Government has become a sort of malignant metasisizing tumor, growing on its own, parasitical on healthy cells, always searching for new sources of nourishment, its purpose nothing other than growing bigger and faster and more powerful—until the exhausted host collapses. We have a sunshine king and our government has become a sort of virtual Versailles palace.

I suppose that when a presidential candidate urges his supporters to get in someone’s face, and to take a gun to a knife fight, from now on you better believe him. And, finally, the strangest thing about nearing the threshold of 1984? It comes with a whimper, not a bang, with a charismatic smile and mellifluous nonsense—with politically correct, egalitarian-minded bureaucrats with glasses and iPhones instead of fist-shaking jack-booted thugs.

More…

h/t Matt Bracken

The White House visitor log shows that NTEU President Colleen Kelley met with Obama–“POTUS,” President of the United States–on March 31, 2010.

More…

Israel troops return fire on Syrian Golan position

Syria and Israel crossed verbal swords Tuesday, May 21, after an overnight exchange of fire on the Golan.

When the Damascus government claimed responsibility for the gunfire on an Israeli Golan patrol Monday night and threatened to strike back for any Israeli reprisals, Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon shot back by saying: “Our policy is clear – we don’t interfere in Syria’s civil war, but neither will we let the fire spill over onto our territory. Last night,” he added, “we destroyed a Syrian army position on the Golan which fired at an IDF patrol.”

More…

Chinese hackers who breached Google’s servers several years ago gained access to a sensitive database with years’ worth of information about U.S. surveillance targets, according to current and former government officials.

The breach appears to have been aimed at unearthing the identities of Chinese intelligence operatives in the United States who may have been under surveillance by American law enforcement agencies.

It’s unclear how much the hackers were able to discover. But former U.S. officials familiar with the breach said the Chinese stood to gain valuable intelligence. The database included information about court orders authorizing surveillance — orders that could have signaled active espionage investigations into Chinese agents who maintained e-mail accounts through Google’s Gmail service.

“Knowing that you were subjects of an investigation allows them to take steps to destroy information, get people out of the country,” said one former official, who, like others interviewed for this article, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a highly sensitive matter. The official said the Chinese could also have sought to deceive U.S. intelligence officials by conveying false or misleading information.

More…

An increasing number of people have complained about governments and central banks in recent years, even using the word “tyranny” to describe them. They are, of course, called names in the establishment press: conspiracy theorists, mainly.

Calling someone a name, however, does not erase their argument (at least not among rational people) and both the governments and the big banks stand accused.

Up till now, however, these accusations were never accepted by the general public. The average guy really didn’t want to hear about the evils of government money. After all, that was the only thing he had ever used to buy food, clothes, gasoline, cars, and so on. He didn’t want to acknowledge the accusations because he feared what might happen to him without his usual money.

Now, however, we have a brand new currency (called Bitcoin) available to us: something radically different. This gives us a new way to directly address the subject of monetary tyranny, providing a clear test for the governments and money masters of the world:

If they are truly NOT tyrannical, they will leave this new currency alone.

If they ARE tyrannical, they will attack the new currency because it eats into their scam.

In other words, Bitcoin is a test for “the powers that be.” The way they deal with this new method of exchange will reveal their true nature.

If they ignore Bitcoin, they refute the charges of tyranny. If they attack it, they verify those charges.

After all, what honest reason could there be to attack an inherently peaceful tool for transferring value?

Prospective Reasons

Reasons to attack Bitcoin have recently appeared in the “public square.” Here are the three most popular ones, each followed with some analysis:

1. It can be used for money laundering.

Of course it can be used for money laundering — ANY currency can be used for money laundering. Currencies are neutral — that is their purpose! Currencies are valuable precisely because they can be exchanged for anything else — that’s why we use them!

Moreover, dollars and Euros and Pounds are used for money laundering every day. Consider the recent money laundering crimes of HSBC and Wachovia/Wells Fargo. These banks laundered hundreds of billions of dollars for violent drug cartels. And consider that this amount of laundered money is several hundred times the value of every Bitcoin in existence.

No one from either bank went to jail. Neither bank was shut down. Neither bank suffered more than a minor fine. So, how much of a concern can money laundering really be to governments and banks? Clearly not much.

But, since they accuse Bitcoin of being used for bad things, let’s be clear about the situation:

– Every mafioso uses government money.

