Obama violates the Constitution to be Policeman of the World - But what else is new?

"We Americans have no commission from

God to police the world."

President Benjamin Harrison

By Gary;

Dear Leader Obama's unconstitutional wars in Libya, Syria and Yemen or Bill Clinton's in Kosovo are unfortunately nothing new to the American experience.

For nearly 120 years now American politicians have felt the need to throw their weight around and act as an imperial policeman of the world.  Never mind that the world somehow managed to police itself for 10,000 years before an American army came along to "help".

Very early on the Republican members of Congress figured out that a legal and proper Constitutional Declaration of War was putting way too much of a public spotlight on Congress.

So starting with our four year war against  the First Philippine Republic the Congress began to let the Imperial President make the call to go to war without a public debate or vote in the legislature.

This cowardly arrangement was not only unconstitutional but worked out well for Senators and Congressmen.

With the Imperial President charging off to war Congressmen could mumble and finger point, "Don't look at me.  The President did it." 

World War II was the last gasp of the American Constitutional Republic.  On July 5th, 1942 the U.S. Declared War against Romania, an ally of Nazi Germany.

Since 1942 there has never been a proper declaration of war.  On occasion Congress passes weak "authorizations" of force which they can claim later they did not understand would be used the way the President used it.

But in many cases such as the wars against Panama, Serbia, Libya and Yemen there has been no vote at all to go to war.

Dear Leader Obama has been using the CIA to actively arm and fund the Syrian rebels through Islamist Saudi Arabia and Islamist Turkey.  So the U.S. is already actively waging war on Syria.

But don't expect the Statist Republican Party to ride to the rescue of the Constitution.  After all, for nearly 120 years the GOP has eagerly been undermining section after section of the Constitution.

Welcome to Imperial America.
        

In 1898 the U.S. became Policeman of the World.
The Spanish American War in 1898 is the dividing line for the "small Constitutional government" Republican Party.  Before 1898 the GOP pretty much wanted the U.S. to mind its own business around the world.  But after 1898 the GOP became the Imperialist Party with the Democrats joining in on the fun not long after.
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Suddenly American troops were all over the world, such as Philippine-American War which resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths, concentration camps and American colonization, from there we have the Boxer Rebellion in China, stealing Panama from Columbia,Tangier, Morocco, the 21 year Occupation of Nicaragua, the Occupation of Veracruz, Mexico, the 19 year occupation of Haiti, the 8 year Occupation of the Dominican Republic, the American Expeditionary Force in Siberia, the US Intervention in Lebanon, the U.S. - Panama War and the Kosovo War among many, many, many others.

The Death of the Constitutional Federal Republic
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The 1904 campaign for President marks the death of the Constitutional Federal Republic created by the Founding Fathers. The poster above says it all.
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Theodore Roosevelt steps on the Constitution while waving the sword of militarism. Anti-imperialist Conservative small government Bourbon Democrat nominee Alton Parker steps on the sword of militarism and holds high the Constitution.
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.Starting with the Spanish-American War the Republican Party has morphed into an Imperial party. The policeman of the world. The Democrats claim not to be imperial, but they know a good thing when they see it. The Democrats always eagerly jump at any opportunity to use American military power around the world.
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The fact of the matter is imperialism feels good. One might say it is good to be the king. Most the nations of the world bow down to your will. The policies of nations hang on your every word . . . . and done right it is good for business. It can make you rich as Hell.

Microsoft moves forward with NSA surveillance lawsuit

Big Brother Gag Order

Microsoft sues government for gagging Internet companies

from telling the public about unconstitutional spying.

Welcome to 1984  -  Secret Courts with Secret Rulings with Secret Gag Orders doing Secret Spying on Americans for the government's Secret Police.

Fuck this Fascist shit.

Microsoft, Google and other major U.S. technology companies fighting to reveal more detail about the surveillance demands by U.S. intelligence say negotiations with the government have not reached an agreement “acceptable to all.”
                                          

In a blog post Friday, Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith said the talks recently broke down and Microsoft planned to move forward with the lawsuit filed this summer.

