Political opportunists seize upon tragedy to attack Second Amendment

­by Paul Joseph Watson

Infowars.com­

Citizens protest the banks-imposed debts.

Within hours of the tragic ‘Batman’ shooting in Aurora, Colorado, political opportunists have seized upon the incident to push for gun control, with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg demanding that both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama “stand up and tell us what they’re going to do about” mass shootings.

Exactly as we predicted in our earlier article, leftists have wasted no time in exploiting the actions of a lone lunatic for political grist, with Bloomberg calling on the two presidential candidates to crack down on gun rights.

We knew ghouls like Bloomberg would rush to exploit this tragedy to try and crush the right to self defense.

Quite how either Romney or Obama have the power to reverse a Hollywood- inspired culture that serves up lashings of violence to young people like turkey at Thanksgiving is anyone’s guess.

In addition, the notion that either of the presidential candidates can put a halt to a juggernaut pharmaceutical industry that doles out violence-causing SSRI drugs to youngsters like penny candy is clearly asinine.

“I mean, there’s so many murders with guns every day,” said Bloomberg. “It’s just gotta stop. And instead of these two people, President [Barack] Obama and Governor [Mitt] Romney talking in broad things about, they want to make the world a better place. OK. Tell us how. And this is a problem. No matter where you stand on the Second Amendment, no matter where you stand on guns, we have a right to hear from both of them, concretely, not just in generalities, specifically, what are they going to do about guns?”

Bloomberg told WOR News Talk Radio 710. Bloomberg was followedin his idiocy by CNN host and all-round smarm-merchant Piers Morgan, who in a series of tweets hastily seized upon the tragedy to promote his lust for disarming the general public.

“America has got to do something about its gun laws. Now is the time,” said Morgan.

“Lunatics like this will always try and get guns. It should be 100,000 times harder than it is for them to do so. That’s my point,” he added.

Perhaps the more fundamental question that needs to be asked as to why America keeps experiencing mass shootings, when as recently as twenty years ago they were few and far between, is to what extent our sick culture and entertainment industry is contributing to the general malaise and unfeeling psychosis that seems to have gripped the younger generations?

Why were there so few mass shootings just two decades ago compared to now? Has the number and availability of guns increased substantially?

No. Is the sewer pipe we call Hollywood and the entertainment industry pumping out sicker, more nihilistic and more violence-strewn films than ever before? Yes.

As numerous observers ­have noted, the recent Batman films have contained unnerving amounts of violence that seem to serve little purpose other than to appease a bloodthirsty craving for gore and brutality amongst young people, who have had such sickness foisted upon them through movies, entertainment, video games and popular music.

As Jenny McCartney notes in the Telegraph, we have been turned into a society seduced by sadism.

This sadism is also more accessible to children and young people than ever before. Many people today are asking what a 6-year-old child was doing at a midnight screening of a movie?

In addition, the fact that these kind of movies are able to generate such a level of suspended disbelief that victims thought the shooting was initially part of the movie, is a shocking example of how much power the big screen has to warp minds.

It’s also now come to light that Warner Bros paired the Batman movie with a trailer for a film which shows “a gangster with a machine gun shooting up people in a movie theater from behind the big screen.”

Once again, before we even know anything about the 24-year-old shooter James Holmes, the establishment media and leftist political operatives are rushing to denounce gun rights as the culprit behind the tragedy, once again failing to address the underlying root cause – a sadistic, death obsessed culture that allows young men to be drawn into bizarre fantasy worlds where violence is seen as an alluring adventure.

by Ethan A. Huff, staff writer

(NaturalNews) As fast food giant McDonald’s gets ready to open its largest restaurant in the world at Olympic Park in London (http://www.huffingtonpost.com), the London Assembly, an elected government body that holds the London Mayor accountable to his promises, has voted in favor of calling for an official ban on both McDonald’s and Coca-Cola from the 2012 Olympic Games.

Because many of the products offered by both McDonald’s and Coca-Cola are filled with processed sugar, artificial chemicals, and unhealthy fats, and are linked to causing childhood obesity and other illnesses, the London Assembly believes the International Olympic Committee has a responsibility to nix these companies from sponsoring the Games. Hosting a lineup of the world’s most talented athletes while peddling junk food to the masses, in other words, is a hypocritical position to take, according to the Assembly.

