silence”. Located just southeast of LaPorte. Jasper-Pulaski Wildlife Area – Youth Corrections farm located here. Facility is “closed”, but is still staffed and being “renovated”. Total capacity unknown. Grissom AFB – This closed airbase still handles a lot of traffic, and has a “state-owned” prison compound on the southern part of the facility.
UNICOR
. Jefferson Proving Grounds – Southern Indiana – This facility was an active base with test firing occurring daily. Portions of the base have been opened to create an industrial park, but other areas are still highly restricted. A camp is believed to be located “downrange”. Facility is equipped with an airfield and has a nearby rail line. Newport – Army Depot – VX nerve gas storage facility. Secret meetings were held here in 1998 regarding the addition of the Kankakee River watershed to the Heritage Rivers Initiative. Hammond – large enclosure identified in FEMA-designated city.
IOWA
No data available.
KANSAS
Leavenworth – US Marshal’s Fed Holding Facility, US Penitentiary, Federal Prison Camp, McConnell Air Force Base. Federal death penalty facility. Concordia – WWII German POW camp used to exist at this location but there is no facility there at this time. Ft. Riley – Just north of Interstate 70, airport, near city of Manhattan. El Dorado – Federal prison converted into forced-labor camp, UNICOR industries. Topeka – 80 acres has been converted into a temporary holding camp.
KENTUCKY
Ashland – Federal prison camp in Eastern Kentucky near the Ohio River. Louisville – FEMA detention facility, located near restricted area US naval ordnance plant. Military airfield located at facility, which is on south side of city. Lexington – FEMA detention facility, National Guard base with adjacent airport facility. Manchester – Federal prison camp located inside Dan Boone National Forest. Ft. Knox – Detention center, possibly located near Salt River, in restricted area of base. Local patriots advise that black Special Forces & UN gray helicopters are occasionally seen in area. Land Between the Lakes – This area was declared a UN biosphere and is an ideal geographic location for detention facilities. Area is an isthmus extending out from Tennessee, between Lake Barkley on the east and Kentucky Lake on the west. Just scant miles from Fort Campbell in Tennessee.
LOUISIANA
Ft. Polk – This is a main base for UN troops & personnel, and a training center for the disarmament of America. Livingston – WWII German/Italian internment camp being renovated?; halfway between Baton Rouge and Hammond, several miles north of Interstate 12. Oakdale – Located on US route 165 about 50 miles south of Alexandria; two federal detention centers just southeast of Fort Polk.
MAINE
Houlton – WWII German internment camp in Northern Maine, off US Route 1.
MARYLAND, and DC
Ft. Meade – Halfway between the District of Criminals and Baltimore. Data needed. Ft. Detrick – Biological warfare center for the NWO, located in Frederick.
MASSACHUSETTS
Camp Edwards / Otis AFB – Cape Cod – This “inactive” base is being converted to hold many New Englander patriots. Capacity unknown. Ft. Devens – Active detention facility. More data needed.
MICHIGAN
Camp Grayling – Michigan Nat’l Guard base has several confirmed detention camps, classic setup with high fences, razor wire, etc. Guard towers are very well-built, sturdy. Multiple compounds within larger enclosures. Facility deep within forest area. Sawyer AFB – Upper Peninsula – south of Marquette – No data available. Bay City – Classic enclosure with guard towers, high fence, and close to shipping port on Saginaw Bay, which connects to Lake Huron. Could be a deportation point to overseas via St. Lawrence Seaway. Southwest – possibly Berrien County – FEMA detention center. Lansing – FEMA detention facility.
MINNESOTA
Duluth – Federal prison camp facility. Camp Ripley – new prison facility.
MISSISSIPPI
These sites are confirmed hoaxes. Hancock County – NASA test site De Soto National Forest. “These two supposed camps in Mississippi do not exist. Members of the Mississippi Militia have checked these out on more than one occasion beginning back when they first appeared on the Internet and throughout the Patriot Movement.” – Commander D. Rayner, Mississippi Militia
MISSOURI
Richards-Gebaur AFB – located in Grandview, near K.C.MO. A very large internment facility has been built on this base, and all base personnel are restricted from coming near it. Ft. Leonard Wood – Situated in the middle of Mark Twain National Forest in Pulaski County. This site has been known for some UN training, also home to the US Army Urban Warfare Training school “Stem Village”. Warsaw – Unconfirmed report of a large concentration camp facility.
MONTANA
Malmstrom AFB – UN aircraft groups stationed here, and possibly a detention facility.
NEBRASKA
Scottsbluff – WWII German POW camp (renovated?). Northwest, Northeast corners of state – FEMA detention facilities – more data needed. South Central part of state – Many old WWII sites – some may be renovated.
NEVADA
Elko – Ten miles south of town. Wells – Camp is located in the O’Niel basin area, 40 miles north of Wells, past Thousand Springs, west off Hwy 93 for 25 miles. Pershing County – Camp is located at I-80 mile marker 112, south side of the highway, about a mile back on the county road and then just off the road about 3/4mi. Winnemucca – Battle Mountain area – at the base of the mountains. Nellis Air Force Range – Northwest from Las Vegas on Route 95. Nellis AFB is just north of Las Vegas on Hwy 604. Stillwater Naval Air Station – east of Reno . No additional data.
NEW HAMPSHIRE / VERMONT
Northern New Hampshire – near Lake Francis. No additional data.
NEW JERSEY
Ft. Dix / McGuire AFB – Possible deportation point for detainees. Lots of pictures taken of detention compounds and posted on Internet, this camp is well-known. Facility is now complete and ready for occupancy.
NEW MEXICO
Ft. Bliss – This base actually straddles Texas state line. Just south of Alomogordo, Ft. Bliss has thousands of acres for people who refuse to go with the “New Order”. Holloman AFB (Alomogordo)- Home of the German Luftwaffe in Amerika; major UN base. New facility being built on this base, according to recent visitors. Many former USAF buildings have been torn down by the busy and rapidly growing German military force located here. Fort Stanton – currently being used as a youth detention facility approximately 35 miles north of Ruidoso, New Mexico. Not a great deal of information concerning the Lordsburg location. White Sands Missile Range – Currently being used as a storage facility for United Nations vehicles and equipment. Observers have seen this material brought in on the Whitesands rail spur in Oro Grande New Mexico about thirty miles from the Texas, New Mexico Border.
NEW YORK
Ft. Drum – two compounds: Rex 84 detention camp and FEMA detention facility. Albany – FEMA detention facility. Otisville – Federal correctional facility, near Middletown. Buffalo – FEMA detention facility.
NORTH CAROLINA
Camp Lejeune / New River Marine Airfield – facility has renovated, occupied WWII detention compounds and “mock city” that closely resembles Anytown, USA. Fort Bragg – Special Warfare Training Center. Renovated WWII detention facility. Andrews – Federal experiment in putting a small town under siege. Began with the search/ hunt for survivalist Eric Rudolph. No persons were allowed in or out of town without federal permission and travel through town was highly restricted. Most residents compelled to stay in their homes. Unregistered Baptist pastor from Indiana visiting Andrews affirmed these facts.
NORTH DAKOTA
Minot AFB – Home of UN air group. More data needed on facility.
OHIO
Camp Perry – Site renovated; once used as a POW camp to house German and Italian prisoners of WWII. Some tar paper covered huts built for housing these prisoners are still standing. Recently, the construction of multiple 200-man barracks have replaced most of the huts. Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus – FEMA detention facilities. Data needed. Lima – FEMA detention facility. Another facility located in/near old stone quarry near Interstate 75. Railroad access to property, fences etc.
OKLAHOMA
