by Marvin J. Ramirez

Marvin J. Ramirez

At a time when most people are noticing the government increase of domination over the people, contrary to what should be: the people domination over the government, El Reportero is glad to publish the following article authored by Washingtonblog.com. I believe that it is my duty to inform the people of some aspects of our current government that are becoming detrimental to our liberties. Perhaps this article will wake some people up, perhaps not. Due to its length and our limited space, we will publish it in several parts. This is the third part of a series.

Americans – like Nazi Germans – don’t notice that all of our rights are slipping away — Part 3

by washingtonsblog.com

Last week, we left off at spying on Americans, how corporations such as Verizon, has applied for a patent that would allow your television to track what you are doing, who you are with, what objects you’re holding, and what type of mood you’re in. Given Verizon and other major carriers responded to at least 1.3 million law enforcement requests for cell phone locations and other data in 2011, such information would not be kept private. (And some folks could be spying on you through your tv using existing technology.)

— And the spying isn’t being done to keep us safe … but to crush dissent and to smear people who uncover unflattering this about the government … and to help the too big to fail businesses compete against smaller businesses (and here ).

In addition, the ACLU published a map in 2006 showing that nearly two-thirds of the American public – 197.4 million people – live within a “constitution-free zone” within 100 miles of land and coastal borders:

The ACLU explained:

– Normally under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, the American people are not generally subject to random and arbitrary stops and searches.

– The border, however, has always been an exception. There, the longstanding view is that the normal rules do not apply. For example the authorities do not need a warrant or probable cause to conduct a “routine search.”

– But what is “the border”? According to the government, it is a 100-mile wide strip that wraps around the “external boundary” of the United States.

– As a result of this claimed authority, individuals who are far away from the border, American citizens traveling from one place in America to another, are being stopped and harassed in ways that our Constitution does not permit.

– Border Patrol has been setting up checkpoints inland — on highways in states such as California, Texas and Arizona, and at ferry terminals in Washington State. Typically, the agents ask drivers and passengers about their citizenship. Unfortunately, our courts so far have permitted these kinds of checkpoints – legally speaking, they are “administrative” stops that are permitted only for the specific purpose of protecting the nation’s borders. They cannot become general drug-search or other law enforcement efforts.

– However, these stops by Border Patrol agents are not remaining confined to that border security purpose. On the roads of California and elsewhere in the nation – places far removed from the actual border – agents are stopping, interrogating, and searching Americans on an everyday basis with absolutely no suspicion of wrongdoing.

– The bottom line is that the extraordinary authorities that the government possesses at the border are spilling into regular American streets.

Computer World reports today:

Border agents don’t need probable cause and they don’t need a stinking warrant since they don’t need to prove any reasonable suspicion first. Nor, sadly, do two out of three people have First Amendment protection; it is as if DHS has voided those Constitutional amendments and protections they provide to nearly 200 million Americans.

Don’t be silly by thinking this means only if you are physically trying to cross the international border. As we saw when discussing the DEA using license plate readers and data-mining to track Americans movements , the U.S. “border” stretches out 100 miles beyond the true border. Godfather Politics added:

But wait, it gets even better! If you live anywhere in Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey or Rhode Island, DHS says the search zones encompass the entire state.

Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have a “longstanding constitutional and statutory authority permitting suspicionless and warrantless searches of merchandise at the border and its functional equivalent.” This applies to electronic devices, according to the recent CLCR “Border Searches of Electronic Devices” executive summary [PDF ]:

Fourth Amendment

The overall authority to conduct border searches without suspicion or warrant is clear and longstanding, and courts have not treated searches of electronic devices any differently than searches of other objects. We conclude that CBP’s and ICE’s current border search policies comply with the Fourth Amendment. We also conclude that imposing a requirement that officers have reasonable suspicion in order to conduct a border search of an electronic device would be operationally harmful without concomitant civil rights/civil liberties benefits. However, we do think that recording more information about why searches are performed would help managers and leadership supervise the use of border search authority, and this is what we recommended; CBP has agreed and has implemented this change beginning in FY2012.

