"Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people"

- John Adams - Second President (1797 - 1801)

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Tueday Night - December 29, 2009


It does not take a majority to prevail... but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men.

-Samuel Adams




Evening - December 29, 2009








"Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people"


- John Adams - Second President (1797 - 1801)



Sen. Conrad ‘Assumes’ Constitution’s Commerce Clause Gives Congress Power To Mandate Buying Health Insurance

CNS News | Senator Kent Conrad does not know specifically where Congress is given the authority to require that Americans buy health insurance but assumes the power is granted in the Constitution’s Commerce clause.






Judicial Watch Announces List of Washington's "Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians" for 2009



WASHINGTON, DC, Dec 28, 2009 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, today released its 2009 list of Washington's "Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians." The list, in alphabetical order, includes:

1. Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT): This marks two years in a row for Senator Dodd, who made the 2008 "Ten Most Corrupt" list for his corrupt relationship with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and for accepting preferential treatment and loan terms from Countrywide Financial, a scandal which still dogs him. In 2009, the scandals kept coming for the Connecticut Democrat. In 2009, Judicial Watch filed a Senate ethics complaint against Dodd for undervaluing a property he owns in Ireland on his Senate Financial Disclosure forms. Judicial Watch's complaint forced Dodd to amend the forms. However, press reports suggest the property to this day remains undervalued. Judicial Watch also alleges in the complaint that Dodd obtained a sweetheart deal for the property in exchange for his assistance in obtaining a presidential pardon (during the Clinton administration) and other favors for a long-time friend and business associate. The false financial disclosure forms were part of the cover-up. Dodd remains the head the Senate Banking Committee.

2. Senator John Ensign (R-NV): A number of scandals popped up in 2009 involving public officials who conducted illicit affairs, and then attempted to cover them up with hush payments and favors, an obvious abuse of power. The year's worst offender might just be Nevada Republican Senator John Ensign. Ensign admitted in June to an extramarital affair with the wife of one of his staff members, who then allegedly obtained special favors from the Nevada Republican in exchange for his silence. According to The New York Times: "The Justice Department and the Senate Ethics Committee are expected to conduct preliminary inquiries into whether Senator John Ensign violated federal law or ethics rules as part of an effort to conceal an affair with the wife of an aide..." The former staffer, Douglas Hampton, began to lobby Mr. Ensign's office immediately upon leaving his congressional job, despite the fact that he was subject to a one-year lobbying ban. Ensign seems to have ignored the law and allowed Hampton lobbying access to his office as a payment for his silence about the affair. (These are potentially criminal offenses.) It looks as if Ensign misused his public office (and taxpayer resources) to cover up his sexual shenanigans.

3. Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA): Judicial Watch is investigating a $12 million TARP cash injection provided to the Boston-based OneUnited Bank at the urging of Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank. As reported in the January 22, 2009, edition of the Wall Street Journal, the Treasury Department indicated it would only provide funds to healthy banks to jump-start lending. Not only was OneUnited Bank in massive financial turmoil, but it was also "under attack from its regulators for allegations of poor lending practices and executive-pay abuses, including owning a Porsche for its executives' use." Rep. Frank admitted he spoke to a "federal regulator," and Treasury granted the funds. (The bank continues to flounder despite Frank's intervention for federal dollars.) Moreover, Judicial Watch uncovered documents in 2009 that showed that members of Congress for years were aware that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were playing fast and loose with accounting issues, risk assessment issues and executive compensation issues, even as liberals led by Rep. Frank continued to block attempts to rein in the two Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs). For example, during a hearing on September 10, 2003, before the House Committee on Financial Services considering a Bush administration proposal to further regulate Fannie and Freddie, Rep. Frank stated: "I want to begin by saying that I am glad to consider the legislation, but I do not think we are facing any kind of a crisis. That is, in my view, the two Government Sponsored Enterprises we are talking about here, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are not in a crisis. We have recently had an accounting problem with Freddie Mac that has led to people being dismissed, as appears to be appropriate. I do not think at this point there is a problem with a threat to the Treasury." Frank received $42,350 in campaign contributions from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac between 1989 and 2008. Frank also engaged in a relationship with a Fannie Mae Executive while serving on the House Banking Committee, which has jurisdiction over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

4. Secretary of Treasury Timothy Geithner: In 2009, Obama Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner admitted that he failed to pay $34,000 in Social Security and Medicare taxes from 2001-2004 on his lucrative salary at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), an organization with 185 member countries that oversees the global financial system. (Did we mention Geithner now runs the IRS?) It wasn't until President Obama tapped Geithner to head the Treasury Department that he paid back most of the money, although the IRS kindly waived the hefty penalties. In March 2009, Geithner also came under fire for his handling of the AIG bonus scandal, where the company used $165 million of its bailout funds to pay out executive bonuses, resulting in a massive public backlash. Of course as head of the New York Federal Reserve, Geithner helped craft the AIG deal in September 2008. However, when the AIG scandal broke, Geithner claimed he knew nothing of the bonuses until March 10, 2009. The timing is important. According to CNN: "Although Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told congressional leaders on Tuesday that he learned of AIG's impending $160 million bonus payments to members of its troubled financial-products unit on March 10, sources tell TIME that the New York Federal Reserve informed Treasury staff that the payments were imminent on Feb. 28. That is ten days before Treasury staffers say they first learned 'full details' of the bonus plan, and three days before the [Obama] Administration launched a new $30 billion infusion of cash for AIG." Throw in another embarrassing disclosure in 2009 that Geithner employed "household help" ineligible to work in the United States, and it becomes clear why the Treasury Secretary has earned a spot on the "Ten Most Corrupt Politicians in Washington" list.