Tinker AFB (OKC) – All base personnel are prohibited from going near civilian detention area, which is under constant guard. Will Rogers World Airport – FEMA’s main processing center for west of the Mississippi. All personnel are kept out of the security zone. Federal prisoner transfer center located here (A pentagon-shaped building where airplanes can taxi up to). Photos have been taken and this site will try to post soon! El Reno – Renovated federal internment facility with CURRENT population of 12,000 on Route 66. McAlester – near Army Munitions Plant property – former WWII German / Italian POW camp designated for future use. Ft. Sill (Lawton) – Former WWII detention camps. More data still needed.
OREGON
Sheridan – Federal prison satellite camp northwest of Salem.
Jackson County, outside Medford, Oregon. – WWII Japanese internment camp in state of disrepair.
Sheridan – FEMA detention center. Umatilla – New prison spotted.
PENNSYLVANIA
Allenwood – Federal prison camp located south of Williamsport on the Susquehanna River. It has a current inmate population of 300, and is identified by William Pabst as having a capacity in excess of 15,000 on 400 acres.
Indiantown Gap Military Reservation – located north of Harrisburg. Used for WWII POW camp and renovated by Jimmy Carter. Was used to hold Cubans during Mariel boat lift.
Camp Hill – State prison close to Army depot. Lots of room, located in Camp Hill, Pa. New Cumberland Army Depot – on the Susquehanna River, located off Interstate 83 and Interstate 76.
Schuylkill Haven – Federal prison camp, north of Reading.
SOUTH CAROLINA
Greenville – Unoccupied youth prison camp; total capacity unknown.
Charleston – Naval Reserve & Air Force base, restricted area on naval base.
SOUTH DAKOTA
Yankton – Federal prison camp – minimum security camp without fences.  A public road goes through the middle of the camp.
Black Hills Nat’l Forest – north of Edgemont, southwest part of state. WWII internment camp being renovated.
TENNESSEE
Ft. Campbell – Next to Land Between the Lakes; adjacent to airfield and US Alt. 41.
Millington – Federal prison camp next door to Memphis Naval Air Station.
Crossville – Site of WWII German / Italian prison camp is renovated; completed barracks and behind the camp in the woods is a training facility with high tight ropes and a rappelling deck.
Nashville – There are two buildings built on State property that are definitely built to hold prisoners. They are identical buildings – side by side on Old Briley Parkway. High barbed wire fence that curves inward.
TEXAS
Austin – Robert Mueller Municipal airport has detention areas inside hangars.
Bastrop – Prison and military vehicle motor pool.
Eden – 1500 bed privately run federal center. Currently holds illegal aliens.
Ft. Hood (Killeen) – Newly built concentration camp, with towers, barbed wire etc., just like the one featured in the movie Amerika. Mock city for NWO shock- force training. Some footage of this area was used in “Waco: A New Revelation” Reese AFB (Lubbock) – FEMA designated detention facility.
Sheppard AFB – in Wichita Falls just south of Ft. Sill, OK. FEMA designated detention facility.
North Dallas – near Carrolton – water treatment plant, close to interstate and railroad.
Mexia – East of Waco 33mi.; WWII German facility may be renovated.
Amarillo – FEMA designated detention facility
Ft. Bliss (El Paso) – Extensive renovation of buildings and from what patriots have been able to see, many of these buildings that are being renovated are being surrounded by razor wire.
Beaumont / Port Arthur area – hundreds of acres of federal camps already built on large-scale detention camp design, complete with the double rows of chain link fencing with razor type concertina wire on top of each row. Some (but not all) of these facilities are currently being used for low-risk state prisoners who require a minimum of supervision.
Ft. Worth – Federal prison under construction on the site of Carswell AFB.
UTAH
Millard County – Central Utah – WWII Japanese camp. (Renovated?)
Ft. Douglas – This “inactive” military reservation has a renovated WWII concentration camp.
Migratory Bird Refuge – West of Brigham City – contains a WWII internment camp that was built before the game preserve was established.
Cedar City – east of city – no data available. Wendover – WWII internment camp may be renovated.
Skull Valley – southwestern Camp William property – east of the old bombing range. Camp was accidentally discovered by a man and his son who were rabbit hunting; they were discovered and apprehended. SW of Tooele.
VIRGINIA
Ft. A.P. Hill (Fredericksburg) – Rex 84 / FEMA facility. Estimated capacity 45,000.
Petersburg – Federal satellite prison camp, south of Richmond.
WEST VIRGINIA
Beckley – Alderson – Lewisburg – Former WWII detention camps that are now converted into active federal prison complexes capable of holding several times their current populations. Alderson is presently a women’s federal reformatory.
Morgantown – Federal prison camp located in northern WV; just north of Kingwood.
Mill Creek – FEMA detention facility.
Kingwood – Newly built detention camp at Camp Dawson Army Reservation. More data needed on Camp Dawson.
WASHINGTON
Seattle/Tacoma – SeaTac Airport: fully operational federal transfer center
Okanogan County – Borders Canada and is a site for a massive concentration camp capable of holding hundreds of thousands of people for slave labor. This is probably one of the locations that will be used to hold hard core patriots who will be held captive for the rest of their lives.
Sand Point Naval Station – Seattle – FEMA detention center used actively during the 1999 WTO protests to classify prisoners.
Ft. Lewis / McChord AFB – near Tacoma – This is one of several sites that may be used to ship prisoners overseas for slave labor.
WISCONSIN
Ft. McCoy – Rex 84 facility with several complete interment compounds.
Oxford – Central part of state – Federal prison & staellite camp and FEMA detention facility.
WYOMING
Heart Mountain – Park County N. of Cody – WWII Japanese interment camp ready for renovation.
Laramie – FEMA detention facility
Southwest – near Lyman – FEMA detention facility
East Yellowstone – Manned internment facility – Investigating patriots were apprehended by European soldiers speaking in an unknown language. Federal government assumed custody of the persons and arranged their release.
OTHER LOCATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES
There are many other locations not listed above that are worthy of consideration as a possible detention camp site, but due to space limitations and the time needed to verify, could not be included here. Virtually all military reservations, posts, bases, stations, & depots can be considered highly suspect (because it is “federal” land). Also fitting this category are “Regional Airports” and “International Airports” which also fall under federal jurisdiction and have limited-access areas. Mental hospitals, closed hospitals & nursing homes, closed military bases, wildlife refuges, state prisons, toxic waste dumps, hotels and other areas all have varying degrees of potential for being a detention camp area. The likelihood of a site being suspect increases with transportation access to the site, including airports/airstrips, railheads, navigable waterways & ports, interstate and US highways. Some facilities are “disguised” as industrial or commercial properties, camouflaged or even wholly contained inside large buildings (Indianapolis) or factories. Many inner-city buildings left vacant during the de-industrialization of America have been quietly acquired and held, sometimes retrofitted for their new uses.
CANADA
Our Canadian friends tell us that virtually all Canadian military bases, especially those north of the 50th Parallel, are all set up with concentration camps. Not even half of these can be listed, but here are a few sites with the massive land space to handle any population:
Suffield CFB – just north of Medicine Hat, less than 60 miles from the USA.
Primrose Lake Air Range – 70 miles northeast of Edmonton.
Wainwright CFB – halfway between Medicine Hat and Primrose Lake.
Ft. Nelson – Northernmost point on the BC Railway line.
Ft. McPherson – Very cold territory ~ NW Territories. Ft. Providence – Located on Great Slave Lake. Halifax – Nova Scotia. Dept. of National Defense reserve…. And others.
OVERSEAS LOCATIONS
Guayanabo, Puerto Rico – Federal prison camp facility. Capacity unknown.
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba – US Marine Corps Base – Presently home to 30,000 Marines Cubans and 40,000 Albanians, and how many from Afghanistan and Iraq?. Total capacity unknown.