(IT WILL CONTINUE ON NEXT WEEK’S EDITION).

by Carlos B. Gil
Hispanic Link News Service

The celebrated events of Cinco de Mayo reflect a global struggle that was beginning to unfold across the cultural West. They took place near the Mexican colonial city of Puebla in 1862 at a time when a fight over the acceptance of new forms of government had already been initiated in Western Europe and in the Americas.

The elites of the old world and the new locked in fierce debate. Liberals wanted a radically new republican system of government replete with presidents, congresses and other trappings of democracy. Conservatives wished to maintain the time-sanctioned monarchies, their kings, queens, viceroys, counts, dukes and other forms of privileged aristocracy.

The struggle was particularly heated in Mexico, where Spanish imperial government had been supreme for nearly 300 years, between 1521 and 1821. The Spanish viceroy was expelled from Mexico in 1821, thus ending Mexican colonial ties with Spain.

Many attempts were made to get republican democracy to work in Mexico in the meantime. Still, 40 years after independence, influential men who strongly believed that a king or an emperor was best for Mexico continued to voice their opinions and pursue that goal. Their belief that monarchies were best for Mexico caused “rivers of blood to flow,” using the words of a famous Mexican historian.

In 1862, the still vigorous French empire, under the direction of Napoleon Bonaparte’s nephew, Louis Napoleon, sought once more to extend its domination into the Western Hemisphere, thereby counteracting the ever-growing republic of the United States, now distracted by civil war. The silver mines in Sonora appraised by French agents some years earlier probably constituted an additional reason for expansion.

Given the background, agents of Louis Napoleon met with Mexican conservative leaders to plan for a French-protected emperor to rule from Mexico City.

These events coincided with certain decisions by Benito Juárez. Mexico’s president and embattled republican leader of the time, he temporarily suspended the payment of debts owed by the government to foreign countries, among them France.

This was made necessary by the ferocious strife the country was undergoing due to infighting between conservatives and liberals. As a result, 2,500 French troops were dispatched to Mexico, ostensibly to force payment of the arrears, but also to implant a French colony on Mexican soil.

The port city of Veracruz was occupied by the brightly clad French troops in January 1862. By late April, they marched westward and upward to the capital city 7,000 feet above sea level on the central Mexican plateau.

The Napoleonic dream of a trans-oceanic empire was at hand: It was nothing less than grandiose imperialism requiring the occupation of Mexico City. Puebla, however, had to be overcome first.

There, the would-be heroes of the holiday we now call Cinco de Mayo awaited: Texas-born General Ignacio Zaragoza was assisted by several eager lieutenants, including 32-year-old Porfirio Díaz. They were surrounded by excited, armed Mexican patriot-civilians and enlisted troops.

The French expected garlands of welcome. Instead, they received hot gunshot.

The performance of the Mexicans on the fifth of May was singularly brilliant, worth the pride it has elicited ever since. Fighting for the control of the military forts of Loreto and Guadalupe on the outskirts of the city and armed with aging British rifles first employed in the Napoleonic Wars, the descendants of Aztecs and Spaniards defeated the French zuoaves led by Generals Count de Lorencez and Bernard Mallas L’Herillier.

The ancestors of modern-day Mexican Americans won the Battle of Puebla, but for five years thereafter lost ground in an imperialist war. Napoleon soon sent more troops, forcing Juarez-led republicans to take cover in the mountains while Mexico City became the seat of the ill-fated French empire, with blond, bearded Archduke Maximilian at its head.

The archduke’s fate was sealed however. Maximilian’s ultimate fate can be said to symbolize the end of European tutelage over Mexican affairs. As a member of one of Europe’s oldest royal families (the House of Hapsburg), Maximilian settled accounts with Indian Juárez in 1867 by paying with his own life for the tragic French intervention.

In that year, Napoleon’s troops were withdrawn and Maximilian was captured, tried, and shot by a Mexican republican firing squad. His bullet-riddled body, shipped back to Europe, underlined Juárez’s firm resolution: foreigners should never be allowed to rule over the destiny of Mexicans again under any circumstances. Greater America demonstrated once again its need to be independent of Europe.

Chicanos or Mexican Americans, as cultural and historical inheritors of the Mexicans, can in this way easily identify with the stirring significance of the Battle of Puebla fought on the Cinco de Mayo. Parenthetically, the Cinco de Mayo does not represent Mexico’s holiday commemorating independence. This is celebrated on Sept. 16.

