The Sky is Falling

Decline & Fall Of The American Empire

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 21:10:57 GMT

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"The decline of Rome was the natural and inevitable effect of immoderate greatness.

Prosperity ripened the principle of decay; the causes of destruction multiplied with the extent of conquest; and as soon as time or accident had removed the artificial supports, the stupendous fabric yielded to the pressure of its own weight."

Edward Gibbon – The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

After ruling much of the known world for centuries, Rome fell due to a number of factors that, historians believe, would not have been fatal in isolation, but that proved terminal in combination. Military overspending and overreach, an untenable economic system, and currency debasement all played a role. As has been well documented, the Roman emperors attempted to distract the populace from the increasingly dire reality of their situation by providing bread and circuses. But entertainments could not stop the nation-state from yielding to the pressure of its own weight.

There are numerous parallels between the end of the Roman Empire and the path the 226-year-old American republic is now on. One difference in these fast-moving times is that empires can rise more rapidly, but are also likely to decline more rapidly.

Conquest & Overreach

"The decay of trade and industry was not a cause of Rome's fall. There was a decline in agriculture and land was withdrawn from cultivation, in some cases on a very large scale, sometimes as a direct result of barbarian invasions. However, the chief cause of the agricultural decline was high taxation on the marginal land, driving it out of cultivation. Taxation was spurred by the huge military budget and was thus 'indirectly' the result of the barbarian invasion." Arthur Ferrill – The Fall of the Roman Empire: The Military Explanation

The Roman Empire's economy was based on the plunder of conquered territories. As the empire expanded, it installed remote military garrisons to maintain control and increasingly relied on Germanic mercenaries to man those garrisons.

Ultimately, as its territorial expansion waned and began to contract, less and less booty became available to support the empire's widespread ambitions and domestic economy. The outsourcing of the military and the cultural dilution from the bloated empire led to lethargy, complacency, and decadence amongst the formerly self-reliant and hard-working Roman citizenry.

In the modern context, as the only major power whose productive capacity was not destroyed during World War II, the American Empire emerged from the ashes of that conflict.

The parallels with Rome do not repeat, but they do rhyme.

Rather than plunder, the U.S. used its unique status to dictate terms that made the U.S. dollar the world's de facto reserve currency and positioned its robust new manufacturing sector to supply the world with the cars, machinery, appliances, and electronics it so desperately needed. The U.S. trade surplus with the nations of the world led to escalating U.S. wealth and prosperity.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military, about which I'll have more to say in a moment, was increasingly asked by the nation's politicians to take on the role of the world's policeman, leading to action in dozens of conflicts. And even where no direct military role was taken, the U.S. has shown a keen willingness to exert coercive power – including threats, sanctions, and even assassinations – if it was seen to advance American interests.

Simply, in the 20th century, the U.S. became an empire in all but name.

Bread and Circuses

"Already long ago, from when we sold our vote to no man, the People have abdicated our duties; for the People who once upon a time handed out military command, high civil office, legions - everything, now restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just two things: bread and circuses." Roman Poet Juvenal – 77 AD

British historian Andrew J. Toynbee convincingly argues that the Roman Empire had a rotten economic system from its inception and its institutions steadily decayed over time.

The government didn't have proper budgetary systems, and so it squandered resources maintaining the empire while producing little of value. When the spoils from conquered territories were no longer sufficient to cover its many expenses, it turned to higher taxes, in effect shifting the burden of the immense military structure onto the back of the citizenry. The higher taxes forced many small farmers to let their land go barren. To distract its citizens from the worsening conditions, Roman politicians played the populist card by providing free wheat to the poor and entertaining them with circuses, chariot races, and other entertainments.

The American Empire has reached the point where it now faces similar structural imbalances, but to pay its bills, it has largely chosen to borrow from foreign countries in recent years. And the bills are large.

The $765 billion of annual military expenditures by the United States equals the military expenditures of the rest of the world combined.

The social safety net put in place over the decades by politicians attempting to get reelected has resulted in a large number of Americans now almost totally dependent upon the almighty state for their well-being. Threatening to rip apart the country's social fabric, the "new American" will vote for anyone who promises to sustain his dependency even as the nation increasingly struggles under the weight of $56 trillion of unfunded liabilities.

The non-farm workforce in the United States totals 133 million people. Of that number, the government directly employs 22.5 million. Millions more are employed by industries heavily dependent on government spending, such as defense, construction, and healthcare. The annual maintenance cost of the country's safety net now costs American taxpayers hundreds of billions.

· Medicare and Medicaid annual spending $682 billion
· Social Security annual spending $612 billion
· Food stamps & other food programs $60 billion
· Federal unemployment payments $45 billion

America has evolved from a nation of savers to a nation of consumers with a throw-away mentality and driven by little more than the desire for instant gratification. Worse, large segments of our society are convinced that they are owed something. To most, civic duty has become a quaint, outmoded concept. Happy to accommodate – in exchange for a reliable vote come election time – the government keeps the public satiated and sedated by providing them with an ever-increasing list of "public services."

Roman poet Juvenal described how the Roman citizens abdicated their duties to the state and turned to bread and circuses. The programs listed above represent just some of the bread that American citizens now feel entitled to.

Here in America, we know how to provide circuses on a grand scale. Roman citizens were satisfied with a good chariot race. In these modern times, Americans can find entertainment and distraction with 24-hour-a-day cable TV, the Internet, iPhones, iPods, Blackberries, 1.1 million retail stores, 1,100 malls, 17,000 golf courses, Britney Spears, Kim Kardashian, Housewives of Orange County, New York, Atlanta, and New Jersey, American Idol, Survivor, Rock of Love, Flip That House, 660 stations with nothing on, Las Vegas, Disney World, MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, WWF, porn, and mega-churches all competing to fill the void in people's lives.