Liberty For Life
C

C-Live, Love Oppose Evil. Novus Ordo Seclorum.

 

College Education is a Scam Says New Documentary

NIA today officially released the most comprehensive documentary ever produced about higher education in the U.S. NIA’s hour-long documentary called ‘College Conspiracy‘ exposes the facts and truth about America’s college education system. ‘College Conspiracy’ was produced over a six-month period by NIA’s team of expert Austrian economists with the help of thousands of NIA members who contributed their ideas and personal stories for the film. NIA believes the U.S. college education system is a scam that turns vulnerable young Americans into debt slaves for life.

NIA tracks price inflation in all U.S. industries and there is no industry that has seen more consistent price inflation this decade than college education. After the burst of the Real Estate bubble, student loans are now the easiest loan to receive in the U.S., and total student loan debts now exceed credit card debts. The government gives out easy student loans to anybody, regardless of grades, credit history, what they are majoring in, and what their job prospects are. NIA believes it is illegal for the U.S. government to be in the student loan business because the U.S. constitution doesn’t authorize it. Just like how the U.S. government created Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to make housing affordable, but instead drove housing prices through the roof; the U.S. government, by trying to make college more affordable, is accomplishing the exact opposite and driving tuition prices to astronomical levels that provide a negative return on investment.

The U.S. has been experiencing 5.15% annual college tuition inflation this decade. Despite this, 70.1% of high school graduates are now enrolling into college, a new all time record. 2/3 of college students are now graduating with an average of $24,000 in debt. There is nothing special about getting a college degree if everyone else has one, and it is certainly not worth getting $24,000 into debt to camouflage yourself into the crowd. NIA’s President is friends with hundreds of CEOs of mid-sized corporations who tell him that someone who skipped college is a lot more likely to stand out amongst the hundreds of applicants who apply for each job available.

The real unemployment rate in America is now 22% and 60% of college graduates who are lucky enough to find a job, are receiving low skilled jobs where a college degree isn’t even required. In fact, 70% of high school graduates who didn’t go to college, were able to get these very same jobs as the average college graduate. The main difference is, by the time Americans who went to college get their degree, those who went straight into the work force after high school will already have 4 to 6 years of valuable workplace experience. Instead of having $24,000 in debt, these experienced Americans will be working their way up to a higher paid position or a better job at a different company.

All across America, colleges are deceiving prospective students with misleading and often fraudulent tactics and statistics. The fact is, law schools are handing out 43,000 law degrees each year, when there are 15,000 less attorney and legal staff jobs in the U.S. than three years ago. Many law schools are advertising a 90% job placement rate within one year of graduating. However, weeks before job placement surveys are conducted, some law schools will hire unemployed graduates to work in their admissions department. They are let go as soon as these surveys are completed, but count as being part of the 90% employed.

‘College Conspiracy’ also exposes how three years ago when 15 new pharmacist schools were getting ready to open in the U.S., the college cartel created a pharmacist shortage hoax to scam Americans into investing hundreds of thousands of dollars to attend pharmacist school. NIA has uncovered how economists were bribed to produce phony studies that forecast the need for 150,000 new pharmacists in America by 2020. Today, NIA is hearing from many young Americans who were deceived into getting pharmacist degrees and can’t find any pharmacist jobs no matter how many they apply for. These Americans are now deeply in debt and admit that they would have been better off getting minimum wage jobs stocking shelves somewhere.

NIA is very pro-education and dedicated to educating its members to the truth about the U.S. economy and inflation for free. Americans who read NIA’s articles and watch NIA’s documentaries for one year are guaranteed to learn more about the U.S. economy than they would have learned studying economics at an ivy league college for 4 years. NIA believes that in today’s world, any young American who is motivated to become well educated and have a successful career, can become self-educated by simply reading college textbooks and using the Internet.

Americans today need to change their mindsets. Instead of worrying about getting a job, they need to focus on making a job. Not only is it possible to become educated online at a low cost, but it is also possible to start an online business with almost no overhead expenses. The current system in America that everybody follows of studying useless information to get good grades in high school, taking out a student loan, going to college, taking out a mortgage, buying a house, and getting married, is setup to transfer wealth through inflation from the middle-class to bankers and lawyers who produce nothing for society. Americans need to stop being sheep and learn how to think for themselves.

To watch ‘College Conspiracy’ online for free, simply visit the NIA video page.

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http://inflation.us/collegeconspiracyreleased.html

Chemtrails Helping Government Own The Weather

By Peter Kirby
October 10, 2011

Related: Exposed: Secret Presidential Chemtrail Budget Uncovered, Congress Exceeds Billions To Spray Populace Like Roaches

According to all United States federal government organziations, chemtrails do not exist and/or are a conspiracy theory. They claim that the white lines in the sky stretching from horizon to horizon are normal jet contrails.

Somehow, I assume using theoretical physics, these contrails can first appear as small white lines high in the sky then, over the course of hours, expand as they float down to earth first creating small clouds and finally a haze. This is exactly what is happening.

They were spraying us something fierce today above San Francisco. They often do it before a weather front is coming in. There were lines in every direction, a big X in the sky and then the inevitable haziness.

Everybody saw it. Many people knew what it was. Many do not want to realize it, so they may never. If you want to be a good slave, I’m sure you will bend over and take the easy way out.

