Pilot points out ludicrous TSA-type of security in SFO

A pilot posted a series of videos that featured scenes from inside the San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and pointed out the contrast between the passengers, who were heavily scrutinized, and airport employees who just passed through a single door.

The pilot was first asked to remove the videos, then he was suspended from the Federal Flight Deck Officer program for the reason that "he may have violated a regulation."

What was the regulation that he violated?

TSA spokeswoman says that he "must be able to maintain sensitive security information."

Don Werno, the pilot's lawyer responds, "This is really about getting the message out and demanding intelligent security. No state secrets are being shown here. What's being shown here is a lack of security."

San Francisco airport defended its practices by saying "Proper and effective security requires multiple layers of systems, procedures and policies that are interlaced and constantly monitored."

The next sentence uttered by the TSA spokeswoman should make any passenger stand alert: "The vast majority of the widespread layers of this security program are behind the scenes and transparent to casual observers."

The words "BEHIND THE SCENES AND TRANSPARENT" obviously mean that TSA is making a profile and physical identification of everyone that gets screened. TSA is using body scanners not just for a "strip search" but also for collecting data on every passenger for its mother lode data base.

UN Statement on WikiLeaks

In light of ongoing WikiLeaks bashing, the UN rapporteurs for freedom of expression call upon States whose signatories to U.N. treaties and laying claim to human rights, freedom of speech and information, to keep a number of international legal principles. Here are the key sentences of that important statement:

1. The right to access information held by public authorities is a fundamental human right subject to a strict regime of exceptions. The right to access to information protects the right of every person to access public information and to know what governments are doing on their behalf...

2. At the same time, the right of access to information should be subject to a narrowly tailored system of exceptions to protect overriding public and private interests such as national security and the rights and security of other persons. In accordance with international standards, information regarding human rights violations should not be considered secret or classified...

3. ...Other individuals, including journalists, media workers and civil society representatives, who receive and disseminate classified information because they believe it is in the public interest, should not be subject to liability unless they committed fraud or another crime to obtain the information. In addition, government "whistleblowers" releasing information on violations of the law, on wrongdoing by public bodies, on a serious threat to health, safety or the environment, or on a breach of human rights or humanitarian law should be protected against legal, administrative or employment-related sanctions if they act in good faith...

4. Direct or indirect government interference in or pressure exerted upon any expression or information transmitted through any means of oral, written, artistic, visual or electronic communication must be prohibited by law when it is aimed at influencing content...

5. Filtering systems which are not end-user controlled – whether imposed by a government or commercial service provider – are a form of prior censorship and cannot be justified...

6. Self-regulatory mechanisms for journalists have played an important role in fostering greater awareness about how to report on and address difficult and controversial subjects...

Read more, click here.

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CIA Chief Ducks Pakistan Supreme Court

The CIA station chief was pulled from Pakistan after his name was publicly exposed in Pakistan earlier this month by a Pakistani journalist whose relatives were killed in December 2009 CIA drone strike in North Waziristan. The CIA top spy in Islamabad runs the Predator drone program in the U.S. war against militant groups hidden along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

AP story attempts to diffuse the focus on the real reason for the CIA top man on the run. A group of lawyers and citizen activists are probing the possibility of moving the Supreme Court of Pakistan against those responsible for the killing of innocent Pakistanis. AP version titled "Pakistan spy agency denies it exposed CIA chief" never mentions that CIA chief is facing a lawsuit for murder filed in the Supreme Court of Pakistan in Islamabad as exposed in Rupee News titled CIA Chief runs for cover. Instead, AP tries to raise suspicion by saying "the station chief's outing has spurred questions whether Pakistan's spy service might have leaked the information."

Why is this important? AP is supposedly be well-informed and has access to more sources and resources than any local newspaper. When AP "neglects" or omits certain facts, you tend to suspect its motives in publishing the story.

Here are the noticeably "omissions" in AP article.

AP doesn't mention the fact that "almost every Pakistani politician and military leader has accused the CIA for nefarious activities in Pakistan" or that there is a "CIA Army" existence in Pakistan.

AP leaves out the man's occupation in the lawsuit against the CIA. That man is not just an ordinary Pakistani civilian but a journalist.

AP willingly published the chief's name of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency but withheld the name of the outed CIA chief (Johnathan Banks) even though his name was revealed in Pakistani newspapers and television newscasts.

AP points to the lawsuit filed last month in the U.S. in connection with the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai, India, that has "named Pakistan's intelligence chief as a defendant." This suggests ISI chief is somewhat involved in leaking information in retaliation even though a line was added: "The Pakistani intelligence official said the CIA has not directly accused the ISI of any wrongdoing in the revelation of the station chief's name."

What's the significance here? In any legal court battle, the defendant or defendants must be named. If the U.S. court could reveal the name of the ISI chief, why wouldn't it be the same in Pakistan's legal court system?

