FAKE TERROR - THE ROAD TO WAR AND DICTATORSHIP

 This article details how terror has been used to control people through the years. From Marcus Licinius Crassus to the Bush regime, we get a long look at how patriotism has been used to no good ends.

By Michael Rivero

It's the oldest trick in the book, dating back to Roman times; creating the enemies you need. In 70 BC, an ambitious minor politician and extremely wealthy man, Marcus Licinius Crassus, wanted to rule Rome. Just to give you an idea of what sort of man Crassus really was, he is credited with invention of the fire brigade. But in Crassus' version, his fire-fighting slaves would race to the scene of a burning building whereupon Crassus would offer to buy it on the spot for a tiny fraction of it's worth. If the owner sold, Crassus' slaves would put out the fire. If the owner refused to sell, Crassus allowed the building to burn to the ground. By means of this device, Crassus eventually came to be the largest single private land holder in Rome, and used some of his wealth to help back Julius Caesar against Cicero.

Click here to read the rest of this excellent article from WhatReallyHappened

A boon to campers leaves bears unable to 'get inside the box' for a treat!

If you've ever gone camping where bears are you know how important it is to put your food in a safe place. Now, thanks to a Florida company, you can leave your food in a "bear-proof" container that will hold up to 100 pounds, anywhere you want. The bear community isn't going to like this invention, but in the long run it'll be safer for them.Less encounters with humans equals safer conditions for the bears.

New grizzly-tested coolers help bears, campers coexist

By Susan Gallagher, AP Writer

HELENA, Mont. — Keeping cold ones cold when camping in grizzly bear country may be getting a bit easier.

New coolers from a Florida company and a business in Texas that have passed federal and state tests for resistance to grizzlies are the first to be mass-produced. So, local officials willing, adventurers with a boat or a pack animal hefty enough to carry a cooler no longer must hang it 10 feet off the ground to comply with food-storage rules in the back country that grizzlies inhabit.

Click here to read the rest of this article in USA Today

Bears at the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone, Mont., failed to break into the boxes, made of the same tough plastic used in kayaks.

photo via Living With Wildlife Foundation

Here's an idea that might make a difference...

Jeff Parker, copyright 2009 Cagle Cartoons

NASA Images Find 1,750,000 Year Old Man-Made Bridge between India and Sri Lanka

(@PTI) Space images taken by NASA reveal a mysterious ancient bridge in the Palk Strait between India and Sri Lanka.

The recently discovered bridge currently named as Adam´s Bridge is made of chain of shoals, c.18 mi (30 km) long.
The bridge´s unique curvature and composition by age reveals that it is man made. The legends as well as Archeological studies reveal that the first signs of human inhabitants in Sri Lanka date back to the a primitive age, about 1,750,000 years ago and the bridge's age is also almost equivalent.
This information is a crucial aspect for an insight into the mysterious legend called Ramayana, which was supposed to have taken place in tredha yuga (more than 1,700,000 years ago).
In this epic, there is a mentioning about a bridge, which was built between Rameshwaram (India) and Srilankan coast under the supervision of a dynamic and invincible figure called Rama who is supposed to be the incarnation of the supreme.

This information may not be of much importance to the archeologists who are interested in exploring the origins of man, but it is sure to open the spiritual gates of the people of the world to have come to know an ancient history linked to the Indian mythology.

"In the eighteenth incarnation (of Lord Krishna), the Lord appeared as King Rama. In order to perform some pleasing work for the demigods, He exhibited superhuman powers by controlling the Indian Ocean and then killing the atheist King Ravana, who was on the other side of the sea" - Srimad Bhagavatam

text and photo via Lankilibrary

 

Libertarians take aim at Sotomayor’s anti-gun stance

July 16, 2009 by Libertarian Party

WASHINGTON — America’s third largest party reiterated its opposition Wednesday to the Supreme Court nomination of federal judge Sonia Sotomayor after the nominee refused to give a firm answer on whether individuals have the right of self-defense.

“Is there a constitutional right to self-defense?” Sotomayor asked when questioned by Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) whether or not the Constitution guaranteed him the right of self-defense. “ I can’t think of one. I could be wrong.”