I do not appeal to the slave rather I appeal to the person who has the courage to stand up for humanity and accept themselves as the only authority. I suggest that you read the following exposé and ask the tough questions about what OUR government says is NOT happening.

A typical chemtrail appears as a white line in the sky. These lines become diffuse as they float down to earth. Heavy spraying creates a thick haze over vast areas.

Often, in certain areas of the country, you will see grid patterns in the sky formed by chemtrails. If you watch closely, you will see that these white lines in the sky come from passing jets.

The fact that these exhausts persist means that they are of particulate matter. Contrails are unaduIterated and typically disappear within 2 minutes while chemtrails can linger for hours. The word ‘chemtrail’ is derived from the word ‘contrail.’

At the time of this writing, chemtrails are appearing almost every day above San Rafael and San Francisco. By most accounts, chemtrail spraying became nationally prevalent in the mid 1990’s.

There is a political grouping among affected nations; almost all are NATO members. Interestingly, there is reportedly no spraying in South America, China or Russia, etc..
Circumstantial Evidence:

‘Geoengineers’ propose spraying megatons of toxins into the atmosphere utilizing jet airplanes. They say it can save us from global warming. They don’t admit that it is currently happening, they just say it might be good.

Many people calling themselves geoengineers have appeared on television and Internet broadcasts proposing this activity. Geoengineering is similar to ‘cloud seeding’ (which also pollutes our environment), but it is something new in that different materials are disbursed and it is on a much bigger scale.

The ‘Father of the Hydrogen Bomb,’ Edward Teller is widely recognized for his early work in the field. United States Science Czar John Holdren and University of Calgary professor David Keith are currently the most prominent proponents. Mr. Holdren co-authored a 1977 book called ‘Ecoscience’ in which he openly advocates population reduction.

The Fund for Innovative Climate and Energy Research (FICER), an organization funded by Mr. Bill Gates, gives grants to the University of Calgary.  FICER proposes “…adding reflective aerosols (small particles suspended in air) to the stratosphere…”  Mr. Bill Gates is a population reduction advocate.

Many United States patents describe how substances can be disbursed through airplane spray nozzles.  One of the the most important patents is U.S. Patent #5003186 ‘Stratospheric Welsbach Seeding for Reduction of Global Warming’ which was filed by the Hughes Aircraft Corporation in 1991. The Hughes Aircraft Corporation is now a division of Raytheon.

Another is U.S. Patent #3899144 ‘Powder Contrail Generation’ assigned to the United States Navy which was filed on July 22, 1974.

The 1996 U.S. Air Force research paper ‘Weather as a Force Multiplier: Owning the Weather in 2025′ was produced by the Department of Defense and written as “…a study designed to comply with a directive from the chief of staff of the Air Force.” This report explains how spraying stuff into the atmosphere with airplanes is good and how our military might go about doing this.

The United Nations backed Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued a 1999 report with a cover photo of three jet planes flying in formation and emitting trails entitled ‘Aviation and the Global Atmosphere.’ This report contained chapters titled, “Aviation-Produced Aerosols and Cloudiness” and “Modeling the Chemical Composition of the Future Atmosphere.”

The Council on Foreign Relations has issued many publications about geoengineering.  Their 2008 paper entitled ‘Unilateral Geoengineering: Non-technical Briefing Notes for a Workshop at the Council on Foreign Relations’ proposes spraying fine particles into the stratosphere.

The U.K. Royal Society published a 2009 report titled ‘Geoengineering the Climate: Science, Governance and Uncertainty’ in which they propose geoengineering and state, “A wide range of types of particles could be released into the stratosphere with the objective of scattering sunlight back to space.”

The British House of Commons collaborated with the United States House of Representatives Science and Technology Committee to release a report on March 10, 2010 entitled ‘The Regulation of Geoengineering’ in which they advocate “…the release of large quantities of aerosols into the atmosphere.”

Aurora Flight Sciences published a 2010 cost analysis study prepared under contract to the University of Calgary entitled ‘Geoengineering Cost Analysis’ which stated:

“The goal of this study is to use engineering design and cost analysis to determine the feasibility and cost of a delivering material to the stratosphere for solar radiation management (SRM).” [sic] In this report, the authors write about utilizing different kinds of aircraft, including blimps, to spray stuff into the atmosphere.

Ted Gunderson (former head of the Los Angeles, Dallas and Memphis FBI) claims to have witnessed huge, unmarked chemtrail spraying planes on the ground at the Lincoln, Nebraska Air National Guard facilities.  He also says that chemtrail spraying planes operate out of Fort Sill Oklahoma.

A name that comes up a lot is Evergreen Aviation. They are a private aviation services company based in McMinnville, Oregon. They have a website. They describe themselves as, “a global leader providing quality and reliable total aviation support services.”

They also have extensive operations at the Pinal Airpark in Marana, Arizona. Pinal Airpark and Evergreen Aviation have extensive ties to the CIA. During the Vietnam War, Pinal Airpark served as the base of operations for the known CIA front companies Air America, Air Asia and Intermountain Airlines.  In 1975, Intermountain Airlines was bought by Evergreen Aviation.

The 2008 feature film ‘Toxic Skies’ starring Anne Heche is a fictional drama involving chemtrails.

Local professional news reporters around the nation have investigated and/or made mention of the phenomenon many times.

There has been formal discussion of chemtrails in the New Zealand Parliament.

Multi-term Arizona state senator Karen Johnson has been an outspoken critic.

U.S. congressman Dennis Kucinich used the word ‘chemtrails’ in proposed national legislation. The word appeared in the ‘Space Preservation Act of 2001.’ On September 10, 2002 the City Council of Berkeley, California, in support of Congressman Kucinich’s Space Preservation Act, enacted Resolution #61744, declaring the space 60 kilometers and above Berkeley as a space-based weapons free zone.

On September 14th, Congressman Kucinich was officially presented the resolution by Councilmember Dona Spring, who initiated the resolution before 700 people in Wheeler Auditorium. The audience gave Kucinich and Spring a standing ovation.

Victoria, British Columbia has declared itself a ‘No-Fly Zone’ for chemtrail aircraft.

Marin County Board of Supervisors, District 1 Representative Susan Adams has voiced interest in chemtrail legislation, stating, “I will continue to monitor your efforts and if there is federal legislation or regulation being considered which the county can send a letter of support for, please let me know.”

Third Senatorial District California State Senator Mark Leno recognizes chemtrails. He responded to my letter about chemtrails by stating, “Thank you for writing to share the information on chemtrails. I appreciate your taking the time to voice your concerns regarding this important issue. As we begin to learn more about chemtrails and begin to have more in depth conversations about their use, I will keep the information you have forwarded in mind.”