There isn't enough time in the day to take in all of the circuses, but with what little spare time we have available, we are now able to check our email anywhere on Earth and stay in constant contact with the office even in the middle of the night or, more typically these days, in the middle of dinner. And we can text and twitter our every thought to our circle of friends and followers, providing next to no lasting purpose or benefit to anyone.

Approximately 12% of the U.S. population (36 million people) is considered poor, and many of them are totally dependent upon the state. Yet that term seems out of sync with the fact that many of those individuals have cell phones ($500/yr.), cable TV ($900/yr.), Internet access ($500/yr.), cars ($5,000/yr. lease), houses ($6,000/yr.), eat fast food ($1,000/yr.), and can smoke a pack a day ($1,500/yr.).

How can this be?

For the answer, look no further than Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke, and the Federal Reserve, in cahoots with the financial geniuses on Wall Street, who made it standard practice to create money out of thin air and encourage anyone with a heartbeat to avail themselves of it in the form of low-cost loans – no proof of income or assets required.

The arrangement worked just fine until the banks could no longer hide the bad debt or sell it to the greater fool. Now it has collapsed onto the backs of American taxpayers.

Debasement

"The supply of foodstuffs in the cities declined. The people in the cities were forced to go back to the country and to return to agricultural life. Consequently, the emperors made laws against this movement. There were laws preventing the city dweller from moving to the country, but such laws were ineffective. As the people did not have anything to eat in the city, as they were starving, no law could keep them from leaving the city and going back into agriculture. The city dweller could no longer work in the processing industries of the cities as an artisan. And, with the loss of the markets in the cities, no one could buy anything there anymore." Ludwig von Mises – Human Action

Economist Ludwig von Mises argued that flawed economic policies played a key role in the impoverishment and decay of the Roman Empire. He contended that interventionist economic policies, including price controls that resulted in prices substantially below their free-market equilibrium levels, ultimately led to inflation.

Further, Rome was spending more than it could afford. The free food rations for the poor of Rome and Constantinople – as well as the many entertainments – were costing a fortune. The purchasing of exotic spices, silks, and other luxuries from the Orient bled Rome of its gold… gold that didn't return. Soon Rome didn't have enough gold to produce coins. And so it debased its coins with lesser metals until there was no gold left.

To cover the trillions it is spending each year propping up its empire, the U.S. government is now increasingly forced to rely on printing and borrowing the funds to do so, steadily debasing the currency in the process.

But the nation's currency debasement is nothing new. Rather, it began in 1913 with the creation of the Federal Reserve. It accelerated when FDR confiscated all the gold in the country in the 1930s. When Richard Nixon took the U.S. off the gold standard in 1971, the show really got on the road, as that freed the Federal Reserve to print unlimited amounts of dollars. As a result, the dollar has lost 93% of its value versus gold since 1970.

The Military Complex

Lessons from ancient Rome regarding the cost of maintaining a far-flung empire have been ignored. Today, U.S. boots stomp on the ground of over 117 countries. Even the use of mercenaries, in the form of thousands of Blackwater guards and other private contractors filling roles formerly left to the military, has become commonplace.

Using military assets to pursue political goals, as is the norm in empire building, has led to unintended consequences and wasted opportunities.

One of the most egregious of those lost opportunities came following the bankruptcy and collapse of the Soviet Union. The United States had won the Cold War, but failed to recognize the cautionary signs on the path ahead.

As the only remaining superpower on earth, America fell into the same trap that has befallen previous empires. Instead of concentrating on proactively confronting domestic challenges, such as unfunded Social Security and Medicare liabilities, and developing a comprehensive energy plan to wean ourselves off Middle East oil, we continued to intervene in costly foreign adventures.

Including, among many others, supplying both Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein with weapons and money during their fights against our enemies, leading to unintended consequences we live with to this day.

Seeking to maintain its widespread interests and to defend itself from the many enemies created by building and protecting those interests, the American military complex has grown to the point where it now spends an amount equal to 44% of all taxes collected from its citizens.

Since 1991 alone, the U.S. has interceded in Kuwait, Somalia, Bosnia, Sudan, Afghanistan, and Iraq, among others. In no case has Congress fulfilled its obligation of declaring war. Instead, it has delegated sole responsibility for waging war to the president, weakening the structure of our three-branch government. Over that period of time, the U.S. has spent $7 trillion on defense.

The National Debt in 1991 was $3.2 trillion. Today, it is $11.6 trillion, a 360% increase in eighteen years. In 2001, spending on defense was 17% of the government budget. In 2008, defense, Homeland Security, and war spending accounted for 26% of government spending.

Collapse

Economic history books will likely mark 1980 as the year that the rapid phase of the decline of the American Empire began. That's when the first wave of the Baby Boomer generation reached the age of 35 and turned its attention to living the American dream – on borrowed money. Since that year, household debt has surged from $1 trillion to $14 trillion, while the savings rate has plunged from 12% to below 0%.

There are many ways to use credit, some quite intelligent and practical. Rotating credit card debt to buy the latest non-necessity does not fall into that category. Today in America, there are $956 billion of credit card debt outstanding, or $9,000 per household. The average American has nine credit cards. A credit card allows every person to live above their means for awhile... just as did the home equity loans taken against artificially elevated house prices anchored on mortgages people couldn't afford.

This is where reality and fantasy meet. People can only borrow and spend if the Federal Reserve and bankers provide the funds to do so, and without asking a lot of questions about suitability. By creating money out of thin air and handing it out to people with no legitimate means of repaying it, the financial elite and their friends in Washington have played an essential role in bringing the U.S. and even the global economy to its knees.