Technology companies are on the defensive after damaging revelations that they turn over users' data to the National Security Agency's secret Internet surveillance program.

They deny they gave the U.S. government special access to their servers or complied with broad requests for users' information and communications reports the Los Angeles Times.
 

The companies have exerted public pressure on the Obama administration to shed more light on the number and scope of national security requests these companies get under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA. Federal authorities limit how much companies can say about these requests.

Microsoft and Google each sued the government this summer, contending the 1st Amendment gives them the right to disclose more information.

“With the failure of our recent negotiations, we will move forward with litigation in the hope that the courts will uphold our right to speak more freely,” Smith said.

Facebook’s general counsel Colin Stretch said his company has also been urging the government to be “more transparent and open with the public.”

“We are deeply disappointed that despite months of negotiations and the efforts of many companies, the government has not yet permitted our industry to release more detailed and granular information about those requests,” Stretch said in a statement.

James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, said the government would begin releasing its own reports on NSA surveillance activity.

But the Center for Democracy & Technology said the reports would fall short of the level of detail needed to provide "meaningful transparency."

"The new data that the government plans to publish is not nearly enough to justify the government's continued attempts to gag companies like Google and Microsoft and prevent them from engaging in meaningful transparency reporting of their own," said Kevin Bankston, the CDT's director of free expression. "This level of transparency is too little, too late, and is no replacement for hearing directly from Internet companies about how they and their users have been impacted by the NSA's programs."

In an emailed statement, Google said: “While the government’s decision to publish aggregate information about certain national security requests is a step in the right direction, we believe there is still too much secrecy around these requests and that more openness is needed. That's why we, along with many others, have called on the U.S. government to allow us to publish specific numbers about both FISA and NSL requests."


Stossel and Napolitano Face Off on the NSA Scandal

John McAfee: I'm Behind Edward Snowden

Obama's White House Visitor Logs are Top Secret

"Corruptus in Extremis"

Court says White House visitor logs can be kept

secret from the public

What the fuck?  -  The entire nation is dissolving into one giant pile of Fascist shit. 

We have Secret Courts, Secret Warrants, Secret Rulings, Secret Spying and Secret Police.  Now the White House has a Secret Visitor's Log.  Fuck this God Damn fucking shit to God Damn fucking Hell.

Comrade Obama is not obligated to make public the names of individuals visiting the White House, according to a decision of the federal Circuit Court for the District of Columbia made public Friday.

The 3-0 decision would keep the visitor records top secret for up to 12 years after Obama leaves office.

The case was brought by Judicial Watch, the government watchdog nonprofit that has been fighting a long legal battle seeking to force release of the White House visitor logs as public records under the Freedom of Information Act reports the Washington Examiner.

But in a decision that is drawing intense criticism from across the ideological spectrum, the circuit court said the president has a "constitutional prerogative" not to tell the American people who he or his staff meets with in the White House.

The court said the president has such a prerogative because he is not covered by the FOIA and because of "special policy considerations" that allow exemption of visitor logs from classification as agency records subject to release under the public records law.

President Obama began making public some of the White House visitor logs in 2009, but refused a Judicial Watch request for all of the logs.

Administration spokesmen have often pointed to the partial release of the logs to support the president's claim that his is "the most transparent administration in history."

Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton was extremely disappointed by the decision, saying "a president that doesn't want Americans, under law, to know who his visitors are is a president who doesn't want to be accountable. The appellate court decision punches another hole in the Freedom of Information Act, the law which allows Americans to know what their government is up to."

"The legal gymnastics in this unprecedented decision shows that President Obama is not only one willing rewrite laws without going through Congress. And this legal fight, in which President Obama is fighting tooth and nail full disclosure under law of his White House visitors, further exposes his big lie that his administration is the most transparent in history. The silver lining is that at least the appellate court opened up the records of tens of thousands of White House visits that Obama was trying to keep secret," Fitton said.