“London won the right to host the 2012 Games with the promise to deliver a legacy of more active, healthier children across the world,” said Jenny Jones, the London Assembly member who initially proposed the motion to ban the two food giants from participating in the Games. “Yet the same International Olympic Committee (IOC) that awarded the Games to London persists in maintaining sponsorship deals with the purveyors of high calorie junk that contribute to the threat of an obesity epidemic.”

Jones’ proposal makes plenty of logical sense. But the biggest problem with it; however, is that McDonald’s and Coca-Cola happen to be two of the largest sponsors of the Olympic Games — and they have been involved with the Olympic Games for quite some time. Without McDonald’s and Coca-Cola, the Olympic Games would be in some serious financial trouble, which says a lot about the absurd amount of influence these corporations and many others have over the world’s institutions.

McDonald’s, Coca-Cola have long been top-tier Olympic Games sponsors

According to the Huffington Post, Coca-Cola is the Olympic Games’ longest-running sponsor, having contributed to its perpetuity since 1928. McDonald’s has a long legacy with the Olympic Games as well, having contributed large sums of sponsorship dollars since the mid-1970s.

As contradictory as this truly is, two of the world’s largest junk food purveyors play a major role in maintaining the existence of the world’s largest demonstration of athleticism and vibrant physical health.

The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AMRC) seems to agree that the partnership between the Olympic Games and both McDonald’s and Coca-Cola is disconcerting, as this particular group continues to be one of the most outspoken critics of IOC’s conflicting alliance with McDonald’s and Coca-Cola. According to AMRC, allowing these two fast food companies to be the official face of food at the Olympic Games “sends out the wrong message (to children).”

In defense of their presence at the Games, both Coca-Cola and McDonald’s have tried to highlight their many “healthy” food and drink offerings while reiterating the importance of individuals making their own food choices without resorting to censorship. But the latter recommendation will be somewhat difficult for attendees of the Games to follow; however, both McDonald’s and Coca- Cola have reportedly been given exclusive rights to sell their food and beverage offerings at the Games.

As far as Olympic athletes are concerned, many will not be partaking in the junk food fest, according to Marco Cardinale, Head of Sports Science and Research of the British Olympic Association. During a recent interview with Telegraph Sport, Cardinale said he would be “very surprised” if any Olympic athletes decided to feast on a McDonald’s hamburger and a Coke during the Games, despite both companies’ insinuations in advertising campaigns that they would be “feeding” the Games, including its athletes. (­http://www.telegraph.co.uk)

Meanwhile, the IOC seems unfazed by all the controversy, and has no immediate or apparent plans to ditch either McDonald’s or Coca-Cola. So you can expect to see plenty of tantalizing images filled with “refreshing” Coca-Cola sodas and McDonald’s Big Macs featured on your television screens during the Games. And as intended, this propaganda campaign will give millions, if not billions, of children the false impression that eating these foods will help them one day become strong Olympic athletes.

by The American Dream

When most people think about America’s debt problem, they think of the debt of the federal government. But that is only part of the story. The sad truth is that debt slavery has become a way of life for tens of millions of American families. Over the past several decades, most Americans have willingly allowed themselves to become enslaved to debt. These days, most of us are busy either going into even more debt or paying off the debt that we have accumulated in the past.

When your finances are dominated by debt, it makes it really hard to ever get ahead. Incredibly, 43 percent of all American families spend more than they earn each year. Even while median household income continues to decline (now less than $50,000 a year), median household debt continues to go up. According to the Federal Reserve, median household debt in America has risen to $75,600.

Many Americans spend decades caught in the trap of debt slavery. Large numbers of them never even escape at all and die in debt. It can be a lot of fun to spend lots of money and go into lots of debt, but it can be absolutely soul crushing to toil and labor for years paying off those debts while making others wealthy in the process.

Hopefully this article will inspire many people to try to escape the chains of debt slavery once and for all.

Because the truth is that the American people need a wake up call. Consumer borrowing rose by another $19.3 billion in December.

Right now it is sitting at a grand total of $2.5 trillion according to the Federal Reserve.

Overall, consumer debt in America has increased by a whopping 1700% since 1971.

