One might think that a period which, in a space of fifty years, uproots, enslaves, or kills seventy million human beings should be condemned out of hand. But its culpability must still be understood... In more ingenuous times, when the tyrant razed cities for his own greater glory, when the slave chained to the conqueror's chariot was dragged through the rejoicing streets, when enemies were thrown to the wild beasts in front of the assembled people, the mind did not reel before such unabashed crimes, and the judgment remained unclouded. But slave camps under the flag of freedom, massacres justified by philanthropy or by a taste for the superhuman, in one sense cripple judgment. On the day when crime dons the apparel of innocence — through a curious transposition peculiar to our times — it is innocence that is called upon to justify itself.

-Albert Camus

In the last 48 hours, Republicans and Democrats in Congress have announced and are hurriedly passing a federal budget for next year that they are proudly claiming will reduce the deficit by $20 Billion. $20 Billion!

Are we supposed to be impressed??

The deficit for 2013 alone is almost $700 Billion, and of course, the total debt is more than $17 TRILLION. And these folks are crowing about a “deal” that will save $20 Billion.

They just don’t get it. They spend weeks and months negotiating a deal, and declare victory when they come up with a net savings that is little more than a rounding error in the overall, unsustainable debt they have themselves imposed upon us.

We have to send a clear message to the politicians in Washington: WE’RE NOT IMPRESSED. You can help us send that message by going to Our America today and supporting our grassroots and outreach efforts to mobilize Americans for truly smaller and less costly government.

I don’t know about you, but I won’t be satisfied until they start talking about and enacting spending cuts that will actually get us to a balanced budget -- and this one doesn’t even come close.

The disturbing part about all this hand-wringing over a rounding error is that it shows, once again, that virtually no one in Washington, DC, has the courage to tell the truth -- and act on it. Cutting hundreds of billions from the federal budget actually isn’t that difficult. First, we must stop spending money we don’t have on foreign aid and military interventions that are NOT making us more secure.

Second, we have to deal with the reality that, without reform, entitlements are promises we simply can’t keep.

Until these realities are put on the table, all of the deals and funny math the politicians are coming up with are frankly meaningless. The Our America Initiative is dedicated to the proposition that the real key to prosperity in America is freedom from a government and policies that control our lives unnecessarily.

Continuing to saddle us with debt and, in the process, destroying our economy are the greatest threats to liberty and freedom that we face from our politicians today.

Please join me in saying “Enough is enough”. Go to Our America today and help us speak out for the millions of Americans who understand that a nation that is bankrupt cannot be a nation of free people.

Thank you for your support -- and for your belief in real liberty!

Gov. Gary Johnson

Honorary Chairman

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych says he intends to offer amnesty to those who had been arrested during mass anti-government protests.

DPA

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych says he intends to offer amnesty to those who had been arrested during mass anti-government protests.

The government of embattled Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has signaled that an association agreement with the EU may now be signed after all. The reversal follows weeks of street protests in Kiev and mounting Western pressure.

Three weeks into a power struggle that has seen an estimated 20,000 demonstrators camping out on Kiev's Independence Square in subzero temperatures, it seems as if closer ties between Ukraine and the European Union may be on the cards after all. On Thursday Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Serhiy Arbuzov announced his country would sign the free trade and association deal with the EU "soon," following talks with EU authorities. Arbuzov failed to give a specific deadline for signing the deal or to explain his government's change of heart. Read more Der spiegel>>

Does Liz Warren know 'bout this?

Video uploaded for educational purposes protected by S.107 of the U.S.C.
The year 1540 was a crucial turning point in American history. The Great Indian Wars were incited by Francisco Vazquez de Coronado when his expedition to the Great Plains launched the inevitable 350-year struggle between the white man and the American Indians. From that point forward, the series of battles between the military and civilian forces of the United States and the Native American Indians began when blood was shed and ultimately tens ~~thousands~~ ? of lives were lost on both sides.

Remember, only the 'educated' anglo documented the history of the times....archeologically sound, i suppose, cultural anthropologically fuzzy.....a hazy interpretation as the redman left no script on the environ.........petrogliphs and blood. The encroachment west forced war, weapons, brutal atrocities and sheer cruelty to someone/thing [they] the foreign invaders with advanced killing tactics, viewed indigenous locals as something less than human, to be robbed exploited, enslaved, raped........history sort of self-censers and sugarcoats reality both then and now. This stuff never happened and is still going on in africa and the middle-east, Tibetan and other parts of [china], however, if I ignore and not think about my apathy...now this behavior is rationally justified.........right or wrong is not important unless some misfortune befalls me and mine, for now, It sucks being you today......... read for contrast:
Bury my heart at wounded knee, I have spoken, Death of the great spirit, A peoples history of the United States.