(Breitbart.com)

Genital Biting and Flatulent Demons - It's the end of the world as we know it

It's the end of the world as we know it.
It's the end of the world as we know it.
It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine.


EDITOR'S NOTE - Judging by the stories in the news, I am firmly convinced we have reached the End of Days. Human beings are fucking idiots. We are doomed.

Rodeo ends with wife biting man's penis

A man whose wife bit him on the genitals after an argument after a rodeo says his only regret is calling 911 on her.

Anthony Hill is still healing and says he’s standing by his wife, Christina Salinas.

Hill said Sunday was supposed the be a fun night out at the Penn Valley Rodeo. He says the argument followed a series of stressful events in their lives, including the fact Salinas’ ex-husband now lives with them reports CBS News.

Hill wanted to leave early, she wanted to stay. When they got home, the argument continued. Salinas’ ex-husband tried to separate the two, and when both men went to hold her down, that’s when she allegedly bit his penis.

But he says he’s already made up with her, saying it’s just what they normally do — except they don’t call 911.

“I’ve assaulted her before in arguments,” Hill said. “We work it out and I went beyond that.”

___________________________________

School employee indicted for dog sex

MARYLAND  -  A behavioral specialist for Harford County Public Schools has been indicted.

According to court records and photographic evidence, a grand jury indicted Stephanie Mikles with “unnatural or perverted sexual practice.”

The indictment goes on to state that Mikles had “sexual intercourse with a dog,” according to ABC2News.

The incident happened in August 2008, say police, but in the state of Maryland there is no statute of limitations for these types of charges.

The animal reportedly still lives with the family at their residence in the Jarrettsville area. Mikles has been placed on administrative leave without pay while the investigation wears on.

The educator is currently free on $5,000 bond.

If convicted, the charge is a misdemeanor punishable with up to 10 years in prison and a $1,000 fine.

__________________________________

Lawyer sues over failed exorcism of fridge possessed by flatulent demons!

A Romanian lawyer is suing his local Orthodox bishop and four priests claiming they failed to properly exorcise flatulent demons that were forcing him out of his home.

Madalin Ciculescu, 34, accused the five of fraud after they turned up several times to exercise the demons which were responsible for the bad smells that were ruining his business.

He claimed that after the failed exorcism the demons even started haunting him at his home at Pitesti in Arges County in central Romania reports the UK Daily Mail.

Romanian lawyer, Madalin Ciculescu, 34, left, is suing his local Orthodox bishop, Constantin Argatu, right, and four priests claiming they failed to properly exorcise flatulent demons that were forcing him out of his home.

The case alleging 'religious malpractice' is reportedly the first time there has been such an allegation made in a Romanian court.

The four priests had all tried and failed to exorcise the demons, according to the legal papers that named bishop Constantin Argatu, even though he had not been to the property, as he was in charge of the priests who had been there.

The case has already been rejected by a lower court in Romania and was rejected again this week by the Romanian High Court, but now the businessmen says he plans to go to the European Court of Human Rights.

He told the court: 'If they (the accused) represent the way of God then God's ways are crooked. They did not remove the demons that made these bad smells as they promised to do, and I still see all sorts of demons in the form of animals, usually crows but also other such things, that are making my life miserable.

'When I am at home they switch the TV on and off all the time, they make foul smells that give me headaches and basically roam unhindered around my house and my business.'

The man produced his mother to back up his claim saying that even the hair-dryer was possessed and a black shadow came out of it when anyone tried to use it - and she also said the fridge was infested by the flatulent demons that she confirmed left foul smells about the property.

But the lawyer for the Archdiocese from Arges, Anton Alin, rejected the allegation of fraud saying that the exorcism had been properly carried out and they believed the allegations of further demons and more bad smells were simply a product of the man's imagination.

The Romanian court agreed with the church and rejected the application against Bishop Argatu as well as priests Ionut Cret Ovidiu, Gheorghe Nicut, Marius Dumitrescu and Gheorghe Dunitru - and ordered Ciculescu to pay legal costs.

Syria - Where are the Republicans hiding?

UK Parliament says no to war.