5. Attorney General Eric Holder: Tim Geithner can be sure he won't be hounded about his tax-dodging by his colleague Eric Holder, US Attorney General. Judicial Watch strongly opposed Holder because of his terrible ethics record, which includes: obstructing an FBI investigation of the theft of nuclear secrets from Los Alamos Nuclear Laboratory; rejecting multiple requests for an independent counsel to investigate alleged fundraising abuses by then-Vice President Al Gore in the Clinton White House; undermining the criminal investigation of President Clinton by Kenneth Starr in the midst of the Lewinsky investigation; and planning the violent raid to seize then-six-year-old Elian Gonzalez at gunpoint in order to return him to Castro's Cuba. Moreover, there is his soft record on terrorism. Holder bypassed Justice Department procedures to push through Bill Clinton's scandalous presidential pardons and commutations, including for 16 members of FALN, a violent Puerto Rican terrorist group that orchestrated approximately 120 bombings in the United States, killing at least six people and permanently maiming dozens of others, including law enforcement officers. His record in the current administration is no better. As he did during the Clinton administration, Holder continues to ignore serious incidents of corruption that could impact his political bosses at the White House. For example, Holder has refused to investigate charges that the Obama political machine traded VIP access to the White House in exchange for campaign contributions -- a scheme eerily similar to one hatched by Holder's former boss, Bill Clinton in the 1990s. The Holder Justice Department also came under fire for dropping a voter intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party. On Election Day 2008, Black Panthers dressed in paramilitary garb threatened voters as they approached polling stations. Holder has also failed to initiate a comprehensive Justice investigation of the notorious organization ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now), which is closely tied to President Obama. There were allegedly more than 400,000 fraudulent ACORN voter registrations in the 2008 campaign. And then there were the journalist videos catching ACORN Housing workers advising undercover reporters on how to evade tax, immigration, and child prostitution laws. Holder's controversial decisions on new rights for terrorists and his attacks on previous efforts to combat terrorism remind many of the fact that his former law firm has provided and continues to provide pro bono representation to terrorists at Guantanamo Bay. Holder's politicization of the Justice Department makes one long for the days of Alberto Gonzales.

6. Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL)/ Senator Roland Burris (D-IL): One of the most serious scandals of 2009 involved a scheme by former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich to sell President Obama's then-vacant Senate seat to the highest bidder. Two men caught smack dab in the middle of the scandal: Senator Roland Burris, who ultimately got the job, and Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, emissaries for Jesse Jackson Jr., named "Senate Candidate A" in the Blagojevich indictment, reportedly offered $1.5 million to Blagojevich during a fundraiser if he named Jackson Jr. to Obama's seat. Three days later federal authorities arrested Blagojevich. Burris, for his part, apparently lied about his contacts with Blagojevich, who was arrested in December 2008 for trying to sell Obama's Senate seat. According to Reuters: "Roland Burris came under fresh scrutiny... after disclosing he tried to raise money for the disgraced former Illinois governor who named him to the U.S. Senate seat once held by President Barack Obama... In the latest of those admissions, Burris said he looked into mounting a fundraiser for Rod Blagojevich -- later charged with trying to sell Obama's Senate seat -- at the same time he was expressing interest to the then-governor's aides about his desire to be appointed." Burris changed his story five times regarding his contacts with Blagojevich prior to the Illinois governor appointing him to the U.S. Senate. Three of those changing explanations came under oath.