Yet, for all the evidence, a large swath of Americans still believes the nation hasn't gone off course. These people consider borrowing in order to live beyond their means a rational choice. They expect the government to save them when they get into trouble and think that taxing the rich to pay for a bigger and bigger safety net is a reasonable idea.

In a truly free-market society, this sizable segment of the public would have already learned a brutal lesson they'd remember for the rest of their lives. Instead, the brutal lesson is being learned by people who played by the rules and didn't take ridiculous risks, but who are now being coerced by the government to pay for the misdeeds of the over-indebted fools who did.

The crushing levels of debt resulting from decades of excess; the far-reaching military presence; the politically motivated social safety net and other popular but unaffordable programs have now reached the point that the economic decline of the American Empire is a foregone conclusion.

The current downturn is not going to be like previous recessions that lasted on average 16 months. Even as the government responds by trying to borrow and spend the country back to prosperity, there is no ignoring that the economic base has been gutted and the future social program liabilities have essentially bankrupted the country.

As was the case in the final stages of the Roman Empire, the unsustainable military, social, and political excesses have reached the point that, in combination, they are now likely to prove catastrophic.

A Final Thought

"For over a thousand years, Roman conquerors returning from the wars enjoyed the honor of a triumph – a tumultuous parade. In the procession came trumpeters and musicians and strange animals from the conquered territories, together with carts laden with treasure and captured armaments. The conqueror rode in a triumphal chariot, the dazed prisoners walking in chains before him. Sometimes his children, robed in white, stood with him in the chariot, or rode the trace horses. A slave stood behind the conqueror, holding a golden crown, and whispering in his ear a warning: that all glory is fleeting." George C. Scott as Patton [emphasis added]

Which begs the question, who is now standing behind the current political leadership, reminding them that their elevated positions are temporal? Unfortunately, the excesses they have created, and the dislocations caused by those excesses, will be with this country for generations.

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:36:30 GMT

A thief called Snatch kidnapped Ender after he immigrated to the Gurhal system's second planet, neudaiz. No one back on Earth would pay the ransom, so Snatch sent Ender to Sheva, her cousin, to have his soul eaten. Ender convinced her that with their combined knowledge, they could create the perfect android girlfriend, and make a mint selling them to shady distributors on Moatoob. Together, they created Scratch, but a practical joke during development backfired on Sheva, and Scratch turned out to be a lesbian, and fell in love with a model GH433 named "Sniff." Snatch is still at large to this day, and continues her thieving activities. Sheva still eats souls, searching for ultimate power. Ender still tags along with Sheva, hoping that magic-using maniac won't turn on him. Scratch and Sniff live happily ever after together, aside from Sniff's suffocating jealousy, screaming tirades, and overbearing control.

No new developments

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 20:15:46 GMT

Fresh from Disgaea 2, the Thief has been imported to Phantasy Star Universe! Meet SNATCH, my cute little lovable larcenist.

Ender, my Avatar, carrier of twin knives, emptier of machinegun clips.

Sheva, a psychotic assassin with a hair trigger heal.

And finally, Scratch. Oldest of the four, strongest of far more, transcending classes, man-handling masses, a female cast who's fast on the blast. A brick house of pain.

Four characters, over 900 hours of gameplay, and several lost pounds later, Don't ask what's new. Don't ask what's up. I've been busy playing Phantasy Star. Sorry everyone. Bring me some food, and a crowbar.

New developments

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 19:11:51 GMT

This weekend after thanksgiving, I'll be giving thanks for my new roommates. B-Dawg and Mr. In-The-Hat are moving in. Rick is there, too... between us, we can pay for the bills, and hold down the fort for my fam until, hopefully, the housing market recovers. Prayers are greatly appreciated!

A wound to the head by a sword

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 18:36:13 GMT

Geneticists believe the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II can be cloned from the bloodstain on his shirt. "DNA contained in blood, of course, makes cloning possible. It means that a kind of "resurrection" also appears possible. However cloning of the emperor is a theoretical issue. Many countries ban human cloning," the scientist and secretary of the Vavilov Institute of Genetics Alla Borovyagina was quoted as saying by the Zhizn za Vsyu Nedelyu weekly. Associate of the Russian Academy of Sciences and geneticist Elsa Khusnutdinova also states that it makes no difficulty for science to get a gene from the old bloodstain and define DNA structure. "We quite exactly define the structure of the bones that have been beneath the sod for thousands years. On the basis of DNA, we can construct the similar, but yet new cell," she said. The emperor shed blood clotted on the shirt in 1891 when he visited Japan. A Japanese fanatic police officer attacked him and hit his head with a sword. The Hermitage keeps the shirt Nicholas II had on.

Avatars

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:20:17 GMT

Ive Been making Avatars. The first two were okay, but nothing compared to the rest.

Pious Islam & A Mark on the Forehead

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 15:19:04 GMT

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The zebiba used to be the mark of an elderly Muslim man, the fruit of a lifetime's devotion, but it is increasingly seen on the faces of young Egyptians.

Literally meaning "a raisin", the zebiba is a patch of hardened skin where the forehead touches the ground during Muslim prayers.

Some welcome the trend as a sign of devotion, others say it is ostentatious piety.

Worse still there are fears public displays of faith like the zebiba and the hijab, or headscarf, are spilling over into vigilantism.

Liberals or Christians who don't conform in the workplace or on the street say they are being harassed.

Gift from God

A practising Muslim's forehead is meant to touch the ground at least 34 times a day - in symbolic submission to God's will - which could add up to more than a million prostrations in a lifetime.

But over the past few decades, as more and more Egyptians turned to religion, the zebiba began appearing among young men as the veil did among young women.

But not every Muslim gets one, and opinions vary as to where it comes from. It could something to do with skin-type, or created artificially, or come from particular kinds of matting. Others believe it is a gift from God.