– Every drug smuggler uses government money.

– Every terrorist uses government money.

– Every pornographer uses government money.

– Every criminal of every type uses government money.

They also use the telephone system and the mail and banks and a wide variety of government services. But government money is good and Bitcoin is bad?

The argument fails.

2. It could destabilize the current system.

A tiny, new currency is a threat to the long-established king of the hill? Comparing Bitcoin to dollars, Euros and Yen is like comparing an ant to a dinosaur. This is a threat?

Please understand also that no one is forcing anyone to use Bitcoin. If you don’t think it’s a great idea, you don’t have to use it. If its price movements (relative to dollars) bother you, you don’t have to use it. How is that destabilizing to the current system? It is entirely separate.

And what of the current system? It was falling apart on its own before the Bitcoin program was ever written. And I could go on at length on the insane levels of government debt, hundreds of trillions in derivatives, rehypothecation, and innocent people being forced to bail-out failed banks.

The current system has massive problems, but none of them can be blamed on Bitcoin.

This argument fails also.

3. Bitcoin provides no customer protection.

Well, no, it doesn’t. Bitcoin is a currency, not a legal system.

What is implied by this argument is that the government banking system does protect customers. That is an outright lie. People are ripped-off via the banking system every day. And more than that, consider what happened just a month ago in Cyprus: Thousands of innocent people were ripped-off BY the banking system — purposely — all at once and without recourse. This argument is, really, an insult to one’s intelligence.

And I should add something else: If Bitcoin is used properly, the crime of identity theft (a big problem with government money) vanishes — there is no identity available to be stolen.

So, again, the argument fails. Only those people who believe anything a government says will buy it.

In the End

In the end, it is said, we judge ourselves. Bitcoin has now put governments and banks in the position of judging themselves. They will write their own verdicts.

It should be interesting to watch.

[Editor's Note: Paul Rosenberg is the "outside the Matrix" author of FreemansPerspective.com, a collection of insights on topics ranging from Internet privacy and economic freedom, to alternative currencies. Join our free e-letter list to receive other articles like this one... and immediately get a report that explains in a unique way how the US Government got into the mess it's in, the dangers that creates for us, and how to protect ourselves from it.]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMBedO6mI1o

Dr. Forstchen’s answers to questions concerning economic warfare and precious metals at the Heritage Life Skills II Seminar.

• *CHIDAMBARAM APPEALS TO PEOPLE TO CONTAIN PASSION FOR GOLD, and
• *CHIDAMBARAM: MORE STEPS PLANNED TO CURB GOLD IMPORTS IF NEEDED

So China/Hong Kong is importing near record amounts of the precious metal into reserves and India is not only seeing demand but enough to warrant further government intervention… makes perfect sense that (paper) prices should be falling – or are the planners plans backfiring once again?

Source

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUymDqTwd-Y

The Obama administration’s decision to seize phone records from the Associated Press was “unconstitutional” and sends a message that “if you talk to the press, we are going to go after you”, the news agency’s boss Gary Pruitt said Sunday.

AP revealed last week that the Justice Department had obtained two months’ worth of phone records of calls made by reporters and editors without informing the organisation in advance. The move was an apparent effort by US officials to identify the source of a story about the CIA foiling an alleged terrorist plot by an al Qaida terrorist affiliate in Yemen.

More…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEHHeQuQXOw

From the Department of Homeland Security:

State and major urban area fusion centers (fusion centers) are owned and operated by state and local entities, and are designated by the governor of their state. In accordance with the Federal Resource Allocation Criteria (RAC) policy, which defines objective criteria and a coordinated approach for prioritizing the allocation of federal resources to fusion centers, the federal government recognizes these designations and has a shared responsibility with state and local governments to support the national network of fusion centers.

The following includes the list of primary and recognized fusion centers (associated contact information). Primary fusion centers serve as the focal points within the state and local environment for the receipt, analysis, gathering, and sharing of threat-related information and have additional responsibilities related to the coordination of critical operational capabilities across the statewide fusion process with other recognized fusion centers. Furthermore, primary centers are the highest priority for the allocation of available federal resources, including the deployment of personnel and connectivity with federal data systems.

The North Carolina Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAAC) in Raleigh is our Fusion Center.

How to Report Terrorism in North Carolina:

The public is our first line of defense in keeping North Carolina safe. You can help by reporting suspicious persons, objects, or behaviors.