We always criticize the federal government for going into so much debt, but we rarely criticize ourselves for our own addiction to debt.

Debt slavery is destroying millions of lives all across this country, and it is imperative that we educate the American people about the dangers of all this debt.

The following are 30 facts about debt in America that will absolutely blow your mind….

Credit Card Debt

#1 Today, 46% of all Americans carry a credit card balance from month to month.

#2 Overall, Americans are carrying a grand total of $798 billion in credit card debt.

#3 If you were alive when Jesus was born and you spent a million dollars every single day since then, you still would not have spent $798 billion by now.

#4 Right now, there are more than 600 million active credit cards in the United States.

#5 For households that have credit card debt, the average amount of credit card debt is an astounding $15,799.

#6 If you can believe it, one out of every seven Americans has at least 10 credit cards.

#7 The average interest rate on a credit card that is carrying a balance is now up to 13.10 percent.

#8 According to the credit card calculator on the Federal Reserve website, if you have a $10,000 credit card balance and you are being charged a rate of 13.10 percent and you only make the minimum payment each time, it will take you 27 years to pay it off and you will end up paying back a total of $21,271.

#9 There is one credit card company out there, First Premier, that charges interest rates of up to 49.9 percent. Amazingly, First Premier has 2.6 million customers.

Auto Loan Debt

#10 The length of auto loans in America just keeps getting longer and longer. If you can believe it, 45 percent of all new car loans being made today are for more than 6 years.

#11 Approximately 70 percent of all car purchases in the United States involve an auto loan.

#12 A subprime auto loan bubble is steadily building. Today, 45 percent of all auto loans are made to subprime borrowers. At some point that is going to be a massive problem.

Mortgage Debt

#13 Total home mortgage debt in the United States is now about 5 times larger than it was just 20 years ago.

#14 Mortgage debt as a percentage of GDP has more than tripled since 1955.

#15 According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, approximately 8 million Americans are at least one month behind on their mortgage payments.

#16 Historically, the percentage of residential mortgages in foreclosure in the United States has tended to hover between 1 and 1.5 percent. Today, it is up around 4.5 percent.

#17 According to Dylan Ratigan, 46 percent of all mortgaged properties in Florida are underwater, 50 percent of all mortgaged properties in Arizona are underwater and 63 percent of all mortgaged properties in Nevada are underwater.

#18 Overall, nearly 29 percent of all homes with a mortgage in the United States are underwater.

#19 If you can believe it, the mortgage lenders now have more equity in U.S. homes than the American people do.

Medical Debt

#20 Medical debt is a major problem for a growing number of Americans. One study discovered that approximately 41 percent of all working age Americans either have medical bill problems or are currently paying off medical debt.

#21 Sadly, the number of Americans that are protected by health insurance continues to decline. An all-time record 49.9 million Americans do not have any health insurance at all right now, and the percentage of Americans covered by employer-based health plans has fallen for 11 years in a row.

#22 But even if you do have health insurance, there is still a good chance that you could end up with huge medical debt problems.

According to a report published in The American Journal of Medicine, medical bills are a major factor in more than 60 percent of the personal bankruptcies in the United States. Of those bankruptcies that were caused by medical bills, approximately 75 percent of them involved individuals that actually did have health insurance.

Student Loan Debt

#23 Total student loan debt in the United States is rapidly approaching 1 trillion dollars.

#24 If you went out right now and starting spending one dollar every single second, it would take you more than 31,000 years to spend one trillion dollars.

#25 In America today, approximately two-thirds of all college students graduate with student loan debt.

#26 The average student loan debt load is now approximately $25,000.

#27 After adjusting for inflation, U.S. college students are borrowing about twice as much money as they did a decade ago.

#28 One survey found that 23 percent of all college students actually use credit cards to pay for tuition or fees.

#29 The student loan default rate has nearly doubled since 2005.

­#30 Student loans made to directly to parents have increased by 75 percentsince the 2005-2006 academic year.

At this point, most Americans are up to their eyeballs in debt.

According to a recent study conducted by the BlackRock Investment Institute, the ratio of household debt to personal income in the United States is now 154 percent.

Our entire economy has become based on credit.

Do you need a car?

Just get an auto loan.

Do you need a house?

