The betrayal of Afghanistan begins



America has said it will not meet the costs necessary to keep the Afghan forces at full strength beyond 2014   (Photo: AP)



The U.S. and NATO are getting ready to undercut the Afghan army

The betrayal begins.  The US and NATO are going public about cutting the money going to support the army of Afghanistan.  I have been there are seen that with South Vietnam having their money cut off.

Nato has concluded the present strategy of creating a 352,000-strong force of soldiers and police to take over security from international forces is unsustainably expensive in the long run.

The Afghan forces are totally reliant on foreign aid and commanders are now discussing funding a dramatically smaller force which under extreme options would be less than 250,000-strong.

The betrayal of Afghanistan is nothing new to readers of this site.  See our article  THE FEDERALIST - "Betrayal: It's American as Apple Pie."

Donor countries facing deep financial woes of their own have said they will not pay the projected $8bn (£5 billion)-a-year for the full-strength army reports the UK Telegraph.

Sir William Patey, British ambassador to Kabul, said: "The reality is the figures are moving around. Nobody is quite sure exactly what would be the right size for the Afghan security forces beyond 2015.

"Nobody thinks that [352,000] is a sustainable figure or that's what's necessary. That figure is changing." The Afghan security forces currently stand at 308,000-strong. They are still expected to reach their full strength by the end of next year in an "Afghan surge", but will then drop off soon afterward.   (UK Telegraph)

Rand Paul Speaks Out Against Indefinite Military Detention

Republican Senator Rand Paul speaks out about the “indefinite detention” sections of the National Defense Authorization Act  bill would turn the whole of the United States into a “battlefield” and hand the executive branch the power to have the military arrest U.S. citizens and hold them without trial.

Thanks for this link goes to The Libertarian Patriot.

Elections in Egypt

This candidate for the Egyptian Parliament was assigned a school bus as her symbol as
a way to help illiterate Egyptians cast their votes.

Egyptian voters go bananas . . . and Viking ships & soccer balls


Think about it.  From 6000 BC to today no Egyptian has ever cast a vote in a free election.  8000 years and no freedom. . . . till this week.  Now Egyptians are lining up for hours for the right to cast their vote.  This is a moment in history.

That being said, Egypt has special problems in this election.  Illiteracy is one.  Likening one’s political party to a banana or a toothbrush might not be a recognized way to sway voters in the West, but has been widely used in Egypt since the 1950s.

And as Egyptians head to the polls today to select their country’s parliament, they are partly making their decisions based on the weird emblems.

Each of the 250 symbols represent a different political party and helps illiterate voters mark their ballot papers correctly. More than 50 per cent of Egypt's population are illiterate, reports the UK Daily Mail.

Some parties aim to vacuum away the residue of Egypt’s old regime with the symbol of a Hoover, while one female MP has used a rocket as her symbol – which means ‘hottie’ in colloquial Egyptian slang.

Other animated figures include tanks, traffic lights, cameras, bottled water, grapes and even the almighty Egyptian pyramids.

The unusual system was brought about in 1950 and was used in the election of Egypt’s second president Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein, who ruled from 1956 until his death in 1970.

In the 1950s only 30 symbols were used to represent each MP but today more than eight times that amount is needed.

The recognizable objects are decided upon by the Supreme Elections Commission and are then randomly assigned to those in the running to be elected.   (UK Daily Mail)  


The symbols of Egyptian politics: Voters chose which MP to vote for with the help of these recognizable symbols.



Ballot papers are displayed at a polling station in Garden City, Cairo, showing the random symbols



A winner?  This candidate was assigned a banana as his symbol.



What's wrong with killing the Euro?

"Most Americans have no real understanding of the operation of the international money lenders. The accounts of the Federal Reserve System have never been audited.  It operates outside of the control of Congress and manipulates the credit of the United States."   - - - Senator Barry Goldwater (1909-1998)


The Fed is shoveling cash . . . .
The moronic Socialist ruling Elites of Europe are screaming "panic", but what is wrong with bringing back the Franc and Mark?



By Gary;

Trying to prevent a debt crisis in Europe from exploding into a global panic currency printing presses around the world are churning out cash by the trillion in order to prevent a economic meltdown.

The Fed started shoveling cash and was matched by corresponding actions from the Bank of Canada, Bank of England, Bank of Japan, European Central Bank and Swiss National Bank.

The effort to provide more liquidity may temporarily soothe the symptoms of Europe’s debt crisis and allow financial institutions easier access to funding.  It does little to address the underlying roots of overburdened governments with mountains of debt that need to be propped up while they drastically cut spending.

The central banks are doing their job to prevent a panic and an even greater depression.  That is what central banks are for.

That being said, what is wrong with letting the Euro vanish into history in an orderly manner?  Bring back the French Franc and the German Mark.  

The rest of the world does not have a common currency and they get along just fine.  China, India, Brazil and Australia all manage to operate just fine with their own individual currencies.

I suspect the Euro "panic" is much more about shoring up badly managed banks that invested deeply in Greek and Italian debt.

Just a random thought for the day. 



What on earth is bad about the return of the French Franc or the German Deutsche Mark?  The rest of the world gets along just fine without a common currency.