Can someone check down at the local bar for GOP Speaker

John Boehner?  He is missing in action as Dear Leader 

Obama rapes the Constitution.

The U.S. is the only democracy on earth with no opposition party.

Like a pet dog, the Statist Republican Party rolls over on its back and our Dear Leader rubs its belly saying, "Play dead. Good dog."

So while Obama eagerly takes the nation to an unconstitutional war in Syria, the "small government" GOP either acts as mindless cheerleaders for dictatorship or are hiding under their desks in fear.

But there is still a bit of freedom in the United Kingdom as Parliament rebelled against authoritarianism and war.

British Prime Minister David Cameron lost a vote endorsing military action against Syria by 13 votes Thursday, a stunning defeat for a government which had been poised to join the U.S. in strikes to punish Bashar Assad's regime for an alleged chemical weapons attack this month.

Cameron's nonbinding motion was defeated 285-272 and he conceded after the vote that "the British Parliament, reflecting the views of the British people, does not want to see British military action," reports the Associated Press.

Obedient Republican Lap Dogs.
GOP Speaker John Boehner (left) and Senator Mitch McConnell are well trained
lap dogs for the Beltway Elites.  While the Constitution gets raped on a daily basis
the GOP leaders are either in hiding or helping Democrats pass their agenda. 
The GOP lap dogs are too frightened to speak up or they act as ball-less
and brainless cheerleaders for the unconstitutional Imperial Presidency.

The prime minister said in terse comments while he believes in a "tough response" to the use of chemical weapons, he would respect the will of the House of Commons.

As one of the few Constitutional Federalists out there, Texas Senator Ted Cruz said it’s “unacceptable” that members of the British House of Commons are having a vigorous debate about that country’s policy towards Syria but Congress is staying home.

The Republican tweeted an image to his 116,000 followers on Thursday of Prime Minister David Cameron debating the topic on top of another photo showing the empty floor of the U.S. Senate.

“We should ascertain who used the weapons and we should have an open debate in Congress over whether the situation warrants U.S. involvement,” Kentucky Senator  Rand Paul said Wednesday. “The Constitution grants the power to declare war to Congress not the President.”

Read more: Daily Caller.


Is the Syrian war really about control oil and gas?

Iraq, Iran & Syria sign $10 Billion

Gas Pipeline Deal

(EDITOR  -  Follow the money trail for the answer to 90% of news stories.  Crazy ass Islamists are an issue in the Middle East, but money and oil trumps all.  Could the war boil down to natural gas?  You decide.) 


Wall Street Journal  -  The oil ministers of Iraq, Iran and Syria in July signed a preliminary agreement for a $10 billion natural-gas-pipeline deal, the official Iranian News Agency IRNA and other Iranian media reported.
 

The document was inked in the Assalouyeh industrial region located in the southern province of Bushehr by Iranian oil minister Mohammad Aliabadi, Iraq's oil minister Abdul Kareem Luaiby, and Syrian counterpart Sufian Alow, the agency said.

Iraqi oil officials confirmed that Mr. Luaiby was in Iran to sign the agreement. They gave no further details.

Iranian oil & gas competes with
Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Iranian oil officials said Syria would purchase between 20 million to 25 million cubic meters a day of Iranian gas. Iraq has already signed a deal with Tehran to purchase up to 25 million cubic meters a day to feed its power stations.

The project requires some $10 billion investment and will be constructed within three years, the semi-official Iranian news agency Mehr reported.

The pipeline length is more than 1,500 kilometers and will run from Assalouyeh to Damascus while passing through Iraq, with a transfer capacity of 110 million cubic meters of natural gas a day, it said.

The gas will be produced from the Iranian South Pars gas field in the Gulf, which Iran shares with Qatar, and holds estimated reserves of 16 trillion cubic meters of recoverable gas.

Iranian officials have said Iran is producing some 600 million cubic meters of gas a day, of which only 37 million cubic meters are exported. Tehran also aims to extend the pipeline to Lebanon and the Mediterranean to supply gas to Europe, they said.