“Whether you agree with her position or not, Judge Sotomayor has had no problem stating that things not directly found in the Constitution are ‘settled law.’  That’s why it’s troubling that when confronted with a constitutionally-enshrined principle she disagrees with, the right to keep and bear arms for the defense of one’s rights, things are suddenly muddled and up for debate,” said Donny Ferguson, Libertarian National Committee Communications Director.

To read the rest of this article from SmallGovTimes click here.

Chihuahua called Smokey gets barbecue fork stuck in head!

X-rays show the three-inch long prongs embedded in the dog's brain after an accident at a garden party in the US.

The 12-week-old puppy was playing at the family party when a fork snapped in half on the grill, flew through the air and stuck into its head.

Before his owners could get to him, he ran into nearby woods.

Luckily two days later its owner Hughie Wagers found Smokey cowering in the undergrowth and immediately rushed to the vet's.

Michelle Duncum, 30, was on duty at the Cumberland Valley Animal Hospital, in London, Kentucky, when Smokey's owner arrived.

Photo By: SWNS

To read the rest of this article from The Telegraph click here.

Here's some Creepy Vintage Ads...

Demonic Little Girl                                          Demonic Ginger Kid

 

What were companies in the 50s and 60s thinking when they created these ads? These are so creepy and disturbing that there could be no other explanation than the involvement of drugs, evil or insanity when they were created. If these ads actually managed to make products sell, the world 40-50 years ago was a messed up place.

To see a whole lot more creepy vintage ads click here to go to Guidespot

Photos via Vintage Advertising (Pool) and the following...

Anonymous troll bloggers that malign others can be prosecuted

I want to give a special thanks to Sue Scheff, the co-author of "Google Bomb" soon to be released in bookstores everywhere, for her help in what to do about trolls. She sent me this article this morning. I've had to deal with a troll/blogger with his own web site for over a month now. He's anonymously attacked me thinking he can get away with it. Every post he's made about me has been saved for evidence and if he ever dares to crawl out from his cave, he better be prepared to suffer the full letter of the law for his lying, slanderous, and malicious posts.

This local troll blogger knows who he is so I'm not going to give his web site any publicity. Every hateful post this coward makes is going to be used against him someday. I do want this anonymous coward to step forth and say who he is. Then we'll see what the courts have to say. So what do you say troll? Are you ready to face the law?

By Marie Parente/Daily News columnist

Milford Daily News

The past few months, several published comments on local newspaper articles by anonymous posters appear to have "crossed the line." One wonders whether they believe they are contributing to a forum, offering constructive criticism or simply intend to inflict pain, damage community standing and humiliate targeted victims.

The anonymous posters use tag names and in several cases may have crossed legal lines by using or feigning the identity of other persons.

Before blogging and published comments on newspaper articles became popular, critics responded to local issues in signed Letters to the Editor.

I am encouraged by recent court cases in which judges have recognized that attempting to malign another person, anonymously or in the public domain, is not protected speech.

Read the rest of the article here.

image via Google Images

Sickening Amounts of Healthcare Lobbying

This is why Americans don't stand a chance for real healthcare reform. The rich have the resources to suppress the poor (who need health care) and to control our lives. It's not about what's best for America...it's all about what's best for Big Industry and their lapdog lobbyists...

Source: Washington Post, July 6, 2009

The healthcare industry is waging a "record-breaking influence campaign," spending "more than $1.4 million a day on lobbying," reports the Washington Post. "The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) doubled its spending to nearly $7 million in the first quarter of 2009, followed by Pfizer, with more than $6 million" spent in just three months. Among the lobbyists are many former Congressional staffers and even former members of Congress, including Dick Armey and Richard Gephardt. The impact is illustrated by a recent meeting in the office of Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus, which "included two former Baucus chiefs of staff: David Castagnetti, whose clients include PhRMA and America's Health Insurance Plans, and Jeffrey A. Forbes, who represents PhRMA, Amgen, Genentech, Merck and others." The Post "identified more than 350 former government aides, each representing an average of four firms or trade groups." PhRMA leads "the pack in spending and employs 49 former government staff members among its 136 lobbyists." Many of the major lobbyists "remain opposed to the public-insurance option" supported by the Obama administration. PhRMA's head, former Congressman Billy Tauzin, finds the Congress-drug industry revolving door "pretty normal." He asked, "Is it a distortion of baseball to hire coaches who have played baseball?"

If Palin runs for the White House guess who benefits?

A ray of hope – or colonial exploitation?