It is important to note that ceremonial recognition of the victory of the Cinco de Mayo goes far in re-affirming the goal for which Juárez struggled and sacrificed: Mexicans (and Chicanos by inheritance) must insist upon and maintain the right to self-fulfillment. We must jealously guard as strongly as we can our capacity to grow spiritually and intellectually no matter what the odds be. In other words, if Juárez, Zaragoza and other Mexicans fought for national and cultural independence in the 1860s, Mexican Americans must continue to struggle for their survival and complete self-fulfillment. This is the true meaning of Cinco de Mayo.

(Dr. Carlos B. Gil is Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Washington, Seattle, author of We Became Mexican American: How Our Family Survived to Pursue the American Dream, 2012, and Publisher of DiversityCentral.com)© 2013
End

For this column in Spanish and other news and commentaries, go to www.HispanicLink.org.

Compiled by the El Reportero’s staff

From Nicaragua, brothers Luis Enrique y Carlos Mejía Godoy, this month, together in San Francisco in one of those one-of-a-kind events. Stay alert for the place and date.

This year’s Cinco de Mayo, on the occasion of honoring mothers in their month, we invite you to celebrate with us a Tardeada Latina (a Latin afternoon party).

Together with our dear brothers from North, Central and South America, we will celebrate with poetry, singing, dancing, food and drinks, with the guest appearance of Rolando Garcia, Central American songwriter with an international career, including Nicaragua dance group, “Children of the Corn” (Hijos del Maíz), including authors and orators of poetry Efraín Escobar, Lester Quintanilla, Martín Alfredo Garache Y Katia N. Barillas.

There will be a display of prestigious poetry books authors, amazing raffles: Grand Prize: a flat 32 ‘high definition TV, always within a framework of regional music, entertaining the audience with much joy.

We count on you to have fun in the company of your Mom, family and friends. Thanks for joining us. See you!

Sunday, May 5, 2-5 p.m. at the Brava Theater, 2781 24th Street, San Francisco. Doors open at 1:30 p.m. Seating is limited, so buy your ticket now.

Tickets at Julio’s Music, Gifts and More, 2884 Mission St., San Francisco, 415-871-7426 or call Katia N. Barillas at 415-871-7426.

Francisco Symphony invites you to celebrate 25 Years of the Adventures in Music

The San Francisco Symphony invites you to Celebrate 25 Years of the Adventures in Music Program’s Partnership with the San Francisco Unified School District
AIM Ensemble Performance for Special Guests and Elementary School Students Junipero Serra Elementary School.

At 625 Holly Park Circle, San Francisco, at 9:45 a.m. Coffee and Pastries will be served at 10 a.m. Welcoming remarks by SFS President Sakurako Fisher, SFS Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas, SFUSD Board President Rachel Norton and SF Board of Supervisors President David Chiu.

On Tuesday, May 7, 2013, at 10:30 a.m. Please use main entrance on Holly Park Circle.

Computers for everyone with Stanford alumni host family literacy

Stanford Alumni in partnership with Computers for Everyone present the Third Annual Reading Rainbow in the Park, East Palo Alto.

This event encourages families to join in the fun of reading with youth and teenagers of all ages. There will be reading activities, games, contests and entertainment throughout the day hosted by volunteers and community organizations as well as the San Mateo County mobile literacy bus to register attendees for free library cards. Free books will be given to all youth attending, Free prizes will be raffled off throughout the day including toys, gift certificates, mp3 players, and a Mac laptop.

Over 20 local organizations have signed up to host activities and support the event. 106 KMEL’s Lady Ray will serve as the Master of Ceremonies with the KMEL Street Team on site playing music. “Dora the Explorer” and “Diego” will also make an appearance. This year’s event will also feature a “college workshop booth” hosted by local colleges and organizations to inform those interested of college opportunities and the process of applying to college.

There will be free food, refreshments, snacks, and many giveaways. This event is free and open to the public; however pre-registration for your family or a group is strongly suggested at: http://readinginthepark.eventbrite.com/.

The event will take place on Saturday, May 18, 2013 from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Bell Street Park at 550 Bell Street, East Palo Alto, California.