Just get a mortgage.

Do you need to fill up your house with stuff?

Just get a credit card.

Do you need an education?

Just get a student loan.

In fact, if you are anything like a typical American, you probably have a mortgage you can barely afford, you probably have at least one auto loan, you probably have several credit card balances and you probably have a student loan that you deeply regret.

So what should you do if you are drowning in debt?

First, make a firm decision that you are going to break the chains of debt slavery once and for all.

Secondly, come up with a plan to reduce your debt. Paying off debt that carries a high rate of interest first (such as credit card debt) is usually a good idea.

The big financial institutions want to get us into as much debt as possible, because all of this debt makes them incredibly wealthy.

Don’t play their game.

Yes, that may mean that you may have to put off certain purchases until you can come up with the money, but in the long run you will be much better off.

So do any of you have any debt slavery stories to share? Please feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts below….

by Paul Joseph Watson
Infowars.com

CEO Mark Zuckerberg

Citing the need to watch for potential sex offenders, Facebook is using software that tracks private conversations for suspicious behavior and keywords before alerting Facebook employees who then decide whether to pass the information on to police.

The revelation was divulged during a Reuters interview with the social networking giant’s Chief Security Officer Joe Sullivan.

Despite the article acknowledging the fact that Internet-related sex crimes against children are on the decrease, the story cites a barrage of cases where children have been groomed online before revealing that Facebook “users could be unnerved about the extent to which their conversations are reviewed, at least by computer programs.”

The software used by Facebook to monitor conversations works by ­searching “for improper communication” and analyzing “patterns of behavior.”

Words or phrases considered vulgar or an attempt to exchange personal information are red flagged and brought to the attention of Facebook employees, who then decide whether the content is worthy of being brought to the attention of law enforcement.

Too many messages sent without response also sets off an alarm that characterizes the content as suspicious.

The article does not divulge whether or not archives of chat records are stored and for what length of time, but adds that similar software is used by other social networking websites.

On its website, Facebook acknowledges that it shares information about users even in the absence of a court order or other legal request.

“We may also share information when we have a good faith belief it is necessary to prevent fraud or other illegal activity, to prevent imminent bodily harm, or to protect ourselves and you from people violating our Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. This may include sharing information with other companies, lawyers, courts or other government entities.”

Facebook has been caught in a number of privacy controversies in recent years.

Back in February, the company angrily denied a report by the Sunday Times which claimed Facebook was secretly reading texts sent by users of its Android app.

The U.S. government is actively involved in soliciting information from Facebook. Last month, the State Department issued a procurement request seeking tools that can provide “deep analysis of topics, conversations, networks, and influencers of the global social web.”

Privacy advocates like Wikileaks’ Julian Assange have repeatedly warned that social networks like Facebook and Twitter are little more than huge spying databases used by intelligence agencies to glean personal information.

Paul Joseph Watson is the editor and writer for Prison Planet.com.

He is the author of Order Out Of Chaos. Watson is also a regular fill-in host for The Alex Jones Show and Infowars Nightly News.

­by Marvin Ramírez and wire services

Above: Sheriff Ross Mirarimi thanks the support he has received from the community. Below: Eliana López testifies at the San Francisco Ethics Commission. (PHOTOS COURTESY LUKE THOMAS, FOGCITYJOURNAL.COMvention)­

ANALYSIS/OPINION – A marital dispute, that dragged on for six months, pitting the San Francisco political machine against the recently-elected San Francisco Sheriff, Ross Mirkarimi, has been extended until August 16.

At a cost costly trial utilizing taxpayers money, Mirkarimi is being charged with official misconduct for leaving a bruise on his wife arm after an argument. The official action for such a minor incident has made many wonder if there are any ulterior motives on the part of Mayor Ed Lee and his political ‘apparatus.’

After two days of testimony that ended Thursday night, July 19, the San Francisco Ethics Commission will reconvene next month to decide whether to strip Mirkarimi of his position after a solid win in last fall’s election for the position.

“Official misconduct,” as defined in the City Charter, is already a term so confusing and convoluted, that even the commissioners and lawyers involved are not clear to how to prosecute or defend, and whether it even applies to Mirkarimi’s case.