Conclusion? The fact that AP didn't even mention the lawsuit in the Supreme Court of Pakistan against the CIA shows the lack of truth and objectivity in mainstream news reporting. Although AP and other mainstream news agencies "appear objective" in reporting from both sides of the story with "witnesses", often key facts and points have been deliberately left out to hide the truth of the story. Readers need to dig deeper to know the truth.

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Press Misinforms As Usual About Wikileaks

What could be a better example than the lame mainstream press going after Julian Assange, the editor-in-chief of Wikileaks, who has released thousands of whistleblowing documents that show years of poor performance of the mainstream media in full public view.

Typing "Julian Assange" in Google News search, you'll find a section with over 10,000 articles by the mainstream media misleading, disinforming, or attacking Julian Assange with Washington Post leading the way in "What the Assange case reveals about rape in America."

Further down, you'll find the section that supports Wikileaks with only about 250 articles crawled by Google bot with the leading article entitled, "How The Press Misleads About Wikileaks".

How could anyone seriously believe that the news coverage nowadays is unbiased or fair?

WikiLeaks started out as a small operation for leaked secret documents has turned into an international grass roots movement to fight for freedom of the press and for maintaining Internet freedom. What Wikileaks - one small outfit - did is the exact job that had been expected of the giant corporation of the mainstream media!!!

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Bush's Book of Lies: Decision Points

As the worst president in American history, former U.S. president George W. Bush has been brazenly promoting his memoir "Decision Points" trying to defend his war crimes against humanity, spin more lies about his past (ir)responsible role as "the protector of America" and soften his image as a world class rogue. He has been appearing in interviews on major television networks, Oprah and the latest, Facebook, to market his lie-infested memoir like a preemptive strike to define his role in history before historians do it for him. 

But records don't lie. It shows that in eight years, Bush single-handedly managed to destroy America - the world's most powerful nation - economically, environmentally, and constitutionally, not to mention, damage America's image in all four corners of the globe. On the global front, Bush, again single-handedly, managed to instill "global fear" and make "terrorism" a household word, incite Islamophobia and insidiously paint Muslims as "terrorists", as well as wreaked havoc in underdeveloped and developing nations with the accelerated expansion of military industrial complex. 

Naturally, everyone is curious to know what Bush has to say on the nonexistent weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, hanging chads, waterboarding, Hurricane Katrina, Iraq/ Afghanistan wars and the economic meltdown. Three salient points in the memoir are to be focused here – the Bush administration committed war crimes; Bush authorized illegal torture; and Bush gave the order to shoot down Flight 93 in Pennsylvania – one of the four hijacked planes on September 11. 

The memoir plainly shows that the Bush administration knowingly and willingly committed war crimes in Iraq.  Not only did the Bush administration violate the Nuremberg Charter but also the U.N. Charter when it launched an unprovoked invasion of Iraq in 2003. The Bush doctrine of preemptive self-defense is nothing more than euphemism for war of aggression. The Bush administration justified its invasion of Iraq by falsely claiming that Iraq possessed weapons of WMD linked to al Qaeda that supposedly launched 9/11 attacks on American soil. The logic of the U.S. attacking Iraq in self-defense makes no sense. Even if Iraq had possessed WMD as claimed, without an attack or an immediate threat from Saddam Hussein, there would still have been no justification for invading Iraq under the U.N. Charter.

Bush wrote that he felt "sickened" on learning that weapons of mass destruction did not exist in Iraq. He said he was absolutely certain that Iraq had WMD before the invasion. This is simply a gross lie. There is overwhelming evidence that Bush knew very well that the information he used was flawed. 2006 Senate Intelligence Committee Report concluded that the Bush administration knew the intelligence was bad. Hans Blix, the former U.N. chief weapons inspector, had persistently reported that there were no signs of WMD. Even CIA reports showed skepticism about the existence of WMD. The logical conclusion is that Bush had plans to invade Iraq no matter what the results were on WMD.

Hubris notwithstanding, Bush openly admitted to authorizing illegal torture. In his memoir, Bush answered  "Damn right" to the CIA's request for permission to waterboard 9/11 suspect, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Bush repeated that he would decide the same way again “to save lives.” He went on to claim that waterboarding worked as Khalid "disclosed plans to attack American targets with anthrax…among other breakthroughs.” In retort to Bush's unsupportive claims, Prime Minister David Cameron spoke out against the use of torture as both immoral and counterproductive. 
 
Bush confessed that he gave a military order to shoot down Flight 93 – the hijacked passenger plane that was heading towards D.C. on September 11. According to the official story, Flight 93 crashed near Shanksville, PA, as a result of a struggle in the cockpit between the hijackers and the passengers. The evidence of debris from the destroyed plane by missile fire seems more accurate than the official version of jet brought down in an open field by a passenger revolt. See the video below.