New radio program Poder Latino con Ramón Cardona begins at KIQI on Fridays

You will be able to listen a new radio program at KIQI AM 1010 and 990 AM radio directed by community leader Ramón Cardona on Fridays at 1 p.m. Cardona, a longtime advocate of immigrant’s rights, launched his first program on Friday April 26.

Carmona will brings fresh information and commentaries on the status of the immigration legislation now debated in Congress, that would bring an end to pain and suffering to millions of undocumented immigrant.

Cardona will discuss community interest themes and individual development within the United States. He will also serve as a link to those from his homeland, Cuscatlán, El Salvador, and make the program an informational tool for the Salvadorian community in Northern California.

by Steve Watson

Former Obama advisor David Axelrod has joined other mainstream media mouthpieces in insinuating that the horrific Boston Marathon bombing may have been linked to “tax day”.

Appearing on MSNBC 3his morning, Axelrod said of the term ‘terror attack’, “The word has taken on a different meaning since 9/11. You use those words and it means something very specific in people’s mind.”

The political consultant then suggested that the president has refrained from using the term because he may believe an anti-government tax protester could have been behind the bombing, rather than a co-ordinated group of foreign terrorists.

“You use those words and it means something very specific in people’s mind. And I’m sure what was going through the president’s mind is — we really don’t know who did this — it was tax day.” Axelrod said.]

“Was it someone who was pro–you know, you just don’t know.” he continued. “And so I think his attitude is, let’s not put any inference into this, let’s just make clear that we’re going to get the people responsible.”

Axelrod isnt the first talking head to inject such points into news coverage of the attack. Without any evidence whatsoever, media mouthpieces have been suggesting that the incident may have been carried out by a “home grown” radical, potentially in the vein of OKC bomber Timothy McVeigh.

BBC News coverage suggested that “chatter within the intelligence services” indicates that right wing extremists could be behind the attack, with analysts noting that the bombing occurred on Patriot’s Day, the holiday that commemorates the first battles of the American Revolutionary War. The OKC bombing in 1995 was also carried out on this day, the third Monday in April.

CNN’s Wolf Blitzer took that insinuation even further, noting “It is a state holiday, in addition to the Boston Marathon. It is a state holiday in Massachusetts today, called Patriots’ Day. And who knows if that had anything at all to do with these twin explosions?”

MSNBC’s Chris Matthews also theorized that the bombing could be the result of a protest against federal income taxes.

“As you point out, and I just forgot, I filed already. It’s filing day for the federal income tax, which does cause some emotions around the country – sometimes in the wrong parts of the brain anyway,” Matthews said during his show:

In comments to the media, Richard Barrett, the former United Nations co-ordinator for the al-Qaeda and Taliban monitoring team said that the timing of the attack on Patriots’ Day and the relatively small size of the devices suggested the work of a domestic extremist.

Barrett, who is now senior director at the Qatar International Academy for Security Studies (QIASS), said: “At the moment it looks more likely that it was a right-wing terrorist incident, rather than an al Qaeda attack because of the size of the devices.”

He added: “This happened on Patriots’ Day, it is also the day Americans are supposed to have their taxes in, and Boston is quite a symbolic city. These are all little indicators.”

Boston was, of course, the location for the famed “tea party” protest of 1773 against the tax policy of the British government and the East India Company that controlled all the tea imported into the colonies.

The suggestion that talking heads are making is that whoever carried out the bombing may be sympathetic to the modern day Tea Party movement, which advocates for limited government.

Esquire’s Charles P. Pierce also made the connection, noting that Monday is the “official Patriots Day holiday” in Massachusetts, celebrating the Battles at Lexington and Concord. He also pointed out that April 19, the actual date of the battles, is connected to Oklahoma City bomber Tim McVeigh, who apparently considered himself a “waterer of the tree of liberty and the like.”

Huffington Post blogger and Al Sharpton radio producer Nida Khan also blindly speculated that “all these anti-gov groups” could be behind the attack.

“We don’t know anything yet of course, but it is tax day & my first thought was all these anti-gov groups, but who knows,” Khan tweeted.

Former FBI agent Brad Garrett said he wouldn’t be surprised if the bombing had been carried out by a domestic extremist group or an individual in an attempt to make a statement.