7. President Barack Obama: During his presidential campaign, President Obama promised to run an ethical and transparent administration. However, in his first year in office, the President has delivered corruption and secrecy, bringing Chicago-style political corruption to the White House. Consider just a few Obama administration "lowlights" from year one: Even before President Obama was sworn into office, he was interviewed by the FBI for a criminal investigation of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich's scheme to sell the President's former Senate seat to the highest bidder. (Obama's Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and slumlord Valerie Jarrett, both from Chicago, are also tangled up in the Blagojevich scandal.) Moreover, the Obama administration made the startling claim that the Privacy Act does not apply to the White House. The Obama White House believes it can violate the privacy rights of American citizens without any legal consequences or accountability. President Obama boldly proclaimed that "transparency and the rule of law will be the touchstones of this presidency," but his administration is addicted to secrecy, stonewalling far too many of Judicial Watch's Freedom of Information Act requests and is refusing to make public White House visitor logs as federal law requires. The Obama administration turned the National Endowment of the Arts (as well as the agency that runs the AmeriCorps program) into propaganda machines, using tax dollars to persuade "artists" to promote the Obama agenda. According to documents uncovered by Judicial Watch, the idea emerged as a direct result of the Obama campaign and enjoyed White House approval and participation. President Obama has installed a record number of "czars" in positions of power. Too many of these individuals are leftist radicals who answer to no one but the president. And too many of the czars are not subject to Senate confirmation (which raises serious constitutional questions). Under the President's bailout schemes, the federal government continues to appropriate or control -- through fiat and threats -- large sectors of the private economy, prompting conservative columnist George Will to write: "The administration's central activity -- the political allocation of wealth and opportunity -- is not merely susceptible to corruption, it is corruption." Government-run healthcare and car companies, White House coercion, uninvestigated ACORN corruption, debasing his office to help Chicago cronies, attacks on conservative media and the private sector, unprecedented and dangerous new rights for terrorists, perks for campaign donors -- this is Obama's "ethics" record -- and we haven't even gotten through the first year of his presidency.

8. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA): At the heart of the corruption problem in Washington is a sense of entitlement. Politicians believe laws and rules (even the U.S. Constitution) apply to the rest of us but not to them. Case in point: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her excessive and boorish demands for military travel. Judicial Watch obtained documents from the Pentagon in 2008 that suggest Pelosi has been treating the Air Force like her own personal airline. These documents, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, include internal Pentagon email correspondence detailing attempts by Pentagon staff to accommodate Pelosi's numerous requests for military escorts and military aircraft as well as the speaker's 11th hour cancellations and changes. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also came under fire in April 2009, when she claimed she was never briefed about the CIA's use of the waterboarding technique during terrorism investigations. The CIA produced a report documenting a briefing with Pelosi on September 4, 2002, that suggests otherwise. Judicial Watch also obtained documents, including a CIA Inspector General report, which further confirmed that Congress was fully briefed on the enhanced interrogation techniques. Aside from her own personal transgressions, Nancy Pelosi has ignored serious incidents of corruption within her own party, including many of the individuals on this list. (See Rangel, Murtha, Jesse Jackson, Jr., etc.)

9. Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) and the rest of the PMA Seven: Rep. John Murtha made headlines in 2009 for all the wrong reasons. The Pennsylvania congressman is under federal investigation for his corrupt relationship with the now-defunct defense lobbyist PMA Group. PMA, founded by a former Murtha associate, has been the congressman's largest campaign contributor. Since 2002, Murtha has raised $1.7 million from PMA and its clients. And what did PMA and its clients receive from Murtha in return for their generosity? Earmarks -- tens of millions of dollars in earmarks. In fact, even with all of the attention surrounding his alleged influence peddling, Murtha kept at it. Following an FBI raid of PMA's offices earlier in 2009, Murtha continued to seek congressional earmarks for PMA clients, while also hitting them up for campaign contributions. According to The Hill, in April, "Murtha reported receiving contributions from three former PMA clients for whom he requested earmarks in the pending appropriations bills." When it comes to the PMA scandal, Murtha is not alone. As many as six other Members of Congress are currently under scrutiny according to The Washington Post. They include: Peter J. Visclosky (D-IN.), James P. Moran Jr. (D-VA), Norm Dicks (D-WA.), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), C.W. Bill Young (R-FL.) and Todd Tiahrt (R-KS.). Of course rather than investigate this serious scandal, according to Roll Call House Democrats circled the wagons, "cobbling together a defense to offer political cover to their rank and file." The Washington Post also reported in 2009 that Murtha's nephew received $4 million in Defense Department no-bid contracts: "Newly obtained documents...show Robert Murtha mentioning his influential family connection as leverage in his business dealings and holding unusual power with the military."

10. Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY): Rangel, the man in charge of writing tax policy for the entire country, has yet to adequately explain how he could possibly "forget" to pay taxes on $75,000 in rental income he earned from his off-shore rental property. He also faces allegations that he improperly used his influence to maintain ownership of highly coveted rent-controlled apartments in Harlem, and misused his congressional office to fundraise for his private Rangel Center by preserving a tax loophole for an oil drilling company in exchange for funding. On top of all that, Rangel recently amended his financial disclosure reports, which doubled his reported wealth. (He somehow "forgot" about $1 million in assets.) And what did he do when the House Ethics Committee started looking into all of this? He apparently resorted to making "campaign contributions" to dig his way out of trouble. According to WCBS TV, a New York CBS affiliate: "The reigning member of Congress' top tax committee is apparently 'wrangling' other politicos to get him out of his own financial and tax troubles... Since ethics probes began last year the 79-year-old congressman has given campaign donations to 119 members of Congress, including three of the five Democrats on the House Ethics Committee who are charged with investigating him." Charlie Rangel should not be allowed to remain in Congress, let alone serve as Chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, and he knows it. That's why he felt the need to disburse campaign contributions to Ethics Committee members and other congressional colleagues.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/judicial-watch-announces-list-of-washingtons-ten-most-wanted-corrupt-politicians-for-2009-2009-12-28

Judicial Watch is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Judicial Watch neither supports nor opposes candidates for public office. For more information, visit www.judicialwatch.org.