Many young Egyptians I asked believe some kind of light will emanate from the prayer mark on their foreheads on the Day of Judgment, marking them out as truly devout.

One of Egypt's greatest living and most popular poets, Abdelrahman al-Abnoudi, has another explanation - in times of crises people turn either to drugs or to religion.

Egyptians have always been religious, he adds, but since being religious has also become fashionable, people now press their foreheads against the ground a little harder to acquire the appearance of a devout Muslim.

Dalia Ziada of the American Islamic Congress - an non-governmental organisation based in Cairo - says some men deliberately pray on straw mats, and rub their foreheads until they eventually develop the zebiba.

Fri, 09 May 2008 17:40:40 GMT

Will Jesus Christ return to Earth in the year 2015?

And can studying NASA's website provide evidence for such a scenario?

A minister who promotes the Old Testament roots of Christianity suggests a rare string of lunar and solar eclipses said to fall on God's annual holy days seven years from now could herald what's come to be known as the "Second Coming" of Jesus.

"God wants us to look at the biblical calendar," says Mark Biltz, pastor of El Shaddai Ministries in Bonney Lake, Wash. "The reason we need to be watching is because He will signal His appearance. But we have to know what to be watching as well. So we need to be watching the biblical holidays."

In a video interview on the Prophecy in the News website, Biltz said he's been studying prophecies that focus on the sun and moon, even going back to the book of Genesis where it states the lights in the sky would be "be for signs, and for seasons."

"It means a signal, kind of like 'one if by land, two if by sea.' It's like God wants to signal us," he said. "The Hebrew word implies ... not only is it a signal, but it's a signal for coming or His appearing."

Biltz adds the word "seasons" implies appointed times for God's feasts and festivals.

"When we hear the word feast, we think food. But the Hebrew word has nothing to do with food. It has to do with a divine appointment, as if God has a day timer, and He says, 'OK, I'm gonna mark the day and the time when I'm going to signal My appearance.'"

In the Old Testament, the prophet Joel states, "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come." (Joel 2:31)

In the New Testament, Jesus is quoted as saying, "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light ... And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." (Matthew 24:29-30)

Gary Stearman of Prophecy in the News noted, "When we think of the sun being darkened and the moon not giving her light, we usually think of some astronomical catastrophe – perhaps the sun sputtering and the moon being affected by all this. But maybe it's time to rethink this a little bit and think of it as a natural cycle, the cycle of the eclipses."

Thus, Biltz began focusing on the precise times of both solar and lunar eclipses, sometimes called "blood moons" since the moon often takes on a bloody color. He logged onto NASA's eclipse website which provides precision tracking of the celestial events.

He noted a rare phenomenon of four consecutive total lunar eclipses, known as a tetrad.

He says during this century, tetrads occur at least six times, but what's interesting is that the only string of four consecutive blood moons that coincide with God's holy days of Passover in the spring and the autumn's Feast of Tabernacles (also called Succoth) occurs between 2014 and 2015 on today's Gregorian calendar.

"The fact that it doesn't happen again in this century I think is very significant," Biltz explains. "So then I looked at last century, and, believe it or not, the last time that four blood red moons occurred together was in 1967 and 1968 tied to Jerusalem recaptured by Israel."

He then started to notice a pattern of the tetrads.

"What's significant to me is that even before 1967, the next time that you had four blood red moons again was right after Israel became a nation in '48, it happened again in 1949 and 1950 ... on Passover and Succoth. You didn't have any astronomical tetrads in the 1800s, the 1700s, the 1600s. In the 1500s, there were six, but none of those fell on Passover and Succoth."

When checking the schedule for solar eclipses, Biltz found two – one on the first day of the Hebrew year and the next on the high holy day of Rosh Hashanah, the first day of the seventh Hebrew month. Both of these take place in the 2014-2015 year.

Biltz says, "You have the religious year beginning with the total solar eclipse, two weeks later a total lunar eclipse on Passover, and then the civil year beginning with the solar eclipse followed two weeks later by another total blood red moon on the Feast of Succoth all in 2015."

"If you think that this is a coincidence, I want you to know that it's time!" exclaimed Prophecy in the News host J.R. Church. "There are no more of these for the rest of the century."

The prospect of eclipses pinpointing the time of Jesus' return is getting mixed reaction in Christian circles.

After seeing Biltz's interview, Jim Bramlett, an author and former vice president for the Christian Broadcasting Network, expressed excitement.

"I have just watched the program two times and do not think I have ever been more encouraged or excited about the soon return of the Lord!" Bramlett said.

But Hal Lindsey, a well-known biblical analyst and author of "The Late Great Planet Earth," says while he hasn't heard of Biltz's theory, he called it "pure speculation."

"In my 50-something years of studying prophecy, to me the greatest indication of the time of Christ's return is based around the general things of prophecies coming together in the same time frame."

He mentioned not only Israel's birth as a political state in 1948, but the increase in tensions with Muslims, the rise of Russia, China and the European Union, which he says is even "calling itself the revived Roman Empire."

"I see the whole sweep and panorama spinning together in a precise scenario," he said.

During a second video interview, Biltz was presented with Bible quotes that many think suggest Jesus' return will be a complete surprise, or at least not specifically known.

The 25th chapter of Matthew features a parable where Jesus likens His kingdom to ten virgins all waiting for the arrival of their bridegroom.

Jesus said in the story, "ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh." (Matthew 25:13)

Biltz says people need to examine the quote in its proper context.

"When He says you don't know the day or the hour, He's speaking to the foolish virgins, not the wise virgins," he explained.