There is a global grass roots political movement against chemtrails. There are hundreds of thousands of independent eyewitness accounts on the Internet. Millions of people are already fully chemtrail aware.  People from all walks of life around the world have come forward and spoken out against chemtrails. I have documentation of airline pilots, police officers, U.S. Marines, air traffic controllers, a senior Air Traffic Control manager, Air Force tanker crews, scientists and more speaking up.
Accounts:

This section is comprised of excerpts from the 2004 book ‘Chemtrails Confirmed’ by William Thomas (Bridger House Publishers / ISBN 1-893157-10-5). William Thomas is an award winning Canadian journalist.  Thomas’ writing and photography have appeared in more than 50 publications in eight countries, including translations into French, Dutch and Japanese.

His editorial commentaries have appeared in The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, The Vancouver Sun and Times-Colonist newspapers. A frequent radio talk-show guest, William Thomas has also appeared on the CBC and New Zealand’s national television. He currently lives and works among the Gulf Islands of British Columbia.

It was nearly noon when S.T. Brendt awoke and entered the kitchen of her country home in Parsonfield, Maine.  As she poured her first cup of coffee, the late night reporter for WMWV radio could not guess that her life was minutes away from drastic change.

Her partner Lou Aubuchont was already up, puzzling over what he had seen in the sky a half hour before.  The fat puffy plumes arching up over the horizon were unlike any contrail he had ever seen, even during his hitch in the Navy.

Lou got up and looked.  What kind of clouds run exactly side-by-side in a straight line?  He wondered.  It’s just too perfect to happen naturally.  When he said he wasn’t sure, S.T. stopped smiling and went outside.
Looking up towards the southeast over West Pond, she spotted the first jet.  A second jet was laying billowing white banners to the north.  Both aircraft appeared to be over 30,000 ft.  Turning her gaze due west, Brendt saw two more lines extending over the horizon.  She called Lou.  Within 45 minutes the couple counted 30 jets.

This isn’t right, S.T. thought.  We just don’t have that kind of air traffic here.  While Lou kept counting, she went inside and started calling airports.  One official she reached was guarded but friendly.  He had relatives in West Pond.

The Air Traffic Control manager told Brendt her sighting was “unusual”.  His radars showed nine commercial jets during the same 45-minuite span.  From her location, he said, she should have been able to see one plane.

And the other 29?  The FAA official confided off the record that he had been ordered “by higher civil authority” to re-route inbound European airliners away from a “military exercise” in the area.  “Of course they wouldn’t give me any of the particulars and I don’t ask,” he explained.  “I just do my job.”

Excited and puzzled by this information, S.T. and Lou got into their car and headed down Route 160.  Looking in any direction they could see 5 or 6 jets flying over 30,000 ft.  Never in the dozen years they’d lived in rural Maine, had they seen so much aerial activity.  As a former U.S. Navy intelligence courier, Aubuchont was used to large-scale military exercises.  But he told S.T. he had never seen anything this big.

“It looked like an invasion,” he later recounted.  Another driver almost went off the road as he leaned over his dashboard trying to look up.  As they passed, he acknowledged them with a nod.

As far as they could see stretched line after line.  Two giant grids were especially blatant.  In stead of dissipating like normal contrails, these sky trails grew wider and wider and began to merge.  Looking towards the sun, Aubuchont saw what looked like “an oil and water mixture” reflecting a prismatic band of colors.

At approx. 3:55 they headed home to Parsonfield.  They (the jets) were still up there.  What’s worse is that these grids were now merging to the point of greying their beautiful skies…  By 5:30 their beautiful day had turned dingy and hazy like air pollution and the sunset was dirty.  Lou remembers seeing the last jets at about 5:15 pm leaving chemtrails.  They were spaced further apart then the earlier jets.

Richard Dean called back.  After receiving S.T.’s message, the assistant WMWV news director had gone outside with other news staff and counted 370 lines in skies usually devoid of aerial activity.  The most jets they could see at any one time was 17.
~
There is plenty of pattern and precedent for unannounced biowarfare experiments on the American public.  Two congressional investigations in 1977 and 1994, as well as recently declassified British defense documents, detail five decades of “open air” testing that spread biological warfare simulants from spray-equipped ships and aircraft to hundreds of cities and millions of unsuspecting taxpayers across the U.S., Canada and the U.K.

Even as aerial atomic detonations were being conducted upwind of U.S. cities to test the effects of fallout on unsuspecting residents, air-borne biowarfare tests began in earnest in I957 and 1958 when a cargo plane criss-crossed the country, spraying highly toxic zinc cadmium sulfide chemicals.

A U.S. Army report states, “Virtually, the whole country of the United States was covered with this material.”

Prof. Leonard Cole testified at the first congressional investigation into large area biowarfare experiments.  The author of Clouds of Secrecy described how:

“The plane would take off from the Canadian border, and fly slowly down to the Gulf of Mexico.  These materials would be spread, and were found to be landing as far away as New York State.  So you know that, as the air would push the zinc cadmium particles around, most of the people who were residents of the United States during that time were inhaling at least some of the zinc cadmium sulfide.  And the cadmium in that compound was clearly known then to be toxic, even in small amounts.”

Congress also learned that in 1953 the U.S. Army sprayed fluorescent particles containing carcinogenic cadmium sulfide over 25-square-block areas of downtown St. Louis, including what the army called a “slum area”.  The U.S. Public Health Service’s toxic chemical registry warns that cadmium sulfide can lead to lung cancer, high blood pressure and damage to the kidneys, lung, liver – as well as damaging the nervous, reproductive and immune systems.
~
A story published by WorldNetDaily in 2001 – “Californians Concerned Over Chemtrails” – was one of the first to take eyewitnesses seriously.

Reporter Lance Lindsay interviewed David Oglesby. Just after sun-down two months previously, the World War II veteran spotted nearly a dozen white trails, dissipating slowly over his home. “The trails formed a grid pattern,” Oglesby told Lindsay.  “Some stretched from horizon to horizon; some began abruptly and others ended abruptly.  They hung in the air for an extended period of time and gradually widened into wispy clouds, resembling spider webs.  I counted at least II different trails.”

Lindsay also examined dozens of photos taken over l2-months by Paula Glick.  Her father Gene Shimer served four years as a radar technician during the Korean War.  The retired U.S. Air Force sergeant does not believe the patterns over his Coarsegold home are normal contrails.

“l was talking to my dad,” Glick remembers, “and he said, ‘They’re gridding us up here’.  I thought, ‘Yeah, right dad.  Sure they are.’  I didn’t believe him.”

Four months after moving from Ventura to Coarsegold, Glick had to reassess her father’s assessment.  “I had to watch them do it,” Glick told Lindsay.  “And as I watched them everyday doing it, it became apparent that we were being sprayed.  And so I had to believe.  I saw what was normal and I saw what was abnormal.”

Shimer contacted the Military Operation Control at Travis Air Force Base, which controls all military operations in Central California.  Shimer asked the colonel to identify three planes flying over his home at that very moment.  “What would you say if I said there are three aircraft up there right now?”  Shimer asked.  “Are they there?”

The colonel replied, “No.  They are not there.”