Why was Flight 93 shot down if it had been a part of the elaborate false flag operation of 911 attacks?  The logical conclusion is that it was shot down - not to prevent it from crashing into a strategic target in the capital, but to eliminate all possibilities of survival for hijackers in their struggle to control the hijacked plane. Dead men don't talk.

In George W. Bush's book Decision Points, the former president tells a story of lies.

In Family of Secrets, based on five years of research, hundreds of interviews and thousands of documents, Russ Baker tells the real story of Bush and his family.

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November 2010

Wednesday 11/10/10 - Support Congressman Grayson's HR-5353 "The War is Making You Poor Act"

If you ever wonder how much money that the military industrial complex has stolen to impoverish the average American, see the video about Congressman Grayson's introduction of HR-5353 "The War is Making You Poor Act".

Grayson not only explains the insanity of the U.S. against other nations on defense spending for wars, but also suggesting how every American can benefit from the runaway Pentagon defense budget.

With a chart, Grayson shows how the U.S. defense spends as much as the world combined! The U.S. has already outspent China 5 to 1 and Russia 10 to 1. Why does the U.S. still need to spend more? Go figure!

There are 3 salient points in this VERY IMPORTANT BILL:

- requires spending of ONLY $549 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan wars WITHOUT ADDITIONAL $159 billion the president is asking for the so-called "emergency war" that could stretch out to 7 - 9 years.

- allows all Americans tax free on the first $35,000 annual income

- reduces federal deficit and federal debt

It's time to support a SANE bill that Congressman Grayson has introduced to deal with our "mad" defense spending and save all Americans from economic doom and our collapsing economy!

See the video and spread the word!

October 2010

Sunday 10/31/10 - The Meaning of Life for Humanity: "The Egg"

Sometimes we come across an explanation so powerful that no other disciplinary studies - science, philosophy, psychology, religion, etc. - could give a satisfactory answer to the meaning of life for humanity. Here's a simple short story that reminds us that each and every one of us is part of the development of humanity. What we do unto others is what we do unto ourselves. Peace and prosperity will finally come when humanity becomes mature.

"You were on your way home when you died.

It was a car accident. Nothing particularly remarkable, but fatal nonetheless. You left behind a wife and two children. It was a painless death. The EMTs tried their best to save you, but to no avail. Your body was so utterly shattered you were better off, trust me.

And that's when you met me."

To continue reading the story by Andy Weir, click: "The Egg"

Wednesday 10/20/10 - CIA To Use Google Driverless Cars To Patrol Streets

It's here! A car without driver on the road.

BUT, serious questions on privacy should be raised here:

Why Google, an Internet search engine, invented this driverless car in the first place? If not for spying on other cars, pedestrians, houses, streets, etc.?

This is what they tell us: ”The Google cars use computer A.I., cameras, lasers, and GPS devices to figure out where to go, how fast to go, and where other cars are. Remove the human element, and replace it with a computer that can process road conditions, speed, other cars, and a million other bits of information…"

It's the "million other bits of information" that is truly troubling.

Worse still, Google has now made a pact with the CIA. "The CIA says the Google Cars will drive down American streets - unmanned - and gather data on the nefarious activity of all citizens. This data will be cross-referenced with the search data that Google is also collecting – if need be."

After all, we already have Google Map from satellite spying, so why not a closer view for spying with a Google Driverless Car?

Forget about your privacy whenever you go outside and be careful what you say in the open! Of course, be extremely cautious and alert, the U.S. death squad (CIA) is just lurking around the corner, eavesdropping and watching from one of those Google Driverless Cars!

September 2010

Wednesday 09/01/10 - Pentagon Blackmailing China with Threats

The most recent Pentagon's cybersecurity plan, known as "Cyberstrategy 3.0", calls for the military to mobilize private industry for "active defense" against cyberattacks and launch cyber warfare. Not surprisingly, the Department Homeland Security with the help of NSA would oversee the strategy of "deterrence based on making America's infrastructure robust and redundant enough to survive any attack." The Cyber Command will have responsibility for "active defense" starting Oct. 1, 2010. And the U.S. is already recruiting allies.

What is disturbing about all this? The military intrusion of the global highway for communication!

What is more chilling is that the Pentagon openly accused China for launching cyber attacks against the U.S. in an article on August 20, 2010. A month before, InsideDefense.com obtained a draft copy of the report titled "The QDR in Perspective: Meeting America's National Security Needs in the 21st Century," which aims directly at China, calling for "increasing the size of the Navy to a 346-ship fleet and the U.S. military’s posture in the Western Pacific to counter China's growing influence in the region."

Considering China has been a target since 2006 QDR, could these recent acts of U.S. hostility be seen as a way to blackmail China from dumping U.S. dollar?