Biltz was also asked about the famous statement in Matthew 24:36 when Jesus was discussing the signs of His "coming, and of the end of the world": "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only." (Matthew 24:36)

He responded by referring to the annual Feast of Trumpets holiday, saying Israelites never knew the precise moment it began, "because it was based on the sighting of the new moon."

"When He (Jesus) says you won't know the day or the hour, He's telling you it's the Feast of Trumpets because that was known as the feast where no one knew the day or the hour that it would begin," said Biltz. "So it's kind of like if I told you, 'I'm not going to tell you when I'm coming, but "Gobble, gobble, gobble,'" pointing to Turkey Day."

Church stressed despite the information suggesting 2015 could be a pivotal time, "We don't know that that will be the concluding year of the tribulation period ... so we're not setting a date and saying this is a warning. We're introducing the possibility of a watch."

You have GOT to be kidding me...

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 21:46:27 GMT

Thursday, April 03, 2008
US Readies April Nuclear Attack On Iran

Russian Foreign Ministry Officials are reported to be ‘alarmed’ today over a ‘presentation’ made by the United States War Leaders to President Putin at this weeks NATO summit in Romania and which details the Americans plan to begin a nuclear attack against Irans atomic facilities in the next two weeks. Most disturbing of these reports, according to Foreign Ministry Analysts, are the United States ‘offers and threats’ towards Russia to ‘remain neutral’ in this conflict or face the combined weight of the American and EU central banks deliberate collapsing of the Western banking system, and US dollar, and which is estimated will cause the loss of nearly $800 billion of Russian foreign reserves. To the ‘offers’ presented to President Putin for keeping Russia out of this war, these reports continue, will be NATO’s rejection of Ukraine and Georgia membership into the Western Military Alliance and the ending of the planned US Missile Shield being planned for Poland and the Czech Republic. In what, sadly, passes for diplomacy these days with the United States, this ‘presentation’ to President Putin is eerily reminiscent of the offer made to the Taliban rulers of Afghanistan prior to the US invasion of their country after their rejection of the American offer, and which French news sources reported was stated, “Either you accept our offer of a carpet of gold, or we bury you under a carpet of bombs." To the likelihood of the US carrying out their brutal expansion of their war against the Muslim peoples of the World with a nuclear attack upon Iran there remains today little doubt as Saudi Arabia has ordered their people to prepare for nuclear war, and as we can read as reported by Iran’s Press TV News Service, and which says: "Saudi Arabia is reportedly preparing to counter any ’radioactive hazards’ which may result from a US strike on Iran’s nuclear plants.

Cellphones For Buying & Tracking

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 21:36:30 GMT

Friday, April 04, 2008
Cellphones For Buying & Tracking

Payments by cellphone are expected to explode over the next few years as more stores are equipped to handle such transactions. Here's how it'll work: You go to the Gap, select a pair of khakis and wave your phone in front a reader at the cash register. The purchase price is instantly deducted from your checking account like a debit card or applied to a credit card account. A record of the purchase is also entered into the Gap's database. That's very convenient and will undeniably be a boon to shoppers, merchants and cellphone companies. What the technology also means, though, is that all cellphone owners, which is nearly everyone, will be technologically "tagged." In theory, anyone -- or any company or government agency -- with a desire to do so would be able to identify you from as much as 300 feet away and track you as you go about your business. Your cellphone would be constantly broadcasting your location, along with, possibly, your name, address and other potentially sensitive information. "The public has been slow to appreciate the privacy implications of this technology," said Simitian, who has a variety of other bills in the hopper to address various aspects of what's known as radio frequency identification, or RFID. "Most people don't realize that there's no law against who can read the information on an RFID tag, and no limit on what can be placed on the tag," Simitian said. OK, let's take a deep breath. RFID technology has been around since World War II, when transponders were placed in Allied aircraft to distinguish them from German planes. These days, RFID is everywhere. When workers wave an ID card or fob in front of a reader to enter their office building, that's RFID. When plastic tags are placed on merchandise in supermarkets or retail stores to manage inventory, that's RFID. RFID tags are starting to be inserted in driver's licenses and passports. The Legoland theme park in Denmark recently experimented with giving RFID wristbands to kids so they could easily be found by parents. (A spokeswoman said there were no plans to test the technology at the Legoland in Carlsbad.) China is now in the process of issuing RFID-equipped national ID cards to all of its 1.3 billion citizens. There's no question RFID can make official documents harder to fake and make life much easier for consumers. Think how fast a checkout line would move if everyone was carrying an RFID-equipped cellphone or credit card instead of cash or old-fashioned, magnetic-stripped plastic. Cellphone companies love the technology because they anticipate customers using more minutes and being less likely to switch services once they've turned their handset into an e-wallet. "Everybody's interested in this," said Mark Desautels, vice president of CTIA -- The Wireless Assn., an industry group. "There's an awful lot of experimentation taking place throughout the industry."

Financial Conspiracy And World Events

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:48:41 GMT

Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Financial Conspiracy And World Events