Navy operations told Shimer there were no operations at all.  The flight-control office at Fresno Yosemite International Airport said no flight plans had been filed.

But lra Plumber is a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force who regularly watches the sky over his Coarsegold home.  Several times a week, he sees planes emitting significant sky trails that do not appear to be normal contrails, Plumber says.

As Lindsay chronicles:

One morning, about two years ago, Shimer spotted a long, thin string resembling a spider web floating in the sky, he said.  It was about 20 feet in length and could only be seen in the reflection of the sun.  He looked up, saw trails, and then saw something that appeared to be a glob of foam falling from the sky.  “It came floating down, free-floating,” Shimer says.  “I caught it with a spatula, scooped it off the ground, and I watched it as it shrank.  It was about the size of my fist when it first started.  It looked like a cross between soap bubbles and cotton candy.”  He placed the substance in a plastic bag and kept it.  It is now about the size of his thumbnail, he says.  It has hardened’ now appearing to be made of plastic.  He did not have it lab tested.  He doesn’t have enough faith in any lab to give them his only sample, he says.  He believes it is probably polymer.
~
Dave Dickie’s World Landscapes company performs contract landscape work for the City of Edmonton.  “Some contracts require us to utilize the services of environmental labs for soil tests,” says Dickie.  “Recent soils analysis have come back with a high EC rating 4:l (toxic) and we’ve had some soil sources rejected of course they did not meet specifications.”

In an interview with me on Nov. 23, 2002, Dickie explained that city landscape crews were finding widespread nutrient deficiency soils could cause severe problems for plant life – including trees.
“‘Wait,” I interrupted.  “Aluminum sucks nutrients from the soil.”

“No question” answered this soil expert.  Moreover, added Dickie when measuring the electrical conductivity in Edmonton soil sample “city specifications call for a reading no higher than 1.”
Dickie’s crews are now finding readings from 4.6 as high as 7.

The “chlorosis” condition resulting from this drastically high electrical conductivity in soil was impacting their landscaping business, Dickie explained.  “We were not able to determine the cause of the EC [electrical conductivity], and many reasons are possible.”

Presuming that unusual metal content in the soil could be causing the high readings, Dickie obtained samples of a fresh snowfall in sterile containers and took them to NorWest Labs in Edmonton.  As explained, “Our most recent snowfall was tested for aluminum and barium and we were not surprised with the results.  You’ve said it all and this just substantiates some of your claims.”

In Nov. 2002, lab tests of snow samples collected by the city of Edmonton, Alberta between Nov. 8 – 12, confirmed elevated levels of aluminum and barium.  NorWest Labs lab report #336566 dated Nov. 14, 2002 found: aluminum levels at 0.148F milligrams/litre and barium levels of 0.006 milligrams/litre.

Because aluminum is ubiquitous in the environment, and its chemistry depends on soil pH and mineralogical composition, it is difficult to provide generalized estimates of natural background concentrations.
But according to Dickie, the NorWest Lab techs told him, “That’s interesting.  Elevated levels of aluminum and barium are not usually found in Alberta precipitation.”

“It may not prove that the aluminum came from atmospheric programs,” Dickie admits.  “However we are going to sample precipitation from various areas within a 40 mile radius of the City of Edmonton to determine aluminum/barium within precipitation.”

Dickie says it’s simple to test for aluminum and barium in soil samples.  Labs typically charge about $15 for these tests.  I suggested he add quartz to the list of chemtrail fallout components to check for.  In Espanola, quartz predominated rainfall samples, which also showed hazardous levels of aluminum.

Though it must be emphasized that neither Dickie nor NorWest Labs are making any claims regarding these early test results, the correlation of known chemtrail chemistry with Edmonton’s soil samples is compelling.

This was hot.  But imagine my shock when Dickie told me that he regularly visits Air Traffic Control at the Edmonton municipal airport and watches the chemplanes making repeated passes over the city!
“I’ve been a plane spotter all my life,” Dickie explained.  Blessed with good friends at work in the tower, he has watched radar-identified KC-135s “on many occasions.”

Last Father’s Day (2002), Dickie and an excited group of 12 year-olds watched two sorties by two KC-135s.  Petro 011 and Petro 012 were tracked by radar as HA (High Altitude) targets flying at 34,000 and 36,000 feet – “one to the south, and one to the north of the city.”

Both USAF tankers had flown south out of Alaska.  As Dickie, the kids and the controllers watched, the big jets began making patterns over Edmonton – “circuits” the controllers called it.  The Stratotankers were working alone in “commanded airspace” from which all other aircraft were excluded.

And they were leaving chemtrails.

“The signature is significant,” commented one radar operator, referring to a trail clearly visible on the scope extending for miles behind the KC-135.  In contrast, a JAL flight on the display left no contrail.
Going outside, Dickie and several controllers scanned clear blue skies.  They easily located the KC-135 leaving its characteristic white-plume “signature”.  Visibility was outstanding.  They also clearly saw the JAL airliner at a similar flight level.  It left no contrail at all.

On other occasions, Dickie has watched KC-135s on Edmonton radar leaving lingering trails as low as 18,000 feet.

“We see these guys up here a lot,” Dickie says radar techs told him.  The tanker flights originate in Alaska, grid the Edmonton area, and continue on into the States.
~
On Sunday Feb. 16, 2003, the mass circulation Greek newspaper Ethnos headlined its lead story: “Scientists Uneasy: Dangerous experiments in the Greek skies”.

The story’s subheading must have turned a few heads: “American aircraft are spraying the atmosphere with chemicals with a view to creating an artificial cloud as an ‘antidote’ to the Greenhouse Effect.”

The story by Giannis Kritikos described a vote by the Aigina Island town council to ask the Greek government to explain what is happening in the skies over Greece.

A picture taken from Chemtrails Confirmed was used to illustrate similar phenomenon observed over Aigina “without any warning” two months previously.

The translated caption read: “The white trails left behind by this tanker plane which is used normally for aerial refueling, is not smoke but a cloud of chemicals which provide scientists with the ability to control the climate in an entire geographic region.”

A photograph of Leonidas Kardaras, an environmental chemist with a master’s degree in environmental technology was paired with a shot of Katsaros from the Democritus research centre in Athens, with the inscription: “The two scientists point out to our correspondent the dangers to public health entailed in the specific experiments.”

A third photo showed former parliamentarian Tasia Andreadaki asking, “Who gave permission for this spraying?”  The story noted that Katsaros had been invited to speak about chemtrails on Greek national television a few mornings later.
~
The following unedited transcript is a recorded message from a Dec. 8, 2000 call by a Canadian aviation authority from the Victoria International Airport to a local resident.

Stewart was responding to a call the previous day demanding to know why intense aerial activity had left lingering X’s, circles and grid-like plumes over the British Columbia capitol on Dec. 6 and 7.