Mirkarimi was charged nearly six months ago with domestic violence against his wife, Eliana López, a native of Venezuela, after Mirkarimi allegedly held her right arm so strongly during an argument, as to leave a visible bruise.

A video taken on the suggestion of López’s neighbor, Ivory Madison, who identified herself to as a lawyer-friend, would be saved as evidence in a possibility of a divorce. Madison called the police against the will of López, causing the arrest of the sheriff, which lead to three misdemeanor domestic violence-related charges.

Mayor Lee consequently brought the official misconduct charges against Mirkarimi after he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of involuntary imprisonment, which, in his case, seemed to mean preventing his wife Eliana López from leaving the house during the incident, which occurred during a New Year’s argument between the couple. Lee suspended Mirkarimi without pay in March, while according to witnesses, the mayor allegedly offered him another city position – through a third party – in exchange for his resignation, which caused the defense to accuse the mayor of perjury.

Mayor Lee was caught in a contradiction during his testimony under oath in this regard. (The Ethics Commission denied the defense to subpoena the witnesses, including Mayor Lee).

Mirkarimi declined to resign, and instead decided to fight the charges, claiming that the incident was not domestic violence and that it did not amount to “official misconduct,” citing repeatedly that the incident was a private and personal matter between himself and his wife.

To avoid damage to his career and further stress on his family – he and López have a three-year-old son, Theo – and a painful trial, Mirkarimi pleaded guilty to one charge of false imprisonment in March, thinking the matter was settled and he could get back to his new job serving the City of San Francisco, according to sources.

But instead, the mayor charged him with official misconduct, a charge that if found guilty, would strip Mirkarimi from the sheriff position.

Because the judge prohibited husband and wife from seeing or communicating with each other, Mirkarimi and López have not spoken to one another since March. At press time, they were asking the court to lift the protective order so the couple could live together again. Experts predicted that the order would be lifted. Previous Sheriff Mike Hennessy, now retired, many deputies, and a huge segment of the public, including Hispanic and African American community leaders, have come out in support of Mirkarimi.

As previously reported by KPFA, social justice advocates are asking what is to become of San Francisco Sheriff Mike Hennessey’s groundbreaking legacy of redemptive rather than retributive justice if newly elected Sheriff Mirkarimi is forced from office. Upon his retirement, Sheriff Hennessey endorsed then Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi to take his place.

After Mirkarimi’s decision to plead guilty to a misdemeanor in the domestic violence trial, which would allow him to legally remain in office, the San Francisco Chronicle reported this conversation with Hennessey: “My opinion is that he should remain in the job and be given a chance to show what he can do with the office. I think he’s being punished accordingly by the justice system,” said Hennessey, who has been lauded by victims’ advocacy groups over the years for domestic violence services and programs that began under his watch.

While admitting guilt to the crime of false imprisonment is serious, Hennessey said, it should not automatically disqualify Mirkarimi from holding office. “During my time as sheriff, I hired many people with criminal records who have done outstanding jobs for the department.

“Oftentimes, you have to look at the whole issue of rehabilitation and redemption, he added. KPFA Weekend News Host Cameron Jones said “San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee suspended Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi this week, after Mirkarimi brought his costly and sensational trial on domestic violence charges to an end by pleading guilty to a single misdemeanor charge – false imprisonment – which, in his case, seemed to mean preventing his wife Eliana López from leaving the house during a New Year’s argument. López has repeatedly asserted that her husband did not abuse her. Mayor Lee demanded that Mirkarimi resign, even though the misdemeanor conviction does not legally oblige him to do so.

When Mirkarimi refused, Lee launched an untested procedure to force him out. If the City’s Ethics Commission refers a decision to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, it will require 9 of the 11 supervisors votes to oust Mirkarimi. KPFA’s Ann Garrison has this report on the pushback against Mayor Lee, in support of Mirkarimi.

Why is Mayor Lee acting so coldly, heartlessly and without mercy in this case?

­Let’s not forget that the Sheriff position is the highest authority in the county, and the only constitutional authority. The rest are corporate code and statute enforcers.