Iran has been approaching its allies in the region such as Iraq and Syria to export its gas after western firms have pulled out of Iran's lucrative energy sector because of international dispute over Tehran's nuclear program, which the West and the U.S. suspect is aimed at producing nuclear bombs.

 

A gas pipeline linking Iran, Iraq and Syria.

Is "war" in Syria really about Iran & oil?
The agreement is between the Iraqi Oil Ministry, the Iranian Oil Ministry, and the Syrian Oil and Mineral Resources Ministry, and it relates to the construction of a gas pipeline from Iran through Iraq and Syria and onwards to Europe. The line could also be used to export Iraqi gas.
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See more at Iraq-Business News.com

Tens of thousands of people have been killed in places like the Congo. 
But no one cares about them because there is little oil or gas.

Kucinich: U.S. turns into 'al Qaeda's air force'

“The verdict is in before the facts have been gathered. What does that tell you?”

Former Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio)

Airstrikes on Syria would turn the U.S. military into “al Qaeda's air force,” former Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) told The Hill.

The outspoken anti-war activist said any such action would plunge the United States into another war in the Middle East and embolden Islamist militants fighting Bashar Assad's regime.

“So what, we're about to become Al Qaeda's air force now?” Kucinich said. “This is a very, very serious matter that has broad implications internationally. And to try to minimize it by saying we're just going to have a 'targeted strike' — that's an act of war. It's not anything to be trifled with,” reports The Hill.

Former Rep. Dennis Kucinich

The comments echo warnings from Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who voted against legislation to arm the Syrian rebels earlier this year by saying such a move would boost al Qaeda.

Kucinich also said President Obama would be violating the Constitution if he doesn't get congressional approval before taking any military action in Syria.

Kucinich retired last year after 16 years in the House when his Cleveland district was redrawn and he lost his primary. He led the fight against President George W. Bush's invasion of Iraq and joined nine other lawmakers in suing Obama over his intervention in Libya two years ago.

Kucinich raised doubts about rebel forces' allegations that Assad's forces used poison gas to kill more than 1,300 people last week. He said the administration is “rushing” to what could becoming “World War Three” based on questionable evidence.

“This is being used as a pretext,” he said. “The verdict is in before the facts have been gathered. What does that tell you?”

“Before engaging in a military strike against Assad’s forces, the United States must understand that this action will likely draw us into a much wider and much longer-term conflict that could mean an even greater loss of life within Syria,” Senate Foreign Relations Committee member Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said in a statement Tuesday. “I urge the Administration to continue to exercise restraint, because absent an imminent threat to America’s national security, the U.S. should not take military action without Congressional authorization.”

Twenty-one Republican lawmakers, joined by one Democrat, so far have signed onto a House letter to Obama demanding that Congress sign off on any military response.

“Engaging our military in Syria when no direct threat to the United States exists and without prior congressional authorization would violate the separation of powers that is clearly delineated in the Constitution,” says the letter, spearheaded by Rep. Scott Rigell (R-Va.).


Dr. Michael Savage  -  Obama's rush to war

Dennis Kucinich on the legacy of the Iraq War 

Indigenous Christians living in fear in Syria as Muslims

take their homes and property. West silent



Syrian town lives under Al-Qaeda rules

MAYADIN, Syria: In a small town in Syria’s east, Islamist militants have taken unclothed mannequins they see as sexually enticing out of the shops.
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Members of the Nusra Front, Al-Qaeda’s Syria affiliate, have also prevented women from wearing trousers, preferring that they adopt the shapeless head-to-toe black veil.
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The town of 54,000 on the Euphrates river offers a snapshot of what life could be like if Islamist rebels take control of significant areas of Syria as President Bashar Assad loses further ground.
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The Nusra Front is considered the most effective. Its fighters, who seek out death in battle as a form of martyrdom, have achieved victories in attacks on several military bases across the country.

Insurgents with long beards patrol the streets enforcing a strict interpretation of Islam. Alcohol is removed from shops. Daily religious teaching is provided for Mayadin’s children, who get free loaves of bread if they attend.