“Mark, it’s Terry Stewart, Victoria Airport Authority.  Just calling you back from your comment.  From what I gather, it’s a military exercise; U.S. and Canadian air force exercise that’s goin’ on.  They wouldn’t give me any specifics on it.  Hope that helps your interest.  Very odd.  Thanks a lot.  Bye bye now.”

All this and much, much more can be found in William Thomas’ groundbreaking book ‘Chemtrails Confirmed’ available at his website willthomasonline.net

Click on the ‘bookstore’ tab and you will be taken to a page where you can order a copy of ‘Chemtrails Confirmed,’ download an electronic copy of ‘Chemtrails Confirmed’ or order the ‘Chemtrails Confirmed’ companion DVD which contains a copy of William’s documentary video ‘Mystery Lines in the Sky’.
Scientific Evidence:

Hundreds of independent lab test results from around the world too numerous to mention here have formed a consensus.

The main ingredients in chemtrails are aluminum, barium and strontium. As you are about to see, professional scientists have corroborated these findings.

Frances Mangels has a Bachelor of Science in Forestry from the International School of Forestry at Missoula, spent 35 years with the U.S. Forest Service as a wildlife biologist and worked several years with the USDA Soil Conservation Service as a soil conservationist.

Today he lives in Mt. Shasta, CA and works as a master gardener. He took a sample of water from his backyard rain gauge on Feb. 1, 2009 and submitted it to Basic Laboratory of Redding, CA on Feb. 2, 2009. This sample showed aluminum at a level of 1010 micrograms per liter (ug/l).

This same sample also showed barium at a level of 8 ug/l. Using the same sample method and laboratory, he took a sample on Oct. 14, 2009 which showed aluminum at a level of 611 ug/l. The barium should not be there in any amount. Chemtrails have been known to consist of both barium carbonate and barium oxide. Barium carbonate is used in rat poison. The normal level of aluminum in rainwater is .5 ug/l.

These samples show levels of aluminum at 2020 times and 1222 times the normal levels. There is no heavy industry in the Mt. Shasta area. There is no reason, other than chemtrails, for this stuff to be showing up at these levels.

Mr. Mangles writes on Oct. 30, 2009:

“The soil scientists from the USDA Soil Conservation Department visited private property east of Shasta Lake, California, on Oct. 27, 2009. Mr. Bailey, Komar, and Owens tested the pH with standard federal meters.  All agreed the pH should be 5.5.

Under Douglas fir, the ph was 7.4, astoundingly basic for that habitat.

Under Poderosa pine, at the precise soil-needle interface, I would expect a pH of 5.  At that point, Bailey’s meter showed 6.5. This is high for a microhabitat that should be very acid. Old soil surveys indicate this soil should be very acid, around pH of 5.5.

I bought a house in Mt. Shasta old black oak/pine pasture in 2002, tested the pH at below 6, good for vegetable gardening. It was a major reason for purchase, and proceeded with highly acid composting of leaves and grass to drive the pH down or at least keep it low, as every master gardener knows.

I added a touch of sulphur and avoided wood ash to insure acidity, and proceeded to teach organic gardening courses out of my yard through COS. The pH tests were an embarrassment because now my garden is pH 7, sometimes higher. This is the opposite of what should happen.

The pH meter of Jon McClellan proceeded to show pH in McCloud gardens also running close to 7 or 8, which is too high for heavy organic mulch with no ashes. General lawns were also running over pH 7 under oaks and pines and fir trees. This is contrary to everything I learned in college and the Soil Conservation Service for 35 years.

The old data sheets say these soils should be running at a pH of 5-6.

I tested my rainwater in a plastic NWS rain gauge set high on a pole, and got 1010 ug/l aluminum, with substantial amounts of barium and strontium included, where it should be non-detectable. Others from the West Coast have similar repeated results, from the Bay Area to Washington.”

The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) produced data showing elevated levels of barium in surface water between 1988-2004. Along with other elevated readings, a sample from the East Verde River near Payson, AZ taken on July 19, 1999 showed barium at a level of 340 micrograms per liter (ug/l). The EPA says the average surface water concentration of barium is 43 ug/l.

The ADEQ analyzed many water samples taken at different times from the Nogales Wash Channel between 1993 and 2002.  Among other elevated readings, they found barium at levels of: 850 ug/l, 950 ug/l and 900 ug/l. The EPA says that 99.4% of surface water contains 2 to 340 ug/l barium.

The ADEQ analyzed many water samples taken at different times between 1988-2004 at the Verde River Below Horseshoe Dam. Among many other elevated readings, a sample taken on July 19, 1990 showed barium at a level 560 ug/l and another sample taken within a year showed barium at a level of 700 ug/l.

In June of 1996, the ADEQ analyzed water samples taken from the Buckeye Canal. The lab report showed barium at a level of 570 parts per million.

In July of 1999, the ADEQ sampled water from the Little Colorado River Basin and found aluminum at 150,000 ug/l or 150 mg/l or .15 g/l. This reading is made even more interesting by the fact that in September of 2002 AND in March of 2005, the ADEQ tested the same river basin and found NO aluminum. What accounted for this giant aluminum spike?

As far as water contamination is concerned, I must report that a lot of available data which would otherwise support the chemtrail hypothesis is misleading and unreliable.

The data to which I am referring is that which comes from the California Department of Public Health Drinking Water Program (CDPHDWP). Online, this organization is also referred to as the California Department of Health Sciences Drinking Water Program.

The CDPHDWP produces and distributes publicly a data CD entitled ‘California Drinking Water Data’. This CD purports to represent toxicology data collected from all California water districts. The problem is that, after checking with my local water districts and the CDPHDWP, it is apparent that the data contained in this CD is very unreliable.

My local water districts tell me that this is because the CDPHDWP is using an outdated data collection method. Furthermore, websites which use this data as support for the chemtrail hypothesis miss the point that the data CD in question represents (and poorly so) PROCESSED DRINKING WATER when we should be looking at UNPROCESSED or ‘SURFACE WATER’ (the water found in reservoirs).

Online you will find many graphs based on data contained in the CDPHDWP data CD showing incredible levels of many different toxins. All these graphs are not to be trusted without a local water department confirmation and even in that case, the data is not wholly pertinent.

Data produced by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) shows elevated levels of chemtrail toxins. Between 1990 and 2002, CARB ambient air statewide average data shows elevated and increasing levels of aluminum and barium. From 1990 to 2002, aluminum was detected in the range of 1500 to 2000 nanograms per cubic meter.

Barium, which between 1990 and 2002 consistently trended upwards, reached a peak of 50.8 nanograms per cubic meter in 2002. The CARB classifies aluminum and barium as toxic compounds. The CARB website says, “For toxics compounds, there is generally no threshold concentration below which the air is healthy. For toxics compounds, the greater the quantified health risk, the more unhealthy the air is.”

In other words, ANY aluminum or barium is unhealthy. There ARE NO SAFE LEVELS except zero. Remember, these are STATEWIDE AVERAGES. God forbid you might be living in an area that increased the average.