He added that a “neo Nazi or a patriot group” would likely not claim responsibility right away.

“There’s a lot of public source information about demonstrations on taxes, on a number of other issues that are hot button issues for extremists groups who don’t like either what the government is doing or what the government represents,” he stated.

In addition, the official story of the attack appears to be being subtly altered to fit this media driven narrative.

A police press conference today contradicted earlier reports that more explosive devices had been found in the vicinity of the attack, and had been destroyed by bomb squads in controlled explosions. Analysts suggested that the notion of bomb squads finding and detonating extra devices within the hour were far fetched, without them having some prior intelligence of the attack.

It was also reported that a drill was being carried out in the area involving members of the Boston bomb squad.

That oddity has now been swept aside in a change of the narrative, as has the idea that the attacks were coordinated and indicative of an organised group.

Police also now claim that no arrests have been made and that there are no suspects in custody, contradicting earlier reports that a Saudi man had been arrested close to the scene of the bombing.

(Steve Watson is the London based writer and editor for Alex Jones’ Infowars.com, and Prisonplanet.com. He has a Masters Degree in International Relations from the School of Politics at The University of Nottingham, and a Bachelor Of Arts Degree in Literature and Creative Writing from Nottingham Trent University.)

by the El Reportero’s wire services

Isla de Ometepe

Los hijos del Sol (The Children of the Sun), whose shooting is getting ready today in Nicaragua, will show the world the wealth of the island of Ometepe, considered a Biosphere Reserve.

The film recounts the reunion of a young man with his origins and a new civilization in the place where he was supposedly born. That 276 square-kilometer island was recognized for its valuable wealth of natural assets by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

This fiction-mystery movie is directed by Spanish director Jacobo Rispa, with a brilliant professional career in the United States, his country, Colombia, and Mexico.

Rispa, known for films such as “Mi corazon insiste” (My Heart Insists), “La Casa de al lado” (Next Door House), “Corazon valiente” (Brave Heart), and “Ruta blanca” (White Road), specializes in crime series that reflect the reality of countries as Mexico and Colombia.

At least 98 people, 84 of them from Nicaragua and 14 foreigners of many nationalities, are involved in the preparation of the film.

According to filmmakers’ schedule, the film should be premiered in September or October in Nicaragua, prior to its spread through Europe, Latin America and the United States.

U.S. extends temporary protected status for Hondurans, Nicaraguans

The Department of Homeland Security extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for eligible nationals of Honduras and Nicaragua for an additional 18 months,
beginning July 6, 2013, and ending Jan. 5, 2015.

Current Honduran and Nicaraguan beneficiaries seeking to extend their TPS status must re-register during the 60-day re-registration period that runs from April 3, 2013, through June 3, 2013. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) encourages beneficiaries to register as soon as possible once the 60-day reregistration period begins.

The 18-month extension also allows TPS reregistrants to apply for a new employment authorization document (EAD).

Eligible Honduran and Nicaraguan TPS beneficiaries who request an EAD and meet the re-registration deadline will receive a new EAD with an expiration date of Jan. 5, 2015.

USCIS recognizes that some re-registrants may not receive their new EADs until after their current EADs expire. Therefore, USCIS is automatically extending current TPS Honduras EADs that have a July 5, 2013, expiration date for an additional six months. These existing EADs are now valid through Jan. 5, 2014.

For the complete article – please visit Temporary Protected Status Extended for Hondurans and Nicaraguans on the uscis.gov website.

Argentina: Houses ruined by flood, many pets no whomeless

The pets of the thousands of victims of the flooding earlier this month in the Argentine city of La Plata gaze out from photographs on social-networking sites, looking sad and lost as they wait to be reunited with their owners or adopted by a new owner.

Some of the animals, the majority of them cats and dogs, wander the city’s streets, while others have been taken in by families who hope they will be reclaimed by their owners or placed in new homes.

“Peque,” “Negra,” “Pichu” and “Petiso” are four dogs that need new homes because their owner died in the floods.

“My mother sadly died in the floods and now I am trying to get someone to adopt them. She was president of an animal welfare organization and always helped them a lot,” the victim’s daughter, Claudia, told Efe.