BlackListedNews.com | Headlines - December 29, 2009


About 36 percent of all Florida banks are ``problematic'' or ``troubled'' -- three times the national average -- according to a report released by BauerFinancial, a Coral Gables research firm.

This breakthrough is of major importance in the quest for magnetic 'meta-materials' with which light rays can be deflected in every possible direction. This could make it possible to produce perfect lenses and, in the fullness of time, even 'invisibility cloaks'.

“By 2020, genetics and brain simulation will be giving us personalised prescriptions for marriage, lifestyle and healthcare.” This is Henry Markram, director of the Blue Brain project in Switzerland, an attempt to reverse engineer the brain by building one from the ground up inside a supercomputer.


Israeli police have arrested Mordechai Vanunu, a technician who spent 18 years in prison for revealing details of Israel's clandestine nuclear programme.


The US has opened a covert front against 'al-Qaeda' in Yemen by offering support to the country's military operations, a US intelligence sources says.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has come down on Nestle for marketing juice drinks to children that aren’t as healthy as the company claims.

IT MIGHT sound like a contradiction in terms, but for the first time one of the main Irish consumer banks is moving to cashless banking in all its branches.






China Executes British Drug Smuggler






Clueless Liberals and Neocons Slug It Out Over Fake al-Qaeda

Kurt Nimmo | It is sad both so-called liberals and conservatives are so blindsided by propaganda and spin they cannot recognize a false flag operation when they see one.



Calls for Full-Body Screening Devices Grow After Terror Attempt

Bloomberg | Only more sophisticated devices such as low-level X-rays and millimeter-wave technology would work, said a former Federal Aviation Administration security chief.






Sen. Hatch admits GOP ’standard practice’ was to run up deficit

Raw Story | Orrin Hatch said that, during the Bush administration, “it was standard practice not to pay for things.”






NEBRASKA NEWS
Lincoln Nebraska Live Traffic Cams

Fire sweeps through North Bend, Nebraska downtown

Firefighters work to extinguish flames from a block of businesses downtown North Bend, Neb., on Dec. 28, 2009

NORTH BEND — A fire that destroyed a half-block of downtown businesses Monday apparently had been smoldering and spreading for hours in a beauty salon closed for the day. View Photos



More than 500 Nebraska firefighters attend funeral

ELKHORN -- More than 500 firefighters from six Nebraska counties filled an Elkhorn church to say goodbye to one of their own.


Services were held Tuesday for Omaha Capt. Roger Kruger. He died Dec. 23 in a crash on Interstate 80 near York after the vehicle he was in lost control on icy roads. He was 53.


Kruger worked for the Omaha and Millard fire departments. His career spanned 23 years.






Rasmussen Poll Has Ben Nelson Down 30 Points to Heineman After Health-Care Reversal



Tuesday, December 29, 2009 12:59:18 PM

A new Rasmussen poll has Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson down 30 points in a theoretical race against current Republican Governor Heineman.

Nelson's health care vote seems to be the reason. Sixty-four percent (64%) of Nebraska voters oppose the health care legislation Ben Nelson voted for, including fifty-three percent (53%) who are strongly opposed. Only 17% of Nebraska voters approve of the deal Senator Ben Nelson made to sell his vote for a special Medicaid deal. An April 2006 poll by Survey USA found him to be the Senator with the highest popularity rating, 73%, among his own constituents.





  • Kansas currently doesn't allow police officers to ticket drivers solely for not wearing their seat belt, but some legislators are pushing to change that. Not only would it emphasize safety, but would probably bring in $11 million in fines. Still, not everyone agrees.


  • Early Christmas Eve morning, thieves stole copper wire from light-rail tracks along the Gold line in Rancho Cordova, bringing train traffic to a standstill through much of Thursday. The thief or thieves appear to have used a cable cutter to cut sections of wire that normally carry 750 to 900 volts of electricity, meaning the theft was both costly and dangerous.






Yemen Exploits al-Qaeda to Get More Money from U.S.

BBC | Yemen has said it is not getting enough support from the West to tackle al-Qaeda, as details emerge of the suspected US jet bomber’s time there.






“EcoSnoop” iPhone App Designed for Ratting Out Neighbors

Take Part | There’s a tool that we normal folks can use to report environmentally negligent behavior.