July 2010

Tuesday 07/16/10 - Next US Central Commander: Military Madman

Any sane person can see that the U.S. is self-destructing with its expansion of military madness throughout the world. Having embroiled in illegal wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Obama administration is now putting the worst kind of military leader in charge of the entire Middle East and Central Asia - Gen. James N. Mattis, who enjoys killing as he once gloated: "fun to shoot some people" and "have a plan to kill everybody you meet".

What can we expect from this?

More reports of the dead. More unreported mistaken killings of the innocents. And more vicious and brutal the wars become under a bloodthirsty mad leader who makes killing his business.

Isn't it time for the world to stop America from spreading its military madness around the globe? Isn't it time for the U.S. allies to stop cooperating with America in spreading the military disease of decimating the human population? And isn't it time for the whole world to speak out in one voice to save our humanity from wonton destruction?

February 2010

Tuesday 02/03/10 - History Lesson for 9/11 Attacks

 

Sooner or later the truth of 9/11 attacks will unfold to the world.

 

The public will finally realize that the whole event was none other than a false flag operation committed by the traitors and their conspirators involving Bush, Cheney and other government officials, CIA, FBI, and the elitists of corporations, the press, and other nations' government top officials. They spoon fed an incredible story to the Americans and the world on how the so called amorphous "terrorists" without a formidable army or nuclear weapons happened to be more audacious and intelligent than any other established nations in the world to ambush the U.S. with their strikes against two well-known cities - the very core symbols of America - New York City and Washington D.C.

 

During the Bush years, the public was idiotically gullible and lived in total fear. Even now, there are so many who still believe in the "official" version of the 9/11 attacks. It's about time to wake up and shake off that trance of too-scare-to-open-your-eyes to reality: The road to Armageddon

 

Funny, how history repeats itself.  Charles Lingdbergh's 1941 speech in Des Moines, given incidentally on September 11, sounds very familiar to what had happened during the Bush years: Charles Lindbergh's - September 11, 1941 Des Moines Speech

May 2010

Tuesday 05/01/10 - Futuristic warfare is here with sci-fi weapons

 

If you think any war games in arcades or at home are great for your kids, think again when it comes to seeing these sci-fi weapons on the REAL battlefield or on OUR STREETS, maiming or killing human beings. Laser weapons, armed robots, sonic blasters and puke rays no longer exist in virtual reality, but on the battle ground whether it’s in a war abroad or in our backyard demonstration. The futuristic warfare has already begun.

 

If you think Iraq and Afghanistan are not the battlefields for the U.S. army to test its latest dangerous arsenals, you should learn about the armed killing robots, Active Denial System, drones, flash bang grenades, and green laser pointers that are already in use. If you think the government is serving the interest of the people, think again when it plans to use Long Range Acoustic Device, Taser Shockwave, and puke rays for crowd control.

 

Sometimes, you wonder how some humans could be so degenerate and inhumane to create machines to cause suffering and destroy lives. And they do it for the fun of it. What kind of monsters are they not to respect life? And what kind of monsters are those who willingly use these machines to see the suffering of others? Do they even know what a human being is?

 

See this article for photos and descriptions of these laser, high-tech weapons being tested today:

10 Sci-Fi Weapons That Actually Exist.

Older Post - December 2009

Monday 12/21/09 - Murdoch's "Hari-Kari" with Google

 

In the most recent news industry development, Rupert Murdoch, CEO of News Corp. who also owns The Wall Street Journal has just committed “hari-kari’ by forcing Google to allow publishers to limit free views for readers.

 

Murdoch blamed Google’s allowing public free access to news as “people steal our stories” without payment.  It’s a shame he doesn’t blame himself for helping to orchestrate the fall of the newspaper industry with other mainstream media agencies by reporting “biased news” in the past to toe the line of the warmongers - namely Bush, Blair, and Howard. It’s more shameful that he thinks he can now FORCE people to pay for his so-called “real news”. Google brings about 14% of incoming traffic to News Corp's U.S. news websites. It’s most shameful that he doesn’t understand the meaning of free speech under the First Amendment by forcing Google to restrict public’s access to free news. Yet, he heads a news corporation that is supposed to uphold the First Amendment as the core value in the freedom of the press.

 

Why does Murdoch resent Google? Simply this: Google makes lots of money from the advertisements placed next to news search results. The motivation behind Murdoch's unethical demand  is no other than old fashioned greed. He wants to get a cut of the action.

 

Google corners 65 percent of the U.S. search market.  Many newspaper publishers whose websites depend on advertising sales need Google to supply them with readers. If all of the major newspapers and the major news sources including the AP and Reuters were to follow suit, then it would be an illegal cartel which could raise consumer's complaints of media companies choking off access to news and fall under suspicion of price-fixing, as well as draw lawsuits for breaching the First Amendment.