One young boy who attends these classes said that pupils are taught about praying, the role of women, the place of polygamy in marriage and jihad against “Assad’s Alawite regime.”

Fighters from the Nusra Front present a threat to those who want democracy in Syria. Instead, they envision a caliphate and a return to the lifestyle of the seventh century. Shops are forcibly closed at prayer times and people are rounded up in the streets five times daily to go to mosques.

Hussein, a 28-year-old fighter from the Osama Ibn Ziad brigade of the FSA, sees a strategic benefit from the Nusra Front, whose fighters are well armed and include foreign fighters who can advise on guerrilla warfare.

“The guys from Nusra are good people. We have to fight this regime and they are very well organized with strong fighters,” he said.


Read more: Daily Star.

Christians under attack in Syria

Jordan Islamists reject military action against Syria
Jordan's opposition Islamists on Wednesday rejected a possible Western military action against the Syrian regime, warning of "dangerous repercussions" for the region.
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"We reject any kind of military intervention in Syria, regardless of its motives and justifications," said the Islamic Action Front, the political arm of Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood, urging the international community to turn to negotiations.
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"Such military action seeks to weaken Syria and tear it apart, serve Zionist-American goals," the IAF charged in a statement.
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The Front, the kingdom's main opposition party, warned against "dangerous repercussions for the entire region, mainly Syria and Palestine."
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The Islamists said Jordan, a key US ally in the region, "should adhere to demanding a political solution to the Syrian crisis."
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"Jordan should not be part of a military intervention. Its territories should not be used for such an action. Its role should focus on aiding the Syrian refugees until they go home."
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Information Minister Mohammad Momani, meanwhile, reiterated that Jordan would not be used as "a launchpad" for military intervention in Syria.
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"Jordan renews its calls for a political solution in Syria and urges the international community to intensify efforts to reach such a solution," Momani told AFP.
(Global Post.com/)

It's not about racism. It's about Socialism.



The newly remodeled U.S. House of Representatives.
From each according to his ability. To each according to his needs.

We are talking about the wrong "ism"

Statists beat the drum of racism to churn votes

for Socialism and the re-distribution of the wealth.

By Gary;

Pardon me.  But its is really hard to take seriously a Black Billionaire like Oprah Winfrey bitching about the horrors of "racism".  In fact, with so much racism out there I was shocked Oprah felt it was safe enough to leave her Santa Barbara estate to attend the anniversary event for Martin Luther King.

The same goes for our Black Socialist President, the Black Attorney General and all the wealthy and powerful Black entertainers like Jamie Foxx and Forest Whitaker who attended.

GOP Senator Tim Scott
was not invited to the MLK event.

The entire point of beating the drum of fear and racism is to advance the real agenda of Socialism and wealth re-distribution.

As usual, a compliant lap-dog Media covers the wrong "ism".

As proof the rally was not about progress in society, the nation’s only Black U.S. Senator, Tim Scott was not invited to the Let Freedom Ring event commemorating the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington.

Scott, a Republican Representative appointed by S.C. Governor Nikki Haley earlier this year to fill former Sen. Jim DeMint’s seat in the U.S. Senate after he retired, was not invited to participate in the historic event, a spokesperson for the Senator confirmed to Red Alert Politics in an email.

Instead of Senator Scott you had so-called African-American leaders like Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) – who participated in the original March – and MSNBC host Al Sharpton.

Leftist Rep. John Lewis blasted what he termed continuing American racism while paying tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr. He said “invisible signs…form a gulf between us. Too many of us still believe our differences define us…the scars and stains of racism still remain deeply embedded in American society.” He cited stop and frisk in New York and Trayvon Martin in Florida as evidence of racism. He blamed the “mass incarceration” of millions of black men on racism.

MLK Daughter Bernice King urged vigilance if “Freedom is going to ring in Libya, in Syria, in Egypt, and . . . Florida".

Yes.  Race, race and more race.  That is the cover story, but it is really about stealing money from the producers of society to buy the votes of the lazy and unmotivated.