As you sip your coffee or tea this Tuesday morning, here's a subject that everyone has an opinion on; global warming (or if you prefer, climate warming).

But what about the idea of world corporations getting together and basically colonizing parts of the planet (Africa in this example)? Hmmmm.....

By Adam on July 14, 2009

With the United Nations Climate Change Conference now less than six months away, climate scientists remain, at best, 'cautiously optimistic' about the political efforts to prevent runaway climate change - and at worse, devastatingly sceptical. But whilst the 15,000+ politicians and bureaucrats who will be at Copenhagen prepare themselves for some hard negotiating, work on potential 'technological solutions' continues apace. Leaving aside some of the wackier geo-engineering projects, the focus is very much on renewable energy.

News today that a grouping of 12 corporate giants has sealed a deal to develop an enormous solar plant in North Africa has been broadly welcomed as a positive step by government and NGO experts. Greenpeace UK's chief scientist, for example, has stated that the so-called 'Desertec' project is "just the kind of innovation we need if we're going to beat climate change."

Click here to read the rest of this article from OneClimate

photo by Mike Baird

Being stupid should hurt: Texting teen falls into manhole

By Bernie Mooney

When I was a kid and I did something stupid and got hurt, the response of my parents was usually, “Serves you right.” Had I fallen into an open manhole, I never would have lived it down. There would have been hails of derisive laughter from friends and family for months afterward. To quote Bill Cosby, “C'mere. Let me show you my dumb kid.”

Click here to read the rest and to see a video of the teen explaining what happened to her. Her Mom makes a comment too. 

 Go to Bernie's Home Page

NY Changing Culture Examiner

Cheney accused of running an illegal assassination ring

Cheney's secret CIA plan

From The War Room

By Alex Koppelman

In the latest twist in a story that rocked Washington over the weekend, the Wall Street Journal reported today that the Central Intelligence Agency program recently shut down by current director Leon Panetta was an attempt to kill or capture al-Qaida leaders. A 2001 presidential finding authorized such an endeavor. The Ford administration banned assassination of foreign leaders in the 1970s.

Panetta informed members of two congressional intelligence committees about the secretive CIA directive on June 24, a day after he terminated the effort. Democratic lawmakers were especially roiled by the revelations, which came in the wake of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's controversial claims that the intelligence agency has lied to lawmakers.

What really kicked the story into high gear was the revelation that it had been Vice President Dick Cheney who instructed the CIA to keep the program hidden from Congress. (It also revived interest in a staggering, earlier report by the New Yorker's Sy Hersh, who had previously reported allegations that Cheney ran an assassination ring during his time in office.) Click here to read the rest of the story at Salon.com

 Watch a funny clip from HBO's 'Real Time With Bill Maher,' featuring "Dick Cheney, The Notorious VP" (photo shown here) and the gangsta anthem "Go F**k Yourself."  (Watch video clip)

image of Cheney via about.com : Political Humor

Is this how you feel on Mondays?

 I don't know what it is, but Mondays tend to be tough. Perhaps it's because you partied too hard and are faced with the after effects. Monday also signifies the start of a long work week. When I first wake up I drink lots of coffee so that I can get my sluggish ass moving...now here's a little information on this charming animal called a Blobfish:

The Blobfish inhabits the deep waters off the coasts of Australia and Tasmania.

Due to the inaccessibility of its habitat, it’s rarely seen by humans. Blobfish are found at depths where the pressure is several dozens of times higher than at sea level.

To remain buoyant, the flesh of the Blobfish is primarily a gelatinous mass with a density slightly less than water; which allows the fish to float above the sea floor without expending energy on swimming.

The relative lack of muscle is not a disadvantage as it primarily swallows edible matter that floats by in front it.

More Information on Wikipedia: (Blobfish)

Study cites danger of zinc poisoning from denture creams

By Dave Stancliff/For the Times-Standard

Posted: 07/12/2009 01:31:43 AM PDT

If you use denture cream, you might want to sit down while you read this. Remember the old saying, “What you don't know won't hurt you?” That's not the case with some denture creams.

Glaxo Smith Kline, the maker of PoliGrip and Super PoliGrip, and Proctor & Gamble, the makers of Fixodent, are being sued because their products contain zinc, a potentially harmful element when taken in high doses.