 

Any publisher who follows his example will not only lose readerships but also its reputation for not honoring the essence of free speech. Let’s see how fast Murdoch’s News Corp. take a nose dive into obscurity.

Older Post - March 2008

Thursday 3/14/08 - Attack Iran!

 

As a witness in the audience watching a looming global threat of Armageddon to unfold, one can’t help noticing the stage is being set; the players are moving into place, the world is being divided into two war camps while the neutral nations are biding their time either to be victims to be trampled on or to join in the battle cry on the winning side in its ‘last throes’ of our earthly existence.

 

Without a doubt, Bush and Cheney are determined to carry out their atrocious act to wipe out ‘their enemies’ at all cost. Who are the enemies?  Why, EVERYONE, of course. Because they plan to destroy the WHOLE PLANET.

 

Destruction is in their blood.

 

These two will live in world infamy as the worst leaders ever existed on Earth. In their grand scheme of destruction, they plotted 9/11 attacks to kill thousands of innocents, secretly designed to topple the United States, and have displaced millions of refugees around the globe due to their illegal wars in the Middle East and the interference of clandestine mercenary corps in Africa and Latin America. Worse still, they have ignited a nuclear arms race to quicken the annihilation of our world.

 

So, where is the epicenter for their Armageddon? Attacking Iran, of course. The following article should make everyone shudder:

 

6 Signs the U.S.  May Be Headed for War in Iran

 

Older Posts - September 2007

Friday 9/21/07 - Taser Issue: Lethal Weapon to Silence Free Speech

  

The mainstream media is at it again – trying to obfuscate, misinform and bury important issues under the noise of whether a University of Florida student zapped with a Taser at the John Kerry Forum on campus deserves it or the university police abusive actions are justified.

 

The New York Times tried to depict the young student as ‘a prankster and his apparent flair for self-promotion’ by wanting to record his encounter with Senator Kerry on video. The Press Association suggested ‘his online writings and videos raised the question of whether his actions during the forum were genuine or some kind of stunt.’

 

It’s not at all surprising that Andrew Meyer, a senior telecommunications major, would want his questioning of the famous Senator be filmed with his own camera. That would also explain why he shows his homemade videos on his website.

 

The questions raised should not be about the student’s behavior or even the justification for the police to use a Taser on an ‘’unruly’’ student, instead the question should focus on why the police force is armed with a lethal weapon to silence free speech.

 

There are two significant issues here: First, why does a university allow the police to use a lethal weapon on unarmed students? Amnesty International says the high-voltage weapons have been linked to more than 70 deaths in America. Of course, there is the post-Virginia Tech shooting mentality, which advocates arming of faculty and students against the possibility of danger. But in the case of Andrew Meyer, he was clearly unarmed. Needless to say, it’s abhorrent to think our civilized society would need lethal weapons to control our youngsters in schools. Second, why does the exercise of one’s right to free speech guaranteed by the First Amendment be considered a threat that warrants an arrest?

 

In the police report, it claimed that ‘the defendant Andrew Meyer was being lawfully detained for inciting a riot and disrupting a school function.’ The video obviously contradicts the police report. There were no students rallying behind Meyer to start a riot and as for disrupting a school function, even Senator John Kerry said that he ‘never felt threatened by Meyer’ and ‘asked police to allow Meyer to ask his question.’

 

What’s disturbing about the University Police Department document is that it states the circumstances for using a Taser include trying to avoid an officer’s attempts to control a situation. A person does not have to strike or harm an officer to justify use of a Taser, according to “UPD document states circumstances for Taser use” (Independent Florida Alligator, 9/18/2007). In other words, anyone can be a victim to police abuse.

 

The students at the University of Florida got it right – this incident is too important to be ignored. They have held a series of protests supporting Meyer and their own right to free speech. Their fight is really everyone's fight, too! It could be one of us, next!

Older Posts - August 2006

Friday 8/18/06 - FCC Inquiries of "Fake News"

The latest on FCC mailed inquiries to 77 television stations for using video news releases as "fake news" points to one major reason for public viewers to distrust the mainstream media. The spread of skepticism is like a forest fire where one can no longer tell the difference between propaganda and news.

As standards for news, FCC requires all video news releases to disclose "the nature, source and sponsorship of the material that they are viewing," but these stations not only broke the rules, they had the audacity to sabotage “the truth” in make-believe news stories for the sake of “considerations” (financial gain?) from private “creators of news releases”. In other words, these stations were bought to lie to the public.

Worse still, the stations have continued to release fake news despite the truth of their misconduct that surfaced earlier in March this year in "Fake TV News: Widespread and Undisclosed," a study conducted by the Center for Media and Democracy, a nonprofit organization that monitors the public relations industry.