(Bernice King)

Original Obamaphone Lady

It's not about race.  It's about getting free shit that will be

paid for by some other guy somewhere.

Oprah Winfrey - Victim of "Racism."
Oprah Winfrey currently lives on "The Promised Land", her 42-acre estate (above) with ocean and mountain views in the 92% Anglo community of Montecito, California.
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Oprah worked hard for what she has and was rewarded with the love and respect of people of all races.  Oprah worked and succeeded in life.  But even Oprah feels she must beat the racism drum for those who reject education, morality and hard work.
..
Winfrey also owns a house in Lavallette, New Jersey; an apartment in Chicago, an estate on Fisher Island, Florida, a house in Douglasville, Georgia; a ski house in Telluride, Colorado; and property on Maui, Hawaii and Antigua.

 

The Socialist Race Drum.
The Marxist race drum is beaten louder and louder in order to distract African Americans from ever increasing poverty, illiteracy, welfare, unemployment and Serf like dependency on government caused by Socialist policies. 
.
Here is your Obamaphone and food stamps, now shut up, vote Democrat and do not question your Liberal Puppet Masters.

Publicly funded drive-in "sex boxes" for prostitution

Zurich's drive-in ‘sex boxes’ enjoy

a ‘promising’ first night

Zurich has launched a novel experiment to make prostitution safer: publicly funded drive-in "sex boxes".

The teak-coloured wooden garages will be open for business from Monday for drive-in customers in a country where prostitution has been legal since 1942 on the outskirts of the Swiss city. The several dozen sex workers who are expected to use them can stand along a short road in a small, circular park where they can negotiate with clients. The park was built in a former industrial area between a rail yard and the fence along a major highway.

The publicly funded facilities – away from the city centre and open all night – include bathrooms, lockers, small cafe tables, a laundry and shower. Men won't have to worry about video surveillance cameras, but the sex workers – who will need a permit and pay tax – will have a panic button and access to on-site social workers trained to look after them reports the UK Guardian.

Modelled after the drive-in brothels used in several cities in Germany and the Netherlands, which have had mixed success improving safety, the sex boxes will be open daily from 7pm to 5am. The city has painted the outdoor bathrooms in soft pink and blue, strung colourful light bulbs among the trees and posted creative signs encouraging the use of condoms to spruce the place up a little and make it seem more pleasant.

"We built the place to be secure for the sex workers. It also had to be discreet for the sex workers and the clientele," said Michael Herzig, of Zurich's social welfare department. "But we thought if we build the place, we can also make it look good."

Zurich requires that street sex workers register with city and health authorities, and it offers health checks and requires that sex workers be at least 18 years old, in keeping with a Council of Europe convention on protecting children from exploitation and abuse.

In Switzerland, anyone who works in the sex trade must be at least 16, the legal age of sexual maturity. The income is taxed and subject to social insurance like any other economic activity.

Zurich’s so-called drive-in ‘sex boxes’ opened for business on Monday and got off to a “promising start” according to Thomas Meier, a spokesman for the city’s social services.

Due to the large amount of public interest in the site Meier explained that “expectations were low for the first evening”. But, seemingly, not everyone was put off, with a few clients and around 30 prostitutes making use of the facilities on the first night.

The aim of the publicly funded experiment is to make prostitution safer. There are no surveillance cameras on site, although the sex workers do have a panic button and access to an on-site social worker.

Located in Altstetten in a former industrial area of the city, the project also hopes to take control of prostitution and move it out of the city centre.

The spokesman added that it could take weeks or months before the site is operational at the desired level because “prostitution is a business that requires a certain degree of confidentiality”. On the opening night only a handful of sex workers were seen in the first hour, likely intimidated by the presence of cameras and journalists.

The ‘sex-boxes’, which are accessible only to motorists, can accommodate up to 50 prostitutes and are open all night. There are also bathrooms, lockers, a laundry room and a shower available for use by the sex workers. They need a permit to use the facilities and will have to pay a small tax.