The “Cuatro patas reencuentros en La Plata” (Four Paws Reunions in La Plata) initiative has been launched to create a registry of homeless pets.

Modern tech to be used in exploring Mexico’s Teotihuacan ancient site

A robot will soon begin exploring the last stretch of a tunnel found at the archaeological site of Teotihuacan in central Mexico, the third time anywhere in the world that such an automaton is used to design excavation strategies.

The tunnel, discovered under the Temple of the Plumed Serpent, or Quetzalcoatl, is believed to lead to a chamber almost 2,000 years old, probably a place where dignitaries of the pre-Columbian city received their investiture or were buried, the National Anthropology and History Institute, or INAH, said.

The Tlaloc II-TC robot, which will be the first to travel the remaining 30 to 35 meters (100 to 115 feet) of the tunnel, is composed of three independent mechanisms, the first being the transport vehicle that reaches a length of over a meter (3 1/4 feet) once its arms are stretched out.

The robotic arms serve to deal with any obstacles in the vehicle’s path.

With the exploration of these areas, the INAH looks forward to making some of the most important archaeological discoveries at Teotihuacan, one of the largest cities of Mesoamerica in pre-Columbian times.

by Dr. David Jockers

Gallstones are crystalline formations of cholesterol and calcium formed within the gallbladder and biliary tracts. These stones can vary widely in size from as small as a grain of salt to nearly the size of a golf ball. Gallstones are a sign of incomplete liver detoxification and pose a significant threat to the body. Beat gallstones naturally with an anti-inflammatory diet and cleansing cycle.

The gallbladder serves as a reservoir for the bile that is produced by the liver. Bile is necessary to digest and metabolize fatty acids. The extra bile storage allows the body to effectively metabolize fat-rich foods such as steak and eggs. When the liver and gallbladder get congested with toxins they are not able to secrete bile effectively. This can cause bile material imbalances that lead to gallstone formation. Gallstones are typically a combination of cholesterol and calcium. Most individuals do not experience any outward signs or symptoms.

As the stones get larger they hamper digestion and can cause mild to severe pain in the upper right abdomen area. These painful episodes usually occur at night after eating a fatty meal. Other symptoms include abdominal bloating, belching, gas, fatty stools, low energy after eating and diarrhea.

GallBladder infections

Gallstones can also lodge infectious organisms such as E Coli and Bacteroids and cause further inflammatory stress to the liver and gallbladder. These infections can create life threatening issues and must be addressed. Fermented foods and probiotics work to both inhibit these infectious bacteria and reduce the severity of any infection. An anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle is necessary to inhibit gallstone formation.

This diet consists of phytonutrient rich organic fruits & vegetables, grassfed animal products and healthy fat sources such as avocados, coconut & olive oil. Raw cheese from grassfed cows and goats is an important food due to its rich content of omega 3 fatty acids, vitamin K2 & D3. The synergy between vitamin K2 & D3 helps regulate calcium metabolism to inhibit the formation of gallstones.

Foods that are rich in organic acids and natural enzymes are especially important for the entire digestive system including the liver and gall bladder.

These foods include apple cider vinegar (ACV), fresh squeezed lemon/lime, kombucha, kimchi and red cabbage sauerkraut. Probiotic enriched, raw dairy products such fermented whey, kefir & amasai are extremely beneficial.

Liver health is dependent upon a regular fasting cycle to effectively cleanse and detoxify. A 12-hour fast between dinner and breakfast is a great daily habit.

If one were to finish their final solid food meal at 8 p.m. they should not attempt another solid food meal until at least 8 a.m. This gives the body four hours to digest and metabolize the food and then 8 hours for the liver to cleanse.

Once you incorporate this 12-hour daily detox cycle into your lifestyle you can choose to increase this period of time.

Two to three 16-hour liquid fasts each week and/or a 24 hour liquid fast will keep the liver well flushed.

These fasting periods are much easier than most people believe. Many individuals will drink fresh vegetable juices, functional beverages made with fermented whey, kombucha and water with lemon. The fluid and nutrients supply the body with very clean energy that enhances the liver’s ability to purge toxins and facilitate bowel movements.