Let’s turn to the U.S. personage that conspiracy theorists most often mention as being at the epicenter of whatever elite plan is reputed to exist. This would be David Rockefeller, the 92-year-old multibillionaire godfather of the world’s financial elite. The lengthy Wikipedia article on Rockefeller provides the following version of a celebrated statement he allegedly made in an opening speech at the Bilderberg conference in Baden-Baden, Germany, in June 1991: "We are grateful to the Washington Post, the New York Times, Time magazine, and other great publications whose directors have attended our meetings and respected their promises of discretion for almost forty years. It would have been impossible for us to develop our plan for the world if we had been subject to the bright lights of publicity during these years. But the world is now more sophisticated and prepared to march towards a world government which will never again know war, but only peace and prosperity for the whole of humanity. The supranational sovereignty of an intellectual elite and world bankers is surely preferable to the national auto-determination practiced in the past centuries." This speech was made 17 years ago. It came at the beginning in the U.S. of the Bill Clinton administration. Rockefeller speaks of an "us." This "us," he says, has been having meetings for almost 40 years. If you add the 17 years since he gave the speech it was 57 years ago—two full generations. Not only has "us" developed a "plan for the world," but the attempt to "develop" the plan has evidently been successful, at least in Rockefeller’s mind. The ultimate goal of "us" is to create "the supranational sovereignty of an intellectual elite and world bankers." This will lead, he says, toward a "world government which will never again know war." Average family income in the U.S. has steadily eroded while the share of the nation’s wealth held by the richest income brackets has soared. Some Wall Street hedge fund managers are making $1 billion a year while the number of homeless, including war veterans, pushes a million. The housing bubble has led to a huge inflation of real estate prices in the U.S. Millions of homes are falling into the hands of the bankers through foreclosure. Rising property taxes based on inflated land assessments have forced millions of lower-and middle-income people and elderly out of their homes. The total tax burden on Americans from federal, state, and local governments now exceeds forty percent of income and is rising. Gasoline prices are soaring even as companies like Exxon-Mobil are recording record profits. Other commodity prices are going up steadily, including food prices, with some countries starting to experience near-famine conditions. 40 million people in America are officially classified as "food insecure." Corporate control of water and mineral resources has removed much of what is available from the public commons, and the deregulation of energy production has led to huge increases in the costs of electricity in many areas. The destruction of family farming in the U.S. by NAFTA (along with family farming in Mexico and Canada) has been mirrored by policies toward other nations on the part of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. Since the 1980s the U.S. has been fighting wars throughout the world either directly or by proxy. The former Yugoslavia was dismembered by NATO. Under cover of 9/11 and by utilizing off-the-shelf plans, the U.S. is now engaged in the military conquest and permanent military occupation of the Middle East. A worldwide encirclement of Russia and China by U.S. and NATO forces is underway, and a new push to militarize space has begun.

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 19:19:03 GMT

posted by Robert Benjamin at 8:46 AM

In large disaster, care will be scarce

Older, sicker patients could be allowed to die in order to save the lives of patients more likely to survive a massive disaster, bioterror attack or influenza pandemic in California. It's not how nurses and doctors are accustomed to doing things, nor how Californians expect to be treated. But it is part of a sweeping statewide plan being praised for its breadth, even as it rankles providers who will have to carry it out. The new "surge capacity guidelines" released by the state Department of Public Health, depict a post-disaster health care environment that looks and feels nothing like the system most Californians depend on. It provides for scenarios in which patients could be herded into school gymnasiums for life-saving care or animal doctors could stitch up the human wounded and set their broken bones. The 1,900-page document lays the practical – and ethical – groundwork for local and county health departments, hospitals, emergency responders and any able-bodied health care worker likely to be called upon in a catastrophe. Striking in its specificity and its frank focus on the need to suspend or flex established laws and to ration health care, the plan is being hailed as a model for the rest of the nation. "I don't know of any state that has taken it to this level of detail in outlining a surge plan for everyone who needs to respond to an emergency of this magnitude," said Jeff Levi, executive director of Trust for America's Health, a nonprofit group that has criticized the nation's emergency preparedness. "It's exactly the kind of dialogue that has to happen." The conversations emerging from the plan will be very painful, especially for professionals trained to save a life at almost any cost, said Betsey Lyman, deputy director for public health emergency preparedness at the state Department of Public Health. "Today, the practice of medicine is do everything you can for an individual patient," Lyman said. "This is, 'OK, we have limited resources. How do we best save the greatest number of lives?' That can mean saying to an individual patient, I can't give you a ventilator because I don't have enough for everybody." The $5 million plan was developed as a result of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's 2006 health care surge initiative. That $172 million effort included the stockpiling of millions of doses of antiviral medications, thousands of ventilators, mobile field hospitals and extra hospital beds. But health care officials acknowledge that when and if a global pandemic or major disaster strikes, no amount of extra drugs or supplies will be sufficient to manage the impact on an already strained health care system. That's why the state assembled public health professionals, hospitals, ethicists, nurses and others to hash out guidelines for procedures they hope will minimize red tape and maximize survival rates. The plan lists, for example, which responsibilities and patient protections can be waived if the governor declares a state of emergency. Hospitals will not have to report births, deaths, infectious disease outbreaks, medication errors, and suspected child or elder abuse. Existing rules that protect patients' privacy also can be tossed out.

Brain-Reading Headset to Sell for $299

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 22:33:10 GMT

http://finance.myway.com/jsp/nw/nwdt_rt.jsp?section=news&feed=ap&src=601&news_id=ap-d8uuaio01&date=20080220

Hands cramping up from too many video games?

How about controlling games with your thoughts instead? Later this year, Emotiv Systems Inc. plans to start selling the $299 EPOC neuroheadset to let you do just that.

The headset's sensors are designed to detect conscious thoughts and expressions as well as "non-conscious emotions" by reading electrical signals around the brain, says the company, which demonstrated the wireless gadget at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.

The company, which unveiled a prototype last year, says the headset can detect emotions such as anger, excitement and tension, as well as facial expressions and cognitive actions like pushing and pulling objects.

The headset will be sold with a game developed by Emotiv, but it can also be made to work with existing PC games, the company said. Users will also be able to access an online portal to play more games, chat or upload their own content such as music or photos.

Emotiv plans to work with IBM Corp. to explore applications beyond video gaming. The "brain computer interface" technology could transform not only gaming, but how humans and computers interact, said Paul Ledak, vice president of IBM's Digital Convergence business.