Pagans at the Air Force Academy



Cadets gather for the dedication ceremony of the Air Force Academy's Cadet Chapel Falcon Circle worship center this spring. The center serves cadets whose religions fall under the broad category of “Earth-based.”



Freedom of Religion  -  It is also for Druids, Witches and Pagans


Paganism and Druids may not be what the Founding Fathers were thinking about when they wrote the first Amendment, but freedom is still freedom and must be respected.

The Air Force Academy this year dedicated an $80,000 outdoor worship center — a small Stonehenge-like circle of boulders with propane fire pit — high on a hill for the handful of current or future cadets whose religions fall under the broad category of "Earth-based." Those include pagans, Wiccans, druids, witches and followers of Native American faiths.

There are no witches among the cadets this year. But the two spiritual leaders for all Earth-based religions — one a civilian, one an Air Force reservist — are witches and regularly cast spells, which they say is not so different from offering prayer. There also are no druids this year. But there could be next year reports the Los Angeles Times.


A Pagan Patriot
Patriots come in all shapes, sizes, colors and religions.

 "We're here to accommodate all religions, period," Chaplain Maj. Darren Duncan says. The building of the Cadet Chapel Falcon Circle on the hilltop, he says, is no different from the past conversion of chapel rooms into worship spaces that serve this year's 11 Muslim, 16 Buddhist and 10 Hindu cadets.

"It is very nice to have our own space," says Cadet 1st Class Nicole Johnson, a 21-year-old senior from Florida who became a pagan after entering the academy.

A small gathering of pagans, led by two witches, begins preparations for the coming winter solstice.  the pagan cadets decorated yule logs with bits of ribbon and glitter. Yule logs, whose ritual burning symbolizes faith in the reappearance of the sun, will be displayed alongside the Christmas trees and menorahs in next month's crowded religious calendar at the academy.

And though Johnson acknowledges that her beliefs are often misunderstood, she says she has taken no serious grief from other cadets, save occasional questions about whether pagans dance naked (she doesn't) or whether she can cast a spell on commanding officers (she wouldn't even if she could).

The rule is no spells cast without someone's permission. There is a prevailing tenet of her faith, she says: Do as you will, but harm no one.


"Freedom of religion is great.  Now we can join the Air Force too."

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U.S. Senate wants martial law in America

Rand Paul tries to kill provision allowing the military to detain individuals without trial or due process

(UPDATE  -  An amendment by Democrat Senator Mark Udall drew support from civil liberties groups but was defeated on a rare bipartisan vote, 60 to 38. Fifteen Democrats and one independent joined almost all Republicans to uphold the detainee provisions. Two Republicans — Rand Paul of Kentucky and Mark Kirk of Illinois — joined 35 Democrats and one independent in voting to strip the provisions. Two senators did not vote.)

With the bill expected to be up for a vote within 48 hours, Republican Senator Rand Paul has offered an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that will kill a provision allowing the military to detain individuals, including American citizens, without trial or due process.

The “indefinite detention” sections of the NDAA bill would turn the whole of the United States into a “battlefield” and hand the executive branch the power to have the military arrest U.S. citizens and hold them without trial.



Senator Rand Paul



The provision is merely an update to the “parallel legal system” had been in place under the auspices of the war on terror for over a decade, “In which terrorism suspects — U.S. citizens and noncitizens alike — may be investigated, jailed, interrogated, tried and punished without legal protections guaranteed by the ordinary system,” as the Washington Post reported in December 2002.

In attempt to kill the indefinite detention provision of the legislation, Senator Rand Paul aims to strike Section 1031 from the bill, which reads as follows.

“Congress affirms that the authority of the President to use all necessary and appropriate force…includes the authority for the Armed Forces of the United States to detain covered persons…Detention under the law of war without trial”.

Republican Congressman Justin Amash also warned that the bill had been “carefully crafted to mislead the public,” in suggesting that the indefinite detention provision didn’t apply to American citizens when it clearly does.

“Note that it does not preclude U.S. citizens from being detained indefinitely, without charge or trial, it simply makes such detention discretionary,” Amash wrote on his Facebook page.

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Thank You

50,044 Pageviews!

I cannot thank the readers of this Blog enough for their support.

As of this morning we broke the 50,000 pageview mark. 

Wow, over 50,000 views for a brand new six month old political Blog.  I am both shocked and grateful.

This Blog began in May, 2011 with a "massive" 834 pageviews for the entire month.

By August we jumped up to 6,588 views.

In October we hit our highest numbers yet with 11,829 page views in a single month.

Not bad for the new kid on the internet news block. 

I know there are a million internet news choices available for a reader.  The fact that so many have chosen to visit and re-visit this site makes this labor of love worth the work. 

In my own way I try to find as many interesting stories as possible that have been ignored or given little to zero coverage by the Big Media Complex.

Spreading the word about Liberty and the need for a strong, but limited Constitutional Republic is vital if we are to have any chance in standing against the creation of an all-powerful 1984 state. 

Please mark this site as a favorite to re-visit.  Also if you find any given article interesting share it with friends on Facebook and other media.

Again, thank you all.