Anyone with pronounced and symptomatic gallstones should go on a liquid diet with lots of water & lemon, ACV, fermented whey, coconut kefir and fresh organic vegetable juices. Try to limit solid food to one meal per day with very moderate portions of anti-inflammatory foods.

by Marvin J. Ramirez

Marvin J. Ramirez

At a time when most people are noticing the government increase of domination over the people, contrary to what should be: the people domination over the government, El Reportero is glad to publish the following article authored by Washingtonblog.com. I believe that it is my duty to inform the people of some aspects of our current government that are becoming detrimental to our liberties. Perhaps this article will wake some people up, perhaps not. Due to its length and our limited space, we will publish it in several parts. This is the second part of a series.

Americans – like Nazi Germans – don’t notice that all of our rights are slipping away – Part 2

by washingtonsblog.com

The 3rd Amendment prohibits the government forcing people to house soldiers:

No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Hey … we’re still honoring one of the Amendments! Score one for We the People!

Fourth Amendment

The 4th Amendment prevents unlawful search and seizure:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
But the government is flying drones over the American homeland to spy on us.

Senator Rand Paul correctly notes:

The domestic use of drones to spy on Americans clearly violates the Fourth Amendment and limits our rights to personal privacy.

Paul introduced a bill to “protect individual privacy against unwarranted governmental intrusion through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles commonly called drones.”

Emptywheel notes in a post entitled “The OTHER Assault on the Fourth Amendment in the NDAA? Drones at Your Airport?”:

Transit authorities in cities across the country are quietly installing microphone-enabled surveillance systems on public buses that would give them the ability to record and store private conversations….

The systems are being installed in San Francisco, Baltimore, and other cities with funding from the Department of Homeland Security in some cases ….

The IP audio-video systems can be accessed remotely via a built-in web server (.pdf), and can be combined with GPS data to track the movement of buses and passengers throughout the city.

The systems use cables or WiFi to pair audio conversations with camera images in order to produce synchronous recordings. Audio and video can be monitored in real-time, but are also stored onboard in blackbox-like devices, generally for 30 days, for later retrieval. Four to six cameras with mics are generally installed throughout a bus, including one near the driver and one on the exterior of the bus.

Privacy and security expert Ashkan Soltani told the Daily that the audio could easily be coupled with facial recognition systems or audio recognition technology to identify passengers caught on the recordings.

RT notes:

Street lights that can spy installed in some American cities

America welcomes a new brand of smart street lightning systems: energy-efficient, long-lasting, complete with LED screens to show ads. They can also spy on citizens in a way George Orwell would not have imagined in his worst nightmare.

With a price tag of $3,000+ apiece, according to an ABC report, the street lights are now being rolled out in Detroit, Chicago and Pittsburgh, and may soon mushroom all across the country.

Part of the Intellistreets systems made by the company Illuminating Concepts, they have a number of “homeland security applications” attached.

Each has a microprocessor “essentially similar to an iPhone,” capable of wireless communication. Each can capture images and count people for the police through a digital camera, record conversations of passers-by and even give voice commands thanks to a built-in speaker.

Ron Harwood, president and founder of Illuminating Concepts, says he eyed the creation of such a system after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the Hurricane Katrina disaster. He is “working with Homeland Security” to deliver his dream of making people “more informed and safer.”

Fox news notes that the government is insisting that “black boxes” be installed in cars to track your location.

The TSA has moved way past airports, trains and sports stadiums, and is deploying mobile scanners to spy on people all over the place. This means that traveling within the United States is no longer a private affair. (And they’re probably bluffing, but the Department of Homeland Security claims they will soon be able to know your adrenaline level, what you ate for breakfast and what you’re thinking … from 164 feet away.)

And Verizon has applied for a patent that would allow your television to track what you are doing, who you are with, what objects you’re holding, and what type of mood you’re in. Given Verizon and other major carriers responded to at least 1.3 million law enforcement requests for cell phone locations and other data in 2011, such information would not be kept private. (And some folks could be spying on you through your tv using existing technology.)

Of course, widespread spying on Americans began before 9/11 (confirmed here and here. And see this ). So the whole “post-9/11 reality” argument falls flat.
(IT WILL CONTINUE ON NEXT WEEK’S EDITION).