Community safety can be jeopardized by terrorist attacks, gangs, identity theft, drug activity, or attacks on public services and utilities,

Take an active role in community safety. Be aware of suspicious packages. If you do not recognize the return address or have other questions, contact the SBI or local law enforcement.

Terrorists and criminals often display similar characteristics, such as being overly dedicated to a cause and willing to give their lives for it, and unaffected by the consequences of their actions.

I would like to repeat the last sentence from our North Carolina DHS Fusion Center:

Now let’s review the closing statement from the Declaration of Independence:

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

If these 56 men were alive today, DHS and North Carolina’s Fusion Center would classify them as terrorists. Unfortunately the current news regarding the abuse of power by the federal government against patriot groups, people supporting the Constitution and the Associated Press shows that people supporting freedom and freedom of the press are now considered terrorists. I want to thank Governor Perdue for using stimulus funds to build our fusion center in North Carolina. Click here to see how the North Carolina State Police Department interface with this global approach to a state response. I encourage readers outside of North Carolina to identify their fusion centers. Maybe these centers should become our focus for national protests instead of IRS offices.

David DeGerolamo

Find the nearest Fusion Center courtesy Free North Carolina.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hQsXUwctfE

Syria is making preparations to strike Tel Aviv in case Israel launches another attack on its territory, The Sunday Times reported on Sunday.

The Syrian army has begun deploying advanced surface-to-surface missiles, the report said, adding that it has received orders to strike central Israel in case additional attacks against Syria are carried out.

The Sunday Times said that the information was obtained by reconnaissance satellites that were tracking the Syrian forces. According to the report, Syria was deploying advanced Tishreen missiles which are capable of carrying a half-ton warhead.

More…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQexLYK-X88

From YouTube:

After a late start, and a “ten minute break” that lasted more than a half hour, the NJ Senate committee on gun control decides to cut off public comment on the proposed gun control bills at 4 o’clock. The chairman and most of the committee then refuse to honor the pledge of allegiance. This took place at the NJ Senate gun control hearings in Trenton on April 30, 2013.

h/t John P

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lHC6Q7oJQM

Syrian forces seize al-Qusayr

Shortly after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu pledged Sunday, May 19, to maintain Israeli operations in Syria against the passage of advanced Iranian weapons to the Lebanese Hizballah, Syrian troops and their Hizballah comrades stormed Al-Qasayr, the northwestern town which commands the high road from Syrian Homs to Lebanon’s Hermel Mountains.

This was a major victory: Iranian arms for Hizballah can now go through from Syria to destination unobstructed.

In more than two years of battling the Assad regime, this was one of the rebels’ most devastating losses after three weeks of bitter fighting and the last of a whole row of recent setbacks.

Bashar Assad in contrast has gained huge advantages from his al Qusayr victory, as DEBKAfile’s military sources report:

1. It cuts off the Syrian rebels’ main supply and communications route via Lebanon through which their Arab backers Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE to send them fighters, arms and funds.
2.  Rebel positions in the nearby town of Homs become increasingly vulnerable, as the Syrian army regains control of the main highway links between Damascus, Homs and Aleppo.

More…

http://thesilicongraybeard.blogspot.com/2013/05/i-never-noticed-this.html

…

And it seems to be true:

by Larry Porter

 Copyright 2013 Larry Porter

Smashwords edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to

Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Preparation

The frost in the air comes not from weather.

The frost in the air comes from the fool crown’s tether.

Those who would dare to bring up a scare

Will bring the disgusted together.

They march to the tune of a different songbird,

The crown didn’t listen and got the wrong words.

These souls understood there’s a much greater Good,

And that’s what the strong should prefer.

They gathered together to forge a new plan,

A country whose power was bestowed on man.

In the heat of the day and with so much to weigh,

One said, “I don’t know if we can.”

Undaunted, three souls chose to work even harder.

Together they formed a triumvirate of ardor.

The first brought the form, the second transformed

Ideas aged kept in their larder.

The third of the members interpreted well

The meanings of phrases so none could dispel

The message that wrought the authors’ true thoughts.

They now had a story to tell.

The assemblage was gathered and asked to please ponder

If they’d willingly risk their lives, wealth, and honor.

Fifty-six men agreed that they had to secede

From the crown that ruled from a’ yonder.

More…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50xa7mluFQI

More…

More…