You may ask why I am only referencing data up to 2002. This is 2011. Where is the missing data? The answer is that data from between 1990 and 2002 is the only data which the CARB has widely distributed.

As far as statewide averages for ambient aluminum and barium are concerned, these years are the only years which their website and their ‘California Ambient Air Quality Data’ DVD show. Their Public Information Officer Dimitri Stanich curiously refused to answer questions about the missing data. He referred me to documents which did not address the issue.

After discussions with staff, Mike Miguel, the chief of the Quality Management Branch of the Monitoring and Laboratory Division, wrote me saying, “It is my understanding that the toxics air monitoring network (samples collected in Summa canisters) stoped analyzing for these compounds due to the low concentrations. However, the PM2.5 network does analyze for these compounds and that data was provided in the analyses and CD.” [sic]

A statewide average of barium at 50.8 nanograms per cubic meter and aluminum at 2000 are low concentrations? Any levels of detectable aluminum or barium have been classified as unhealthy. The concentrations were trending upwards. They stopped analyzing for these compounds?

I have scoured their website, written letters and made many phone calls to the CARB and I have not heard of or seen this missing data presented in any CD. Thankfully, other people have been asking for this missing data as well. The organization known as Environmental Voices requested the missing data and on September 15, 2010 they got it.

Amazingly, after data showing many years of elevated and increasing levels of aluminum and barium, this newly produced data showed MUCH LOWER levels. That’s good news, right? I want to believe that everything is as it has always been! The problem is that the newly released data contradicts the previously released data.

Let us look at data for the year 2002 both new and old.  2002 is a year for which the CARB widely distributed data AND it is a year for which they have provided data to only a select few researchers such as I due to the efforts of Environmental Voices.

I will refer to the widely distributed data as the ‘old’ data and the thinly distributed data as the ‘new’ data. The old data says that in 2002 the statewide average for ambient aluminum was 1980 nanograms per cubic meter. The new data says that the statewide average in 2002 was 67.5 nanograms per cubic meter. The new data also says that statewide average aluminum concentrations generally remained at this level through to 2009.

As far as barium goes, the old data says that the statewide ambient air average barium concentration for 2002 was 50.8 nanograms per cubic meter. The new data says it was 27.5 nanograms per cubic meter. The new data says that statewide average barium concentrations only trended lower from 2002 to 2009. Why does the new data contradict the old data?

Are certain people at the CARB trying to hide something? Why does their Public Information Officer, whose job is to answer questions from the public, refuse to answer questions about missing data? Why does he obfuscate the truth by referring me to documents that don’t answer the question? Why does one of their division chiefs’ response not make sense?

How is it that data released to only a select few magically makes the problem go away? Why don’t they post this new data on their website? All their answers so far only leave me with more questions.

Again, there are hundreds, maybe thousands of other scientific confirmations of chemtrail toxins available. I have left those out in favor of only the most reputable data. Although the next logical subject would be the health effects of exposure to chemtrail toxins, I do not feel the need to write about that.

Aside from the fact that it is difficult to prove; I don’t need to tell you that. I don’t need to tell you that breathing particulate toxins all day and night is bad for you. I don’t need to tell you that adding to the myriad of toxins in our food, water and air is bad for us. We know it is. There are many scientific papers supporting this position, but it is just common sense. We need to reduce the amount of toxins in our ecosystem, not increase them.
Conclusions:

There are fleets of jumbo jet aircraft which have been retrofitted to spray megatons of toxic substances over populations in most Western countries. They swarm over different areas at different times. The planes are flown by remote control because pilots are a liability.

It is common knowledge that jumbo jets can be flown as drones. It is a military operation directed from an unknown location, but I speculate that it is conducted (at least in America and Canada) from NORAD command at Peterson AFB, Colorado Springs, CO under direction of a Western intelligence agency such as the C.I.A..

There has been speculation about chemtrails being produced by additives in the jet fuel of commercial passenger airliners. I do not believe this is the case. The mechanical problems would be insurmountable.  Spiking the jet fuel with particulate matter would damage jet engines. Spiking the jet fuel would also greatly limit the variety and quantity of materials used.

The reasons why are not clear. Their cover story of saving us all from Global Warming is too thin to be the real reason. Speculative reasons are: depopulation, making us dependent upon chemtrail resistant GMO seeds and crops, military surveillance purposes, facilitation of the H.A.A.R.P. weapon, facilitation of Project Blue Beam, the hiding of celestial events, and others. The most logical reason, depopulation, is almost too dark for my good mind to accept.

I speculate chemtrail spraying operations are funded by the citizenry of Western nations through their central banks; most notably the United States Federal Reserve Bank.

You and I are being sprayed. Your family and mine are being sprayed. Your friends and mine are being sprayed. Our entire ecosystem and every living thing therein are being destroyed. The chemtrail phenomenon is nothing short of genocide. Whether or not that was the intention, that is exactly what it is.

I have now proven to you that chemtrails are real. Do not live in denial. Denial equals death. Our collective ignorance is what is killing this society. Ignorance causes chemtrails.

I ask that you reverse this trend. Ask the questions. Demand answers. I have armed you with the verifiable truth; now go out there and shake the trees.

Call and write your local office of: the Federal Aviation Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, the California Air Resources Board, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, the Department of Toxic Substances Control, ALL your government representatives, talk radio shows, and television stations. You are the one you have been waiting for. Thank you.

Notes:
-’Chemtrails Confirmed’ by William Thomas (book) 2004 Bridger House Publishers
-U.S. Patent #5003186 Stratospheric Welsbach Seeding for Reduction of Global Warming 1991
-’Weather as a Force Multiplier: Owning the weather 2025′ (Air Force research paper) 1996
-’Aviation and the Global Atmosphere’ (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report) 1999
-’Geoengineering the Climate: Science, Governance and Uncertainty’ (report by The U.K. Royal Society) 2009
-’The Regulation of Geoengineering’ (British House of Commons / U.S. House of Representatives Science and Technology Committee report) 2010
-’Unilateral Geoengineering: Non-technical Briefing Notes for a Workshop at the Council on Foreign Relations’, Washington DC, May 05, 2008
-’Geoengineering Cost Analysis’ by Aurora Flight Sciences (report) 2010
-’Space Preservation Act of 2001′ H.R. 2977
-’Resolution in Support of the Space Preservation Act and the Space Preservation Treaty to Permanently Ban the Weaponization of Space’ (2002) City of Berkeley Resolution no. 61744
-’What in the World Are They Spraying?’ by Michael Murphy, Paul Wittenberger and G. Edward Griffin (video) 2010 Truth Media Productions*
-’Aerosol Crimes’ by Clifford Carnicom (video) 2005 carnicom.com*
*Available for free on YouTube

Websites:

aircrap.org
geoengineeringwatch.org
carnicom.com
coalitionagainstgeoengineering.org
arizonaskywatch.com
arb.ca.gov
azdeq.gov

http://theintelhub.com/2011/10/10/chemtrails-exposed/