December 29, 2009

Amnesty: Another Bulldozer of Our Republic
One of the latest carts in the long train of abuses of our federal government is the amnesty legislation introduced by Congressman Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), entitled, Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity. Of course, former President G.W. Bush (R) and Senator John McCain (R) advocated for similar amnesty legislation that would have had similar effects, jeopardizing the lives of millions of Americans across the States of America (among other things). It is not my intent........
http://www.newswithviews.com/Timothy/baldwin108.htm
by Attorney Timothy Baldwin


Obama Officials, Dems Support Global Socialism
Former Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean said on December 8 that “cooperation” between European socialists and the Democratic Party has “intensified significantly” over the last several years and involves “regular contact” at “Congress, Senate, party and foundation levels.” He added that “efforts have been remarkable from both sides.”.......
http://www.newswithviews.com/Kincaid/cliff378.htm
by Cliff Kincaid


Top Ten Health Scandals of 2009
2009 is another bumper crop year for health scandals, an unfortunate trend that shows no signs of improvement. To the contrary, consumers should do everything in their power to stay healthy as the Big Pharma-sponsored medical profession continues to induce millions of serious injuries and hundreds of thousands of deaths per year......
http://www.newswithviews.com/Richards/byron188.htm
by Byron Richards, CCN


Credibility in Scary Times
As I stated above, this article is unsigned with no author apparent, just like the e-mail that started the whole buzz about Hardin, Montana. Who is writing and who is putting out these disinformation e-mails, and why they are doing it, is something we need to be asking ourselves. One thing is very apparent, these people are not on our side. It would appear their motive is to muddy the waters regarding the eligibility issue and draw attention away from what is really happening with AKA and his Marxist minions.......
http://www.newswithviews.com/Stuter/stuter169.htm
by Lynn Stuter





MANILA, Philippines – For the world’s biggest rice importer, will 2010 be another 2008, a year plagued with skyrocketing rice prices amid squeezed supply?



ABS CBN News

For 2010, research groups are looking at a global rice shortage, as well as higher prices for the crop. In a report, London-based research company Business ...





‘Excuse Me...Can You Help
Me Out with Some Change?’

by Nancy Salvato, Senior Editor

Recently, I experienced a young woman with her young child –perhaps kindergarten age, who was asking commuters, “Excuse me, can you help me out with some change?” I considered reaching into my wallet, I really thought about it, but I kept walking. I did not slow down or change my mind, but I couldn’t get them out of my mind. I wondered about their circumstances. I recognize that I could find myself in similar circumstances. During the Great Depression, many hard working, educated people found themselves jobless and homeless in what seemed like the blink of an eye. Whoever could have imagined that in today’s economy, the value of a home could ever be worth less than a mortgage? Those who lose their jobs and those who default on mortgage payments may lose it all. And real estate is supposed to be a sound investment (thanks, Barney Frank and Chris Dodd). Why was this woman asking for change?



HAWAII A POPULAR CHRISTMAS VACATION SPOT


While President Barack Obama enjoys a high profile vacation on Oahu, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is being allowed to stay out of the limelight while luxuriating at the Four Seasons Hualalai resort on the Big Island.


Pelosi's very private Hawaii vacation



In stark contrast to Sarah Palin, whose Hawaii vacation was photographed and touted in the press, Speaker Nancy Pelosi is enjoying a very private luxurious time at the Four Seasons Hualalai resort on the Big Island. Andrew Walden, editor of Hawaii Free Press, reports:
Guarded by US Capitol Police bolstered by officers on loan from the Hawaii County PD, Pelosi is enjoying what Hollywood Reporter calls: "...a picture-perfect stretch of beach on the Big Island's chic Kona Coast....a private Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course and Pahu'ia, an award-winning oceanfront restaurant, $40 million worth of enhancements...20 new suites and ... its lauded Hualalai Spa."

According to the Hualalai Spa website, Pelosi may, "Enjoy complimentary pre-treatment rituals, relaxing by a quiet stream in the open-air Waiea, or Water of Life, garden. Or savour the lap pool, whirlpools, saunas, steam rooms and cold plunges, all set amidst lush greenery. (Pelosi's) choice of skin-care and massage treatments may be enjoyed outdoors in our exotic new hales, secluded for privacy.... With the guidance of (her) spa therapist, (Pelosi may) choose from more than 20 local natural ingredients - from Hawaiian sea salt to crushed macadamia nuts - which are custom-blended to create unique personalized treatments."

It is not clear how Pelosi arrived on the Big Isle. Her controversial military transport is not immediately visible amidst the forest of private jets which now crowd Kona's Keahole Airport South Tarmac. Hawaii County is hard hit by shrinking tax receipts caused by the Obama recession, but Hawaii County Police department spokesperson Chris Loos states that the department was able to aid Pelosi's security detail without canceling other scheduled enforcement activities. Loos did not provide an estimate of the expense incurred by the County PD.
Of course, Pelosi is a "progressive" who cares about the little guy, so no media figures think her luxury break is worth mentioning.

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/12/pelosis_very_private_hawaii_va.html

RELATED:



Pelosi enjoys privacy at Hualalai after Palin is hounded off Maui

by Andrew Walden


While President Barack Obama enjoys a high profile vacation on Oahu, "progressive" House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is being allowed to stay out of the limelight while luxuriating at the Four Seasons Hualalai resort on the Big Island.