An organisation will also be on site daily to offer them counselling, medical advice and even German lessons.

Prostitution has been legal in Switzerland since 1942, but growing numbers of sex workers and violence attributed to the trade are beginning to cause problems in certain areas of the city, exasperating local residents.

Your tax dollars at work.
Or in this case, your Swiss Franc's at work.  The publicly funded facilities will
include bathrooms, lockers, small cafe tables and a laundry and shower.
Photograph: John Heilprin/AP

C-130 Transports arrive in Cyprus to support the Islamist Rebels

A World Gone Fucking Mad

The U.S. and UK prepare to take down the secular pro-Russian government of Syria and install an Islamic State.

Warplanes and military transporters have begun arriving at Britain's Akrotiri airbase on Cyprus, less than 100 miles from the Syrian coast, in a sign of increasing preparations for a military strike against the Assad regime in Syria.

Two commercial pilots who regularly fly from Larnaca on Monday told the Guardian that they had seen C-130 transport planes from their cockpit windows as well as small formations of fighter jets on their radar screens, which they believe had flown from Europe.


"Thanks be to Allah, the Western Crusaders are
going to bomb the Syrian government that is
protecting the Christians."

Residents near the British airfield, a sovereign base since 1960, also say activity there has been much higher than normal over the past 48 hours.

If an order to attack targets in Syria is given, Cyprus is likely to be a hub of the air campaign. The arrival of warplanes suggests that advanced readiness – at the very least – has been ordered by David Cameron, Barack Obama and European leaders.

Military experts think that if the western allies do decide to strike, they will concentrate their fire on the regime's greatest strength – the elite units on which it relies militarily.

Foremost among these is the 4th armoured division, an overwhelmingly Alawite formation headed by the president's brother, Maher al-Assad. It has its headquarters in the Mazzeh military complex in the southern suburbs of Damascus.

Another likely target is the regime's Republican Guard, another Allawite diehard unit, which is deployed around the presidential palace and in the Qasioun military complex to the north of the Syrian capital.

Much will depend on whether the chosen option is a strictly limited strike with a handful of cruise missiles, intended as demonstration of intent, or a more complex, further-reaching campaign involving waves of stealth bombers.

That would involve a huge amount of ordnance being targeted at Syria's substantial air defences, which include multiple arrays of Russian-made missiles. Such a campaign would dramatically increase the risk of causing casualties among civilians and perhaps even Russian advisers, who western intelligence officials say are present in Syria helping the regime's troops train on and maintain the anti-aircraft missiles.

Islamists gaining strength among

rebels in Syria

CNN reports how Islamist groups are gaining

strength among rebels in Syria.

Foreign Jihadis Infiltrate Syria

Islamists Fight in an Islamist-Infested Syrian "Revolution" 

 

Al Nusra Front Terror Camp in Lattakia, Syria

A video released by an increasingly powerful and well connected Al Qaeda cell in Syria's Northern Province of Lattakia depicts the terrorist organisation training recruits, many of whom are foreigners in the heavily forested and mountainous terrain typical of Lattakia.

Warplanes and military transporters have begun arriving at Britain’s Akrotiri airbase on Cyprus, less than 100 miles from the Syrian coast, in a sign of increasing preparations for a military strike against the Assad regime in Syria.

Syrian Jihad
Funded and armed by CIA backed American "allies" Islamist Saudi Arabia and Islamist Turkey.
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Rebel groups in Syria's north say they have received their largest shipment of weapons yet, in a fillip to an anti-government campaign that had stalled for many months.
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Leaders of militias supported by backers in Saudi Arabia and Qatar say several hundred tonnes of ammunition and a limited supply of light weapons were allowed across the Turkish border in the past three days, in what they said was the first large-scale re-supply since earlier this year.
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The weapons are believed to have been sent by pro US Saudi Arabia and Qatar and were warehoused in Turkey for many months. Senior rebel commanders contacted by the Guardian say they did not include anti-aircraft missiles, but several dozen anti-tank rockets were among them.
(The Guardian).