From this news item, one saying comes to mind: “Money corrupts people” — the managers of TV stations, the corporations as creators of fake news, the news station reporters to air the videos, the paid actors pretending to be reporters and the list goes on…

Thursday 8/17/06 - Skepticism in UK on Terror Plot

Skepticism abounds in UK after the government announced that it had foiled a massive terror plot a week ago. In the article, 'People are definitely sceptical' Guardian (Aug. 16, 2006), the majority of the British citizens and tourists have given credible reasons for such skepticism:

“…whether these claims are just to clamp down on British Muslims.”
“Is it scaremongering tactics by the government or another reason to harass more innocent people?”
"It's propaganda, isn't it? It gets the whole nation on alert."
“A lot of these terror alerts seem to coincide with an announcement about ID cards for instance.”
“Some of it's for our own protection, but I believe a lot of it is spin.”
“We've been given no evidence yet.”
“I don't trust the government at all. There's no doubt that Blair lied about the weapons of mass destruction before Iraq."

I would add one more reason: Not only are these supposedly terror attacks well-timed with the government’s attempts to raise public support, but also that they are so predictable. For Bush and Blair, they should stop assuming that people, sometimes acting like sheep, are blind and stupid not being able to see through their ploys. In fact, according to the National Sheep Association, “Sheep are quite intelligent creatures.” 

Thursday 8/9/06 - Cause of Obesity Epidemic - GM Suspect

The article about the spread of obesity to infants conducted by scientists is troubling. (Raw Story, August 9, 2006) Over the years we have been bombarded by scientists trying to blame obesity on the lifestyle habits, fast-food consumption, or genetic hereditary in the US. Instead of looking at the real cause of the obesity epidemic, mainly in the US compared to the rest of the world, the scientists and doctors have examined the results related to obesity.

Since the introduction of GM products in the US food market for mass consumption in the 1980s, obesity has become most noticeable in the last ten years. Obesity is a sign of abnormal physical condition of the body that could be brought about by external and internal factors. The fact that obesity is epidemic at an accelerated speed points to more of an internal factor than an external one. In other words, junk food intake and genetic hereditary would have a direct association with quick body changes, more so than a lifestyle habit of being a couch potato. The GM element in the unlabeled food in markets seems to be the culprit more than anything else, for it’s found in most junk food and it does cause genetic hereditary changes. It’s amazing that scientists turn a blind eye to study the negative effects of GM food for human consumption. Perhaps, they were the ones who have been complicit all along with big food corporations and the government in burying the facts — all for the sake of reaping profits from an ignorant public.

Older Posts - July 2006

Monday 7/24/06 - Second genetic code discovered in DNA

This piece of news should put anyone at ease with cloning to take a second look at what scientists still don’t know about DNA. Here’s an excerpt from Raw Story (July 24, 2006):

“The New York Times will report on Tuesday that researchers believe they have found a second code in DNA in addition to the genetic code, Raw Story has learned.

The primary genetic code specifies the proteins that a cell makes. This second code specifies the placement of the nucleosomes, miniature protein spools around which the DNA is looped and which control access to the DNA itself. Biologists have suspected for years that certain positions on the DNA where it bends most easily might be more favorable for nucleosomes, but not until now has it been possible to analyze the hidden pattern. If confirmed, this discovery could help explain higher-order functions of the genes, such as how each type of cell is able to activate only the genes it needs and not those used by other types of cells.”

It would explain some of the inherent problems of making exact replicas of living things. The question is obvious: if the scientists don’t know all the facts, what are they doing messing with nature?

Older Posts - June 2006

Sunday 6/11/06 - Read Between the Lines in AP Article 

The June 11, 2006 article entitled “Bush, advisers plan future of U.S. in Iraq” by AP is nothing more than a propaganda piece for the Bush administration to help push up the polls for Bush and the sagging support for Republicans in the upcoming midterm elections. It’s filled with contradictions that one must read between the lines to understand the real U.S. military stance in Iraq.

Here are some of the lines:

• “President Bush is gathering his top military and civilian war advisers to plan the U.S. role in the country’s future.”  (It didn’t say that Bush is planning to leave the future to the “new established government of Iraq”.)
• “White House officials have said announcements of force reductions are not expected.” (In other words, no plan whatsoever for troop withdrawals.)
• “…he (Bush) has been careful not to signal any troop reductions yet, continuing to say he will make those decisions when commanders in the field advise him to do so.” (When has Bush ever listened to any of his military commanders in the field before, or anyone for that matter?)
• “Gen. George Casey said he thinks it will be possible to withdraw some of the 130,000 U.S. forces in the months ahead as long as Iraq's government and security forces make progress.”  (Right. In fact, the war situation is getting out of control.)
• “Among the most immediate concerns is how to buttress security operations in and around Baghdad. Some suggest that could involve short-term troop increases. “ (Notice the word “increase” for troops and the justification for that increase. In reality, no intention for troop withdrawals.)
• “He said more Iraqis are taking the lead in the fight, although that does not mean they can operate without support such as logistics, intelligence and medical evacuations.” (In other words, the U.S. troops will stay and support Iraqi security forces to fight insurgents indefinitely.)