Guarded by US Capitol Police bolstered by officers on loan from the Hawaii County PD, Pelosi is enjoying what Hollywood Reporter calls: "...a picture-perfect stretch of beach on the Big Island's chic Kona Coast....a private Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course and Pahu'ia, an award-winning oceanfront restaurant, $40 million worth of enhancements...20 new suites and ... its lauded Hualalai Spa."


According to the Hualalai Spa website, Pelosi may, "Enjoy complimentary pre-treatment rituals, relaxing by a quiet stream in the open-air Waiea, or Water of Life, garden. Or savour the lap pool, whirlpools, saunas, steam rooms and cold plunges, all set amidst lush greenery. (Pelosi's) choice of skin-care and massage treatments may be enjoyed outdoors in our exotic new hales, secluded for privacy.... With the guidance of (her) spa therapist, (Pelosi may) choose from more than 20 local natural ingredients – from Hawaiian sea salt to crushed macadamia nuts – which are custom-blended to create unique personalized treatments."


It is not clear how Pelosi arrived on the Big Isle. Her controversial military transport is not immediately visible amidst the forest of private jets which now crowd Kona's Keahole Airport South Tarmac. Hawaii County is hard hit by shrinking tax receipts caused by the Obama recession, but Hawaii County Police department spokesperson Chris Loos states that the department was able to aid Pelosi's security detail without canceling other scheduled enforcement activities. Loos did not provide an estimate of the expense incurred by the County PD.


A FOIA request by political watchdog group Judicial Watch last march exposed Pelosi treating the US Air Force "like her personal airline". FOX News March 10 pointed out:

In one email (Pelosi) aide Kay King complained to the military that they had not made available any aircraft the House speaker wanted for Memorial Day recess.

"It is my understanding there are NO G5s available for the House during the Memorial Day recess. This is totally unacceptable ... The Speaker will want to know where the planes are," King wrote.

The one-way flight from San Francisco to the Big Isle is 2400 miles, within the range of both the C-20 (Gulfstream III) and the C-37A (Gulfstream V) but only the C-37A could safely make the 4500 mile one-way trip from Washington, DC nonstop.


Akamai readers will of course remember how Pelosi's Congress last fall berated Detroit auto executives for flying corporate jets from Detroit to Washington to appear before Congress requesting Federal bailouts. The big three execs were forced to return to Washington a week later by car in order to get a hearing. Not Pelosi or her ultra-rich "in-group".


Pelosi's visit has not been noted in local or national media. This contrasts strikingly to the treatment meted out to another high profile Hawaii vacationer--Sarah Palin. While attempting to relax at a resort on Maui December 16 and 17, Palin, husband Todd and their children found themselves hounded by paparazzi hungry for photo bounties offered by the pro-Obama Hollywood gossip website TMZ.com. Finally they were forced to leave. Palin told Politico: "Todd and I have since cut our vacation short because the incognito attempts didn't work and fellow vacationers were bothered for the two days we spent in the sun." Palin was obligated to issue an apology for wearing a visor with the McCain campaign logo covered. Said Palin: "So much for going incognito."


The contrast between the reverential privacy granted Pelosi and the petty harassment aimed at both Palin and the Detroit auto execs is an element of the ongoing decades-long campaign of politically correct thought reform aimed at American elites. The message is simple: Toe the line or be hounded out of our circles.


Apparently some people never left high school.


http://www.hawaiifreepress.com/main/ArticlesMain/tabid/56/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/1496/Pelosi-enjoys-privacy-at-Hualalai-after-Palin-is-hounded-off-Maui.aspx



http://www.fourseasons.com/hualalai/






Leaked: Homeland Security’s Post Underwear Bomb Airplane Rules

Gizmodo | During the boarding process, the air carrier may exempt passengers who are Heads of State or Heads of Government from the measures.






Another false flag terror attack as justification for war and trampling on our freedoms

The Blood of Patriots and Tyrants | It wasn’t convenient at all that this kamikaze hid his “bomb” in his underpants.





OUR PLANET'S PROTECTIVE MAGNETOSPHERE UPDATE
About Real-Time Magnetosphere Simulation
http://www2.nict.go.jp/y/y223/simulation/realtime/index.html


DECEMBER 29, 2009 AT 6:07 PM CDT













MOON UPDATE
Current Moon Phase
http://www.die.net/moon/





"Numerological" Blue-moon event in New Year's Eve forecast


A real blue moon means the moon actually turns blue, and there is such a phenomenon, said Michael Paesler, head of the physics department at North Carolina State University.


For this to happen, he explained, the air must contain particles that are larger than usual; the particles scatter red light and give the moon a bluish tint. But they must be between 0.5 and 0.7 microns in size, or about a millionth of a meter — an incredible rarity.


So a true blue moon doesn't come around every other year. It happened when Krakatoa erupted in 1883 and killed 36,000 people. As for this New Year's Eve moon, Paesler said with a touch of disdain, "This is a numerological blue moon."