Gary

Judge Andrew Napolitano asks if the Constitution means anything

In the video here, Judge Napolitano explains how we have let the government destroy the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.


The light of Freedom is flickering out.
Our Federalist Founding Fathers would not recognize the current monster authoritarian United States with a centralized Beltway Elite fixing elections with billions in special interest money in order to rule over the people and loot the Treasury.

Barney Frank retires - Now comes more lies



Hannity and Limbaugh have lied to you.
If you listened to right-wing politicians and their media supporters you would think Barney Frank caused the real estate meltdown and financial collapse.  Wrong.  Republican Congressman Mike Oxley of Ohio was Chairman House Committee on Financial Services from 2001-2007.   Not Frank.


GOP Bullshit Alert  -  Beware of GOP lies about Barney Frank


By Gary;

Rep. Barney Frank (Socialist Democrat - Mass.) announced Monday that he is not seeking reelection, ending a 32-year career in the House.

Goodbye Barney . . . don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.

Frank is a Socialist pig.  But readers of The Federalist know they get the real truth here and not partisan bullshit.  The truth is Beltway corruption is totally bi-partisan.

Lies and damn lies  -  For the last three years right-wingers have made Barney Frank their political pinata.  To hear it from them Frank wrote all the laws that brought down the American real estate and banking industries in a market crash.

That is pure 100 % bullshit.

FACT  -  Barney Frank did not become Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee until January 2007.  Some 90% plus of the phony bad loans had already been made by that point.  From January 2006 on the housing market had already started to contract and home sales were starting plummet downward somewhere south of Hell.

FACT  -  The Republican Party controlled Congress from 1995 to 2007.  Having the majority the GOP was totally responsible for making all laws, chairing and running all committees and conducting all oversight investigations over all government programs.  Period.

Barney Frank was not in charge of jack shit.  Frank was a powerless member of the minorty party.  The Republicans were totally in charge.

I cannot stand liars no matter what their politics.  It has angered me for years to hear the so-called "Conservatives" rip on Barney Frank in order to cover up their own failures.

The real truth is the Republican Party has been the party of Big Government for over 100 years.  Just like the Democrats they are in bed with the corrupt Wall Street rip-off artists who have raped the taxpayers of their money.

The recent report of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich being paid about $1.6 million by Freddie Mac is an example of the bi-partisan Beltway corruption.  The special interests cannot legally bribe you while in office.  But once the Beltway hacks "retire" the retroactive bribes start to kick in for years of loyal service to their Masters.

So as you hear the right-wing attack Frank or the left-wing attack some Republican keep in mind that it is all a distraction to keep you from finding out the truth that they are all corrupt bastards.

Republican Congressman Jim Leach of Iowa (not Barney Frank) was the committee Chairman from 1995-2001.



BIG BROTHER - The drones are coming



The Big Brother Eye in the Sky.
This spy drone manufacturer is planning to market their product to the 18,000 state and local police departments across the United States.  The drone fits in the trunk of a car and is controlled remotely by a tablet computer.



1984 is here . . . and the Sheeple walk like lambs to the slaughter


Big Brother is bi-partisan.  For reasons of their own, both Socialist American political parties are working overtime to tear up the Bill of Rights and stomp the remains into the mud of history.

Liar political hacks from both parties are falling over each other to authorize new ways to bypass the Bill of Rights and spy on an ever more helpless population.

All this is nothing new to readers of this Blog.  See our article  THE FEDERALIST - "BIG BROTHER now has an eye in the sky."

The Federal Aviation Administration (FCC), which plans to propose new rules for the use of small drones in January, a first step toward integrating robotic aircraft into the nation's skyways.

The agency has issued 266 active testing permits for civilian drone applications.

Police departments in Texas, Florida and Minnesota have expressed interest in the technology's potential to spot runaway criminals on rooftops or to track them at night by using the robotic aircraft's heat-seeking cameras.

Drone maker AeroVironment Inc. of Monrovia, California is the nation's biggest supplier of small drones to the military.  The company has developed its first small helicopter drone that's designed specifically for law enforcement. If FAA restrictions are eased, the company plans to shop it among the estimated 18,000 state and local police departments across the United States reports the Los Angeles Times.

The tiny drone with four whirling rotors swoops back and forth about 200 feet above the ground scouring the landscape and capturing crystal-clear video of what lies below.  The new drone weighs 51/2 pounds, fits in the trunk of a car and is controlled remotely by a tablet computer. AeroVironment unveiled Qube last month at the International Assn. of Chiefs of Police conference in Chicago.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, headed by Republican Sheriff Lee Baca, recently bought 12 new helicopters at a cost of $1.7 million each.

Party has no meaning . . . it is all about power and control.  


"It was terribly dangerous to let your thoughts wander when you were in any public place or within range of a telescreen. The smallest thing could give you away. A nervous tic, an unconscious look of anxiety, a habit of muttering to yourself--anything that carried with it the suggestion of abnormality, of having something to hide. In any case, to wear an improper expression on your face...; was itself a punishable offense. There was even a word for it in Newspeak: facecrime..."
- George Orwell, 1984, Book 1, Chapter 5



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