In other words, money collectors for the international creditors: the international bankers. And I bet you, there is a lot of corruption in the City government, but is hard to prove. Have you noticed why the Sheriff doesn’t go around giving people tickets?

by S. D. Wells

Ever notice when you meet someone who eats mainly organic, who works out often, is financially stable and always in that “sharing” mode, that no matter what happens around them, they stay in that “gear,” that energetic and positive attitude just stays illuminated and seems to levitate over the negativity? Some people just seem to reach their potential every day, in almost every way.

If you haven’t noticed this, start paying attention, because they’re out there, and they are loving life. There is also a reason many people never reach their potential in life, never finalizing that idea that would have made them wealthy, and they’re just kind of “getting by,” not really applying themselves or making the most of their opportunities and gifts. (http://www.fi.edu/learn/brain/exercise.html/)

Believe it or not, a fairly rigid diet of organic food, drinks, herbs, vitamins, minerals, Dead Sea salts and natural spring water enables human beings to reach their ultimate HEALTH POTENTIAL and use more than 15 percent of their BRAIN each day. (http://skeptics.stackexchange.com)

Most people who do not consume these foods, supplements and spring water daily often use the same excuse when confronted with the organic choice: “It’s too expensive.”

This is simply NOT TRUE. Organic food is only more expensive when you shop at stores which either cater to processed food lovers or high end organic/health supply stores. Many mid-size grocers like Trader Joes and local farmer’s markets are quite reasonable, and even Whole Foods offers many organic items at the same prices you would find the “bad” foods at if shopping the big chain grocers like Farm Fresh, Food Lion and Kroger.

Embrace reality and change your habits

Once you come to grips with the fact that organic food is affordable, you have to pull in the reigns on your SALT AND SUGAR habit. Don’t panic!

Your taste buds will return to normal after you come off the high fructose corn syrup and the monosodium glutamate. Once you quit the deep fat fried habit and the super-salted meat and French fries, you’ll start tasting the true flavors of vegetables and fruits again, and realize exactly what it is you’re missing.

When you consume organic foods, your body and brain function at maximum capacity. Your body is not struggling to digest and filter out toxins, gluten, hormones, antibiotics, fluoride, bleach (white rice, white bread, white flour, white sugar, white pasta), artificial sweeteners, radioactive fish, genetically modified corn and soy, and the list goes on.

When you consume organic foods, your cells aren’t being strangled by preservatives like sodium benzoate, BHA, BHT, and your water isn’t polluted with BPA (bisphenol-A).

When you cut out processed foods and synthetic food agents from your daily intake, your energy doesn’t tap out five to ten minutes into a workout, or a jog.

You last 30 minutes, an hour, and eventually longer!

When you stop buying foods and products that cause cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and arthritis, you STOP DONATING MONEY TO DISEASE, and you begin the repair and refortification of your own system. You stop wastingmoney going to the doctor for colds, flues, viruses, bacterial infections, allergies, bronchitis, cavities, heart disease, headaches, fibromyalgia, irritable bowels, colon polyps, prostate problems, breast cancer check-ups.

Make that change

When you change over to either strictly organic or even mostly organic, you support ‘mom and pop’ farmers and small businesses that don’t pollute the environment. You foster businesses that ARE NOT huge corporations interested in your slow death.

Eating organic foods and using organic products promotes sustainability. On non-organic farms in the United States, 30 percent of the insecticides, 60 percent of the herbicides, and over 90 percent of the fungicides are endocrine disruptors and carcinogens.

These hormone imbalances and toxins in humans lead directly to cancer tumors, make no mistake about it.

Research proves that nonorganic farm workers have unusually high rates of multiple myeloma (cancer of the immune system), stomach cancer, prostate cancer, and testicular cancer. (http://www.lymphomahelp.org/feinsteintestimony.php)

Not a single one of these chemicals, which total over 3,000 in pesticides, are used for ORGANIC FARMING. (http://www.worm-farmingrevealed.com/diatomaceous-earth-food-grade.html)

That is why you should always choose organic. Organic food is healthier, safer, and COSTS LESS THAN TOXIC FOOD, because ­one year, five years and 20 years from now, the bills related to your “health care” are massively reduced and/or non-existent.

Of course, if you don’t work on a non-organic farm, you’re not going to be exposed to that high quantity of pesticides and herbicides, but eating non-organic food adds up quickly, and can leave you grasping for straws and some “miracle” cure for your condition.