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 20:56:04 GMT

Pots on the left of me, Kettles to the right! Everyone's black if you let in the light. "Iron sharpens iron," is that how you feel? Dispose of the frozen, and let me be steel.

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 20:19:26 GMT

Not a good day. Intermittant waves of anger and despair... Why? God knows. I want to "make speeches," "cry wolf," and, "say die." Nobody I know comes to mind as the right ears for the gob. So I stay silent with gritted teeth, agonized as each moment slips interminably by. Stuck at work, I feel intense urges for anything but this. Sadly, no go. The world of the responsible adult hold me chained in like a prisoner, my bread and water are fantasy, and escapism. I'm a big kid chicken, fucking myself with my own white knuckles. Go to bed, Earth. It's black under his eyes.

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 18:00:28 GMT

Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Chipping Humans: Communication, Control

Imagine that as you reach your office, audio system at the entrance recognise you and issues a warm welcome and the doors open automatically. Lights blink on and the computer says ‘hello’ as soon as you enter your cabin. This is everyday life for Professor Kevin Warwick, who hosts a microchip in his body and is, technically, the first human Cyborg. The Director of Cybernetics department at University of Reading (UK), Warwick was here on Feb 15, at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT-K) to deliver a special lecture on the occasion of Annual Science and Technology Festival, Techkriti ‘08. Talking about his journey from a human to Captain Cyborg, Warwick said under the Project Cyborg, he underwent a surgery by Doctor George Boulos in August 1998 to get a RFID transmitter implanted under his arm. “The chip was used to control doors, lights, heaters and other computer controlled devices based on his proximity,” he said. The chief purpose of experiment was to test the limits of what the body can accept and how easily it receives meaningful signals from the chip. Regarding the second stage of research, he said he got implanted with a more complex chip, which interfaced directly with his nervous system, in March 2002. The experiment was successful, as the signals produced by the chip were detailed enough for a robot arm developed by his colleague Peter Kyberd to mimic the action of his arm. Warwick even went on to implant a simpler chip into the body of his wife. He wanted to try telepathy, using Internet to communicate the signal from afar. The experiment was successful and resulted in the first purely electronic communication experiment between the nervous systems of two human beings. Though his family found it “crazy” initially, he was determined to use the technology for helping the disabled, he said. The technology, he said, can help those suffering from blindness, physical deformities, diabetes, epilepsy and others. It could even completely change communication between people. Talking about the use of microchips in human body, he said developed nations were already using the technology for recognition of patients in hospitals, officials in high security zone and others. In future, people may not need to carry passport, keys, credit cards and other identity documents. “In many countries, people wish to get their children or partners implanted with chip in order to track them, but the question whether the use of chip in human body ethical, is still debatable,” he added.

posted by Robert Benjamin at 4:09 AM

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 18:04:44 GMT

Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Social Security Smart Card Coming

U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) is proposing a new Social Security card that would be based on the same technology the U.S. Department of Defense uses for the Common Access Card. The new Social Security card would have a photo, magnetic stripe, bar code and microprocessor chip that would contain users biometric. Exactly how individuals would obtain the card and which biometric would be stored on it were not specified. Kirk is proposing the legislation and high-tech ID to help prevent identity theft. The card would also enable employers to validate the Social Security number. The legislation would require anyone older than 15 to obtain a new card. It’s estimated that the new card would cost almost $8 each, compared to the 50 cents they now cost.

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 17:44:44 GMT

posted by Robert Benjamin at 8:04 AM

Int. Biometrics Payments Standard

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has published a standard for the implementation and management of biometric identification technology within the financial services industry. The ISO says that the new standard, ISO 19092:2008, Financial services – Biometrics – Security Framework, is designed to increase the security of financial transactions that take place over electronic networks. Biometrics, which includes technologies such as finger images, voice identification, eye scan and facial images, is increasingly considered as a reliable means of authentication, the ISO says. “Its (biometrics) advantage and appeal lies in its convenience and ease of use, its level of apparent security, performance and non-invasiveness,” the standards body says.

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 19:20:43 GMT

On the morning of 9 February 2004, The New York Times carried an exclusive and alarming story. The paper's Baghdad correspondent, Dexter Filkins, reported that US officials had obtained a 17-page letter, believed to have been written by the notorious terrorist Abu Musab al Zarqawi to the "inner circle" of al-Qa'ida's leadership, urging them to accept that the best way to beat US forces in Iraq was effectively to start a civil war. The letter argued that al-Qa'ida, which is a Sunni network, should attack the Shia population of Iraq: "It is the only way to prolong the duration of the fight between the infidels and us. If we succeed in dragging them into a sectarian war, this will awaken the sleepy Sunnis." Later that day, at a regular US press briefing in Baghdad, US General Mark Kimmitt dealt with a string of questions about The New York Times report: "We believe the report and the document is credible, and we take the report seriously... It is clearly a plan on the part of outsiders to come in to this country and spark civil war, create sectarian violence, try to expose fissures in this society." The story went on to news agency wires and, within 24 hours, it was running around the world.

Welcome to the Apocalypse

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 22:22:25 GMT

The political crucifix to which our "religious right" helped nail America is finally evident. Ladies and Gentlemen, monkeys and germs, it is my distinct pleasure to announce the motherfu**ing Apocalypse. Watch, and be astounded! As feats of violence previously unimagined become daily news events! As children become increasingly rebellious, violent, and depraved. As governments collapse, and chaos reigns, blood calls to blood and only blood remains. Goodnight, sweet child. May your dreams be pleasant, because life here on Earth, often isn't.