 

Thursday  6/01/06 - Supreme Court Treats Government  Whistleblower as Corporate Worker

As expected, the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Bush policy – everyone working for the government is under the executive branch, ultimately under Bush’s control. In a 5-4 decision, Justices Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. and the latest Justice member, Samuel Alito, all voted against protection for whistleblowers, giving the rationale that government employees don’t have the right to speak freely inside their offices on matters related to "their official duties."

 

The problem with this rationale is that these conservative judges consider the rights of government officials as the rights of corporate workers. Of course, there’s a huge difference. Government officials are supported by our taxes — their utmost duty is to serve the interest of the public. Whereas, corporate workers are paid by their employers — they are subjected to follow corporate rules. It’s unbelievable how these judges couldn’t see that obvious difference. Whistleblowing against government wrongdoing is not only necessary for the protection of the public, but also a legitimate right of the individual, protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution. To stifle individual rights, the Supreme Court overturned an appeal court ruling in favor of individual’s protection by the First Amendment.

It’s becoming quite clear that our judicial branch is reshaping to support Bush’s polices.

Older Posts - May 2006

Wednesday  5/10/06  Reasons for replacing Goss with Hayden as CIA director 

The sudden departure of the CIA director, Porter Goss, leaving the intelligence community as the best defense against terrorism adrift at sea mirrors the overall state of government under Bush’s watch. Like many departments, FEMA, Homeland Security, Environmental Protection Agency, and Food and Drug Administration, that serve the essential welfare and the interest of the American people, CIA has become the latest casualty on the growing list of dysfunctional government departments and agencies.

 

Goss’ unexplained resignation (“a mystery”) and his nominated replacement, Air Force General Michael Hayden, an architect of Bush’s spying program (NSA eavesdropping), indicate several possible conclusions: 

1. In an attempt to raise his plunging poll numbers, Bush is trying to cast aside blame for both intelligence failures on terrorism (9-11 attacks) and on prewar intelligence on Iraq by having Goss as the scapegoat.
2. After Goss has cleared the CIA of dissidents by forcing out many talented and respected intelligent officers, Bush can now provide a military perspective on a cilivian agency by placing a military officer as the head of CIA for his ongoing “war on terror."
3. Bush is grabbing power by extending military dominance over civilians through civilian agencies acting as military Gestapo.  

More importantly, the intelligence community is facing an overhaul unlike any other in U.S. history. The directors of other major intelligence agencies, National Security Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency and the National Reconnaissance Office, have been in office for less than a year. The head of the FBI’s counterterrorism and intelligence branch resigned last week and the head of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency plans to leave next month.

 

In retrospect, evidence of the Bush administration lying to the nation to go to war against Iraq and even against Afghanistan (al-Qaeda was not tied to the 9-11 attacks) shows that Bush is to be blamed, not our intelligence community. Yet, Congress allows the Neocons to continue dismantling our intelligence community by supporting Bush’s overhaul policies and nominations.

Tuesday  5/2/06 - Stephen Colbert's Weapon of Mass Derision at the Correspondents' Dinner 

The comedian, Stephen Colbert, ambushed the audience at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner to the delight of millions cable TV viewers. He not only insulted the guests of honor — the press, but also mocked the most distinguished man in the room — the president. Displaying satire at its finest, Colbert riddled the non-suspecting crowd at the black tie event with razor-sharp barbs, stinging truths, and poignant ironies.

 

Here are some of his quotes on the press corps:

 

“Over the last five years you people were so good over tax cuts, WMD intelligence, the effects of global warming. We Americans didn’t want to know, and you had the courtesy not to try to find out.”

 

“I am appalled to be surrounded by the liberal media that is destroying America, with the exception of Fox news. Fox News gives you sides of every story, the president’s side and the vice president’s side. “

 

“The president makes decisions, he’s the decider. The press secretary announces those decisions, and you people of the press type those decisions down. Make, announce, type.”

 

“Reporting on N.S.A. wiretapping or secret prisons in Eastern Europe? Those things are secret for a very important reason — they’re super depressing. And if that’s your goal, well, MISERY ACCOMPLISHED.”

 

“Write that novel you got kicking around in your head. You know the one about the intrepid Washington reporter with the courage to stand up to the administration. You know — fiction."

 

on the Bush administration:

 

“I believe the government that governs best is the government that governs least. And by these standards, we have set up a fabulous government in Iraq.”

 

“So the white house has personnel changes…they’re just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic…. that is a terrible metaphor. This ship’s not sinking. This administration is soaring. If anything, they are rearranging the deck chairs on the Hindenburg... “

 

“General Mosley, General Peter Pace. They still support Rumsfeld. You guys aren’t retired yet, right? (Looking at them) Right, they STILL support Rumsfeld.”