SUN UPDATE
http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/sunspots/
http://solarcycle24.com/

Classification of Solar Flares

Magnetic fields trigger solar wind


SOLAR ACTIVITY: This morning, Dec. 29th, a slow-moving coronal mass ejection (CME) lumbered over the western limb of the sun. A coronagraph onboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) recorded the eruption:


The billion-ton cloud could have come from any of several active regions now on the back side of the sun--namely, former sunspots 1035, 1036 and/or 1038. Earth is not in the cloud's path (and neither is Venus, despite how it looks in the SOHO movie) so the event will not produce any Northern Lights.
http://spaceweather.com/
Active Regions

11039 11037





EARTHQUAKE UPDATES



Latest Earthquakes Magnitude 2.5 or Greater in the United States and Adjacent Areas and Magnitude 4.5 or Greater in the Rest of the World



Update time = Wed Dec 30 0:09:14 UTC 2009

MAG UTC DATE-TIME
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km
Region
MAP 2.8 2009/12/29 23:57:34 60.309 -152.938 122.3 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 5.0 2009/12/29 23:12:20 51.987 -171.465 63.8 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 4.9 2009/12/29 22:35:32 10.055 126.474 81.3 PHILIPPINE ISLANDS REGION
MAP 2.5 2009/12/29 22:19:02 46.200 -122.175 0.0 MOUNT ST. HELENS AREA, WASHINGTON
MAP 5.3 2009/12/29 22:14:36 10.076 126.582 84.7 PHILIPPINE ISLANDS REGION
MAP 2.8 2009/12/29 19:27:25 61.463 -146.478 18.6 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.9 2009/12/29 19:26:43 60.658 -149.483 56.7 KENAI PENINSULA, ALASKA
MAP 5.0 2009/12/29 19:23:06 41.930 142.005 72.6 HOKKAIDO, JAPAN REGION
MAP 4.7 2009/12/29 15:50:24 11.037 -86.292 28.7 NEAR THE COAST OF NICARAGUA
MAP 3.2 2009/12/29 12:29:34 66.524 -157.931 20.1 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 5.1 2009/12/29 11:47:36 -36.536 -72.711 28.4 BIO-BIO, CHILE
MAP 4.8 2009/12/29 11:08:56 32.628 14.979 10.0 NEAR THE COAST OF LIBYA
MAP 5.0 2009/12/29 10:08:02 -12.530 166.480 82.7 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
MAP 3.0 2009/12/29 09:53:55 18.878 -65.015 4.8 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 2.5 2009/12/29 09:38:42 36.149 -118.059 0.5 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.6 2009/12/29 09:01:54 24.376 94.851 114.1 MYANMAR-INDIA BORDER REGION
MAP 5.0 2009/12/29 08:06:16 4.225 127.792 134.4 KEPULAUAN TALAUD, INDONESIA
MAP 2.9 2009/12/29 05:28:42 40.329 -124.457 7.7 OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.4 2009/12/29 05:16:08 18.905 -68.710 145.9 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
MAP 5.4 2009/12/29 05:12:32 -5.168 152.178 82.6 NEW BRITAIN REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
MAP 4.9 2009/12/29 04:29:52 -33.792 56.394 10.0 SOUTHWEST INDIAN RIDGE




VOLCANISM NEWS


Volcano Ash Grounds 46 Flights in Puerto Rico

Tuesday, December 29, 2009 Associated Press


SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — More than 40 commercial flights scheduled to enter and depart Puerto Rico have been canceled because of volcano ash hovering over the U.S. Caribbean territory.


Ports Authority spokeswoman Mariana Rodriguez says JetBlue, AirTran Airways, American Eagle and Continental were the majority of flights affected Tuesday night.


She said ash from the Soufriere Hills volcano in nearby Montserrat settling at 10,000 feet (3,000 meters) is causing poor visibility.


Rodriguez said operations at the Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in Isla Verde and the airports in Aguadilla and Ponce should return to normal by Wednesday.


She said 45 commercial flights and one cargo flight were canceled.




Deaths and health problems in evacuation centers around Mayon volcano

Examiner.com - ‎2 hours ago‎
Nearly 48000 residents in the volcano area have fled their homes seeking safety and shelter. According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and ...


Scientists keep eye on rumbling volcano

Anchorage Daily News - Debra Mckinney - ‎1 hour ago‎
The Mount Redoubt volcano across Cook Inlet continued to rumble Tuesday, with the alert code remaining yellow. "It's pretty steady as she ...
Thaindian.com - KSRM




CHANG
ING WEATHER PATTERNS - NEWS
National Severe Weather Map
Surface Temperature Forecast Map
www.511nebraska.org




The Arctic Oscillation Index goes strongly negative




READ MORE ...




Texas: At least 9 tornadoes touched down in storms
Houston Chronicle
23 storm — which included a tornado that damaged dozens of homes and businesses in Lufkin. The weather service said Tuesday that seven of the tornadoes were ...