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 17:15:58 GMT

Thursday, February 07, 2008
Nephilim Coming Dec 21, 2012

Thomas Horn suggests that the number 33 is featured prominently in occult doctrine. The compass and the square are the two most visible signs of Freemasonry and contribute to the science of navigation. The number 33, along with the compass and the square, are important to the "illumined elite," especially those who reach the "enlightened" 33rd degree. The mystical 33.33 degrees of the great circle of the earth is said to represent 2,012 nautical miles. Coincidently, Mt. Hermon, the earthly entry point of the fallen angels, lies precisely at 33.33 degrees north and 33.33 degrees east of the Paris Meridian -- 2,012 miles from the equator and 2,012 miles from the Paris Meridian (the meridian used by the Knights Templar). This corresponds to the year that the ancient Mayans believed their calendar will end -- 2012. Is this just an astonishing coincidence? Here's where the book gets interesting. Using the sacred number 33 and the value of universal mathematical constant Pi, there is one other location on planet Earth where these same coordinates find dry land. They just happen to match up with a ranch in New Mexico -- the location of the Roswell UFO crash of 1947, an event that has been covered up at the highest levels of government for 60 years. Is this just a random coincidence, or were the "ancients" marking their arrival date for a future generation? Will the Watchers return in 2012?

WOW! The image of the beast, huh?

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 18:03:27 GMT

posted by Robert Benjamin at 3:55 AM

Image Of The Beast Hologram Technology

The Prince of Wales was beamed in Star Trek-style for his first appearance as a hologram when he delivered a powerful speech on the environment to the world's leaders before vanishing into thin air. A life-size, three-dimensional image of the Prince was projected onto the stage of the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates. The Prince was reluctant to attend the summit in person because the flights for him and his entourage would have generated an estimated 20 tons of carbon waste. In comparison the hologram is thought to have left a carbon footprint equivalent to a lightbulb. The hologram drew much surprise from the 2,500 delegates, most of whom had flown thousands of miles to discuss how to save carbon emissions. His six-minute speech was pre-recorded in the drawing room of Clarence House last November and it was transferred into a 3D image.

Inside the Martial Law Act of 2006

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 19:02:21 GMT

posted by Robert Benjamin at 3:55 AM

Inside the Martial Law Act of 2006

Martial law is perhaps the ultimate stomping of freedom. And yet, on September 30, 2006, Congress passed a provision in a 591-page bill that will make it easy for President Bush to impose martial law in response to a terrorist "incident." It also empowers him to effectively declare martial law in response to what he or other federal officials label a shortfall of "public order" -- whatever that means. It took only a few paragraphs in a $500 billion, 591-page bill to raze one of the most important limits on federal power. Congress passed the Insurrection Act in 1807 to severely restrict the president's ability to deploy the military within the United States. The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 tightened those restrictions, imposing a two-year prison sentence on anyone who used the military within the United States without the express permission of Congress. (This act was passed after the depredations of the U.S. military throughout the Southern states during Reconstruction.) But there is a loophole: Posse Comitatus is waived if the president invokes the Insurrection Act. The Insurrection Act and Posse Comitatus Act aim to deter dictatorship while permitting a narrow window for the president to temporarily use the military at home. But the 2006 reforms basically threw any concern about dictatorial abuses out the window. Section 1076 of the Defense Authorization Act of 2006 changed the name of the key provision in the statute book from "Insurrection Act" to "Enforcement of the Laws to Restore Public Order Act." The Insurrection Act of 1807 stated that the president could deploy troops within the United States only "to suppress, in a State, any insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy." The new law expands the list of pretexts to include "natural disaster, epidemic, or other serious public health emergency, terrorist attack or incident, or other condition" -- and such a "condition" is not defined or limited.

Spy Satellite Loses Power, Could Crash Into Earth

Sat, 26 Jan 2008 21:55:04 GMT

The Associated Press

January 26, 2008, 12:47 PM PST

A large U.S. spy satellite has lost power and propulsion and could hit the Earth in late February or March, government officials said Saturday.

The satellite, which no longer can be controlled, could contain hazardous materials, and it is unknown where on the planet it might come down, they said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the information is classified as secret.

"Appropriate government agencies are monitoring the situation," said Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the National Security Council. "Numerous satellites over the years have come out of orbit and fallen harmlessly. We are looking at potential options to mitigate any possible damage this satellite may cause."

He would not comment on whether it is possible for the satellite to be perhaps shot down by a missile. He said it would be inappropriate to discuss any specifics at this time.

A senior government official said that lawmakers and other nations are being kept apprised of the situation.

The largest uncontrolled re-entry by a NASA spacecraft was Skylab, the 78-ton abandoned space station that fell from orbit in 1979. Its debris dropped harmlessly into the Indian Ocean and across a remote section of western Australia.

In 2000, NASA engineers successfully directed a safe de-orbit of the 17-ton Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, using rockets aboard the satellite to bring it down in a remote part of the Pacific Ocean.

In 2002, officials believe debris from a 7,000-pound science satellite smacked into the Earth's atmosphere and rained down over the Persian Gulf, a few thousand miles from where they first predicted it would plummet.

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Associated Press writers Pamela Hess and Deb Riechmann contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2008, The Associated Press

Marilyn Manson and Twiggy Ramirez Have Reunited.

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 17:28:24 GMT

Wednesday, January 09, 2008, a blog on Marilyn Manson's MySpace.

The duo that started it all, are back together to finish where they left off. The two who co-wrote Antichrist Superstar, Mechanical Animals, and Holywood will be sharing the stage once again.

Joining Manson and Twiggy onstage for the U.S. leg of the Rape of the World Tour will be Chris Vrenna, Rob Holliday, and Ginger Fish. Tim Skold has amicably split with Manson, but future collaborations aren't being ruled out between the two.

Expectations for the upcoming tour are best described by quoting one of Manson's most infamous lyrics, "Everyone will suffer now". Looks like the shit is gonna hit the FANS.