 

“Joe Wilson is here. And of course, he brought along his lovely wife Valerie Plame. Oh, my god! (covering his mouth with one hand) Oh, what have I said? I am sorry, Mr. President, I meant to say he brought along his lovely wife. Pat Fitzgerald is not here tonight?”

 

“And we can’t forget man of the hour, new press secretary, Tony Snow. Secret service name, Snow Job. Got some big shoes to fill, Tony. Scott McClellan, too, SAY NOTHING like nobody else.”

 

and on Bush:

 

“We don’t pay attention to the polls. We know that polls are just a collection of statistics that reflect what people are thinking in "reality." And reality has a well-known liberal bias.” 

 

”I stand by this man because he stands FOR things. Not only for things, has he stood ON things. Things like aircraft carriers and rubble and recently flooded city squares. And that sends a strong message, that no matter what happens to America, she will always rebound with the most powerfully staged photo ops in the world.”

 

“I’ve never been a fan of books. They’re all fact, no heart. I mean, they’re elitist telling us what is or isn’t true, what did or didn’t happen. What’s Britannica to tell me the Panama Canal was built in 1914? If I want to say, it was built in 1941, that’s my right as an American. I’m with the president, let history decide what did or did not happen.”

“The greatest thing about this man is he’s steady. You know where he stands. He believes the same thing Wednesday, that he believed on Monday, no matter what happened Tuesday.”

 

It was truly an unforgettable event where he shamed the press for their inept coverage of the administration’s malfeasance, where he demonstrated the bravado that Congress lack in confronting the “Decider,” and where he spoke for the rest of common Americans how we really felt towards our incompetent leader, cowardly government and sycophantic press.

 

Without a doubt, Colbert dropped a bomb of weapon of mass derision at the annual Correspondent’s Association Dinner, leaving the victims “shocked and awed,” the conspirators “silently” uneasy, and the guilty “ready to blow.” Time will tell if Colbert’s performance as a message for soul-searching will have any affect on those attendees.

Older Posts - April 2006

Saturday  4/25/06 - Bush's Hubris and Insanity

In his essay, “Bushim as Greek Drama: “Hubris” and “Tragic Flaws”, Bernard Wiener compared George W. Bush to other presidents, namely, Nixon, Reagan, and Clinton, for their hubris while in office and their characteristic flaws as leaders.  They all share one common attitude — they thought they could get away with anything as presidents, including breaking the law. The three previous presidents were caught lying and covering-up their misdeeds (Nixon’s Watergate, Reagan’s Iran/Contra arms scandal, Clinton’s Lewinsky affair).

 

Although Wiener claimed that Bush’s characteristic flaws are more than any of the other presidents, he falls short to state the obvious — Bush is mad. It would explain his inconsistencies, indifference to human suffering, and denial of reality. It would also explain his inability to know right from wrong or understand the consequences of his actions. He holds a persistent belief that he’s “saving America” at all cost.

 

As a Greek tragedy, perhaps it’d be more appropriate to compare Bush to the Roman emperors: Caligula and Nero.

Saturday  4/22/06 - October Surprise

In John Dean's article, "If Past Is Prologue, George Bush Is Becoming An Increasingly Dangerous President" , he mentioned five possibilities for the "October surprise" that Bush and Co. will pull before the midterm elections: 1. Cheney to step down as Vice President to be replaced by a new face; 2. to achieve a united stance among foreign nations against Iran; 3. to claim the capture of Osama bin Laden; 4. to launch a terrorist attack on homeland soil; or 5. to go it alone in nuking Iran. Any one of them would help the Republicans from losing control of Congress.  

First possibility is unlikely, changing Cheney with another Republican won't help the sinking administration. The midterm elections have very little to do with the president or vice president but everything to do with congress run by Republicans. The second is also improbable, world governments are wary this time to believe U.S. dejá-vu accusation of Iran's WMD after the false claim of Iraq's WMD. Third possibility is impossible to do because bin Laden is already dead. That leaves us with the fourth and fifth possibilities, both of which could turn out to be realities. The terrorist attack would not be another series of aerial hijacking attacks against skyscrapers, but some kind of biochemical assault on crowded trains or subways. The fifth possibility is going to occur while Bush is still in office. It's not a question of if but when.

Looking at the latest news -- a revolt of the generals, Bush's obstinate defense of  Rumsfeld, articles on U.S. military poised to attack Iran,  increasing hostile warnings against Iran by Bush and Co. -- all point to one or more possibilities: nuke Iran, or terrorist attack on homeland to garner American support for war on Iran. Bush won't fire Rumsfeld now for a simple reason -- the war against Iran could not be possible without Rumsfeld at the helm. The generals have the right idea to revolt -- to stop Rumsfeld from executing Bush's grandiose madness to start World War III.