Chapter 1: Columbus, The Indians, and Human Progress

"They ... brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things, which they exchanged for the glass beads and hawks' bells. They willingly traded everything they owned... . They were well-built, with good bodies and handsome features.... They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. They have no iron. Their spears are made of cane... . They would make fine servants.... With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want." columbus, chris

AI american indifference .........the only thing exceptional is arrogance. kosmicdebris.......

It took Miriam Isaura López Vargas several weeks to piece together what happened to her.

On Feb. 2, 2011, the 30-year-old mother of four had just dropped three of her children off at school when two masked men forced her into a van, blindfolded her and tied her hands. The men drove her to military barracks 50 miles away.

Soldiers raped and otherwise tortured her repeatedly, trying to force her to "confess" to drug trafficking and incriminate other detainees, unknown to Miriam.

She was held in this hell, without charges, for 8 months before being released.

Urge Mexico's Attorney General to conduct a full, prompt and impartial investigation into the torture of Miriam López.

Miriam is not alone. Torture cases have skyrocketed in Mexico.

According to Mexico's National Human Rights Commission Reports, torture and ill-treatment rose an astounding 500 percent in Mexico from 2005 to 2012.

Miriam has identified those responsible, yet no charges have been filed. Even if charges were filed, convictions for such crimes are rare.

December 15 is a key day for Miriam's case: it marks two years since she filed an official complaint and yet there is very little progress.

Who do you turn to when government soldiers rape with impunity? The massive global human rights force of Amnesty International.

Miriam lives in constant fear of abduction. Tell Mexico's Attorney General to investigate Miriam's case.

Miriam is one of 10 urgent human rights cases highlighted in Amnesty International's 2013 Write for Rights campaign, the world's largest and most effective letter-writing event.

Together, we've helped free enough prisoners of conscience to fill Madison Square Garden – twice.

Today, I'm asking you to help Miriam live free from fear. Make your voice heard – demand justice for Miriam.

In solidarity,

Jasmine Heiss
Campaigner, Individuals and Communities at Risk
Amnesty International USA

Global Map To Predict Giant Earthquakes

Posted: 12 Dec 2013 09:49 PM PST

12 December 2013

- A team of international researchers have developed a new global map of subduction zones, illustrating which ones are predicted to be capable of generating giant earthquakes and which ones are not.

The new research, published in the journal Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, comes nine years after the giant earthquake and tsunami in Sumatra in December 2004, which devastated the region and many other areas surrounding the Indian Ocean, and killed more than 200,000 people.

Since then two other giant earthquakes have occurred at subduction zones, one in Chile in February 2010 and one in Japan in March 2011, which both caused massive destruction, killed many thousands of people and resulted in billions of dollars of damage.

How American Must A Product Be To Be Labeled “Made In The USA”?

By Chris Morran December 11, 2013

This caribiner leash may have carried the “Truly Made in the USA” logo, but the truth is that it was an imported product.

As you finish up your holiday shopping this year, you might be feeling the desire to buy American-made products. Any number of things claim to be made in the USA, but that label itself is not an absolute guarantee that what you’re buying was indeed produced stateside.

While there are federal standards for what qualifies as “Made in America,” there is no vetting or certification process that goes on before that label can be applied.

So a company could slap a made-in-USA sticker on its products and hope it doesn’t get caught, much like E.K. Ekcessories, an outdoor accessories company that the FTC recently accused [PDF] of deceptively marketing its products with labels like “Truly Made In the USA,” and statements on its website that its products were made at the company’s facilities in Utah.

That company has since settled with the FTC and agreed to stop falsely marketing its imported products as made in America, but who knows how many other products are out there just waiting to be caught in the same lie?

So what does it take to actually count as being made in the USA?

SLINGING LINGO
First off, there is no specific language that manufacturers must use. To the feds, statements like “Made in the USA” and “American-made” are effectively the same. They communicate to the consumer the notion that the product was produced within the 50 states, the District of Columbia, or in U.S. territories. read more

Published on Dec 12, 2013

The First half of this video is NASA's explanation in their own words what ISON is, just a couple days ago. The last half is mine. Well, it is a continuation of my explanation from the 10th. If you like this video and want my full explanation on ISON watch the first video called NOW Visible - ISON is a DWARF STAR with PLANET system Following..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJ6Fpm...