Doctors say too much zinc drives down copper levels in the body, affects the spinal cord and makes it hard for people to walk. In a 2008 study published by the Journal of Neurology, the authors said long-term denture cream overuse caused zinc poisoning in four patients, which resulted in neurological problems for all of them.

Zinc-containing denture creams are the center of a growing controversy that suggests their use does cause copper deficiency, neurological problems, and a nerve disorder called neuropathy. Click here to read the rest.

image via Google Images

Have you heard the one about the 'Dear John' letter?

 There's nothing like a twist to an old stereotype. I was stumbling along the web when I ran across this clever take on the "Dear John" genre. Frankly I never heard of the Gather web site, but it appears to be something like FaceBook or MySpace. Enjoy...

Paula C. (I'm not sure which of these ladies is Paula, but it's the only pic posted on the site) is from Bryant, Arkansas, and she posted the following humorous story on her Gather page:

  A Marine stationed in Afghanistan recently received a "Dear John" letter from his girlfriend back home. It read as follows:

 The Marine, with hurt feelings, asked his fellow Marines for any snapshots of their girlfriends, sisters, ex-girlfriends, aunts, cousins, etc. In addition to the picture of Becky, Ricky included all the other pictures of the pretty gals he had collected from his buddies. There were 57 photos in that envelope...along with this note:

 

Childhood dreams are this photographers muse...

“My images are not photoshop collages.I use photoshop to finesse details and to adjust color and contrast for printing.I use friends and family members as actors and crew.Everyone works for free. We do it for fun.” says Joshua Hoffine whose eye catching artworks may remind us of our very own childhood fears!

Click here to see some photo art that will creep you out, yet leave you wanting more from Scoothbrush.com

Meet Won Park - The Master of Origami Paper Folding

ONE DOLLAR KOI

Origami is the traditional Japanese art of paper folding. The goal of this art is to create a representation of an object using geometric folds and crease patterns preferably without the use of gluing or cutting the paper, and using only one piece of paper.

Won Park is the master of Origami. He is also called the “money folder”, a practitioner of origami whose canvas is the United States One Dollar Bill. Bending, twisting, and folding, Won Park creates life-like shapes inspired by objects living and not– both in stunning detail. Click here to see more at The Design Inspiration

ONE DOLLAR CRAB

GOP's youngest Hatemonger John Avlon speaks out

 By John Avlon

“There is a culture war going on inside the Republican Party,” says one of the attendees, Lenny McAllister, a co-founder of HipHopRepubicans.com.

“For example, you've got the Christian right—including some from the Jimmy Swaggart crowd that have judged others publicly on family values only to cry 'I have sinned' themselves somewhere down the road—and then you have the folks that understand that you can have strong conservative principles but you can't create a time portal to take us culturally back to the 1950s.... At some point, we will see one of two things from my party: either a decline that comes from our inability to move away from the image of an older, exclusive, white-males-only party or to a party that befits the Party of Lincoln, one of more diversity that reflects America today.”

A spokesman for Shay’s most important supporter, the governor of her home state, Louisiana’s Bobby Jindal, said his boss was traveling and couldn’t comment on these new details about Shay. But one of her better-known Facebook friends, conservative activist Grover Norquist, was keeping his distance.

“Grover's aware of the two candidates, but he doesn't really have a dog in a race,” said a spokesman. “He's friends with Audra on Facebook like he's friends with everybody else. He accepts all friendships."

Shay’s most recent post on her Facebook quotes the 23rd Psalm (“Yea, though I walk through the shadow of death, I will fear no evil…”)—she’s apparently in full victim/martyr mode, a far cry from the jaunty confidence she just displayed a few days ago in the face of the “coons” controversy (“amazed at all the fuss so here is what you need to know.

The 6th song on the new Billy Currington CD is the most awesome song!”). Tomorrow’s vote will resonate beyond its usual dimensions. At a time when the GOP is increasingly old and regionally isolated, it is up to young Republicans to modernize the party. This requires confronting the mistakes of the past—and turning the page.

John P. Avlon is the author of Independent Nation: How Centrists Can Change American Politics. He writes a weekly column for The Daily Beast and is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. Previously, he served as chief speechwriter for New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and was a columnist and associate editor for The New York Sun.

article and art via The Daily Beast

Interesting Carnival Posters available at Phreequesh

 

                                                                                

 

To see more posters, with drop down menus of carny acts click here.