SPAIN

Further flooding as Spanish rainfall reaches record books

Olive Press

The record rainfall, which has seen over 400 litres falling in many areas in under a week, caused dozens of rivers to burst their banks. ...










GLOBAL FASCISM NEWS

"Fascism should rightly be called Corporatism, as it is the merger of corporate and government power."
Benito Mussolini

Chicago CO2 Carbon Trading Exchange

"When you ask who’s the biggest winner if the bill goes through, you’ll find the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), co-founded by Hank Paulson and Al Gore. Members include Amtrak, DuPont, Ford, Oakland, Chicago, and the Iowa Farm Bureau."
http://whiskeyandgunpowder.com/cap-and-trade-shenanigans-with-the-chicago-climate-exchange/

Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) is 10% owned by Goldman Sachs (GS) and 10% owned by Generation Investment Management (GIM), an investment firm founded & chaired by Al Gore. GIM was co-founded by the former Treasury Secretary under George W. Bush and former Goldman Sachs CEO Hank Paulson.

(USA) http://www.chicagoclimatex.com/
(Europe) http://www.ecx.eu/
(China) http://www.climateexchangeplc.com/


The United Nations is just a debating society and a 'front' for banks




Putin: Russia Must Develop 'Offensive' Weapons


AFP/DefenseNews.com

Russia must develop new offensive weapons systems to counter US missile defenses and prevent Americans from feeling they can "do whatever they want," Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Dec. 29.

"To preserve the balance, we must develop offensive weapons systems, not missiles defense systems as the United States is doing," Putin was quoted by state news agencies as saying while on a working visit to Russia's far east region.

"The problems of missile defense and offensive arms are very closely linked," Putin said, according to ITAR-TASS. "By building such an umbrella over themselves, our partners could feel themselves fully secure and will do whatever they want, which upsets the balance and aggressiveness immediately increases in real politics and economics."

In September, President Barack Obama announced the United States would drop plans pushed by his predecessor, George W. Bush, but fiercely opposed by Moscow to deploy parts of its new missile shield in former Soviet bloc states Poland and the Czech Republic.

Obama, however, made clear Washington would continue to develop new ballistic missile defenses in other ways and locations. Initially, Russia cautiously welcomed the shift but said the configuration would require further study and information from the United States.

Putin's comments, coming on the heels of a similar statement by President Dmitry Medvedev, marked a toughening of Moscow's stance on strategic security relations with the United States.

"Let the Americans hand over all their information on missile defense, and we are ready to hand over all the information on offensive weapons systems," Putin said.





UFO NEWS
Mutual UFO Network (MUFON)
UFO Database

U.S. military is liaising with extraterrestrial life according to independent sources




December 28, 2009 - Independent sources have claimed an on-going set of face-to-face meetings between U.S. military officials and extraterrestrial life. The sources reveal that senior U.S. Navy officers have played a leading role in an inter-services working group responsible for the meetings, and that different extraterrestrial groups are allegedly involved. One source claims that the contact involves extraterrestrial groups known as Reptilians, and a silicon based life form dubbed ‘the Conformers’. Another source claims that the extraterrestrials are called Ebens from the Zeta Reticuli star system, but known colloquially as the Grays. A third source claims that human looking extraterrestrials representing an association of star nations are liaising with military officials. Two of the sources have been interviewed by this writer who has been aware of their claims for more than a year, and finds them credible. The similarities in these independent reports gives reason to conclude that an ongoing program of secret meetings involving senior military personal from the U.S. Navy and other military services with one or more extraterrestrial civilizations is underway.

READ MORE ...

http://www.examiner.com/x-2383-Honolulu-Exopolitics-Examiner~y2009m12d28-US-military-is-liaising-with-extraterrestrial-life-according-to-independent-sources







http://docs.google.com/File?id=ddf5x6zd_1585g67hn7d4_bNEW YORK — Johnson & Johnson is expanding a voluntary recall of Tylenol Arthritis Caplets due to consumer reports of a moldy smell that can cause nausea and stomach pain.


According to a statement on the Food and Drug Administration Web site, the New Brunswick, N.J., company is now recalling all product lots of the Arthritis Pain Caplet 100 count bottles with the red EZ-Open Cap.


Johnson & Johnson had recalled five lots of the product last month.

The health care company says the odor results from trace amounts of a chemical called 2,4,6-tribromoanisole. That chemical is believed to result from the breakdown of another chemical used to treat wooden pallets that transport and store packaging materials.


To date, the side effects, which also include vomiting and diarrhea, have been "temporary and non-serious," although the health effects of the compound have not been studied.


The recall only affects the specific lots cited. All other Tylenol Arthritis pain products remain available.


The company will reintroduce Tylenol Arthritis Pain Caplets 100 count by January after moving production to a new facility.





Amazing Photos Of Hawaii Shore Break Waves



http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1238908/Ocean-motion-Surfer-captures-mesmerising-world-waves-break-shore.html




TALK AT YOU ALL LATER!!



My News blog: The Cave

Published Version of my News Updates: Surviving the Revolution and Earthchanges







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